House Yato vs Goffs

"We'll be doing Commissar Yarrick and Lord Helbrecht a favor if we hunt Ghazghkull Thraka down," Tanaka told his Knights excitedly as he led them on a Crusade. That only earned him a few disbelieving stares from his fellow Bushi, but thankfully he couldn't see their incredulous expressions when ensconced within his Throne Mechanicum. His steed, the Questoris Knight Errant pattern Kazan, slowly stalked over the ruins as it hunted the barren wasteland for any sign of Orks.

"Assuming we are able to hunt him down," Suzuki commented dryly as he guided his Armiger Warglaive, Hebi, over difficult terrain.

"We shall have none of such talk!" Oogami barked, the venerable ancient piloting the much older machine, Ookami. The battered Questoris Knight Preceptor had waged thousands of battles in the name of the Emperor, and only the sagely Oogami could temper its bellicose machine spirit. "We will prevail!"

Suzukin snorted. "Like how Lord Ragnar Blackmane prevailed?"

Tanaka was about to retort, but he was interrupted by a howl from over the horizon.

"WAAAGH!"

A stream of green raced toward them, Beastsnagga Boyz accompanied by clunking walkers and greekskins riding squighogs. A beastboss on a squigosaur led them, waving his choppa wildly. Killa Klans and a single Deff Dread charged forward, their guns firing erratically. In the center of the horde, Ghazghkull Thraka growled, firing off an onslaught from his Mork's Roar to little effect, for the rounds didn't do much to Kazan.

"Kill them all," Tanaka commanded, though he didn't have to. Chiba and Sato were already getting into formation alongside Suzuki, their Armiger Warglaives loping forward to meet their charge. Kanda took up position behind cover, his Armiger Knight Moirax readying its twin lightning locks to fire into a squad of Boyz. Accompanying him was wise Watanabe, whose Questoris Knight Paladin, Tsurugi, fired its rapid-fire battle cannon into the Squighog Boyz and pulped them instantly. Oogami blasted a couple of Killa Klans apart, while the Armiger Warglaives wiped out a squad of Flash Gitz with their thermal spears, as well as damaging the Deff Dread with their meltaguns. Tanaka focused on Thraka, vaporizing the big guy with a blast from his thermal cannon.

Or so he thought, but the greenskin survived, bellowing in rage as his flesh burned and blackened from the sheer heat.

"That can't be good," Tanaka murmured.

Chiba and Suzuki crashed into the Deff Dread, but it twirled about and hacked down Chiba's Armiger Warglaive with its saw-like contraption. Furious, Suzuki scythed it down to avenge his fellow Bushi, totaling the clumsy-looking but deadly walker. Unfortunately for him and Tanaka, the Deff Dread exploded, showering both Hebi and Kazan with destructive shrapnel.

Meanwhile, Watanabe slashed the Beastboss on Squigosaur, only for him to survive the opening blow and retaliate with a devastating strike that left the venerable Tsurugi reeling.

"Damn, we're getting slaughtered here," Tanaka murmured, eying Thraka, who was steadily drawing closer to them.

"Got them!" Kanda cheered as his lightning locks ripped through a horde of Beastsnagga Boyz, wiping out the whole squad. "Don't worry, I've got your back!"

"Yay," Tanaka murmured as he fired overwatch at the charging Ghazgkhull Thraka, taking off another chunk from the great warboss. The leader of the Goffs stumbled, coughing as he failed to charge across the crater he was running in, partly because of the damage he had sustained from repeated blasts from the thermal cannon.

However, a squadron of deffkoptas dropped in from the skies, rockets spiraling and hammering into Sato's Armiger Warglaive. Kaen staggered, smoke billowing from its slender frame as it struggled to right itself. Sato managed to evade the other projectiles from the impossibly flying machines, striking out at one of them and tearing its wing off. The other two continued to hover above him, chopping at his steed with their rotors. Fortunately, Suzuki was on hand to save him, striking from the flank and scything down the last couple of machines.

On the other hand, his rear was exposed to a squad of Stormboyz who rocketed from one of the ruined habblocks to slash at him, but Tanaka intercepted them, grabbing one of them with Kazan's Thunderstrike Gauntlet and crushing him. Hurling the corpse at another, he continued to sweep them away, the lethal energies around the mechanical fist burning the poor Stormboyz to a crisp.

Spinning around, he then sent another incandescent beam lancing into the still charging Thraka, finally ending the warboss's terror for good. No doubt a Painboy would find his corpse and bring him back to life later, but for now his reign of atrocities over Imperium held space was finally ended. Tanaka and his Lance had prevailed!

The rest of the battle was little more than moping up. Watanabe finally hacked down the Beastboss on Squigosaur, and his rapid-fire battle cannon, combined with Oogami's las-impulsor, wrecked a Trukk that was bundling toward them. Tsurugi proceeded to hack and saw the surviving Nobs to death while Kanda annihilated the Burnaboyz that spilled from the wreck with an accurate volley of exotic energies from his lightning locks. Ookami cut down the last Killa Klan, and proceeded to perform a Linebreaker action toward the remaining Beastsnagga Boyz.

The Weirdboy still had other plans in mind, teleporting a fresh horde of Beastsnagga Boyz behind Oogami, and both squads, along with the Squigbuggy, assaulted Ookami. Tanaka was about to move in to help, only to find Kazan assailed by...Makari.

"...what the?!"

To his surprise, Makari managed to evade the sweeps from his Thunderstrike Gauntlet with contemptuous ease, jumping about and laughing as he stabbed with his dagger. Annoyed, he enacted an exacting charge and finally dealt the slippery Grot a mortal wound that squished him. Sato also managed to vaporize the Weirdboy with his meltagun, taking him out. On the other side, Ookami was listing slightly as he fought against the horde of Beastsnagga Boyz and Squigbuggy, but while the Boyz were able to hack and run about, the Squigbuggy wasn't so fortunate. It was cleaved neatly in half by the roaring Reaper chainsword.

Eventually, Watanabe was able to help Oogami by charging Tsurugi into the fray and sweeping the bigger squad of Boyz out. Though Ookami suffered more damage from the surviving Beastsnagga Boyz, he was able to wipe them out.

"See?" Tanaka panted as he moved to the center of the battlefield. If only he had a standard to plant, just like the Imperial Guard or Adeptus Astartes. "We won!"

"Yeah...I don't believe it..." Suzuki shook his head. "How...?"

"I guess Thraka had a bad day," Tanaka remarked with a shrug. "But who cares? We won!"

And thus, the Imperium lived to see another day. For now, anyway.