Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor-Chapter 237 - 238: Where Did These Green Mushrooms Come From?

"Sigh, it's tough finding any Orks…"

Eden flipped through various data on greenskin Orks, letting out a long sigh of frustration.

Orks were a species that kept growing stronger.They had powerful regenerative and reproductive abilities; wherever they went, they released spores that grew into hordes of Orks.

Even a single Ork could quickly spawn a massive tribe.

More frightening yet, both their individual strength and technology could rapidly escalate through continuous combat.

In a short time, their power could surge exponentially.

A small Ork tribe could, after a few wars, become a green menace ravaging a planet, spreading across an entire sector.

And there seemed to be no upper limit to their growth.

They could evolve bodies bigger than a Dreadnought and freely incorporate other races' technology, making gear suited to their own use.

Given the right conditions, Orks could even build planet-killing battle stations.

They were, in every sense, war machines.

Their only weakness was their lack of brains; they lived to fight all day long.

If Orks had human-level intellect, they might have conquered the galaxy ages ago.

Closing the file, Eden took a gulp of iced soda, feeling a chill in his heart.

Given how fast Orks grew, finding a tribe that hadn't matured was practically impossible.

According to recorded data, no trace of Orks had been found in this sector for centuries.

Looks like I can only try searching the Warp…

Eden suddenly recalled something.

Many years ago, out near that derelict space hulk, he'd spotted a lone Ork.After all these years, he wondered if it was still there.

Well, might as well check it out.

Eden adjusted the backrest of the Blackstone Throne, grimacing as he lay down.

Every moment, psychic lightning coursed through him, akin to torture.

Yet what he endured now wasn't even a ten-thousandth of what the God-Emperor suffered.

Hiss…Each time Eden thought of the God-Emperor sitting alone on that cold Golden Throne, bearing the most brutal torment in the galaxy, he couldn't help but shiver.

To fight off the chill, he shifted position on the plush velvet cushions.

Thank Kaul, that oily gearhead, for making this torture device a little more comfortable.

Eden slowly closed his eyes, letting his consciousness slip into the deep gloom of the Warp.

He soon located the psychic navigational beacon he'd left near the space hulk back then.

Then, channeling some "hope energy," he created a small portal.

A faint glow flickered as Eden, piloting a clone body, stepped through, heading for the space hulk.

"Operation: 'Fish Out an Ork,' commence!"

...

On the Space Hulk

Eden emerged from the portal and surveyed the towering walls around him, formed from a jumble of starship wreckage stretching into the sky.

He couldn't help feeling nostalgic.

This was where I started it all.If I hadn't found that Golden Age farm here, my domain might have collapsed long ago.

Maybe someday I can haul this entire thing back to realspace and build a fortress the size of a planet.

That was for the future.

Right now, the priority was finding that Ork.

Relying on memory, Eden went to the spot where he'd previously glimpsed the Ork. Looking through a crack, he could see outside—just the warped energies of the Warp, occasionally lit by giant bolts of energy.

Aside from those flashes and drifting debris, there was nothing.

"Not here…must have drifted somewhere else?"

He paused to think.

Around the space hulk, swirling eddies produced a gravitational pull that gathered wreckage from afar, merging it into the enormous hulk.

Under those conditions, that Ork wouldn't likely have escaped far.

Probably still around here somewhere!

Recalling which way the Ork had drifted, Eden began searching the surrounding vacuum zones.

He clambered over several debris fields before finally spotting a living creature.

In empty space hung a large chunk of wreckage.With no way to move through the surrounding void, that creature was effectively trapped.It looked like it had been stuck there a long time.

"Gotcha!"

Eden saw a short silhouette in the distance and felt a hint of excitement.

But then puzzlement: "That thing…doesn't really look like an Ork."

Using psychic perception to confirm, he realized it was the same Ork from before.

But its appearance had changed drastically—it had shrunk to about a quarter of its former size.

On top of the wreckage crouched a shriveled greenskin Ork, barely half a meter tall.

It sat there alone, looking rather dejected.

Such a huge change—did it degenerate?

Eden was taken aback.

According to the data, if Orks weren't fighting, they'd gradually regress.

But this seemed like too much.

That Ork resembled a hunched-over goblin—more like a "snotling," to be exact.

He watched as the Ork got up and rummaged around the nearby wreckage.

Soon, it dragged out a metal rod about half a meter long, swinging it around with delight.

"Waaaagh!"

It yelled in excitement—then paid for its exuberance: the rod slipped out of its grasp and landed squarely on its toes.

"Waaah!"

The Ork fell to its knees, clutching its foot and howling in pain, looking exactly like a little gremlin whose toes had been stepped on.

Eden's face went dark at the sight.

This guy's future offspring…can they really fight demons?

But as the data said, Ork power is tightly linked to belief in themselves.

So long as they keep fighting and winning, they'll keep growing stronger.

Put simply, if they believe they're strong, they'll become strong.

The legendary Warboss "Bonesmasha Sarakka" was said to have started out as a half-brained, half-scalped Ork runt, yet rose to become a grand warlord, leading a Waaagh! that even devoured Hive Fleet Leviathan.

Nowadays, the Imperium and the Tyranids all knew of that powerful Ork warlord, who sought to unite every Ork tribe across the galaxy for an unprecedented Waaagh!

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Recalling that, Eden looked at the pathetic little Ork in front of him and felt renewed confidence.

If a half-skulled Ork runt could become a warlord, there's no reason this snotling-like Ork can't.

I'll just bring it back and train it slowly. Let it fight smaller livestock at first, build confidence step by step.

With me, the Savior, around, you'll be the next Bonesmasha!

Just as Eden stepped forward to grab the Ork and take it away—

A sudden jolt of danger made his heart pound, every hair standing on end.

"What…is coming?"

Eden froze and ducked behind a wall of debris within the space hulk. Squinting toward a massive dark shape nearby, he drew a sharp breath.

A low, drawn-out moan echoed.

From afar loomed the shadow of an enormous whale-like creature, gradually coming into view.It had heavy, dark-blue plating and razor-sharp teeth.

Even more terrifying was its scale—tens of kilometers long, like a moving mountain, bigger than any man-made battleship.

Its very existence defied the limits of what one might consider biologically possible.

The sheer grandeur of its appearance drew every eye; time seemed to freeze for a moment.

"That's…a Void Whale?" Eden whispered, voice trembling.

Only by seeing it firsthand could one grasp such indescribable awe.

Besides demons and dark gods, the Warp hosted countless other lifeforms—things like the Slavers, Soul-Eating Wasps, Beastmen…

Among them, Void Whales were especially famous.

They were colossal, each body forming its own ecosystem, effectively serving as a floating home for countless Warp creatures.

These whales swam through the deep tides of the Warp, whipping up tsunami-like waves.

Imperial records from the Great Crusade era noted many hapless colony ships running into these giants, often destroyed by a swish of a titanic tailfin or the swirling Warp tide they stirred. Survivors fled in panic.

Even macro cannons, plasma artillery, and torpedoes typically failed to harm them much.

Even now, ships occasionally reported disastrous encounters with Void Whales.

They could sometimes follow Warp storms into realspace, threatening Imperial territory.

"Waaaah!"

The little Ork, that snotling, squealed at the sight of the distant Void Whale and began crying hysterically.

Eden snapped out of his shock, face falling. "Oh no, my future warlord!"

Next moment—

The Void Whale opened its maw, revealing a gaping abyss a few kilometers across.

All around, fragments of debris, abandoned machines, and scattered rock were sucked in.

"Damn it!"

Eden watched as the snotling Ork, along with the chunk of wreckage it clung to, vanished into that giant mouth.

There was no way to save it.

Had Eden not hidden quickly, he'd likely have been swallowed, too.

And who knew what that thing did once it devoured a soul. He might have died on the spot.

Only when the Void Whale drifted off did Eden dare come out.

He saw the vacuum around him was now spotless, not a scrap of debris left.

So much for that plan…

The Warp is too damn dangerous.

He sighed mournfully for his would-be warlord, the snotling Ork. May Gork and Mork protect you, little buddy—hope there aren't any Void Whales in heaven…

"Well, I'll keep looking elsewhere."

Eden didn't dwell on it long and continued his search.

Yet weeks passed. He tried every method, even pouring hope energy from the Little Sun into a wide-range sweep—no luck.

Not a single Ork. Not even another snotling. Just plenty of bizarre Warp creatures.

...

Somewhere Else in the Warp, a Physical Domain

"Finally out!"

Eden emerged from a dark cavern, covered in filth and bloodstains, gasping for breath.

He'd come here searching for Orks, but unfortunately stumbled into Beastmen territory and had quite a brawl.

Thud—

Exhausted, Eden flopped to the ground at the cave's entrance like a salted fish."Buddha, God, Odin, please…give me an Ork already…"

It used to be so easy to run into them. Now at the crucial moment, can't find a single one.

Why does the universe like messing with its Savior?

...

Urth System, Kanda Star – Ore City

At the foot of a volcano on a flat plain stood Ore City.

Fifteen years earlier, the great Savior had dispatched a colonial team here.Their crucial mission: to develop the rich mineral deposits on this planet.

After years of effort, the colony had grown into a huge mining city, with annual mineral output rising.Those first colonists had settled in Ore City, becoming Kanda's earliest residents.

In the city, enormous smelters loomed like mountains, belching smoke into the sky.

Screech!

From afar, a pterosaur-like creature some meters long swooped in, trying to vault over the city walls.

Known as a Karo Beast, it was a vicious carnivore that frequently assaulted the city and any explorers' camps, causing many casualties.

Boom—

A small macro cannon mounted on the wall fired, striking the Karo Beast.It howled and crashed to the ground, dead.

At the city gate, a ten-meter-high convoy of heavy transports rumbled in from the mines, laden with ore.

Someone leapt off one of the transports and hooked the Karo Beast's corpse, dragging it inside.These meat-eaters tasted great—a rare delicacy.

At another gate, a supply convoy set out toward a forest dozens of kilometers away, carrying provisions to a scouting camp deep in the woods.

Scouting Camp

It lay in the southern forest, surrounded by giant trees hundreds of meters tall, making the tents look tiny in comparison.

"Damn it, where's that supply run?"

A bald scout crawled out of his tent, stuffing the last bit of starch into his mouth, washing it down with some collected dew.

His bearded comrade adjusted his gear with a booming voice: "They'll be here tonight. Complaining won't help—better get back to work.

If we find the subterranean deposits, we can finally leave this dump—and pocket a sweet load of credits!"

They soon finished prepping their gear and headed deeper into the woods.

Such scouting missions were dangerous.The forest was home to Ssglo Beasts—standing over six meters tall and up to eleven meters long, resembling T-Rexes, vicious and deadly.

Though many had been captured and domesticated, encountering one in the wild was still lethal.

Unfortunately, the scouts discovered signs of a Ssglo Beast.

Worse yet, only a half-gnawed skeleton remained, surrounded by bizarre footprints.

The scouts were alarmed. Ssglo Beasts were top predators on Kanda.

If something out here was chewing them up, it had to be an undiscovered species…a massive threat.

"Hey, come look at this!"

The bald scout pointed at some giant green mushrooms, each almost half his height.He brightened. "New species—hope they're edible!"

Finding a new food source could earn them a fair amount of credits.

"I'll check."

The bearded scout ran over and used a handheld scanner.The result made his face turn pale.

His voice shook: "Run, these are Ork spores!"

It was too late.

"Waaaagh!"

Bloodthirsty roars burst forth. A group of greenskin Orks draped in animal hides charged at them, bludgeoning the two scouts to death with crude clubs.

...

A Few Days Later

Holy Land of Urth, Spire Estate Office

In his office, Eden—using a clone body—looked sullen.

He'd returned from the Warp not long ago, intending to rest up before continuing his Ork hunt.

He refused to believe they couldn't be found.

"Savior, bad news!"

A Ministry of War official named Tako rushed in urgently, reporting, "Kanda Star has sent out an emergency plea. They're under xenos invasion!"

"What?"

Eden shot to his feet, frowning.

Damn it, we haven't even solved the demon crisis at the Blackstone Gate, and now we have a xenos invasion? It never ends!

Tako scanned the freshly received message from the relay station: "They're being attacked by Orks!"

"Oh?"

Eden's mood soared—only to swiftly rein himself in, hiding his excitement. "Casualties?"

"Two scouts were killed. Once the alert reached them, everyone pulled back into the city to mount a defense. They immediately requested aid from the Ministry of War."

Tako took a breath and continued: "They handled it perfectly, following our colonial handbook to the letter, so losses are minimal…"

That was indeed the right protocol.

According to the Ministry of War's guidelines, if a colony encountered Ork invasion, they must immediately bunker down and avoid contact as much as possible—then request reinforcements.

Relieved, Eden gave the order: "Ready for battle. We're sending aid to Kanda Star at once!"

In less than half a day—

Hundreds of Space Marines and an entire Army Group assembled, boarding the Dreamflight.

Since Kanda Star had a psyker beacon set up, they would enter the Warp aboard the Dreamflight and arrive swiftly.

...

Bridge of the Dreamflight

"At last, we find them when we're not even looking…" Eden was visibly excited.

He could hardly wait to land on Kanda, thrash those Orks, and subdue them.

Of course, Orks couldn't be forced to submit by simply being defeated or killed.

He had to conquer them in the Ork way, beat them until they genuinely feared him.

Like the legendary Imperial Commissar—Commissar Yarrick—who'd battered the Orks so thoroughly, they regarded him not only with fear but also as a kind of hero.

That was a monumental challenge, far more difficult than a simple extermination.

But Eden had a trump card.

He glanced toward the commander of the Storm Army, A'Rey, standing not far away.

Eden had specifically chosen this fierce warrior to serve as commanding officer, fully responsible for the Ork war.

He stroked his chin, sizing A'Rey up.

The man had undergone a second "blessing," his physique now rivaling a Space Marine's.

But more important was the man's appearance: a single crimson eye, bulging muscles, a savage metal claw…

Yes, this is it—he's basically an Ork-killing machine!

Prepare yourselves, greenskins of Kanda—your worst nightmare, courtesy of the Savior, is coming…

(End of Chapter)

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