They were off, walking through the Underhive and about to reach the ground level. The entire squad had chosen to accompany Gerhard and observe the battle to come.
The Sisters of Silence and Lencillus wouldn't fight. Well, they would fight if it looked like Gerhard was about to lose, but he knew that wouldn't happen.
Gerhard walked in front, inside his MK V-H' Hulk Buster', followed by Gustav, the Super Heavy Battle Tank. Inside Gustav were currently Hans, who would act as the Commander and unofficial teacher of Gustav, and Lieutenant Sera Vahl, the gunner/comms operator.
Sera Vahl was going to use the movable parts of the Two Twin-Linked Lascannons. Hans would direct and coordinate with Gerhard, while Gustav could fire his weaponry independently. Still, Sera Vahl would use the advanced version of Auspex that Gerhard created to keep watch over the battle.
It was going to become chaotic, that much was obvious.
The drive proved smooth despite the debris they had to clear along the way. Nothing stood in the tank's way. Nothing that couldn't be 'moved'. When they finally reached the large plaza, the air felt charged. Something was differnet about the fight to come, and the sensors proved as much.
"Gerhard, the auspex is indicating massive energy signatures up ahead. The entire plaza is full of them," Sera notified him.
"I saw it, thanks."
Gerhard saw the number of enemies on his mini-map and the HUD. It was a lot, and they were strong presences. Just as he usually did, he broke through the wall instead of using the massive doors, just to make an impression.
BOOOOMM--
The sheer scale of the Ork mobilisation hit them like the accompanying physical wall of heat. This was no longer just a regular warband; it was an industrial nightmare, with numbers that were nothing short of an actual WAAAGH!
> Master, it seems the Orks have undergone a substantial change. They have truly gone above and beyond for you. Massive Warp gestalt energy spiking, Master. This seems to be a genuine Waaagh! under that Warboss.
"So it would seem."
[Observe]
['Ard Boyz], [Tankbustas], [Burna Boyz], [Painboyz], [Stormboyz], [Flash Gitz], [Nobz], [Meks], [Big Meks], [Warbikers]... and the list went on.
But there was a substantial difference this time compared to the other time. And that was the literal mountains of warmachines. The Warboss had changed and was no longer a Goff. Gerhard's gaze moved over those large constructs.
[Ork Trukks]
[Killa Kan]
[Deffkopta]
[Meganob]
[Deffkilla Wartrike]
[Deff Dread]
But those weren't even all of them. Finally, Gerhard's eyes met the Warbosses, and just as he thought, it was no longer a Goff. It was now a Bad Moon Ork, and he was truly loaded.
---
Ork Warboss in Mega Armour – Lv.86
|Name: Da Meklord Dakkabad
|HP: 62,000/62,000
|MP: 3,000
|A towering Bad Moon Big Mek Warboss clad in Mega Armour, combining the monstrous strength of a Warboss with the insane protection and servo-powered brutality of a Meganob's war-suit.
STR: 190
VIT: 210
DEX: 30
Weapons:
| Power Klaw / Mega Klaw
| Twin Shoota / Kombi-Weapon
| Boss Plasma Weapon / Kustom Gear
Traits:
| +160% low-level physical resistance
| +80% explosive resistance
| Servo-Assisted Strength
| Waaagh! Boss Aura
| +50 STR
| +60 VIT
| +20 DEX
---
"OI! DAKKA MASTAAAA!!!" the Warboss roared. "What do you say about all dis?! WE'S PREPARED JUST FOR YOU. DIS TIME, YOU'S DIEE. WAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!"
"Well, he's certainly got spirit," Gerhard remarked as the thunderous metal and greenskin tsunami rolled towards him.
> I suppose it's good that you 'overprepared'. I am sorry to say this, but the Iron Monger wouldn't have stood a chance here. Unless you use your magic, that is.
Gerhard lowered his helmet and looked at the Warboss.
"Very well then!!! MAY DA BEST ORK WIN!!"
Gerhard grinned as his [Danger Sense] activated several times, and then the battle started. One man, against an Ork Waaagh!
"Onward, Hans and Gustav! Peace was never an option!!"
.
A wall of rusted chrome, screaming engines, and billowing black exhaust stormed across the large plaza. Hundreds of Warbikers sped ahead, leading the charge, their bikes a chaotic mess of oversized twin-linked dakkaguns, which the Meks had especially improved under the Warboss' directive. To the Orks, the bike was used mostly by the Goffs, as it was a way to reach the fighting faster. They rode with zero regard for formation, leaning so far into the turns that their spiked handlebars scraped sparks off the rocks.
"WAAAAAAAAAGH!"
The cry reverberated all around the plaza, being shouted by every single Ork at the same time, accompanied by the howling of small and bigger engines. The lead Warbikers began firing while still well out of effective range, simply because the noise of the guns added to the thrill of the ride. That's what dakka truly meant. It was the feeling and the sound of the gun firing... Streams of high-calibre tracer rounds stitched patterns across the dirt, kicking up fountains of mud.
Gerhard didn't flinch as the first shells whistled past. His own heart pumped as he stared into the large forest of Ork warmachinery. He had turned the [Blank] skill off, moving his balance towards the psionic side, wanting to feel the thrill of all of it and use his [Psionic Mana Shield].
And as fun as that was, it had an immediate effect.
The air around him began to shimmer with a strange, bright emerald hue.
The Orks saw him. They saw the "Dakka Master" standing alone, draped in the armour they had come to respect, love and envy. Their collective psychic energy, the Waaagh!-gestalt psychic energy, began to burn and boil literally. They didn't just want to kill him; they wanted to impress him and enjoy themselves to the absolute max.
Gerhard was no longer even a humie to them. He was the Dakka Masta and as much an Ork as they were. He had understood their philosophy and was effectively one of them. And in a very weird way... they were right.
[Warp Energy Interaction Detected]
[Analysing…]
[Source: Waaagh! Gestalt Field]
[Origin: Orkoid Psychic Resonance]
[Conclusion:]
[Gerhard the Gamer has been exposed to Orkoid belief-based reality distortion]
[Warning:]
[Powerful Warp Presences observe the Gamer.]
[A foreign blessing has been imposed upon you]
[The WAAAGH! has acknowledged your existence]
[Gork and Mork find you WAAAGH!!]
Blessing of Gork and Mork (Passive) Lv. 1
| EXP: ??? (Unconventional Growth)
| A chaotic blessing granted through exposure to the Orkoid Waaagh! field.
| Reality subtly bends to reinforce actions that align with Ork logic: more dakka, more violence, more impact.
Effects:
| +10% physical strength during combat
| +10% damage when fighting aggressively
| +10% health during combat
| +5% dexterity during combat
| +5% chance for attacks to deal increased impact ("more dakka effect")
| Slight increase in weapon performance under sustained use
| Additional Effect:
| Weapons may function slightly beyond their normal limits
|Condition:
| Effects increase when:
| - Surrounded by Orks
| - In large-scale combat
| - Acting with confidence/aggression/excitement
---
"BAHAHAHAHA!!" Gerhard laughed out loud.
His laughter could be heard across the entire plaza, only fuelling the Orks in their endeavour and excitement. Whether intentionally or not, Gerhard was now riding the Ork belief system.
'Hans, Sera, you two deal with the bigger targets. Leave the initial wave to me,' Gerhard said into the vox channel.
> Affirmative, Master.
'Sure,' Sera answered.
The Warbikers accelerated, their front wheels lifting off the ground as they hit the turbo-boosters, now shooting into the air.
The first biker, a speed-crazed Ork with a red-painted helmet, aimed his bike directly at Gerhard's chest, his twin-linked shootas roaring in a continuous flame.
"DA DAKKA MASTER! KRUMP' IM!"
Gerhard didn't move. He simply waited for the kinetic clash, which followed right after.
BOOOOOOMMM----
Several Warbikes crashed right into Gerhard. They weren't used to an enemy that didn't fire at them or try to dodge. They always rushed in and didn't think about anything else. But they hit an immovable object and died by the dozen.
Gerhard swiped his Lightning Claw through the air, slicing through several Orks and their warbikes as they passed by. Each swing and each kill activated [Energy Absorption] automatically and increased Gerhard's health and subsequently his Mana pool. The skill had been power-levelled by Gerhard, who saw almost limitless potential in it.
He was a monster, an unstoppable monster on the battlefield. He had the height and width, so if he were bald, those who knew about the past might start to see a very famous traitor Primarch in him. Especially the ease and brutality he possessed.
The Orks died by the hundreds. And without thinking about it too much, he activated the Assault Rail-Cannon, turning it to full throttle.
BBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTT-----
The specially created rounds hit the Orks of all standings, not just the Warbikers. Gerhard was physically incapable of missing when he fired a ranged weapon. So each of the thousands of shots hit something, bringing immense destruction with it.
The Warbikers detonated, the Ork Boyz who were rushing forward and all the others were mowed down, crushed under their armour, or simply detonated into a green shower of funus blood.
.
"Massive wave of Ork infantry incoming!" Sera said as she studied the different Auspex screens inside Gustav.
Hans was at the strategic Commander's seat, where he was connected to Gustav via a dataport, feeding him information and directives. They communicated silently for now, but Gustav was very much capable of moving and fighting on his own. This was only training, which Gerhard thought was better and faster for Gustav to grow.
> Understood. Fire at will.
"Copy."
Sera controlled both of the Twin Lascannons on the sides of the tank. She was able to control them and use the auspex screens to fire and attack, as if she were playing a shooter game. Gerhard was being cheeky, but only he would ever know just how much.
She pressed the triggers, and the Twin Lascannons of legendary grade followed her command, firing the immense laser weapons, melting through bodies and armour of anything it hit. The truly heavy walkers and Trukks haven't arrived just yet. But even those couldn't withstand the might of the legendary grade weaponry.
Hans, meanwhile, communicated with Gustav, focusing on a larger target in the distance.
H: > Status?
G: > Target locked.
Gustav answered. Hans nodded digitally and connected to Gerhard.
H: > Master, we're ready.
"Do it. And play 'Rammstein'."
H: > Of course.
🎸'Getadelt wird, wer Schmerzen kennt
Vom Feuer, das die Haut verbrennt'🎸
The Mana Baneblade Cannon on top of the Super Heavy Battle Tank had moved into position, targeting a very, very big target at the far end of the plaza, slowly stomping towards them.
CHH-CLING
🎸'Ich werf' ein Licht in mein Gesicht'🎸
The one-meter-long shell made of mana-metal was loaded.
🎸'Ein heißer Schrei...'🎸
H: > Fire at will.
🎸'... Feuer frei!'🎸
SCHHH---BOOOOOMM---
The shell left the ridiculously thick Baneblade Cannon and shot through the air. As soon as it left the barrel, it turned into a miniature mana-powered rocket which accelerated beyond several times the speed of sound.
It flew over the heads of the entire Ork WAAAGH!. Hundreds of thousands of Orks stopped their shouting and their advance, to look up into the sky and follow the magnificent thing that flew at speeds they couldn't follow but just felt instinctively was worthy to observe.
.
On a raised canopy, the small group of Hestia, Kaelen, Liora, and Lencillus stood rather relaxedly. They were watching the battle, which had heated up right from the start. The sheer size of the Waaagh, and the immense scale of the warmachines and mechs they saw, was mind-boggling. Nothing they hadn't seen before, especially Lencillus, but when one thought about where they were, it was insanely impressive.
In a way, this was ironic, since it was the lack of action from the Planetary Governor which had allowed the Orks even to become a threat on the planet, and now, Gerhard had, unwillingly, done the same. But he, at least, was taking care of his own mess.
They had no words for what they were seeing. A single human, inside a Power Armour and a Super Heavy Tank, was currently taking on the might of what seemed like millions of Orks on their own, and they were doing it with overwhelming power.
Lencillus saw 'Gustav' move the Baneblade Cannon and target something that wasn't in its nearest surroundings. The Eye of the Emperor knew, of course, that the Baneblade Cannon was a long-range weapon, capable of hitting targets 10 kilometres away. So what was he targeting?
...
"Oh..."
They watched the large, dark shell, which shone in the light, shoot through the sky, fly over all the Orks and hit the largest target in the back.
"Boom," Lencillus said to himself.
.
..
...
---BBBBBBBBBRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM-------!!!!!
An insanely vast explosion was produced upon detonation, thanks to the miniature mana-reaction which took place.
...
...
...
The sound of a monstrously large walker, or its remains, hitting the ground and the resulting shockwave could be heard.
[Morkanaut defeated]
[+4,800,000 EXP]
[Level up]
[Level up]
[Level up]
[Level up]
[Level up]
[Level up]
Morkanaut – Lv.80
|HP: 0/90,000
|MP: 0
|A heavily armed Ork walker built as an effigy to the Ork god Mork, it possesses all the lethal cunning of its namesake. The Morkanaut is built, armed, and piloted by a Mekboy who equips it with all kinds of glowy energy weapons capable of unsubtle brutality.
STR: 225
VIT: 290
Weapons:
| Kustom Mega-Kannon
| Klaw of Mork
| Energy weapons
Traits:
| Kustom Force Field
| Unstable Mek Tech
| Energy Weapon Systems