Big Gun and Gunpowder

"Agugu is dead?"

Blood Skull's boss—One-Eyed Naz—looked completely stunned. His only eye widened as if the Weirdboyz were spinning some absurd story.

"Really dead?"

"Yeah, Boss. His head's still hanging on the wall!"

Naz dropped heavily back into his seat. An inexplicable rage rose in his chest. He gulped down several mouthfuls of liquor, but it only burned hotter.

"No! I gotta show that freak some color!"

He smashed the bone bowl to the ground and crushed it beneath his foot. Naz's furious roar echoed through the fortress, scaring many Snotlings into pissing themselves. The boys also realized that a fight might be coming.

"Get 'em!"

"Let's take that Red-Eye nest for ourselves!"

The bosses began shouting as well. Although White Hand had won, Orks would never regret anything until the blade was at their necks. They did not think those gits were anything special. They ought to be stronger than them.

Blind confidence was part of an Ork's nature, but not all of it.

"Shut up!"

Naz planted his half-man-tall iron hammer on the ground, and all the bosses obediently closed their mouths.

"What about Blade Bite Tribe?"

He was not dumb enough to face a large tribe alone, but if he could join forces with another git, he was willing to give it a try.

But the boy's answer made him feel as sick as if he had eaten Squig shit.

"Dunno, Boss. When I went there, their boss had taken a bunch of boys off to do something. They ain't back yet."

"What's he up to?"

Naz grumbled irritably, but everyone noticed that his hand had loosened around the hammer. What did that mean?

Outside, the noise continued, but Guk stood blankly inside the fortress. His once bright silver armor had been stained light red by blood. Ork blood turned that strange color once it dried.

"That's it?"

He stared at the rusty yellow metal tube before him, finding it hard to believe that this thing had killed so many strong boys. They had been vicious brutes capable of twisting metal apart with their bare hands, yet they had fallen like cut grass.

"Yeah, Boss, that's it! It throws those things out."

Truf picked up an iron ball with one hand and held it out to Guk.

"A bullet."

Guk immediately thought of the gun in Diego's hand. It fired the same kind of round metal ball. If it was this large, then its power could indeed be terrifying.

"What about the gunpowder?"

Guk would not overlook something so crucial. The moment he spoke, the Snotling One-Ear led several Black Snotlings over with a wooden barrel.

Guk lifted the lid. Inside was a black granular substance, like discolored sand. He grabbed a handful and sniffed it. It was indeed that familiar smell.

"How much is there?"

"Reporting, Boss, we searched everywhere. There's only eight barrels, and one's only half full!"

"Guard it properly. If even a bit goes missing, I'll chop you up!"

"Yes!"

Turning his gaze back to the Big Bang-Bang, Guk circled around it once but still could not figure out how to use it. How could a bare tube throw out an iron ball?

Thinking of that made him want to beat Grak again. That bastard had gotten so blood-mad that he had butchered everything breathing in the fortress, not even leaving a single Snotling behind. Guk could not find anyone who knew how to operate it.

"That idiot!"

After cursing, Guk ordered the White-Helm Guards to gather all the Big Bang-Bangs. No boys were allowed near them without his orders. He knew better than anyone what those mekboys were like. There was nothing they would not dare to do. If he did not keep a close eye on them, before long he would probably have nothing but a pile of scrap metal left.

The war had been won, but Guk did not know whether he had more boys or fewer now. Many familiar faces from before had vanished after this battle. Looking down from the watchtower, he saw boys carrying away mountains of corpses. At this moment, White Hand and Red-Eye were no different. They all lay quietly on the ground, staining everything green. Their equipment would be reclaimed, and their corpses left in the wilderness to rot.

Diego had once said that humans buried their dead and commemorated them with special ceremonies. Guk did not understand—once dead, they had no meaning. To Orks, life and death were not such important matters.

Shaking those strange thoughts from his head, Guk turned and left, heading for the Red Eye Tribe's banquet hall, where many bosses were already waiting.

"Boss Guk is here!"

Crooked Mouth's booming voice drew every Ork's attention.

Their new boss, "King" Guk, was walking toward the seat that had once belonged to Agugu. Guk had given himself that title, symbolizing absolute rule. It was also the ultimate goal Diego had set for him.

Guk examined the seat made of white bones. It was different from the ones he had seen before. These were not the remains of some giant beast, but a heap of many slender, unknown bones. He picked up a skull. It was light and round. Judging by its size alone, it seemed somewhat similar to the humans he had seen...

But obsessing over details was not an Ork's nature. He tossed the skull back into the pile of bones and plopped himself down.

"From now on! I'm the boss here!"

"Yes, Boss!"

There was no complicated oath of loyalty like in human society. With their fists, Orks could settle everything that needed settling.

"You!"

Guk noticed that git. He wore human clothes, and the pitiful greatcoat was stretched so tight it looked ready to burst apart at any moment. He also wore a ridiculous hat on his head, another human thing.

"What's your name?"

"Beluf, sir."

He answered in a muffled voice, looking none too enthusiastic. Earlier, he had been one of the bosses who fought White Hand the hardest. He had nearly beaten Aluba into collapse. He had also been one of the last bosses to stop resisting. By the time everything was over, the several thousand boys he had once commanded had dwindled to only a few hundred—less than a tenth.

"Why copy humans?"

Guk did not care what Beluf had done before. He was simply curious. As far as he knew, most boys did not think much of humans—or rather, all Orks treated anything that looked weaker than them the same way.

"They're strong. Stronger than they look."

Beluf rubbed his nose and said something that made all the surrounding Orks burst into laughter.

"What's so strong about Shrimp?"

"Beluf, I reckon you've been drinking too much again."

"I can beat a hundred Shrimp."

But Guk did not laugh. He swept his gaze over them, making them all shut their big mouths, before speaking.

"How are they strong?"

"Discipline. Training."

"I thought you were gonna say Big Bang-Bangs."

"That's artillery, sir."

Beluf deliberately corrected Guk's mistake.

"We can get artillery too, but we don't got those two things. Can't steal 'em, either. I don't like fighting all messy-like."

After hearing that, Guk stared at him meaningfully for a long while, then turned to Crooked Mouth.

"Later, get him a flag."

Beluf looked somewhat confused. He did not know what that meant. Guk glanced at Grak beside him and saw that his expression was deeply displeased, but that did not change his decision.

"Go recruit boys yourself. I can give you gear for three thousand boys. Get the rest yourself. The name'll be... Gunfire Regiment."

Only then did Guk realize that the new boss had promoted him.

"Alright."

He still answered in that muffled voice. His attitude made Grak dislike him even more. Red Demon had already begun considering how to teach this git a lesson.

Guk vaguely noticed Grak's rising anger, but he could not be bothered with it. He had more important matters to deal with.

"You probably all know what my tribe is like."

No boss dared respond. Though they were somewhat unhappy inside, they could not oppose the boss's decision. They could only accept it.

"From now on, we follow those rules."

"Sir!"

Beluf stepped out again.

"I think it's great!"

His declaration pleased Guk. After looking around and finding no objections, he brought up another matter—or rather, an offer.

"Go back and tell your boys: anyone who knows how to use a Big Bang-Bang, I'll reward him five... no! I'll reward him a hundred teeth!"

A hundred teeth was too much, so much that it exceeded many Orks' imagination.

"No matter how many there are, I'll keep my word. Hear me?"

"Understood!"

Guk took out a roll of oil paper from his waist and carefully unfolded it. After searching with his eyes for a moment, his gaze settled on the mark of a blood-colored skull.

"Blood Skull Tribe. How far is it from here?"

"If we move fast, five days."

Kanna, the Red Eye Tribe's cavalry boss, answered Guk. He had been the first to surrender. Like Green Tooth, he did not like wearing armor much, and even shared many of the same odd habits.

"What's their boss called?"

"One-Eyed Naz."

Sounded like a git who was not all that tough. That was what Guk thought as he stood.

The greatest obstacle had been cleared away. Nothing could stop Guk's ambition now. The fire had been lit, and he had no intention of putting it out. Other creatures might grow tired from fighting, but not Orks. As long as there was a fight to be had, boys could stay full of energy for a long time. The only thing to consider was probably their numbers.

But Guk was confident. He believed that even if their losses had been high, two tribes together had to have more boys than one tribe. Blood Skull Tribe was at least weaker than Red Eye Tribe. If that was the case, then he had absolutely no reason to stop.

"Five days from now! We'll go have a proper 'talk' with that One-Eyed Naz!"

"WAAAGH!"

At the prospect of a fight, all the bosses howled excitedly. Even the unaware boys outside began shouting along with them, frightening the still-shaken Snotlings into hurriedly finding places to hide.