The Captain's Quarters of the Peak Obsidian.
This place was forever shrouded in a layer of soft, warm bioluminescence. It served as the heart of the entire Brevis Expedition Fleet, yet its interior design lacked even a hint of Imperial style.
The inner walls were composed of layered, active chitin, with fine biological vessels pulsing slowly beneath a translucent membrane. The floor was an elastic biological film that swallowed every footstep in silence. The air was thick with a faint scent of pheromones, marking this as the domain of the Tyranids.
In the center of the room sat an ebony Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) set, looking entirely out of place in its surroundings. The board was clearly divided by the "Chu River and Han Border," with red and black engraved pieces locked in a confrontation, carrying an ancient aura from tens of thousands of years ago.
Raynor sat on one side of the board, his fingertips clutching a "Chariot" piece, his gaze fixed on the game. For the past half month, he had spent a vast amount of time each day rooting his consciousness into the Greenskin body known as "Itachi" on Karl-2. He had been dealing with the messes of clan feuds, battlefield layouts, and power struggles.
Only during these few hours deep in the night would he return to his original body to spend time with Sarah. They would chat idly or play a game of chess. Only at this moment was he truly himself.
The small Cerebrath across from him floated in mid-air, its gaze currently locked onto the board. Its blue tentacles held a black "Horse" piece. The subtle ripples of psychic energy emanated from it, revealing its current indecision.
This was Sarah. She always felt that when playing chess, using the Cerebrath form—which possessed a larger brain—would make it easier to find a way to win.
The situation on the board was already clear. Raynor's red pieces held a massive advantage; a lone Chariot and a Horse had already pressed into the Black side's half, looming over the city. Sarah's General was pinned within the Nine Palaces, with almost no possibility of a comeback.
Raynor looked at her furrowed brow. With a slight movement of his fingers, he set down his "Chariot." This move appeared to be a continued press, but he had intentionally exposed a fatal flaw.
The Cerebrath's compound eyes lit up instantly. The previously hesitant tentacles dropped the piece quickly—a black Cannon slid across the board, settling firmly on the central line.
"Checkmate."
Her voice carried a trace of joy that was hard to miss. She looked up at Raynor, her eyes full of the small pride of "I won."
Raynor slapped his forehead in feigned frustration, tossed his remaining pieces onto the board, and praised her with a smile.
"Impressive, Sarah. That move was hidden so deep I didn't notice it at all. Your chess skills are getting better and better."
But as soon as he spoke, the joy in Sarah's voice vanished. She threw the piece she was holding onto the board and leaned back. The tentacles on the wall that had been writhing gently suddenly tensed up. Even the bioluminescence in the entire cabin dimmed a few shades, spelling out "I'm angry" in plain sight.
"You held back again." Sarah's voice turned cold, her dissatisfaction surfacing.
Raynor's smile froze on his face. He let out a couple of awkward laughs and waved his hands hurriedly.
"No, no, it was really my mistake. You're just improving too fast; I can't keep up with your thinking anymore."
He felt a bit guilty even saying it. As a veteran of "galgames" (romance sims), he knew very well that when playing games with a girl, it didn't matter how hard you crushed them during the process, but the final result had to let the other person win—otherwise, there would be consequences.
Sarah clearly wasn't buying it. She turned her face away, refusing to look at him. Only a few slender tentacles reluctantly wrapped around Raynor's wrist, gently rubbing against his skin as if acting spoiled or lodging a silent protest.
Raynor smiled and reached out, stroking the Cerebrath's carapace.
"Alright, alright, my fault. Next time I'll definitely play seriously against you, okay?"
The Cerebrath's body stiffened slightly before relaxing. She spoke in a muffled tone.
"You've been too tired lately."
"Every day you have to face those Greenskins and handle so many messy affairs. You don't even have time to rest properly."
She looked up, her compound eyes full of heartache. A tentacle lightly brushed over the faint dark circles under Raynor's eyes.
"Raynor, why not let me handle it? I'll have the swarm from Dead World-B mobilize fully and just drown Karl-2."
Raynor's heart warmed slightly. He comforted her softly, "It's fine, Sarah. It's not time yet."
He knew better than anyone that Sarah's suggestion would indeed save him a lot of trouble. Once the swarm went "all in" on Karl-2, he could be a hands-off manager and wait for Sarah to deliver the results.
But the problem was that with the current quality of the swarm, achieving a crushing victory over Karl-2 was impossible. Chandler's Deathskulls Clan held the top-tier Greenskin black technology in the system, and the scale of the Greenskins on Karl-2 far exceeded his expectations. Moreover, the Greenskin race only grew stronger the more they fought.
Once the Tyranids and Greenskins entered a full-scale war, it would inevitably devolve into a long, drawn-out conflict of the ages. Without an absolute crushing advantage, it could easily last three to five years. This did not fit Raynor's expectations at all.
What he wanted was to take Karl-2 quickly and seize the position of supreme commander, not to get bogged down in a seesaw battle with no end in sight. More importantly, the various factions in Brevis—including the one on Terra—currently turned a blind eye to his relationship with the Tyranids. But once he allowed Sarah's swarm to mobilize fully, exposing that relationship completely to the light, the situation would become much harder to manage.
"Trust me, Sarah." Raynor looked down and gently patted her head. "Just give me a little more time..."
Seeing the certainty in his eyes, Sarah eventually nodded and gave a quiet, obedient "Mm."
The time for play always passed quickly. It was time for "Itachi" to come back online. Raynor let go of Sarah's tentacles and sat back in his seat. His consciousness receded like a tide, surging into the Greenskin body on Karl-2 through the long-established psychic link.
On the top floor of the Hokage Clan's command tower, "Itachi," who had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open.
Within the purple bestial pupils, a flash of Greenskin coarseness appeared first, followed immediately by Raynor's calmness. He flexed his thick fingers, his knuckles letting out crisp cracks, and his gaze landed on the holographic projection before him.
In the projection, Siss's sphere of influence had already been marked in green, covering nearly one-third of Karl-2. After these hidden operations, Siss and his faction's prestige had skyrocketed. The Hokage, Blood Axe, and Evil Sunz clans were firmly tethered to his war chariot.
With mobile units, assassination forces, and high-speed raid fleets all accounted for, he already possessed the capital to stand as an equal to the Deathskulls Clan.
But it was still not enough.
Raynor's brow furrowed slightly as a thought occurred to him. He couldn't keep using his own Imperial fleet as a "reward pack," feeding heads to Siss over and over just to farm prestige. No matter how deep his pockets were, he couldn't justify such waste; it truly hurt his bottom line.
Moreover, his current assets were all pieced together from various sources within Brevis. And the "wealthy and powerful" Luna had become increasingly cautious after several setbacks. Like a cunning fox, she refused to strike easily again.
Since that was the case, it was time to switch to a different reward pack.
Raynor's gaze fell upon the edge of the star map, onto a gray planet labeled "Dead World-B." He explained his idea to Sarah. He didn't need the swarm to launch a full-scale assault; only small-scale guerrilla harassment was required to precisely farm another wave of prestige for Siss.
During this period, aside from "eating well" on Dead World-B and building a sustainable biomass ecosystem, Sarah had also been preparing for potential space naval battles. Based on the Tyranid Narvhal ships, she had developed several stripped-down biological warships.
Raynor gave them a name with a distinctly Eastern flair—the "Jiaolong-class" (Sea Dragon) Hive Ship.
This class of Hive Ship retained the short-range gravity-warp capability of the Narvhal, allowing it to rapidly close the distance with enemy vessels during naval engagements and enter the advantageous range for the swarm's fleet. The hull was composed of ultra-dense chitin and possessed formidable self-healing abilities. Its primary weapons were two rows of bio-plasma cannons, supplemented by multi-linked spore-launching nests.
Furthermore, the hull was surrounded by numerous tentacles that could harass enemy ships in close-quarters combat or act as grappling hooks. It could conduct independent space operations and deploy ground combat units to planetary surfaces. In size, it was slightly larger than an Imperial Frigate but smaller than a Cruiser. However, its versatility and high maneuverability made it perfect for this harassment mission.
Almost at the exact moment the Jiaolong-class ships activated their gravity-warp and entered the Karl-2 system, Luna snapped her eyes open on the bridge of the Measure of Discipline. The three warships emitting Tyranid biological signals were clearly reflected in her psychic vision.
"Lord Regent, three unknown biological vessels have been detected at the system's edge. Confirmed as Tyranid units; the model does not appear in the database."
A Tzeentch sorcerer beside her bowed and reported, his tone laced with caution. "Do we need to dispatch a fleet for interception?"
Luna walked to the star map, her finger tracing across the display as she watched the positions of the three Jiaolong ships. She then looked at Karl-2 and Raynor's expedition fleet not far away, her expression cold. In the entire system, no one besides Raynor could control a Tyranid fleet that didn't consume everything in sight.
She could see through this little trick at a glance.
However, her fleet had been heavily damaged in the previous ambush, and her core sorcerer squad was still recovering; she had no desire to invite unnecessary trouble. Furthermore, both she and Raynor harbored their own secrets and maintained a tacit understanding; there was no need to pierce that veil just yet. Moreover, these three Tyranid ships alone could never hope to take the heavily defended Karl-2. It was likely just another one of Raynor's minor schemes.
"Ignore them," Luna retracted her gaze, her tone flat. "Heighten fleet alerts and track the Tyranid vessels' movements. Do not initiate an attack, and do not let them approach our fleet."
Though the sorcerer was puzzled, he bowed and took the order. He didn't dare question Luna's decision, even if that decision meant allowing a group of Tyranids to roam freely within the system.
Thus, the three Jiaolong-class Hive Ships boldly tucked themselves into the asteroid belt at the edge of the Karl-2 system and began their "harassment mission."
Spore cysts with tentacles, resembling giant tadpoles, were continuously fired from the ships' launch nests. They streaked through the dark void toward Karl-2. The landing points of these cysts were precisely calculated to avoid Karl-2's core defensive zones. They scattered across the outer waste areas, independent base stations, or the fringes of various clan camps.
The moment the cysts hit the ground, they burst open, and the low-level Tyranid units within scrambled out. However, they did not adopt the swarm's usual tactic of massed frontal advancement to drown the opponent in numbers. Instead, the moment they landed, they scattered, crawling into the gaps of space stations and the wreckage of abandoned warships, vanishing without a trace.
In the days that followed, the Greenskins of Karl-2 learned the meaning of "living through the days like years." They were never afraid of a head-on fight; Orks were born for charging and brawling. Even if thousands of Tyranids were across from them, they would dare to shout "Waaagh!" and charge in with bare fists.
But now, they were forced to hunt for these annoying bugs everywhere. A patrol squad would be walking along when several Termagants would suddenly lunge from the trash heaps on both sides. Over a dozen sharp scything talons would instantly impale two stragglers before the others could react. Then, the bugs would dive back into the complex terrain, making them impossible to chase.
A newly built border sentry tower would be fine during the first half of the night, only for scuttling sounds and chittering to echo in the dark. By morning, the Boyz on watch duty would be gone. The Squigs in the clan ranches would be found gutted overnight, their blood and organs devoured, leaving only hollowed-out carcasses. The cowardly Gretchins began to fear approaching any fences where bugs had been spotted.
This lingering, ghostly guerrilla harassment drove the short-tempered Greenskins to the brink of madness. They possessed immense brute strength but felt as if they were punching clouds—power without a target. Every day, they could only curse at the drifting space debris and continue their search for the damned bugs.
The key to this guerrilla war was the "Chameleons" hidden in the shadows. These were special Tyranid Warriors Sarah had specifically modified for this mission. Their combat power wasn't outstanding, but they incorporated Lictor stealth genes, allowing for optical cloaking. These Chameleons hid in the most secluded corners of Karl-2, serving as command nodes for the swarm. Sarah used these nodes to constantly adjust the ambush positions of the scattered Tyranids, evading the Greenskins' sweeps and preventing them from discerning the swarm's patterns.
Just as all of Karl-2 was being driven to wit's end by the Tyranid harassment, Siss's faction stepped forward.
During the war council, Tooth-Rich abandoned his usual subservient attitude before the major clans. In front of Siss and all the Big Bosses, he presented a complete response plan—clear, organized, and aimed precisely at the jugular of this Tyranid harassment.
The plan was simple: specialized divisions of labor for precision strikes.
The Blood Axe Clan, experts in assassination and infiltration, knew every inch of Karl-2's terrain. Their agent Boyz would be responsible for going deep into various sectors to clear landed Tyranid units and track down the command nodes hidden in the dark.
The Evil Sunz Clan, famous for their speed, would use their high-speed assault craft and space bikes to patrol the entire atmosphere of Karl-2. Their job was to intercept and destroy spore cysts in mid-air before they could land, cutting off the swarm's reinforcements at the source.
Meanwhile, the ninja Boyz of the Hokage Clan would split into two groups. One would assist the Blood Axe agents in clearing operations—their stealth capabilities were even superior to those of the Blood Axe agents. The other group would coordinate with the Evil Sunz fleet to intercept any stray spore cysts and hold the anti-air defense line of Karl-2.
Siss looked at the plan submitted by Tooth-Rich, then at the other clan Big Bosses who were clamoring below but failing to offer any reliable solutions. A flash of approval crossed his eyes, and he made the decision on the spot: they would execute according to this plan.
The three clans within Siss's camp began their counterattack as scheduled.
For the next half month, the entirety of Karl-2 played host to a reversal of the cat-and-mouse game.
The Big Bosses of the Blood Axe Clan led their agent Boyz into the waste areas and various shipwrecks. Relying on faint traces of slime and claw marks on the walls, they tracked the Chameleons inch by inch. Once a Chameleon was found, they used thermal imagers to lock onto the cloaked creature and delivered a precise armor-piercing sniper round through its head. One after another, the swarm's nodes were neutralized.
The Evil Sunz Boyz, piloting Greenskin frigates and space bikes painted bright red, performed extreme stunts within the atmosphere. The roar of engines thundered through the vacuum zones. Their speed pushed efficiency to the limit; descending spore cysts were intercepted and detonated into bursts of green fireworks. The Boyz howled as they raced, treating the interception of spore cysts as a new high-speed game.
The ninja Boyz of the Hokage Clan became the sharpest blades in the clearing operation. Relying on their stealth and the "female voice" in their heads to mark targets, they swung their katanas, hacking the hidden Termagants into fragments. Their coordination was seamless, and their strikes were ruthless. Often, a ninja squad of a dozen could clear out hundreds of Termagants hiding within a ship's wreckage.
In less than a week, the Tyranids that had been causing chaos across Karl-2 were largely wiped out. The Greenskins finally escaped the lingering harassment, feeling refreshed. They gave a big "thumbs up" to Siss and the three clans: Hokage, Blood Axe, and Evil Sunz.
At this moment, a patrol raid boat squad from the Hokage Clan "happened" to discover one of the Jiaolong-class Hive Ships hiding in the outer asteroid belt. They immediately sent the coordinates back to Siss in the core zone.
Siss stood before the star map, reviewing the battle reports of the clearing operation. When he heard that the Tyranid mother ship had been found, a sharp light flashed in his eyes. He did not hesitate, ordering the immediate mobilization of the Evil Sunz speed fleet and the Blood Axe assault fleet. He would personally command the mission to exterminate this Tyranid fleet.
This space battle became Siss's personal show. Since receiving the boost from the Waaagh! field, his prophetic abilities had grown increasingly powerful. His Alpha-level psychic power acted like an invisible net covering the entire battlefield. He constantly predicted every gravity-warp jump of the Jiaolong Hive Ships, rendering their evasive maneuvers useless.
The Evil Sunz fleet used their extreme speed to pin down the three Hive Ships, preventing them from retreating. The Blood Axe fleet used precise cannon fire to batter the vessels. Following Raynor's pre-arranged plan, after several rounds of symbolic resistance, the three Hive Ships activated emergency gravity-warps and vanished at the edge of the system, leaving behind a "panicked" retreat.
Watching the Tyranid fleet flee, the Greenskin Boyz in the fleet let out triumphant "Waaagh!" shouts. They raised their weapons and chanted Siss's name repeatedly, their voices converging into a sound that nearly shook the bridge of the warship.
Upon returning to Karl-2, Siss looked down at the Boyz welcoming the victors and felt the Waaagh! field in the air growing denser. For the first time, a strange but burning emotion welled up in his heart. This feeling of being worshipped by countless people was something he had never experienced before.
Raynor also took advantage of the momentum of this great victory to begin addressing the Hokage Clan's final weakness: capital ships.
The Hokage Clan possessed the finest raid boat swarm on Karl-2, but lacked a core capital ship to serve as a flagship. Once a large-scale fleet battle broke out, they had nothing to stabilize their formation. The Deathskulls Clan had already noticed the growth of Siss's camp and begun to keep their distance. Not only did they refuse to sell capital ships, they wouldn't even lend out their Big Meks.
But the one thing the Hokage Clan did not lack was teeth. The ticket revenue from the Elf-Gork Rally and the dividends from the Waaagh! GP events had allowed the Hokage Clan's wealth to reach "nation-rivaling" levels. With teeth, why worry about finding Meks?
Following Raynor's instructions, Tooth-Rich gathered all the "independent" Mek Boyz on Karl-2. He also spent heavily to hire top Evil Sunz Meks, specialized in engine construction, and Bad Moons weapon masters, specialized in stacking firepower. The three parties joined forces to build the most "Waaagh!"-capable "Terror Ship" on Karl-2 for the Hokage Clan.
It was a Greenskin version of a space carrier. Its core consisted of three massive hangar levels capable of carrying over a hundred Hokage raid boats simultaneously, pushing the clan's maneuverability advantage to the extreme. The hull was welded with various Bad Moons custom cannons, offering firepower comparable to a standard cruiser. The engines were top-tier "burn-out" engines tinkered together by Evil Sunz Meks, with speed high enough to make even Evil Sunz Boyz envious.
For the hull armor, the Hokage Clan used high-priced alloys and added a shield generator calibrated to the clan's overall Waaagh! field. The stronger the Hokage Clan's Waaagh! field, the tougher the shield.
The construction process was filled with the unique Greenskin "I fink" (I think) style. The Meks drew and modified blueprints simultaneously. If they felt a spot lacked a cannon today, they welded one on. If they felt the engine could be faster tomorrow, they added two more motors. Including the stealth effect favored by the Hokage Boyz, they insisted on painting the entire hull with three layers of purple paint. All the Greenskins "fancied" this would work, and so it was decided.
The rhythmic clanging of hammers in the dockyard continued day and night amidst flying sparks as the Mek Boyz worked tirelessly. A bizarre-looking Greenskin carrier was slowly taking shape.
Leveraging the prestige from exterminating the Tyranids, Raynor had originally planned to continue expanding Siss's influence by winning over more clans. However, he hadn't expected the remaining ones to be "iron plates" (unmovable).
The Goffs and Snakebites—the two crudest and most savage Greenskin clans—publicly declared that they only recognized Boss Chandler and would not follow any of Siss's orders. This left Raynor utterly perplexed.
The Goffs were famous brutes who only recognized fists and melee combat, despising "softies" who used dirty tricks or technology. The Snakebites favored primitive savagery, relying on Squig war-beasts and close-quarters fighting, and had always been at odds with clans like the Deathskulls who relied on high-tech warfare.
Yet now, they were not only fiercely loyal to Chandler but were also working closely with the Deathskulls. They had even united to form a so-called "Arc of Resistance." If Siss's camp dared to act against one clan, the other two would immediately send troops to assist.
Only after Raynor had Blood Axe agents conduct a deep investigation did he understand the reason, leaving him stuck between laughter and tears. Years ago, Chandler had built custom, powerful "Mega Armor" for every Goff Big Boss, capable of withstanding the main cannon of a Leman Russ tank, allowing them to fight with sheer delight in every Waaagh!. He had also built a Squig gene-modification device for the Snakebites, making their war-beasts larger, fiercer, and tougher, with an interface that was simple and easy to understand.
Thus, they unanimously believed that Chandler was the most "Waaagh!"-capable Greenskin on Karl-2 and supported him with absolute loyalty.