Warhammer Divine Throne

The rat tide relentlessly surged toward the staircase at the church entrance. The long staircase had over thirty steps, and behind them, human soldiers used tables and many carriage remnants to build a position, stubbornly resisting.

Under Teresa’s protective ice wall, the Ratmen indeed madly charged at the only passage, completely disregarding casualties.

”Fire! Fire!” Behind the position, dozens of musketeers kept shooting, with waves of Ratmen rushing forward and falling as sieves, while under the command of the Rick Guard, human soldiers united to resist the Ratmen’s assault.

Due to only half of the staircase remaining to the church, the Ratmen had to crowd onto the narrow walkway to approach the human stronghold. The Mackensen Musketeers fired at a single spot, and in such circumstances, the power of a volley was astounding. The Skaven Ratmen attacked time and again, always leaving corpses behind without success.

At this moment, the weaknesses of the Ratmen were completely exposed.

What were the advantages of the Skaven Ratmen in human warfare?

There were mainly two: technological dominance and overwhelming numbers.

The sheer number of Skaven Ratmen often threatened to overwhelm human armies directly. Humans faced with the Ratmen’s encirclements often became flustered, while the Ratmen’s various advanced weapons easily caused devastating impacts on human forces.

The Skaven Ratmen nearly completely defeated the Empire five hundred years after Charlemagne’s disappearance, when the Empire began gradually declining. At this time, the Skaven Ratmen nearly collapsed the Empire through the ”Black Death,” and when finding a healthy soldier in the entire Imperial Army camp seemed impossible, the Ratmen launched their war, sweeping through the Empire, taking it nearly without resistance.

Nonetheless, humanity’s final resistance gathered at White Wolf City, with the White Wolf Prince-Elector named Mandred leading the last remnants of human forces. Under extremely strict health management and the cold rule of forceful culling of any infected individuals, White Wolf City became the final resistance stronghold for humanity. The Ratmen attempted an attack on the city, yet White Wolf City, situated atop high mountains over a thousand meters tall, with its mountain paths spanning hundreds of meters and towering city walls several dozen meters high, caused the Ratmen much grief.

The most notorious part was yet to come. It’s well known that the White Wolf God’s Holy Fire burns eternally on the high mountains of White Wolf City, with the Temple built on the city wall. Any soldier—so long as they are part of the White Wolf City’s defense force—can easily receive the powerful blessing of the White Wolf God (the effect is akin to stacking two rows of buffs, greatly enhancing all attributes).

After months of futile operations, the Ratmen’s food supply dwindled, forcing a retreat. Mandred Prince-Elector seized the opportunity to launch the ”Battle of Howling Hills,” utterly defeating the Ratmen’s army. He earned the nickname ”Rat-Slayer,” and consequently became voted as the Emperor of the Empire, earning the moniker ”Wolf Emperor.”

Unfortunately, Mandred served as the Emperor of the Empire for merely a couple of decades before he was ”revenge-assassinated” by the ace assassin dispatched by the Aisen Clan within the Skaven Ratmen. After Emperor Mandred’s death, the Empire’s Prince-Electors grew suspicious of one another, unable to elect a new emperor that satisfied everyone, thus heralding the onset of the Three Emperors Era.

So, what are the Ratmen’s weaknesses?

Firstly, the extremely poor morale and discipline. The Skaven Ratmen are a ragtag group with very poor morale and discipline; when the situation shows the slightest adverse turn, they can easily collapse entirely.

Just like the current scenario, the Ratmen repeatedly charged toward the human fortification but often failed to even touch its edges before retreating. A few more fallen bodies among these rodents tend to trigger morale instability, followed by a complete collapse along the line.

The ensuing Storm Rats struggle far more in re-gathering the army than in commanding an offensive.

Secondly, the Skaven Ratmen possess an inherently vile nature that favors infighting. This race has never ceased internal conflict since its inception, and the clans among the Ratmen remain locked in unyielding opposition, with warlords lacking trust amongst each other.

As it’s unfolding now, the Skaven Warlord Osside Abyss is a prime example. On one hand, he anxiously watches the human fortress remain unconquered, yet on the other hand, this Skaven warlord is unwilling to deploy his most elite Storm Rat Legion and Rat Giant. Instead, he keeps these forces on standby while persistently sacrificing Clan Rats and Slave Rats.

The Ratmen’s tactic is a war of attrition, but Osside isn’t entirely employing this strategy out of reasons of attrition.

The reason is simple: this is preserving strength. Winning against humans counts as a Skaven Ratmen victory, but such a victory offers little benefit, with the loss of laboriously cultivated troops being a genuine loss. This is the capital that holds his position as a warlord, and if he carelessly loses loyal core troops, he could easily be betrayed and killed by his subordinates as too many covet his position.

Osside Abyss stamped his foot in frustration: ”D-Damnable Grey Prophet Spat! Where have it and its legion gone? No response to the bell toll! Nono! Never, never agree!”

Osside has no intention of losing too much before capturing this fortress. This Skaven warlord devised a cunning plan with intentions as follows.

Hover without true engagement, preserving strength.

Let the Grey Prophet Spat and its army fight a death-struggle with humans, and then himself reap the success! Concurrently, secretly ”deal with” the Grey Prophet to take over its Plague Monk Legion and siege weaponry, thereby becoming the most powerful Skaven Warlord in the Gray Mountain Range! Yesyes!