Chapter Summaries

Commissar Kester assessed the political fallout from Chuck’s death and the stalemate against the Orks on Number 3. With Ghazghkull evading attempts to kill him, Kester planned to hold Capello until reinforcements arrived and then consider limited counterattacks.

• Cornwall blamed Chuck for the southern continent’s collapse, erased his achievements, and destroyed his family to appease the public and nobles.
• Public criticism also targeted System Commander Pex, while Cornwall gained praise for keeping the Orks from advancing north.
• Kester maintained a defensive stalemate at Capello, relying on bombardments and reinforcements rather than risking a counterattack across the spore-infested south.
• Kester reviewed Ghazghkull’s record and recalled two failed attempts to lure him into an ambush or kill him with orbital bombardment.
• Kester learned that another wave of reinforcements would raise his Astra Militarum force to ten million, allowing him to consider limited counterattacks.

Kester focused on preparing Number 3’s industry to supply the arriving Astra Militarum, while Iron Claw grew frustrated by the Humies’ air attacks and accepted Goldtooth’s plan to fight Tyranids underground. On Number 4, bored Orks invented a violent game involving Bitey Squigs.

• Kester worked to expand Number 3’s industrial capacity and prepare supplies for the Astra Militarum.
• Iron Claw’s frustration grew as Humie warships and fire from the sky kept him from fighting freely.
• Goldtooth told Iron Claw that Tyranids were hiding around Stone Ridge and suggested attacking them through underground tunnels.
• Iron Claw embraced Goldtooth’s plan and set off into the tunnels to fight the Tyranids.
• On Number 4, Orks began playing a game in which teams carried Bitey Squigs into opposing goals to win the teeth knocked loose on the field.

Clever Git watched a Blood Bowl Squigball game before rushing to Big Blade’s operating room after hearing that Boss Slick was waking up. Cheng Mingrui finally opened his eyes, mistook Clever Git for an ugly creature, and slapped him into the wall.

• Clever Git cheered on his chosen team and led the Gretchin in a brawl to collect the bettors’ Teef.
• A Gretchin arrived on a Squig and told Clever Git that Boss Slick was about to wake up.
• Big Blade proposed drilling into Cheng Mingrui’s skull to install a radio receiver, while Kidd questioned the plan.
• Clever Git crashed through the operating room ceiling and flew toward Cheng Mingrui after Big Blade tried to send him away.
• Cheng Mingrui woke up, saw Clever Git’s face, and slapped him into the wall.

After waking from a long recovery, Cheng Mingrui reclaimed his Workshop, equipped himself and Clever Git, and returned to the collapsing Dimensional Prison to study the traces left by Gork, Mork, and the C'tan Shard. He sensed that something new in his soul let him perceive higher-order beings more clearly, but what he would discover remained unknown.

• Cheng Mingrui learned that he had slept for at least a dozen days, thanked Big Blade for leaving him unharmed, and set out with Clever Git and Kidd.
• Cheng Mingrui and his companions rode Kidd's Gorkanaut to the Workshop, where he discovered Kidd and Dio had divided it between them.
• Cheng Mingrui reclaimed his Workshop and its equipment, paid Kidd with Clever Git's bag of teef, and made basic Power Armour for himself and Clever Git.
• Cheng Mingrui gathered his Mekboys and teleported them to the Dimensional Prison, where the space was collapsing and scavengers searched the ruins.
• Cheng Mingrui sensed the lingering traces of Gork, Mork, and the C'tan Shard with his soul, using his new ability to perceive higher-order beings.

After absorbing new knowledge from the C'tan's destruction, Cheng Mingrui gained immortality and new powers, then used them to search for a way forward. He attempted to restore Kuka by placing his memories into a dead Ork, and Kuka's familiar voice returned.

• Cheng Mingrui realized he had become immortal, gained resistance to psychic power, and could gather informational concepts.
• Cheng Mingrui placed gathered concepts into Kuka's mask, opened a hidden gate with the Krakka Teleporter, and sent Dio, Kidd, and Clever Git to recruit fighters for another adventure.
• Cheng Mingrui searched the wreck of the Glory Knight for Cleverhead Boss's memories, but recovered only fragments and scattered them across the Mushroom Farm.
• Cheng Mingrui took a small, relatively intact Ork corpse from the arena's body pile and placed Kuka's mask over its face.
• Cheng Mingrui used waaagh energy and Kuka's memories to repair the corpse, and Kuka's familiar voice asked why Boss Slick was holding him.

Cheng Mingrui led the Heavy Nobs and Clever Git through the White Door into a Necron laboratory, where they fought the defenders and he realized the facility held research into restoring Necron flesh and souls. As the Dimensional Prison continued collapsing, Cheng Mingrui spotted Dio and came up with an idea to save the laboratory’s knowledge.

• Cheng Mingrui teleported Kuka to Big Blade, ordered him to treat Kuka’s injuries, and paid with one of his tusks.
• Cheng Mingrui allowed Clever Git to join the Heavy Nobs, then led the group through the White Door.
• Cheng Mingrui and his forces entered a vast laboratory filled with sarcophagi, cages, and culture vessels, where Necron troops attacked them.
• Cheng Mingrui inferred that the Necrons had used the laboratory to research regaining flesh and souls, and worried that the collapsing prison would destroy its findings.
• Cheng Mingrui saw Dio blasting an Immortal and suddenly thought of a way to preserve the laboratory’s research.

Cheng Mingrui recruited Dio and Kidd to build a Dimensional Stabilizer, using the Orks’ vast network of reactors and Krakka Teleporters. After completing the stabilizer in three hours, the group arrived at the Black Abyss to prepare its final energy emitter.

• Dio explained how he and the Orks connected power sources and teleported more than ten million Boyz into the Dimensional Prison.
• Cheng Mingrui assigned Dio to build the stabilizer’s hardware and Kidd to calibrate its software, while Heavy Nobs cleared Necrons from the Laboratory without damaging its data.
• Dio showed Cheng Mingrui the reactors and Krakka Teleporters the Orks had built throughout the Necron tombs, with Gretchin helping repair reactors for a chance to join the Waaagh!.
• Cheng Mingrui built an Engineering Kan and coordinated Dio and Kidd as they constructed the Dimensional Stabilizer in three hours.
• Cheng Mingrui, Dio, and Kidd teleported to the Black Abyss, where Dio showed off his Zzap Guns beside the dissolving Dimensional Prison.

Cheng Mingrui used the Zzap Guns and Krakka Teleporters to stabilize the dimensional prison and save the Necrons’ research data. To settle the question of who would become Big Mek, he named both Kidd and Dio the first Big Meks of his new Skryre Clan.

• Cheng Mingrui examined Dio’s Zzap Gun and learned it had been built around a Necron weapon designed to contain the C’tan.
• Cheng Mingrui designed a spatial stabilizer, and Kidd helped verify the calculations.
• Cheng Mingrui activated the stabilizer, coordinating the Krakka Teleporters to repair and stabilize the dimensional prison and preserve its research data.
• Cheng Mingrui weighed Kidd’s skill and loyalty against Dio’s unusual talent and crucial role in the recent battles.
• Cheng Mingrui declared Kidd and Dio the first two Big Meks of his Skryre Clan, leaving both Mekboys unsure how to object.

Cheng Mingrui arranged for the Orks to build spaceships and manipulated the Nobz into competing for places aboard them, then recruited Rambo and his Kommandos to occupy Afentis's laboratory. Meanwhile, the Great Devourer watched the Orks resist the Tyranids in Octarius and turned its attention toward the Euronia System.

• Cheng Mingrui appointed Kidd and Dio as Big Meks and persuaded them to build Gargants and equip them with Zzap Guns for a war in space.
• Cheng Mingrui warned the Heavy Nobz that spaceship seats would be limited, prompting them to seek places aboard the Gargants, while Clever Git planned to bribe Mekboys.
• Cheng Mingrui contacted Rambo and led his Kommandos to occupy Afentis's Necron laboratory and investigate its valuables and research.
• The Great Devourer observed that the Tyranid advance in Octarius had stalled as Orks grew stronger and brought in reinforcements.
• The Great Devourer focused on the Euronia System after detecting Orks expanding there and deciding their growth threatened the wider Octarius campaign.

The Great Devourer directed the Tyranid Swarm toward Number 3 while balancing the threat of Warp Daemons, the Orks, and other enemies. In Glory Bastion, Commissar Kester held a city entry ceremony for the Astra Militarum, but the celebration ended with news that Ghazghkull had attacked Commander Pex.

• The Great Devourer prepared the Tyranid Fleet for its coming arrival at Number 3 while allocating forces to the Kronos Hive Fleet and the Ork Sector.
• The people of Glory Bastion gathered to welcome the Astra Militarum as its troops marched through the city gates.
• Commissar Kester explained to Cornwall that he planned to retake Pioneer City and would need the Planetary Defense Force's help.
• Kester received word that Ghazghkull was leading an attack against Commander Pex, who urgently requested reinforcements.

Pex detonated a Tactical Nuke to stop Ghazghkull’s underground attack, and the blast appeared to throw the Orks into disarray. Kester and Pex agreed to exploit the opening by attacking Pioneer City while Pex launched counterattacks to draw the Orks’ attention.

• Iron Claw and the Orks advanced through the tunnels, while Pex learned that Ghazghkull had nearly wiped out his elite squad.
• Pex ordered the Tactical Nuke detonated, killing the squad, collapsing the tunnels, and splitting the mountain above the blast.
• Pex’s forces observed the Orks’ attack slow, and he ordered bombing support and preparations for a counterattack.
• Pex told Kester that Ghazghkull was likely dead, while orbital observations confirmed that the Orks had fallen into disarray.
• Kester proposed attacking Pioneer City to deny its mineral deposits to the Orks, and Pex agreed to launch counterattacks to draw their attention.

Commissar Kester secured five hundred thousand Planetary Defense Force troops from Governor Cornwall and launched a counteroffensive against the Orks near Capello. After orbital bombardment devastated the Greenskins, Imperial forces began advancing across the scorched ground toward Pioneer City.

• Kester asked Cornwall for five hundred thousand Planetary Defense Force troops from Capello, and Cornwall agreed without conditions.
• Kester's General Staff prepared the offensive plan, estimating that the Astra Militarum and Planetary Defense Force would face up to two million Orks.
• Kester ordered the fleet around the Harbinger of Doom to bombard the Orks outside Capello, using lasers to herd them into the paths of heavy bombs.
• The orbital bombardment continued for half an hour and almost completely cleared the Orks surrounding Capello City.
• The Astra Militarum and Planetary Defense Force advanced from Capello, while Chimera Transports leveled, cooled, and paved roads across the scorched ground.

Kester’s cautious offensive drove the scattered Greenskins back toward Pioneer City with few Imperial casualties, while Iron Claw survived being buried by the nuclear blast and called for help. Goldtooth sent Boys to find him, and Pex focused on protecting refugees and conserving strength for the coming Tyranid threat.

• Kester advanced toward Pioneer City with the Astra Militarum, forbidding large-scale pursuit despite the Greenskins’ repeated defeats.
• Iron Claw woke buried underground after the blast, remembered fighting the Tyranids, and used a failing Communicator to ask his Boys to dig him out.
• Iron Claw told his subordinate to find Goldtooth and promised to repay his debt, but the Communicator broke before the message could get through clearly.
• Goldtooth weighed the chance to replace Iron Claw against the promised teef, then ordered Weirdboys and Boys to locate and rescue him.
• With Iron Claw missing and Goldtooth avoiding the fighting, Kester’s forces crushed organized Greenskin resistance and advanced more than halfway to Pioneer City.
• Pex counterattacked to break the threat around Stone Ridge and rescue human refugees, while conserving his forces for the coming Hive Fleet.

Kester’s Astra Militarum held its fortified road between Pioneer City and Capello against an Ork assault. After repeated failed attacks, Iron Claw planned a Great Waaagh and ordered his forces to gather while he searched for a way through the defenses.

• Kester’s troops destroyed an Ork convoy, including Boyz flung over the anti-tank ditches, with their layered defenses.
• Iron Claw watched the failed assault from Greenskin trenches and admitted that his attempts to break the human line had not worked.
• Iron Claw rejected Goldtooth’s suggestion to charge immediately and called his bosses together to devise a plan.
• Iron Claw ordered Goldtooth to scout for weak spots and prepare fast red Squigs, while the other bosses gathered Greenskins for a Great Waaagh under his command.
• Iron Claw contacted the Daft Air Corps and warned its pilots to protect his planes.

Iron Claw visited Crooked Mouth’s Battle Fortress to meet the wealthy Mekboy, where Orks crowded to buy weapons and gear with their Teef. After being led through the fortress, Iron Claw found Crooked Mouth sitting silently amid a heap of junk.

• Iron Claw told the Nasty Boyz that Rocket Packs were required for the next Waaagh!, prompting those without them to fight over Teef.
• Iron Claw flew to a junction guarded by Crooked Mouth’s well-equipped Gretchin anti-aircraft positions.
• Crooked Mouth’s Gretchin sold weapons and vehicles to newly arrived Orks, collecting their Teef and sometimes knocking the teeth out for them.
• Iron Claw landed on the Battle Fortress and asked a Gretchin to take him to Crooked Mouth, earning cheers from the gathered Orks.
• Iron Claw found Crooked Mouth sitting amid junk in a meditative pose and waited after Crooked Mouth ignored his taunt.

Iron Claw secured Crooked Mouth’s support and equipment for his Waaagh! in exchange for help building a Gargant afterward, while Commissar Kester prepared for the growing Ork threat. On Number 4, Cheng Mingrui continued deciphering Necron technology and considered using Krork genes to strengthen modern Orks.

• Iron Claw asked Crooked Mouth to supply weapons and vehicles on credit, and Crooked Mouth offered everything for free if Iron Claw gathered Boyz, Mekboyz, and Gretchin to help build a Gargant after the Waaagh!.
• Commissar Kester investigated attacks on human defenses and learned that camouflaged Gretchin were infiltrating the lines and killing sentries.
• Kester received a report that Ork spores were growing faster than expected and ordered the defenses strengthened against a massive offensive.
• Cheng Mingrui and Rambo’s Kommandos nearly cleared the Necron Laboratory, while Cheng Mingrui used his Mechanical Deconstruction ability to study its equipment.
• Cheng Mingrui discovered the Necron Scientists had collected Ancient Aeldari and Krork samples and considered using surviving data or gene fragments to awaken modern Orks’ strength.

Cheng Mingrui read records revealing the Necrons’ hatred of the Old Ones before Dio summoned him to settle a dispute over Gargant construction. He learned that Ork factions were forming and could soon fight over who would board the Gargants.

• Cheng Mingrui stopped reading the Necron experiment records, which described failed attempts to create suitable bodies and the recorder’s hatred of the Old Ones, Aeldari, and Orks.
• Cheng Mingrui sensed something of interest inside a Stasis Field in the Laboratory but chose not to deactivate it until he understood what was inside.
• Dio called Cheng Mingrui for help after three Heavy Nobs threatened him over Gargants he had promised to build.
• Cheng Mingrui teleported to Dio’s Workshop, confronted the Nobs, and sent them outside to fight rather than damage the building.
• Dio explained that Ork numbers and their factions were growing faster than he could build Gargants, and Cheng Mingrui realized the Orks might fight over who could board them.

Cheng Mingrui reshaped Afentis’s folded space into a moon-sized base so he could take all the Orks off the planet, then organized the Mekboys to build a fleet around it. He planned to lead the construction of a flagship, though Kidd and Dio were unimpressed by the names he suggested.

• Cheng Mingrui estimated that the Orks had hundreds of millions of Boyz and realized the Gargants could not carry them all without a larger vessel.
• Cheng Mingrui used the Mega Krakka Teleporter and reactors to reshape the folded space into a moon-sized interior with docks, workshops, hangars, warehouses, reactors, and a Mushroom Farm.
• Cheng Mingrui preserved the folded space’s faster time flow in the shipyard so the Mekboys could build Gargants more quickly.
• Cheng Mingrui told Kidd to oversee Gargant keels and engines, Dio to build weapons, and the remaining Mekboys to help him construct a flagship.
• Kidd and Dio reacted awkwardly to Cheng Mingrui’s proposed flagship names, prompting him to slap them and demand to know whether they thought the names sounded mighty.

Cheng Mingrui named his enormous flagship Boss Slick's Ship and designed it to combine overwhelming firepower and armor with improved maneuverability. After studying Necron technology, he planned to use an Inertialess Drive alongside Ork teleporters to move the ship by battlefield jumps.

• Dio, Kidd, and the other Boys convinced Cheng Mingrui that Boss Slick's Ship was a fitting name, and he accepted it.
• Cheng Mingrui briefed his Mekboys on a design emphasizing Necron weapons, thick armor reinforced with living metal, powerful void shields, and Gretchin damage control.
• Cheng Mingrui struggled to solve the maneuverability problems of the fifty-kilometer-radius warship.
• Cheng Mingrui deciphered the Necrons' Inertialess Drive, which altered realspace's physical laws to allow faster-than-light travel.
• Cheng Mingrui decided to combine the Inertialess Drive with Ork Krakka Teleporters so the flagship could jump across battlefields instead of relying on reaction engines.

Cheng Mingrui intervened when Mekboys threatened the resurrected Kuka for failing to consecrate the Gargant’s statue. He began recounting the old Kuka’s bravery to restore the new Kuka’s standing, leaving the tale unfinished.

• Cheng Mingrui contacted Kuka and learned that he was struggling to consecrate the statue and was being shunned by the Orks.
• Kuka danced alone before the statue as Mekboys questioned whether he was the real Prophet Kuka and raised their Shootas against him.
• Cheng Mingrui teleported between Kuka and the Mekboys, stopping them from firing.
• Cheng Mingrui admitted that the new Kuka was only an ordinary Weirdboy, then began telling the Mekboys about the old Kuka’s courage against a C'tan Shard.