Collision

"I heard the boss of that White Hand Tribe is really white. D'you think it'd look dead impressive if I chopped his head off and hung it on my wagon?"

On the rumbling war wagon, a tall Ork clad in plate armor was chatting nonsense with a slightly shorter fellow beside him. All around the wagon were vast crowds of armed boyz, the enormous column stretching beyond sight. A green banner emblazoned with a red eye stood tall in the wind.

This was the army Agugu had sent to destroy the White Hand Tribe. After learning the tribe's exact location, he had originally intended to lead the attack himself. But considering there were still two sly, treacherous bastards nearby, he gave up on personally marching out and instead sent Lu Cha, his most capable subordinate, with a tenth of the tribe's boyz.

In his view, this many boyz were more than enough. According to the boyz who had returned with reports, that tribe was full of paupers. As the Ork tribe closest to the wasteland's border, the Red Eye Tribe had access to resources that tribes deep in the wasteland could scarcely imagine. Whether by looting, stealing, or scavenging, the Red Eye Tribe had built up considerable wealth over the centuries. That was also what gave Agugu the confidence to try and break through the human defenses.

Although some bosses said Lu Cha was too impulsive and hot-tempered to lead an army alone, Agugu did not see it that way. For an Ork, being mean enough, strong enough, and big enough was sufficient. Impulsive and hot-tempered? Weren't most Orks like that? They were not weak humans. They did not need so many thoughts.

Of course, he had not truly sent Lu Cha alone. He had also dispatched Aluba the Freak Boy. Freak Boyz were upgraded Weirdboyz; their powers were steadier, and their minds were much clearer than those of ordinary Orks.

The one listening to Lu Cha's nonsense was Aluba, who possessed tremendous psychic power. But honestly, he had heard enough of this idiot's bragging along the way. He had always felt that most of the Red Eye Tribe's bosses had nothing but muscle—or dung—in their heads.

"Maybe. But first, you'd have to beat him."

Compared to the deep voices of other Orks, Aluba's voice was somewhat shrill, the result of drinking strange concoctions for too long.

"You think I ain't strong enough? Eh?"

Lu Cha immediately tore off his armor, revealing a body full of muscles. He kept striking pose after pose, drawing cheers from the surrounding boyz.

"Look!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. You're strong."

Aluba impatiently waved a hand. He could not even be bothered to look. He was thoroughly sick of guys like this.

But when it came to that white Ork, Aluba had some suspicions. He did not dare confirm them yet; he would have to see him first. It was a secret belonging to Weirdboyz like them, one even Agugu did not know...

"Boss! We're almost at that tribe!"

Suddenly, a boy riding a Squig came racing over from the distance, bringing news that greatly excited Lu Cha. They had been marching for more than ten days, and if they did not get into a fight soon, he was going to lose his mind.

"Great! Quick! Beat the drums! All boyz, charge!"

"Wait."

Aluba hurriedly stopped him, then asked the boy:

"Did you spot any ambushes or anything strange on the way?"

"Nope. Me and my brothers circled around half the place. Didn't see a single boy. They're all gathered beneath that big rock now!"

"You mean they didn't come out to fight? They're hiding beneath the fortress?"

"Yeah!"

Aluba was confused as well. He was only a Freak Boy, after all. Commanding warfare was not his specialty. He merely instinctively felt that something was wrong, but Lu Cha beside him could no longer hold himself back.

"Just as I thought, a bunch of cowards! Think hiding at home will save 'em? Beat the drums!"

Boom boom boom~~!

The heavy drumbeats began. The previously loose formation immediately gathered together, and the boyz broke into a run, surging forward with the main force. War wagons and cavalry weaved through the ranks. Though the battle-hardened Red Eye Tribe could hardly be said to possess discipline, they had accumulated enough instinct for war. The boyz were noisy but not disorderly, each following close behind his own boss. The long column swiftly spread out into a broad battle line.

"They're here!"

The distant drums reached Blackstone Fort. Diego looked toward Guk beside him, and Guk immediately raised a hand. Deep horn calls echoed across the sky.

Ooooh ooooh ooooh~~!

They stood on a protruding stone platform at the fortress's highest point. It led directly to Guk's chamber and had only recently been carved out. Below them, dozens of square formations made up of the White Hand Tribe's forty thousand finest boyz began moving forward at the sound of the horns.

Guk had never intended to defeat the enemy with this small force alone. In fact, farther away, more than seventy thousand boyz and Snotlings were making a rapid flanking maneuver. From the sky, a simple encirclement would be taking shape, with Grak and Bucktooth commanding the two wings. Once the order was given, they would strike from the flanks.

As for how Guk could know so clearly exactly how many boyz he had, that was thanks to Diego's new framework. Now, he only needed to count the number of troopers to roughly know the number of boyz.

As for the Red Eye Tribe, according to Truf, their forces numbered around a hundred thousand. Their weapons were fairly good; iron weapons were basically standard equipment. They had cavalry and war wagons, though not many boyz carried greatbows.

WAAAGH!!!!!!!!

A battle cry that shook heaven and earth came from afar. Guk could see the dust cloud blotting out the sky steadily drawing closer. He waved his hand again, and the boy beside him immediately began pounding the great drum with all his strength. It had been captured from Bolba, and Guk liked its sound very much.

"Idiots! Faster!"

Hearing the drums, One-Ear and Idea Bro immediately urged the Snotlings and boyz to push the bolt throwers toward the openings in the rock wall. The White Hand Tribe had practically dug Blackstone Fort into a honeycomb, as Diego put it. Passages running in every direction connected to exits outside, allowing the bolt throwers to be moved to any position at any time.

WAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the second battle cry, Diego could clearly see the withered yellow earth swiftly being swallowed by endless green. It was an incomparably powerful sight. He even wondered whether Aswan Fortress could endure even a single wave of such an assault.

It filled him with deep concern.

"Hold steady!!!"

The bosses commanding each formation held their breath as they watched the overwhelming torrent surge toward them. Its momentum was terrifying enough to drown them outright. But Guk had strictly forbidden anyone from charging out on their own. The bosses struggled to restrain their own impulses, using their weapons to order the boyz around them to do the same.

According to Diego's arrangement, the first and second ranks of each formation were to carry great shields and short weapons. The third rank used spears. Every Ork in the fourth and fifth ranks carried five throwing spears, and after throwing them, they would move forward to fill the gaps.

Of course, that was the ideal situation. In reality, it was very difficult to carry out.

"Hold steady!!!!!!!!!!"

The enemy drew closer and closer. They could even clearly see the spit spraying from their roaring mouths.

"Throwing spears! Ready!"

Before the order was given, great swaths of throwing spears were already flying out from the rear ranks. Some struck the ground, while others flew into the charging mass of the Red Eye Tribe, skewering a dozen Orks. Even those who did not die at once were mostly trampled to death by the boyz pouring in behind them.

"Idiots!! I haven't said it yet! Throw!!!"

Another dense volley flew out. This time, most of it landed among the crowd. In an instant, a large patch opened up in the dense Ork horde. At close range, the things Orks threw were even more destructive than human rifles.

"Raise shields! Hold them!!"

Boom~!

But throwing spears could not stop this torrent. With a muffled crash, the surging green tide slammed viciously into the makeshift wooden wall. The enormous impact even sent some boyz and their shields flying together, and the once-neat ranks instantly twisted out of shape.

"Kill!!"

"Get 'em!!"

Both sides threw their full strength into the struggle. The sound of weapons tearing flesh, the screams before death, the roars of slaughter—all of it formed a war poem that belonged only to Orks.

The ranks grew more and more tightly packed. The boyz charging from behind shoved those in front, and the White Hand Tribe boyz in the foremost row had already lost a third of their number the moment the two sides collided. There was no retreat. Everyone pushed forward with all their strength. The boyz using spears thrust madly through every gap, without even needing to aim. The battlefield became crowded and chaotic.

"Charge!!!!"

After throwing their spears, the boyz in the fourth and fifth ranks ignored what was happening ahead and rushed forward with weapons in hand. Not only did they fail to help, they also disrupted the third rank's formation, making Guk stomp in fury.

"Idiots! Those idiots!!! Where's Big Boom-Boom? Tell One-Ear to fire! Fire hard for me!"

On the battlefield below, Lu Cha and Aluba were in a fierce argument.

"Don't all cram together! Split off some forces and go around both sides! Attack the fortress directly! That place barely has any defenses!"

"No! I gotta kill these guys first! I ain't running away!"

"It ain't running away, you idiot! Just split off some boyz!"

"The boyz are having a good fight. They can't turn back now! I ain't arguing with you anymore! I'm going down to chop some heads! You stay here."

Watching Lu Cha's delighted back as he carried his axe away, Aluba was so anxious he was almost losing his mind. How stupid was this guy? Even he could tell the White Hand Tribe's numbers were strangely low. They had definitely prepared an encirclement around the area, yet this idiot wanted to slug it out head-on.

"No! The boss sent me to help him. I can't let us lose like this!"

With that, Aluba gathered all the Weirdboyz in the army. After a quick discussion among the dozen or so of them, they immediately began preparing. Soon, arcs of green lightning began spreading across the battlefield.

"Hmm?"

When a bolt of lightning suddenly struck his own side's ranks, blasting boyz apart in every direction, Guk immediately realized Weirdboyz were causing trouble. He sneered and closed his eyes.

Ever since speaking with Flatface, Guk had gained a deeper understanding of his power. He also understood why Flatface had called him a ghost sword the moment he saw him.

He was the nemesis of all Weirdboyz.

"Ah!!"

Aluba, who had been preparing to give the White Hand Tribe a vicious blast, suddenly clutched his head and screamed. Ever since he had walked through the Hazy Realm, this had never happened to him again. But just now, that white fellow had struck him, confirming the suspicion he had held all along.

"Gu...k!!"

He screamed out the name, rolled his eyes, and fainted on the spot. The Weirdboyz around him, meanwhile, each lost their heads, leaving the ground covered in blood and brain matter.

"Kill!!!"

Forcing his way through all the boyz in his path, Lu Cha raised his axe and chopped down at the great shield before him, splitting both the shield and the boy behind it in two.

"Ah!"

Before he could celebrate, a boy beside him was suddenly hurled backward, taking the boyz behind him with him. Lu Cha looked up in confusion and discovered that the high rocks were now covered with things he had not seen before, constantly firing deadly short spears downward.

"Waa! My leg!"

"What is this!"

"Boss! Boss!"

The sudden attack caught the Red Eye Tribe boyz completely off guard. Because the weapons were fired from above, the throwing spears became even deadlier and more penetrating. Even iron armor could not stop them from punching straight through. The crowd was too tightly packed to dodge, leaving them no choice but to take the hits.

"Spread out! Spread left and right!"

Only then did Lu Cha remember Aluba's words. He hurriedly ordered the boyz to scatter to both sides, but the battlefield was far too chaotic. Some boyz had long wanted to slip into the fortress, yet Guk had prepared for that. Every entrance and exit to the fortress had been fitted with heavy iron gates. Without specialized siege tools, not even Orks could possibly force them open.

"Die! Die!"

Feeling tricked, Lu Cha swung his great axe madly. There truly was not a single boy who could stop him. Several bosses who tried to challenge him were beheaded one after another. The line directly facing him was almost torn to pieces, and the Red Eye Tribe boyz were encouraged by his rampage, launching reckless attacks without regard for anything else.

The defensive line began to waver.

"You stay here. I'm going down!"

Watching Lu Cha slaughter freely amid the crowd, the blood in Guk's body began boiling wildly. He could no longer suppress his desire for battle. He grabbed Dragon Tooth from beside him and prepared to leap straight down, but Diego seized him.

"Remember! You're the commander now! You must learn restraint! If you truly want to become the King of Orks, then find your thrill in real victory, not like Butcher did!"

Guk glared viciously into Diego's eyes, but Diego showed no fear. After a long while, Guk lowered Dragon Tooth.

"I know! Send the signal. It's time."

Diego nodded, pulled a signal pistol from his pocket, and fired it into the sky. A red flare shrieked as it flew into the blue heavens.

"Drop the Big Hoppers!"

The reinforcements still needed some time to arrive, and the formations below were already showing signs of collapse. Guk therefore threw his backup weapon into the battle. As cages were opened one after another, a huge mass of Big Hoppers with gaping mouths fell from the heights of the fortress, crashing directly among the Red Eye Tribe boyz and beginning to bite madly.

"Hold the line! Follow me!"

One formation had been broken apart. Troopers wearing black round helmets immediately called their brothers forward to fill the gap. They used short swords and spears to deal with those arrogant fools. Their opponents' weapons might have been larger and heavier, but these were brothers who ate and lived together. Nothing could stop them. Their shields pressed forward, spear-bearers thrust over the shield wall, while those carrying axes and short swords crouched down to strike from below. So what if the enemy had numbers? They had never lost a fight!

Though it was difficult, the White Hand Tribe's defensive line held stubbornly. Layer upon layer of corpses had nearly formed a breastwork, and both sides slaughtered each other viciously across the bodies, until...

"I'm here!!!!"

Before he even arrived, Grak's booming voice rang out in the distance. Amid enormous cries, the banner of the Blood Axe Group was the first to appear atop the dunes!