Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-90.211.181.229-20130907201722/@comment-6078851-20131204140554

if there was no imperium the interex would have grown, and while their might would never match the imperium's it would still attract orks looking for a good scrap. and yes orks don't unite, and yes there are other species who attract their attention, but neither of these actually matter because they are everywhere, and without the imperium they would be everywhere in far greater numbers! and while that increases the ork vs ork percentage it also exponentially increases the danger they pose to everyone else. the fact that orks don't (or very rarely) unite doesn't change the fact of their threat - numbers and territory. their numbers are only matched, or exceeded, by tyranids and the scale of their territory isn't matched by anyone. so when all the space around the interex empire is riddled with orks those orks aren't going to fight themselves when there's a potentially good scrap right next door. even if it stayed a small empire their technological and military prowess would draw nearby orks like moths to a flame.