Joseph and the others waited for the day the Imperium launched its assault, waiting for the familiar sound of Imperium Basilisk artillery.
They gathered materials while they worked, sharpened their blades in the shadows, and accumulated fury beneath the Orks' whips.
They might not have firearms, but they possessed human ingenuity. Those from the depths of the hive cities and the engineering academies all had a knack for modification.
Under everyone's cover, they secretly manufactured a batch of rebar launchers. These spring-fired ranged weapons required terrifying strength to cock, but their power was equally satisfying. They could easily punch through iron plates, so blowing apart an Ork's head was hardly impossible.
Their preparations lasted a full two months. At last, they heard once more the familiar artillery fire that had haunted their dreams.
"Hey, listen to that." A soldier cocked his ear in complete concentration as faint booming came from afar.
"That's... that's a Basilisk barrage..." An older soldier offered his opinion. "I think it's time..."
The soldiers exchanged glances and stopped what they were doing, listening even more carefully to the artillery. They had to identify it properly. The Ork camp was always filled with all kinds of noise; if they got it wrong, they would only be leading themselves to their deaths.
The artillery grew closer, and their expressions shifted from confusion to delight. They could now completely confirm that it was Imperium artillery.
Those Orks, those Orks should have been shouting at them for slacking off, then randomly cracking someone's skull with a whip to add to tonight's meal.
But the Whip Boy did not move. He too wore a puzzled expression as he listened to the distant artillery.
The sounds of fighting became increasingly chaotic and deafening. The Orks' expressions grew more and more wrong, and