The Boss Is Born

A timid voice emerged from the suppressed, silenced ranks of the Orks. Though faint and lacking confidence, it was still clearly audible within the quiet duel ring.

The Orks turned toward the voice and naturally made way for its owner.

It was a skinny, malnourished Ork boy. Its skin was dry and shriveled, its body covered in stray hairs. The loose skin on its face sagged downward, its teeth were riddled with deep cracks, and its withered limbs looked like dry firewood. It held a crude wooden club in its hands.

Doom had observed the battlefield for a long time and spotted this oddity in the green ocean. Unlike the other Orks, it was not warlike. Its frail body was always retreating, searching for a way to survive.

A timid Ork boy stepping forward at a crucial moment to defeat a powerful enemy and become the hero who turned the tide—this was an unyielding "legend"!

That was the script Doom had written for it.

The skinny Ork looked utterly bewildered. It did not understand how its arm had risen. It had clearly not opened its mouth, yet its voice had appeared, declaring that it would challenge that human!

Its wrist felt as though it had been clamped in a pair of pincers, lifted by tremendous force. Before it could react, a kick struck its backside, and it staggered forward for several hurried steps.

"You chose not to run, but came toward me instead?"

The human spoke then. His voice still carried contempt, but there was also a hint of interest.

Harlan's face beneath his helmet looked terrible. The Champion Swordsman's undefeated honor was going to end here today, ruined at the hands of a malnourished Ork.

"Ork! What's your name?"

The Ork had no chance to shrink back. Once it had stepped out, there was no reason to retreat.

Like a director guiding a play, Harlan naturally asked for the protagonist's name, just like a villain waiting for the hero.

"Gu Ya! It's Gu Ya! That runt goblin! That coward who always retreats!"

An Ork recognized the skinny Ork boy. Its name was "Gu Ya," and its fellow Orks scornfully called it a "goblin runt" and a "coward."

In Ork society, goblins were at the very bottom. They were symbols of cowardice and timidity.

The Orks were a strange species. They were born from spores like mushrooms, and the first units to emerge were goblins.

Cowardice and timidity were written into goblins' DNA. They instinctively stayed away from other intelligent species, gathering supplies while avoiding detection.

Once Ork boys appeared, goblins attached themselves to them and lived at the bottom of Ork society.

And because of the Orks' warlike nature, the tireless goblins were despised by the other Orks.

There was no insult more contemptuous than "goblin runt." If there was one, it was "coward."

With both labels applied to the same Ork, one could imagine its position in Ork society.

"Boo!"

Hisses rang out without end. After learning about Gu Ya's situation, some Ork boys even covered their eyes, unwilling to let such filth sully their vision or watch it disgrace itself.

Terror filled Gu Ya's drooping, slanted eyes. It had no idea what was happening. Somehow, it had entered the duel ring.

In the invisible air behind it, Erica had activated her adaptive camouflage device to its maximum, carefully concealing herself as she pressed the precious conversion device on her belt.

A dimensional rift formed through the Nul Crystal, opening an independent space large enough for a person to enter. Though it could remain open for only a few seconds, that was enough for her to enter or leave the crowded Ork ranks.

"Come, Gu Ya! Fight me to the death!"

The impassioned challenge pulled Gu Ya out of its terror. It wanted to cry, to wail like a goblin, then crawl and roll its way out of there.

It was less than half the height of the human champion. How could the wooden club in its hands break through armor?

And there was that glowing weapon the tech boy had been unable to decipher or understand, the one that killed Orks without leaving a trace.

It was doomed! This time, there was nowhere to run!

With things having reached this point, under the eyes of the entire crowd, Gu Ya still hefted its wooden club and charged the human champion.

The Orks covering their faces were disdainful, but they still secretly peeked through their fingers, waiting to see the coward's blood splashed across the ground.

Gu Ya's death charge was clumsy and disordered. Its crude wooden club flailed about without any pattern as it charged forward with its eyes closed.

Harlan lowered his stance and carefully observed the path of every wild swing, calculating when to intercept it.

At last, when the perfect moment arrived, the Champion Swordsman let out a long sigh and swung the lightsword in his hand.

The sword moved incredibly fast—so fast that the Greenskins could not see it clearly.

At the instant the wooden club and sword were about to meet, something happened that left the Greenskins incredulous, their eyes wide as saucers.

The wooden club swung forward, and the moment it touched the lightsword, the human's unstoppable sword, capable of cutting through iron, was knocked away!

Basic Swordsmanship!

At the instant the two weapons touched, Harlan halted the blade perfectly, then abruptly tensed his muscles and acted as though he had been knocked back.

"This must be the might of Gork and Mork!"

A well-timed roar rang out again, instantly attributing that unbelievable moment to the divine power of Gork and Mork!

"Waaaaaagh!!!!!!!!!!!"

The Orks on the field instantly boiled over, releasing roars of utmost excitement!

Such a miracle! It could only be a blessing from Gork and Mork!

"Gork and Mork above, let a skinny boy use a wooden club to knock away the sword of a human big'un!"

"Gu Ya! Gu Ya!"

The roars of tens of thousands of Orks cried out the same name, while Gu Ya stood in the duel ring with a blank look on its face.

It did not understand why the big'un's sword was so weak and flimsy. It also wondered whether it possessed some unknown talent.

Under the eyes of the entire crowd, it foolishly scratched its head and smiled.

Doom, more than ten kilometers away, smiled as well. He sensed that energy unifying amid the Orks' cheers.

Gu Ya felt a force that gradually made it stronger.

It cautiously stepped forward and swung its wooden club at the human big'un just as it had before.

The corner of Harlan's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly beneath his helmet. He performed the sword technique again, precisely catching the wooden club with his blade before letting himself be knocked back once more.

The miracle happened again!

The Orks went hysterical! Their bizarre faces twisted together, and in their excitement, all they could do was clutch their heads and scream madly.

Again and again, the weapons of the two mismatched combatants clashed, and the undersized Greenskin repeatedly knocked back the human big'un.

Harlan was panting. Repeatedly using Basic Swordsmanship had left his muscles sore and drained his stamina.

In the Orks' eyes, however, the big'un was running out of strength and would soon be defeated.

"Gu Ya! Gu Ya! Boss! Boss!"

The Orks stood shoulder to shoulder, their cries surging wave after wave. Their short, thick legs pounded the ground as they looked forward to Gu Ya defeating the human and becoming the boss!

Gu Ya remained confused. Amid the crowd's expectations, it accelerated into a short run, leaped high, and swung its club down at the big'un's head.

A look of relief appeared in Harlan's eyes beneath his helmet. This performance had humiliated him to the extreme. Playing house with a Greenskin was simply too depressing.

The lightsword guarded his head. Under his exquisite control, it appeared to be suppressed by the wooden club. At extremely close range, his body exploded with power, and he rammed his head into the club, producing a violent collision.

Then he abruptly drove off with both legs, creating the illusion that he had been sent flying.

In the Orks' eyes, Gu Ya had leaped high and struck down with its club. The big'un's sword could not withstand its strength, and after being hit in the head, the big'un was sent flying viciously.

"The Champion Swordsman has been defeated!"

This time, it was the humans who shouted. Urgent screams filled with terror rang out as the humans launched a despicable attack!

Inside the duel ring, Erica's "Wraiths"—the infiltrators under her command—suddenly appeared. They threw smoke bombs to create chaos and cover Harlan's rapid retreat.

The Night Watchers withdrew swiftly, leaving the duel ring to the Orks. They still had other matters to handle.

"Gu Ya! Gu Ya! Boss! Boss!"

The humans retreated without a trace, and the Orks did not pursue them. They tossed Gu Ya high into the air, calling its name and proclaiming it their "boss."

With the frailest body, it had defeated a powerful enemy whom even the strongest Ork boys could not overcome. With Gork and Mork's attention upon it, it was destined to become the Orks' boss!

With every rise and fall, Gu Ya's emaciated body visibly swelled, until it ultimately grew far beyond an ordinary Ork boy.

The concept of "boss" had already taken root. Its body would continue to swell.

"Respected Warlord, just as you predicted, the Orks spread across the southern hemisphere seem to have received some kind of guidance. They have changed their original routes and begun slowly advancing toward your position."

Scouting Rangers from multiple directions sent back their reports, which ultimately converged in the command room.

Doom nodded in satisfaction. His conjecture had been confirmed.

The birth of an Ork boss had produced a reaction that spread through the psychic field. The Orks could sense it and would gather around the boss.

This was precisely what Doom had been waiting for.