It was called a Landship, but the thing was nothing compared to the massive terrestrial dreadnoughts of the Iron Warriors' homeworld.
It was essentially a gargantuan pile of scrap metal heaped together, yet mounted on multiple sets of colossal treads that allowed it to plow across the land. One look was enough to see that the entire hull was bristling with turrets of all shapes and sizes.
It was the kind of sight that would make a member of the "Cult of Multi-Turrets" ascend to heaven on the spot.
†This looks way too cool.†
Even the Overmind couldn't help but marvel.
It was massive. Although such a size was practically meaningless, "Big is Good, and Bigger is Better!"
†No! Get a grip. It's absolutely ridiculous that this WAAAGH has something this big.†
That said, it wasn't unbeatable. It just meant the upcoming fight was turning into a war of attrition.
Behind their lines, some Ork vehicles began digging trenches and constructing crude fortifications. Clearly, they planned to stay on this planet for the long haul.
On the Zerg side, Spine Crawlers and Spore Crawlers uprooted themselves from the rear and crawled to the front, establishing their own defensive perimeter. Both sides were dug in for a long-term siege.
As for a war of attrition? Neither side was afraid. The total number of Orks brought by this WAAAGH was at least ten times the Zerg population on this planet, but the Zerg reinforcements were virtually endless. As long as the Nydus Network gates remained intact, a massive tide of Zerg would pour through every second.
The battle for the Central Continent would decide the fate of the entire planet.
In the skies, the air forces began their desperate struggle. Ork aircraft and human aircraft were barely comparable; the rotorcraft known as "Deffkoptas" wobbled and tilted as they flew, their nose-mounted machine guns spraying lead onto the ground. While not lethal individually, they provided immense suppression against the Zerg advance.
But in the next heartbeat, a Mutalisk's Glaive Wurm would slice through these rickety machines, sending the entire helicopter crashing to the ground in a pile of flaming scrap.
The sky was also filled with "Fightas"—junk planes that looked like World War II fighters. But one couldn't underestimate them; the autocannons and bombs they carried were enough to deal lethal blows to Roach packs.
Scourges took to the field once more, though for the first time, the Overmind felt that using a Scourge to blow up such low-quality scrap felt like a bad trade.
When a Scourge blasted a plane to pieces, the Ork Boyz below would simply gather the falling wreckage. After a bit of tinkering, a rickety tank would be cobbled together in no time. The Orks would then hop onto this tank—which looked like it would fall apart at any moment but somehow never did—and charge back into the fray.
Such scenes occurred frequently within the Ork lines, making the sacrifices of the Scourges feel almost futile.
†It's still raining Orks from the sky.†
More drop pods were falling, making the Overmind's skin crawl. Not only that, some smaller Ork ships had entered the atmosphere, conducting orbital bombardment on the Zerg ground positions.
Spore Crawlers and Scourges retaliated, blowing the descending ships apart one by one. But as the debris fell to the ground, Ork Mekboyz would immediately reassemble it into ground vehicles.
Some greenskins didn't even wait for their pods to land; they would kick open the doors mid-fall, laughing maniacally as they jumped onto a Mutalisk's back, swinging their big choppas.
Even Zasz was momentarily stunned by this tactic.
"Truly... irrational beasts."
Indeed, to an outsider, Orks were just a bunch of mindless, combat-obsessed animals. Yet, they were once a race with extraordinary technological prowess—a dominant power in the galaxy.
However, the "irrationality" was only getting started. Perhaps having seen the frequent explosions of Banelings on the battlefield, some Orks got an idea. They grabbed the Gretchin and Squigs around them and strapped bombs to their bodies.
"GO ON, GET 'EM!!!"
Squigs were fierce beasts by nature; even with bombs strapped to them, they would lunge at the enemy. Soon, explosions bloomed within the Zerg ranks.
The Gretchin were a bit more cowardly, but the Orks had their ways. Some vehicles were equipped with catapults. The Orks would stuff the bomb-strapped Gretchin into the launchers and fire them directly into the Swarm.
BOOM!
Fair enough—this was peak WAAAGH. Pure Ork style.
"This is never-ending!!!"
Both Zasz and Zagara were getting headaches from these Orkish tactics. It felt exactly like a Co-op Commander encountering the "Self-Destruct" mutation—every now and then, something would explode in the middle of your units, forcing you to constantly regroup.
†This is getting even more intense than I imagined.†
The battlefield was filled with flying missiles and acid. Both sides were essentially "F2A-ing" (all-army attacking). The Orks had no obvious weak points; their rear had few artillery vehicles because everything they had was a multi-turreted behemoth.
The area around the Landship was a literal meat grinder. The munitions fired from that ship were enough to crush an Ultralisk; the Swarm had already begun intentionally avoiding its path.
Under these conditions, it was impossible to use Nydus Worms to strike at the Orks' weak points—because they didn't seem to have any.
†No wonder the Tyranid fleets find them hard to handle. They haven't even started growing mushrooms yet, and their current numbers alone are giving me a run for my money.†
The killing never stopped. There were simply too many.
†What a pity. I don't have Swarm Hosts yet. If I did, I wouldn't fear any race in a war of attrition.†
Swarm Hosts could continuously spawn Locusts, similar to Brood Lords. With them, the Zerg would have a massive advantage in this grind.
†Kans, have the Infested from that Hive World join the battle.†
"As you command, Overmind."
Overlords began transporting the Infested. On the ground, the Infested poured through the Nydus gates from the Hive World onto the frozen planet like a tidal wave. These billions of Infested had suffered losses in the previous battle, but there were still over a billion remaining.
It would just take some time for them to pass through the gates.
†I refuse to believe it. If I can't outlast you while you can't even grow your mushrooms, how am I supposed to crush Ghazghkull Thraka later?†
Clearly, this battle wouldn't be decided anytime soon.
While the Overmind could remain patient, the Ork Warboss could not. After the third day, Warboss Gaurik's patience had reached its limit.
"ARE DEM GITS STILL NOT DONE FIGHTIN'?!"
"Boss, dere's too many bugs!"
The reporting Ork Boy could tell the Boss was in a foul mood. Ork Bosses were notoriously short-tempered.
Sure enough, the Warboss stood up, grabbed the Boy with his power klaw, and lifted the two-meter-tall greenskin three meters off the floor.
"I DON'T WANNA HEAR NO BAD NEWS! I JUS' WANNA KNOW WHEN I GETZ A RE-SULT I LIKES!"
"I... I dunno, Boss."
The next second, the Ork Boy's head was crushed like a melon.
The Warboss's voice then boomed across all Ork communication channels—whether through loudspeakers, radio, or wired comms.
"BOYZ! GORK AND MORK IZ WATCHIN' US! DESE BUGS CAN'T STOP OUR WAAAGH! KILL 'EM ALL!!!"
"WAAAGH!!!"
Inspired by their leader, the Orks' morale surged again—and with it, the performance of their weapons seemed to inexplicably improve.