The Orks' Reaction

A day later, Ork hive city.

Inside the Governor's Palace at the top of the spire.

This place had long since been completely transformed into a command center that, even by Astra Militarum standards, looked quite respectable.

"What's going on? None of the Kommandos I sent out came back. Looks like yer invention ain't worth much!"

Under the bright lights, an Ork Warboss clad in a military uniform stood before the enormous glass window. He turned around and spoke to another greenskin behind him, one dressed like a mechanic.

Several months had passed since this band of greenskins occupied the hive city.

Over those months, the Ork Warboss, Hakk'ar Bloodaxe, had used every method at his disposal. With outstanding planning and management, he had pushed the Industrial Hive's production capacity to explosive heights, arming his Ork Boyz to the teeth.

Even so, what irritated and excited him in equal measure was that the Shrimp army roaming outside was both cunning and capable. Time and again, they had repelled his attacks with fewer troops.

Thus, Hakk'ar had adopted the suggestion of his chief Mekboy and sent a team of Kommandos carrying the so-called latest invention, the Sneaky Blue Cloth, to infiltrate the Shrimp forces and directly behead that cunning and formidable Shrimp leader.

But a day had already passed, and not a single Kommando had returned to the hive city. The outcome spoke for itself: the mission had failed.

"Boss, that was bound to happen."

The Mekboy clearly did not consider it his fault and immediately said, "I Think that Shrimp leader must be real cunning. He definitely saw through our plan and prepared for it long ago. The Kommandos ain't as cunning as them, so they must've been taken out."

"But don't worry, Boss. After fighting the Shrimp in so many battles, I've got new brilliant ideas now. I'll soon work out some good stuff, and when I do, it'll definitely get great results and start an even greater Waaagh!"

"Fine. I'll reluctantly accept that reason."

As he spoke, Hakk'ar began considering whether he had overlooked anything. "Right, ya saw the reports from the Boyz Galia took out to fight, didn't ya?"

"Ah, Boss, ya know what those Boyz are like. The Shrimp's strength was definitely exaggerated!"

The Mekboy scratched his head hard with the wrench in his hand. A cunning yet assured gleam flashed through his eyes as he said with absolute certainty, "Shrimp that burst into flames and grow wings, Shrimp cans bigger and tougher than the Boss, psychic Shrimp that can throw tanks into the sky, and even one that looked like an ordinary Shrimp but was so strong that Galia couldn't resist at all before getting roasted alive... ya think that's believable? Just listen to it and forget it."

"If ya ask me, those Boyz failed to hold the line and gave that cunning Shrimp commander an opening, then got crushed all at once. In their panic, they made up all kinds of nonsense to exaggerate what happened."

"True. That's very possible."

The Ork Warboss ground his sharp, thick teeth together. "But we still gotta be on guard. Otherwise, when we die and go see Galia beside Gork and Mork, we won't be able to laugh at him properly."

"It's fine, it's fine, Boss. With yer brilliance, there's no way those Shrimp can break through our defenses!"

The moment the topic came up, the Mekboy became energized.

He thumped his chest and declared, "With the Shrimp's armored forces, they can only bully Boyz who've lost their protection out there. If they wanna attack the city, that's absolutely impossible! Boss, ya can rest easy on that."

After hearing the Mekboy's analysis, Hakk'ar could not help but nod, finally putting his mind at ease.

Of course, those greenskins never could have imagined that, just as they were estimating the so-called Shrimp, the situation might already have undergone a slight change.

Outside the hive city.

Outside the Armageddon Steel Legion's logistics base.

"By the Emperor..."

Yarrick murmured, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Even someone as resolute as him could not help reaching down to pinch his own thigh.

The pain was crystal clear, proving that he had not fallen into an illusion. But if this was not an illusion, then the sight before him was truly bizarre.

Spread out before Yarrick was a wall of steel formed by tank after tank of every imaginable type, seeming to stretch on without end.

There were roughly one hundred and thirty in total. Numerous rare tank variants that were almost never seen even in Astra Militarum armored regiments had been casually placed before him like wares laid out on street stalls.

Light from the system's sun passed gently through the sky, falling upon the brutal angles of these steel creations.

The muzzles of their guns and cannons resembled the teeth of monstrous beasts, radiating the aura of war and an overwhelming sense of oppression.

For a moment, as a devout believer in the Emperor, Yarrick suddenly understood, in a certain sense, the mindset of the Omnissiah's followers.

Anyone who saw this scene and possessed even the slightest sense of aesthetics would naturally believe that there had to be an Omnissiah capable of ruling over all these machines, and that the steel armor before them was the perfect embodiment of His glory.

"Please."

Rowan was not surprised by Yarrick's loss of composure. He merely made a casual gesture.

Only then did the latter barely recover and walk forward.

"Five Venomblades, five Hellhammers, five Storm Lords, five Storm Swords, five Baneswords, along with large numbers of Hellhounds, Rogue Trader tanks, Leman Russ Executioners, Hydras..."

The more Yarrick inspected, the more alarmed he became.

All kinds of Super-heavy Tank variants that were ordinarily difficult to find were everywhere here.

As an Imperium Commissar, he did not dare contemplate where all these things had come from, or whether a Strike Cruiser could truly hold so much equipment.

[Thinking Breeds Heresy]

After silently offering a quick prayer, Yarrick barely managed to suppress the distracting thoughts in his heart.

"What do you think? Can your armored regiment handle so many heavy vehicles?"

Seeing that the other man had recovered, Rowan spoke up to ask.

"Of course. Every soldier in the Steel Legion underwent incomparably rigorous training. We were one of the finest armored regiments in the Astra Militarum."

The Commissar answered at once.

"Very good."

Rowan nodded in satisfaction, then led the still-bewildered Yarrick toward another open area.

What was it this time?

As he walked, Yarrick could not help wondering.

But after everything he had seen before, he felt that nothing could possibly shock him anymore.

As it turned out, he had thought too soon.

"What is this?"

A minute later, Yarrick spoke blankly.

"You've never seen them? Ignatus-pattern Power Armor reserved for Inquisitors, along with master-crafted Bolters made to match. The quantity is somewhat limited—only around a thousand sets."

Rowan introduced them considerately. "You can give them to your guard, or use them to organize an assault force."

"Still, there are only a thousand sets. That isn't enough to equip every Astra Militarum soldier in your regiment, so I prepared some other good things as well."

As he spoke, Lucia dragged over a massive crate with her bare hands. Yarrick could see that it was packed full of golden aquila-shaped badges.

"This crate is filled entirely with Rose Rosaries. There are more than ten thousand of them—I didn't count them exactly. Take them and distribute them to your soldiers."