Chapter 904 - 903

The emissary conveyed the will of Szarekh, the Silent King.

That ancient ruler wished to end the internal conflict as quickly as possible and deliver a fatal blow to the presumptuous human fleet.

Then those vermin of flesh would finally stop buzzing before the noble Necrons.

Satem fell silent.

The emissary’s offer tempted him. His resolve began to waver.

The Phaeron held no particular opinion of humanity. Whether that flesh-born species lived or died meant nothing to him, and he certainly did not consider them a threat.

As far as he was concerned, humanity was merely an excuse the Silent King was using to recruit Phaerons like him.

What Satem truly cared about was the attempt to reverse biotransference.

Should the entire Necron species abandon its powerful bodies of living metal and return to weak, organic flesh?

Satem had joined the Stormlord’s rebellion because he wanted to stop the Blackstone Veil and prevent the reversal of biotransference.

Given the current situation, however, he could no longer hold out.

Perhaps accepting the Silent King’s offer really was his best option.

After all, if Satem lost his Tomb Fleet, possessing an immortal body of living metal would accomplish nothing.

“You should understand the present situation,” the emissary said, noticing the Phaeron’s hesitation. His tone allowed no argument. “The Stormlord no longer has any hope of victory.

“Furthermore, he is no longer capable of providing you with meaningful assistance, while you are already surrounded by our forces.

“The will of the great Silent King cannot be resisted. His armies are annihilating your fleet piece by piece.

“You are running out of time…”

The reinforcement routes into this star system had long since been severed. The Stormlord’s other fleet groups had no opportunity to break through.

Moreover, those fleets were themselves under relentless assault. They could barely defend their own positions, much less reinforce another theater.

The Stormlord’s defeat seemed inevitable.

“Look!”

The emissary’s voice rose as he pointed toward the space battle beyond the vaulted viewing chamber.

“Your Tomb Fleet is falling. It suffers devastating losses with every passing moment. You have very little time left…”

The next moment, both Satem and the emissary froze.

The emissary nearly lost his composure entirely.

“What?”

His thoughts ground to a halt as he stared at the unbelievable scene before him.

The fleet currently being destroyed appeared to be theirs.

Someone had struck the rear of the great Silent King’s fleet!

A human fleet of unknown origin had launched a surprise attack on the Silent King’s forces.

Worse, the human assault was extraordinarily vicious. It had precisely targeted the fleet’s weakest points.

The densely packed human warships intercepted almost every salvo aimed at Satem’s forces while encircling and attacking the Necron ships to the rear.

Their firepower was ferocious!

An awkward silence settled over the throne chamber.

The emissary had just finished boasting about the overwhelming strength of the Silent King’s fleet and making grand promises, only for reality to slap him across the face.

Hum.

A new communication arrived.

Once the channel opened, a blue hologram of Voladi appeared.

“Honored Phaeron Satem, I am Admiral Voladi of the human fleet. Please accept my respects.”

Upon seeing the xenos Phaeron, Voladi respectfully performed a Necron gesture of greeting reserved for noble beings.

To Satem and the emissary, this human commander appeared surprisingly courteous. He clearly understood his position in relation to his betters.

“Human, what do you want?”

Seated upon his throne, Satem looked down at Voladi with an appraising gaze.

He wanted to know exactly what was happening.

“As you can see, the human fleet is assisting your Tomb Fleet in its battle against the evil armies of the Silent King!”

Voladi spoke with righteous fury, as though humanity had suffered the greatest injustice imaginable.

“The Blackstone Veil created by the Silent King is an abomination. It is not an instrument of conquest, but a weapon intended to exterminate every species in the galaxy.

“Humanity had no choice but to declare war against him and resist the expansion of the Blackstone Veil, or face extinction.

“We hope to help His Majesty the Storm King defeat the evil Silent King and prevent this great extermination!”

The human admiral had already begun addressing the Stormlord as His Majesty the Storm King, as though Imotekh were the universally recognized sovereign of the Infinite Empire.

Whether or not the Stormlord agreed, humanity had unilaterally declared itself his ally and announced that it would help him defeat the Silent King and claim the throne.

“Ha! That does sound like something you creatures of flesh would do.”

Satem understood now.

Humanity was afraid.

The humans knew they could never defeat the noble Necrons alone, so they hoped to help the Stormlord overthrow the Silent King and thereby ensure their species’ survival.

Logically speaking, it might be their only chance.

“You vermin of flesh think beings as lowly as you can threaten the Silent King’s rule?” the emissary snarled.

“Humanity cannot do it alone, but His Majesty the Storm King can,” Voladi replied, following the instructions in his diplomatic handbook as he enthusiastically fanned the flames.

“The Silent King’s actions are perverse and destructive, unworthy of a true conqueror. Humanity will not be the only species to support His Majesty the Storm King. Many more will rally to him so that his rival’s evil reign can finally be ended!”

The Reclamation Crusade fleet, or rather the Imperium itself, now followed a simple strategy: support whichever side was weaker.

Humanity was not alone. Aeldari, Drukhari, and T’au auxiliary forces had also joined the campaign, creating the impression that the Stormlord enjoyed overwhelming support throughout the galaxy.

Of course, if the Stormlord truly began gaining the upper hand, some of those fleets would immediately switch sides and start supporting the Silent King.

As Eden had said before, the war between Stormy and Silent could not be allowed to end.

Keeping the two xenos rulers trapped in this conflict was the best possible outcome for the Imperium.

That did not mean the Imperium intended to fight the Silent King to the death on the Stormlord’s behalf.

Its forces would preserve as much of their own strength as possible while supporting the weaker side and continually inflaming the conflict.

“Human, I accept your request for an alliance,” Phaeron Satem said.

Whatever humanity’s true intentions might be, its arrival benefited him. The human fleet could help reverse his deteriorating position.

Who would refuse a free allied fleet?

Satem’s confidence returned. He turned toward the Silent King’s emissary.

“My apologies, but I fear I cannot obey the Silent King’s will for the time being. Betrayal is not a quality befitting a noble.”

“Do you truly believe the Stormlord can reverse his defeat with the help of these lowly vermin?” the emissary asked.

He knew the negotiations had failed. With humanity’s intervention, the battle for this system would now move toward an unpredictable conclusion.

His image gradually faded.

“Perhaps, in the near future, you will regret the choice you made today!”

Satem scoffed as he watched the emissary disappear.

This was precisely why the other Necron was merely an emissary rather than a Phaeron. He could not perceive the true shape of the situation.

Satem understood that if he won the battle for this front and absorbed the defeated enemy ships into his command protocol network, he would retain control of a massive Tomb Fleet.

His military strength might even grow considerably.

That would make him valuable enough to court. Even if the Silent King ultimately won the civil war, Satem would still have a place within the Infinite Empire.

The lower classes of Necron society had lost their independent consciousness and intelligence, but its higher-ranking members remained flexible and highly intelligent.

Crackle!

Satem slammed his staff down.

Arcs of electricity erupted from the throne and raced outward through the surrounding cables.

Pulses of information leaped through the network in milliseconds, reaching one Tomb Ship after another and entering the cortical fields of their commanders.

It was the order to counterattack.

“All fleet groups, coordinate with the xenos Tomb Fleet and secure victory in this theater!”

Aboard his Gloriana-class command flagship, Voladi swallowed a dose of thought-enhancing medication and issued one order after another over the tactical display.

He ordered his fleets to maintain their distance and intercept enemy fire from conservative formations.

Most of the attacks from the Silent King’s Tomb Fleet were either intercepted or evaded, reducing human casualties to nearly negligible levels.

This was what made Voladi one of humanity’s greatest commanders.

He executed High Command’s strategy perfectly. His fleet supported the Stormlord’s forces while preserving as much of humanity’s combat strength as possible.

The only disadvantage was that such tactics inflicted very little damage on the enemy Tomb Fleet. They simply exhausted its firepower.

But that was enough.

The human fleet was serving in a supporting role. Its purpose was to create opportunities for the Stormlord’s forces to attack.

Across the battlefield, the Silent King’s Tomb Fleet came under pressure from both sides and was steadily forced back.

Phaeron Satem seized the opportunity and detonated a nearby star, dragging the enemy’s central command fleet into the resulting gravitational abyss.

That completely severed the enemy’s chain of command.

The remaining ships were surrounded one by one and either destroyed or brought under control.

By the time the last warship ceased firing, not a single intact planet remained within the system.

To the Necrons, this was normal.

Such destruction was unavoidable in a large-scale war.

The War in Heaven had been far worse. Nearly half the galaxy had been shattered, and some of the vast, empty regions along the galactic fringe had been created during that ancient conflict.

In other words, sixty million years ago, the galaxy had contained far more habitable regions than it did today.

Countless species had vanished during that war.

“We must contain this war within the Silent Zone…”

As Voladi stared at the wreckage scattered across the system and the corpses of xenos lifeforms floating among it, the thought suddenly rose within him.

He now understood more deeply why the Savior had organized the Reclamation Crusade and drawn a defensive perimeter.

If humanity refused to fight now, then the Necrons would eventually leave the Silent Zone and bring the war into the Imperium’s heartlands.

When that happened, humanity would pay an unimaginable price.

“Human, your support arrived at an excellent time,” Satem said, clearly pleased. “Although your fleet’s offensive power is disappointingly weak.”

He could tell that the human fleet feared entering direct combat with Necron vessels and lacked the power to inflict significant damage upon a Tomb Fleet.

Of course, it was also possible that the humans were preserving their strength by minimizing casualties.

Their warships were not living-metal vessels like Necron Tomb Ships. They could not rely upon repair protocols to restore themselves.

Nor could organic humans return to life once they were killed.

The Phaeron did not care.

The thoughts of weaker species meant nothing to him, so long as they remained useful.

To a high-ranking Necron, human warships were little more than crude boats.

They might pose a limited threat, but they were nowhere near dangerous enough to inspire fear.

Voladi did not argue. He silently accepted the Phaeron’s arrogance.

In truth, he had employed less than thirty percent of his command ability. Many of the weapons specifically designed to destroy Tomb Ships had not been used.

They had not even been installed aboard the vessels participating in this battle.

Voladi had also concealed the majority of his forces. They had not truly entered the fighting.

For now, the human fleet was presenting itself as an auxiliary force. It had to preserve its strength while avoiding any display that might make it appear threatening.

They needed to maintain this harmless image for as long as possible.

“Phaeron Satem, if you undertake further military campaigns, humanity will remain ready to support you.”

Voladi and the Phaeron established a long-term alliance under which the human fleet would assist Satem’s dynasty in future battles.

Humanity’s only condition was that its fleet retain independent command authority and never be used as expendable cannon fodder.

Satem accepted.

He urgently needed to win more battles and seize additional living-metal military assets. Only then could he rise further within the hierarchy of the Infinite Empire.

Not all Phaerons were equal.

Even rulers such as the Silent King and the Stormlord were merely Phaerons among many.

The difference was that they commanded far greater military forces and had won more authority through conquest.

Voladi and Satem formalized their alliance and established a system for coordinating their military operations.

The two vast fleets then advanced deeper into the Hypnoth War Zone.

They had already selected their next target.

The Void Fortress.

Imperial Command.

“Our strategic objectives are being achieved. The course of the war has already been reversed.”

Guilliman stared at the star chart projected over the tactical hololith, visibly energized.

He had spent the past several days here, watching the war between the Silent King and the Stormlord and adjusting Imperial deployments whenever necessary.

Guilliman was not even wearing the Armor of Fate. Instead, he had dressed in a more practical command uniform.

In a war of this scale, his personal strength had little influence.

What the Reclamation Crusade needed was his mind.

Imperial officials were also afraid that the Lord of Ultramar and temporary supreme commander might once again lose himself in the heat of the moment and charge personally onto the battlefield.

The Savior and Emperor of the Imperium had issued explicit orders forbidding the temporary supreme commander from leaving headquarters.

He was especially forbidden from boarding enemy ships and fighting his way through them.

“G-Man, I don’t have much time to come rescue you these days. Besides, boarding assaults are dangerous. What if you get lost again?”

Those had been Eden’s exact words when warning Guilliman.

It would be extremely embarrassing if the temporary supreme commander were captured by the xenos during a critical moment in the war.

No one was trying to humiliate the Primarch of Ultramar.

Guilliman simply had far too many previous offenses for anyone to ignore the risk.

Fortunately, Guilliman seemed to have accepted the situation and raised few objections.

The Khan, the Lion, Dorn, and his other Primarch brothers could fight on the front lines.

Guilliman had decided to remain at headquarters throughout this war, directing the campaign and securing victory through strategy.

Hum.

A notification suddenly sounded from Guilliman’s personal communicator, and a hologram appeared.

“Ha! Roboute, I beheaded a xenos Overlord who tried to ambush our fleet today. The bastard nearly got away.

“It’s a shame we’re not allowed to attack Phaerons yet. I’d like to see how strong they really are.”

The Khan appeared holding the severed head of a Necron Overlord as he reported his latest achievement.

Under normal circumstances, there was no need to contact Guilliman directly, but the Khan enjoyed doing so.

It was simply more satisfying.

He was like an angler who had landed a giant fish and immediately wanted to parade it through every street in the city.

The severed head was his trophy.

“Hahahaha! I have to go. I’m about to launch another boarding assault. After that, I’ll see how Dorn and the others are doing.”

The Khan spoke hurriedly, then terminated the connection.

In the final image, he was already in space, surrounded by shipborne weapons fire streaking in every direction.

He had launched himself through a breach in the warship’s hull.

It was clearly an exceptionally thrilling boarding action.

Guilliman stared at the Khan’s final image as though he had turned to stone.

A sudden sense of loneliness settled over him, and he could not calm himself for a long time.

Even Vulkan, whose preferred solution to every problem was swinging an enormous hammer, had gone out to fight.

Guilliman alone remained trapped at headquarters.

Regardless, everything was developing in the direction the Imperium desired.

The Stormlord had halted his decline and was even beginning to push the front lines back, inflicting significant losses upon the Silent King.

…

The Xindu System.

Several blackstone nexuses, each the size of a star, hung across the pitch-black void.

Countless blackstone obelisks conducted strange electrical arcs that spread into the endless distance.

A dark and oppressive veil seemed to cover the entire world.

Crackle!

A violent pulse suddenly erupted, and the surging electrical arcs caused the surrounding blackstone obelisks to tremble.

Every Necron noble in the system shuddered in fear.

The great Szarekh, the Silent King, was furious!

(End of Chapter)

“Zaelum”]