Black Snotlings and Manufacturing

Since that successful hunt, Guk seemed to have fallen in love with the thrill of it. The boyz had put in no small amount of effort searching for those big beasts. Fortunately, perhaps because of the weather, these creatures that were usually hard to find had begun appearing more often.

Giant Dung Worms that liked crowding around dung pits, had eight legs, heavy shells, and loved curling into balls; Sand-Shell Bugs that lived in the weathered skulls of huge creatures and liked lurking beneath the sand to ambush prey; Flash Bugs with flat bodies, great camouflage, lightning-fast movements, and the ability to generate electricity...

In just forty sunrises and sunsets, Guk had led the boyz in bringing down ten fierce beasts. He always charged at the front, using the short blade in his hand to carve fatal wounds. Inspired by him, the boyz threw themselves at the monsters without fear for their lives, eager to prove their courage and strength. More wandering tribes were drawn by the grand hunts and joined Guk's ranks. They brought many new things with them, such as horns that could make tremendous sounds, great bows that could shoot short spears, and black oil that could burn for a long time...

The White Hand Tribe's rapid expansion had made Blackstone Fort crowded. Many boyz who could not find, or could not seize, a place to live simply built huts outside the fort. Soon, even the area beyond the giant rocks became lively. Some enterprising boyz had even started doing "business"—a new word Guk had only recently learned, referring to trading teeth for things. Though he did not really understand why that was necessary.

If you wanted something, you took it. That was how he had always done things. Trading? There was no such thing. Everything was his; he simply had not remembered to ask for it yet.

"Not bad."

Guk slapped his chest hard, deeply satisfied with the armor on his body. Before this, he had only ever thrown together some simple protective gear. Then, a little over ten days ago, a group of strange Snotlings had encountered him. They were amusing little things, black all over and wearing ridiculous pointed hats. They claimed to have come from a vast abyss underground, a place with only Snotlings and no boyz, inhabited by many strange creatures.

To survive, the Snotlings had formed many tribes. Because they had to fight those terrifying creatures, they had put their simple brains to work and made many useful things.

Even so, tribes were still destroyed. The poor wretches who had come before Guk were one such group. Their tribe had been wiped out, leaving them to scurry through the dark underground. Fortunately, their home had not been far from the surface. After losing half their Snotlings, they escaped through a ravine and happened to run into Guk's hunting party.

At first, Guk had not thought much of them. The Snotlings that had died around him could already circle Blackstone Fort once. But after these creatures presented him with several strange gadgets, Guk changed his mind. Long hunts had given him a deep understanding of "tools." Great nets, grappling claws, carts, great bows... Without such things, even he would find dealing with those big creatures troublesome.

But such things could not simply be picked up off the ground. So Guk intensely desired either the means to make them or creatures capable of making them. Yet few boyz had such skills, and most of them were very stupid.

Guk had also keenly noticed that these Black Snotlings differed somewhat from the Snotlings under his command. They were bigger, smarter, and quick with their hands. Even when they bickered, they still worked together. So after they proved their worth, Guk accepted them and allowed them to live in the space beneath his palace. That was an honor reserved for only a few of his closest mates.

Today, these creatures had completed another extremely important task: making Guk a reliable suit of armor. The Black Snotlings' leader, One-Ear, had overseen the work. The materials came from Guk's hunting trophies—bones, scales, claws, shells... a mess of miscellaneous things. These items had originally been displayed in Guk's bedroom, but the Black Snotlings had nearly emptied it out.

Though the cost had been great, the result was good. Soft hide covered in fine scales formed the lining, while pale bone plates and pitch-black shells made up the outer layer. They had been pieced together with powerful adhesive made by Green Tooth. Sharp claws and teeth decorated the shoulders and joints. Heavy, thick, and not especially tight-fitting, yet filled with a sense of wild power—Guk was extremely satisfied.

"Boss! There's this too!"

One-Ear, the Black Snotlings' leader, held up a diamond-shaped bone helmet and offered it to Guk. It had been his last-minute idea.

"This?"

Guk picked up the helmet and found a long white furry tail hanging from its back. The smell on it felt a little familiar...

"Hm!"

Suddenly, he turned and looked at the hide he slept on, only to find that a piece had somehow gone missing.

"I told you! Don't take other stuff again!"

"Waaah! Boss, I was wrong!"

Lifted into the air by Guk, One-Ear faced the furious eyes beneath the helmet and cried out in fear. His underlings immediately scattered in all directions.

"Just this once!"

Guk heavily slammed the Snotling onto the ground, hung his weapon from his waist, and headed outside. One-Ear, rolling around on the floor, immediately sprang up and chased after him, shouting:

"Boss, boss! That! That thing!"

"Quit talking nonsense and follow me!"

As they came out of the bedroom, Crooked Mouth and Big Cleaver, who was carrying the enormous cleaver Guk had made for him, saw Guk's armor and were consumed with envy.

"Boss, I want one too."

"Me too."

Faced with their requests, Guk nudged One-Ear beside him with his foot and ordered:

"I know you've got a lot of stuff stashed away. Make them each a suit, whatever kind."

"Yes..."

One-Ear drooped his head, his voice low and gloomy. Guk roughly knew what he was thinking, so he called over Green Tooth, who was currently trying to sell Jumpy to the boyz in the distance. Recently, that fellow's business had been booming, and his underlings had multiplied as well. Those creatures all had strange quirks similar to his.

"Boss! I'm here!"

"Give him one of those things."

Guk pointed at the expectant One-Ear, but Green Tooth shot the Snotling a sidelong glance and smacked his lips without moving.

"One Black Snotling ain't worth it. That thing's worth a hundred..."

"Give it when I tell you to give it! Or I'll take it from you myself! Along with all your teeth!"

Guk grabbed Green Tooth by the throat and yanked him close. Green Tooth immediately snapped out of his "business." Guk looked even more oppressive in armor than usual, and Green Tooth hurriedly waved his hands as he explained:

"Boss! I-I didn't mean that! I'll get it right now!"

He hurriedly patted himself down, then finally pulled a fat, juicy Squig from a pouch at the small of his back.

"Take it! I do what I say."

Releasing Green Tooth, Guk snatched the Squig away and threw it into One-Ear's face. This was another new idea he had only recently understood—"rewards." Sometimes, they worked better than fists. There were too many boyz for him to beat them one by one. When he wanted them to do something, threats alone were not always useful. But a gleaming Big Choppa, a pile of teeth, or a juicy Squig could get things done too.

Of course, when it was time to use fists and swords, he would not hesitate either.

"Long live the boss!!"

Hugging the Squig, kissing and licking it, One-Ear poured out praise as if he did not need teeth to speak. The underlings around him all stared at him... at the Squig in his arms, drooling.

"Get lost! You thieves! It's mine! Mine!"

Sensing that something was wrong, One-Ear turned and ran, still cursing as he fled. The other Snotlings immediately chased after him. A huge crowd of Snotlings began noisily arguing over how to eat that one Squig. Guk did not care about any of that. He had a new "job" every day now: patrolling his territory.

As the number of Orks increased, so did the number of creatures daring to challenge his authority, especially the newly arrived tribes. Their bosses were often arrogant, conceited idiots. After executing a dozen such fools, Guk decided that every boy needed to know who the real boss was. So he began making a daily circuit through the inside and outside of the fort.

But today was somewhat special. Because he had received new armor, Guk's patrol had gone very well. The boyz all thought, This is what a proper hard boss looks like. The bosses all showed a strong desire to follow Guk. This was one of the traits of Ork society. In principle, Guk could order any boy to do anything, but in practice, he mostly only commanded the creatures around him. Orks were far too scattered. You might see one here today, but perhaps never find him again tomorrow. Only during battle could every boy unite his will and march out with him.

"Bucktooth! How many today!"

After patrolling all the way outside the fort, Guk finally reached an area he had set aside for himself. Many smoking earthen mounds stood there. Countless Snotlings, Black Snotlings, and a few boyz bustled between flowing dark-red liquid and chunks of Blackstone. Beside them stood a towering mountain of rubbish containing all sorts of things, though most of it was various metal objects.

Smelting—this was the word One-Ear had taught Guk. At last, he understood where his weapons came from. The black rocks in the underground spaces beneath Blackstone Fort were actually called "coal." They could be burned to create extremely high temperatures. At such temperatures, metal melted into liquid, and after cooling, the liquid became solid again.

The principle was very simple. Guk immediately made a decision. He gathered every boy with even the slightest crafting skill, ordered the Snotlings to dig up Blackstone, had the Black Snotlings build furnaces and other facilities, and forced every boss to hand over at least one cartload of scrap iron or an equivalent amount of metal junk. After five or six days of work, the first batch of metal weapons was made.

But Guk was very dissatisfied with the results. Perhaps because of the materials or the techniques, the weapons were either too brittle or too soft. Even ordinary boyz found them hard to use properly, let alone Guk. So Guk proposed an idea that greatly shocked all the boyz and Snotlings.

"Bigger! Thicker!" Guk declared. The Black Snotlings and boyz then doubled the size of the weapons they made and doubled their thickness as well. At last, the quality reached a barely usable level. Of course, the weapons also became so heavy that even strong boyz had to use both hands to lift them. But that was enough. Guk demanded that all manufactured weapons be sent to his room. Teeth would soon rot away—Ork teeth decayed rapidly once separated from the body—but weapons could last a long time. Those were the things that truly held value in Ork society. Guk understood that deeply.

"Boss! Today we got thirty-two Big Choppas, eleven great hammers, and one hundred sixty-one throwing spears!"

Seeing Guk arrive, Bucktooth, the boss of this manufacturing camp, immediately crawled out of an extinguished furnace. His entire body was covered in coal dust. To Guk, he looked just like an enlarged Black Snotling—though Guk did not really like that color.

"Good work. Take this!"

"Thanks, boss!"

The output was not high. At least, One-Ear believed that if he had been put in charge, it could have been doubled. But Guk was already very satisfied. He needed not only creatures to make weapons, but also someone to stop wandering boyz nearby from stealing them. One-Ear could not do that, but Bucktooth could. He could easily overturn two bosses. If he had not been so obsessed with making strange gadgets in his previous tribe, he would have become a boss long ago.

Catching the Sweet Squig Guk tossed him, one of Green Tooth's new products, Bucktooth opened his huge mouth and swallowed the pink thing in one bite.

"Mmm... Mmm! Mmmmm!"

The specially supplied delicacy that only Guk could enjoy made Bucktooth feel as if he had ascended to the heavens. Its sweet, rich, slippery texture made him almost unwilling to swallow it.

"These spears are pretty well made today."

Picking up a short spear and weighing it in his hand, Guk found it surprisingly well-balanced. The spearhead was sharpened, and the wooden shaft was shaved straight. It might have looked simple, but so far, he had not encountered any creature capable of taking one of Guk's spears head-on and remaining unharmed. Even ordinary boyz could easily throw one a hundred meters.

"B-Boss! I-I made that one."

A Black Snotling suddenly jumped out from the side and pounded its chest hard. Clearly, it was a creature trying to stand out. That was what Guk thought.

"Hmph. Then that's good. This is yours."

As he spoke, Guk took out a Slime Squig. The Snotling immediately stretched out its hands to catch it, but Guk suddenly pulled it back.

"But you've gotta do one more thing for me."

"W-What thing?"

The Snotling suddenly felt uneasy. It began regretting its momentary impulsiveness, but Guk was no longer going to give it any chance to back out. Smiling, he placed the Slime Squig on the Snotling's head, then gave Bucktooth a look.

"W-Wait! B-Boss, th-this..."

Bucktooth immediately grabbed the Snotling, pressed it against a wooden stake, and tied it up tightly with rope.

"Let's see if the thing you made is any good. Don't worry, I throw real accurate."

Amid the Snotling's shrill cries, Bucktooth planted it, stake and all, a hundred paces away. Guk picked up the throwing spear in his hand, aimed for a moment, then hurled it with all his strength!

"WAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!"

After a scream, the spear arced through the air and precisely grazed the Snotling's scalp, pinning the writhing Squig to the wooden stake.

"Boss, amazing!"

"Hahaha! Untie that weakling. Let him have both the Squig and the spear."

Just as he was enjoying himself, a boy came running over from the distance. Under Guk's puzzled gaze, he panted and said:

"B-Boss! A... someone's come..."