Swallowing the Blood Skull Tribe

Krok was one of the Blood Skull Tribe's cavalry bosses, as well as the tribe's foremost Squig breeder. Unlike most Orks, he was not obsessed with massive size. Instead, he liked the ones that could cause all kinds of trouble—ones that sprayed poisoned spikes when struck, ones that could eat iron, ones with sharp beaks that could suck blood dry...

For all sorts of reasons, plenty of boys in the tribe did not like him.

But Krok did not care. As long as he was having fun, that was enough. Like now, he led his boys through the wasteland on six-legged super-fast Squigs, enjoying the feeling of complete freedom.

Of course, they were not just loafing around. Red-Eye had been taken out by White Hand, so the boss had sent them out to patrol properly and prevent any accidents.

Accidents? Krok thought that was stupid. Doing this was no different from showing weakness to the other side. The knife was already pressed to their chests—did they really expect no "accidents" to happen?

Krok had heard about that legendary white boss. He thought that was what a real boss should be like: brutal as hell, never hesitating when it was time to fight. It was not that he wanted to switch sides. After all, he had not even seen what the other guy looked like. Maybe one day he really would go join that true boss and take part in a real Waaagh!, but not now.

"Boss, there's a mark here."

A boy's voice interrupted Krok's thoughts. Riding his Squig over, he found a string of blurry, semicircular tracks on the ground.

"Shrimp."

They were the tracks left by those four-legged things humans rode. Those Shrimp had been getting bolder and bolder lately, daring to come this deep into the wasteland. In the past, they had always gone to the edge of the wasteland to cause trouble for them. Now the enemy had actually come knocking.

As an Ork, this was absolutely intolerable!

"Chase 'em!"

More than a hundred Ork cavalry riders kicked up a cloud of dust and charged wildly along the tracks.

"Ah!!"

They had not run far when faint screams drifted over from the distance. Krok had fought humans many times before and could tell at once that it was the sound of Shrimp dying. He had not expected someone else to beat them to it after only half a day of pursuit. Furious, he lashed his Squig hard and sped forward.

He wanted to see who it was!

"Hm?"

Crossing a dune, Krok froze.

"You lot are..."

A powerful stench of blood filled the air. Two dead horses lay on the ground, their bodies torn apart, their dark-red blood glaring beneath the sunlight.

Beneath the horses was a body torn into pieces, apparently a human. But what caught Krok's attention most was not the corpses.

It was the several hundred fierce-looking Orks standing nearby. One of them wore a white horned helmet and looked like a boss. He was still clutching half a corpse in his hand.

It was a human, but instead of the usual gray military coat, he wore a strange yellow coat.

"Boss! White Hand!"

Only when one of the boys shouted did Krok notice the white handprints painted on these Orks' armor.

"Oi, you Blood Skull boys?"

The boss tossed aside the corpse in his hand and greeted them in an extremely rude manner.

"What d'you want?"

Krok did not answer directly. His boys also drew their weapons.

"Looks like it, then."

The fellow grinned, exposing yellowed tusks still smeared with dark-red flesh and blood.

"My boss wants to talk to your boss."

"About what?"

Krok cautiously backed away several steps, ready to fight or retreat at any moment. He had seen the rolling dust in the distance. Clearly, the other side had far more than this many boys.

"To give your boss something."

The boss patted a large sack at his waist. Krok glanced at it but could not make out what was inside.

"Then I'll go back and tell the boss."

"I'll come with you."

This was a strange fellow indeed. On the way back to the fortress, Krok looked back countless times. He could not understand—was this guy not afraid of dying? Yet the boys simply led their troops along silently behind him, as though he were merely a guide running errands.

This was truly unbearable!

Though he wanted to teach this arrogant fellow a lesson, they had unknowingly drawn close to the Blood Skull fortress. Krok could only abandon that thought. He still did not know what the White Hand Tribe wanted, and the boss had to decide this matter.

"Wait here! I'll go get the boss!"

Leaving his boys to watch the White Hand Tribe's cavalry, Krok sped back to his own tribe. He needed to tell his boss immediately...

Before long, a tremendous roar came from within the fortress, followed by the trembling of the earth.

Waaagh!!!!

Countless boys poured out from every corner of the fortress and wasteland as if by magic, instantly surrounding the hundred or so White Hand Tribe boys.

But those armored boys were not frightened. Instead, they bared their weapons and tusks, making it clear to the surrounding boys that they were not easy prey either.

"Guk sent you!"

Naz, covered from head to toe in iron plates and armor pieces, strode through the crowd and stopped aggressively before the White-Helm Guard. Standing four meters tall, he looked down on the boy, who was a head shorter than him, with eyes fierce enough to devour him whole.

And he truly did have that thought.

"My boss told me to give you something."

"What is it!?"

"This!"

The White-Helm Guard untied the sack from his waist and gave it a hard swing. Something green flew out and landed directly in Naz's arms.

"Ah!!!"

In an instant, Naz screamed in terror like a Snotling whose ears had been grabbed. The surrounding boys craned their necks for a look and discovered that their boss was holding a huge head in his arms.

A very, very huge head.

The boys did not know whose head it was, but Naz did. That vicious face, those wide-open eyes—it was the head of his old rival, Agugu!

"Bastard!!"

Perhaps realizing that he had lost his composure before his boys, Naz flew into a rage from shame. He smashed the head to the ground, crushed it beneath his foot, and seized his serrated cleaver.

"He actually dared threaten me!"

"My boss wants you to follow him. Follow him, live. Defy him, die!"

"Believe it or not, I'll chop you down right now!"

Amid furious roars, every boy of the Blood Skull Tribe drew his weapon at once. At a single word from their boss, they would tear these clueless fools into pieces.

The atmosphere grew tense, but soon some boys noticed a massive sandstorm approaching from afar.

"Boss!! Over there!!"

Naz looked in the direction of the shout, and his jaw nearly dropped.

On the horizon, amid the endless wind and sand, a blood-red banner slowly emerged. Upon it was an enormous white handprint, as though it meant to grip the entire world in its palm.

A green line began to replace the horizon. The heat haze twisted their vision, making everything seem unreal. Naz rubbed his eyes, and it seemed as though he had rubbed away the sandstorm as well. At last, he saw clearly...

"Guk..."

It was an endless green army, as though it had suddenly risen from beneath the earth. It shattered Naz's fierce aura at once.

At the center of the formation stood a group of unbelievably powerful boys. Their silver-white helmets shone like tiny suns beneath the blazing sun. At the very heart of them was a silver giant riding a gigantic Squiggoth, with that blood-red banner fluttering behind him.

"The King is here!"

The encircled White Hand Tribe boys cheered. The surrounding Blood Skull boys were utterly confused by this sudden turn of events and did not know what to do. All of them turned their eyes toward their boss.

"Let 'em live a little longer! We're going to meet that Guk!"

Mounting his own Squiggoth, Naz led his troops toward Guk's army. The two sides did not stop until they were nearly within charging distance.

"Who's Naz? I'm Guk!"

Guk rode out from his formation, charging all the way until he reached the space between the two armies before stopping. Seeing this, Naz could only grit his teeth and charge out from his own side as well, unwilling to lose face.

"I'm Naz!"

Guk carefully examined this one-eyed fellow. Honestly, he was far inferior to Agugu. Though he looked fairly big, his presence was much weaker.

Naz was also studying Guk. The first thing that caught his attention was that gleaming giant blade. That was the thing that had cut off Agugu's head. Thinking of it made Naz's neck feel cold.

"Did you hear what I had my boys tell you?"

"I... I..."

After hesitating for a moment, Naz finally gathered his courage and roared out his answer.

"You're a boss! I'm a boss too! Why should I listen to you!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Guk laughed, and the sound irritated Naz. But he truly did not dare attack now. He merely prepared to find a chance to turn around and retreat to his own troops, then rely on the fortress for defense. There would be nothing Guk could do to him then.

"I never said you weren't a boss! But I'm different from you."

"What's different?"

"I'm a king!"

"A king? Sounds like Shrimp talk."

Naz was a little confused. He did not know whether this Guk was somehow not quite right in the head.

"From now on, every Ork has to listen to me! I'm the boss of bosses!!"

Those arrogant words truly surprised Naz. The boss of bosses? He had never considered such a thing, but it did not seem impossible when he heard it...

"Today, either you end up like Agugu! Or you keep being a boss, but you follow my rules!"

Today was Guk's first attempt to solve a problem through means other than violence. Victory had given him immense confidence. He believed this cowardly fellow was unlikely to refuse him, but reality proved otherwise.

"I'm the boss!!"

Naz was enraged—truly enraged. The blood rushing to his head instantly shattered his reason. Throwing caution aside, he raised his serrated cleaver and charged forward. The Squiggoths' roars made the boys on both sides shout in excitement.

This would be a duel.

"Looking to die!"

Guk urged his Squiggoth forward as well. Just as the two beasts were about to collide, he suddenly leaped into the air and swung his fist hard at Naz's huge face.

"Waaah!"

Caught completely off guard, Naz was sent flying. He slammed heavily onto the ground, drawing a chorus of jeers.

"Is this all the strength the Blood Skull boss has?"

Leaving the two enormous beasts to fight hoarsely behind him, Guk walked step by step toward the fallen Naz, his cold boots crunching across the grit.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Just as Guk opened his mouth to laugh, Naz suddenly sprang up from the ground and swung his serrated cleaver at Guk's huge head.

Clang!

Guk drew his blade with lightning speed and blocked the strike. At the same time, while Naz was completely unaware, Guk pressed his left fist against Naz's face.

"Waaahhh!"

Naz was sent flying again, and one of his protruding tusks snapped off.

"Oho! I've got a joke. Wanna hear it?"

Guk once again closed in on the dazed Naz sprawled on the ground, laughing wildly.

"What do Snotlings call getting a tooth pulled? I ain't scared! Hahahaha!"

Furious, Naz barely raised his hand, trying to swing his weapon. Guk sent him flying again with a kick, along with his weapon.

That kick was no light blow. Naz rolled more than ten times before finally stopping.

"Hohoho! That joke is fucking hilarious, ain't it!!"

Guk grabbed the back of his neck and dragged Naz up from the ground as if he were hauling a Snotling.

"Waaah, Naz... won't surrender."

"Oho, did a Squig kick your brain loose? You're still talking that big!? Why didn't the Mekboys fix your brain?"

"I'm the biggest boss around here!"

"You really need to find a Mekboy to fix your brain and your eyes, 'cause you're really fucking good at talking shit!"

Guk dragged him before him and forced Naz to stare into his eyes.

"See this?"

His tone was arrogant and violent.

"This is what the biggest, strongest boss in this land—no, in this world—looks like."

Naz felt an immense grip tighten around the back of his neck, choking the breath from him.

"You..."

He took several heavy breaths, then lowered his head before his consciousness could fade away completely.

"You really are the fattest. That part's true."

"Ha!"

Guk finally released his neck, letting him tumble back onto the ground.

"That's what a boss says? Hahaha, you've really drunk too much Squig piss."

"Urgh..."

Struggling to get back to his feet, Naz no longer had the courage to keep fighting.

"What do you want?"

"To show you what a real boss is. Once you've seen it, maybe you'll understand how glorious it is to serve a king, boy."

Naz angrily shook his shoulders. He had considered running back to his own troops, but he could feel that gaze prowling over his body like a blade—especially around his neck...

He raised his head and looked at the army stretching across the sky and earth. He did not dare say whether he could really stop them. Even Agugu had lost. Honestly, Naz knew he was not as good at war as that dead fellow.

"Choose."

Guk drove Dragon Tooth into the ground and fixed his eyes on the hesitant Ork boss before him.

"Am I... still a boss?"

"Yes, beneath me."

"I..."

Naz hesitated only briefly before sheathing his serrated cleaver and taking a deep breath.

"I submit! Boss Guk!!"

The moment Naz's thunderous roar rang out, every boy in the Blood Skull Tribe gaped in shock, weapons clattering to the ground...