Fortunately, this is the space age, and combat is a tri-domain affair of sea, land, and air.
With the ground battle slipping into a disadvantage, Warboss †Gaurik† naturally couldn't stomach such a result.
"Boss, dere's lotsa bugs down dere! And real big uns, bigger dan Squiggoths!"
"I GOTZ EYEZ, DON'T I?!"
Although the greenskin ships looked unreliable, they had everything they needed. The situation on the ground had long been reported to the flagship—which, upon closer inspection, appeared to be the refitted remains of an Imperial Retribution-class battleship.
"Just a few big bugs, innit? Send down me big toyz, I wanna see how hard dese bugs can scrap!!!"
Transport ships carrying Stompas began to descend one by one. These were no small fry.
Even the smallest Stompa possessed a fortress-like physique; they were essentially mobile strongholds. These Stompas were the Ork equivalent of Titans, loaded with numerous weapon platforms. While their individual combat prowess might be inferior to an Imperial Titan, their numbers were far, far greater.
Soon, a large number of Stompas arrived at the Central Continent battlefield. For the first time, the Ultralisks encountered foes of comparable size.
While the Squiggoths encountered earlier were a size smaller than the Ultralisks, the Stompas stood even taller. Their ramshackle armor didn't look like much in terms of defense, but thanks to the blessing of the WAAAGH field, they didn't fall apart easily.
In an instant, missiles, shells, and lasers roared toward the nearest Ultralisks. The accuracy was poor—most attacks landed nearby, triggering chains of explosions—but the sheer volume was overwhelming.
Only a laser hit an Ultralisk's head, but it failed to penetrate the frontal plating.
The already frenzied Ultralisk was enraged, turning to charge the Stompa.
†Un...stoppable!†
The Overmind provided a mental voice-over for the Ultralisk's current state. Its Kaiser Blades slammed deep into the Stompa's armor, which offered as much resistance as wet paper before the Zerg blades.
†Eh? I remember Stompas having shields. Did this one not come with one?†
In greenskin style, it was perfectly normal to forget a shield generator, or for the interior to be packed so full of ammo that it might explode instantly.
However, the Stompa's fist wasn't just for show. Just as the Ultralisk was about to sever the Stompa's torso, a massive iron fist slammed into its head, leaving the beast dazed.
The assault cannon on the Stompa's other arm pressed against the Ultralisk's skull and fired point-blank.
At this range, even a blind Ork couldn't miss. The Ultralisk's head was blown apart, but before it died, its Kaiser Blades finished shearing through the Stompa's body, splitting it in two.
The battle between Stompas and Ultralisks was exceptionally savage.
Despite looking unreliable, the Stompas adhered to the greenskin principle of "More Dakka," boasting terrifying turret arrays. Some even had a massive belly-gun that almost knocked the Stompa backward whenever it fired.
One Ultralisk was hit in the flank by such a blast; its entire midsection was vaporized, snapping the creature in half.
The Ultralisks retaliated in kind. Several dived underground, tunneling at high speeds. The heaving earth signaled their approach. Stompas fired at the ground, but the shells only kicked up sparks as the damage was mostly absorbed by the Ultralisks' heavy head carapaces.
Then, the Ultralisks erupted from the earth, goring the Stompas from below and flipping them onto their backs.
Flipped Stompas struggled to right themselves. The Ultralisks took the opportunity to rear up and stomp down with their massive forelimbs, crushing the internal machinery of the greenskin constructs.
The trade-off between Ultralisks and Stompas was nearly 1:1, which was an advantage for the Zerg. No matter how many Stompas Gaurik had, he couldn't out-produce the Zerg's Ultralisks.
†I haven't seen any Mega-Stompas yet. If they drop one as tall as an Emperor-class Titan, I might have a real problem.†
These twenty-meter-tall Stompas were hard enough. If a fifty-meter—or even forty-meter—variant appeared, the Ultralisks would suffer heavy losses. The casualty ratio would likely look like Space Marines fighting a Dreadnought.
†Holding for now.†
There were many greenskins, but most were just Slugga Boyz with a few Killa Kan elites mixed in. They hadn't reached a "quality" that could crush the Zerg Swarm yet. Moreover, the Stompas—giant units capable of shifting the tide—were being tied down by the Ultralisks.
†It seems the Zerg have an easier time fighting Orks than the Tyranids do. Ultralisks are truly cost-efficient.†
If the Empire could produce hundreds of Warhound-class Titans per planet per year like the Zerg produced Ultralisks, they would have conquered the galaxy long ago.
However, raising Ultralisks wasn't easy. While the Zerg had no population limit, living units consumed resources. This was why Abathur didn't just add every new ability to every unit; more abilities meant more energy consumption. Efficiency was the ultimate goal.
†Let's just grind themdown. Have the Zerglings drag the corpses away, then wait for the Creep to spread so the greenskins can't grow mushrooms on this planet.†
Spreading Creep took time, but the buffs it provided to Zerg units were indispensable. As for the Zerglings dragging corpses—if they didn't actively recycle biomass into the nutrient pools, the resource turnover wouldn't keep up with the war effort.
Much of the local Creep had been incinerated by artillery and flames.
At this moment, the number of small Roaches and mini-Banelings on the battlefield was absurd. These expendable "line-filler" units, with lifespans of less than half a day, were performing their duties perfectly. Despite being only half the size of a human, their acid and claws were not to be underestimated.
The Banelings were dealing the highest damage. One egg yielded two Zerglings; two Zerglings became two Banelings. One Baneling delivered one major explosion followed by three or four minor ones. A single Baneling could take out over five clustered Orks—an exceptionally efficient trade.
†Zagara, you are in charge of Baneling production and the push. I want these greenskins driven out of the Central Continent.†
"As you command, Overmind. I shall eliminate the enemy in the shortest time possible!"
The Broodmother Zagara began taking command of the battle.
†Zasz(The new Zasz), handle the air force. Prevent the enemy from bombing the ground.†
The Overmind's fears manifested almost immediately. On the Ork side, all sorts of bizarre aerial and ground vehicles began appearing. There were Deffkoptas and ramshackle Fightas—and that was just the beginning.
On the distant horizon, a land-sailing ship appeared, exceeding three kilometers in length.
†A Landship too?!†