"WAAAGH! A bunch of maggots dares make trouble on my turf?!" Bash roared like thunder from his Throne, piled together from countless pieces of scrap metal. "Kill 'em! Kill a thousand of those useless slaves every day, until they hand over that so-called leader!"
The bloody slaughter began.
The Orks were no longer content with whippings and forced labour. They began killing for pleasure. Every day, over a thousand innocent slaves were dragged out of the mines and brutally executed before the others.
The clouds of despair hung heavier than ever. The resistance was caught in a dilemma. Every act of defiance brought even more frenzied retaliation from the Orks.
Sarah felt as though a knife were cutting into her heart. Looking at her fellow humans who had died because of her, she doubted her "hope" for the first time.
At that darkest, most desperate moment.
The sky split open.
A magnificent Gothic Battle Barge, bathed in golden radiance, forced its way through the atmosphere like a descending god. The Imperium's Aquila was engraved on both sides of its hull. Several frigates surrounded it, guarding their sovereign like loyal knights.
It was the Imperial Navy!
Inside and outside the mines, every human slave stopped working and looked up in disbelief at the miraculous fleet.
"It's... it's the Emperor's army..." An old miner sank trembling to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
"We... we're saved..."
At that same moment, a flame called "salvation" kindled in the hearts of millions.
On the Bridge of the Battle Barge Daughter of the Storm, the commander of the Sons of Sorrow Chapter surveyed the chaos on the planet's surface and the millions of human life signs displayed on the Auspex Scanner. Resolve settled over his weathered face.
"All personnel, prepare to assault. Our objective