"A crown that can control Tyranids!"
"That's right, my lord. After we rescued an Ork planet, a Big Mek there told me that he'd created a special crown.
It works wonders on the Tyranids—put it on, and you'll be able to control the Tyranids with your own power," Gromm explained.
Upon learning about this crown, he didn't hesitate to come report to his master. A crown capable of controlling the Tyranids must be incredibly valuable!
Rhodes nodded at his words. During the Octarius War, there was indeed such a miraculous Ork crown—and it was also made by a top-tier Big Mek of the Orks, this bugged-out race.
The Ork tribes used this miraculous crown to repel the Tyranids multiple times, even provoking human factions to fight over it.
Inquisitor Kryptman led his Deathwatch forces to snatch this special crown, intending to use it to counter the Tyranids.
This sparked a series of events, eventually drawing in the forces of Chaos and the Eldar as well.
In the Octarius sector, besides the Ork Empire, there was also a hidden Eldar world.
After Inquisitor Kryptman obtained the crown, he conducted all kinds of research but found no real effect.
This crown only works when worn by Orks—humans simply cannot comprehend Ork tech. Humans couldn't figure out how this special crown worked at all. This weapon, vital for Orks to fight Tyranids, was utterly useless in human hands.
Still, the human Inquisitor clung to it like a final lifeline, conducting mad experiments—he ended up losing all the Battle Sisters and Deathwatch Marines he brought.
In the end, the war devolved into a four-way brawl: Orks, Tyranids, humans, and Eldar.
The Eldar wanted to escape the planet, the humans wanted to bring the crown back behind the unbreakable lines of the Imperium for study, the Orks wanted it back, and the Tyranids just wanted to destroy it.
By the end, the human forces were almost entirely wiped out, with only a few survivors escaping, and the miraculous crown vanished without a trace.
But that major event was supposed to happen after the first phase of the Indomitus Crusade, more than a decade later. Yet here, at this point in time—the crown has already been made? Is this why the Orks were able to fight the Tyranids for decades in Octarius?
Maybe, given more time, these Orks, with all their buffs, might really overturn the Tyranids.
"Tell me about this crown's function, and how you got it," Rhodes asked.
"After we took the planet, the surviving Orks there submitted to my forces, and as you instructed, I let them drink my blood.
A Big Mek among them presented this crown to me as his creation, showing me how it works.
Only Orks can use it—it requires strong psychic energy to wield, can disrupt the Tyranid synapse network within an area, and forcibly control some of them, but not for long.
And the crown is miraculous—no matter where it is, we Orks can sense it. It feels like it was made just to fight the Tyranids, and only we Orks can use it," Gromm explained in detail to Rhodes.
"I see. Do you have the crown now?" Rhodes asked.
"Of course, great master. As soon as I got it, I brought it to you." Gromm produced a pure green crown engraved with strange patterns for Rhodes.
Ork technology is truly bizarre—what they make is completely unusable by other races. In anyone else's hands, it's just scrap metal; this crown is no exception.
In Ork hands, it's amazing—it can control Tyranids, disrupt their synapse signals, and cause chaos; but for humans or Eldar, it's just a worthless crown.
"Master, try it on!" Gromm offered the green crown to Rhodes like a treasure.
"No need. Only you Orks can use it, and I doubt it would do anything for me.
Besides, I don't like wearing a green crown," Rhodes replied, rejecting the dark green crown.
If you gave me a golden crown, maybe! But such a big green crown? You want me to wear that? What's that supposed to mean, are you kidding me?
"Is the color wrong? We Orks love green, but if you want, I can dye it gold or purple, however you like.
Other races can't use it, but you're different—maybe you can use it to control those Tyranids," Gromm offered.
"If I'm not mistaken, this crown can't completely control the Tyranids—just temporary control. And it can't control synapse creatures, only disrupt their signals, right?" Rhodes asked.
To be honest, with Rhodes's current psychic power, he could easily control lower-level Tyranid organisms, but for Hive Tyrants, Zoanthropes, or Norn Queens, it's not possible!
This crown is only for temporary control, not permanent. It has strategic value, but not that much for Rhodes.
"That's right, master! But the Big Mek who gave it to me said, as long as the Ork Warboss's will is strong enough, with this crown,
it can disrupt the synapse network of an entire planet's Tyranids at max. Used well, it could wipe out all Tyranids on a planet very quickly," Gromm said.
"Frankly, the Big Mek is more valuable than the crown itself. You didn't hurt him, right?" Rhodes asked.
Talent should always be recruited. Orks are different from Tyranids—this Big Mek who invented a crown to disrupt Tyranid synapses is a technical genius.
Rhodes could easily give him a spot in the Battlenizer and turn him into a super-Ork.
"No, master. I also thought he was talented, so I kept him in my army," Gromm replied.
"Good! Since this crown can control Tyranids, make sure every Ork Warboss under your command gets one—have him mass-produce them," Rhodes ordered.
Such a good thing ought to be made in quantity. Humans can't use it, but if Orks can, that's enough. With these, Rhodes can destroy Tyranid hive ships in space, and his Ork armies on the ground can block synapse signals, causing Tyranid swarms to lose control for faster extermination.
"Master, I've already asked him. He said he made this crown by accident—mass production is basically impossible. If he could, he'd have already made tons for all the Ork Warbosses," Gromm reported.
If this could be mass-produced, it would change the whole war!
"Bring that Big Mek to see me. Soon, he'll be your colleague," Rhodes said.
He already had a Necron researcher—adding an Ork technical expert was no problem.
Ork engineers, especially Big Meks, are hopeless if you ask them for normal weapons, but tell them to invent something bizarre, and they're better than anyone—sometimes even miraculous.
Because when Orks research tech, they never talk science—only mysticism and the absurd.
"Understood, master! I'll bring him now!" Gromm nodded to Rhodes, used his teleport skill, and vanished from Rhodes's ship.
"What a truly miraculous race, master. Even in my old universe, if left to develop, they'd be a headache," Tartarus commented, walking up to Rhodes.
Their greatest strength is constant evolution.
Ork tribes can easily master this. In the future, even the Land of Light or other top civilizations will find them troublesome.
A race that treats fighting as entertainment is the most annoying—and their reproduction rate is off the charts.
"Master, if you're going to recruit an Ork scientist, I suggest you give him his own planet—I don't want to live with him," said Zett, who knew Orks well.
Ork Big Meks often cause huge explosions in their research, blowing off their own limbs is just daily routine.