Encircled on all sides

Cheng Mingrui had so many Mekboys at his disposal that every Ork enjoyed lavish equipment. Even the most ordinary Choppa Boyz carried standard-issue Choppas and defensive armor.

That went double for the astonishingly large-caliber Big Booms, the numerous armored units, and the Giant Squig Warbeasts. Every last one was armed to the teeth.

That was why the Ork Boyz had fielded so many specialized units in the first wave, completely overpowering the human Expeditionary Force.

Truth be told, Cheng Mingrui had underestimated his own strength a little. His Boyz were well equipped, and there were plenty of them.

The Big Digga's incredible farming efficiency had made the underground Mushroom Farm stretch almost beyond sight, with more Boyz born each day than anyone could count.

Even committing around two hundred thousand Orks to a probing attack, letting his Boyz blow off steam, then trying to lure the enemy deeper after they were wiped out would have been an acceptable loss.

Such lavish equipment was exceedingly rare among the Orks. Apart from a shortage of air forces and Titan-class armored units, he had practically every other kind of Ork unit available.

With that strength, he could take on renowned Astra Militarum regiments head-on, or even test his mettle against a less powerful Space Marine Chapter.

A crimson beam pierced Euronia IV's atmosphere, swept away its thin clouds, and slammed into the Ork masses on the eastern front.

The green tide faltered at once. Vast numbers of green-skinned monsters vanished beneath the searing beam, along with their equipment.

However tough the Orks' bodies were, they were still flesh and blood. Some Nobs and War Beasts could withstand artillery shells, but orbital bombardment on this scale would reduce them to ash all the same.

The Crimson Pillar of Death traced a semicircle across the eastern front, carving out a trench filled with crimson magma. The crisis on Pioneer Base's eastern front had been averted for the moment.

Pex's expression remained grim. The orbital bombardment had consumed a considerable portion of the Guardian's energy reserves, and another strike would require a long recharge. Yet he had been forced to fire early, or those enormous Squig Beasts might have smashed straight through Pioneer Base.

But the hastily launched bombardment could not completely stop the Green Tide's charge. The trench filled with crimson magma was an impassable chasm for ordinary life, but to the Orks it was merely a minor nuisance.

The Speed Freeks found it even more exciting. They pushed their vehicles to maximum speed and launched themselves over the trench. Those who made it roared excitedly on the far bank, while those who fell short smashed to pieces against the trench walls, drawing howls of mocking laughter from the Greenskins.

The Ork infantry were even more reckless. Relying on their full suits of armor, they jumped straight into the trench, planting their boots on scorching rocks and molten magma. Some were cooked alive; others made it across.

A close look at those who crossed revealed a layer of green energy protecting their feet. The Greenskins were already drunk on Waaagh! As long as they believed they could climb across, the powerful Waaagh! Field would let them do it.

The Orks in the east still needed time to cross the trench. On the other three sides, the Orks had already braved Pioneer Base's long-range fire and reached its walls.

The southern front was the first to make contact. The Ork forces on this side consisted mainly of Trukks and Trukk Tanks.

The pickup-like Trukks paid no heed to being lightly armored vehicles and tore forward at breakneck speed. The Slugga Boyz at the front never once released the triggers of their Big Dakkas.

After suffering tremendous losses to get within range, the Trukks activated the catapults mounted in their beds, flinging their loads of Ork Boyz or bombs over the base's walls and into the Expeditionary Force's defensive lines.

Under the blessing of the Waaagh! Field, the Ork Choppa Boyz who landed were no longer ordinary Choppa Boyz. As long as they believed, the ordinary Choppas in their hands could cut through anything.

While the Choppa Boyz tore the human Expeditionary Force's defensive lines to shreds, the Trukk Tanks moved into firing range.

The Trukk Tanks' design also embodied the Orks' love of big, strong, and Waaagh! Their armor was merely adequate, their chassis were fast, and their turrets were extraordinarily large.

After several volleys, the massed Trukk Tanks blasted several breaches in the base's defensive walls, then charged forward while pouring shells into the gaps.

Unlike the armored assault in the south, the attack in the west was far more primitive, consisting mainly of large numbers of Gretchin leading their Squig Beasts.

Squigs were the shapeshifters of the Ork world. The most common were bright red Squigs with gaping mouths that bit into their enemies. There were also delicious, juicy varieties fit for eating, as well as colorful hair Squigs that Orks could wear on their heads.

When there were not enough minerals to supply the Greenskins with weapons, Squigs could serve as their weapons instead.

Riding Squigs, the Gretchin led vast packs of assorted Squig Beasts, as though a zoo had thrown open its gates. The Squigs came in bizarre shapes and all sizes, but they shared one trait: savage ferocity.

These packs of Squig Beasts feared neither artillery bombardments nor casualties, nor did they shrink from Lasgun fire and storms of bullets. They slammed solidly into Pioneer Base's walls and clambered upward, layer upon layer.

Once they broke through a breach, they poured like water into the human Expeditionary Force's defensive lines, biting and tearing apart its vehicles and flesh.

The northern front was the last to engage, and its attack was the most straightforward. At the front of the Ork formation stood vast blocks of Choppa Boyz and Slugga Boyz. They advanced slowly like sand dunes, trading fire and casualties with the human Expeditionary Force on the walls.

Ordinary Ork Boyz fell dead when shot, but the Killa Kans piloted by Gretchin and the Mekboy Dreads piloted by Orks feared most incoming fire no more than a breeze. Trailing long plumes of black smoke, they marched steadily forward.

Behind their formation, the Orks had prepared enormous amounts of long-range supporting fire. Big Booms of every description and caliber bombarded Pioneer Base without pause.

Surrounding an enemy on three sides while leaving one open was not an Ork tactic. If they were going to fight, they would attack from every direction at once. Every front fought with extraordinary ferocity, and no Ork wanted to leave the fun to the other Boyz.

It was hard to tell which fell first. In the end, after holding out for just over thirty minutes, all four of Pioneer Base's defensive lines collapsed at once. Vast numbers of green-skinned monsters poured inside, and the battle dissolved into a chaotic melee.

Judging by experience, the humans would struggle to mount any effective resistance now. Before long, the Greenskins would wipe out every enemy in the base.