Chapter Summaries

Lynn followed Dominic's fleet toward Carl II, then accepted Dominic's invitation aboard the Gemstone. After seeing the battleship's formidable scale and efficiency, Lynn joined Dominic in the dining room to discuss matters.

• Lynn's Second Expeditionary Fleet struggled to keep pace with Dominic's Tithe Fleet as both fleets sailed toward Carl II.
• Dominic invited Lynn aboard the Gemstone, and Lynn agreed, expecting questions about Ragnar and the Ork fleet.
• Lynn toured the Gemstone and observed its heavily guarded corridors, enormous crew, and disciplined operations.
• Dominic greeted Lynn on the bridge and invited him to the dining room to talk.

Dominic invited Lynn to dine in his lavish private dining room and asked him about the Orks on Dorito. Lynn explained Ragnar's strength and the Deffskull Clan's battle-enhancing menzi, and Dominic proposed poisoning it.

• Dominic led Lynn to his private dining room aboard the Gemstone, where they shared an elaborate meal.
• Lynn reflected on the loneliness and restrictions of noble life and suspected Dominic sought freedom through war.
• Dominic asked Lynn about Ragnar, and Lynn described the Ork warlord's growing power and tactical intelligence.
• Dominic asked about the Deffskull Clan, and Lynn explained its menzi could strengthen Orks but lasted only three days.
• Dominic suggested poisoning the Deffskull Clan's menzi, surprising Lynn.

Lynn explained how poisoning had helped him defeat Orks on Brevis, but why the same tactic could not work against Ragnar’s scattered fleet. As the Gemstone reached Carl II, Dominic saw General Gus Griffith’s temporary asteroid fortresses devastate an Evil Sunz attack.

• Lynn recounted how he used a virus-laced stew to weaken Mountain Fatty Guga’s Orks on Brevis and kill their leader.
• Lynn explained that the virus would not work against Ragnar’s fleet because the Orks and their stew were spread across more than a hundred warships.
• Dominic accepted that they would have to fight head-on, while Lynn noticed Dominic’s favorability had risen from -10 to -1.
• The Gemstone arrived at Carl II and Lynn identified the attacking ships as the Evil Sunz Clan’s vanguard.
• Dominic spotted the dark orbital defense platforms and asked Lynn why they were inactive.
• Lynn explained that General Gus Griffith had built temporary fortresses in the asteroid belt, whose overlapping fire destroyed many Evil Sunz fighters.

Dominic ordered his fleet to hide near Carl II rather than engage the Evil Sunz vanguard, intending to surprise Ragnar when the main fleet arrived. He visited Carl II and praised Gus’s defense, which had held the planet with light casualties, as Ragnar’s fleet approached.

• Dominic and Lynn discussed how Gus’s asteroid fortresses countered the fast Evil Sunz fleet but would not withstand Ragnar’s heavy guns.
• Dominic ordered his warships to shut down their engines and hide behind Carl II’s asteroids so Ragnar would not learn their strength.
• Dominic traveled to Carl II aboard a concealed shuttle with Ralfa and elite Ventria guards, despite the guard captain’s objections.
• Gus welcomed Dominic at Carl II and reported that his 172 fortresses had lost 23, while the Expeditionary Force’s loss ratio stood at 1:128.
• Gus reported that Ragnar’s main fleet was expected the next morning, and Dominic ordered him to hold the defensive line without attacking.

Ragnar led a vast Ork fleet into the Carl II System and launched an overwhelming assault on its defenses. As his forces broke through the asteroid belt, strange lights appeared behind Carl II.

• Ragnar dismissed the Nobz’ eagerness as he assessed Carl II’s defenses, then ordered the Ork clans to attack in formation.
• Three hours later, Ragnar’s fleet reached the Carl II System and charged toward the planet.
• The Goffs Clan led the assault, absorbing fire while the Deathskulls and Bad Moons bombarded the asteroid fortresses.
• The Ork fleet destroyed more than fifty makeshift fortresses, opening a breach that the Evil Sunz and Blood Axes rushed through.
• Ragnar watched victory reports and imagined conquering Brevis and the Calixis System, until points of light flared behind Carl II.

Ragnar ordered the Ork fleet to keep charging after the Gemstone’s long-range lance volley destroyed a Goffs warship. Once the Orks entered the Tithe Fleet’s firing range, Dominic unleashed a devastating broadside while decoy craft drew the Evil Sunz fighters away from their flanking mission.

• The Gemstone’s lances destroyed the Goffs Clan’s Hard Bash from thirty thousand kilometers away, shocking Ragnar and his crew.
• Ragnar rejected a retreat and ordered the Ork fleet to charge Carl II at full speed.
• Dominic ordered the Tithe Fleet to fire, and the Gemstone and supporting warships tore through the Ork cruisers with macro-cannons and lances.
• The Mars-class battleships launched decoy craft that lured the Evil Sunz fighters into the asteroid belt and pinned them down.

Lynn's fleet held off the Blood Axe Clan while Dominic's capital ships used Carl II as cover to overwhelm Ragnar's Orks with sustained fire. Dominic explained that his Mars-backed supplies and Tech-Priests let his fleet keep fighting, leaving Lynn impressed by the scale of his resources.

• Gus used Lynn's Second Expeditionary Fleet and the Pinnacle Black Obsidian to block the Blood Axe Clan's flanking attack, forcing both fleets into a stalemate.
• Dominic positioned his capital ships behind Carl II and repeatedly emerged to fire on Ragnar's fleet, which struggled to respond to the sustained bombardment.
• Ragnar grew baffled and frustrated as the human weapons kept firing without running low on ammunition or suffering malfunctions.
• Lynn asked Dominic whether his ammunition and Machine Spirits could withstand the prolonged fighting.
• Dominic said his fleet received top-quality supplies and Tech-Priests directly from the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars, allowing it to sustain the battle's intensity for a month.
• Dominic credited tactics and morale alongside equipment, while Lynn recognized that Dominic's vast wealth underpinned his confidence.

Lynn admired Dominic’s command of the battle but feared what he would do if he discovered Lynn’s connection to the Tyranids and Rena. Dominic’s fleet continued destroying the Ork main force while Ragnar’s ambush failed, leaving him furious and eating through three cauldrons of stew.

• Lynn recognized Dominic’s military skill and decided he would have to eliminate him if Dominic discovered his secret.
• Gus reported that the Goffs Clan vanguard had lost more than half its strength, and Dominic ordered his capital ships to target the Orks’ rear firepower fleet.
• Ragnar’s plan to trap the human fleet failed when Dominic kept his ships behind Carl II and continued firing on the Orks’ main fleet.
• A Deathskulls cruiser was destroyed by lance fire, prompting Ragnar to curse his opponent and reject a Nob’s suggestion to gather the Ork forces for a frontal attack.
• Ragnar tried to suppress his anger by devouring three cauldrons of stew, then ordered his Boyz to bring him more.

Ragnar spoke with the Stew God in his cauldron throne, which offered to help him defeat the Imperial forces for half of his treasured ultimate stew. The Stew God provoked Ragnar by reminding him how much he stood to lose, and Ragnar ended the chapter enraged and threatening to kill it.

• Ragnar’s cauldron throne bubbled and revealed the mocking face of the Stew God as Ragnar’s hunger and dizziness worsened.
• The Stew God warned Ragnar that the humans would destroy him if he did not find a way to win the war.
• Ragnar demanded the Stew God’s help defeating the humans, and the Stew God asked for half of the ultimate stew in return.
• Ragnar refused, explaining that the ultimate stew contained the finest ingredients and the essence of powerful opponents he had defeated.
• The Stew God reminded Ragnar that losing could cost him his fleet, prestige, and treasured stew, then claimed the pot had been made for it.
• Ragnar flew into a rage and threatened to kill the Stew God.

Ragnar reluctantly gave the Stew God one-third of his treasured supreme stew in exchange for divine power. Energized and newly confident, he prepared to defeat the human forces attacking Dorito.

• Ragnar raged at the Stew God, then insisted that one-third of his supreme stew was the most he would give.
• The Stew God accepted the offer and waited while Ragnar went to retrieve the stew.
• Ragnar opened the secret chamber aboard the Anna and brought out his golden supreme stew, drawing the Orks toward its enticing fragrance.
• Ragnar scooped one-third of the stew into a ladle and fed it to the Stew God.
• The Stew God swallowed the stew, and Ragnar felt his strength and confidence return as he faced the human warships.

Dominic prepared to confront Ragnar in person as the human fleet routed the Orks, but the Anna charged the Gemstone and absorbed the fleet's concentrated barrage. The iron pot trapped the explosions inside, leaving its hull bulging and glowing but unbroken.

• Dominic decided to leave the Gemstone and slay Ragnar himself, while ordering the guard captain to maintain suppressive fire.
• Ralfa prepared to accompany Dominic, and Lynn considered how retaking Dorito could help him meet Brevis's Tithe.
• The Anna broke from the retreating Ork fleet and accelerated toward the Gemstone as the Orks rallied around Ragnar.
• Waaagh! energy surged into the Anna, enlarging and strengthening its hull as it charged.
• Dominic ordered the human fleet to concentrate fire on the Anna, but its iron pot opened and swallowed every attack.
• The iron pot shut around the weapons fire and trapped the ensuing explosions inside without breaking.

Ragnar’s Anna survived the human fleet’s attack at the cost of over two million Orks, then surged toward the Gemstone as its crew rallied behind him. Dominic refused Lynn’s advice to withdraw, while Lynn left to reinforce the Second Expeditionary Fleet, uneasy about the battle’s outcome.

• The Anna’s great pot swallowed the human fleet’s salvo, but the blast killed over two million Orks and left Ragnar badly injured.
• Ragnar laughed off the attack, and the Anna’s engines tripled its speed as it charged toward the Gemstone.
• The surviving Ork warships followed the Anna into a reckless assault, turning the battle chaotic and pressuring the human fleet.
• Lynn urged Dominic to withdraw and attack again after Ragnar’s abnormal power faded, but Dominic refused to retreat.
• Lynn told Dominic that the Blood Axe Clan was attacking the flank, then left the Gemstone to join Gus and stabilize the defensive line.
• The Anna closed to within five thousand kilometers of the Gemstone as Lynn departed, worried that Dominic’s pride would cost the human fleet dearly.

Dominic Ventria’s fleet attacked the Anna, but the Ork ship swallowed the salvos, healed its damage, and grew stronger. As the Gemstone prepared for boarding combat, the Anna captured and crushed the five frigates sent to intercept it.

• Dominic ordered repeated salvos against the Anna, which swallowed the attacks and repaired its cracked iron pot while growing larger.
• Dominic steadied the Gemstone’s crew and ordered the ship to prepare for boarding combat as the Third Escort Squadron intercepted the Anna.
• The five Sword-class Frigates fired on the Anna, but their weapons failed to damage its armor.
• The Anna opened its great pot and used its suction to drag all five frigates inside despite their engines’ efforts to escape.
• The Anna crushed the frigates until their Void Shields collapsed and their hulls began to break apart.

The Anna destroyed five Imperial frigates by devouring them, then rammed the Gemstone and clamped its mouth against the battleship’s void shields. Dominic rallied the crew and ordered the fleet to attack the Anna while its jaws were held at bay, hoping to destroy it before it could break through.

• The Anna swallowed three Sword-class Frigates and snapped two others in half, killing or wounding their crews.
• Dominic watched the destruction and regretted not following Lynn’s advice to withdraw, but the Anna had already reached the Gemstone.
• Dominic ordered the Gemstone’s void shields to maximum power, rallied its soldiers, and prepared them for impact.
• The Anna rammed the Gemstone and clamped its mouth against the port-side void shields, which held against its bite.
• Dominic ordered the other Imperial warships to concentrate fire on the Anna’s exposed hull.
• The fleet’s weapons tore through the Anna’s armor as Dominic urged the crew to hold on until the next main battery salvo.

Dorito's Orks launched a boarding assault on the Gemstone, where Ragnar and his Wrecking Ball Brigade smashed through the ship's defenses as Dominic prepared an ambush. Meanwhile, Lynn returned to the Pinnacle Black Obsidian with Rena, free of the constraints he had faced aboard the Gemstone.

• Dorito's Orks fired Big Killy Torpedoes into the Gemstone, unleashing Boyz and Nobz who seized compartments and plunged the ship into chaos.
• Ragnar and the Tasty Nobz used their rolling armor to crush Imperial defenses, destroy the Sentinel Walker company, and advance toward the bridge.
• Dominic ordered the Tech-Priests to predict the brigade's route and prepared poison gas, Melta Bombs, and heavy weapons to ambush them in Main Passage Seven.
• Lynn's shuttle arrived at the Pinnacle Black Obsidian, and he reflected on the Anna swallowing five frigates and his inability to use his full strength aboard the Gemstone.
• Rena slipped out from Lynn's chest after he left the shuttle and said she had been suffocating.

Lynn returned to the Pinnacle Black Obsidian and decided to secretly help Dominic defeat Ragnar while protecting his alliance with the Imperium. Meanwhile, a vast horde of the dead rose on Dorito and attacked an Ork tribe.

• Rena suggested letting Dominic and Ragnar weaken each other, but Lynn explained that saving Dominic would help him destroy Ragnar and reclaim Dorito.
• Lynn returned to the Pinnacle Black Obsidian, ordered Gus to hold the line, and set out with Rena to help Dominic.
• On Dorito, a dead human hand emerged from the soil and grabbed an Ork Boy, who found that the corpse and its severed head kept moving after he struck them.
• The Ork Boy alerted his tribal boss, who went to the fields and found thousands of zombies rising from the earth.
• The Ork tribal boss charged the approaching undead with his underlings, and a chaotic battle began.

Zombies overran Dorito, turning the planet into a battlefield between the dead and the Orks. On the Gemstone, Ragnar’s wrecking ball brigade fell into an Imperial ambush, and Dominic watched as their attack on the bridge began.

• Dorito’s billions of dead humans rose as zombies, overwhelmed Ork tribes, and spread across the planet.
• Orks fought the zombies despite their numbers and resilience, while rumors spread that Dorito and Gork and Mork were taking revenge on them.
• Ragnar led his wrecking ball brigade toward the bridge and ordered them to charge through the Gemstone’s upper-deck passage.
• Imperial nerve gas weakened the brigade, and Melta Bombs melted several wrecking balls before the survivors took cover in nearby compartments.
• Imperial soldiers attacked the remaining Orks with heavy weapons, but Ragnar recovered and charged toward them as Dominic watched from the bridge.

Dominic’s forces destroyed several wrecking balls before Snakebites cavalry broke through the first defensive line and chased the Imperials toward the second. There, Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii and heavy Servitors halted the Ork advance with electrical attacks and lethal radiation.

• Dominic ordered the troops at the first defensive line to withdraw toward the second, but Snakebites cavalry emerged from maintenance passages and charged the Imperial soldiers.
• The cavalry and wrecking ball mob shattered the first defensive line, forcing the surviving Imperial soldiers to retreat as Ragnar ordered his forces to pursue them.
• Ragnar led the remaining wrecking balls to the upper deck, where Krios Battle Tanks and Skitarii met them with Lightning Locks.
• The Tech-Priest sent heavy Servitors forward to attack the charging cavalry with Irradiation Engines.
• Radiation destroyed the leading Cave Squigs and the Snakebites riders on their backs.

Ragnar’s wrecking ball mob broke through the Adeptus Mechanicus’s second defensive line after the Blood Axes Kommandos killed the Tech-Priests. He led the surviving Orks toward the bridge, then stopped at a banquet hall when he saw ten Stormblade super-heavy tanks waiting at the far end.

• The Snakebites cavalry was decimated, and Ragnar led his wrecking ball mob against the Adeptus Mechanicus’s defensive line.
• Domitar-class Battle-automata and shatter-shell missiles halted the wrecking balls until Ragnar smashed one of the battle-automata and rallied his troops.
• Blood Axes Kommandos ambushed the defensive line from behind and killed the Tech-Priests, disrupting the Adeptus Mechanicus’s coordination.
• Ragnar used the opening to lead the wrecking balls through the collapsing defense and destroy the second defensive line.
• Ragnar led the survivors toward the bridge, then stopped at the banquet hall after spotting ten Stormblade super-heavy tanks.

Ragnar led the Wrecking Ball Brigade against the Imperial defensive line, where ten Stormblades devastated his forces with plasma fire. After reaching the line and destroying a Stormblade, Ragnar transformed into a lean, muscular Ork radiating a vastly more terrifying power, and Ralfa prepared to face him.

• Ragnar ordered the Wrecking Ball Brigade to charge through the hall toward the bridge, despite the ten Stormblades and the Sisters of Silence and Ventria Guard defending it.
• Ralfa ordered the Stormblades to fire, and their plasma blasts destroyed more than half of the wrecking balls in under a minute.
• Ragnar pressed forward through the bombardment, losing his armour and seeing his throne cauldron melt as the surviving wrecking balls reached the defensive line.
• Ragnar rammed a Stormblade, leapt out, and split its driving compartment open with his Power Axe, while the other survivors fought the defenders.
• Ralfa sensed Ragnar's power surge as his body burned away its excess fat and became muscular, then watched him warily with her Power Sword in hand.