The cleanup operation in the Koronus Expanse was in full swing, with the Orks being the first to bear the brunt.
The Orks in the Koronus Expanse had built a powerful empire, with Longtooth Star as its capital.
Ever since humanity established the Calixis Sector government and officially asserted its rule over the Calixis Sector, the Orks of the Koronus Expanse began to harass humans.
Later, humanity discovered the Great Rift, and formal warfare between the two sides began.
In 108M41, the Internal Affairs Department of the Calixis Sector passed a resolution to thoroughly liquidate the Orks of the Koronus Expanse, sending out a vanguard fleet for reconnaissance.
The light cruiser Radamanthys discovered them, and the Astropath on board sent out the final log before his death,
which detailed the scale of the Orks in the Koronus Expanse and the worlds they ruled.
These Orks were not scattered pirate raiders, but an Ork Empire.
The Calixis Sector Navy had planned to gather heavy forces to destroy this Ork Empire in one fell swoop,
but unexpected events kept occurring, first the Mertek War, and then the Great Rift.
This led to them being unable to deal with this Ork Empire.
As the Great Rift expanded, the scale of this Ork Empire also grew larger and larger,
which caused the Imperial officials stationed in the Expanse to worry.
The Koronus Expanse was not an official territory of the Imperium,
but because many planets had already been colonized by humans, the Calixis Sector dispatched officials to manage and tax these planets.
Upon learning that the God Chosen had launched the Koronus Expansion Act, these Imperial officials also gained mission authority,
and they immediately issued a mission to destroy the Ork Empire in the name of the Emperor.
Player organizations such as Combat Roses, Thirteenth Legion, and Sea Island Warlords accepted this mission.
They led their military forces to attack the planets occupied by the Orks.
Combat Roses was responsible for capturing Skullcrusher Star,
which was an important Warp node world,
providing access to numerous planets occupied by Orks.
If it were captured, the time required for Orks to gather on other worlds would increase by more than 3 days.
Skullcrusher Star was constantly scorched by a hot white star, vast and barren, with widespread issues of extreme heat and water scarcity, making survival difficult.
This planet had no native life, only some dark places where Ork flora and fauna grew, they were the only life on this planet.
The only civilization on the planet's surface was Skull Town,
the town was situated on a long, deep canyon wall, with the lower levels consisting of scrap heaps, mines, and landfills, overseen by hordes of Gretchin,
responsible for recycling materials, cultivating fungi, Squigs, and usable minerals.
Further up were the rudimentary workshops of the Mekboyz, where Ork spacecraft occasionally landed to exchange for rare minerals from the ground.
The planet was surrounded by an asteroid belt, which was the main living area for the Orks.
They hollowed out large meteorites and asteroids, planting Ork plants and various other chaotic things inside to establish a life-sustaining system.
Little Alpaca led the Players of Combat Roses in an assault, using fierce firepower to obliterate the Ork warships wandering in the void,
making them explode like fireworks.
The patched-up Ork warships turned into burning wrecks, carried by flames in all directions.
The Orc Chieftain stationed on Skullcrusher Star died in the fierce naval battle, and the remaining Ork fleet then collapsed and was annihilated by the human fleet.
Immediately after, it was a landing operation, launching a full-scale assault on the asteroid belt.
The Players were at the forefront, serving as the vanguard, air-dropping onto the asteroids to clear out the local Orks.
Amidst gunshots and battle cries, one asteroid after another fell,
and the roaring Orks were annihilated by the Players' ferocious firepower.
After the last batch of Orks was wiped out,
Little Alpaca took off her helmet and inhaled a cold, blood-tinged breath of air.
Beneath her feet lay the corpse of a massive Ork,
it had skin as tough as an ancient tree, a pair of fierce red eyes,
and its protruding lower jaw still showed the grimace of its dying rage, only the pool of guts beneath it indicated that it was dead.
It took her a lot of effort to completely kill this monster.
All signs indicated that the Orks had been operating here for many years; some main control rooms and corridors were overgrown with pulsating fungi,
and various crude weapons, armor, and tribal totems were piled into bizarre altars near the command console,
above the altars, a transparent dome displayed the void of space beyond the station.
"An Ork den certainly has a smell."
Yuzu Jiang walked in from outside, her exquisite armor still stained with Ork blood,
and the blessed longsword in her hand gleamed with crackling arcs of electricity.
"It's finally over." Gray Bao'er followed closely, "Honestly, fighting Orks is already good.
Other Xenos are even more disgusting."
"Haha, you're right, Orks are just a bit ugly, other Xenos are not only terrifyingly ugly, but their bodies are also slimy, I feel like throwing up just thinking about the Xenos race we annihilated last time."
Meng Zhu nodded, agreeing with Gray Bao'er's words.
Little Alpaca turned around and looked at her companions,
"Alright, stop with the useless talk, there's still an Ork town on the surface that we need to clear out."
"Are we continuing the air-drop operation?" Meng Zhu asked.
Little Alpaca shook her head, "Let the fleet perform an orbital broadside, there's no need to go to the surface."
"Okay, I'll send a message to the fleet commander immediately," Meng Zhu said.
A moment later, the human fleet floating in the void moved to the designated position,
then, volleys of lance beams bombarded the ground, completely obliterating the Ork town.
Combat Roses left a portion of Imperial troops on Skullcrusher Star, letting them clear out the corpses in the asteroid belt,
after all, this planet could produce various precious minerals, which was a huge fortune.
According to the Expansion Act, whoever liberated a planet gained ownership of that planet,
and all the wealth on the planet belonged to them.
Skullcrusher Star was now the private property of the Combat Roses Battle Group, and it certainly needed to be developed and maintained properly.
The capture of Skullcrusher Star was just a small interlude in the cleanup of the Orks in the Koronus Expanse.
The Players attacked from all sides, continuously conquering planets controlled by the Ork Empire.
The Thirteenth Legion, led by Dragon Lobster, set its sights on the treacherous planet, a mineral-rich but geologically unstable world shrouded in choking sulfur fumes.
Although the Thirteenth Legion was at the bottom of the first echelon, its numerical scale was the largest.
Because Dragon Lobster, as a blogger, had strong appeal,
many people knew him,
after entering the game, those who hadn't figured out what path to take would consider joining Dragon Lobster's Thirteenth Legion first.
It was like a melting pot; anyone who claimed to be a fan could join.
Over time, it became the largest player group.
The military strength of the treacherous planet was not strong, with only a few space stations; there were no residents in this place, only miners, responsible for mining ore for the Ork warlords.
The Ork boys here would take heavy shuttles to the surface to collect metal ore and lava, which would then be screened by the Mekboyz and processed into metal, then traded for food and water.
The Thirteenth Legion easily took this place.
And another major player organization that participated, Sea Island Warlords, plundered Trampling Star, the main religious sanctuary and industrial production site of the Orks.
After a fierce battle,
the Orks were defeated, and the Sea Island Warlords completely captured Trampling Star.
"Brothers, don't be polite with these guys, take whatever you see."
Desert instructed his subordinates to search carefully and not miss any valuable items.
After the plunder was complete, Desert planned to take his companions through the Warp to Longtooth Star, preparing to launch the final blow against the Ork Empire in the Koronus Expanse.
Longtooth Star was the capital of the Ork Empire and the world with the most Ork residents in the Koronus Expanse.
The indigenous inhabitants of this planet had been completely wiped out, and everything they had created became the Orks'.
The planet's surface was covered with factories, workshops, and shipyards, producing weapons, vehicles, and spacecraft for the Orks day and night.
War industry spread like a plague of fire and steel across the entire planet,
and the only remaining open spaces were the Orks' testing grounds and gladiatorial arenas.
In addition to the surface industries, Longtooth Star's orbit was also filled with space stations and weapon platforms,
and famous giant derelict ships—such as the Fist of Gork—were idle above the planet, ready to be deployed into battle at any time.
It was foreseeable that the Battle of Longtooth Star would be the most brutal battle in the Koronus Expanse.
For this, the Players agreed on a time and place to gather, preparing to jointly launch a full-scale assault on the capital of the Ork Empire.
Just as Desert was commanding his fleet, preparing to Warp out of Trampling Star's airspace,
suddenly several warships bearing the symbols of the Chaos Gods blocked their path.
"Oh, are you treating my Sea Island Warlords as good men and women? So arrogant, daring to show your face in front of me?"
"Open fire, don't let them escape."
Desert naturally did not hesitate, immediately ordering to open fire.
Merit points delivered to their doorstep, it would be a waste not to take them.
At this moment, a noisy sound came from the Bridge,
and a gloomy voice spoke,
"God Chosen, please hear me out before opening fire."
"Open fire," Desert shouted again.
What plot? Just do it.
There's no such thing as killing the wrong Chaos Heretic.
Erebus:
How come these guys aren't playing by the rules!!
Can't they listen to me for a bit??
They just start firing so eagerly.
"I am Erebus, and I speak for the Gods."
This sentence had an effect, and Desert quickly shouted, "Stop, don't open fire."
Erebus alive and dead were two different prices; if they could capture Erebus alive, charging other Players admission fees would probably make them rich.
As the character with the highest negative popularity on the battlefield, Erebus's ticket appeal was incomparable to other characters.
Seeing the human fleet stop attacking,
Erebus's mouth curved slightly upward.
See? This is the prestige of a Dark Apostles.
Even the God Chosen have to show respect.
"Erebus, I've heard much about you, why don't you come over for a chat?"
Desert grinned widely, extending a warm invitation.
"I am a Heretic. Inviting me onto your ship, aren't you afraid of being discovered by the Emperor's fanatical followers? Or are you planning to trick me over?"
Erebus was not a fool after all.
The God Chosen inviting him immediately clearly indicated a problem.
"I see the Emperor as despicable and shameless, enslaving countless people and making them suffer, my heart aches. Today I have met an Apostle of the Gods, if the Apostle is willing, please introduce me to the Gods, and show humanity a clear path."
Desert's tone was sincere, making the Players nearby almost burst out laughing.
Hearing the God Chosen on the other side directly call the Emperor the Emperor, Erebus himself was somewhat shocked.
He had originally thought the God Chosen were loyal to the Emperor, but who would have thought they had long harbored discontent, just unable to find an opportunity to betray him.
"You also harbor discontent towards the Emperor?" Erebus asked tentatively.
"The False Emperor deceives humanity and defrauds the Gods, he deserves to die!" Desert shouted, "Slay the False Emperor and usher in a new era for humanity!"
Hearing these words from the other party, Erebus's pupils dilated.
Goodness, such a Heretic slogan was shouted out.
It was impossible not to believe it.
After some hesitation, Erebus finally agreed to this absurd request, taking a group of Daemon-possessed warriors in a transport craft,
to the warship where Desert was located.
As soon as they entered the hangar bay, the armored hatch closed,
and the cannons, which had been deactivated to gain Erebus's trust, were reactivated, locking onto the Word Bearers' transport craft.
"What is the meaning of this?" Erebus frowned upon seeing this formation.
The Daemon-possessed warriors around him also quickly raised their weapons, confronting the Players guarding them.
"Of course, it's to trick you, you fool, to come over and then capture you. Otherwise, would we love you?" A Player joked, "Erebus, today, even if you had wings, you wouldn't be able to fly."
"Didn't you want to turn over a new leaf, abandon the Emperor, and embrace the Gods?" Erebus looked at Desert, who was leading them.
"Yellow Old Man is indeed quite bad, but at least he has a little integrity. The Gods you speak of have none at all." Desert activated the rending field of the longsword in his hand, and bright arcs of electricity instantly covered the blade.
"Originally, I was worried about where to find you, but I never thought you, this fool, would willingly come to our doorstep, and even actively enter our encirclement. I really don't know whether to call you stupid or arrogant."
Erebus surveyed the God Chosen around him and said, "Many things are just the Imperium's slanders against the Gods. As long as you are willing to embrace the Gods,"
"the galaxy will become your backyard, and you can do whatever you want, with complete impunity. Wealth, power, status, and strength can all be easily obtained."
Erebus's words made many Players laugh.
This displeased Erebus; the attitude of these God Chosen was annoying.
He offered such good conditions, why were they laughing??
Desert's face held a playful smile as he looked at the Dark Apostles, his tone filled with mockery.
"Erebus, we're not fools. If we wipe you all out, this universe will still be ours."
"Giving us what should already belong to us and thinking it's a way to win us over, are you joking?"
Erebus:
"..."
These guys are simply too arrogant and greedy.
What do you mean, 'what should already belong to you'?
You are just a group of high-dimensional outsiders?
He and the Gods are the natives of this universe, the true masters of this universe?