Steel & Oil: Warhammer 32K

Gadda's footsteps came to a halt.

He could feel the eyes of every greenskin boy gathering upon him.

What Lin had shouted was in the Orkish tongue, and every Ork present understood it perfectly.

There was no doubt about it—this was a duel issued by a runty git!

The greenskins began to stir, their mood shifting toward excitement and eagerness. Though they were still fighting the Astra Militarum and the Astartes, their attention had drifted irresistibly onto Gadda and Lin.

In a greenskin tribe where it was all kill-kill-kill and choppa-choppa-choppa, what could stir a green heart more than a duel?

Especially when it was a runty git challenging their boss—now that was something new and thrilling!

Gadda had no wish to accept the challenge; his gaze remained fixed on the Titan ahead.

If only he could destroy that big thing...!

But before Lin's provocation, such a thought was, in the end, mere wishful thinking.

He worked the controls of the death-dealing giant kan and turned back around all the same, looking down at Lin, who stood half a body shorter than him.

The greenskins cheered. Of their own accord they began to fall back, leaving open space between Gadda and Lin. But Gadda thrust up his waving fist and bellowed his command to all the greenskins:

"The duel's a runty git's trick! Smash 'em!"

The greenskins exchanged glances, and for a moment none of them moved.

A duel was an inviolable, glorious tradition among Orks; even at a warlord's order, they had little wish to ruin such a good show.

Gadda could only add: "I'll deal with that mekboy runty git! You lot finish the rest!"

Only then did the greenskins get excited again. Brandishing the weapons in their hands and roaring, they hurled themselves at the Astartes guarding Lin.

"Waaagh!"

"Get 'em, Gork and Mork!"

The duel was the foundational code by which greenskins sought to climb upward within the simple social hierarchy of the Orks. If a lower Ork triumphed in a duel against a higher Ork, then he could win everything the other possessed—including his very life.

A higher Ork could not refuse a duel; once he refused, he was deemed to have lost it by default. The other Orks would no longer acknowledge his standing, and the one who had issued the challenge would become the new boss, while the loser could only sink to the bottom rung and become an ordinary greenskin.

Though this rule was usually only borne out among the greenskins themselves... the greenskins clearly didn't mind watching a duel between their boss and a runty git who could speak their lingo.

Their fervor had now become, for Lin, a means of coercing this Ork warlord who had other plans in mind.

Whatever it was Gadda wanted to do, right now he had to finish his bout with Lin first!

But the greenskins' fervor for the duel also, in turn, empowered Gadda. Seated in the kan's cockpit, he was even bodily heightened by this empowerment, dragged up a whole notch.

He hadn't wanted to face Lin, but that wasn't because he thought he couldn't win. Now that he'd been buffed up another notch, he couldn't begin to reckon there was any possibility of him losing!

The original cockpit size had become somewhat cramped for the Gadda of now. He savored the power surging within him with satisfaction, then kicked open the front hatch of the cockpit with one foot.

He roared at Lin:

"I'll grind you to bits, you mekboy runty git, and then twist off your parts one by one! I'll show you what it means to be Gork-cunnin' and Mork-thick!"

Gadda hurled out his harsh words, but he did not charge forward at once. He gestured behind him, and two Gretchin serving as his attendants immediately drove forward in specially-modified Killa Kans.

One of these two Killa Kans specialized in melee, the other in ranged fire. The ranged one opened fire simultaneously with an ion weapon that no Killa Kan ought to be carrying and a Death Klonk Kannon loaded with live rounds, while the melee one swung an enormous power claw and saw-blade, lunging ferociously at Lin.

A greenskin duel had no code of honor to speak of; no matter what means were used, the one who survived was the final winner all greenskins acknowledged!

But Lin, who likewise understood this well, was not about to go in unprepared.

He activated the Energy Shield mounted on his exoskeleton mech—a larger energy reserve let Lin use this high-consumption technology freely for a short while without worry.

A pale-blue curtain of light wrapped around him, and the ion gun's beams and the flash of exploding shells were all swallowed up by this curtain. The kan that had lunged at him clearly thought this was something much like a Void Shield or a Refractor Field; it swung its saw-blade, trying to push inside the shield and cut Lin in two, but the high-speed spinning blade was likewise deflected by this energy shield handed down from the Protoss.

The kan stumbled from the shield's reactive force, and a cold gleam seized the chance to slash out at it from below at an angle.

This was the tachi blade of Admidel!

Unlike Kurande and Sorn, who had to direct the other Space Marines in battle, the Hunters' extreme autonomy meant Admidel could remain guarding at Lin's side the entire time.

The cold light pierced clean through the kan's cockpit, and that tin can fell instantly silent. And Lin—who, with the aid of three Death-Bound Warriors, had been trading fire with the other kan—also claimed victory there.

He flung the plasma gun, on the verge of exploding from overheating, into the mob of beasts, and with the wails of the blasted greenskins as his backdrop, Lin worked his mechanical arm and crooked a finger at Gadda in provocation.

"I said it already—face me! You brainless beast!"

Such words were clearly an insult to a Big Mek who prided himself on technology. Gadda, who always felt he had some great plan of his own, was now flushed with rage and shame.

"I'll finish you first, then go tear that big thing apart!"

Gadda waved his hand and summoned two more kans, setting them to entangle Admidel and the Death-Bound Warriors. He himself then deployed every weapon on the kan.

Advancing all the while, he poured out every last bit of the kan's ammunition in a frenzy!

Giga Dakka-Shoota, Death Klonk Kannon, even the Rivet Kannon on his shoulder operated with the help of a small Squig... the death-dealing giant kan, holding nothing back any longer, spewed forth a metal storm that was the very symbol of death.

Under such a heavy bombardment, even the Energy Shield began to flicker on and off. Even as Lin increased the input to the Energy Shield, these solid rounds carrying astonishing kinetic force still neutralized the shield's energy field.

At the very moment the shield shattered, Gadda—who had pressed forward relying on his astonishing firepower—was already standing right in front of Lin.

Twice as tall as Lin in his mech, he looked down upon Lin from above, his shadow falling over him—yet on Lin's face he saw not the slightest trace of fear.

This set Gadda's blood boiling.

As fond as he was of putting his brain to work, he was, in the end, an Ork who loved combat. Compared to those little runty gits he could crush offhandedly, a fight with this three-meter-plus tin can before him was sure to be far more satisfying!

"Good lad, I like you! Let me deal with you in your own way!"

Imitating Lin, he flung away those weapons that had already overheated or run dry of ammo, and bared the Power Fist on his mech that had originally been wrapped in layer upon layer of weaponry.

Gadda wound up his fist and brought it crashing down hard at Lin.

To actually use the very method of that runty git who had provoked him to defeat that runty git...

At this moment, he felt he had reached the very pinnacle of cool!

Even Gork and Mork were surely casting sidelong glances of admiration at his world-shaking genius right now!

The greenskins, who had been watching the duel's progress all along, also burst into a wave of cheering, and the blood-pumped Gadda felt his strength grow several degrees stronger.

He reckoned his own physical strength would also add a bonus to the kan, and that with this one punch, he was certain to pulp this runty git into mush!

But Lin simply pushed forward to meet it. He stacked his two mechanical arms together, spread his hands flat as a palm, and used this as a shield to intercept Gadda's hammer-blow.

Though the Ork's immense force conducted downward even through Lin's exoskeleton, cracking the ground beneath, Lin had indeed blocked this strike.

He looked utterly unharmed.

How could this be?

Gadda's eyes went wide, and before he could even reckon anything, a strange sense of discomfort spread up his arm and through his whole body.

His hot blood went cold all at once, through and through.

But Lin was not having an easy time of it either.

Even though his special constitution had, the instant he made contact with the Ork, neutralized the bonus the Waaagh energy granted the Ork warlord—an Ork was, after all, an immensely strong biological war-machine to begin with.

Even relying purely on flesh and machine, that one hammer-blow of the Ork's set Lin's exoskeleton blaring out an alarm. The hydraulic transmission of his mechanical arm burst open in multiple places, and a reddening alert blared into a single din inside his mind.

He was far from as at ease as he looked on the surface.

But at least he had escaped the fate of being hammered into flesh-flecked metal scraps.

Lin revealed his still-intact mechanical leg—a mechanical leg specially modified for output—and with a single kick sent the Gadda who towered twice his height stumbling back again and again, while he himself seized the chance to pull open the distance. Once more he stood facing the Ork warlord.

He needed a little time to readjust, but such a move, in the eyes of the Orks, was his provocation and counterattack against Gadda.

The greenskins' cheering came to a halt.

They couldn't believe Lin had actually survived that blow, nor could they understand why Gadda, having hammered down once, just stood there dumbly and let Lin kick him away.

But at the very least they knew that this runty git was an even tougher, harder bastard than they'd anticipated!

Ah reckon this Silver One just might win!

The greenskins, having come to their senses, burst into another fierce wave of applause—but this applause was no longer the Ork warlord's alone. A portion of the Waaagh energy had already begun to transfer toward Lin.

Though Lin could not be empowered by Ork psychic energy the way a certain Ol' One-Eye could, in terms of sheer momentum the situation was now no longer one in which the warlord reigned supreme alone.

The kicked-back Gadda gazed at Lin with alarm and doubt; he could clearly tell how greatly he'd been weakened in the instant he made contact with Lin.

The feeling was as if he had reverted to his former self, that self who, before becoming a boss, had been just an ordinary greenskin.

But Gadda did not miss that former self of his; the feeling of losing his strength only filled him with dread.

Just what the heck was this runty git playing at?

He could feel that once contact ceased, the strength in his body began to recover bit by bit. But no matter how it recovered, he could no longer reach the peak he'd had before.

To be honest, he was a little reluctant to deal with this runty git before him now.

But the Orks all around were watching their fight, and if he stopped here, there might well be an Ork who refused to submit to him standing up later to seize his power in a duel!

Gadda roared again. Compared to his earlier confidence, this time the under-breathed bellow was more like working up his own courage. His eyes rolled about all over Lin, as if trying to find a flaw in this uncanny ability.

Faced with Gadda's roar, Lin simply crooked a finger.

"Stop reckonin'—this is called science. You can't reckon it out."

"Cursed runty git! I'll twist off your parts one by one!"

He took a step forward, closing the distance between himself and Lin once more.

Even if this runty git could weaken him, in terms of bulk and strength, he still held the upper hand!

The death-dealing giant kan changed its tactics. It withdrew its Power Fist and instead swung the enormous saw-blade on its other arm. The sharp saw-blade needed no bonus from the power of Ah-reckonin' to easily spin and cut through Lin's exoskeleton.

Lin had no choice but to dodge this high-speed spinning saw-blade.

But Gadda's keen combat instinct had already calculated this step. Right in the midst of Lin's dodging, Gadda's Power Fist slammed violently into the ground.

The Waaagh-boosted punch set the ground all around trembling, and Lin—already off-balance from dodging—stiffened up at once.

He had to steady his own center of gravity first, but Gadda had already aimed that high-speed spinning saw-blade at Lin's head!

Lin could only hurriedly raise his mechanical arm to fend it off.

Metal fragments cut loose went flying in every direction, and the already overburdened machine-body began to crack apart further.

Seeing the momentum so favorable, Gadda—once again in contact with Lin—forced his way through the discomfort and, with all his might, pressed the saw-blade downward.

He wanted to settle the outcome within this one move!

"I reckon I can split you right in half!"

A pity that this ability to make his words come true did not work on Lin. Having lost the boost of the Waaagh field, Gadda was not like that beast-boss who could crush the vast majority of big bruisers by strength alone. A body just over three meters tall was not yet enough to give him an absolute advantage in strength. And now that the power of Ah-reckonin'—the thing the Big Mek prided himself on most—had no effect on Lin, he could not overwhelm Lin in any short span of time.

In the gap of their stalemate, Lin issued an order to his three Death-Bound Warriors.

"Fire!"

The Death-Bound Warriors, who were locked in struggle with the Killa Kans, swung their muzzles around. Braving the risk of being destroyed themselves, they used the ionizing laser beams of their lightning guns to precisely strike the giant kan locked in stalemate with Lin.

This kind of energy beam, capable of overloading a mechanical body, performed its function very well on a machine that had lost the shelter of the power of Ah-reckonin'. The saw-blade that had been pressing down on Lin slackened, no longer constraining his movements.

Lin seized the chance to shove Gadda away, and in turn dealt the giant kan a slap.

"Copying me, throwing your ranged weapons away? You didn't actually think I'd fight with honor, did you?"

The form of the attack didn't matter; so long as he could make contact, he could do harm to Gadda.

So of course he'd use a little humiliation tactic that even an Ork could understand!

Some of the Orks even whistled, and Lin could hear their cheering grow more enthusiastic.

As a Big Mek with a relatively sharp brain, Gadda tasted a feeling he had never had before.

Fear.

He couldn't comprehend just what the other's ability was. But he no longer had the confidence he'd had before, when he'd blasted apart an orbital defense array in one shot, or when he'd led all his boyz to weather the Volcano Cannon head-on.

If the Sisters of Silence's ability was to slap a fixed DEBUFF based on their numbers, then Lin's ability was like peeling away layer after layer. While immunizing himself against the Waaagh energy Gadda added to each attack, he could also, with each collision, banish away a portion of the power of Ah-reckonin' that Gadda commanded.

As long as he didn't make contact with Lin, a portion of Gadda's strength could recover, but that portion was less each time than before.

He could feel his strength shrinking, and his mind no longer as nimble as before.

Ah-reckonin' was the very wellspring of life for Orks.

He was losing his own life!

Realizing this, Gadda went as if mad.

"I'll choppa you down! Choppa you down! Choppa you down!"

Gadda could not flee; a fight to the death was now his only choice. Roaring, he hurled himself forward once more. After even the strike he'd just so carefully prepared had failed to work, all that remained to him was pure madness.

Lin barely held on under Gadda's assault; the left-arm armor of his exoskeleton had already been completely sawn to ruin, exposing the mechanical structure within, looking so battered that he might lose this fight at any moment.

But Lin, who could feel that every blow of the giant kan was growing more feeble, was quite certain he was already close to victory.

Don't forget—the Orks' mechanical creations are likewise the crystallization of their power of Ah-reckonin'.

Facing such an enemy, Lin was as if cloaked in reflective armor.

He only needed to block, and the enemy would send himself to his doom!

Although the death-dealing giant kan ranked among the relatively "scientific" sort of Ork creations, under continuous contact, this "scientific-ness" had already withered to the point where it could barely keep the kan itself from falling apart.

An Ork's kan had no alarm system like Lin's, and as the parts clattered and shattered all over the ground, Gadda, operating the kan, only then discovered that this thing of his was starting to malfunction everywhere.

The first explosion occurred at the root of a mechanical foot that had already been faulty to begin with. This explosion was like toppling a row of dominoes; the main body of the Ork mech began to shake violently, cracks appeared on the once-indestructible outer shell, and sparks burst out from the gaps between the armor plates.

Gadda could not understand why the creation he'd prided himself on had become like this; he could only attribute it all to the trickery of the runty git across from him.

But what other recourse did he have? His boyz weren't even cheering for him anymore!

He lifted his head and gazed elsewhere. There, the Orks' Gargant was battling the Silver Ones' Titan.

To call it a battle—it was really more of a one-sided rout. The battered, scarred Gargant tried to ram into the Warlord-class Titan that towered taller than it, but in its broken-down state it simply couldn't keep up with the Titan's maneuvers.

Christina's degree of synchronization with the Titan far surpassed that of an ordinary captain, which made the Titan she drove all the more agile. Seeking to preserve the Titan's integrity, she was in no hurry to deal the Gargant a fatal blow.

She merely circled around it, the scene looking for all the world like she was walking a dog.

Fury filled Gadda's chest.

Whether it was the Gargant or himself, they were both, right now, as if being toyed with by runty gits.

But he was Brother Mork's warlord—he could die, but he could never disgrace the cunning and cruel Brother Mork!

At this thought, his mind, which had already grown sluggish, suddenly cleared.

Facing Lin, who was pressing his advantage in pursuit, Gadda adjusted his stance a little, so as to put himself in a straight line with the Titan.

That runty git across from him had indeed taken the bait; he had chased after Gadda, clearly unwilling to give him any chance to catch his breath or retreat.

At the thought of what he was about to do next, Gadda suddenly grew cheerful.

"Human!" he shouted.

Gadda no longer called Lin a runty git.

Perhaps it was a kind of respect, but Lin sensed something was off. He halted his steps, intending to see just what scheme this Ork warlord was up to.

"I ain't happy fightin' you, and I don't reckon I can beat you."

"But me not bein' able to beat you don't mean you, boy, can beat me!"

He raised his hand as if guiding something, and Lin, following its line, gazed forward—and in the sky he dimly made out the black silhouette of the Ork battleship moored in low orbit.

Suddenly, a burst of intense light covered that black silhouette.

Lin's visual sensors were not sufficient to let him make out, at such a great distance, just what that intense light was, but that did nothing to stop him from sensing a dangerous aura within it.

At the same time, Gadda, having completed his guiding, let out his final roar:

"If I can't seize this planet from your hands, then let it burn!"

PS1: Sun-Flare reflective-armor Landry—hit me and you wait to hit yourself.

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