The first charge proved far more effective than Cheng Mingrui had expected. He had only sent in a tenth of his Boyz. Though it looked like more than a tenth-some of the Boyz must have disobeyed his orders and joined in!
But even with a few extra bodies, he had never expected that a single charge would overwhelm the human base. Its defensive line was quickly torn apart, and the fighting had already pushed deep inside, spreading around the Landing Zone.
Had human transports not been delivering a constant stream of reinforcements from above, the base would have fallen in no time.
"Why's it over so quick? Without more Humies, there's no fun!" Cheng Mingrui complained gloomily.
Unlike Cheng Mingrui's humblebragging, Pex, up in space, had gone deathly pale. Even the elite Armoured Division he had deployed could not stop the Orks' charge.
They could not even hold out for an hour!
His head aching, Pex closed his eyes. He spent a minute thinking in silence before opening them again, exhaustion filling his gaze.
"Captain, order every ship to begin full bombardment."
The captain of the Guardian looked grim, but offered no objections about their troops still being down there, or the bombardment being unable to cover the entire battlefield.
He merely nodded in silence and ordered the fleet to begin full bombardment.
With the grinding of machinery, one or more bomb bays opened on the underside of every warship. Bombs named Imperial Truth slowly emerged from the openings.
Pulled by gravity, "Truth" plunged toward Euronia IV with a piercing shriek.
Below, inside Pioneer Base, the soldiers of the Expeditionary Force were still fighting the Orks with their backs to the transports' Landing Platform. The wounded were loaded onto transports bound for the Guardian, while fresh transports continued to unload reinforcements.
These soldiers kept resisting not because their resolve was unshakable, but because they had nowhere to retreat. Fighting was their only chance of survival.
The bombs descending from the sky cut off that last chance. An enormous mushroom cloud rose over the plains, and a searing firestorm burned everything nearby to nothing, human and Ork alike.
"Command Centre! What are you doing? We're still down here! Why have you started orbital bombardment?"
Inside the temporary Command Centre on the Landing Platform, Pioneer Base's commander roared into his communicator.
"What do you mean we can retreat now? Weren't we supposed to hold for an hour? Retreat? With that orbital bombardment coming down, how are the transports supposed to take off?"
"What do you mean it's up to us now? Fuck! Hello? Hello?"
After another few curses, the commander hurled his communicator to the ground.
He looked outside. An immense white flash washed the whole world white. Without his goggles, it would have blinded him.
Against the backdrop of the enormous mushroom cloud, the human soldiers of the Expeditionary Force finally reached their breaking point. Some suffered mental breakdowns; others wept as they pressed their guns to their own heads.
Yet the Orks were still attacking! What freaks. They felt neither fear nor dread; they only yelled louder and fought with greater excitement.
Pressing his lips together, Pioneer Base's commander opened every communications channel, including the loudspeaker outside the Command Centre, and began broadcasting across the base.
"Orbital bombardment has begun. There is no longer any point in continuing to fight. Everyone, board the nearest transport and evacuate immediately! Everyone, begin evacuation immediately!"
After the broadcast, he removed his cap and put on his steel helmet. "All members of the Command Headquarters Guard, stay behind. Keep fighting with me and buy time for the evacuation."
Having issued his final order, the base commander fitted his twin iron claws onto his hands and stepped out of the temporary Command Room. Leading his Kasrkin Guard with cries of "For the Emperor!" he met the Ork vanguard head-on.
Most of the Ork forces were drawn to the fighting, easing the pressure on takeoffs and landings at the airfield. Many transports seized the chance to lift off and evacuate.
Time waited for no one, and neither did opportunity. Some were lucky enough to slip aboard a transport amid the chaos; others were left behind.
Even boarding a transport did not guarantee safety. Once airborne, they faced the Orks' "ample" antiaircraft fire below and the "Truth" bombs falling from above. In the end, only a handful escaped successfully.
Amid such chaos, everyone who escaped with their lives wept for joy. With emotions running so high, a few mistakes at work and a failure to notice certain irregularities were only natural.
"Those Humies are right ruthless. Took a bit of a loss this time," Cheng Mingrui remarked as he watched the orbital bombardment gradually plow over the plains.
"Boss Slick, don't worry. I'll remember what the Humies did, too. Once our Stompa's built, we'll fly up there and drop all our shells on their heads. Let 'em see what it feels like to have someone dropping bombs on 'em!" Clever Git said, hopping around Cheng Mingrui.
"Oh, right, the Stompa! Having loads of Mekboys sure is handy. Come on, let's see how the Stompa's coming along." Cheng Mingrui slapped his forehead, remembering something important. Since there was no fighting to be had again, he might as well get to work.
It was not just Cheng Mingrui. The bosses who had missed out on the fighting were disappointed, too. As for the casualties from the bombardment, no one cared. The Orks currently being blasted to pieces would, after a while, become fertile mushroom farms that grew even more Orks.
"Boss Slick, there's one more thing. The Kommandos reported they caught a few Humies to question. If you wanna interrogate 'em, Boss, you'd better hurry. I'm worried the Kommandos won't be able to keep those Humies safe. I saw the other Orks drooling when they spotted 'em."
Clever Git followed Cheng Mingrui, his mouth running nonstop. "Their boss, that Ram-something, is gone, too. Reckon he ate a Humie shell. I told him to paint his camouflage blue, but he wouldn't listen. Insisted on painting himself the same color as the Humies' uniforms."
"Rambo's gone?" Cheng Mingrui turned to look at Clever Git in surprise.
"Yeah. I saw only half that bunch of Kommandos come back. Their biggest boss was gone. No way I got that wrong," Clever Git declared with absolute certainty.
It seemed the name he had given Rambo had not brought him any luck after all. His hopes had been for nothing.
Next time he found a promising Kommando, he would paint his face blue. The Boyz all believed red made things go faster and blue brought good luck. Among Orks, there was plenty of truth to that.
Cheng Mingrui rubbed his smooth chin. "Have the Kommandos bring the Humies over and come with us to the Stompa. I'll ask 'em a few questions. The Humies' ships have all run off, so whatever we find out won't be much use now."
"Right, Boss. You go on ahead. I'll be right behind you." Clever Git ignited the Jump Pack on his back and shot into the sky.
Ugh, this is so boring. Missed out on the fighting again. Orks have to fight to get stronger-keep fighting, keep taking on fiercer battles. I'm too strong. I'll probably be stuck at this size for ages.
With a soft sigh, Cheng Mingrui had no choice but to accept that his boredom would continue.
Before you continue