The First Wave Assault

"Huh? The Humies are here?" When Cheng Mingrui heard his Gretchin subordinate's report, he was operating the Big Digga, tunneling underground.

The Big Digga had been modified again. Not only did it dig fast and hard, but special pipes could also coat its surface with mushroom spores, allowing it to sow as it dug, just like driving a seed drill.

Some of the Ork Boyz liked the Big Digga's thunderous roar, so Cheng Mingrui had built two more. When he had time to spare, he would take one for a spin underground himself, treating it as a bit of racing to unwind.

He had barely started his joyride that day, enjoying the Big Digga's jolting vibrations and the explosive crashes of shattering rock, when this unexpected news arrived.

"Take me to have a look! How many came? What're they here for? If they're here for a scrap, that's brilliant!" Perhaps he had been an Ork for too long. Not only had Cheng Mingrui's accent become inconsistent, but he was also growing increasingly fond of fighting.

There was nothing but sand on Euronia IV. Never mind enemies-there was no life at all. The Boyz could blow off steam with their daily competitive brawls, but Cheng Mingrui, a five-meter-tall Ork Nob, could not even find an opponent to fight.

Euronia IV had nothing but rocks and fierce winds. After one gust swept past, several pairs of little red eyes appeared in a deeply furrowed ravine. They belonged to Cheng Mingrui and a few of his sharper Boyz, who had reached the spot under cover of the wind.

In the distance, beyond the desert of sand and stone, a flourishing Mushroom Farm brought a touch of green to the barren planet.

Several merciless streams of fire suddenly appeared, devouring the Mushroom Farm bit by bit. Hundreds of human soldiers in protective suits were burning it with flamethrowers strapped to their backs.

Every so often, a Gretchin, Ork, or Snotling who had been sleeping among the mushrooms would catch fire and rush out as a blazing fireball, screaming in agony as the flames seared them.

A few lasgun shots rang out. The fireballs were hit and fell, slowly going still as the flames reduced them to ashes along with the Mushroom Farm.

Behind the soldiers stood several enormous, brick-shaped transports. More soldiers and armored units disembarked from them. Some joined in burning the Mushroom Farm, others began constructing defensive positions and fortifications, and still others were building barracks and strongholds. They appeared intent on establishing a secure base here.

Cheng Mingrui raised his head. His gaze could pierce Euronia IV's thin atmosphere and make out the faint silhouettes of warships in space.

This was indeed a good place to build a base. The open terrain gave them direct access to destroy the Mushroom Farm, and the transports could land safely. Warships in space provided cover as well, ready to deliver orbital bombardments at any moment.

It looked somewhat difficult to deal with, but only looked that way.

Cheng Mingrui ducked his head back down. The Boyz accompanying him crouched too, their little red eyes fixed on him, brimming with excitement.

Orks were all warlike. As Ghazghkull Thraka put it, they were born for war, and they were born to win wars!

Cheng Mingrui and the handful of Boyz beside him were not the only ones outside the human base. An entire ring of the green tide already surrounded it, and more Boyz kept moving in underground.

The land beneath their feet was the Orks' true foundation. Compared with what lay underground, the Mushroom Farm on the surface was hardly worth mentioning.

News of the Humies' arrival spread very quickly. Almost every Ork and Gretchin knew about it. After five idle months on Euronia IV without a proper fight, nearly all the Orks were excited.

Through the red eyes of the Boyz beside him, Cheng Mingrui felt as though he could see the tens of thousands of eyes behind them-eyes hungry for war, madness, and blood.

All the Boyz were waiting for Cheng Mingrui's command, waiting for the order to launch a mighty Waaagh!

"Rambo..." Cheng Mingrui said.

At the sound of his name, Rambo, one of the Kommandos, lowered his goggles over his eyes.

"Awaiting your orders, sir."

The Kommandos were oddities among the Orks. They were calm, composed, and strictly obedient to discipline and orders.

As their name suggested, they specialized in special operations. They were rare among the Orks, with the sole exception of the Blood Axes tribe, which had considerably more of them. After all, the Blood Axes were oddities themselves. They wore military greatcoats and boots, and even polished those boots to a shine.

"Tell Kuka to notify the bosses down below. Have the first wave of Boyz attack in half an hour. But your job's different. I want you to grab a few prisoners-alive and in one piece. I want intel on the Humies."

Cheng Mingrui did not actually want to give that order. He had planned to wait, or perhaps lure the enemy deeper in, letting more human troops gather before devouring them all in one satisfying bite.

But knowing that the Boyz below had held back for so long, he could only let them have a Waaagh! first.

The Orks' warlike nature could not be suppressed. Even the Blood Axes, renowned for their strict discipline, struggled to make their Boyz obey every command without question, let alone Cheng Mingrui.

Snap! Rambo and the Kommandos behind him gave Cheng Mingrui a crisp, perfectly synchronized military salute, their hands positioned with almost flawless precision.

"We'll get it done, sir." With that, Rambo led the Kommandos behind him away into the tunnels.

Cheng Mingrui had named the Kommandos' boss Rambo, using a pure Chinese pronunciation. The name reflected his delight and expectations at finding Kommandos growing out of the Mushroom Farm.

After receiving the order, Kuka had the Psyker Boy under his command relay Cheng Mingrui's orders to all the Ork bosses. The bosses assigned to the first wave began showing off their muscles and weapons to those in the other waves, declaring that they could flatten the Humies in a single attack.

The entire preparation process flowed smoothly, displaying a remarkable degree of order and precision.

Order and precision might seem like two words that had nothing whatsoever to do with Orks, but that was a misconception, much like the Imperium's humans mistaking Orks for savages brandishing stone axes.

Orks were an advanced civilization. As their level of development rose and their population grew, they became increasingly organized and orderly.

During the historical War of the Beast, the Orks had established a vast empire spanning the galaxy, posing a grave threat to the Imperium of Man and nearly capturing its capital, Terra.

An empire that immense could not exist without a strong, stable organization.

When the countdown to Cheng Mingrui's appointed time ended, countless Orks poured out of the ground, valleys, and tunnels all around the human base.

They attacked the human base from every direction, encircling it. It seemed that the green tide could effortlessly swallow the black speck at its center.

Judging by their momentum, it seemed just as the first-wave Ork bosses had boasted before setting out: a single charge would be enough to flatten the Humies completely.