33: Chapter 33 Split Attack

On the fifth day of the stalemate, the Ork army of five hundred thousand had lost more than half its strength, yet Icarus's defensive towers seemed to only increase in number as they were destroyed. The roar of the Fusion Cannons was already etched into the bones of every Ork, and an invisible pressure loomed over both sides. Mogg knew clearly that if they continued to charge head-on using the old methods, the entire army would be wiped out.

"Stop."

Skullcrusher Mogg's voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the bridge of "Da Kill-Ship."

On the ground, the Ork Boyz who were preparing to charge toward their next death all froze—the Boss never said "Stop."

The Boss only ever shouted "WAAAGH!" and "Charge!"

Mogg's single eye remained fixed on the tactical panel.

The green light points were still winking out, while the red triangles continued to increase.

But he was no longer furious; instead, he was lost in thought—thinking calmly, in a way that made the other Orks feel uneasy.

"We charge da left flank, dey focus fire on da left," Mogg's heavy fingers tapped the console, his voice low and clear. "We charge da right, dey focus fire on da right. We all charge together, dey all fire together."

"But just now, when we used da Squiggoth to hit one spot, dey took down our beast—but dat patch of towers got swept away by us too."

"I'm thinkin'," Mogg spoke slowly, a glint of cunning flashing in his eye, "what happens if we make dem iron-clankers not know who to deal wit' first?"

He slowly turned around to face the Ork Boyz on the bridge, who were filled with confusion yet brimming with expectation.

For the first time, he showed a smile that wasn't very Ork-like—a smile like a hunter, like a strategist, and more like what a member of the Blood Axe Clan should have: a calculating grin.

"Pass da word down." Mogg tightened his Power Klaw and ordered in a deep voice, "Next wave, we don't charge one spot. We charge three."

---

After a brief silence, the Ork lines became active once more.

But this time, it was no longer the frantic, disordered charge from before.

This time, Mogg divided his remaining forces into three echelons, each with a clear objective.

Center: Squiggoth.

Sixty new Squiggoths slowly marched out from the assembly area, each step making the earth tremble. Green machine oil dripped from the gaps in their armor, emitting pungent exhaust fumes.

Flanks: Supplemented with "Killa Kans."

These crudely made walking mechs were much smaller than a Squiggoth, but they were many times more numerous and faster.

Their hydraulic joints emitted ear-piercing shrieks as they operated, crude oil cylinders hissed with white steam, and the Gretchin operators were welded shut inside the mechs by the Mekboy—in the Orks' eyes, if a pilot could walk out alive after a battle, it meant they hadn't fought hard enough.

The Killa Kans' mission was simple: harassment and breakthrough.

They were to use their size advantage to find weak points in the flanks and tear open gaps while the Squiggoths drew the main fire.

Rear: Mega-Armored Nob.

Twenty Mega-Armored Nob were advancing slowly, each like a moving mountain of steel.

They wore exoskeleton armor hand-crafted by the Mekboy, made from layers of steel plates salvaged from destroyed tank chassis and starship wreckage.

Each Mega Armored Nob was close to the size of a human Dreadnought, and the cannons on their backs were still massive—Orks always did love big things.

In their hands, they were equipped with either sharp Power Klaws or glowing Energy Axes.

They were the command core of this offensive and the last of the elites in Mogg's hand.

Their mission wasn't to charge, but to observe, judge, and commit themselves to the battlefield at the most critical moment to deliver the decisive blow.

"Now," Mogg stared at the tactical panel, a rare calm burning in his single eye, "let's see who dem iron-clankers calculate first."

The moment Icarus's optical sensors captured the three simultaneously advancing enemy forces, the defense system made adjustments.

[Enemy Analysis]:

Three incoming enemy groups: Center consists of large biological units (Threat Level: High); Flanks consist of medium mech units (Threat Level: Medium); Rear contains a small number of super-heavy units (Threat Level: Extreme).

Icarus's logic core began to operate at high speed.

It had only a limited number of defensive towers and limited fire output.

With the enemy split into three routes, troops had to be committed to deal with each one.

Almost instantly, it made a decision.

The firepower of all defensive towers on the line was instantly reduced by half—just enough to ensure they wouldn't be overrun by scattered Ork Boyz.

This was necessary to save enough energy to charge the Fusion Cannons.

Meanwhile, the Fusion Cannons at the city core began charging in batches, firing in sequence to prevent the energy network from overloading.

A blinding white light flashed, and a titanium armor-piercing shell accurately struck the lead Squiggoth.

With sheer momentum, the Squiggoth's massive body crashed to the ground.

But the remaining Squiggoths did not stop, stepping over their companion's wreckage as they continued their slow advance.

The Killa Kans on the flanks also encountered the redistributed defensive fire.

Gauss rounds tore through the air with sharp whistles, exploding into dense clusters of bullet holes on the mechs.

The first row of Killa Kans staggered, smoked, and crashed down under the hail of bullets.

But the second row of Killa Kans stepped over their remains without hesitation, continuing to push forward without the slightest retreat.

"Dey've split up!" On the bridge, an Ork Nob roared with excitement. "Boss! Dem iron-clankers' firepower has weakened! Dey can't watch everywhere!"

Mogg did not respond.

He continued to stare at the tactical panel, at the green light points that were still winking out, and at the red triangles that continued to increase.

But this time, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Because he saw that the Killa Kans on the flanks had already pushed to the edge of the defensive line.

The first Killa Kan raised its power axe and hacked savagely into a Gauss Machine Gun Tower.

The sound of metal snapping was ear-piercing, sparks flew, and the body of the machine gun tower slowly tilted before finally collapsing with a crash.

Next came the Missile Defense Towers, the High-frequency Laser Towers... more and more towers were destroyed one after another under the impact of the Killa Kans.

In the center, the Squiggoths finally entered their own cannon range.

The Gretchin operators on their backs frantically loaded shells, and over fifty giant cannons roared simultaneously, shells trailing black smoke as they slammed into the defense line.

Just as the Killa Kans were prepared to rush into the gaps in the defense and completely tear through Icarus's defenses, Icarus's counterattack arrived as expected.

Icarus hovered to the center of the industrial city.

Ninety-six pale blue, double-pointed yet flat geometric virtual images appeared in the sky above the city.

A moment later, the blue virtual images were filled with physical matter, and red-and-white Attack Drones, utilizing anti-gravity technology, hovered lightly in mid-air, warping out from Icarus's spatial hangar.

The minimalist geometric faceted design had no redundant decoration, perfectly displaying a murderous aura where "the self is the weapon."

The moment they appeared, they immediately fired dense salvos of projectiles propelled by Gauss coils.

At close range, those projectiles poured down like a rainstorm, instantly turning the leading Killa Kans into sieves.

The Attack Drones were extremely mobile; though they looked light, their displacements were incredibly precise. With the computational assistance of the Battlefield Analysis Station, they easily evaded the Orks' gunfire while conducting a one-sided slaughter of the Killa Kans.

"It still has a trump card!" An Ork Nob cried out in terror, his face full of disbelief.

Mogg, however, showed no panic.

He had been waiting for this very moment—when Icarus revealed all its cards, when its defense system was dispersed in three directions, and when it thought it had already secured victory.

"Mega Armored."

The twenty Mega-Armored Nob accelerated simultaneously.

They had been waiting, waiting for the defense line to be torn open, waiting for Icarus's firepower to be completely tied down.

Now, those laser turrets were busy dealing with the Squiggoths, the newly appeared Attack Drones were intercepting the Killa Kans, the remaining machine gun towers were weak and powerless, and the missile towers had lost their field of fire.

This was the perfect moment.

The first Mega Armored Nob had already crashed into Icarus's defense line.

His Power Klaw swung violently, and the barrel of a laser turret snapped off, sending sparks flying.

Immediately after, an Energy Axe was raised high and brought down hard, splitting another missile tower in half from the middle, its wreckage scattering everywhere.

The armor on his body only sustained shallow dents from the missile explosions, which were completely unable to penetrate.

The twenty Mega-Armored Nob were like twenty unstoppable metal giants rampaging through Icarus's defense tower matrix; wherever they went, towers collapsed one after another, and none could stand against them.

"Now's da time." Mogg stood up abruptly, his single eye bloodshot as he roared, "All Boyz, charge!"

From the original five hundred and twenty thousand, the Ork Boyz who had landed had lost over half their number as the war progressed. The remaining two hundred and forty thousand Ork Boyz surged out from the assembly area like a green tide.

They no longer charged at the defense line—the Mega-Armored Nob had already torn a massive gap in it.

They headed straight for the core of the industrial zone, straight for those never-stopping conveyor belts, and straight for those constantly regenerating building cores.

Helmut von Neumann, the supreme leader of the Vulcan-IV Forge World, witnessed this scene from the control room.

His Particle Furnace instantly overheated, and hydraulic oil seeped from the gaps in his mechanical joints, dripping onto the floor with a "sizzle."

Gluck tightly gripped the Rad-carbine in his hands. The veteran beside him also drew a Chainsword, its teeth spinning with a sharp whine.

The Land Raider tank slowly started up, its main gun charging as it prepared for a counter-strike, the armor of its hull reflecting a cold metallic luster.

Chimera #0037 and #0042 started with roaring engines, their melta cannons also beginning to preheat, the muzzles glowing with a faint red light.

The Skitarii once again prepared to fire from within the trenches, their weapons aimed at the incoming Ork tide, their gazes firm and without the slightest hint of retreat.

Within the machine spirit network, countless streams of information flowed rapidly like a waterfall.