Sudden Development

"Diego, do you really understand what you're doing?"

Yusuf rarely addressed the mysterious man like that, but today he could no longer hide the unease and doubt in his heart. Behind him, stacks of steel blocks were being unloaded from the train, then neatly packed into four-wheeled carts.

"I do. My mind has never been clearer."

White steam swirled between them. Diego's expression was grim, his voice utterly resolute.

"Or put another way, do we have any other choice?"

Yusuf sighed and said nothing more. He turned and walked toward the station exit, his face still haggard and worried, his steps heavy.

"I just received word. Lawrence suffered a setback in Shahomanda—not a major one, but not a minor one either. It seems someone is secretly aiding the Taihenu people. That war probably won't end anytime soon..."

The terrible news from behind him made Yusuf stumble, and he nearly fell. Fortunately, Diego had already rushed over and caught him.

"My Lord Kaimon, why must You scourge us so..."

The elderly man covered his face with both hands and let out a pained cry. Diego had hesitated over whether to tell him this bad news. After all, Lawrence's legion had been his only hope. But in the end, he had made the cruel choice. False hope could sometimes breed unrealistic fantasies. They had to face reality now, even if it was a bloody one...

"I've already contacted the Three Witches Society. They're also paying close attention to the situation here. A volunteer group of more than a hundred Wizards will arrive at the fortress soon."

It was only a trifling comfort, but it was good news nonetheless. Yusuf finally calmed down.

"I'm sorry. As a commander, I can't show cowardice in front of others."

"No. Everyone's courage has limits, especially when facing those hateful monsters."

After vigorously rubbing his face to make himself look less dejected, Yusuf slipped back into the role of commander. The two of them crossed the station and arrived at another hidden exit of the fortress. A group of soldiers stood there, fully equipped and ready to depart. They were all members of Yusuf's personal guard.

"Ten days ago, old Connor died."

"Was he... that Ranger?"

Diego searched his memories, and at last, his recollection settled on a waterskin tucked at someone's waist.

"Yes."

Yusuf took an old star-shaped badge from his coat pocket. Engraved upon it was a fine horse galloping upon the wind, the common emblem of the Imperial Rangers.

"He was the oldest and finest Ranger in the fortress. His boys called him 'Old Man.' Ten days ago, they were tracking a group of Orks when they were ambushed. Those Beasts had hidden beneath the dunes and used something to mask their scent. Old Connor lured away the Ork cavalry and the monsters by himself. When the boys found him again, his sword was stuck in an Ork's head. All that remained of him were scraps... and this."

Catching the badge Yusuf handed him, Diego could clearly smell it—the scent of blood.

"Remember, Diego. We have never feared sacrifice. That is precisely where our value lies."

"I will."

Tucking the badge into his pocket, Diego turned toward the direction he had come from. Wagon after wagon, loaded with supplies, was approaching. Together with these soldiers, he would transport the materials across the edge of the Sinister Wasteland.

The fortress's secret gate opened silently, and the soldiers escorted the wagons out in orderly ranks. For many of them, this was the first time they had come so close to that legendary land of nightmares, a place they had only heard Rangers brag about in taverns. Now they had to set foot there themselves. Many soldiers looked tense and uneasy.

"Remember to arrange accommodations for the Three Witches Society. Contact me as soon as there's any news."

Diego swung onto a warhorse and was about to set off after giving his instructions, but Yusuf suddenly grabbed his reins.

"Diego, I have to ask you again. Are you really going to do this? Arm an Ork? If that fellow called Guk is truly as cunning and powerful as you say, might he one day become an even more terrifying threat?"

"Look around, Yusuf."

Diego shook his head helplessly and raised a hand to point at the entire fortress.

"What do you have now? A fence piled together from stones? A handful of soldiers still carrying old-fashioned rifles? Or your Big Gun? Before more than a million Orks, it's all nothing! Do you think a million Orks are the same as a million rioting civilians? Remember, they're monsters. Our bullets can only punch harmless little holes in them, nothing more... Are you counting on those militiamen? I don't mean to look down on anyone, but the moment they see those monsters, I don't think they'll ever have the courage to return to the battlefield."

Yusuf could not refute him and could only release the reins, though that did not mean he had no opinions of his own.

"But those Orks are undisciplined, scattered creatures. If we give them a crushing blow, they'll tuck their tails and run."

"Maybe. But soon there'll be a second time, a third time... How many times can your fortress hold out? Their numbers are increasing every moment, and they are by no means stupid Beasts. They learn from failure."

"You really do understand them..."

Yusuf took out a pack of cigarettes and stuffed it into Diego's saddle, yet he began worrying about his old friend.

"...But are you going to become the next Seliucius?"

Seliucius was a renowned legendary hero of the Imperium, known as "the Last Kainian."

In the early days of the Imperium, it had faced a grave threat from the northern barbarians. Seliucius was born into a noble family during that time. His father was a border governor, and in order to deal with the surrounding barbarian tribes, he sent his youngest son as a hostage to the most powerful barbarian chieftain of the day. Seliucius spent his youth among the barbarians, where he learned survival, war, and intrigue, and came to know every barbarian tribe inside and out.

Later, with the help of his barbarian friend—the son of the barbarian high chieftain—he returned to the Scale Kingdom and took up an important post. Through military achievements, he steadily climbed to the most prominent position in the Scale Kingdom. By then, his barbarian friend had inherited the chieftain's seat and was launching a vast campaign of conquest, with the Scale Kingdom in his sights.

In the end, in an epic fated battle, Seliucius defeated his friend through his own strength, strategy, and the aid of other barbarian tribes, bringing an end to his friend's dream of conquest.

But Seliucius, who had become an Imperial hero, met a poor end. The Emperor's suspicion and countless rumors first stripped him of power, and ultimately took his life.

It was a somewhat malicious comparison, yet for Diego at this moment, it was so fitting.

"I never think about such things. If you fret over too much, you'll end up doing nothing. The Imperium already has enough people who fret."

With that, he galloped off in a cloud of dust, leaving Yusuf behind with regret written all over his face.

"Let's hope so..."

Elsewhere, Guk had set out nine days earlier with over a thousand hardened boys. Although Diego had pointed him in the right direction, finding a specific location in a vast desert with few landmarks was no easy task. More importantly, the place was not close. Guk had marched day and night without sleep or rest, covering nearly eighty kilometers a day. Fortunately, they were Orks, with enough stamina to endure such brutal forced marches.

As for why he was in such a hurry, one reason was that Guk desperately needed a batch of metal said to be extremely sturdy and durable. The other was that transporting that metal required passing through the territory of a large tribe, and Guk did not want any accidents along the way.

"Boss! It should be up ahead."

Truf came bouncing over to Guk on a Squig. This time, Guk had specifically brought him and his boys along, and had even handed him the map Diego left behind so he could lead the way. The results had been fairly good, aside from taking a few wrong turns in the middle.

"Good! Speed it up! We can't keep our human friends waiting!"

The boys answered Guk's words with a burst of laughter, and even the Snotlings driving the wagons joined in. This time, Guk had brought along some of the remaining wagons from the Bloodtooth Tribe, nearly a hundred in total. He had no idea how much ten tons was, and it would be troublesome if it turned out to be a lot.

"Boss! I reckon that human looks just as bad as Redface. He kept circling around me before, and that stinky Squig that went missing a few days ago was probably stolen by him!"

Green Tooth sidled up from behind. The "Redface" he spoke of was Grak, because he disliked cleaning the blood off himself. His face and body were always covered in dried clots and stains, earning him that nickname.

"I was wonderin' why Idea Guy smelled so bad... Turns out he took somethin' from you."

"Yeah!"

Flames seemed to burst from Green Tooth's huge eyes. He turned his Squig around and was about to head back, but Guk immediately smacked him hard across the head.

"What're you rushin' for? Beat him up when we get back! Handle the important stuff first."

No sooner had Green Tooth's matter been settled than Turok, who drove the war chariot, raised a new issue. He was a boy who loved speed. The once-clumsy wagons had been modified into light vehicles for a single driver, and the Squigs had been changed to two per cart, making them much faster than before. The violent racing craze that had recently risen in Blackstone Fort had been started by him and several others with the same hobby.

"Boss, we've been movin' too fast these past few days. The boys are exhausted, and the Squigs need to catch their breath too. If anything happens behind us, it'll be bad if none of us have any strength left."

Outside of racing, Turok was actually quite a clever boy. Perhaps because he often dealt with the Mekboyz, his mind possessed much of the basic logic Orks lacked.

"Hmm..."

Guk looked up at the sky. The sun was still high, and there was some time before nightfall. His agreement with Diego was to arrive no later than the evening of the tenth day.

"Fine! All of ya, take a break!"

The moment the boys heard that, they all dropped to the ground. Green Tooth climbed down from his Squig and began directing the Snotlings to feed them. Truf and his boys formed a circle around the map, pointing and gesturing at it, while Turok pulled a bag of liquor from his vehicle and tossed it to Guk.

"Boss, where'd those humans come from?"

"I dunno either, but definitely from outside."

The cool liquid moistened Guk's dry throat, and he felt much of the fatigue leave his body.

"I reckon that guy's no good."

"Neither are we."

After taking several gulps and draining the bag, Guk tossed it back to Turok.

"I don't know what he wants, but I only need to do what I want. Once I've got enough boys, we'll smash all those idiots around us! One boss is enough, and that boss is me. When that time comes..."

As he spoke, Guk leaned back and fell asleep directly on the back of the Squiggoth. The massive beast obediently lowered itself to the ground as well.

A huge group of Orks fell asleep just like that. Only Truf and his boys remained energetic, standing guard until...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, faint sounds came from the distance. They sounded somewhat familiar. Guk's ears twitched slightly, but his mind had not yet awakened from its dream. At that moment, he was speaking with strange figures in that hazy world, though he did not know what they were talking about...

"Boss! Something's happening!"

Feeling someone shove him, Guk finally woke up. He quickly straightened and roared:

"Idiots! Quit sleepin'!"

In an instant, every boy sprang off the ground as if someone had stabbed them in the arse. They pulled out their weapons and looked around in every direction.

"Boss, what is it?"

"Something's going on!"

Guk heard the faint sounds in the distance too. He remembered them—they were the sounds made by those things in Diego's hands called guns, and they were coming from the direction of their rendezvous!

"Bad! Our stuff's in trouble! Get movin', all of ya! Move!!!"

Before he had even finished speaking, Guk took the lead, riding his Squiggoth toward the sound. The other boys hurried after him.