The Orks stopped. Hasimut instinctively picked up his night-vision goggles and surveyed the battlefield.
What had happened?
Had they just been intimidated by their fanaticism?
For some reason, he found that unlikely.
Hasimut noticed the creatures ahead beginning to move, seeking cover behind the collapsed ruins. He immediately ordered the firing to resume, and the heavy machine guns roared again.
But the Beasts had already identified the firing positions. They returned fire, using grenades and machine guns to suppress the heavy machine-gun emplacement.
Smart Orks?
The thought was terrifying.
But something outside, perhaps a warboss or something similar, was probing their deployment.
That made Hasimut wonder whether their appearance had truly been a coincidence. At first, he had assumed they were merely Marauders wandering about...
Then an eerie chill ran down his spine.
From his observations, the leading Orks had already taken cover, and the battlefield seemed to be stirring once more.
Behind them, through the steadily rising smoke, he could make out several larger figures advancing. They carried crude yet elaborately decorated weapons, which continuously spat flashes of fire.
Bursts of gunfire followed, chipping away chunks of stone near the barricades and forcing the soldiers to duck.
Then some of them pulled out something.
"Get away from the windows! Take cover!"
Hasimut bellowed. The company near him had already begun moving, rather than waiting by the windows for the crafty Orks to raise their rocket launchers and fire skull-painted rockets straight into the school building.
Boom—!
Hasimut hit the ground, dragging Alexis down with him.
His ears filled with a piercing ring, and the entire world was consumed by fire.
Through the haze, he heard shrapnel whistling past. Blistering heat seared his eyebrows and shredded his greatcoat.
The Orks were clearly trying to use rockets to cover their assault