If the Overmind kept fighting like this, he was confident he could win.
But the Greenskins had no intention of continuing this way.
They had deployed the Squiggoth Beasts.
Squigs were special creatures that grew alongside the Greenskins. They also grew beneath Ork mushrooms and were generally divided into two types.
One type was nicknamed "Rollers" or "Jumpers"—round, ball-shaped squigs with two thick legs, and bodies that consisted only of eyes, a nose, and a huge mouth.
These squigs were relatively small, only slightly bigger than gretchins. They were used as pets, tools, and a primary food source. Most roasted squig meat came from this type.
Sometimes, they were even strapped with bombs and used as disposable weapons. Of course, the Orks on this planet didn't yet know how to make bombs.
The other type was called "Squiggoth Beasts." As their name suggested, they were enormous.
They resembled rhinoceroses, with powerful bodies and massive horns. They were often over five meters tall and more than ten meters long, and they kept growing. Given enough time, they could even reach hundreds of meters in size.
The Orks would build turrets and small structures on their backs, using them as living vehicles.
The Squiggoth Beasts on this planet weren't that advanced yet. They had no turrets, only reins and seats.
But when creatures five or six meters tall charged forward, the Zerglings could only look up in awe before being crushed under massive feet.
"Damn it—heavy units already?!"
Not only were the Squiggoth Beasts huge, their defense was astonishing.
Hydralisk attacks could only inflict minor wounds on these ten-meter-long, five-meter-tall giants. Fortunately, the spines were toxic and would eventually paralyze or kill them.
"Five or six of these could take down an Imperial Knight! And you're using them on Zerglings? That's brutal!"
Zerglings could no longer harm them. Only Baneling acid could corrode their bodies, but even then, their massive size let them endure multiple explosions.
Casualties among the Zerg began to skyrocket.
"Good thing I was prepared."
The Overmind wasn't panicking. After all this time, did they really think he hadn't prepared heavy units?
"I knew you'd have Squiggoth Beasts! I started incubating Ultralisks the moment I saw you Orks—elite ones, at that!!!"
As the Squiggoth Beasts rampaged through the Zerg swarm, the ground began to tremble.
The earth bulged upward. From beneath the soil emerged an enormous armored shell.
A colossal beast—over twenty meters tall, perhaps even twenty-five—burst from the ground. In front of it were two gigantic, razor-sharp blades, each nearly as large as its body.
Its four massive limbs slammed down, crushing several unlucky Orks into paste.
"Go, King Beasts—Elite Ultralisks! Wipe them out!!!"
Ultralisks were originally meant to guard Cerebrates, similar to the Norn Emissaries of the Tyranids. As elite Ultralisks, they possessed superior strength, durability, and protection.
Name: Ultralisk
Length: 20–40 meters (varies by type)
Role: Heavy Assault Beast
Armament: Emperor Blades
Description: These massive, brutal creatures are the Swarm's siege vanguard and living tanks. Inheriting traits from the gentle Sloth Beasts, Ultralisks possess enormous size and endurance surpassing armored vehicles, while retaining surprising agility. Wielding Emperor Blades, they charge into battle like thunder, their monomolecular edges shredding vehicles and infantry alike.
"Ultralisks are great… just painfully expensive."
The biomass needed for one beast could produce several times its weight in Zerglings. But the cerebrate needed protection.
And who knew if he'd run into some absurd situation like "attacking a cathedral and having it stand up" someday?
The two Ultralisks immediately began rampaging.
One Squiggoth Beast tried to ram them.
Before it even made contact, an Emperor Blade hooked it into the air. The massive blades snapped shut, slicing the creature cleanly in half.
The other King Beast swung its weapons wildly, slaughtering Orks in droves.
Some Orks leapt onto its back and hacked at it with axes. But its defense was on another level. Even WAAAGH-enhanced strikes barely left shallow scratches, which healed within seconds.
Its regeneration was terrifying.
With the Ultralisks on the field, the battle was completely overturned. Even Squiggoth Beasts looked small in comparison.
"These are still the old-model Ultralisks. The new ones are even stronger."
Now it was the Orks' casualties that became uncontrollable.
Every second the Ultralisks existed, they dealt massive damage—whether through their blades or sheer mass.
Meanwhile, Zerglings dragged away corpses, both Ork and Zerg alike.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The battle became one-sided.
Even the Ork bosses had no good counter to the Ultralisks.
But the Orks hadn't collapsed yet.
Because their Boss was still standing.
"Interesting."
The Ork Boss finally moved.
He wielded a gigantic axe, even larger than himself. It wasn't made of stone, but forged from steel.
Along its edge ran a row of chainsaw teeth.
When he pressed a switch on the handle, the blade roared to life, sparks flying as it scraped the ground.
The Overmind was stunned.
"Where did that chainsaw axe come from?! Wait—red, with an eight-pointed star?! Damn it! Which Khorne Daemon Prince dropped this loot for them?!"
A red chainsaw axe was a signature weapon of Khorne's followers.
Khorne was one of the four Chaos Gods of the Warp, embodying war and bloodshed. His followers were even more battle-crazed than Orks.
Blessed by Khorne, their weapons carried disintegration fields that ignored most defenses.
That was enough to threaten even a King Beast.
"Let's see if this big guy is worth chopping!"
The Ork Boss leapt onto a Squiggoth Beast's back, gripping the reins with one hand and the chainsaw axe with the other.
"WAAAGH!!!"
Riding the Squiggoth Beast, he charged toward the King Beast.
And the Overmind was already prepared to sacrifice one—perhaps even two—Ultralisks .