Reconnaissance

"Quit yer yammering in the back."

Guk, self-proclaimed [King of the Orks], nudged one of One-Ear's Black Snotlings with his heel and grumbled in displeasure. The spotless steel armor he wore gleamed beneath the sun, so dazzling that the surrounding Orks could barely keep their eyes open.

"I gotta get a good look..."

The Snotling boss turned around and beat the other Snotlings into submission with his stick, leaving only the muttering of the Orks.

"Boss, over there."

Naz pointed at the vast cluster of stone buildings in the distance.

"The Shrimp are hiding in those rock piles, and they've got lots of Big Bang-Bangs too."

Guk picked up a telescope, some fancy thing one of the boys had handed over. He had traded a whole can of Sleeping Wine for it.

Compared to his enormous face, the thing was truly a pain to use. Guk had to scrunch his face into a knot, close one eye, and narrow the other into a slit.

"Do humans all like living in these kinds of houses?"

He saw long gray-white walls rising and falling, fences linked together one after another, and countless ditches and ridges. The walls were smooth, but every section had a triangular bulge jutting out. Even lower walls stretched out beneath them, where many humans moved around like ants.

"What Big Bang-Bangs are those? Proper brutal!"

Guk noticed the black metal tubes atop the long walls. Some looked quite large, but none compared to the few mounted on the high platforms.

Even Guk, who had seen plenty of huge things, was astonished. Those things looked dozens of humans tall from here. Their barrels could probably fit an Ork inside, and the black metal gave off a tempting gleam beneath the sun. Guk nearly started drooling.

Beside him, Beluf tugged at his belt and cleared his throat.

"Those things are called fortress guns, Boss."

Mangul and Grak shot him sidelong looks together, snorting disdainfully through their noses.

"A zogging shoota boy actually knows Shrimp stuff."

Naz snickered as he tugged his nose ring. He was clearly amused. He did not exactly dislike the guy, but an Ork learning Shrimp things was still pretty funny.

"That's right, Boss. They're fortress guns."

Beluf got annoyed too and kicked some unlucky Snotling flying, drawing endless snickers from the other Dwarfs.

"I ain't askin' that."

Still holding the telescope, Guk pointed ahead and asked.

"How far can those guns shoot?"

"Probably about... there, I reckon."

After propping his chin up and pondering for a while, Naz gave an unreliable answer.

"Don't reckon. I'm asking if you've seen it."

"Boss, I have. The farthest should be here."

Beluf pointed to an open patch of ground not far from the sand dune. The other Orks all craned their necks to look, only to find nothing there, much to their disappointment.

"I led the boys and nicked a gun from the humans. Their shells chased our arses all the way to that spot. If the gun hadn't gotten wrecked in the end, we'd have had it."

His tone was full of regret, and the surrounding lads immediately burst into jeers.

Guk followed the line from that spot all the way to the long wall. The distance was not especially far. If the boys charged, they would reach the base of the wall quickly. He also noticed the scattered buildings along the route.

"What's with those houses? Do humans keep Snotlings too?"

"Humans are in those too. They call them outposts. If we wanna sneak up on the fortress at night, we gotta pass those killin' stone houses."

Those houses really were low, and their walls were not tall either. Any boy could climb over them easily. Guk figured four or five boys could tear them down without much trouble.

But that was only a thought. Guk had no intention of picking a fight with the humans yet. After witnessing the power of the Big Guns, he had gained a new understanding of those terrifying weapons. He needed a better plan, and there was still much to do before then.

"Oi, where's Flatface?"

No sooner had he spoken than two White-Helm Guards dragged the panicked Weirdboyz—no, Freak Boy now—Flatface before him.

"Scan that."

His boss pointed toward the largest polygonal fortress. Flatface nodded cautiously, shut his eyes, and raised his metal rod. The guy was so dim-witted that, even with Guk's help, it had taken him a long time to reach Freak Boy standards—meaning he would not blow his own head off from overusing his brain.

But it had all been worth it. The guy was not very brave, but he could slip into other boys' heads. If he had not nearly choked to death after a Snotling slapped him while he was eating Squig, they should have brought him along when they fought Agugu!

A crackling sound arose in the air as green light seeped from the top of his head. The atmosphere grew strangely tense, and every Ork held his breath without saying a word.

"Demolition shells loaded!"

The sudden voice made Grak jump. It was several times shriller than a Snotling's, and he gripped his great axe tightly as he looked around warily.

"Final adjustment. Coordinates B2, left 300, elevation 020."

The second voice was deeper and sounded older. Only then did Grak realize that the voices were coming from Freak Boy's throat, but he still did not lower his weapon.

"That's their signal before they fire, Boss."

Beluf started showing off smugly again. He always loved flaunting his vast knowledge, since he was one of only two lads besides Guk who could understand human speech. But he completely failed to notice Guk's face suddenly darken. The telescope in his hands swept back and forth as though searching for something.

Guk finally saw it. The huge fortress guns had somehow all turned their barrels toward them. The humans knew their current location by some means!

"Wake up!"

He roared and slapped Flatface twice across the face, making the glow above the Freak Boy's head vanish at once.

"Huh?"

"We'll talk later! We gotta leg it now! Move, move, move! Keep up!"

The moment he kicked Flatface down the sand pile, a tremendous roar came from the distance. Guk could feel something falling toward them, and he shouted for the surrounding Orks to run back.

BOOM!

A heavy object struck the ground. Guk turned his head for one look, and had only just made out a smoking iron ball before he was engulfed by flames.

An unprecedented blast, accompanied by a violent shockwave, tore through everything. The Snotlings screamed as they were blown into the air, then fell back to the ground like scraps of rotten cloth. Sand and gravel were scooped up as if by a shovel and hurled into the sky, while blackish-gray smoke billowed upward.

Grak rolled down the sand dune, tripping seven or eight boys along the way. His armor filled with sand, but he never let go of his axe.

The terrifying explosions and shockwaves continued for seven or eight seconds. Every Ork's ears rang, stars danced before their eyes, and their entire bodies ached as though they had been struck several times by a massive hammer. Their armor had been blasted into tatters, and their faces were black in some places and green in others from the smoke.

Fortunately, no one had died. The worst injury was only a broken arm.

As for the Snotlings, they had been almost completely wiped out. Only quick-legged One-Ear had survived.

"Where's the boss?"

Once they had recovered a little, the Orks suddenly realized that the most conspicuous white figure was missing. They immediately ran like mad toward the smoke-shrouded sand dune, though there was not much of a dune left anymore—only a patch of flat ground.

"Boss! Where are ya?!"

"Quit yellin'! I ain't dead yet."

Beluf had barely opened his mouth when a large hand covered in silver armor plates stretched out from the sand, followed by a head. The Orks rushed over and dug him out.

"Pretty nasty."

Guk looked back at the fortress with lingering fear. Recalling what had just happened, he knew that if he had not happened to find a pit and jump into it, he might have been blown to pieces. As for the telescope, it had vanished somewhere long ago.

"Oi, shoota boy, didn't you say they could only shoot that far?!"

Naz shouted unhappily, leaving Beluf stammering without a word.

"Unreliable."

Grak joined in the condemnation.

"Enough. We're going back."

Guk cut off the pointless argument and led the bedraggled group back. Today's goal had already been achieved. His plan still needed more ideas.

Let 'em enjoy themselves for now.

Guk thought that along the way.

When I come back, I'll show you humans a few tricks.