The fortified gallery hummed with quiet, disciplined activity as Reinhard paced thoughtfully along its edge, gaze sweeping across the subterranean vista of Khazad Varum. The ancient dwarven city below was a corrupted mockery of its former glory; fires dotted its twisted streets, and makeshift towers bristled with Verminthar patrols and crude siege engines. His jaw tightened. Retaking the city would not be simple, especially without armor support.

  He turned back, snapping open his HUD, and began assessing options.

  “Lieutenant Hartmann,” Reinhard called, voice firm.

  The officer approached quickly, saluting sharply. “Sir?”

  “We can’t bring the panzers down here yet,” Reinhard said, gesturing to the rge, yet unstable, winding tunnels behind them. “But I won’t enter that city blind or unprepared. We need infantry—specialized teams capable of heavy, mobile firepower.”

  Hartmann nodded, eyes sharp with immediate understanding. “Grenadiers with heavy weapons, sir?”

  “Exactly. Mortars, machine guns, anti-tank rifles, autocannons, Pak 40s.” Reinhard’s voice was calm, deliberate, each sylble weighted with tactical precision. “We're not just clearing tunnels now; we're unching a full assault into an enemy-held city. We will make them attack this ridge, and wipe them out en masse, then we will move into the city.

  With a fluid motion, Reinhard opened the Soul Point interface:

  [Requisition Order]

  [Avaible Soul Points: 1,450][8 × Panzergrenadier Ptoons (400 SP)][4 × Combat Engineer Ptoons (200 SP)][10 × Heavy Weapon Squads (MG42 teams, mortars, Anti-Tank rifles) (150 SP)][8 × 30mm Fk 30 Autocannons with Crews (160 SP)][8 × Pak 40 Anti-Tank Guns with Crews (120 SP)]

  Total SP: 1030

  Remaining SP: 420

  [Units Deployed: 14 Panzergrenadier Ptoons; 5 Combat engineer ptoons; 8 Pak 40s, 10x Heavy Weapon squads (MG, mortars, AT Rifles, 8x 30mm Fk 30 Autocannons]

  [Remaining Points: 420]

  [Designation: Fortify]

  Mars raised his head in attention, to the summoning occurring. The gallery shimmered with cool blue energy. Moments ter, dark winds swirled from the cracks between the marble sbs, and soldiers and equipment manifested in disciplined lines, fully equipped and ready. The heavy weapon squads quickly set about assembling their equipment, the clicks of ammo belts, metallic ctter of mortar tubes, and scraping of anti-tank guns echoing across the stone.

  Hartmann’s eyes widened in respect. “Impressive as always, Commander.”

  Reinhard barely acknowledged the compliment, his mind already turning to strategy. He addressed the newly deployed troops clearly and with authority:

  “Our objective is to recim Khazad Varum. Enemy presence is overwhelming. The Verminthar have fortified their position and will likely have Netherstone weaponry. Maintain vigince and cohesion. Our goal is simple: absolute eradication of the enemy. Fortify this position, this is where we make our stand, and this is where their waves will break on immovable steel.”

  The assembled troops responded with a unified, resounding salute of acknowledgment.

  Sch?ffer stepped closer, his voice low. “Commander, once we secure a foothold below, then with your permission, we can summon armoured units. It will drastically reduce casualties as we go from door to door as well as free up artillery to engage priority targets.”

  Reinhard nodded approvingly. “Exactly my thinking, Captain. But first, let’s bring them the storm.”

  He turned briefly, calling out to an officer responsible for logistics. “See to it that a supply line is operational. I want ammunition flowing continuously down here. We’ll burn through rounds quickly, and I won’t have our men stranded without ammo. Make sure every unit has plentiful reserves.”

  The officer snapped a salute. “Yes, sir! I'll see it done.”

  Sch?ffer saluted again, turning sharply to rey Reinhard’s orders.

  Reinhard returned to the gallery’s edge, eyes locked on the twisted, glowing streets of Khazad Varum. Below, the Verminthar scurried about their corrupted city, oblivious to the gathering storm above. He looked at his companion, and spoke “You’re gonna have to sit this one out boy.” and put a sound-suppressing headset on his head. Mars used this chance, to Reinhard’s dismay, to lick his face. An NCO escorted Mars back to the tunnel entrance around which, a makeshift supply depot began to emerge.

  **************************

  Hours ter, Reinhard stood atop the fortified ridge, gazing down upon Khazad Varum with a silent intensity. His troops had spent the past hours preparing meticulously—each firing position reinforced, every weapon primed, and every soldier briefed thoroughly. Ammunition was plentiful, with steady streams of supplies running uninterrupted from Stonewatch above.

  "Commander," Lieutenant Hartnamm approached, voice low but firm. "All units in position. Pak 40s and autocannons have direct lines of fire. Mortars and heavy MG nests are ready to engage. Anti-tank rifle squads are stalking high priority targets, The drones await your signal."

  Reinhard’s gaze remained fixed on the sprawling undercity, watching the movement of thousands of Verminthar below. "Deploy drones. Noxshade dispersion pattern alpha. Target their densest clusters and high priority targets."

  Hartmann nodded sharply. "Deploying."

  From unch points within the gallery, ten drones surged silently forward, slipping from the shadows high above the city. Their small frames darted through the cavernous gloom, high above the rooftops and ntern-lit streets. None of the vermin below noticed their presence until it was far too te.

  The drones descended to an optimal height and released their payload simultaneously—canisters quietly hissed open, invisible clouds of dense Noxshade gas settling upon the crowded streets and pzas. The deadly chemical spread rapidly, descending like an unseen spectre. Confusion erupted first: Verminthar stumbled, clutching their throats, falling to the stone streets gasping as their nervous systems seized.

  A ripple of panic surged through the city, chaotic and uncontrolled.

  "Enemy forces disrupted," Hartmann reported calmly, watching through his binocurs. "They’re scrambling. Noxshade effective."

  "Good." Reinhard raised a hand, his voice cold and resolute. "Heavy weapons, open fire. Mortars, high-explosive shells, target packed Verminthar formations. Pak 40s target the rgest buildings. Autocannons and machine guns, sweep the streets. Anti-tank rifle squads engage high priority individuals. Hold positions, maintain firing discipline. They will come to us soon enough."

  "Yes, sir!" came the unified response.

  A heartbeat ter, the ridge erupted in a storm of fire. Pak 40s roared, sending high-velocity shells screaming toward the central buildings. Explosions blossomed, stone and timber shattering in catastrophic detonations. Mortars lobbed shells in low arcs, descending into marketpces and squares, detonating into pilrs of fme and shrapnel. Autocannons barked, their rapid-fire bursts scything through fleeing groups of Verminthar, cutting swathes through their disorganized masses.

  From the ridge, Reinhard watched the devastating scene unfold. Verminthar surged forward in waves of panic and desperation, charging toward the elevated positions. Their disorganized counterattack was met by a coordinated hail of bullets and explosives. Bodies fell by the hundreds, yet still they pressed on, driven by primal fury.

  “Steady!” Helvig shouted, directing soldiers toward the breaches where the Verminthar attempted to climb. Heavy machine guns pivoted, raining disciplined bursts of fire, tearing the enemy ranks apart.

  Yet for every vermin sin, two more emerged from the depths of the city. They surged toward the ridge like an unending tide of corruption, shrieking in fury and terror. Reinhard’s eyes narrowed, aware that the real battle had just begun.

  "Let them come," he shouted, raising his StG 44. "We’ll bury them here."

  **************************

  Gunfire thundered endlessly, echoing through the vast cavern, a relentless percussion to the symphony of war. Reinhard calmly fired disciplined bursts from his StG 44, methodically cutting down wave after wave of screeching Verminthar. Not far away, a squad of grenadiers lobbed fragmentation grenades down at the climbing Cnrats. The ridge had become a fortress—an unyielding bastion against the rising flood of corruption.

  Yet their enemy was beyond number. The Verminthar surged upward with reckless abandon, trampling their own fallen in a desperate frenzy to reach the human invaders.

  "Commander!" Sch?ffer shouted over the cacophony, his voice strained yet composed. "Ammo stocks holding. Casualties minimal, but the enemy isn’t thinning!"

  "Shift fire" Reinhard barked. "Pak 40s target the primary routes to the gallery. Bring down those stone bridges and arches—cut off their reinforcements!"

  Sch?ffer reyed the orders, and moments ter, the heavy anti-tank guns swung to new targets. Massive stone arches and ancient dwarven causeways exploded in catastrophic bursts, raining rubble onto the Verminthar below. Screams echoed, the enemy’s reinforcements slowing, confusion rippling outward.

  The autocannons shifted position, tracer rounds carving deadly arcs into the masses. Still, the enemy pressed forward, driven by some twisted will greater than their instinct for survival.

  Suddenly, Reinhard’s HUD fshed urgently:

  [Enemy Elite Detected – Nethersmith Signature]

  "Sir!" Hartmann gestured frantically. "Enemy command unit spotted!"

  Reinhard turned sharply, eyes narrowing. At the heart of the swarm, a monstrous Verminthar figure emerged, unmistakably a Nethersmith. Its augmented body glowed with pulsating veins of Netherstone energy. One cwed hand raised, unleashing a crackling bolt of warp lightning toward their positions.

  "Hartmann!" Reinhard shouted. The soldiers dived for cover as the magical bst erupted, sending stone and debris flying. "Mark that thing!"

  Without hesitation, Hartmann directed a Pak 40 cannon fireteam. "Pak 40 anti-tank gun—mark High explosive penetration round! Follow my fre!"

  Seconds ter, with a loud boom, a shell was fired at the Nethersmith. The creature howled in agony, its barrier failing as the high-explosive detonated a millisecond after the shield fractured. The Nethersmith was bisected at the chest and dropped like a ragged sack of bone and metal.

  Silence — a rare thing in Khazad Varum — stretched for three seconds.

  Then, the walls screamed.