The Tyranids, also known as the Great Devourer, are a species of extragalactic predatory organisms. No one knows where they came from; they seem to exist solely to consume, evolve, and expand their numbers.
The Tyranids are the natural enemies of all races. In the Milky Way, they typically appear in the form of Hive Fleets—swarms of colossal living starships capable of transporting or spawning lesser bio-forms within their bodies.
The [Bonebreaka] fleet, where Kenmei Isayama resided, had halted its Warp travel on the outskirts of the Octarius System.
This was because a collective consciousness, powerful enough to rival gods, had appeared in the Warp currents ahead. It choked off all spatial activity within the Octarius System like a suffocating blanket, making Warp travel or communication impossible.
It was the descent of the supreme Hive Mind near one of the Tyranid main fleets, Leviathan. Its presence was so terrifying that it distorted the Warp itself.
Once, every planet in the Octarius System had been covered in dense green vegetation and teeming with Ork spore-born fungus.
But now, the surrounding space was filled with massive, barren rocky spheres that used to be planets. There was no trace of the vibrant green that once thrived there. The usually raucous Greenskins were uncharacteristically quiet, their eyes filled with grim solemnity.
The aftermath of a Tyranid attack was total devastation. Everything on a planet—including bacteria and even the atmosphere—would be stripped away and absorbed by the Tyranids.
All that remained were giant, desolate rocks floating lonely in the cosmos, surrounded by the wreckage of Ork fleets.
This ruthless efficiency—more thorough than plucking a goose—was why the Tyranids were the mortal enemies of every race in the galaxy. They were brutal and utterly devoid of mercy.
"See dat, Boyz?"
Ghazghkull Thraka's massive frame stood up from his throne, an awe-inspiring sight.
His eyes, wide with rage, were larger than copper bells, and his breath huffed like a bellows.
"Dis is wot dem zoggin' bugs did! Dis is our enemy! WAAAGH!!!"
Orks WAAAGH when they're happy, and they WAAAGH when they're angry.
With their leader spearheading the charge, these hot-tempered Ork veterans naturally refused to be outdone. Every one of them was itching to fight the damned bugs to the death.
"Zoggin' ell..."
"Are we gonna let dem bugs mess abart on our heads? Zog dat!"
But Kenmei knew these giant green brutes weren't angry about their dead comrades.
They were angry because they couldn't fight the bugs right now! Immediately! Properly! That was why they WAAAGH-ed!!!
Orks didn't see mass casualties as a problem, nor did they think death was a bad thing. As long as the fight before death was good, the life was worth it.
"More dyin', more WAAAGH!!!"
"More Boyz, more dyin', more WAAAGH!!!"
"More Boyz, even more dyin'... den we win! We all become bigga Orks! Bigga WAAAAAGH!!!"
This was why these green monsters remained the most cheerful race in this desperate universe.
Death was just a cycle. When an Ork died, as long as he was buried in the dirt, new Ork Boyz would sprout endlessly from the ground.
"Tell da Boyz!"
Thraka grabbed an Ork comms-boy by the collar, lifting him like a chick, and roared.
"Full speed ahead!!!"
Thraka turned to Kenmei, his tone softening instantly.
"Gul'dan, fix da teleporter fer me. I wanna be da first one on da battlefield!"
"Got it, Boss."
Kenmei nodded in acknowledgment. He took one last look at the desolate cosmos filled with wreckage outside the window, then turned and left.
The situation was far worse than Kenmei had imagined. They had passed at least a hundred planets on the way, all stripped down to bedrock that even the Tyranids wouldn't eat.
How much biomass had been consumed and returned to the hive? How many new bio-ships and terrifying monsters would be spawned?
The reason the Imperium, Orks, Aeldari, and T'au found the Tyranids so troublesome was that these monstrosities multiplied by digesting entire planets. They constantly absorbed genetic material to modify themselves, becoming ever-deadlier killing machines.
Their evolutionary speed was unimaginable. Tyranids ate everything—organic matter, and even things corrupted by Chaos into Warp energy.
The swarm adapted constantly. The Hive Mind would create new armies and strategies based on the enemy's weapons, tactics, and traits through genetic mutation and assimilation.
Kenmei felt that if he could replace the Hive Mind with his own psychic will and control the massive Tyranid fleet, he could walk sideways through the material universe.
Unfortunately, it was just a thought. The terrifying shadow that nearly covered the entire Warp earlier was just a fraction of the Hive Mind's projection. He had a premonition that if he looked directly at it, he might turn into an idiot on the spot.
There were no Tyranid fleets nearby now. They must have taken the biomass from the Octarius System to spawn troops and headed for the Ork Empire's homeworld in Octarius.
At the very least, Kenmei's interests aligned with the Orks. Both craved slaughter against the swarm. Every Ork sought a good fight and a glorious death. Kenmei, meanwhile, couldn't get maximum Points without hitting the battlefield.
Kenmei arrived at the machine room. When the door opened, all he saw were Gretchin. From one end of the hangar to the other, it was a sea of Grots.
It was packed. Kenmei felt like he'd step on countless Gretchin just by walking through.
So many Grots gathering... is this a rebellion?
Recalling the memories of this body, Kenmei found the reason.
As expected, these Grots were lining up to buy lottery tickets.
At the front of the line, the Mekboyz who had been submissive in front of Kenmei were now acting like lords. Arrogantly, they collected teeth plucked from the Grots themselves and handed out "Lotto Tickets."
The pile of collected teeth next to them had formed a small hill, reaching the knee of Kenmei's Gargant. Business was booming.
Some Gretchin won and jumped three feet high in excitement. But they were the minority. Most were slapping their thighs in despair, crying over their bad luck.
Soon, a Mekboy happily counting teeth glanced at the warehouse door and nearly jumped out of his skin.
That shining armor—who else could it be but their direct superior, the Big Mek? He hurriedly kicked his colleague in the butt.
The Mekboyz realized what was happening and immediately started whipping the Grots blocking Kenmei's path. Some dumb ones were executed on the spot by the Mekboyz and kicked into the trash heap, cursing all the while.
Even though the queue was disrupted, the little creatures huddled together, daring not to voice any objection.
Once the remaining Grots obediently cleared a path, the Mekboyz put on fawning smiles, surrounding Kenmei like lackeys and ushering him in.
Kenmei exchanged a few words with the Mekboyz and let them continue their work. Their job was important, after all.
He also politely declined the massive pile of teeth offered as a bribe by his subordinates. (Orks use teeth as currency.)
The Mekboyz were recruiting soldiers. There were just too many volunteers, so they had to use a lottery system to select them.
There was a weapon designed specifically for Gretchin called the Killa Kan. These Grot-piloted mini-dreadnoughts looked similar to the larger Deff Dreads piloted by Orks. Both were made for krumping humies.
No Gretchin could resist the chance to wear such flashy armor and strut in front of those hateful green guys. Not a single one!
Gretchin were always oppressed and bossed around by the stronger Greenskins. But inside an iron can, they had the power to beat the snot out of—or even kill—the Orks who bullied them.
This led to an endless stream of applicants, hence the lottery.
Kenmei even spotted Jumpy in the line. The coward looked like he wanted to burrow into the ground.
So, what Kenmei discussed with the Mekboyz was this:
The "Grot-Guided Missiles" also needed pilots. He told them to add the missile slots to the Killa Kan lottery pool. When the time came, they would just tell the Grots they had won.
Most Grots weren't smart enough to realize the difference. They only knew that because of this shiny Big One, there were more winning spots.
"He's actually a nice guy."
"Don't mention it. Just doing my job."
Kenmei smiled and shook his head. He went to another machine room and dragged out the teleporter he had tuned for Thraka last time.
This time, it wasn't just one machine, but many. The elite troops needed to be teleported directly onto the battlefield between the Orks and Tyranids first. Then, follow-up troops would be mass-deployed via other means.
The Gargant Kenmei piloted would be in the first wave, arriving alongside Ghazghkull Thraka.
"No pain, no gain!"
So, after tuning the teleporters, Kenmei had to upgrade his Gargant one more time.
During his research into Ork psychic power, the dissected Weirdboy had spoken.
The scene was terrifying. Kenmei was looking for where the Weirdboy stored his psychic energy when the thing floated into the air. Green flames erupted from its eyes, nose, and mouth.
Holy crap, is he possessed?
It was a manifestation of the supreme Ork gods, Gork and Mork.
The unreliable duo hadn't realized that Gul'dan's soul had been swapped. They still thought he was their loyal follower who had ascended from Mekboy to Big Mek.
Thus, Kenmei received another blessing from Gork and Mork, upgrading his Big Mek skills to Mek Boss level.
Furthermore, Kenmei felt like every piece of trash he looked at was now a treasure.
"Damn, I'm so excited."
A dense, green WAAAGH! Field surged around Kenmei—a natural fluctuation for a Mek Boss.
The massive junk mountain behind Kenmei moved, pieces floating automatically into the air.
Hand-crafting a nuke?
He was going to build something far more advanced.
The knowledge and mission given to Kenmei by Gork and Mork was to build a "WAAAGH! Doomsday Psychic Cannon" capable of destroying everything. He wanted to show these ignorant, backwater bugs from outside the galaxy what Ork technology (?) was all about.
With Gork and Mork backing him, Kenmei even felt he could shoot down a Leviathan Hive Ship.
The activated teleporters flashed with unknown light, arcs of lightning crackling around them.
Once everything was ready, Ghazghkull Thraka, clad in massive heavy armor, raised his three-meter-long, chilling power claw. With an ear-splitting "WAAAGH!!!", he charged into the portal, followed closely by his Ork elites.
Meanwhile, the follow-up troops were drop-podding directly onto the battlefield via "Roks."