As mentioned before, the Swarm had encountered planets inhabited by various other races during its colonial expansion. These planets were now perfect candidates for a massive free-for-all.
First, the Imperium was a poor choice. Imperial tactics against bugs mostly relied on static defense; in any other scenario, humans were essentially just bug food.
Second, the Aeldari and Necrons were out. The Aeldari knew the Webway gates far too well. As for the Necrons, they wouldn't enter a Webway gate at all. In their eyes, the Webway was the enemy's tunnel—would you willingly walk into an enemy's home?
Lastly, Chaos wouldn't work either. Their cohesion was poor; the moment the Warp concentration dropped, they would immediately scatter.
That left only one option.
And that was the Tau...
"WAAAGH!!!"
The Overmind stared at the Greenskin planet before him. His ears were filled with the roars of Orks. Ork cities stretched across the landscape like mountain ranges, extending all the way to the horizon.
He expressed great satisfaction.
† There are several other Greenskin planets nearby. They are just one step away from a massive WAAAGH! This system is perfect. †
Even the Zerg Swarm wouldn't dare lightly attack an Ork system of this scale, as they could easily be overrun. It was no joke: Orks in a massive horde and Orks in small groups were practically two different species. But now, this headache belonged to Hive Fleet Tiamat.
† Let me see which planets in the Tiamat system have Webway gates. Hehehe. †
The Overmind finally understood why Tzeentch loved plotting and scheming so much. This feeling of pulling strings from behind the scenes was indeed exhilarating.
Several planets in Tiamat hosted both Tyranids and Webway gates. The largest jungle planet even had four Webway gates of varying sizes. The Overmind didn't start by opening the gates on the jungle world; instead, he prioritized opening the gates on other planets.
Initially, the Orks didn't form a large-scale offensive. Only a few scattered Orks wandered through the Webway gates. These stragglers were easily killed and consumed by the Tyranids on the other side.
Then, more and more Orks discovered that these strange gates led to another world.
"I reckon this is a sign from Gork and Mork, tellin' us to have a proper scrap!"
Just as an Ork thought this, it was pounced upon and killed by a swarm of Hormagaunts in the jungle. Seeing their comrade killed, the other Orks didn't feel fear; instead, they let out a deafening "WAAAGH!" and charged forward, swinging their massive choppas.
After fighting the gaunts for a few minutes, most of the few hundred Orks were wiped out, but a handful managed to escape back through the Webway gate.
Hive Fleet Tiamat immediately realized these gates connected to enemy territory. They deployed a significant force near the Webway gates to prepare for an Ork invasion. But the Tyranids had no way of knowing that the forces they deployed were a mere drop in the bucket compared to the enemy that was about to arrive.
The wait lasted two days. During those two days, not a single Ork appeared through the Webway gates.
As night fell, the Hormagaunts and Tyranid Warriors entered a dormant state to reduce biomass consumption. Suddenly, the silence was shattered. Numerous round, big-mouthed creatures with bombs strapped to them surged out of the Webway gates, heralding the start of the battle.
"WAAAGH!"
A small group of Orks shouted at the top of their lungs as they ran out alongside these creatures. These Bomb Squigs leaped into the swarms of Hormagaunts. After being torn to shreds by the bugs, the bombs detonated, blowing dozens of gaunts into bloody chunks.
The other Squigs followed suit, charging fiercely into the Tyranid ranks. Even a Tyranid Warrior was blown apart by a bomb after cleaving a Squig in two.
Then, Orks began to pour out of the Webway gate like a literal tide. This was no exaggeration; the Greenskins were so crowded that some were trampled to death under the feet of their own kind.
But like the Tyranids, Orks were a species that didn't particularly care about the death of their comrades. The difference was that Tyranids lacked emotion and only cared about efficiency and attrition, whereas Orks were simply so fired up that they stopped thinking altogether—they only saw the enemy in front of them and wanted to hack them to bits.
Right now, this group of Orks was in a state of extreme euphoria. They were "high" beyond belief!
The Ork forces soon clashed head-on with the Tyranid units. The Orks completely ignored their casualties; they were there for the thrill of the fight. They charged into the Hormagaunt swarms, and based on numbers alone, there were more Orks than there were bugs.
Hive Fleet Tiamat was momentarily stunned. Initially, they failed to organize an effective defense. Even when Carnifexes were deployed, they were swarmed and beaten to death by a massive crowd of Ork Boyz. The sight of Boyz crawling all over a Carnifex, hammering away with choppas and tactical knives, looked strikingly similar to a swarm of bugs taking down a heavy unit.
For a moment, it was hard to tell which side was the one winning through sheer numbers.
But such were the Orks: a race that could overwhelm the Swarm with numbers, baffle the Imperium with their technology, and stun the Necrons with their history.
More Ork units poured from the Webway gates. While the first waves were mostly Boyz in scrap armor with rusty axes, they were followed by Shoota Boyz, whose firepower was so fierce that Tyranid Warriors were blown to pieces.
Next came the Ork Nobz. Some Nobz wore Mega Armour, wielding power claws in one hand and burnas in the other, leading the front lines surrounded by crowds of Boyz. Ork Meks also appeared on the battlefield in Trukks packed with Orks. This was a clan with an incredibly complete Ork social system; the Greenskins had waited so long for a fight that even the Mekboyz were heading to the front lines.
Hive Fleet Tiamat tried to organize a counter-offensive, but the Ork momentum was too strong. It took the Tyranids three days to finally stabilize the front line. This wasn't because the Tyranid attacks were finally working, but because the Boyz at the very front had finally had enough fun and their bellies were rumbling, so they voluntarily pulled back to the rear lines for supplies.
By this time, a temporary Ork camp had been established near the Webway gate. Large numbers of Orks were gorging themselves on roasted Squig meat to replenish the energy they had spent over the last few days. Once they had eaten their fill, these "boyz" picked up their weapons and charged back to the front. Even though over ninety percent of them wouldn't return, they charged nonetheless.
Don't ask why; they just love fighting more than they love their own brains.
Most Orks indeed lacked brains; they possessed a typical mob mentality. Those with brains usually ended up as Nobz or Warbosses, along with a few "special" boyz.
At that moment, an exceptionally tall Ork, standing nearly five meters high in his power armor, stepped out of the Webway gate.
"Great job, boyz! Now get out there and krush these bugs! Show 'em who the real Boss is!!!"