Recaps

After conquering cities across the Underhive and gaining more than thirty million people, Art Student halted the campaign so his forces could manage their new territory and address shortages. The chapter leaves Art Student weighing Gray’s request to place the Defense Force under Space Marine command, a change Anrida opposed.

• Art Student’s forces captured many Underhive cities, killed more than a hundred thousand enemies without casualties, and expanded their population to over thirty million.
• Anrida reported that the Defense Force lacked enough personnel to garrison the captured cities, so Art Student ordered the campaign paused while the forces consolidated their gains.
• Anglie reported food and water shortages, and Art Student ordered Gaia to increase food starch and drinking water production.
• Hogood apologized for the inexperience of the civil administration, and Art Student praised his staff for keeping order among tens of millions of people.
• Mendeleev reported no problems for the navy, while Gray asked to place the Defense Force under Space Marine command; Anrida feared the proposal would diminish his force’s status.

Art Student decided that the Defense Force would assist the Space Marines in battle without becoming their auxiliary legion. Meanwhile, Crooked Mouth led an Ork attack on the Teda Galaxy, and the fleet destroyed its space dock.

• Gray described how the Space Marines had struggled to eliminate the massive Genestealer force, and Art Student reviewed the battle footage.
• Art Student ordered the Defense Force to support the Space Marines in battles while allowing it to refuse demands that violated its operational principles.
• Gray and Anrida accepted the arrangement, and the administrators saluted Art Student despite his protest that he was not a god.
• Crooked Mouth chose to attack the Teda Hive Worlds instead of pursuing the fleeing Rogue Trader's ship, and his Ork fleet opened fire on the space dock.
• Gaia alerted Art Student that the Teda Galaxy was under attack, and a projection showed the Ork fleet blasting the space dock into debris.

Greenskin Orks invaded Teda World after destroying its space dock, and Art Student decided to use the invasion for a field exercise while evacuating Underhive civilians. The governor learned that both Hive World One and Hive World Two were under attack and that the planetary defense forces had been notified.

• Greenskin warships crashed onto the planets, and Orks and their war machines poured out to attack the hive cities.
• Art Student rejected evacuating Teda World and ordered civilians moved to his base while his soldiers prepared to fight the Orks.
• The governor panicked at the invasion and shot a staff member who reported the destruction of the space dock.
• An official told the governor that Greenskin Orks were attacking Hive World One and Hive World Two, and said he had notified Marshal Liek.

Teda II’s governor and Marshal Liek prepared the hive city’s defences as an Ork horde advanced, with Imperial reinforcements still half a Terra month away. The Orks reached the southern defensive line, and the battle began with both sides exchanging fire.

• The governor learned that Ork warships had sealed the planet and ordered Marshal Liek to defend the hive city while astropaths sought Imperial aid.
• Marshal Liek’s forces built two defensive lines south of the hive city and rallied the soldiers to protect their families until reinforcements arrived.
• An intelligence officer told Marshal Liek that the Orks were ten minutes away, and Marshal Liek ordered his officers to shoot anyone who retreated.
• As the Ork horde approached, a frontline veteran ordered the Planetary Defence Force to open fire, killing many Orks.
• The Orks charged through the barrage without fear and returned fire on the human defensive line.

Human artillery and soldiers fought to stop the Greenskin Orks, but the Orks broke through the front-line trenches and overwhelmed the defenders. Marshal Liek watched the failing battle and questioned the intelligence he had received as the first line struggled to hold.

• Human artillery bombarded the advancing Orks, but its ammunition ran out as the Orks closed on the trenches.
• A shell struck a human position, killing the company commander and hundreds of soldiers, while a Greenskin Ork charged into the trench and slaughtered defenders.
• The company commander led his guards against the Ork, but the Ork shattered his bones and killed him before leading his boys back into the fight.
• Greenskin Orks poured through the breached lines and overwhelmed the human defenders in brutal trench combat.
• Marshal Liek watched the front-line footage, condemned the inaccurate intelligence, and was asked by his intelligence officer what to do as the first line faltered.

Marshal Liek ordered the artillery to bombard the frontline positions to slow the Orks, sacrificing his own soldiers and shattering the line. As routed troops fled toward the second line, its company commander ordered them fired upon while the Orks charged after them.

• Marshal Liek rejected the intelligence officer's objections and ordered the artillery to bombard the frontline positions.
• The artillery regiment commander enforced the order, and the guns killed both hive world soldiers and Orks in the frontline positions.
• Terrified soldiers fled the bombardment and the Orks, while commissar soldiers shot deserters but were overwhelmed.
• A company commander in the second line ordered his men to fire on the fleeing soldiers as the Orks pursued them.
• Boss Iron Hand led the Ork boys in a charge toward the second line.

Ork infighting delayed some of Crooked Mouth’s war machines, while the rest reached the human defenses on Teda Hive World and shattered the second position. As the human line collapsed, a regiment commander and a handful of resolute soldiers charged the Orks and were swallowed by the horde.

• A Gretchin piloting a Killa Kan insulted an Ork, killed him, and provoked a massive brawl among the Orks.
• Human soldiers at the second defensive position ran low on ammunition as they faced an enormous Ork assault.
• Ten massive Ork war machines arrived and bombarded the human defenses, killing soldiers and demolishing their positions.
• Many human soldiers fled toward the hive city as their morale collapsed, despite officers and veterans urging them to stand and fight.
• A noble-born regiment commander led the remaining resolute soldiers in a charge for Teda Hive World, and the Ork horde quickly swallowed them.

Marshal Liek’s command collapsed as the Orks advanced, and he and his intelligence officer died by suicide. In the Lower Hive, gang members resisted the Orks until an Ork boss agreed to send Hoppers into the fight.

• Marshal Liek ordered the surviving officers to keep fighting, then killed himself over the losses and the blame he expected to face.
• The intelligence officer found Marshal Liek dead and shot himself as well.
• The retreating human soldiers fled into the Lower Hive, where gangs fought the Orks to defend their territories and livelihoods.
• An Ork boss led repeated attacks on a gang-held street, but the gang’s heavy weapons repelled them.
• A Gretchin suggested sending Hoppers into battle, and the Ork boss approved the plan.

Clever Git sent Gretchin and bomb-carrying Hoppers into the attack on the gang-held street, then led a sneak assault on the gang’s rooftop gun position. After the Gretchin turned the Logging Gun against its former crew, the Greenskins broke into the street and began massacring the defenders.

• Clever Git ordered the Gretchin to prepare the Hoppers with bombs for the attack.
• The Orks advanced on the gang-held street alongside the Gretchin and Hoppers, and the Hoppers blew up a machine-gun emplacement.
• A gang member shot a Hopper with the Logging Gun, causing its bomb to explode among the Orks.
• Clever Git led Gretchin around the main battlefield to ambush the gang members on the rooftop, killing the sentries and the Logging Gun operator.
• Clever Git ordered the Gretchin to turn the Logging Gun on the gang, giving the Orks a chance to charge into the street and slaughter the defenders.

Art Student reviewed the Planetary Defence Force’s failed defense against the Orks, confirmed the base’s evacuation and fortifications were ready, and handed battle command to Gray, Mendeleev, and Anrida. At the defensive line, Anrida assigned the companies to their positions and ordered the tanks held back as artillery support.

• Art Student asked Anrida about the evacuation, Hogood about accommodations and withdrawal plans, and Anglie about the base’s defenses; each reported preparations were on track.
• Art Student left the battle to Gray, Mendeleev, and Anrida, while privately blaming Tzeentch for the Ork invasion.
• Tzeentch sensed that someone was blaming him and suspected the hidden interworld smuggler, whom he could not locate.
• Gray, Mendeleev, and Anrida agreed that the Space Marines would handle Ork bosses and naval personnel would support the Defence Force under Anrida’s command.
• Anrida assigned the first nine companies to the central, left, and right fronts, kept the last three in reserve, and ordered the tanks held back for artillery support.

Anrida, Gray, and Mendeleev oversaw the Defense Force’s preparations while waiting for the Greenskin Orks to approach. When Gray proposed luring the Orks toward the base to draw in more of their forces, Anrida was left to decide whether to approve the plan.

• Anrida assigned the Space Marines to handle dangerous Greenskin Orks and told Mendeleev’s naval personnel to rest until needed.
• Defense Force soldiers installed weapons, checked their trenches, and tried to calm their nerves by trusting the Lord of the Stars and their training.
• Captain Milos reported that about a hundred thousand Greenskin Orks had entered the Underhive and were more than three hundred kilometers away.
• Three Terra hours later, Milos reported Greenskin Orks fifty-three kilometers away in Totka City, but they were heading toward Azit City rather than the base.
• Mendeleev proposed luring the Orks to the base, and Gray supported the idea before asking Anrida, who commanded the battle, what he thought.

Gray sent Tina and her four Space Marines to lure an Ork force from Totka City toward the base without killing its boss. After drawing the Orks into pursuit, Tina’s squad continued provoking them as one Space Marine attacked from behind.

• Gray ordered Tina to lead her combat squad to Totka City and draw the Orks toward the base, sparing their boss.
• Tina and four Space Marines rode their Anti-Gravity Speeder Bikes to Totka City, where a small Ork force was searching for humans to fight.
• The Space Marines ambushed the Orks with gunfire and attacks, prompting the Ork boss to charge after them.
• Tina told her squad to keep the Orks pursuing them and not kill the boss, then led them toward the base.
• When the Orks began to slow down, one Space Marine circled behind them and charged into their ranks with his glowing Power Sword, cutting down several Orks.

Tina and the Space Marines lured a pursuing Ork horde to the base, where First Company opened fire and joined the battle. Tina killed the Ork Boss, breaking the Orks’ morale and sending some fleeing.

• A Space Marine cut through the pursuing Orks on his hover bike, then the Ork Boss sent Boyz to summon reinforcements and ordered the rest to keep chasing.
• The Space Marines repeatedly attacked the Orks to keep them pursuing, and Tina alerted Captain Gray that they were nearing the base.
• Captain Gray’s First Company opened fire from the trenches as the Orks reached the base’s defenses, beginning a fierce battle.
• Tina shot the Ork Boss in the head, and some Orks lost their nerve and fled.

After Tina killed an Ork boss, the Orks broke into chaos, and the Defense Force held its fire while they fought among themselves. Meanwhile, Iron Hand brought Iron Bull news of a large group of Human Tin Cans, and Iron Bull gathered his Boyz for battle.

• Tina's long-range kill of an Ork boss sent the Orks into disarray, with some fleeing and others fighting to claim leadership.
• Anrida ordered the First Company commander to cease fire and let the Orks fight among themselves while they waited for the main Ork force.
• A dozen Ork Boyz told Iron Hand that they had encountered Human Tin Cans riding motorcycles and had been attacked.
• Iron Hand brought the Boyz to Iron Bull, who confirmed their report and called his Orks to gather for battle.

Iron Bull led a growing Greenskin force toward the Underhive as Anrida prepared the Defense Force to meet the approaching horde. The battle began with a massive artillery barrage, and both sides opened fire as the Greenskins charged.

• Iron Bull gathered Greenskins and marched toward the Underhive, gaining leaderless followers along the way.
• A newly victorious Greenskin boss led more than ten thousand Orks in a charge, but the Defense Force's First Company wiped them out.
• Milos reported that a massive Greenskin force was approaching, and Anrida ordered the companies, artillery, and tanks to prepare for battle.
• The Defense Force's tanks and heavy howitzers fired on the horde, killing and disabling vast numbers of Greenskins before they reached the base.
• Iron Bull roared to rally his Greenskins, who charged and fired back as the Defense Force returned fire from its positions.

Greenskin forces relentlessly attacked the Defense Force’s fortified position, but machine-gun fire destroyed their explosive Squig Hoppers before they could reach it. With the Killa Kans still trapped at the rear of the horde, Iron Bull sent Iron Hand and the other bosses into the fight, leaving Iron Hand leading another charge toward the human lines.

• The Defense Force’s artillery and gunfire cut down charging Greenskin Boyz as their numbers continued to fill the battlefield.
• Gretchin sent explosive Squig Hoppers toward the human position, but machine gunners shot them down and their bombs killed Greenskins nearby.
• Iron Hand asked Iron Bull to let him attack, and Iron Bull asked whether the Killa Kans had arrived.
• A Gretchin told Iron Bull that the Killa Kans were stuck at the rear because the faster Boyz had pushed past them.
• Iron Bull ordered Iron Hand and the other bosses to lead their Boyz into battle, and Iron Hand charged while firing his Boltgun behind his shield.

The Orks’ charge faltered when anti-aircraft fire killed Iron Hand and the other leading bosses, throwing the packed Greenskins into chaos and exposing them to artillery. Iron Bull ordered a retreat and planned to regroup before attacking the Defense Force again.

• Iron Hand led his Ork Boys toward the human trenches while dodging rifle fire and using a shield to withstand the barrage.
• The tank unit commander ordered an Apocalypse Tank’s anti-aircraft gun to target the advancing Ork bosses, and the gun destroyed Iron Hand and killed the other leading bosses.
• The Ork Boys lost morale and collided as some tried to flee while others kept charging, and the artillery company commander ordered howitzer fire onto the disorganized mass.
• Blood Axe offered to lead another charge, but Iron Bull ordered him to withdraw and regroup.
• Blood Axe relayed Iron Bull’s retreat order, and Iron Bull turned away from the Defense Force’s position.

After the Defense Force repelled Iron Bull's Greenskin assault with no deaths, Iron Bull returned to Totka City and began gathering more bosses, weapons, and materials for the next attack. He left his forces preparing for a larger battle against the humies.

• Anrida ordered the frontline troops and reserves to rotate after the Greenskins retreated, and medics reported no deaths and only a few hundred wounded.
• Iron Bull led his Greenskin boys back to Totka City and decided his Killa Kans and Dirty Tanks were insufficient to break the Defense Force's lines.
• Iron Bull ordered Blood Axe to summon more Greenskin bosses and their boys to join the war.
• Iron Bull threatened the Mekboys with exclusion from the next battle unless they made more weapons, prompting them to gather materials with their Gretchin helpers.
• Iron Bull told several Greenskin bosses to gather materials and assist the Mekboys, but one boss objected to serving as a Mekboy's underling.

Iron Bull organized the Greenskins for another attack by sending one boss to collect materials and Quiet to scout the human defenses. After the battle, Anrida and his officers reviewed the fighting and discussed ways to counter the Greenskins, leaving the Defense Force preparing to improve its tactics and firepower.

• Iron Bull scolded a Greenskin boss and ordered him to collect materials for weapons and equipment.
• Iron Bull sent Quiet and his boys to scout the human positions and find weaknesses in their defenses.
• Anrida summoned his officers after the Defense Force completed its rotation and asked what they had learned from the battle.
• A company commander proposed using artillery to kill Greenskin bosses, and another warned that the Defense Force needed spotters to identify them.
• The officers discussed deploying anti-aircraft guns with infantry, while Anrida questioned why the company tanks were not supporting the front line.

As the Greenskins crowded into Totka City, Iron Bull gathered more than thirty million Orks and prepared to attack the humie base. The chapter ended with Ork bosses cheering as the coming assault was announced.

• Orks in Totka City watched a Hopper and a Gretchin fight to the death, then brawled over their wagers.
• Iron Bull kept arriving Ork bosses from attacking the humie base while he waited for more Orks and weapons to gather.
• After five more days, Iron Bull commanded over thirty million Ork boys and had Killa Kans, Dirty Tanks, and other heavy weapons ready.
• Iron Bull summoned the qualified Ork bosses and announced that they were ready to attack the humies.
• The Ork bosses and nearby Greenskins roared their approval, and their cheers reached the Art Student's base.

Iron Bull organized the Orks into a force led by Killa Kans and Dirty Tanks and marched on Art Student's base. The base's defenders prepared for the assault as artillery exchanges began.

• Iron Bull won the Greenskin bosses' obedience and ordered Killa Kans and Dirty Tanks to lead the attack on the human defenses.
• Iron Bull's Ork horde set out for Art Student's base, and Anrida warned the defenders that the army was approaching.
• Defense Force soldiers prepared in the trenches and discussed their hopes of becoming Space Marines.
• Human artillery opened fire on the advancing Orks, while the company commander warned soldiers to take cover from incoming shells.
• Ork war machines and artillery attacked the human positions, and the Apocalypse Tanks' anti-aircraft guns intercepted shells in midair.

Ork forces launched a major assault on the human defenses, prompting Anrida to send the tank brigade into battle and Gray to lead the Space Marines out of the command room. The Apocalypse Tanks devastated the Ork armor, but a Killa Kan destroyed one tank before its crew escaped and detonated it, and Gray led his Space Marines away from the tank column.

• Human and Ork artillery exchanged fire as Ork Dirty Tanks, Killa Kans, and infantry advanced on the human positions.
• Anrida ordered the tank brigade to attack the Ork armor, and more than a thousand Apocalypse Tanks rolled out to meet it.
• Gray told Anrida and Mendeleev that the Space Marines would join the fight, then led his men after the tanks.
• The Apocalypse Tanks fired on the Ork vehicles, while their shields redirected incoming Ork shells into the Warp.
• A Killa Kan closed on an Apocalypse Tank and tore into its armor, so its commander ordered the crew to evacuate and detonate the tank.
• The crew teleported to safety, and the exploding Apocalypse Tank destroyed the attacking Killa Kan as Gray led his Space Marines away from the tanks.

Gray led the Space Marines through the Ork lines toward their tanks and Killa Kans while Iron Bull directed the Ork counterattack. As the armored forces exchanged fire, Ork boss Quiet decided to ambush the fanciest-looking Space Marine leader.

• An Ork boss and other Ork bosses charged Gray's Space Marines, and Gray killed the first boss with his Plasma Pistol before cutting through the Ork horde with his Power Sword.
• Gray ordered Space Marines who had become absorbed in melee to keep advancing toward the Ork tanks and Killa Kans, and they broke through the Orks' defensive line in under a minute.
• Iron Bull ordered the Killa Kans and Dirty Tanks to fire on the Space Marines, while Assault Terminator officers used their Void Shields and Apocalypse Tanks returned fire, destroying many Ork vehicles.
• Hidden near the Defense Force position, Quiet and his dozen Orks discussed how to help as the Ork armor came under heavy fire.
• An Ork boy suggested ambushing the Space Marines' leader, and Quiet agreed to target the fanciest-looking beakie.

Anrida ordered the detected Ork squad eliminated while Gray’s Space Marines destroyed the Orks’ tanks and attacked their Killa Kans. Iron Bull led the Ork bosses into battle, and the Space Marines left him for Gray to face.

• Anrida ordered the observers to wipe out the Ork squad after Gaia’s data showed it had no further use.
• Gray ordered the Space Marines to split up, destroy the Ork armored units, and withdraw without getting drawn into a prolonged fight.
• The Space Marines destroyed the Ork tanks with melta grenades, leaving the Killa Kans exposed to the Apocalypse Tanks’ fire.
• Iron Bull charged with his boss guards after watching his Dirty Tanks and Killa Kans fall, and the other Ork bosses joined him.
• Gray warned the Space Marines to face the Ork bosses before finishing the Killa Kans, and they left Iron Bull for Gray to fight.

Gray defeated Iron Bull and displayed the Ork boss's severed head, causing the Ork army to flee. He then led the Space Marines and Apocalypse Tanks in pursuit of the fleeing Orks.

• Gray fought Iron Bull, dodged the Ork boss's attacks, and severed one of his feet with his Power Sword.
• Gray shot Iron Bull in the head with his Plasma Pistol, killed him, and raised his severed head over the battlefield.
• Gray's soldiers and the Defense Force celebrated Iron Bull's death, while Anrida ordered the tank battalion to attack if the Orks retreated.
• The Orks saw Iron Bull's head, lost their will to fight, and scattered in retreat.
• Gray ordered the Space Marines and tank forces to pursue, leading them as they attacked the fleeing Orks.