In the loading bay, large numbers of Gretchin and Squigs poured out of several passage entrances at once. The Gretchin carried crude pistols and Stikkbombs, while the red Squigs were covered in explosives with burning fuses.
The sudden attacks from multiple directions briefly threw the Astra Militarum into confusion, but their training soon kicked in, and they blanketed every opening with saturating fire.
Although defending so many passages spread their firepower thin and cost them some casualties, the Astra Militarum's defensive line held firm against the Gretchin and Squigs.
The attack did not last long. The Gretchin soon broke under the casualties and fled deep into the passages with their Squigs.
With another victory secured, the Astra Militarum cheered. Their morale began to recover from the blows dealt by their recent defeats. Against humanity's steel and fire, the Ork monsters were not invincible.
This probe cost Cheng Mingrui little. Gretchin, Snotlings, and Squigs were all companion species of the Orks, and their numbers were vast. Using them to drain the enemy's ammunition was a common Ork tactic.
Trading a few expendable units for a picture of the humies' defenses was an excellent bargain for Cheng Mingrui. His tactical mind was exceptionally sharp, and he soon worked out their general troop dispositions and fields of fire.
The Orks truly possessed an extraordinary talent for war. It was just that these gifts, born of instinct and blood, were rarely put to full use. Orks were too exuberant and impulsive. Once a Waaagh! got going, they barely thought at all.
The second wave began, again with Gretchin and Squigs making up the main force. Driven forward by the Orks, the Gretchin had no choice but to charge the Astra Militarum's defensive line, however unwilling they were.
This attack was fiercer than the first and focused on two main directions. Because Cheng Mingrui had anticipated the Astra Militarum's fields of fire, quite a few Squigs broke through the barrage and blew the soldiers behind the line to pieces with the explosives strapped all over their bodies.
The Commissar's furious shouting nearly drowned out the artillery explosions. "Move! Reinforce the line! For the Emperor, blast these green-skinned monsters to bits!"
Two sudden Melta beams shot out of a lightly defended passage entrance, precisely striking two highly mobile but lightly armored Sentinels. The fire-support walkers, which moved on two mechanical legs, collapsed into heaps of scrap.
"Waaagh!" Alongside the Orks' roar came a rainstorm of bullets from their Shootas.
This passage entrance was the breakthrough point Cheng Mingrui had chosen.
Just as expected, the Astra Militarum were stunned by the sudden assault. Their meager firepower was completely suppressed by the Ork Shoota Boyz, while their few heavy weapons were picked off by precise Melta shots.
Once the Astra Militarum were pinned down, the Ardboys were the first to storm the human defenses. Empowered by the Waaagh! and their red paint, they ran at tremendous speed despite their full suits of iron armor.
The moment they entered the line, the Ardboys hurled every Stikkbomb they carried like demolition maniacs, blasting everything ahead of them to wreckage. Then they swung their Choppas and cut down anything still standing.
The Astra Militarum reacted quickly, immediately organizing a mobile force to reinforce the position. Two Leman Russ Tanks led the way, escorting five Chimera troop transports between them as they drove like a dagger into the midst of the Ardboys.
Stikkbombs and Choppas could not breach the tanks' armor. Under the guns of the Leman Russ Tanks, the steel plates worn by the Ardboys could not protect the vulnerable flesh beneath, and they were soon blasted off their feet.
The Chimera troop transports carried large numbers of Astra Militarum elites. After disembarking, they formed tightly coordinated combat teams and concentrated massed Lasgun fire on isolated Ardboys, killing them one by one.
At this rate, the Astra Militarum would soon wipe out the Ork troops along the defensive line and regain control of it.
Two Melta beams precisely struck a Leman Russ Tank that was wreaking havoc. Fortunately, its thick armor kept it from being destroyed in a single attack like the Sentinels, though another two shots would be a different story.
An enormous, terrifying war machine slowly emerged from the passage. Its massive bulk and vicious appearance immediately made it the focal point of the battlefield.
Built around a Killa Can, it had several extra layers of armor fitted to its front, with a large Meltagun mounted on its top and another on its side. It looked ugly, twisted, and thoroughly cobbled together, but its firepower and protection were first-rate.
The other Leman Russ Tank immediately swung its gun toward the bizarre Ork machine and fired. With a boom, the shell struck the modified Killa Kan dead on. When the smoke cleared, it had only blasted away a single plate of external armor.
The modified Killa Kan's resilience sent the Ork Boyz and Gretchin operating it into excited shouts, their fighting spirit soaring.
An Ork Boy sat on the large Meltagun. He bellowed excitedly too, urging the two Gretchin on either side of the weapon to hurry up with their aiming assistance.
Soon, the Meltaguns finished cooling and fired again. One shot went wide, while the other destroyed the first Leman Russ Tank's tracks.
The Ork Boy gunner unleashed a stream of filthy curses. Failing to destroy the Leman Russ Tank had made him lose face. He kicked a Gretchin to make them work faster. He wanted to keep firing.
The modified Killa Kan's astonishing combat power deeply shocked the Astra Militarum Commissar. He shouted orders to his soldiers, spraying spit all over the face of the vox operator beside him.
Under the Commissar's direction, the Astra Militarum brought in more armored units. Other troops maintained a limited defense at the exits while as much heavy firepower as possible was diverted to deal with the Orks' modified Killa Kan.
The Commissar burned with humiliation and rage. He had never imagined that stupid Orks could make a fool of him, never expected the stupid, savage creatures to use a feint to strike elsewhere. He desperately wanted to destroy their forces and make up for his failure of command.
Most of the tanks, artillery, and armored vehicles were gathered in front of the modified Killa Kan, pouring countless rounds and torrents of fire into it.
No amount of external armor could withstand such a bombardment. Even if each shot from a Leman Russ Tank destroyed only one outer armor plate, the modified Killa Kan would not last ten minutes.
Its external mechanical arms and Meltaguns were reduced to scrap. The Ork Boyz nearby who had been covering it were almost completely wiped out, and all they had gained in return was the destruction of two Leman Russ Tanks.
At the sight of this brutal hammering of steel and fire, the Commissar was finally satisfied. Once this bizarre vehicle was destroyed, no Ork could break through the wall of fire before him.
Suddenly, the scene before the Commissar seemed to freeze. The teeth-grinding shriek of tearing steel and the roar of an enormous explosion crashed in his ears like thunder from the heavens.
A twenty-meter-high wall of the loading bay was torn open like a rag. Searing molten iron swept in with the shock wave and swallowed half his mechanized regiment.
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