SWNOVELXO Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Skaven
[Quest "Protection" completed]
[Quest evaluation: Quite good]
[You successfully thwarted the evil god cultists' conspiracy and safely returned the protected target to her homeland]
[Reward: 1500 experience, additional 1000 experience, attribute points +1, specialization points +1, level increased to 20]
[Obtained additional specializations]
[Additional specialization—Outnumbered: When surrounded, +60% melee damage]
[Additional specialization—Fury: Each kill grants 1% critical chance and intensity bonus, lasting 5 seconds]
[Judgment Warhammer upgraded to Thunder Warhammer]
[Thunder Warhammer (Melee, Two-handed, Heavy Strike)]
[+15% chance for enemies to explode upon death, dealing area damage equal to 50% of their health (stackable)]
[Each attack has +6.9% chance to cause knockback effect]
Looking at the data before him, Duanmu Huai nodded in satisfaction—especially at the Thunder Warhammer's special effect. It was simply the best skill for mowing down small enemies. Area damage equal to 50% of the enemy's health and stackable—that meant if he smashed a group and several triggered, it could add up to 150% area damage?
Could it really be calculated like that...?
Thinking this, Duanmu Huai opened his status panel again:
[Little Hammer Smashes Your Head]
[15th Primarch Gene]
[Evil's Bane]
Class: Inquisitor (LV20)
Soul Walker Specialization
Warp Heat: -50% consumption
Strength: 14
Combat +6
Space Marine Combat Training LV8
Matter Displacement
Attack Weakness
Outnumbered
Agility: 4
Shooting +0
Sicaran Enhancement LV1
Constitution: 12
Resistance +4
Ecclesiarchy Siege Protocol LV5
Fury
Intelligence: 12
Will +4
Battle Psyker Training LV5
Soul Resonance (Special Skill)
Primarch Gene Bonus
Perception: 8
Awareness +4
Adeptus Arbites Assault Tactics Lv3
Charisma: 1 (Locked)
Communication -3
Intimidation LV2
Soul Cards: +8
Having absorbed this wave of experience, Duanmu Huai had officially reached Level 20. He allocated his newly acquired attribute and specialization points into Strength, Constitution, and Intelligence, focusing on their key associated skills:
[Space Marine Combat Training] – for improved melee damage
[Ecclesiarchy Siege Protocol] – for enhanced defense
[Battle Psyker Training] – for psychic resistance and Warp overheat limits
These were all practical skills, highly beneficial to Duanmu Huai's current combat style.
As for Agility and Perception, he had no plans to invest further. He didn't intend to follow the Assassinorum path—after all, assassins were naturally fragile. Soul Walkers were already squishy enough; combining that with assassin-level fragility would only make him extra crispy.
Regarding Perception, 8 points were sufficient for now. Duanmu Huai planned to make up the rest using his power armor's detection systems—as the saying goes, when natural ability falls short, equipment fills the gap.As for Charisma... forget it, just give up. He couldn't add to it anyway.
"Sir Knight." Just as Duanmu Huai was considering his next stat allocation strategy, Knight Captain Cardo approached and respectfully bowed. "The lady requests your presence."
"Oh." Duanmu Huai didn't need to guess who "the lady" was—most likely Alisa's mother. He nodded, stood up, and followed Cardo into the fortress before them.
The fortress wasn't just filled with soldiers but also many ragged-looking civilians. They were huddled together nervously, their eyes fixed on the towering black-armored figure. Duanmu Huai didn't pay them any attention. He followed Cardo through the crowd and stopped in front of the fortress's great hall—or rather, what served as the great hall.
Well, it wasn't that they were deliberately slighting him, but with Duanmu Huai's sheer size, there was no way he could fit through the reception room door.
There, Duanmu Huai saw a woman dressed in luxurious clothes, though her face was haggard and her eyes red from crying. Alisa stood behind her. The girl was no longer travel-worn or disheveled; she had changed into a long dress befitting her status and now looked like a proper young lady.
Upon seeing Duanmu Huai, Alisa smiled and waved at him.
"Greetings, honored Sir Knight." The woman also lifted her skirt and respectfully curtsied to him.
"I am Christine Deverim, wife of Lord Deverim. For rescuing my daughter from those evil Chaos cultists, I express my deepest gratitude."
"No need for courtesy. Chaos is also my enemy." Duanmu Huai waved his hand, indicating she didn't need to worry about formalities.
"Regardless, please allow me to express my gratitude…" As she spoke, the noblewoman stepped forward and handed him a small box.
Duanmu Huai took it and opened it, revealing gold coins, along with gems and jewelry inside.
Hmm, looks quite valuable. Duanmu Huai glanced inside—then without hesitation, pocketed it.
It was normal for NPCs to hand out quest rewards, and frankly, he was broke right now. He wouldn't pretend to be modest.
"So, what's the current situation here?" Duanmu Huai asked bluntly. He had no intention of making small talk.
Not that they had time for it anyway.
Hearing his question, Christine's expression turned grim. Cardo also sighed.
"As you can see, Sir Knight, this city has been invaded by Skaven... Do you know what Skaven are?"
"I've heard a little." As a veteran player, Duanmu Huai was basically familiar with the origins of most races in this world. Naturally, that included the Skaven.
Speaking of their origins—well, there was quite a story.
Legend had it that long ago—no one remembered exactly how long—there was once a prosperous city. The rulers of that city wished to build a towering monument to showcase their wealth and glory.
One day, a mysterious man appeared at the city gates. He requested an audience with the lords and promised that if they allowed him to make a small addition to the tower, he could complete the entire structure in just ten days.
The lords agreed, and sure enough, the man completed the grand tower within ten days. At the very top, he placed a green bell as a finishing touch.
However, when the tower was finished and the man requested payment, the lords refused—claiming that since no specific price had been agreed upon in the contract, they owed him nothing.
They even beat him up and drove him out of the city. The man, furious as he left, cursed the city—when the bell atop the tower rang thirteen times, the city would be destroyed.
That very night, the bell at the tower's peak began to ring. After the thirteenth chime, countless rats surged forth like a tidal wave, flooding the entire city as plague spread rampantly. Not only that, but countless meteors fell from the sky, crashing down and turning this once-prosperous, thriving city into a wasteland of ruins.
The evil power contained within those meteorites reacted with the rats, causing them to evolve into Skaven—this was said to be the origin of the Skaven. Of course, this tale carried some allegorical elements, and whether it was truth or myth remained uncertain.
But the Skaven themselves were very real—evil, cunning, and brutally cruel alien beings. Worse still, these creatures had learned how to harness and develop technological power—like that multi-barreled Gatling gun they had used against Duanmu Huai earlier.
Though it was steam-powered and used stones as bullets, it actually worked! If it weren't for the Skaven's inherently treacherous and chaotic nature, prone to constant infighting, they might have developed aircraft by now.
The Skaven were pure chaotic evil. They often associated with evil god cultists and served as minions to Chaos deities. They were masters of poison, experts in plaguecraft, and even had a decent grasp of rudimentary technology.
Overall, they were merely annoying mobs to players—but for ordinary people, the Skaven were terrifying invaders. The only odd part was that the Skaven were typically followers of the God of Decay, while the ones who had captured Alisa had served the God of Tyranny.
And while all four Chaos Gods were bad news, they rarely worked together. More often than not, they sabotaged one another. So whether the Skaven's invasion of this city was a coordinated effort, taking advantage of the Tyranny cultists capturing the lord, or just another example of the Chaos faction stirring up trouble for fun, was unclear.
Cardo's explanation confirmed much of Duanmu Huai's speculation. A few days ago, Alisa and her father had vanished during their return journey, naturally causing widespread concern. Christine, as the lord's wife, had immediately dispatched people to search in all directions.
But right then, as if seizing the opportunity caused by the lord's disappearance and the resulting confusion in the city, the Skaven suddenly burst out from the underground sewers and launched an all-out assault.
Caught off guard, the soldiers of Silver City fought desperately while evacuating civilians toward the lord's mansion. Yet the Skaven had come prepared and struck with overwhelming force. The city suffered heavy casualties in the initial attack.
It took several days of fierce resistance just to barely stabilize the situation. But the Skaven clearly had no intention of letting them off easily.
Just yesterday evening, they had launched another fierce attack. If Duanmu Huai hadn't arrived in time, the entire city would probably have completely fallen by now."So, you're hoping I'll help, right?"
Duanmu Huai wasn't stupid. The other party had gone through so much trouble explaining everything—obviously not just to waste their breath. Of course, as long as there was a quest involved, Duanmu Huai wouldn't pass it up.
It wasn't that he cared particularly about the experience points—what Duanmu Huai was more focused on was the quest evaluation. After all, a high evaluation could reward him with rare items from the system, essentially like opening loot boxes.
It's just that players couldn't spend money to draw cards in this world; they could only obtain these "loot boxes" by completing quests and then hoping their luck held out. Players had no principles—as long as you gave them a quest, even if the reward was just an iron sword, they'd help you destroy the enemy army.
Conversely, if there was no quest attached, then no matter how tearfully you begged, what did that have to do with them?
"Yes." Compared to Duanmu Huai, Cardo was much more reserved.
After all, he wasn't a player and didn't understand a player's mentality. He had already heard about Duanmu Huai from Alisa and was deeply impressed by his strength. Someone capable of fighting evil god cultists alone—and even tearing apart demons—was worthy of awe.
He had witnessed Duanmu Huai's strength firsthand. Logically speaking, someone like him could easily serve as a high-ranking guardian general in the Empire. That such a powerful being was even willing to help them was already an extraordinary act of generosity.
To make further demands on him now... wouldn't that be overstepping?
If Duanmu Huai had known what Cardo was thinking, he would definitely have rolled his eyes. Seriously? What status do players have? Even if you're a naval admiral, you'd still have to scrub toilets yourself!
"No problem." Of course, Duanmu Huai wouldn't say that out loud."Fighting Chaos is my responsibility. Any lackeys of Chaos are my enemies."
Naturally, Cardo didn't know about the deeper reasoning. But upon hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, his face lit up with joy—like a high school basketball team suddenly getting an NBA superstar to join their roster."That's really... wonderful!!!"
(End of this chapter)