Ilychis was already on the brink of destruction. The city's surface had become a patchwork of burning ruins, boiling seas, and scorched wilderness—but even this was the result of the attackers holding back.
Had they wished it, the misfortunes suffered by certain other cities could just as easily have befallen Ilychis. Tons of shells and rockets, bombarding it day and night without pause, would have shattered the entire city and reforged it into a volcano of Lava.
Yet that had not happened. Ilychis had another purpose—
It would contribute to Court Guard commander Mangul's triumphant advance.
"Mm..."
The powerful Ork stood atop a ridge, looking down at the vast crater that had replaced the old pastures.
This enormous bowl of filthy glass and molten rubble was half-hidden beneath thick smoke, but the visible portions alone were enough for him to judge its immense scale. It was clearly the work of a gigantic bomb dropped from the air.
Farther away, transport vehicles were bringing local residents who had barely survived back here from every corner.
Suddenly, a massive helicopter with twin rotors dove toward the crater, opened the hatch in its belly, and tossed the civilians inside out like garbage, dumping them among the crowds that had already been driven there.
Countless people stood in lines that crisscrossed and doubled back. Armed White-Helm Guards, grim and vicious, stood at evenly spaced points along the crater's edge. Their mere presence was enough to intimidate the civilians and crush any thought of escape.
At first, there had been a few desperate fugitives. Their bodies, blasted into pieces by gunfire, now lay scattered beneath the crowd's feet.
Anyone who dared step a single pace beyond the lines drawn through the ash-covered ground met the same fate.
Those Shrimp—they did not even deserve to be