Head-on clash

Chapter Master Deika clenched his fists as he surveyed the wreckage before him. They had entered the Atris System, where the space station in planetary orbit had already been smashed to pieces.

Even from space, the warriors could clearly see the smoke from enormous explosions on the planet and the green tide sweeping across its surface.

"Chapter Master, scans from the auspex array indicate that this planet has two hive cities, a Manufactorum District, an agricultural district, and a military fortress at the north pole."

"According to the messages received so far, the agricultural district and one hive city have fallen completely. The Shadow Venom Blade Chapter is holding out in the other hive city, awaiting reinforcements. The Manufactorum District has been bombed into ruins, possibly by the Shadow Venom Blade Chapter. The military base at the north pole is still standing. Approximately ten million soldiers and a hundred and fifty million civilians are holding out there. The number of survivors in the hive city is unknown."

"Chapter Master, they say they are willing to join the Imperium if we rescue them."

Chapter Master Deika snorted coldly. At this point, even if Chaos Space Marines arrived, these people would embrace the Warp without hesitation as long as they could be saved.

"Chapter Master, the Storm Will Chapter has also answered this distress call. They will arrive in nine hours."

"Understood. Broadcast on all channels. We will help the survivors hold their positions. In nine hours, we will rendezvous with the Storm Will Chapter and launch a full counteroffensive."

Evan did not know exactly what had happened. He only knew that the veteran First Company and the Second Company would reinforce the hive city, while the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Companies would help defend the Arctic Military Base and await orders to counterattack.

Evan swallowed the last of his combat rations through an external feed tube. Their connection to the warship would soon be cut off, remaining that way until they reached the surface and reestablished communications.

Squad Leader William was still uneasy. He glanced around the drop pod, which had originally held ten men. Now there were only eight, with ammunition piled into the other two places.

Is this enough? It should be, right? What if we run out? I need to come up with a few backup plans...

Tristy, the Arctic Military Base's commanding officer, had scratched his head bald and shiny with anxiety. As the war situation had deteriorated over the past month, their defensive forces had been stretched to the breaking point.

A month earlier, terrible news had arrived from the space forces: an unknown enemy had annihilated them. The final footage transmitted showed a gigantic black sphere smashing through their ships. As everyone prepared for a fight to the death against the enemy, what descended from the sky was neither warships nor a rain of bombs, but countless meteorites.

When this phenomenon was observed, Hammers, the planet's de facto ruler, breathed a long sigh of relief. If it was merely a meteor shower that had destroyed the fleet and struck the planet, the damaged buildings could soon be rebuilt.

Unfortunately, he had celebrated too soon. Orks crawled out of the meteorites-or rather, their exceedingly crude landing pods-and charged, howling, toward the crowds who had come to watch.

The military swiftly mobilized. At first, they quickly exterminated the Orks around several "small meteorites." Though the Orks resisted fiercely, the local soldiers discovered that their technology was slightly inferior to their own. They had barely entered the space age.

Thanks to the human military's overwhelming numerical advantage in the early stages, only two "large meteorites" that had landed close together remained uncleared. Their enormous crater was strange: the mushroom cloud above it refused to disperse, while dust filled its interior, obscuring everything. Initially, however, no one paid it any attention.

At this point, President Hammers made the greatest mistake of his life. To regain the public support he had lost after the fleet's destruction and the enormous losses the meteorites had inflicted on the population, he decided to launch a major military operation and cement his prestige with a spectacular victory.

President Hammers ordered the military to surround the "large meteorite crater." Eighteen million troops were mobilized from across the country to annihilate the enemy. Yet throughout the month spent assembling them, there was no movement inside the crater. The foolish rulers even announced to the public that the enemy had been thoroughly frightened into submission and no longer dared make a move.

Of course, plenty of sensible officers urged an immediate attack or the deployment of scouts and probing forces. Their superiors rejected every request. After several attempts, all the officers and soldiers stopped trying. Wasn't eating, drinking, and sleeping in camp comfortable enough? Their superiors would not let them fight anyway, so why bother worrying?

After a month of legal proceedings, Melty, the upper house speaker's son, successfully replaced Commander-in-Chief Tristy at the head of the eighteen-million-strong army. With a single order, he launched an all-out assault.

"What do you mean, how do we attack? Eighteen million men could bury them under sheer numbers! No designated axis of attack. Advance on every front! The first soldier to reach the large meteorite will be promoted to major general."

And so a vast host of ordinary soldiers marched toward the crater. How were they supposed to fight? No idea. What positions were they supposed to reach, and by when? No idea. Then what were they supposed to do? Fight their way forward.

There was little coordination between formations. Hearing that the first to arrive would receive a general's rank, they even pushed themselves to march faster-until the motorized 18th Light Mechanized Regiment, leading the advance, spotted a mountain.

"Colonel, was there a mountain here before?"

"No idea. The map says this is a plain."

"Could it be the big meteorite? Colonel, that's a major general's rank!"

"Use your brain. Would a meteorite look like that? We haven't seen the enemy yet. Proceed with cau-"

"Waaaaaaaaaagh!"

The deafening war cry shook heaven and earth. Even Commander-in-Chief Melty, drinking tea eighty kilometers away, could hear it.

"What was that sound, adjutant?" Melty was already panicking. Of course he had heard that war cry before, from the other meteorite craters.

"Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief. Nothing can withstand an attack by eighteen million soldiers."

No, this won't do. Melty felt anything but reassured. I may have ten divisions guarding me, but I need another five brought back to protect me.

"Adjutant, which five divisions are closest to us? Recall them to reinforce our security."

In a sense, this did leave the army a slim chance of survival.

The 18th Light Mechanized Regiment, however, was not so fortunate.

"Colonel, th-that isn't a mountain. It's the enemy!" The Orks were piled into a mountain, a mass vast enough to fill seas and link mountain ranges. Now, thrilled to have finally spotted prey, they charged.

"What are you staring at? Everyone turn around! Run!"

What a load of crap. If I had ten million men behind me, sure, I'd fight them. But eighteen million men spread around a perimeter this huge? There are forty thousand behind me at most. Fight those things? Look ahead-there's at least a million of them! Advance? Are you trying to get us killed?

As they frantically raced back, they discovered that they seemed to have lost their way. Why were there Orks in every direction?

"Open fire! Open fire! Where the hell did you lead us? Why are there Orks everywhere?"

"Bang! Colonel, I took-bang!-the right route! That's the road we came down-bang!" The guard fired his little pistol nonstop. But the first Orks charging them were no longer the scrawny creatures they had fought in the smaller craters. These were hulking brutes covered in iron plating. Ordinary human bullets clanged harmlessly against them; only powerful explosions could knock them down.

Over the past several days, apart from reproducing, the Orks had done nothing but dig. The reason was simple: they had landed on top of an iron deposit.

Mistanbol, the Ork warlord and leader of this force, was in an excellent mood. Those idiotic native creatures had not attacked immediately. Instead, they had stood guard without moving.

"Waaaaaaagh!" (All dialogue below was kindly translated by the author.)

"Big Mek Ulutan, how's your research coming along?"

"Boss, we've dug up loads of iron ore and made a whole heap of good stuff. Pretty much all the boyz have gray shells-iron armor-to wear and iron shootas-iron guns-to use."

"That's not what I'm asking about. I mean that."

"Oh, you mean the big one. Give it another month and we can drive it out for a waaaaaagh!"

"Good. Have the little ones dig holes around the perimeter and bury themselves."

Clearly, the other Big Bosses did not understand why. They might eat mushrooms all the time, but they were not mushrooms themselves.

"Idiots! Wait till the food goes past, then pop out of the dirt. That way, the food can't run away!"

"Waaaaaaaaagh!"

Every Ork let out a joyous war cry in celebration of this brilliantly clever idea.

The Ork warlord returned to his underground quarters. He needed to think carefully about how to enjoy this delicious human feast.

As Melty listened to reports of catastrophic losses from every corps, he was utterly at a loss. Eighteen million soldiers, and in their very first clash, not only had they lost more than seven million, but the enemy had surrounded them around the crater. What could he do? What could he do? Wasn't this a straight road to the extinction of their entire people?

"Commander-in-Chief! Commander-in-Chief, snap out of it! We still have the guard divisions! We still have fifteen elite mechanized divisions!"

"But what can a hundred-odd thousand men do? Even our eighteen million were... were..."

"Commander-in-Chief, we were ambushed, not wiped out! If they can retreat, we can regroup and fight again. We can still win!"

Melty snapped out of his daze and immediately ordered the fifteen divisions to launch a fierce attack on a weak point in the Orks' encirclement. The divisions charged the enemy in a desperate assault and finally opened a gap. Over the course of two days, 12.21 million of the eighteen million soldiers were killed, and 3.67 million were wounded. All those remaining withdrew to the nearby Arctic Military Base.

Of the heroes from the fifteen divisions who had fought desperately to open that gap, only thirty-six soldiers returned.

Over the following month, the Orks stormed cities and strongholds with unstoppable momentum, occupying more than half the planet.

Tristy, formerly commander-in-chief and now commander of the Arctic Military Base, spent that month taking in refugees and building defenses. He knew perfectly well that waiting for those bureaucrats to make a decision would mean waiting until it was too late. He immediately reinforced the base, collected every scrap of food he could find, stripped the surrounding countryside bare, and prepared for a prolonged war.

Because Tristy had stripped the surrounding area so thoroughly that there was no food left, the Orks temporarily refrained from attacking them.

What followed was a nerve-racking existence for Tristy, with good news and bad arriving in alternating succession.

"Sir, we've suffered another defeat at the front. We've lost the agricultural district."

"Sir, the agricultural district's garrison is retreating toward us with the remaining food."

"Sir, Mikya Hive City has fallen."

"Sir, Space Marines of the Imperium have answered our call for help."

"Sir, the Manufactorum District has fallen. Almost no one escaped."

"Sir, the Space Marines have arrived."

"Sir, our ammunition may not last two weeks. There are too many Orks."

"Sir, the Space Marines will land in drop pods and fight alongside us."

"Sir, the Space Marines have gone to Milanko Hive City. Those damned hive dwellers said they were the rulers and would offer this planet to the Imperium if they were rescued first."

"Sir, another force of Space Marines, called the Green Templars, has also answered our call for help."

"Sir, the Orks are using the Manufactorum District to make weapons. How have their weapons become more advanced?"

"Sir, the Space Marines have blown up the Manufactorum District."

"Sir, the Space Marines have suffered heavy casualties. They're close to breaking too."

"Sir, the Green Templars Chapter has arrived!"

With a whoosh, the drop pods left the Strike Cruiser Blessed Forest and hurtled toward their respective targets.

Evan felt tremendous forces tearing at them. The immense acceleration could burst a mortal's head in an instant, but to a Primaris Space Marine, it was merely a slight discomfort.

Meteor after meteor streaked across the sky and fell to the planet. The last such spectacle had brought blood and death. This time, it would bring salvation.

Powerful thrusters slowed the drop pods to less than one meter per second. The mighty Astartes charged out and opened fire. Tristy, commander of the Arctic Military Base, had already informed the entire army that reinforcements were arriving. The soldiers, whose people had not seen an Astartes in centuries, eagerly awaited their arrival while also wondering whether the Astartes could truly deliver them from disaster. After all, none of them had ever seen these most dependable killing forces of the Emperor.

The drop pod carrying the Fourth Company's Third Combat Squad slammed into a snow-white peak. Flying stones nearly injured the soldiers in the nearby defensive position.

Squad Leader William was first out of the drop pod, with Evan close behind. From ahead came a deafening roar of... cheers.

Huh? This isn't what I expected. Weren't we supposed to land and see a sea of people-no, a sea of green Orks-charging at us, then start mowing them down with our bolters?

"Oh, heavens, our saviors are here! Look how mighty they are, like gods descending to earth!"

"Look, they're covered in weapons! You can tell they're incredible fighters. They'll surely punish the Orks terribly!"

"Oh, look at their weapons and armor! So advanced, so sacred! They'll surely crush the Orks!"

After so long fighting a hopeless, oppressive war, the soldiers lavished every word of praise their limited education afforded them. Those who had struggled bitterly in the darkness had finally glimpsed the dawn of hope.

The Third Squad's warriors were becoming a little embarrassed by the praise, particularly the compliments about the grenades and bolter ammunition strapped all over their bodies.

Squad Leader William recovered first. "Deputy Squad Leader Kshevich, lead them in establishing defensive positions. Hold for nine hours and await the counterattack."

The North Pole Fortress was not the kind of fortress that enclosed a city with one long wall, requiring enormous time and effort to build while serving little purpose. It was an integrated mountain fortress built around the entire northern mountain range, with walls connecting sheer cliffs and tunnels and firing ports cut into the mountains.

The cliffs shortened the defensive line, while the mountains provided shelter from orbital bombardment or other immensely powerful attacks. The void shield was installed within the thoroughly defended fortress core, keeping it very safe. This was a permanent fortress built to defend, endure, and hold out for the long term.

In theory, the Third Squad's defensive position should have been in the tunnels directly below them, lined with firing ports. But Squad Leader William made an important decision.

"Establish our position on top of the peak, Kshevich."

"What did you say, Squad Leader? Have you been tainted?" The deputy squad leader was clearly astonished by an order that defied all common sense.

"Aboard our ship, we are warriors of the Green Templars, soldiers of the Khan. But here, on this planet untouched by the Emperor's light, we are the Emperor's representatives."

"Build our position at the highest point, warriors. Let the soldiers see us fighting, see us slaughtering Orks. Let everyone in the fortress see that their hope is here, on this mountain peak, fighting bravely against the enemy."

Hot blood surged through the hearts of every squad member.

Every member of the Third Squad sprang into action. Powerful chainaxes rapidly carved cover into the mountainside, while the Astartes unloaded their equipment and secured it in suitable positions. The first to begin fighting was the sniper, Gajie. He ran straight toward the highest peak, then began picking off the biggest Orks with his custom sniper rifle.

Among White Scars warriors, few could resist running about once battle began.

The Orks' sole weakness was that when a Big Boss was killed, the ordinary Orks gathered around him by his powerful waaaaaagh energy would quickly lose their will to fight and scatter, until they found a new boss or became bosses themselves. This behavior was commonly known as "The boss is dead! Run!"

Thus, as Gajie efficiently picked off the Big Bosses among the Orks, the Orks attacking the surrounding stretch of defenses rapidly began to rout.

When the soldiers who had fought for so long and the civilians who had knelt in prayer for days saw the Astartes arrive and swiftly crush the enemy, another deafening wave of cheers rose from the rear. Amid it came repeated cries of "The gods have come to save us!" "Thank heaven for its mercy!" and "Long live the gods!"

"We're the ones who saved them, and they're thanking the gods?" Gajie was already growing angry.

"If they're so grateful to their gods, let's pull out and let their gods come."

The squad leader swiftly put a stop to Gajie's improper thinking. "They're merely poor souls without faith. Why couldn't the god they speak of be the Emperor? They simply need guidance. After the war, the Ecclesiarchy-the religion that worships the Emperor as a god-will guide them."

Evan stood silently beside them. Should they really pray to the Emperor and wait for him to save humanity? Why couldn't humanity take up arms and fight for itself? If the Emperor protected them, what was the point of the Astra Militarum (IG) and the Planetary Defence Force (PDF)?

Evan would not voice these thoughts. At a critical moment like this, he could easily be branded a corrupted heretic. But a seed had already been planted: a seed of humanity taking control of its own destiny, a seed of proletarian unity throughout the world.