"That woman in the black armor is so annoying. She kept staring at us—I didn't even dare come out for a breath of air."
A palm-sized Ripper bug was perched on Raynor's shoulder, shaking its little head and speaking in an aggrieved, huffy tone.
Raynor gave its smooth carapace an affectionate pat and said with a smile, "Alright, it's safe now."
While he was by Dominic's side, he had to sever all physiological links with Sarah to prevent the Sister of Silence from sensing anything unusual. That sensation was like being deprived of his strongest arm; it made him feel completely uneasy. It wasn't until this moment, feeling Sarah's presence once again, that Raynor finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"So what do we do now?" Sarah rubbed her little head against Raynor's cheek. "Watch the tigers fight from the mountain top? I like that best! We can wait until they've both beaten each other senseless, then go up and take the kills with minimum loss."
In Sarah's eyes, this was the wisest choice and consistent with Raynor's usual style. Both Dominic and Ragnar were tough nuts to crack; letting them bite each other while Raynor sat back to reap the spoils seemed ideal.
"I'm afraid that won't work this time." Raynor shook his head, cradling Sarah as he walked toward the bridge.
"Why?" Sarah looked up, confused. "Are we actually going to help that annoying noble? He wasn't exactly nice to us just now."
"That's right, we're going to help him," Raynor nodded, his tone serious. "Dominic isn't like Luna. Luna discovered our secret and was an enemy to the death. But Dominic hasn't—for now, he is still our ally. Moreover, he is a much more powerful and controllable ally."
"What Ragnar did today has created a blood feud with Dominic. Given Dominic's personality, as long as he survives this battle, he will certainly mobilize all his forces afterward to counterattack Dolido and wipe Ragnar out. For us, that is a godsend. Without paying much of a price, we can use Dominic's hand to remove the major threat of Ragnar and recover Dolido in the process."
Sarah nodded half-comprehendingly. "Oh... I guess that makes sense. Those people were guarding against you, but they definitely didn't notice my existence."
"Furthermore," Raynor continued, "though Dominic has a foul temper and is proud and stubborn, he is upright and principled. Once you understand his character, he's actually not that hard to deal with. But if he dies, the Imperium will surely send a new tax collector. The next one might be a greedy, corrupt, stupid, and wicked fellow. That would be much more troublesome to handle. So, we must find a way to save Dominic."
"And of course," a sharp glint flashed in Raynor's eyes, "we should also try to take the opportunity to kill Ragnar."
This was his true purpose for "fleeing the front" just now. On the Gemstone, under the watchful eyes of Dominic and Ralph, he couldn't use his true power. Aside from Imperial equipment and the physical improvements brought by being a so-called "Chosen of the Emperor," the vast majority of his strength came from the symbiotic armor and psychic link provided by Sarah, as well as Sarah's own Tyranid power.
If he had teamed up with Sarah to fight Ragnar in front of Dominic, his secret of colluding with the Tyranids would be completely exposed. At that point, far from being an ally, Dominic would immediately turn his guns and eliminate him as a "heretic" first.
But now, he was back on the Peak Obsidian. This was his domain. He could mobilize all his power as he pleased. He could strike from the shadows to help Dominic deal with Ragnar. As long as it was done cleanly, no one would know it was him.
"Great!" Sarah waved her little claws excitedly. "Finally, I can let loose!"
Raynor smiled and walked quickly onto the bridge of the Peak Obsidian.
"Governor!" Seeing Raynor enter, Geth rushed to meet him, looking anxious. "You're finally back. Things are looking bad on the Gemstone. Ragnar led a boarding party inside—Lord Dominic is in grave danger!"
"I know." Raynor nodded and walked to the main control screen, calmly watching the two sides locked in fierce combat.
Outside the Gemstone, the Anna was still biting hard at its left wing. Other Greenskin ships were frantically attacking the human fleet's defensive lines. Inside the Gemstone, it was even more chaotic; the Greenskins had already seized nearly five percent of the decks.
"Geth," Raynor turned and said, "I'm leaving you in command here. Hold the line and don't let any other Greenskin ships get near the Gemstone."
"Yes, sir!" Geth nodded vigorously.
"Sarah, let's go," Raynor said to the Ripper on his shoulder.
"Okay!"
While the flames of war intensified in the Karl II system, several light-years away on the planet Dolido, a grotesque and mysterious disaster was quietly spreading.
Dolido was the most important agricultural world in the Calixis system, with fertile soil and abundant resources. But since Ragnar led the Greenskins to conquer it two years ago, this beautiful and rich planet had become a living hell. Billions of humans had been slaughtered, their bodies buried haphazardly in fields, the wilderness, and beneath city ruins.
The Greenskins had built their tribes upon human bones. They cleared forests, tilled the land, grew mushrooms, and raised Squigs, turning Dolido into a massive food production base. Everything seemed "orderly"—in a Greenskin sense.
Until one day before the battle at Karl II.
A Greenskin Boy guarding Squigs in the field suddenly noticed the ground beneath his feet beginning to loosen. Curious, he bent down and dug with a shovel. Suddenly, a rotting, blackened human hand thrust out from the soil and grabbed his ankle.
"Waaaagh!!!"
The Boy screamed in fright, swinging his shovel and smashing it hard against the hand. The hand was crushed, but it continued to squirm on the ground. Immediately after, more corpses crawled out from the earth.
These were the humans the Greenskins had killed. Their skin had taken on a strange, murky green hue, their eyes were white, and they made raspy, gurgling noises. Their bodies were rotted—some missing arms or legs—but they could still move. They staggered toward the Boy, reaching out with withered claws to grab him.
"What the hell is this!"
Though the Boy was scared, his Greenskin nature allowed him to steady himself quickly. He raised his choppa and hacked at the nearest zombie. With one blow, he took the zombie's head off.
But to his horror, the severed head remained on the ground with its mouth open, snapping repeatedly. And the headless body continued to walk toward him.
"Blast it, what kind of sorcery is this!"
Terrified out of his wits, the Boy turned and bolted. He ran back to the tribe and told the Boss. The Boss didn't believe him at first, thinking the boy was just a coward making up stories. He took a few subordinates and weapons and went out to the fields.
There, they witnessed a sight they would never forget.
Thousands of zombies were crawling out of the dirt from every direction. Like a tide, they were surging toward the Greenskin tribe.
"WAAAAAGH!!!"
The Boss roared and led his men in a charge. They were Greenskins, after all; they didn't believe in ghosts or evil gods. A chaotic melee erupted.
Though the Greenskins were valiant, these zombies were far too uncanny. They feared neither pain nor death. Even when hacked into fragments, the severed chunks of meat continued to wriggle, attempting to stitch themselves back together.
Furthermore, their numbers were overwhelming. For every one killed, ten more crawled out of the earth. For every ten slain, a hundred surged forward. The Greenskins fought until their arms grew weary, only to find that the number of undead, rather than diminishing, was steadily increasing.
Soon, the small tribe was swallowed by the tide of corpses. Every Greenskin was torn to shreds. Wherever the tide passed, the buried remains of native creatures and humans alike stood back up, joining the ranks of the walking dead.
This terrifying phenomenon swept across planet Dorito like a plague. From the ruins of once-prosperous cities to the remote countryside, zombies appeared everywhere. The billions of humans slaughtered by the Greenskins over the past two years now crawled from their graves, launching indiscriminate attacks on all living things.
At first, the Greenskins were dismissive, believing these "Dead Humies" to be weak. They took up their weapons and went on the offensive, intent on wiping the zombies out. But they quickly realized they were wrong.
While these zombies were slow and lacked significant destructive power, their vitality was incredibly tenacious. Ordinary physical attacks could rarely kill them permanently. Only fire or extreme heat could reduce them to ash.
And there were simply too many. Billions had died on Dolido. Now, every single one was a zombie. The speed at which they tunneled out of the ground was faster than the rate at which Greenskins could reproduce. Many tribes were overrun in their sleep, completely wiped out.
A terrifying rumor began to spread rapidly:
"This is the planet Dolido taking its revenge on us!" "We killed too many Humies, and now they've all come back to life!" "They're going to kill us all and take back the planet!" "Gork and Mork are angry! We've been abandoned!"
For the first time, the thick-headed Greenskins felt a sense of the absurd. Looking at the endless stream of murky green corpses crawling out of the dirt, they even began to wonder who the real "Greenskins" were.
However, this didn't mean they were afraid. On the contrary, these walking corpses provided the Greenskins—who had been sedentary for too long—with a grand, glorious war. Within a single day, the entirety of Dolido descended into a massive free-for-all.
Naturally, some Ork Bosses attempted to send word to Ragnar.
In a corridor aboard the Gemstone.
Ragnar led his Wrecking Ball squad, crashing through everything in their path as they pushed toward the bridge.
"Hahaha! Charge! Kill all the Humies!" Ragnar's excited roar echoed from within his massive iron sphere. He felt more powerful than ever before. The power bestowed upon him by the "Stew God" surged through his veins. His iron ball was invincible; nothing could stand in his way.
"Boss, the hatch to the upper deck is just ahead! Once we pass this corridor and take two more turns, we'll hit the bridge!" a massive Umami Clan Ork reported excitedly.
"Excellent!" Ragnar laughed. "Pick up the pace! Let's go wring those Humies' heads off and boil 'em into a stew!"
"WAAAAGH!!!"
The Wrecking Ball squad accelerated, charging into the main corridor leading to the upper decks. The hall was empty—hauntingly silent. The only sound was the thunderous rumble of their rolling iron spheres.
"Hmm?" Ragnar frowned. "Something's not right. Where are the Humies? Why isn't anyone here?"
Beneath his boisterous exterior lay a calculating mind. This abnormal silence triggered his sense of danger.
"Boss, the Humies must've been scared witless by us and bolted!" one of the big Orks said dismissively.
"Yeah, Boss! We're so tough, they wouldn't dare fight us!"
"Shut it!" Ragnar snapped. "Watch for traps! Slow down and stay sharp!"
Just then...
Hiss—
A faint sound of leaking gas hissed through the corridor. A colorless, odorless nerve toxin began to saturate the air.
"What's that sound?" one of the Orks asked, confused.
A second later, his head began to spin, and his limbs felt leaden. His iron sphere began to wobble, its speed dropping rapidly.
"Dammit, it's poison gas!" Ragnar's expression shifted drastically. "Hold your breath! Charge through!"
But it was already too late. The nerve gas had entered through the spheres' ventilation ports. Most of the Wrecking Balls were affected, their momentum visibly flagging. A few Umami Orks with weaker constitutions simply blacked out. Their spheres ground to a halt, motionless.
Orks of the Umami Clan generally possessed digestive and immune systems far superior to average Greenskins. Unfortunately, the samples for these neurotoxins had been sourced from Catachan.
"Filthy Humies, using dirty tricks!" Ragnar bellowed in fury.
At that moment:
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion rocked the center of the corridor. Hundreds of melta bombs detonated simultaneously. Temperatures reaching hundreds of thousands of degrees instantly engulfed the hallway. Searing streams of plasma washed over the Wrecking Ball squad.
"AAAAAGH!!!"
The spheres that had been stalled by the gas were instantly vaporized by the heat. The armor turned to molten slag, and the Umami Orks inside were turned to ash before they could even wake up.
"Blast it, retreat!" Ragnar ordered immediately. These Humies were far more cunning than he had anticipated!
The remaining Wrecking Balls quickly smashed through the side walls, seeking cover in the adjacent chambers. But as soon as they entered, Imperial soldiers surged from the branching hallways on both sides.
Heavy bolters, plasma cannons, and multi-meltas opened fire all at once. Dense patterns of fire filled the cramped space.
"Fire! Give it everything you've got!" "Avenge our fallen brothers!"
The soldiers roared, pouring all their fury into the Greenskins. However, conventional fire remained limited in the damage it could deal to the heavy Wreckers. Having recovered slightly, Ragnar and his men launched a counterattack.
"Damned Humies! I'll kill you all!!!"
Ragnar let out a furious roar. Ignoring the heat and the incoming fire, he accelerated violently, charging toward the intersection at the end of the corridor. He intended to tear these cunning Humies apart with his own hands. He would show them the price of provoking Ragnar "Big-Stomach"!
Standing before the main control screen on the bridge, Dominic watched the ambushed Wrecking Ball squad with cold, predatory eyes.
"The game has only just begun, Ragnar."