Chapter 431: Fel Conversion
The Skaven had gone completely mad. Whether it was the Skaven women who usually enjoyed having sex with the Grey Dwarves in the alleys or the shifty-eyed Skaven thieves, they had all transformed into berserkers, recklessly charging into the Upper District. Even though a large number of Drow guards and Grey Dwarf heavy infantry were mobilized, chopping them into pieces like vegetables, they still couldn’t stop the Skaven invasion. These Skaven were simply ubiquitous. Even if they could hold the streets, so what? Corners, sewers, rooftops, there was nowhere the Skaven couldn’t go, and they weren’t afraid to die at all.
The cowardly Skaven had become so fearless mainly because of their nature. As a highly reproductive race, when the number within a certain range reached an upper limit, they would become more aggressive and self-destructive. However, all of this had been suppressed by Old One-Eye’s prestige and long-term brainwashing. Now, there was no need for suppression, and coupled with the influence of the atmosphere, it naturally became unstoppable. Even if they knew that there was a dead end ahead, they still wouldn’t stop.
However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was the last madness of the Skaven, especially when the organized Mithril Steel Golem Legion appeared from the Upper District, confirming this fact. The problem was that they had overlooked one place ━ the Lower District.
The Upper District was the core of Mithril City, the Middle District was its foundation, so what was the Lower District? A garbage dump and a raw material yard. Therefore, it was not considered part of Mithril City at all, so no one cared what would happen to the Lower District, even if all the poor people there died.
The Underworld never lacked for population. It wouldn’t be long before the garbage that flocked here with dreams would fill the Lower District again. A small amount of gold dust and useful parts would be allocated to the Upper District as slaves or to the Middle District as laborers, maintaining the operation of this huge city. As for the non-combustible garbage, it would just pile up in the Lower District landfill waiting to rot, because it wasn’t even qualified to be fertilizer.
Unfortunately, for Fel, any life was valuable. Even garbage had its value.
The Fel Skaven who escaped from the Fel Secret Realm gathered in large numbers to the Underworld under the guidance of Fel, and successfully went public. Not only did they obtain rare resources and skilled craftsmen from Old One-Eye, but they also obtained a large population supplement from the Rat Nest, because as long as they drank a bowl of Fel Soup, they were one of them.
Such a simple and direct conversion, coupled with a breeding speed that doubled every three to five years, caused the Fel Skaven population to explode. There were tens of thousands of them in Mithril City alone.
The Fel Skaven were not cannon fodder wielding sharpened iron spikes. In the thirty-year war with the Goblin Legion, they had gained enough experience and growth. Coupled with Fel’s strange assimilation characteristics, the army formed around the core of veteran Fel Skaven soldiers took shape at an astonishing speed and efficiency. Now, they had successfully captured the gates of the Lower District, sealing it off while also converting Fel on a large scale.
Groups of Fel Skaven divided the Lower District into independent areas, eliminated the cultists and unruly individuals lurking here with Fel weapons, and then began converting Fel.
The Fel conversion process was very simple. Devourer Mechs with large iron tanks on their backs walked through the Lower District, using a pair of flexible iron claws to grab the large number of Lower District poor people who had been driven here and throw them into their large mouths. After being cut by the blade gears in their throats, the still active pieces fell into the Fel furnace in their abdomen, where they were converted into Fel along with the souls that could not escape, and then stored in the large iron tank on their back.
The Fel in the large iron tank could be used as a strategic reserve, and could also be provided to nearby Fel machinery at any time. From individual soldier equipment to heavy Fel tanks, all could obtain timely energy replenishment, making them more efficient.
As for the wailing and screams during this process, no one cared. The rulers of the Upper District didn’t even bother to monitor this place. The Middle District was now struggling to protect itself, so they allowed all kinds of tragedies to happen. The despair that gathered here became more and more terrifying, even setting off a frenzy on a certain level.
In the interlayer between the Material Plane and the Shadowfell, Katie, the Despair Witch, walked here with the power of shadows, personally experiencing the despair left here by the countless poor people of Mithril City’s Lower District.
Originally, the emotions emitted by intelligent creatures would dissipate quickly, but the dense population of the Lower District and the continuous flow of despair had formed a special emotional vortex here. Although it was just pure despair, it also created a miracle similar to a Domain.
As she went deeper, the power of the shadows was gradually compressed and worn away by the despair from the outside world, and the range was constantly shrinking, but Katie’s pace did not stop. Finally, she arrived at the center of the despair vortex wearing a cloak formed from the remaining shadow power, closed her eyes and allowed her body to be infected by the despair seeping in from the outside world. Stimulated by this, the cursed magic power was growing wildly. This was a kind of unspeakable torture for a witch, but it was also a necessary transformation.
Fortunately, compared to other witches who had completely fallen into darkness and were entangled by curses, Katie had a good brother. The shadow cloak remained unchanged no matter how the despair vortex tore at it. Therefore, under the protection of divine power, Katie’s mind always maintained a peaceful area, so that she would not be completely enveloped by despair and twisted into a monster wearing a witch’s skin.
When most of the poor people in the Lower District had been slaughtered, the despair magic power on Katie also accumulated to its peak. A bit of divinity called Despair was born from her heart. From then on, she took the most crucial step and became qualified to embark on the path to becoming a god.
Sensing Katie’s change, Owen, who had been distracted keeping an eye on her, was somewhat relieved. Then, he had her leave Mithril City, making sure she wouldn’t get caught up in the Fel war that was about to unfold.
Thinking of this, Owen rubbed his forehead with a headache. The day before, he was still immersed in the atmosphere of medieval magic and elves, and today it had become a futuristic doomsday war. The changes in this world were too outrageous.
Owen, sitting in the shop, saw everything that happened in the Lower District through the reconnaissance equipment he had prepared in advance, but he had no ability to change it.
He currently didn’t have the ability to directly confront the Fel Skaven, not to mention that it wasn’t in his interest. As for warning the Upper District, don’t be kidding. Did they really think that the Drow Matriarch’s rule relied on reasoning? Being moody and unpredictable was the norm.
“Pack up, we should leave.” Owen said as he put away his Divine Symbol.
“Okay.” The Zombie Girl at the door was wiping the blood stains from her iron arm. She had just punched a Skaven that had sneaked in from somewhere to death. Hearing this, she didn’t ask where they were going, she just picked up her weapon and followed.
The Skaven outbreak also affected Bone Street. Skeleton Alley at the end of the street had fallen. The skeletons living there were probably chewed into bone dregs by the Skaven. Then, it was Gravestone Alley.
The zombies sleeping in the cheap Tombstone Inn were awakened and killed many Skaven that emerged from the sewers, but their slow movements made it difficult for them to stop the spread of the Skaven.
The adjacent Ghost Shadow Alley and Bat Alley were also invaded, but facing the elusive ghosts and vampires, the Skaven’s numerical advantage couldn’t be brought into play at all. They could only avoid them. Then, it was Owen’s Blood Sausage Alley, as well as the nearby Brain Alley, Skinning Alley, Sinew Alley, and Dirty Blood Alley, none of which escaped the invasion of their neighbors.
