Diggy Diggy Hole Chapter 34 (Patreon)

With a crackle of swirling spatial energy the new Nether Portal was used. And as Ungrim, his most trusted followers, guards, and I left the Nether...

We came out of the Nether in the middle of a large tunnel that was already well-lit. "Aye, this is one of our tunnels! I remember working this tunnel as a wee lad hahaha!" One of the dwarves cheered.

Ungrim grunted in acknowledgment, but I could tell the Slayer King was all but giddy with joy at the realization that the nether highway worked.

We quickly moved through the tunnels and within minutes, we came across the working crews of Karak Kadrin who one and all bowed to their king though they were confused as to why he was here.

And not on his expedition.

Once we got up to Karak Kadrin proper, I couldn't help a sigh at seeing so many thousands of my kin going about peaceful lives. Well most of them were living peaceful lives. The ones who had died their hair orange and put them up in spikes were clearly Slayers and had declared their lives forfeit.

But! I could see proud smiths plying their trades. I could see brewer's gleefully advertising their newest brew. 

My fellow beardless brethren ran carefreely in their free time, they weren't working as apprentices.

It was a painful reminder of my lost family and clan. I exhaled softly before Ungrim spoke firmly. "Kharn, why don't you go with Thundrum to the rune smith quarters. He can show you around and you can eat well in peace while you relax for the rest of today. Tomorrow ye can head on back to your hold with a new host of my kin."

I nodded in agreement with Thundrum the old Runesmith giving a loud laugh as he said. "Come on lad. We old beards have much to talk with ye about your craft. Maybe we can learn somethin from someone with such fresh eyes haha."

And so I followed Thundrum and his small host of smith apprentices that were under him to the smithing halls.

Even if they didn't have my Tinker's Construct, Smelter's, and such. I couldn't help but be impressed as the steam machines put them at the first world level of mass production of basic necessities and allowed them to refine materials en masse.

"Pressurized steam at several thousand pounds of force is used here to cold forge simple iron into planks for mine reinforcement. That's pretty smart as wood no matter how well treated, will eventually rot as well." I nodded in agreement to Thundrum, who was explaining how to properly secure a large mining tunnel that could later be expanded.

"Aye, with the Thaggoraki and Greenskins, ye always gotta have your tunnels as secure as possible. So, putting bolts of metal into the walls and then sealing them over with lime and stone paste to hide the bolts is a good idea to keep cave-ins from happenin."

Stone paste in particular is the uniform name for the various forms of concrete used in proper dwarven building when we weren't just hewing stone into the shape we desired.

"Hmm, I should also make a cold forge press back home... Would make for alot easier blunt weapons for those Ogres as well." I mused.

Though Thundrum grunted before he said in warning. "Lad, ye ain't alone now anymore. Ye don't NEED to keep them dim and glutton's as ye guardians."

To which I smiled and said with a grin. "You are right, Thundrum. But you know what the best army to kill the un-ending Greenskin and Rat armies are?"

To which Thundrum snorted and said flatly. "If you say it's not an army of Runelords Imma cuff you in the ear boy."

I gave the stubborn ass of a dwarf who was too damned stubborn to get old and die like normal dwarves would a funny look. Before I said bluntly.

"The best army, is one which no dwarves die, obviously. Why do you think I am making an army of constructs to help in the front line fighting?"

Thundrum snorted. As much as he wanted to call my idea a sign of cowardice... He knew that our kin weren't like the greenskins and rats which had their numbers constantly growing outlandishly.

We then refocused as Thundrum brought me to his workshop and began introducing some of his runic projects. "And here is the Gyrocopter I am working in with some younger lads who like this kinda kerfangled technology. They want to enchant stronger bombs to be dropped onto large armies outside of the halls of Karak Kadrin." He explained.

I nodded in understanding as I got what he was meaning.

Making runic enchanted weapons was a labor of love... Not at all a process that could be mass-produced in the slightest.

So with a moment of thought, I had a realization, and I began explaining. "I got an idea. You take a pineapple design as you see? And you instead just forge new spikes for it while the pineapple itself will be enchanted to shoot the spikes out at high speed and power while being attached via a very thin chain to the gyrocopter in the air."

"Ahh, that could work lad. Though it would be a danger of the chain being an anchor if it were being dragged after exploding. But with a thin chain, the exploding core could be pulled back up, or the chain could be broken by the copilot haha!"

I nodded in agreement... Though I was looking at the clear minigun that was also attached to the gyrocopter that was meant to shoot down the wyvrens and drakes that would attack Karak Kadrin.

'Imagine slapping an infinity and other enchantments on a fucking minigun... I need to get more into the deeper technology of my people not just smashing people with hammers. As I remember, another Slayer lord who was focused on tech had a giant War Blimp that could kill armies.' I thought.

Just because this was 'Warhammer Fantasy', that didn't mean that somewhat advanced tech wasn't around. After all. The Empire literally had steam tanks and other goodies even if their emperor wanted to fly into battle on a giant griffen and use his divine hammer to split skulls.