Unexpected Joy

Mars, once a silent red planet, had now become a formidable bastion of the Adeptus Mechanicus's iron will and boundless wisdom.

Towering metal spires rose like an iron forest over the Martian wasteland, each one embodying the Adeptus Mechanicus's unending pursuit of technology and perfection.

"Man, is this really the place of the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars?" Francis rubbed his chin, looking puzzled.

The others watched what was happening before them, equally uncertain. "Uh, well, this is definitely where our navigation brought us."

"So Mars has fallen?"

Francis stared strangely at the scene before him.

"Waaagh!"

The Ork warriors rode the "Battle Cry," a ship cobbled together from a wrecked vessel, roaring across the sky to deafening rock music, trailing sparks and laughter.

On one side, the Adeptus Mechanicus's Titans advanced with precise, measured steps, energy swords in hand; on the other, Ork warriors brandished all kinds of "home-made weapons."

"Waaagh!"

A squad of Orks tried to use their "super trampoline" (actually an accidentally activated antigravity device) to leap over the defensive line.

As a result, they not only lost control in midair, but accidentally activated the automated defense system atop the tower. Every Ork went flying.

Countless Servitors and skeleton warriors charged into the Ork horde, and the two sides fought like mad.

The sight of such a blood-pumping battle appeared before Francis, and his heart gave a sudden thump.

"What's going on? How did the Orks invade your territory?" Sarpedon contacted the Adeptus Mechanicus through an Astropath.

"What? Your experiments caused an Ork outbreak? In just a few days, a handful of them multiplied across half the planet?"

Sarpedon was dumbfounded when he heard that. So were the others.

What a load of rubbish!

The mighty headquarters of the Adeptus Mechanicus had been invaded by Orks?

What kind of absurd event was this? Even the Emperor wouldn't believe it!

"Hahaha! I get it now, I get it!" Francis laughed, covering his face.

"They must've seen me using Ork tech and figured they could do it too. Then it all went wrong."

Fabius Bile was even more shocked. "What? You've mastered Ork technology too?!"

"Primarch, what do we do? The Orks are about to attack!" Sarpedon glanced at the Orks below, who were making cannons out of junk, and grew anxious.

"What do we do? Simple. We chill."

"Send them a message. Tell them we're coming in."

"Know your enemy. Cheers!"

As he spoke, Francis pulled a container of Ork blood from a crate.

Gulp, gulp, gulp~

That familiar, sticky, foul taste left Francis wanting more!

"Woohoo! I'm freaking coming!"

Francis leaped straight off the battleship.

Fabius Bile's eyes bulged like bells, and he stammered, "P-Primarch... he... he turned into an Ork?!"

When he turned to look at the Soul Drinkers, he found them calmly steering the battleship away.

"Waaagh!" Francis roared happily.

Boom!

As the clouds of dust settled, Ork Francis made his limited-time return!

The Orks cobbling together a cannon stared at him blankly, their heads tilted.

"Bro, how can you fly?"

An Ork with a bandanna tied around his head looked at him. He was clearly the leader of the squad.

Francis said nothing. He just pointed his thumb at the other Ork, then turned it ninety degrees.

The Orks around them went wild with excitement.

The Orks spontaneously formed a circle around the two of them, shouting encouragement as a wave of "Waaagh!!"s rose and fell.

"Roar!! Waaagh!!"

The bandanna-wearing Ork's eyes reddened. He swung a nasty weapon cobbled together from scrap metal and smashed it toward Francis!

Clang! Francis caught the club one-handed, then slammed his other fist into his opponent's chest.

Thump! He punched a hole clean through it and roared excitedly, "Had enough yet?"

The bandanna-wearing Ork: "No!"

Francis snatched the club from him, grabbed him, and slammed him into the ground. Then he bit off the Ork's ear and roared, "There's a hole in your chest! How can you still say you've had enough?"

"I won't give in even if you kill me! What do you mean, there's a big hole in my chest?"

The bandanna-wearing Ork was about to fight back, but when he looked up and saw the hole in his chest, he collapsed and stopped moving.

Francis stood up, raised the weapon high, and let out a deafening "Waaagh!!"

The Orks around them watched, fired up, and joined in the cheering.

"Waaagh!"

"Waaagh!!"

As they cheered, countless Servitors—whose bodies had been largely replaced by mechanical parts—revealed arms modified into electric whips and cutting claws. "Urrrrgh..."

They charged mindlessly at the Orks, swinging their arms and tearing into those before Francis, even as the Orks tore into them.

More Orks took up their electric whips and cutting claws, then charged the enemy in a suicidal rush.

Time seemed to slow. Francis could see an Ork being torn apart, countless spores scattering from his body.

The instant the spores hit the ground, new younglings sprouted, along with Gretchin.

At the same time, more younglings grew into Ork Boyz and charged forward.

With a hum, Francis's mind seemed to connect with something!

Thud, thud, thud~

Every nearby Ork turned around and guarded Francis, their hearts pounding like war drums!

"Waaagh!!!"

"Everyone, fall back!"

Francis let out a world-shaking battle cry. In an instant, he leaped through the air and plunged into the Servitor army.

The Servitors' murmuring kept ringing in his ears. "Urrrrgh..."

"Kill!"

Francis had eyes only for battle. His arms carved arcs of death through the air, each blow accompanied by the screech of tearing metal as he cleaved Servitor after Servitor in two.

Wave after wave of Servitors fell to Francis, and he evolved frantically, growing larger and larger.

All the Orks who obeyed his orders kept pounding their weapons and shouting, "Waaaagh!!!"

The Soul Drinkers and the others, hiding in the distance, swallowed hard. "Can we even explain this? I told them the Primarch would help solve the problem, but why is he..."

Fabius Bile, who had been frantically injecting himself with sedatives, let out a breath. "I don't believe it either! This is just ridiculous!"

"Waaagh!!!"

Francis raised his arms and roared. Then he drove the Gargant straight toward a nearby Ork mob. All the Orks following him started building even more battle wagons.

He kept following the will in his heart, gathering a true Ork army. Before him, it would have been hard to imagine that so many Orks had no Ork Warboss to unite them.

It seemed they had been fighting since the moment they were born. Before they could unite, they had already started fighting the Adeptus Mechanicus.

"For the Omnissiah!!"

Suddenly—

The Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii roared in the distance. They wore armor that glinted with metallic luster and carried Phosphor Weapons, expertly crafted by the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The Ork forces surged toward them like a tide, roaring and brandishing crude but vicious weapons. But the moment the Phosphor Weapons touched Ork flesh—

Phosphor fire erupted on contact, turning the Orks into burning torches.

The flames spread quickly through the Orks, crackling and filling the air with the acrid smell of burning flesh. The burning Orks screamed in agony, their bodies writhing in the flames until they were reduced to ashes.

The Orks behind them began to lose their nerve. Just then, Francis stepped forward and roared, "Don't be afraid, everyone! Piss puts out fire! Waaagh!!!"

"I reckon the boss is right! Waaagh!!!"

The Orks who had been losing their nerve instantly grew bold again.

The cold-blooded Skitarii scoffed at them. But when they unleashed another blast of Phosphor flames, a bucket of cold water splashed over them.

The Phosphor flames went out!!

The Skitarii didn't hesitate either. They immediately drew their Taser weapons and unleashed terrifying plasma attacks, all the while continuing to shout, "For the Omnissiah!!"

The two forces crashed together like a crazed meat grinder!

Watching Francis slaughter his way through the ranks, even wielding psychic powers that could manipulate gravity and pierce armor—

The Orks' equipment was growing stronger in a way anyone could see!

They had gone from Ork turbo tractors to metal-skinned pickup trucks, then from metal-skinned pickups to Gargants. Ork Titans even began to appear!

The Soul Drinkers: "..."

"Wait, why aren't you saying anything? What do we do? Why does it look like the Primarch is helping the Orks conquer Mars?" Fabius Bile kept injecting himself. He felt like he was losing control of himself!

"He probably won't. Last time the Primarch seemed pretty normal, more or less..."

"There was a last time?!" Fabius Bile suddenly realized he couldn't just keep himself shut away in the lab. The Emperor's Children's technology was still far too conservative.