Ork technology was very strange.
At least in the eyes of the galaxy's other normal species, Ork technology was downright magical.
Because all their technology stemmed from a mysterious power called "I Think."
Take an oil-burning engine, for example, captured by the Orks and installed in one of their own vehicles.
Faced with having no oil to burn, as long as enough Orks thought burning dirt would work too, that engine could burn dirt.
Likewise, "I Think" could empower not just technological creations, but anything at all.
For instance, if enough Orks thought you were Waaagh enough, then you really were Waaagh enough.
Or, in human terms, you really were strong enough!
At that moment, Sith rode his motorbike in circles around a group of Orks, his sidearm pointed at them, constantly instilling fear in the Ork Boyz.
Faced with Sith's question, the Boyz were only briefly puzzled before stammering out:
"I think... you are."
With one Boy taking the lead, the surrounding Boyz nodded along. Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Sith twisted the throttle and chased after the other Ork Boyz.
He then penned them in the same way and asked the same question. After getting the same answer, Sith continued repeating the process.
The soldiers of the regiment behind him, who had absolutely no idea what Sith was doing, could only watch in bewilderment.
Only when all the Orks had fled into the desert, carrying rumors that the most Waaagh human had suddenly appeared on Vigilus, did Sith turn his bike around and return to the regiment.
Of course, so few Orks could not get "I Think" working, but Sith was not worried about that.
Because even if only a hundred thousand Orks thought he was Waaagh enough, after a hundredfold amplification, that would amount to ten million Orks' "I Think."
And if it were a million, or even ten million...
He could not claim that the influence would spread across the galaxy, but at least on Vigilus, Sith would keep growing stronger through the Orks' "I Think"!
The motorbike returned amid clouds of dust and sand.
The sandstorm swept through the army at tremendous speed. Now, beneath clear skies, all the soldiers had formed defensive positions and sat silently on the ground, taking out compressed starch to eat.
Handing the motorbike over to a soldier, Sith strode back to his Leman Russ.
As the spearhead, his Leman Russ had taken the most concentrated fire.
Yet its armor, far sturdier than a Chimera's, meant that the Leman Russ had actually suffered only a few dents, its entire hull still almost intact.
"What are our casualties?"
Arriving beside the tank, Sith took out his canteen and gulped down a mouthful of water.
Although Brunok and the others were still puzzled about what Sith had just been doing, none dared ask.
Taking out a report, Brunok spread it across the tank's armor plate.
"According to the figures we just compiled, we suffered close to ten thousand casualties."
As he stated the casualty figures, not only Brunok but all the other officers around him looked proud.
Because Brunok went on to point to the casualty figures for the Orks farther down the report.
"And we inflicted at least seventy thousand casualties on the Ork xenos!"
A mortal regiment lacking heavy firepower, vehicles, and artillery support had fought a larger Ork force in open terrain with infantry alone. Not only had the Orks failed to slaughter them all, they had actually achieved an astounding one-to-seven casualty ratio.
If word of this feat spread, even the Departmento Munitorum would probably designate the force Sith had raised as anti-Ork specialists!
After all, Orks not only possessed advanced technology but were also absurdly large and powerfully built. Sometimes, when they swarmed in, they could even hack down an Astartes in a flurry of axes.
The physical disparity between ordinary mortal soldiers and Orks was even more absurdly vast.
For a mortal force to be granted such a title under these circumstances-if word got out, the name of Sith's 101st Regiment would probably instantly stand alongside the very finest Imperial Army regiments, such as those of Cadia!
Brunok and the others could no longer suppress the pride on their faces, and their gazes toward Sith grew even more respectful.
Of course they knew that they had only achieved such an extraordinary result because Sith had led them.
Lowering his canteen, Sith quickly scanned the report.
Then, without commenting on the result, he carefully tightened the cap on his canteen and spoke as he adjusted his equipment.
"Keep moving. Leave a few men behind to burn the bodies of the fallen and return them to the earth."
Brunok and the other officers froze, exchanging looks. Seeing the exhaustion on the faces of the soldiers who had just finished a fierce battle, Brunok considered for a moment before speaking cautiously.
"My lord, should we let the soldiers rest a little longer?"
Sith ignored him, leaping onto the tank in two steps and returning to the commander's position.
Putting on the commander's headset, Sith looked out at the vast desert before him and the Ork figures still faintly visible in the distance. He took out his binoculars and spoke as he surveyed the view.
"The Orks will be back soon, and in greater numbers. Staying here means waiting to die."
"As for rest..."
Lowering his binoculars, Sith slapped the tank's armor hard. Two thuds were followed by the roar of the tank's engine.
"When we die and return to the Emperor, we'll have all the time we need to rest."
With that, the Leman Russ took the lead and rolled forward once more.
Brunok and the other officers nearby hurried out of the way, staring dumbfounded at Sith's solution.
Not daring to stare too directly at Sith, they exchanged glances. Without even discussing it, they turned after a brief silence and began carrying out his orders.
Soon, fires rose from the ground, while ninety thousand soldiers got back to their feet, dragging their exhausted bodies through the desert as quickly as they could.
Atop the tank, Sith swayed with the Leman Russ beneath him, looking in the direction the Orks had fled.
He closed his eyes slightly, an irrepressible curl lifting the corners of his mouth.
From the direction Sith had been looking, a strange power was crossing the vast distance, constantly flowing into and empowering his body.
And as time passed, that power continued to climb at tremendous speed.
Another new sandstorm rapidly approached across the distant sky. On the horizon beyond it, speeding Ork motorbikes kicked up dust and sand, trailing Sith's regiment from far away.
The fleeing Ork Boyz had brought back word of Sith, the most Waaagh human. That news had also become the spark that set the already fight-starved Orks completely ablaze.
Bigger, stronger, and more numerous Orks began gathering deep in the desert, roaring their war cries. This time, there were not only Ork war cries, but also more war vehicles and walkers produced by the Orks' technological specialists, the "Big Meks."
Engines roared through the sandstorm. As low-flying Ork bombers began appearing in the distant sky, a fresh sandstorm shrouded Sith beneath its divine might.
He watched the bombs haphazardly dropped by the Ork aircraft overhead get scattered every which way by the sandstorm, exploding only far from his troops.
Sith withdrew his gaze and tugged his dust mask higher. With only his eyes exposed beneath his peaked cap, he looked toward the center of the sandstorm.
An earth-shaking Waaagh accompanied the roar of engines, bearing down on the soldiers through the sandstorm.
The soldiers looked grim. Sith raised his sidearm and turned toward the soldiers behind him who were watching him, then nodded toward the sandstorm.
"We..."
"Will slaughter our way through these xenos!"