When the news reached the Rule of Discipline, Luna's face turned ashen.
"He's set sail?" Her voice was icy. "How come it's so much faster than I expected?"
The adjutant lowered his head, not daring to speak.
Luna paced back and forth on the bridge.
Her mind was racing; Lynn's fleet should have set off at least a month later than hers.
But the progress is now much faster than she expected.
What happened? Did the believers' sabotage have no effect?
Feeling the pressure, Luna convened another meeting, mobilizing the fleet's top brass in an attempt to find a way out of the impasse.
Just as everyone was unable to reach a conclusion, Luna's face grew increasingly dark.
"My lord." A deep voice rang out.
Luna turned her head to look at the source of the sound.
It was a Tzeentch Sorcerer dressed in Adeptus Mechanicus robe, standing in a corner of the bridge.
His face was hidden in the shadow of his hood, with only half of his mechanical chin visible.
He walked to the center, leaning on his mechanical scepter, and knelt on one knee.
"I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."
Luna frowned. "Speak."
The wizard raised his head, his eyes gleaming with a wise green light.
"My subordinates have reviewed a lot of materials these past two days, specifically about the Orks Carl II," he said.
Luna looked at him, gesturing for him to continue.
"My subordinates have discovered that this Orks is somewhat different from the one we encountered in Brevis before."
He stood up, walked to the holographic projection, and pulled up a set of data.
"They have far more war machines than those Orks on Brevis, you see."
He pointed to the data. "The proportion of armored units is 30 percent higher than that of normal Orks."
The number of heavy weapons is 60% higher, which means the number of "Mekboy Kids" must have at least doubled.
"Furthermore," he zoomed in on the image, "Most of the machinery's armor is painted in a yellow and black color scheme or blue."
He looked at Luna.
"The yellow and black color scheme is the symbol of the Bad Moons Clan, while blue is the symbol of the Deathskulls Clan."
"One clan was known for its wealth and firepower, while the other was known for its scavenging and manual dexterity."
"And they all have one thing in common: they produce a lot of Mekboy young talents."
Luna's eyes narrowed.
"You mean..."
"I have my doubts," the wizard said.
" The Warboss of the Carl II isn't just any ordinary Orks Warboss; it's a Big Mek!"
The Big Mek.
The highest-ranking war engineer in the Orks society.
They not only fight, but they also build things—all sorts of things.
From simple machetes to complex war machines, from rough Orks motorcycles to massive warships, they all fall within their "specialized" domain.
The number of Mekboy disciples under a Big Mek can be several times, or even dozens of times, greater than that of an ordinary clan.
With more Mekboy kids, there will naturally be more war machines.
That's why the Orks on Carl II are so troublesome; they're not just good at Waaagh, they're also very good at building things.
This analysis is reasonable.
Luna nodded, acknowledging his guess.
If the other person is truly a Big Mek, then things get even more interesting.
The Big Mek' thirst for technology and knowledge was no less than that of the Tzeentch followers.
"My lord," another voice rang out at just the right moment.
Luna turned her head.
Another Tzeentch Sorcerer stepped out from the crowd.
He was thin, draped in a linen cloak, and his eyes gleamed with blue light, equally full of wisdom.
"I also have an idea."
"Explain."
The wizard walked up to the holographic projection and pointed at the data.
" The Big Mek ' thirst for technology and knowledge is no less than ours."
"If we can spread the word and let them know that we have 'technological treasures' hidden on our ship."
He chuckled.
"Perhaps, this can lure the snake out of its hole."
Luna's eyes lit up.
She looked at the two wizards and smiled; this was the first time Luna had smiled since the expedition began.
"Great idea!"
She stepped forward and personally helped the two wizards up.
May I ask how we are addressed?
The first wizard bowed slightly. "I am Patton, also known as Xiao Wolong!"
The second wizard also bowed. "My name is Wood, and I also have a nickname, Xiao Fengchu!"
Luna was overjoyed.
" The Wolong Fengchu? Hahahaha~!"
"With the help of my two beloved ministers, we will surely be able to defeat that Orks brat!"
She turned and looked out the window at the enormous space station.
"This position of Marshal of the Expeditionary Force belongs to me alone!"
Patton and Wood exchanged a glance, a hint of smugness flashing in their eyes.
Sure enough, when those twin stars are involved, there's nothing they can't do!
The next day, a rumor began to circulate on Carl II.
"Have you heard? That bunch of shrimps' fleet holds the secret to building invincible mechs!"
What secret?
"I don't know, but they say they can build really big mechs. Waaagh! they'll be even bigger than those ' Killa Kan '!"
"Really?"
"Really, I heard it with my own eyes!"
At first, the Orks just took it as a joke.
After all, all sorts of rumors circulate every day, and most of them are false.
But for some reason, the rumor only got more and more outrageous and bizarre as it spread.
Some say that the shrimp boat carries a magical metal that can automatically transform into any shape.
Some say those shrimps have a talking brain and know how all the mechs are made.
Some people even say that the leader of that group of shrimps is actually a super Mekboy who can create Gargant with his bare hands!
Driven by a mysterious force, the rumors spread like wildfire throughout Carl II.
When a rumor is believed by enough Orks, it becomes a kind of "truth".
They're not afraid the Orks leader won't fall for their tricks.
Therefore, on the third day, Luna decided to add fuel to the fire.
She dispatched two knight mechs.
A massive red and green figure emerged from the hangar of the Rule of Discipline and landed in the outer area of Carl II.
The Orks anti-aircraft guns fired wildly, but the beams and shells only created ripples when they hit the knight's mech's ion shield.
Several Deff Dreadnought rushed up to intercept them.
The Reaper Chainsword, and the Thunderstrike Power Fist slammed down. Three minutes later, those Deff Dreadnought returned to their original forms.
A pile of scrap metal.
After the knight mech flew away, only wreckage and dumbfounded Ork Boyz remained.
The news spread quickly throughout Carl II.
"Did you see that?! Those giant mechs are really amazing!"
"That secret must be true! Otherwise, how could those small fry have built such an amazing machine!"
" Waaagh!... that secret must be true!" This idea quickly took hold among the Orks of Carl II.
That evening, in a corner of the Rule of Discipline that no one had noticed, a metal sphere suddenly appeared.
It was originally only the size of a fist, with intricate inscriptions carved on its surface.
Those inscriptions do not belong to any known language; it was the Orks ' " Power of Belief " that gave them birth from the void.