Sarah looked up at the direction where the light beam had vanished, a flicker of doubt passing through her cold eyes for a brief moment. She could feel that the beam carried Siss's final shred of consciousness toward a specific destination.
However, she didn't pay it much mind. After all, a dead man couldn't cause any real trouble. She had more important matters to attend to.
As the Shadow in the Warp dissipated, the Orks' hallucinations vanished as well. But when they looked at Sarah again, a massive uproar erupted throughout the entire core area.
The previous psychic clash had completely shattered the concealment provided by the Hokage Clan's Waaagh! field. The Orks on the scene finally saw the true face of the "Major Cold Divine Messenger."
She was no longer the dark green, majestic, giant lizard who granted them speed and stealth. Instead, she was a five-meter-tall, hideous blue-and-white Tyranid monster. Her entire body was covered in thick, ultra-dense chitinous armor. Her head featured a pair of insectoid compound eyes glowing with cold blue light. The meter-long blades on her forelimbs were still dripping with Siss's green blood.
A deathly silence lasted for five full seconds. Then, emotions erupted like a volcanic explosion. Roars of fury and despair instantly swept through the core area.
"No... impossible, dis ain't real!" "How's da Divine Messenger a bug?!" "We been tricked! We been worshipin' a filthy bug dis whole time!!!"
The Boyz of the Hokage Clan had the most violent reaction. They were Sarah's most devout believers; some even prayed to her statue every day. They shouted the slogan "Divine Messenger of Gork and Mork" constantly and had fought other clans to the death to defend her glory. Now, finding out their idol was a bug was a blow more lethal than any weapon.
Countless Boyz threw down weapons engraved with the "Major Cold" seal and stomped on them. They roared at Sarah, their eyes bloodshot. The despair of betrayal quickly transformed into a heaven-shaking rage for revenge.
"Kill da bug! Avenge Boss Siss!" "Tear 'er apart! Feed 'er meat to da Squigs, Waaagh!"
The surviving Orks from Siss's camp quickly gathered under Yadodo's leadership, forming a chaotic but massive army. Yadodo sat on the back of a War Squig, looking at the blue-and-white monster ahead with a complex gaze. He held his "Big Boomer" rocket launcher, the weapon that had helped him make his fortune.
Yadodo knew that Sarah and Boss Itachi were definitely connected. He also knew that these Orks couldn't hurt Sarah in the slightest. No matter how they attacked, she would be fine. Furthermore, he had to step forward. Right now, the entire camp's hatred was focused on this bug. If he didn't lead the revenge, his prestige and position would be discarded by the angry Boyz. He had to stabilize the situation by leading the remaining Boyz to attack Sarah.
"Boyz!" Yadodo fired a shot to signal for attention and shouted with all his might. "Dis bug tricked us, used us, and killed Boss Itachi and Boss Siss!" "Now, grab yer choppas and follow me!" "Kill da bug! Avenge da Bosses!" "Waaaaagh!!!"
The other Orks let out a roar of fury. They raised various weapons and charged at Sarah. Just as the Ork army was about to reach her...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Deafening artillery fire suddenly erupted from the entrance of the core area. The sound was so dense and violent it felt as if the entire core would be blown into the sky. Wave after wave of intense bombardment covered the Ork army's position like a torrential rain. High-explosive shells detonated in the crowd, launching dozens of Orks into the air simultaneously. Promethium incendiary bombs ignited raging fires, turning Orks into living torches. Bolters tore through the heavy armor of the Goffs, riddling their bodies with holes. Flesh and bone fragments flew everywhere under the relentless pouring of fire.
"It's da Humie fleet!" "Bad news! More Humies are breakin' in!"
The Orks fell into total chaos. They stopped their charge and looked toward the entrance in panic.
A tide of steel rolled in. Leman Russ Battle Tanks advanced in neat rows, their muzzles spitting rays of death. Chimera armored transports carried Astra Militarum soldiers, strafing with heavy bolters as they advanced. Hellhound flame tanks spewed pillars of fire dozens of meters long, charring Orks hiding in the ruins. In the sky, Valkyrie gunships roared past, their mounted multi-lasers mowing down swathes of Orks on the ground.
Outside, drop pods rained down, and well-equipped elites of the Vanguard surged out. They were all veterans from the Brevis Forbidden Wall; fighting Greenskins was as natural to them as breathing.
Raynor's Purge Crusade Fleet had finally arrived.
At this critical juncture—with Luna defeated and retreating, the Orks in a total civil war, Siss dead, and Chandler completely out of control—Raynor descended upon the battlefield of the Karl-2 core area in full strength.
The only high-ranking officers of the Crusade were Raynor and Guts. The rest of the noble officers had been "graciously permitted" by Raynor to remain at the rear on the Peak Obsidian, commanding the operation remotely. For those nobles who valued their lives like gold, this was a dream come true; they wished they never had to set foot on this filthy Greenskin station.
Meanwhile, all the junior officers on the front lines were Genestealers. They were Sarah's most loyal claws, their minds linked to Raynor. They would never leak secrets and would obey orders absolutely. Now, the entire battlefield was filled with Raynor's "own people."
The Crusade's artillery fire was terrifyingly precise. Any Ork attempting to get near Sarah was immediately met with devastating fire. As for that massive, hideous Tyranid monster, the Crusade soldiers acted as if they didn't see her at all. All the fire skillfully avoided her; not even a single stray bullet landed on her body.
Sarah turned her head slightly to look at the slowly advancing tide of steel, a hint of softness appearing in her cold vertical pupils. She knew that once she dealt with Chandler, who was still spinning in the center of the hall, this farce on Karl-2 would be over. The Crusade's role was to clear all obstacles so she could focus on handling that final trouble.
A pitch-black Coldfront Super-Heavy Tank, fifteen meters long, charged at the very front of the Crusade fleet. This tank was a treasured relic of the Ryan Guild from the middle spires of Brevis, with armor three times thicker than a standard Leman Russ. Equipped with a Volcano Cannon and four heavy bolters, it was designed to withstand the concentrated fire of an entire Ork battle line.
Standing atop the tank's turret was a human male clad in white-and-gold master-crafted power armor. He wore a helmet engraved with the wings of a golden eagle and held a greatsword wreathed in roaring flames—the Sword of Valennya. His posture was as straight as a pine tree, and his presence alone elevated the morale of the entire expeditionary force.
Suddenly, a massive Goff Ork, three meters tall, lunged from the ruins, roaring as he swung a blood-stained greataxe. He leaped onto the front of the Coldfront tank, raising his axe for a devastating overhead strike aimed directly at Raynor.
"Die, Humie!"
Raynor's expression did not change. He raised his sword with one hand, parrying the Goff giant's full-strength blow. Amidst a spray of sparks and the screech of grinding metal, Raynor forced the Ork back. Then, gripping the Sword of Valennya with both hands, he swung in a magnificent arc, the blade moving too fast for the eye to follow.
Splurt!
The Goff giant's head soared into the air. Green blood geysered from the neck, spraying like a fountain. His body, still frozen in its swinging stance, slammed heavily onto the tank's hull before sliding off to be crushed into a pulp beneath the tracks.
"For the Emperor!!!" Raynor raised the holy sword and let out a thunderous roar. His voice, amplified by the power armor's vox-grille, echoed across the entire battlefield.
"For the Emperor!!!" Every soldier of the Crusade responded with a loyal shout. Their commander's bravery had set their fighting spirit ablaze. Screaming battle cries, the soldiers followed in the wake of the tanks, launching a charge against the remaining Ork forces. They maintained a disciplined formation, their lasguns flickering incessantly as the tank treads ground Ork corpses into the dirt.
Not far away, Yadodo pulled the reins of his Squig, staring blankly at the Coldfront Super-Heavy Tank and the human figure fighting atop it. For some reason, that figure felt inexplicably familiar. The way he swung the sword, the subtle sideways dodge, the aura of confidence, and the cold, detached look in his eyes...
It was almost identical to Itachi.
Flashbacks raced through Yadodo's mind. The first time they met—a clumsy, dim-witted boy in a dung heap who almost got trampled by a Squig. The boy who led him to ambush Arvin, giving him his first taste of victory and letting him take all the credit. The boy who taught him how to repair weapons, manage a clan, and deal with the "Big Boys." Before his "death," he had touched Yadodo's forehead, smiling as he said, "Forgive me, Yadodo. We won't be apart for long."
In an instant, all the clues connected. Yadodo shuddered as if struck by lightning. His weapon hit the ground with a loud clang.
He finally understood. Itachi hadn't died. The person he cherished most, the one who changed his life and whom he was willing to follow to the ends of the earth, was actually the number one enemy of the Karl-2 Orks—the Supreme Commander of the Human Crusade Fleet!
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had "recognized a foe as his father," serving as an Ork clan boss under a human leader for so long. He had wept bitterly for a human, nearly choosing to die alongside him. But... those days were real. The times they fought side-by-side were real.
As Yadodo stood in a daze, Raynor seemed to feel his gaze. He turned his head and looked in Yadodo's direction. Across hundreds of meters, through smoke and fire, and over the chasm between their races, Raynor's eyes locked onto Yadodo's. Then, he offered a faint, familiar smile.
It was the exact same smile Itachi always gave.
Tears instantly streamed down Yadodo's face. At that moment, Raynor slowly raised the Sword of Valennya, pointing the tip toward Yadodo's position.
"Fire!"
At Raynor's command, dozens of tank cannons roared simultaneously. A barrage of shells slammed into the area where Yadodo stood. Explosions tore through the Orks around him, shredding them into bloody fragments. Yet, every single shell landed with pinpoint precision away from Yadodo himself; not a single hair on his body was singed.
The shockwaves from the explosions whipped at Yadodo's clothes. He looked at the falling Orks around him and then at the human figure in the distance. A strange warmth surged in his heart.
He didn't kill me. He still cares.
This realization caused his confusion, pain, and anger to evaporate instantly. He knew he couldn't stop Raynor, nor could he ever be Raynor's enemy. Now, the only thing he could do was take the remaining Boyz and get out of this mess. While there is life, there is hope. One day, they would meet again.
"Retreat! Retreat! To da tunnels!" Yadodo shouted, wheeling his Squig around and charging toward the underground passages deep within the core area.
Seeing this, the surviving Boyz of the Hokage Clan dropped their weapons and followed Yadodo in a frantic scramble for the exits.
Raynor watched Yadodo's retreating back and withdrew his smile. Seeing that the other party was sensible, he felt a sense of relief. If Yadodo had died, he didn't have the energy to cultivate another "Hokage Clan." He shifted his gaze toward the central hall.
There, the Gargant continued its tireless rotation with a thunderous roar. The thirty-meter-tall iron giant was an unceasing hurricane of destruction, grinding everything in its vicinity into dust.
"Sarah," Raynor said softly through their mental link, his voice gentle but firm. "Time to deal with that final top."
The moment Raynor's voice reached her, the alloy floor beneath Sarah's feet buckled and shattered from the counterforce. She launched herself like an apex predator that had been coiled for the kill. Her five-meter-tall frame erupted with a speed completely at odds with her size. A blue-and-white afterimage streaked through the air, tearing through the smoke.
Two biological cannons morphed from her shoulders, and dozens of acid spores hissed through the air toward the head of the rotating Gargant. Standard Tyranid tactics against massive mechs always prioritized decapitation. Once the pilot, Chandler, was killed, this ultimate machine—which relied entirely on the Ork Waaagh! field and the power of "I fink so"—would instantly become a heap of lifeless scrap metal. This was an experience paid for in blood and biomass through hundreds of battles between Sarah's swarm and the Orks.
The acid spores detonated against the Gargant's armor. The highly corrosive liquid caused the thick alloy plates to hiss and emit white smoke. However, just seconds later, a rich, pale green Waaagh! field surged from the mecha's surface, neutralizing the acid. The shallow pits etched by the corrosion were visibly repaired under the soothing green energy.
At this moment, the Gargant was far more powerful than when it had been toyed with by the five Gear Knights. Following Siss's death, nearly half of the Waaagh! energy that had been dispersed through him had reconsolidated within Chandler and the Gargant. Combined with the fanatical worship of the surrounding Orks, the iron giant was currently in its strongest state in history. Every inch of its armor and every one of its weapons was encased in green energy—indestructible and possessed of infinite firepower.
Sarah braved the storm of steel pouring from the Gargant and reached the mecha's side. The pale purple shield around her deflected countless bullets, shells, and plasma beams. Her shoulder cannons charged once more; this time, she concentrated all her psychic energy into a single armor-piercing bone shell. She aimed for one of the Gargant's eyes, intending to blast a hole and enter the machine to kill Chandler.
But just as the bone shell was about to hit, the Gargant's left arm—a morning star with a diameter exceeding three meters—swept across with a world-ending howl. Due to an hour and a half of high-speed rotation, this morning star had formed an impenetrable wall of steel. Anything that tried to come within ten meters of the Gargant, whether flesh or iron, would be instantly pulverized by this rotating wall of death.
BOOM!!!
With a massive impact, Sarah was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a Chimera armored transport in the distance. The transport exploded instantly, sending up plumes of thick smoke.
"Boss Chandler is da best!!!"
"Too Waaagh! Dis is a real Warboss!"
"Bugs ain't nuffin'! Boss Chandler's da strongest!"
The surrounding Orks erupted in cheers. The fear they felt after seeing Sarah easily execute Siss vanished. A large Deathskulls Ork leaped onto a wrecked armored car and shouted triumphantly to the Boyz around him:
"I told ya! When it comes to fightin' outsiders, ya gotta look to Boss Chandler!"