Chapter 102: Greenskins, Humans, and Ruins
The Grand Inquisitor's idea was to "learn from the xenos to defeat the xenos." Although not entirely accurate, the meaning was close enough. This method, he had heard, had also been used by one of his colleagues in the Octarius Sector, but it seemed to have ended in disaster.
The reason he was thinking of this now was mainly because the pressure on the ground war was too great. The choice of Korsa as the final destination was for several reasons. Its remote location was one. Another was that Korsa had vast forests, and the number of creatures on it was enough to make Hive Fleet Gorgon commit to a full-scale invasion. After all, for the Tyranids, any Tyranid creatures that died in the war could be recycled after victory.
This also meant that the humans and T'au on Korsa would have to face the entire swarm deployed by Gorgon. The pressure was so great that it made one's scalp tingle. To alleviate this pressure, the idea of using the Greenskins was born. No one knew how high the war potential of these Orks was.
"So your idea is to control the Greenskins in the Greenskin forest, and then, little by little, stimulate their development, limit their range of activity to that area, and when Gorgon arrives, release the Greenskins you've raised to supplement the Greenskin tribes there."
"Yes," Omega nodded. "Actually, the most direct and simple method is for us to constantly fight the Greenskin tribes in the forest. But that can easily get out of control and will also weaken our own forces."
"Indeed. But we have no way of predicting when Hive Fleet Gorgon will arrive. How do you plan to control the Greenskins there?"
"Although the Greenskins' creations are quite incredible, they are also, to some extent, limited by materials. A Greenskin can't just cobble together an internal combustion engine out of wood. So I plan to drive the Greenskins to a resource-poor area and use resources to limit them."
The Inquisitor, after carefully recalling the data on the Greenskins in her mind, reminded him, "I must warn you, there is a clan of Orks in Greenskin society called the Snakebites. They are skilled at raising all kinds of war beasts."
Hearing Fenni's words, Omega also remembered that there was such a clan of Greenskins. It seemed the Old Ones had considered the situation of resource scarcity when they had created the Greenskins. Now, a problem left over from sixty million years ago was before Omega, forcing him to continue to burn his brain cells.
After much thought, Omega still couldn't think of how to control the evolution of the Ork tribes. In the end, with no other choice, he said, "Let's take it one step at a time. Let's just do it. It doesn't matter if they become Snakebites. As long as the Greenskins can help us hold off the Tyranids in the end. Even if the Greenskins grow strong, at worst, we can use an orbital bombardment to weaken them. We just need to control the Greenskins' technological development."
"Hmm, let's proceed as you've said."
"Then I'll leave it to you. If you need any help, just consult with Magos Laust. I'll be focusing my time on the detoxification research."
"Leave it to me. Your research will be of greater help to this war," the Inquisitor said seriously.
With the Greenskin matter settled, Omega asked the others, "Does anyone else have any questions?"
Rhea, with an excited expression, said, "Omega, after analyzing the myths of the Korsa people, we believe that there is a high probability of ruins on this planet!"
Hearing this, Omega, whose brain was a little tired from thinking about the Greenskins, immediately perked up. He quickly asked, "Tell me what's going on."
"There are many reasons for the creation of such a feral world. Remote location, harsh ecological environment—these are all reasons why the humans on it could not develop. But no matter what, the people on these planets are the descendants of colonists. However, it's hard to say whether the colonization was before or after the founding of the Imperium. By analyzing the myths of the Korsa people and their inherited holy relics, we can be sure that these Korsa people have been living on this planet for at least 15,000 years."
After hearing Rhea's explanation, Omega understood why the cog-heads liked to go to the frontiers of the Imperium and beyond. A single shovel into an undeveloped virgin world was a treasure. Now, before the Tyranids arrived, the great responsibility of "protectively excavating" the heritage of human civilization had fallen upon him. As a priest of the Omnissiah, Omega would not shirk his duty.
"Haha, I told you, good deeds are rewarded. Then what are we waiting—"
"Ahem," the Inquisitor coughed.
Reminded of his other great responsibility, the little cog-head immediately deflated. He withered. Last time on Barratt, he had had no sense of participation. This time, he had no time to participate at all. After a difficult ideological struggle, and a fight with the little man in his head, the withered Omega said with trembling lips, "The matter of the ruins... I'll... I'll leave it to you!"
With that, he walked out of the meeting room, looking back with every step. After he had left, Rhea burst out laughing, and the others couldn't help but laugh as well. It was the first time they had seen Omega with such an expression. It was just too funny.
This time, Omega's seclusion was the longest since he had become a priest. The difficulty of physical detoxification was one thing; not wanting to hear about the ruins, which made him sad, was another. Although the leader of the Cogboy fleet was not paying attention to the outside world, everything was developing in an orderly manner.
The Inquisitor, in charge of controlling the Greenskins, had, with the cooperation of the priests, the Skitarii, the Battle Automata, and the Hammers of Dorn, driven the scattered Greenskin tribes in the forest to a pre-scouted, resource-poor area. They had set up a heavy guard and built a fortress at the main chokepoint to prevent the Greenskins from escaping. At the same time, they had begun a planned harassment of the confined Greenskins. The main force of the harassment was the Space Marines, who were tired of construction. They loved this recreational activity. Especially after seeing the savage warriors trading Greenskin bodies for equipment, they had gotten an idea. They had swallowed their pride and had gone to the Inquisitor to ask if they could also make a trade.
After Fenni had told Laust about this, the Magos had thought that since they were using the minerals on Korsa anyway, it was better to turn them into weapons to arm humanity than to let them sit in the mines. So he had agreed to the Hammers of Dorn's request and had even offered them a better exchange rate: a live Greenskin was worth five dead ones. As long as they could get enough Greenskins, power armor, power swords, bolters, plasma, and various vehicles could all be exchanged.
If the Chapter Master hadn't given himself two slaps and knelt before a portrait of Dorn all night to calm himself down, the Astartes of the Hammers of Dorn, upon hearing the news, would have almost given up on construction altogether. In the end, after an internal discussion, they had decided that the Emperor had given them this body that could go without rest for months so that they could better fight the enemies of humanity. So they had decided to work overtime. With a great enemy at hand, who had time to rest? One man would do the work of two, and the saved man would go and hunt Greenskins.
The Space Marines' hunting was concentrated in the Greenskin confinement zone, where the Greenskin density was higher, the quality was better, and the exchange points were more. But the other parts of the Greenskin forest were still continuously spawning Greenskins. The ones hunting here were the savage warriors of the Korsa. In their clashes with the Greenskins, while there were constant sacrifices, they were also slowly transforming. Under the management of the former military nobles, these Korsa people could now skillfully use various equipment, were more obedient to discipline, and at the same time, had retained their savage and fearless characteristics and hunting culture. If these people could survive the Tyranids, the Imperium of Man would have another force like the Armageddon Ork Hunters.
The person in charge of the Greenskin colosseum was Louis. Louis, who could now be considered half a Xenos Biologis Magos, had always been very interested in studying Greenskin ecology. A daily stroll in the mushroom field had become part of his routine. However, Louis did not have as many wicked ideas as Omega to torment the Greenskins. He had been using the "Slapping Contest" designed by Omega to stimulate the Greenskins to produce more spores. But after using the method for a long time, the "Slapping Contest," besides making the Greenskins' faces and chins thicker, produced fewer and fewer spores. Even because of the repeated electrocution, the Greenskins began to develop a resistance to electric shock. Some even began to show signs of disobedience. This, while surprising and delighting Louis with the discovery of new Greenskin biological characteristics, also gave him a headache.
But having followed Omega for so long, Louis had learned a lot from him, such as "let the professionals do the professional work." And the Cogboy fleet was not short of talent, especially "training-type" talent. Whether it was the former pirate slaves who had experienced it with their own bodies, or the former nobles who had seen and played with many things, they were very experienced in tormenting people. This had allowed Louis to "select the best of the best" and quickly pull together a training and management team. Their task was to think of ways to make the Greenskins both WAAAGH! and obedient. With the help of these special talents, the Greenskin farm could be said to be a scene of vibrant, thriving life. The production of Greenskins was increasing, and one prison after another was being built to hold them.
The excavation of the Korsa ruins was the main event for the cog-heads. They had already excavated the remains of several lost cities and had found many technological relics whose specific purpose was unknown, most of which were damaged, and a small part of which could still function. However, because Omega was in seclusion, these things were all sealed. No matter how anxious the cog-heads were, they did not dare to touch these relics without Omega's nod. This was a challenge to Omega's authority. Even if Omega said nothing, Laust would make the unruly person disappear from the fleet.
The other Korsa people had also begun military training. To take up arms was their destiny. They could only accept it, and they accepted it gladly. Because the merciful "god, Maiga," before he had gone to the sea of stars to find a weapon against the doomsday beast, had already placed their descendants in the safest fortress, guarded by the spirits of heroes. Even if they died, their bloodline could continue. The elders who had been chosen to take care of these children would, in the future, tell these children their legends, over and over again.