Slaughter

Ghana was a coastal city in the southern hemisphere of Euronia III, with a hot, rainy climate and an endless stretch of tropical rainforest at its back. Its beautiful scenery made it a fine destination for holidays and sightseeing.

Its population numbered around two million, most of whom worked in services or shipbuilding-related industries. Fishing also flourished.

For those who lived in Ghana, the city provided everything they needed. The only thing it failed to offer its residents was adequate protection.

Explosions blossomed across the city like fireworks. Black smoke from the fires shrouded half the city, and beneath it rose desperate sobs and screams.

Seen from above, several green waves converged on central Ghana like tributaries. Wherever they passed, destruction, explosions, and fire followed.

A crowd of civilians screamed as they fled past burning cars, trash cans, and shops, racing down the streets to escape the terrifying monsters behind them.

At their heels surged a green wave of Gretchin, Snotlings, Squigs, and Ork Boyz, shouting and laughing wildly. Any civilian who fell behind was swallowed by the wave, with not so much as a scrap left.

The civilians rounded a corner, and the Orks chased after them. Then a shout of "Fire!" rang out, and volleys from lasguns, autocannons, and heavy machine guns cut them down in swathes.

Ghana's few remaining defenders had formed a defensive line that halted the green tide.

The mortal soldiers of the Defense Force roared as they pulled their triggers, covering the escape of the unarmed civilians.

"Die, you green monsters! Die!" a soldier manning a heavy machine gun screamed hysterically.

How dare these savage monsters armed with choppas and axes attack a human city!

Watching his machine gun riddle the green monsters one after another, the gunner grew even angrier. To him, savages like the Orks could only bully civilians. Against humanity's iron and fire, they were nothing.

Perhaps seeking to vent their emotions through their weapons, every human soldier fired with everything he had. A torrent of ammunition and explosions engulfed the green monsters.

The barrage continued for more than ten minutes, until gunsmoke filled the entire street and everything fell quiet.

"Hahahaha..." Quite a few soldiers laughed behind the defenses. Driven by adrenaline, they had kept firing, and slaughtering so many enemies made them feel that the savage Orks were nothing special after all.

Thud... thud... thud. Heavy footsteps struck the soldiers' hearts like steel drumsticks. There was something in the smoke!

Their eyes turned toward the sound. An enormous monster slowly emerged from the smoke, the dull thuds coming from his feet striking the ground.

"Emperor above... what is that monster..." One soldier was so shocked by the sight that he could barely speak.

The four-meter giant wore armor cobbled together from steel. In one hand he carried a massive, blood-dripping axe; the other was a vicious metal claw. Only his green head identified him as an Ork, and his bloodthirsty red eyes stared at them all...

The human soldiers had clearly never seen anything so large. Fear crept into many of their hearts. A terrified scream was followed by a gunshot, and then every soldier pulled his trigger.

The lasguns emptied one magazine after another. Heavy machine guns and autocannons fired until their barrels glowed red. Gripped by terror, the human soldiers could no longer control themselves. All they wanted was the sense of safety their weapons' fire could give them.

No one knew how long they fired. They only stopped when seemingly every weapon had overheated and needed to cool before it could fire again.

Under that kind of firepower, surely even a monster that huge and terrifying would die. Every panting soldier had the same thought.

A second after that thought arose, an enormous figure burst out of the smoke raised by the second barrage and smashed into their makeshift defenses like a speeding train.

Countless huge chunks of stone and concrete, fragments of weapons, and mangled bodies were hurled into the air.

"That's it?" Iron Claw sneered. He raised the Killer Axe high in his right hand and swept it sideways. Flesh and metal alike were cleaved in two beneath its blade, and blood splashed across the ground in a beautiful semicircle.

The only autocannon team swung its weapon around. Despite their fear, the soldiers slowly took aim at Iron Claw, as though the weapon in their hands could kill the monster before them.

"Hmph!" Iron Claw snorted and smashed the heavy weapons team to pieces with a single blow of his claw.

After another sweep of his axe cut a mass of human soldiers in half like stalks of wheat, Iron Claw lost interest.

These Humies were too weak! They were nothing like the Humies aboard the warship. He didn't need to lift a finger. The Boyz could overwhelm them bare-handed through sheer numbers.

Most of the Humies in the city didn't even dare fight back, and this was all the few soldiers who did could manage? Iron Claw cast a sideways glance at the human soldiers breaking ranks and fleeing.

Their guns felt like flashlights against his body, giving him little more than a burning sensation. The machine-gun bullets did hurt, but that was all. Those autocannons packed quite a punch, but as long as he protected his head, their damage wasn't fatal.

Only then did Iron Claw notice a slight pain in his head. He picked at it and dug out an autocannon shell that had failed to penetrate his skull.

It had hurt him, after all. Angered, he hurled the shell away, knocking down a group of fleeing human soldiers.

A mob of green monsters charged out from behind Iron Claw, cheerfully pursuing and slaughtering the routed soldiers.

Iron Claw turned and walked back. He didn't want to do this. Weak enemies held no interest for him. Things had been much more fun when he was with Boss Slick. Those Humies had been far more satisfying to chop up. Some had even leaped at him with grenades in their arms and clung to him.

It hadn't just been fighting Humies, either. He had fought Tyranids too, and fighting Tyranids was even more satisfying. Dozens of them had surrounded and attacked him, letting his iron claw drink its fill of blood.

But... had Boss Slick given him a job? Or had he forgotten it?

Back aboard the ship, Boss Slick had simply shoved him and his followers into a spacecraft without explaining anything else.

Whatever. No point thinking so hard. If he ran into Humies, he just had to fight them.

A shriek came from the sky as several iron birds flew overhead. Their bombs and incendiaries instantly lit up the entire street, burning most of the Ork Boyz to death and leaving Iron Claw covered in soot and dust.

"Waaagh!!" Iron Claw roared furiously at the iron birds overhead, but unfortunately, he couldn't fly.

Whatever. The Humies had plenty of strange weapons. He could settle this score later.

As for the losses among the Boyz, this place was warm and damp, and the rainforest was especially dense. Every day, new Boyz wandered out of the rainforest after getting lost.

Right, Gretchin and Squigs came out of the rainforest too. Thinking of those two things finally set Iron Claw's brain working. He remembered the main reason for attacking the Humie city.