A great mass of Orks charged straight at Yushikin's position. Perhaps they had recognized his officer's insignia, perhaps it was the gleaming Imperium badge on his cap, or perhaps they simply wanted something to kill.
The soldiers on either side began concentrating their fire before the Orks drew closer, forming a fearsome storm of death that carved black marks across the wall of green flesh.
Yushikin brought down one of the creatures in the horde with a clean headshot. Though the barrage around him would have been more than enough to halt a much larger human army, the Greenskins' charge barely slowed.
The scorching bullets carried tremendous kinetic force and could easily knock down a strong man, yet the Greenskins disdained such wounds entirely. The desire for battle burned in their eyes. Even headshots required a bit of luck; otherwise, making them stop was nothing but a dream.
The distant supporting bombardment had long since ceased. The Wild Battle guns behind the breastwork were urgently switching to grapeshot. Those things had killed quite a few monsters in the earlier shelling, but the artillerymen were so hot they had nearly stripped naked.
Yushikin raised his pistol at another towering Greenskin. He slowed his breathing, aimed at the target, and pulled the trigger.
Violent recoil ran through his right hand, and the gunshot was swallowed by even greater thunder.
A mist of blood burst from the monster's head, but its heavy body kept running. Its legs continued to move, its muscles still carrying out the brain's commands. Yushikin did not know whether his bullet had shredded its brains. Perhaps the thing did not have any to begin with.
The smell of gunpowder mixed with the pungent stench of Ork blood, making Yushikin dizzy. But he had little time to stand about; more