The ancestors of both the Votann Alliance and the Human Imperium originated from Terra and used the same technological system.
However, the crisis of the Long Night had a far smaller impact on the Votann Alliance. As a result, they retained most of the technology from the Golden Age.
Their situation was much better than that of the Human Imperium.
Although they had not yet reached the level of the Aeldari or the Necrons, who had stepped into the realm of sorcery, the gap was still within manageable limits.
Their various technological products were similar in function and form to those of the Human Imperium.
However, in terms of technological advancement, reliability, and popular, they were far superior.
Even so, because green-skinned Orks tended to grow stronger when facing tougher opponents, they remained formidable enemies even for technologically advanced dwarfs.
The Orks were undoubtedly the most unreasonable creatures in the entire galaxy. These green-skinned beings always used the strength of their enemies as nourishment to advance their technology.
If the enemy was in a primitive era, they would use swords and knives.
If the enemy was in the industrial age, they would use gunpowder firearms.
If the enemy was in the interstellar age, they would use laser cannons and plasma cannons.
In short, their strength was an unknown variable, but the stronger the opponent they faced, the stronger they became.
The Ork forces invading the Eternal Star were enormous — a massive WAAAGH! expeditionary force.
Countless green warships swarmed toward the fortresses and space stations the dwarfs had built in the void, like a swarm of locusts.
The Ork warships had incredibly diverse designs. Some were modified from stolen ships. Others were asteroids equipped with engines, their surfaces densely covered in gun barrels. The black smoke they emitted during navigation was clearly visible even in the dark.
(Ork: "I think the best water for washing coal is used on spaceships!")
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Countless thick beams of light shot out from the Ork fleet and rained down on the dwarf void fortresses like a downpour.
The thick beams struck the shields, creating massive ripples. The shield lights flickered violently as energy readings dropped rapidly.
Every impact caused the entire fortress to shake violently. Every explosion left deep scorch marks on the armor.
Occasionally, warships exploded in space, their detonations as bright as stars, dazzling everyone.
Fireballs flew across the surface of the fortress as burning metal fragments soared violently through the air.
Some fragments were pulled down to the planet by gravity, becoming meteors upon entering the atmosphere. They fell with long trails of flame before exploding a second time on the ground and scattering sparks.
Countless fragments scattered across the sky of the Eternal Star. From the ground, it looked like the end of the world.
Ragnir stood at the observation window, gazing at the horrific battlefield.
"We must take action to support our comrades and defeat those damn green-skinned Orks."
"No, Ragnir. We only have one ship. Even if we join the battle, it won't make any difference. We can't do anything."
The speaker was an old dwarf with a white beard and deep wrinkles on his face. He was the oldest dwarf on the ship — a veteran who had weathered countless storms and remained calm and composed.
Ragnir glared at him. "What did you say? Are you just going to stand by and watch our people die?"
The old dwarf pointed at the massive Ork fleet outside the window.
"Calm down, Ragnir. Look at that fleet."
"Its size far exceeds what our ship can handle. Even if we charged in, how many ships could we actually sink?"
"Even if we managed to sink ten or twenty ships, the rest would tear us apart."
"Not only would we fail to save our people, we would also throw our own lives away for nothing."
Bang!!
Realizing his own powerlessness, Ragnir flew into a rage and slammed his fist against the bulkhead with a dull thud.
He left a shallow dent in the metal bulkhead, but his anger did not subside at all.
"Damn it!" His voice roared like thunder. "Are we just going to sit here and watch?!"
"I can't stand seeing those green-skinned beasts tear our homeland apart and slaughter our kin."
The old dwarf said nothing and patiently waited for Ragnir to calm down.
A few seconds later, Ragnir's breathing gradually steadied.
His violent anger was suppressed by reason and turned into deep helplessness.
He leaned against the bulkhead and slowly slid down, placing both hands behind his head.
What else can we do?
The old dwarf walked over to him, squatted down, and said, "Let's ask for help."
Ragnir looked up, his eyes filled with despair.
"Asking for help?"
"The void defense line of the Eternal Star is about to be breached. Even the nearest clans to the Eternal Star will take too long to arrive. They won't make it in time."
The old dwarf leaned closer to Ragnir and lowered his voice.
"We don't need to ask other clans for help. The Nameless One possesses power like that of the Creator. Dealing with green-skinned Orks should be easy for him."
Ragnir's first reaction was to refuse.
Previously, he had been tricked by the other party into asking for help to repair the Votann Core. If he hadn't asked, he would have just been forced to repeat the same thing over and over.
He had written all of this down in the Great Book of Grudges, waiting for a future opportunity to take revenge.
If he asked them for help now, how should he settle the past score?
Should he change it? Or just remember it as it was?
A moment of hesitation flashed across Ragnir's face.
Just then, a large teleport portal opened. Datch slid out and stood in front of Ragnir, asking in an expectant tone,
"Ragnir, is there something I can help you with?"
Seeing that the other party had taken the initiative to ask, Ragnir — who had been slightly hesitant out of fear of losing face — showed a pleased expression.
The other party offered to help on their own. I didn't ask, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about.
I can just pay more as a reward later.
"I want to borrow your power to wipe out those damn green-skinned Orks and protect the safety of the Eternal Star."
The moment he finished speaking, a mission notification appeared in Datch's vision.
[Mission: Support the dwarf forces stationed on the Eternal Star and defeat the green-skinned Orks. The green-skinned Orks have launched a new WAAAGH! expedition to conquer the Eternal Star.]
Their massive army was far too powerful for the dwarf race to resist. Their defense lines were constantly being breached.
Void fortresses were burning, and cities on the ground were collapsing.
Ragnir hoped that you would intervene to stop the invading Ork forces and help them win this war.
[Quest Rewards: 2,500 EXP, 2,500 Points, +800 Reputation]
"Not a bad side quest."
Datch looked at the mission and nodded. "Understood. I'll help solve this problem."
Under the watchful eyes of Ragnir and the other dwarfs, Datch walked to the window and looked out at the void battlefield.
The massive Ork fleet was still indiscriminately bombarding.
Flashes of explosions illuminated the surrounding void.
Multiple fires and explosions had broken out on the dwarf void fortresses floating in space, and some areas had collapsed.
Datch checked his in-game items but couldn't find anything capable of dealing with an organized fleet.
After thinking for a moment, he took out the Infinity Gauntlet and opened the minimap to search for the nearest black hole.
Soon, he found an ideal target.
A massive black hole with terrifying gravity capable of swallowing everything existed five light-years away.
The event horizon of the black hole was like an insurmountable emergency barrier that trapped everything that fell into it.
Datch equipped the Infinity Gauntlet and began using the power of the Space Stone.
As he moved, space tore open and a massive spatial portal appeared.
One end of the portal was behind the Ork fleet.
The other end was at the event horizon of the black hole.
The moment the portal opened, a terrifying suction force erupted and grabbed everything within its range.
The terrifying suction force, like an invisible hand, captured many warships at the rear of the Ork fleet.
Those green warships — cobbled together from scrap metal and various kinds of junk — were completely powerless before the black hole's gravity, like pieces of paper.
The warships were pulled in by the suction and unintentionally slid into the cosmic tunnel.
Their engines spewed flames violently as they tried to escape the force.
But it was completely useless.
One after another, the warships were sucked into the massive portal and plunged toward the black hole's event horizon. They were swallowed into eternal darkness before they could even react.
When the first warship entered view, it was stretched by the distorted spatial structure and continued falling.
Second, third, fourth…
Like beads on a string, they were swallowed by the black hole one after another without so much as a spark.
Warships that fell into the black hole didn't appear to explode from the outside — they simply continued falling.
As Datch slowly moved his arm, the massive spatial portal moved with it.
It swept back and forth behind the Ork fleet like a giant vacuum cleaner.
Wherever it passed, green warships disappeared in groups, sucked into the eternal abyss.
By the time Datch was too exhausted to maintain the spatial movement, a large gap had opened in the dense formation of the Ork fleet.
Two-thirds of the main fleet had been sucked into the black hole's event horizon and annihilated.
The remaining Orks were completely stunned.
What happened?
What happened to our fleet?
How did such a massive fleet suddenly disappear?
Hey, Big Boss, hurry up and catch these cheating dwarfs!
The spatial portal closed. Datch was exhausted and nearly staggered.
It felt as if the Masque of Slaanesh had drained all his yang energy overnight and his body was completely empty.
Although using items like the Infinity Gauntlet didn't consume points, it did consume stamina.
Especially for large-scale spatial operations like this, the physical burden was terrifyingly heavy.
Datch took several deep breaths. His power armor automatically injected stimulants and nutrients, restoring some of his strength. Finally, he slowly stood up and was able to stand straight.
Ragnir and the other dwarfs were deeply shocked.
What the hell just happened??
With a casual gesture, the Nameless One had annihilated two-thirds of the Ork fleet.
If someone claimed this method came from divine revelation, many people would believe it.
Ragnir swallowed hard. His Adam's apple bobbed.
He finally understood why the Chaos Gods were all troubled by how to deal with this man.
And now, he finally understood why the Nameless One was always associated with the word "invincible."
He's too strong. Too terrifying.
Feeling uncomfortable under the dwarfs' sharp gazes, Datch started joking.
"Everyone, I'm not Snow White. Don't look at me like that. It's scary."
Although the ancestors of the dwarfs were settlers from Terra, a very long time had passed since the dwarfs left Terra, so their customs and language had long since changed.
However, the moment they heard the story of Snow White, their faces instantly turned pitch black.
Because even the dwarfs knew that story.
During the colonial era, as humanity expanded across the galaxy,
the first settlers ventured into the galactic core. After several generations, their bodies gradually became sturdier and their height decreased.
Later immigrants, seeing their short stature, brought up this story.
The tale of the Seven Dwarfs spread throughout the entire Votann Alliance and was displayed in various dwarf museums in different versions, used as historical evidence.
Ragnir's hand unconsciously reached for the Great Book of Grudges hanging at his waist.
He flipped through the pages, found the latest one, and carefully wrote in dwarf script:
The Nameless One mocked us with the story of the Seven Dwarfs. We will definitely take revenge.
Datch watched this scene and his lips twitched slightly.
These messy-haired guys really hold grudges!
…
With the Ork forces having lost two-thirds of their fleet, the battle situation reversed in an instant.
The Ork warships that had been continuing to resist in the void were now at a disadvantage.
The dwarf garrison fleet and void fortresses successfully concentrated their firepower and repelled the Ork fleet.
The battle in the void was now in the hands of the dwarfs of the Eternal Star.
However, the ground battle continued.
Ragnir had decided to support the ground war. "I'm going to fight on the ground."
The space dwarfs' teleportation technology was extremely advanced, only slightly inferior to that of the Necrons.
After obtaining permission from the ground garrison forces, Ragnir ordered his subordinates to open a teleport portal to the fortress.
With a flash of light, their figures disappeared into the teleportation beam.
The next moment, light flashed again, and they found themselves in the grand hall of a massive fortress.
This was a typical dwarf fortress.
The walls were made of thick metal plates and covered in countless runes.
The dome was dozens of meters high, with a massive metal chandelier hanging from it.
Dwarfs were running around inside the hall — some carrying ammunition, some receiving orders, some treating the wounded. It was a chaotic scene.
When the intelligence officer marked the positions of allies and enemies on the map, red Ork symbols spread like a tide, engulfing the entire defense line.
The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood.
The green-skinned Ork ground forces were currently launching a very fierce attack on the fortress.
Datch looked around and finally stopped in front of the observation window, gazing at the battlefield outside the fortress.
Countless green-skinned Orks charged forward like a tide. Their war cries shook the heavens, and the weapons in their hands gleamed coldly.
They climbed over the corpses of their comrades, scaled the walls with makeshift ladders, and smashed the gates with crude battering rams.
The dwarf warriors fought bravely against the enemy on the walls.
Their weapons were high-performance, their armor sturdy, and their combat techniques excellent.
However, the green-skinned Orks seemed endless. Even as one group was destroyed, the next wave pressed forward without end.
Furthermore, the Orks' characteristic of growing stronger when facing tougher opponents was beginning to manifest.
Whenever the dwarfs came up with new weapons or tactics, the Orks quickly learned and adapted, evolving in battle.
The great engineers continued to innovate to counter dwarf technology and invented weapons specifically designed to suppress them.
The dwarfs were unable to leverage their advantages and suffered repeated defeats.
The fortress gates were breached and recaptured countless times. The battle between the two sides was extremely intense.
In the hall, a dwarf with a sturdy build stood in front of the command tower.
He was half a head taller than the average dwarf, had a long, thick beard, and wore orange void armor.
This dwarf was none other than High Lord Osona, the supreme ruler of the Eternal Star.
"Ragnir!"
Osona's voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the hall.
"Was it you who annihilated two-thirds of the Ork fleet?"
Ragnir stepped forward and shook his head.
"No."
He stepped aside and pointed at Datch, who was standing nearby.
"He is the Nameless One. He used his own power to help annihilate two-thirds of the Ork fleet."
Osona's gaze fell on Datch. He immediately recognized that he was a Primaris Space Marine.
These new warriors of the Human Imperium were individually very powerful, but it was absolutely impossible for them to annihilate two-thirds of an Ork fleet in one strike.
Osona frowned, suspicion and wariness appearing in his eyes.
"How could a Primaris Space Marine do something like that?"
"We know very well what kind of technology the Human Imperium possesses. Their weapons, ships, and equipment are completely incomparable to ours."
"Even we of the Votann Alliance can't do it. How could a human do it?"
Osona narrowed his eyes, a dangerous light flashing within them.
"Tell me — did you borrow the power of Chaos?"
The surrounding dwarf warriors instinctively gripped their weapons tightly and cast wary glances.
Chaos was the enemy of all intelligent life and a malignant tumor spreading across the galaxy.
Datch ignored the NPC's question and focused on the large red dot on the minimap representing a green-skinned Ork warboss leading a large number of young Orks in an attack on the fortress.
Feeling that some of his strength had recovered, Datch once again used the Space Stone with the Infinity Gauntlet.
Outside the fortress, right in the middle of the charging Ork army…
A spatial portal suddenly appeared at the feet of the largest Ork warboss.
The Ork warboss lost his footing and plummeted with his massive body.
After falling halfway, the spatial portal suddenly closed, clamping down on the middle of his body and slicing him cleanly in half.
The upper half of the Ork warboss remained on the battlefield and slammed into the ground, kicking up dust.
The roaring young Orks who had been charging froze in place at the sight.
Why does our boss only have half a head?
An eerie silence fell over the battlefield.
"Hurry up and bring the Mozer King Kong machine! Let's attach the boss to it!"
A young mechanic shouted, breaking the silence.
He needed to perform surgery on the boss, but without the lower half of his body, surgery was impossible.
…
In the grand hall of the dwarf fortress, the massive upper half of an Ork slammed to the ground with a dull thud.
Blood gushed from the severed cross-section and formed a terrifying pool on the floor.
All the dwarfs in the hall were stunned.
High Lord Osona, the highest-ranking leader of the alliance, had his mouth open wide enough to fit a fist inside.
He had just been interrogating this human, suspecting that the other party was mocking the backward technology of the Human Imperium by borrowing the power of Chaos.
And now, right before his eyes, the enemy had cleanly sliced in half the Ork warboss who had caused them so much suffering.
This is true strength.
Nameless One — your voice was too loud earlier.
….
…
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