As the fight between the Ehri-Ra Thoth concluded, the battle between Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company was also nearing its climax. Fortunately enough for the Horus Guards, their disciplined advance against the Flesh Eaters was giving them an edge in the combat.
Aside from their superior Magic, that they were using for the whole time to either weaken the Barbarians or to Control the Battlefield.
While the forces of the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company were not the best of the Free Mercenary Company within the lands of the Imperium, they were still elite warriors and had superior tactics and training to that of the Unclean Tribe.
The Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company suffered minimal losses because they lost only a few of their warriors to the brutal charge of the Flesh Eaters. When Ehri-Ra finished the fight with the Chieftain of the Unclean Tribe Aletur, the forces of the Barbarians were shaken by the death of their leader.
The Elders of the Unclean Tribe were killed when she used her trump card of the Chaos Solar Flare that killed two Elders of the Flesh Eaters, so when there was nobody to assume the leadership position among them, the only thing that ensured was pure, unbridled chaos.
When panic ensued among the barbarians of the Unclean Tribe, the moment of opportunity was exploited by the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company as they started pushing forward and forward, killing more and more Flesh Eaters.
Ehri-Ra didn't join the combat directly; instead, she remained to observe the entire situation from the sideway as her Mercenaries were destroying the last remnants of The Unclean Tribe at an almost systematic pace.
"We suffered far fewer losses than anticipated, Captain."
As she was standing a little far from the actual battlefield, she heard the voice of Setesh, the prime manager of the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company. This was indeed something that was making her situation better, as the results were excellent.
"I know... though at the same time, we had a great deal of luck in this one, if not for the Chaos Solar Flame obliterating most of them even before the clash started and me killing the Chieftain at the start, together with the Elders, the results could be vastly different."
Ehri-Ra observed how the forces of the Flesh Eaters were destroyed while she drank a concoction made from the Old Blood to accelerate her healing rate. In the fight against the Chieftain Aletur, she suffered pretty severe injuries and was exhausted Medically and Physically, so she needed to regenerate as fast as possible.
"There are new orders coming from the HighCom of the Army Group Beta. After the extermination of the Flesh Eaters; the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company is to depart and clean the path from the Dangers Beats... and appearance Daemons started appearing in the Badlands. Right now, there are a few roads that could serve as supply lines, but they are infested with the supply lines."
The leadership of the Army Groups was in constant communication with the Free Mercenary Companies that were tasked with cleaning some troublesome places on the maps. Hearing that Daemons started appearing within the Badlands was indeed troubling news.
That was something that the HighCom of the Imperial Military didn't really count on because it was out of their expectation.
It meant that either this was the natural occasion or... or somebody opened the portal to the Abyss and allowed the Daemons to pass.
"They expect us to clear the Daemons? Are they out of their mind?"
Ehri-Ra was enraged beyond belief because the last thing that she wanted was going to clear out the supply lines from the Daemons, as this was probably even more dangerous than fighting the entire Barbarian Tribe by themselves.
"Either we do it, or someone else will do it, but... the rewards are very tempting for it."
Her brows furrowed hearing that, so even though she was skeptical about the entire ordeal, at the same time, she knew that the rewards for something like this would be too tempting.
She was already calculated within her mind that coupled with achievements of annihilating the Unclean Tribe; she would get enough merit for the Aristocratic Status from the Imperium, probably only the lowest one of the Grand Paladin, but even that would elevate her status within the Imperium tremendously.
She would also gain access to the meetings of the Landsraad and obtain access to the highest politics of the Imperium. And that was something that her own people desperately needed at all costs.
"Relay them the newest that the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company is taking up the mission."
In the end, Ehri-Ra Thoth decided to take the mission, even though something in her was warning her not to, but as Setesh stated previously... the rewards from the Imperium were too tempting to be just outright refused.
"Also, after we clean the battlefield, order everyone to rest for a few hours before we depart to search for the Daemons and exterminate them."
She said with a grin as her sharp tooth sparkled in the light because one of the most prominent Magics of the descendants of the Nehekhara Dynasties was that of the Lore of Light.
The ancient Magic of the Nehekhara Dynasties was its very own anti-thesis of the Daemonic Essence. The sole thing that made Ehri-Ra doubt about the orders was that it was possible that they would encounter a powerful Daemon...
Something that she would wish to avoid at any cost unless she wanted to use the last part of the Artifacts to pacify such a creature.
The clean-up of the battlefield that followed after the battlefield was relatively short, as the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company methodically exterminated the Barbarians to the last one until the last remaining cannibal of the Unclean Tribe was killed.
The sole unfortunate thing about the entire battle was that there was almost zero loot from the cannibals because they didn't have anything precious on their person, but that was something that was already expected from them.
***
Three hours later, Plains of Silas, Provisionary Command Tent of the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company.
While those who were injured were being healed or those who were not were preparing for another battle, this time against the Daemons. For that purpose, they were preparing the Anti-Daemon Weaponry, Divine Symbols or Runes or other means of combat against the Daemons.
As this was going on, Ehri-Ra, together with the officers of the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company, were planning their next steps against the Daemons of the Chaos who were appearing in the area and harassing the supply lines of the Imperium.
Having the steady supply lines that provided the war effort, such as weapons, medicine, armors, Runes, potions, ammunition and other things for the Army Groups that were leading the Crusade, was of the utmost importance.
At least, until the moment they arrived at the Harrogant at Mount Areat, where they would construct the Teleportation Arrays, which would allow them to transport the supplies directly from the Imperium straight to the frontlines.
Until then, they needed to have secured supply lines for the army to function properly.
"Sorcerers attached to the Army Group Beta reported that to the southeast of the Plain of Silas, there was heightened Ruinious Energy typical for the Daemons of Chaos, so it is most probably that in this place, a portal to the Abyss has been opened."
One of the officers of the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company reported that he was the one tasked with the Imperial Millitary Intelligence for the entire company and, thus, in charge of communication of the Military HighCom.
"That is problematic because the entire area is covered by a small mountain range, which gives the Daemons an advantage on the field... they could be hiding almost everywhere."
Another person said, who was probably the eldest from the group, judging from his appearance of an elderly man with a white beard and hair.
"Yes, it is... the best strategy would be sending only a few of the squads targeting the portal to banish the Daemons from the Material Plane. Appearly, they have descended only for a very short time, so if we play our cards right, we can banish them back to the Abyss without fighting them directly."
Ehri-Ra knew that if they destroyed the portal that was connecting the Abyss and Azyr, all Daemons would be banished back to the Abyss; if that didn't work, then probably killing the Summoner or the person who opened the portal would also work as well.
It was clear that the Daemons had descended on the Material Plane only for a short time, or else, at least the majority of the Plains of Silas would be turned into the Ruinious Area, filled with the Daemonic Miasma.
"We should use interconnected Runic Formation with Eye of Ra to call the descent of the Sun's Blessing; that would give us enough power to enter deep into the mountains and have all weaker Daemons avoid the squads without a problem."
Everyone agreed with Captain Ehri-Ra's proposal because this would be the safest method of entering the dwelling of the Daemons. If the Runes of the Sun were powerful enough, then even Level 4 Greater Daemons wouldn't dare approach them lightly.
Coupled with the fact that all the people that Ehri-Ra planned to send there were Level 4 and some peak Level 3, she believed that they would be okey with this mission.
"Then prepare the Runic Talismans and distribute them to the Level 4 Warriors and a few of the Battle Wizards; assemble the team within the twenty minutes."
With that being said, the strategy was concluded and everyone knew what to do; they would now need to assemble a ten-man team of the strongest members of the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company that would be part of the squad that Ehri-Ra would lead personally into the depths of the Daemon infested area.
The rest of the Free Mercenary Company would remain here, as they would only wait for their report, possibly reporting back to the Military HighCom in case something went wrong or if the situation was worse than the HighCom suspected.
***
Sahratesh Mountain Range, several kilometers southeast of the Plains of Silas.
Sahratesh Mountian Range was like most of the places within the Badlands of the Stormwind. It was barren, sandy, dusty, gloomy and overall thriving with the creepy environment and atmosphere.
Additionally to that, one could sense the presence of the Ruinious Powers in the air, without much of a problem, which signified the strongest presence of the Chaos in these parts of the Lordran.
That was naturally troubling for the squad of the ten strongest members of the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company, which was advancing carefully into the Sahratesh Mountain Range right now.
All members of the strike team that were participating in this near-suicidal mission were wearing Runic Amulets with the Hieroglyphs for Ra, the ancient deity of the Sun for the Nehekhara Dynasties from the past.
Due to this, the Sun and Light themselves were protecting them from the powers of the Ruins that were in this place and basically allowed them an unhindered journey through the valleys and roads of the Mountain Range as they were advancing deeper and deeper.
"There are a lot of Daemons here... though most of them are only Lesser Daemons, but the numbers are high."
One of the people, wearing the garbs of the Battle Wizard, muttered as he was scanning their surroundings with his Magic. Most of the Lesser Daemons were running from Level 1 to Level 2; only some were at Level 3.
Aside from them, there were a lot of Daemon Beasts running around the entire Sahratesh Mountain Range, but none of them dared to approach the group due to the very powerful presence of Sun and Light that were lethal for them.
"It seems that the portal leading to the Realm of Ruin is big... we need to hurry; it seems that the situation may be even graver than the Military HighCom anticipated."
Ehri-Ra gritted her teeth in a mixture of annoyance and frustration because she knew that it was highly possible that the Military HighCom had the wrong information about the situation in the Sahratesh Mountain Range in the first place.
That was especially dangerous to them because, from the point of view of the Imperium, the Free Mercenary Companies were just a bunch of disposable pawns in the grand scheme of things.
If they succeeded and destroyed the Daemons of Chaos, then everything was okey, and it was counted as a win for the HighCom.
If they failed and instead, their forces were exterminated by the Powers of the Ruination, then it wasn't okey, but at the same time, it also wasn't a failure for the Military HighCom.
In that case, it was also a win for the HighCom because they would obtain valuable intelligence about the strength of the Daemons hiding within the Sahratesh Mountain Range, and they would send Hunters or someone equally powerful to deal with them.
In the end, it was the Free Mercanry Companies that pulled for the shorter end of the stick.
Not to mention, because their Free Mercenary Company wasn't sponsored or created by some of the Noble Houses of the Imperium, then the chances of them getting some reinforcements from the Imperial Forces were practically zero to low.
"Increase the speed... if there are too many of them, then perhaps they will try the wave tactics on us."
Ehri-Ra commanded as all of them increased their running speed because the last thing that they wanted was to get caught in the waves of hundreds or thousands of Daemons.
Upon her command, they started running at their top speed, as they were aware that while the Daemons feared the Sun and Light, at the same time, they were also aware that all it needed was one smarter Daemon that was more cunning and more powerful than the rest.
Through that way, they would be able to gradually break through the blessings of the Sun and Light that were protecting the strike team that Ehri-Ra Thoth was leading to the depths of the Sahratesh Mountain Range.
Fortunately enough for them, there were not powerful and smart enough Daemons that would take command of the Lesser Daemons. Within a short time, they managed to locate the place where the Abyssal Miasma was the densest.
It was clear that the portal leading to the Abyss was located somewhere beneath the Sahratesh Mountain Range, so that was the place where they were heading.
***
Underneath the Sahratesh Mountain Range, approximately around the same time.
Deep under the Sahratesh Mountain Range, there was an enormous underground space, that was evidently man-made, judging by the various stone pillars that were all around the place, though most of them were half-destroyed or already collapsed.
"Daemon Noble and a very powerful one at that..."
From the hidden spot, Ehri-Ra and her group of warriors from the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company were observing the layout of the entire underground space.
The one thing that Ehri-Ra noticed about the entire place, was its origin was related to the Nehekhara Dynasties. That was mainly due to the various Hieroglyphs of the Nehekhara Dynasties that were inscribed on the ceiling and collapsed pillars.
It seemed that this place was very, very old and it was outside of the area of the Munn, where the Nehekhara Dynasties were first established. Most of the history of the Nehekhara was lost in the passage of time, so it was a great surprise for Ehri-Ra to find a place related to their ancestors outside of the Munn.
Or at least, within the records of the Tribes that survived till now, there were almost no records about places under the control of the Nehekhara Dynasties outside of the Munn...
"It seems that this place is related to the Nehekhara Dynasties; judging on the Hieroglyphs over the pillars, this should be related to the 3rd Nehekhara Dynasty that was ruled by the Pharaoh Nagash."
Nagash, known by many names such as the "Great Necromancer," the "Great Betrayer," the "Usurper," the "Undying King," the "Supreme Lord of Undeath" or simply "He Who Shall Not Be Named".
He was the ultimate personification of death and the Undead, an ancient, evil being who sought to conquer this cruel, chaotic mortal world and bring about an age of Undeath that would rule for all eternity.
"Then it could be explained why this place was chosen for the experiments by the 3rd Nehekhara Dynasty."
During the 3rd Nehekhara Dynasty, in the times when their nation was still unified, powerful Sorcerer Nagash became the Pharaoh of the Dynasty. He who was obsessed with uncovering the secrets of the Magic and Arcane, started conducting various forbidden experiments.
At the same time, he was also conducting research on the Powers of the Ruins, something that was probably the most dangerous thing. Yet, despite all of this, at the start of his rule, Nagash and those who followed him, started conducting the research in the places outside of the Munn.
"We are probably within one of the first places where accursed Pharaoh Nagash started his research in the Ruinious Powers."
Ehri-Ra said with a grave voice because it seemed that they had found something really dangerous, but at the same time, something that possibly contained a lot of treasures and ancient knowledge.
After the fall of Nagash and complete destruction of the 3rd Nehekhara Dynasty, the empire crumbled and from that day, we could talk about the Nehekhara Dynasties as a whole, because the the enormous Dynasty was devolved into countless smaller Dynasties fighting among each other for the resources and Legacy of the 3rd Nehekhara Dynasty.
It was no wonder that the portal between the Abyss and Material Plane opened exactly here because it was the most suitable place. Probably somebody found the research lab of the Pharaon Nagash and started tinkering with the place and things that were left there.
"It's not only the average Daemon Noble but also a peak Daemon Noble that is on the verge of evolving into the Daemon Lord and it is a Bloodthirster. Far more powerful than the Chieftain of the Unclean Tribe Aletur... aside from that, I have a feeling that he is directly sponsored by one of the Chaos Gods."
The Elderly Setesh stated as he looked at the Daemon Noble, who was standing near the enormous purple portal, surrounded by tens of Greater Daemons that were at Level 4 and hundreds upon hundreds of Lesser Daemons.
The Bloodthirster Daemon Noble was a massive Daemon with crimson skin that perspires blood and a fearsome appearance overall. It has the lower legs of a beast, blending the traits of a goat and bull, with the upper body of a man, though covered in thick, curly black hair sodden with gore.
From its back spread two massive leathery wings, not unlike those of a Dragon. Atop its neck is a bestial, tusked, dog-faced head fitted with two bull horns that spread to either side.
The horns and head of this Greater Daemon are decorated with profane symbols of the Blood God, including the Mark of Khorne. Covering its body are plates of brass Chaos Armour bolted directly to its bone and fused to its flesh.
Many Drinkers of Blood also tear the faces of their victims from their skulls to add them to their armor like some perverse purity scroll.
This armor is forged upon the Daemon's flesh by Khorne himself and thereafter becomes a living part of the Daemon's physical form, even while maintaining a brutal intelligence of its own. As such, even the Bloodthirster's armor is wrathful and longs for slaughter.
"We are severely outnumbered... and it seems that the existence of the portal into the Realm of the Ruination is connected to the Daemon Noble, so by killing him, we would most probably banish all of the Daemons back into the Abyss..."
Ehri-Ra looked at the Daemon Noble after she looked at the people of the strike teams, as they needed to decide the strategy.
'The Abyssal Miasma within this place is too strong and too powerful; we would need to lower the density by a great degree before the confrontation could even begin... somewhere within the place, there should be some Hieroglyphs Suppressing the Abyssal Miasma.'
Even though the madmen of the 3rd Nehekhara Dynasties carried out almost free and unbridled research into the Powers of the Ruination, they were still smart enough to install a few Hieroglyphs whose purpose was to suppress the Daemosn and Abyssal Miasma.
"We need to activate the Chaos Suppressing Pylons; at least part of them should be functioning, and they would be of great help in the fight against the Daemons; at least they could suppress the Daemons greatly and allow us greater movement freedom."
Soon enough, they divided into three groups, from which two groups had a mission to activate the Chaos Suppressing Pylons, while the remaining group would confront the Daemons and take their attention on itself.
'Even under the suppressed state, Bloodthirster that reached the Daemon Nobility is way above my capabilities, so the sole choice would be to use the Divine Descent...'
This was her final trump card, aside from the usage of the Runic Tattoo of the Twin Dragons of Ra and Apophis... the Divine Descent.
Even though the religion of the ancient deities of the Nehekhara Dynasties was heavily replaced by that of the Healing Church, that didn't mean that the power of the ancient Gods once worshipped by them had diminished.
Every time, here and there, some people would be born or be gifted the ability of the Divine Descent and right now, the number of the people within the Holy Arcadia Empire who could achieve something like that could be counted on one hand.
Naturally, the most notable was the Holy Imperator himself, The Lord of Sunlight and Cinder, Heir of the Old Blood, Karl Franz I. Holswig-Schliestein von Reikland de Anor.
"I summon the power of the Sun, by the will of the Gods and by the will of the Aten, let the might of the King of the Gods, the God of Sun and Light, flow through my body and let me be its vessel on the material place, witnessing the glory of the long-forgotten past and banishing the enemies of Sun and Light into the eternal damnation and oblivion."
As she finished the prayer, instantly, her entire body was enveloped by gentle light.
Her hair started turning from the previous raven black to the bright golden, like she had in her childhood and her younger years before they turned raven black, and her eyes turned from the previous amber-colored to shining gold.
At the same time, this transform alarmed practically every single Daemon in the vicinity as they all started rushing toward her position, as two imaginary dragon-like wings created from the Sunlight appeared behind her back, allowing Ehri-Ra to fly in the air like the aerial Daemons.
She gripped the Bloodviolet in her right hand, whose crimson-red appearance turned into a flaming sword of light as she rushed directly at the Daemon Noble Bloodthirster that was commanding all other Daemons to attack Ehri-Ra.
For a certain moment, she appeared like an Angel as she was enveloped by the Holy Light of Sun that belonged to the God King Ra, which was burning away all Abyssal Miasma and turning all weaker Daemons near her into the dust.
Yet, even that didn't stop the Daemons of Chaos and Ruin from mindlessly attacking her as they rushed at her in hundreds and hundreds. Before the Daemons could pounce on her, Ehri-Ra flapped her light wings.
In a split of a moment, rays of light burst from her wings and turned all of the Daemons into ashes, and even the stronger and more powerful Greater Daemons were severely injured by the rays of light that Ehri-Ra released.
She then looked dangerous at the Noble Daemon Bloodthirster, who already appeared in front of her, swinging at her with an enormous waraxe, as she flipped in the air, flying behind the Noble Daemon Bloodthirster and attacking him from behind with the Bloodviolet.
But the Bloodthirsters were the Greater Daemons of Chaos God of Blood, SKulls and War, Khorne, so his combat instincts were absolutely out of the norm, as the enormous Daemons Bloodthirsters.
Sensing the danger, Ehri-Ra used her wings of light to protect against the sudden attacks as the waraxe of the Noble Daemon Bloodthirster clashed against her wings of light, creating an enormous explosion that threw both of them away.
From the explosion, the entire underground space shook greatly; the tremors penetrated into the depths of the ground.
Meanwhile, Ehri-Ra stabilized in the air; she looked at the Noble Daemon Bloodthirster because, from the brief clash, she sensed its power very well... she knew that the Bloodthirster was an extremely powerful Daemon of Khorne.
'Far more powerful, the Sunlight of Ra is lethal for them; the Noble Daemon Bloodthirster is too powerful, so unless the Chaos Suppressing Pylon is activated, I will have a very hard time injuring him severely enough.'
Ehri-Ra thought, but her train of thought was shortly destroyed once the Noble Daemon Bloodthirster attacked her once again. Though with the Divine Descent Abiltiy that she called upon, Ehri-Ra was able to fight against them on the relatively same level.
She kept exchanging one blow after another with the Noble Daemon Bloodthirster, but she was purposely attacking certain places on his body to lower his fighting capabilities. This plan was a rather good plan because it was working as the Bloodthirster was sustaining were slowing the humongous Daemon down.
After approximately ten minutes, even Ehri-Ra's body was full of injuries; her armor was cracked in several places, and an entire part of the armor covering her right arm was missing from the last attacks by the Daemon of Khorne.
To her advantage, the Divine Descent Ability also gave her an unprecedented healing rate that allowed her to regenerate injuries rather fast because if not for that, then she would be already blind in the left eye.
As she assumed a different battle stance in an attempt to lure the Daemon into a trap, she suddenly felt the appearance of some very weird energy over the entire place, which meant that the Chaos Suppressing Pylons were already activated by her subordinates and were in full power.
Not only that, but they were working way better than she anticipated because she could see that all around the place that now became one huge battlefield, the Daemons started losing strength, as their connection to the Abyss and Ruination was diminishing at the visible rate.
Even the weakest of them were already getting banished back to the Abyss one by one at rather a fast rate because they couldn't withstand the strong suppression of the Chaos Suppressing Pylons.
Even the Greater Daemons that were present started losing their strength at a visible rate, something that was naturally welcomed; Ehri-Ra even noticed that now that they lost the connection to the Abyss, their combat prowess dropped tremendously.
While the Daemons had inherently powerful physiques and physical capabilities, one of their strongest abilities was access to the Abyssal Miasma that they could draw either from the Abyss itself or from the more powerful Daemons or the Chaos Gods.
But with the Chaos Suppressing Pylons, such a thing was impossible and the only thing that was left for them were their physical capabilities. And now, at the moment when the Pylons started working, all the Daemosn were being ambushed by the warriors of the Horus Guards Free Mercenary Company one by one.
Even Ehri-Ra used this opportunity to the maximum, as she unleashed all the power that she could muster after drinking another vial with the Old Blood Concoction and attacking the Noble Daemon Bloodthirster.
Her wings, which were already in a wingspan of three meters, now grew to ten meters as they were enlarged by the flowing power of the Sun God King Ra as she commanded the Light and Sun to congregate in the Bloodviolet that was almost burning with the light itself.
She shot toward the Noble Daemon Bloodthirster at the speed of light itself, with the Bloodviolet piercing through the shoulder of the Daemon of Khorne, who shouted in pain as the Holy Light of Ra started penetrating deep into his very own existence.
Using the small window of opportunity that was presented to her when the Daemon of Khorne attempted to purge the Holy Light of Ra from his body, Ehri-Ra attacked once again, this time aiming at the lower part of his neck, which wasn't protected by any armor, as she buried her sword deep into the neck of the Daemon Noble.
Instantaneously, she pushed all of her power into the Bloodviolet, which resulted in violent explosion of golden light as the entire upper part of Daemon Noble's body was obliterated from existence.
The very second the Daemon Noble was killed and his entire being, including his soul, destroyed by the Holy Light of Ra, the already weakened portal connection between the Abyss and Material Plane crumbled entirely faster than one could blink.
The portal was already greatly weakened and on the verge of collapse the moment when the Chaos Suppression Pylons were activated, but Ehri-Ra knew that just the Pylons wouldn't be enough; killing the Noble Daemon Bloodthirster was needed to banish them all completely.
"We succeeded... and we even found something so miraculous as the Chaos Suppressing Pylons... if they are sold to the Imperium, then the situation with the descendants of the Nehekhara would be solved overnight..."
While Ehri-Ra wasn't really privy to the state secrets of the Imperium, for that, her social status was technically speaking non-existent, from her travels, she knew that the Byrgenwerth was researching something that would act similarly like the Pylons of the Nehekhara Dynasties.
"This could even fetch me Baron Title and entire Barony..."
She muttered as she looked at the corpse of the Daemon Noble that was decomposing at a visible rate due to the Holy Light of Ra destroying it from the inside and at the ruins of the place, which was filled with treasures from the Nehekhara.