"Keep yourselves hidden," I said, raising a finger at myself as I grabbed the [Lightsaber] from my [Inventory], faking the motion by reaching into my pocket first. My fellow guardsmen nodded at me, signaling and whispering among themselves. "Wait for the opportune moment. I'll draw their attention. Don't worry about me. I've dealt with plenty of Orks before. And these ones are far less dangerous, compared to the ones with guns and technology."
"You reached us on your own, Perry," Markus said with a nod. "After trekking through what must've been miles and miles of Ork encampments. I trust you."
"Then," I said. "Wait for my signal."
After exiting the caves, we'd found ourselves in a rocky valley, massive boulders sprouting from tall cliffs on either side. Unfortunately, we exited the place just as a large group of Orks were passing by the center of the valley – primitive ones with stone tools and weapons, but there were hundreds of them and only very few of us. Even with superior firepower, the Greenskins would surely overrun my fellow guardsmen. And none of us wanted that. Sure, they'd kill plenty of Orks, but they'd be annihilated for it. Self-sacrifice was good, but it had to count for something. And, in this case, dying to the Orks would do no one any good.
So, Markus came up with a simple idea.
The plan was simple: we wait until the Orks passed, before making our way down the valley, ourselves. It was simple and efficient. The xenos scum hadn't even taken notice of our presence as we watched them from above, too engrossed in marching and... singing.
The Orks were singing. And, to my shame, I had to admit that it was pretty catchy. I also realized that I still understood their tongue, likely from my time as an Ork as I doubted anyone else here even could even begin to understand the lyrics of the song.
Markus' plan would have worked if the Greenskins didn't suddenly decide to stop marching and began making their camp in the center of the valley, right between us and the path we needed to take to reach the Communications Jammer. But, as the Orks began pitching up their tents and placing sleeping mats on the rocky ground, the group realized that we'd all be stuck here for the next dozen or so hours until the Orks all decided to wake up and move on, if they ever decided to. And, spending too much time, cooped up in one place, was too much of a risk; one way or another, the Orks were going to catch us. Even, in that moment, I knew for a fact that they'd already caught our scent.
So, I proposed a new idea.
"I'm going down there," I told them. "I'll draw as much of their attention as I can. Do not worry for me."
And that was exactly how I found myself racing down the side of the cliff, the [Lightsaber] in hand. The light of the sun was fading and the sky was dark. If any of the Orks saw me, then it was too late. I leapt high and landed in the middle of their camp. And as the xenos took notice, I used the [Curse of Delirium], causing the Orks to start behaving madly and erratically. Some of them began attacking each other in a mad frenzy. Others squatted on the ground, rocking themselves, whilst sucking on their fingers. And some began attacking the very air before them. The ability's range was a hundred meters, which meant every single one of the Orks was caught in it. With a hiss, the red beam of the [Lightsaber] extended from the handle.
The [Curse of Delirium] would only last for ten seconds. I had to make the most of it, while the Orks were still distracted. The darkness also meant that the other guardsmen wouldn't notice if I took a little bite out of the enemy here and there. So, as I began hacking away and cutting down the nearest Orks with my [Lightsaber], I willed forth a tendrils from my left foot, which would devour any biomass on the ground or slash wildly whenever too many of the Orks got too close to me. It worked well enough. And, by the time the effects of the [Curse of Delirium] faded, I'd already cut down about twenty Orks and devoured around ten of them, replenishing all the Biomass I've lost.
I also kind of instinctively realized that making use of [Curse of Delirium] again, so quickly after using it the first time, would give me diminishing returns as the duration was halved with each cast. I had to wait for a bit, then.
"WAAAAAAGH!"
The Greenskins charged right towards me immediately and as expected, not a single ounce of doubt in their eyes as they took their stone clubs and picks, not caring for the bodies of their comrades on the ground. It didn't matter. I charged them right back, briefly activating the [Curse of Laughter] just as I tore into their ranks. Left, right, front, and behind, my [Lightsaber] sliced through flesh and bone with incredible ease. I wasn't entirely sure if its cutting power was greater than that of a Power Weapon, but it was surely lighter and easier to handle. The Orks cackled with laughter, their charge suddenly blunted. And then, beams of crimson light flashed to life from the side of the cliffs. I grinned as several of the Orks in the back lines started falling and dying.
My allies had joined the fight, even if only from a distance. Good. Now, all I had to do was keep the Orks' attention fixed firmly on me. I summoned another tendrils from my other foot, my two tendrils slashing wildly and devouring with reckless fervor, slicing off legs and then eating them in a whirlwind of violence and death and blood. The laughter soon faded and the slaughter resumed. I felt nothing as I cut them down. At most, I felt a measure of loss at the fact that I could devour them all, lest my comrades take notice and attack me. Beyond that, it felt like disposing of vermin. The primitive Orks never stood a single chance against me. I could've slaughtered them all by myself, after all, even if I didn't make use of any of my skills or transformed any part of myself.
An Ork Nob groaned as I bisected it with a single slash of the [Lightsaber]. One jumped me from behind, but I stepped away from the monstrous Greenskin and sliced its head right off. A red-skinned beast with more mouth than body leapt at me from the ground, intent on snapping its jaws over my left shoulder. A Squig, I recalled from my Ork memories. The bestial thing was technically still an Ork, but I wasn't entirely sure how or why it became as it was. The Orks certainly didn't know or care, seeing as they feasted on these creatures regularly. I sidestepped the bite and sliced its body in half, spilling its guts onto the ground.
More Squigs rushed at me, roaring and gnawing upon the air, their massive tongues hanging from their maws. I cut them down as easily as I did their masters. A pale Squig charged me last, four times larger than any of the others. It trampled and shoved Orks aside as it sprinted, carried by muscular legs and cutting a swathe of destruction upon its own lines. Charming. I used [Muscle Burst] on my legs to surge towards it, just before it could finish its charge. Surprised, the large pale Squig's eyes widened just as I shoved the [Lightsaber] down its mouth and sliced its head clean off.
Around me, the veteran guardsmen picked off the outermost Orks, killing them without any other Ork taking notice. They were, surprisingly, more accurate with their Lasguns than most Guardsmen ever were, in spite of their advanced age. Though, to be certain, the Orks took more than one shot before they went down. With me taking all of their attention, however, it wasn't long before we killed them all, even as the tendrils on my feet devoured as many of them as I possibly could, without drawing undue attention from my comrades.
In total, I was able to absorb almost two thousand kilograms' worth of Biomass, which wasn't nearly as much as I would have liked. Still, being in the company of fellow humans more than made up for that. And, ultimately, the battle to retake this whole world was coming, during which I could devour to my heart's content. For now, I'd just have to be patient. Besides, my Biomass Reserves were close to its maximum capacity, anyway. I had to upgrade it soon, preferably far away from my allies as becoming a hungering, frenzies monster likely meant I wouldn't be able to tell friend and foe apart in my search for raw biomass.
And I knew, for a fact, that I was capable of far more than what I was willing to do. If I truly wished it so, I could unleash the full brunt of all my Biomass and transform into a sort of monster that could threaten entire cities – a hungering behemoth that absorbed anything and everything into itself, an inhuman monstrosity. But I didn't want to become anything like that. I wanted to stay as I was – human, mortal.
For as long as I possibly could, anyway. Sooner or later, I was very likely going to encounter a foe that I could not possibly defeat as a mere human. But, until that time came, then I was going to be Perry the Human, Perry the Guardsman.
I sat down on a large rock that lay at the center of the all the carnage, surrounding by the still-smoking corpses of the dead Orks. Their scent was foul, honestly, but I suppose hygiene mattered little for a race that seemed to have been designed solely for war and death and battle. I wondered if my plan to turn these foul beasts into human beings held any merit at all. It seemed abominable, even in my head, but I couldn't quite think of it as heresy. Perhaps, if I found a still-intact cathedral on this planet, I'd ask the God-Emperor. But, overall, it seemed like a good idea. After all, how could it possibly be heresy when all I'd be doing was granting humanity's holy form upon xenos?
Eh, I'd ask the God-Emperor later. Or, maybe not. I'm sure he'd approve, at least.
The others came marching down the cliff, following narrow pathways that'd been carved there by the passage of time. My fellow guardsmen raised their Lasguns at the corpses, ready to shoot anything that so much as twitched. The Orks stayed dead, however. Still, their gazes, which had once been something akin to curiosity and fascination, had turned outright fearful and awed. They did not raise their weapons at me or accused me of being a Wytch, at least, which was good enough. But I honestly did not like the looks on their faces. It made me feel as though they saw me as something more than human, more than themselves. Markus was the first to approach, stepping over the bodies of the fallen Orks.
[Dementation] Level up!
[Dementation] is now level 3
New Skill/s Unlocked!
[Curse of the Void] – A chosen target temporarily loses all sensory perceptions, rendering them incapable of perceiving anything. Touch is required for skill activation.
[Curse of Confusion] – In a ten meter radius around yourself, all hostiles are temporarily unable to process information within their brains. Effect lasts for five seconds.
"Err... good work, Perry. The God-Emperor has blessed you with divine skill, I see." He said, but his tone was almost afraid, though not quite there just yet. Though, I suppose it was simply because none of them had seen anything close to what I did before. An Astartes, for instance, could've done what I did, but with even greater speed and ferocity; perhaps, none of these veterans had ever seen a Space Marine before, which was understandable. I nodded at him as I stood from my seat. Markus' eyes lingered on the [Lightsaber] for a moment, before he forced a smile. Surely, I figured, he would've arrived at the conclusion that I was more than just a simple Guardsman, that I was, perhaps, an agent of the throne. Well, he'd still be right. "We should get moving. All this blood is bound to attract more Orks to this place."
I nodded. "Let's get moving, then."
AN: Chapter 52 is up on (Pat)reon!