Krakka Teleporter

Cleverhead gave Cheng Mingrui another little taste of Orkish astonishment. This time, it was not just his incredible craftsmanship, but the sincerity with which he treated him. Cheng Mingrui almost felt ready to die for someone who truly appreciated him.

"Cleverhead Boss, you..." Cheng Mingrui had been about to ask why he was so good to him, but Cleverhead cut him off.

"Quit yer yapping! Quit yer yapping! Keep yapping and we'll have a scrap. This is already the best gear I can make right now."

Forget it. An Ork's brain probably could not understand any further words of gratitude anyway. Their thinking was too simple, too direct.

Cheng Mingrui said nothing more and began putting on the armour Cleverhead had made for him. These were not the simple iron helmets and plates worn by the Tin Boyz, but genuine Power Armour, something built on the same principle as what the Astartes wore.

"You country bumpkin! How come yer so stupid now? Who puts it on like that? You gotta do this... then this... then this... and finally this... There, ain't that done? What an idiot!" Watching Cheng Mingrui put on his armour as though it were ordinary armour, Cleverhead looked thoroughly disgusted and had no choice but to show him how.

With Cleverhead's help, Cheng Mingrui finally got the full suit of Power Armour on. Putting this stuff on really did take skill. There was quite a bit of technological logic involved, and the experience improved Cheng Mingrui's mechanical talent somewhat.

Just how powerful were the Old Ones? Had they encoded all their technology into the Orks' genes? Cheng Mingrui could not help wondering, having gained so much insight.

"Right now, our problem is this passage. It's too narrow. We've lost plenty of good Boyz and still can't break through." Once Cheng Mingrui was ready, Cleverhead began explaining the current battle situation.

With that, Cleverhead kicked an Ork Boy beside him. The Boy ducked his head, then climbed into a makeshift Killa Kan, one with very thick frontal armour and no weapons whatsoever. It had clearly been modified on the spot.

Soon, the Ork Boy drove the Killa Kan into the passage entrance, where concentrated fire from Heavy Stubbers and Heavy Lasguns greeted him, along with streams of plasma fluid and melta beams.

After advancing only about fifteen metres, the heavily armoured Killa Can was destroyed.

"See? That's how things stand. Breaking through head-on is hard. Even we'd have to pay a huge price to get through, heavy armour and Force Fields or not." Cleverhead curled his lip.

It really was a difficult situation. Human heavy firepower had an enormous advantage in confined spaces, putting the attackers at a severe disadvantage. Cheng Mingrui lowered his head and began thinking.

"But now you're here... and you brought so many good Boyz, there's still a way." Cleverhead interrupted Cheng Mingrui's thoughts. "You know what a Krakka Teleporter is?"

Of course Cheng Mingrui... did not. But as soon as that strange term entered his mind, knowledge welled up from the depths of his thoughts like flowing water.

"We can use the Krakka Teleporter to move straight behind the Humies' defensive line!" Cheng Mingrui said in delight.

"Hmph, you really are a sly one. Yeah, that's it. The device is on my back, but it's only got enough power to teleport me alone. There's no time to build another one now, either. This thing's pretty complicated." Cleverhead curled his lip. He seemed a little jealous. What was going on? How was this fellow so smart? Back when he first encountered it, he had not understood what a Krakka Teleporter was at all.

"So here's my plan. I teleport over first, get the Humies' attention, and cause some chaos. You charge through with the Boyz in one go. As long as you're quick enough, you can get through the passage and kill this lot of Humies."

Once again, Cleverhead's words stunned Cheng Mingrui. His mouth fell open, and he had no idea what to say.

Cleverhead was very pleased as well. He believed his intelligence and unexpected tactical arrangements had stunned the sly fellow before him, leaving him feeling intellectually outclassed.

"No need to admire me. I'm just that clever. Born that way. That's why I'm called Cleverhead." Cleverhead chuckled merrily.

In one respect, Cleverhead had guessed correctly: Cheng Mingrui really was stunned. What stunned him was why Cleverhead would personally take on something so dangerous instead of making him lead the team...

What if I were some sinister, evil bastard? If I dragged my feet just a little and arrived late with the reinforcements, wouldn't that leave Cleverhead high and dry? I could even take over his Boyz while I was at it.

Was it really okay to be this naive?

"All right... I'll get everyone through the passage as quickly as I can..." Cheng Mingrui struggled painfully, but still managed to hold back his urge to poke fun at Cleverhead. If even such an adorable Boss could be called Cleverhead, Orks really were a bunch of "adorable" fellows.

"Right. Now you work out the Boyz' attack order and how they'll charge. Tell me when you're ready. Then just watch me slaughter everything, heh heh heh..." Cleverhead said smugly.

"No problem... I'll go sort it out..." Outwardly, Cheng Mingrui said nothing else, but the little angel and devil in his heart were already locked in a furious argument.

On the other side of the passage, Commissar Japhard stood as straight as a flagpole in the very centre of the position. Only two Kasrkin soldiers guarded him; the rest of the Kasrkin Slaughter Squad were providing defensive fire at the front.

He watched everyone along the defensive line, his will as unyielding as steel.

Suddenly, a flash of yellow light exploded behind the defensive line, throwing it into chaos.

Several bolts of lightning shot out from the blast point, igniting the ammunition piled nearby and burning personnel to charred husks.

An enormous Ork carrying a generator on his back appeared out of thin air. Roaring, he attacked every enemy nearby in a frenzy.

The Kasrkin Slaughter Squad reacted fastest. They closed in around him, spreading into an attack formation, and drowned the Ork in a storm of lasgun beams from their Hellguns.

Yet the immensely powerful Hellgun barrage did not kill the Ork. A yellow field surrounded him, not only protecting the Ork within but also constantly firing bolts of lightning at nearby Astra Militarum troops.

"Use the Heavy Meltagun and Plasma Guns! His field won't hold much longer. Kasrkin, keep up suppressing fire. Don't give this monster room to strike back," Japhard ordered.

Soon, the Meltagun brought over from the front of the defensive line was being set up. Two plasma shots slammed into the yellow Force Field, making it flicker twice and leaving it on the verge of collapse.

The forward-facing Leman Russ turret turned with the grinding of gears. The passage was too narrow to bring a tank inside, so they had been forced to remove the tank turret and use it as a fixed firing position.

Brave as Cleverhead was, things did not look promising under so much concentrated fire.