Chapter 133: Doorway

The Saint of Insects hunched over four enormous, slender legs, perched atop the mechanical spire that served as the industrial zone.

The entire spire, built of machinery and steel, was now overrun with capillary towers piercing the sky; beneath these towers, at the very heart of TC City, bubbled a vast biological pool, where the corpses of once-brave Astra Militarum soldiers and hive scum were slowly digested into pure biomass.

Storm Raven gunships belonging to the Blood Angels hung suspended in the air, evading constant assaults from Tyranid aerial units.

The Immortals guarding Traveler Anarquel used their unique Necron Gauss blasters alongside the Blood Angels' gunships to carve a path forward.

Even Dante could not help but admire the cold efficiency of these Necron warriors.

Soulless, they were in some ways akin to Tyranids—both were war machines fused with their weapons, one forged of iron, the other of flesh.

But when the Tyranid "Saint of Insects" crawled from the biomass pool, its mountainous body dripping thick, viscous biomass like a waterfall, even the cold, unfeeling Necron Immortals hesitated for a moment.

Dante thought he saw surprise etched onto their metallic faces.

This puzzled Dante—Immortals were relatively low-tier Necron units; why would they display emotion?

Only the higher-tier Necron had preserved relatively intact consciousness and memory through the long centuries, avoiding the fate of mechanical corpses.

Traveler Anarquel seemed unable to resist glancing at his own troops; he, too, appeared startled by such overt emotional disturbance among his subordinates.

But neither Dante nor Traveler Anarquel had the luxury to ponder the Immortals' emotions now.

"Saint of Insects," Traveler Anarquel said, gazing at the monstrous beast before him, its form like a jagged hill.

Even he could not ignore this most terrifying and colossal unit among the Hive Fleet.

It was a Bio-Titan spawned by the Hive Mind, a god of war among the Tyranids, a living embodiment of conflict.

It was a Saint-class Tyranid Bio-Titan.

Such units hatched in varying sizes and armaments according to the Hive Fleet's needs, their combat power adapting accordingly.

The beast standing before Traveler Anarquel stood at least thirty meters tall.

Among all Tyranid Bio-Titans Anarquel had ever seen, it ranked among the largest.

Anarquel was not surprised the Saint of Insects had appeared on the battlefield—he was surprised it had appeared so early.

This was absurd. The battle had not yet reached a point requiring the Saint's intervention; was the Hive Fleet truly this wasteful?

Anarquel hesitated—should he now unleash that dangerous power, let fire consume the Saint?

The Saint of Insects turned its mountainous body, its claws sweeping across the industrial district blanketed in chitinous seas.

Stone and steel erupted in all directions; a wave of gray-brown dust surged across the ground.

The Saint glanced up at the Storm Raven gunships.

Commander Dante immediately ordered all firepower unleashed upon the behemoth.

Turrets operated by servitors and twin-linked heavy bolters fired at the mountain-like creature, like a crow attempting to shatter a storm-tossed peak.

Yet the bullets and shells it unleashed had no effect whatsoever on the Saint.

The shells struck as if hitting an invisible, thick wall—only faint blue ripples disturbed the air.

"Hah. Even vermin now dabble in the sorcery of the High Heavens?" Traveler Anarquel sneered.

Commander Dante was not so relaxed.

This beast was shielded by a thick psychic barrier. He stood ready, eyes locked on the monster's movements.

The beast raised its two massive bio-cannons; even the pulsating, sphincter-like flesh of its muzzles were wider than Dante's Storm Raven.

"Prepare for jump descent," Dante told the Blood Angels beside him.

They had anticipated aerial resistance and were all equipped with jump packs.

Though lacking the Primarch's wings, the Blood Angels excelled in aerial combat—jump packs allowed them to drop directly into the mechanical spire.

The Saint twisted its massive body, reorienting its bio-cannons—then ignored Dante and his Storm Raven entirely.

"Hm?" Dante grunted in confusion.

The expected attack never came. Instead, the Saint targeted elsewhere.

Dante turned his head in bewilderment—only to see the Saint, perched atop the mechanical spire, aiming toward the distant Viceroy's Palace.

"How…?" Dante muttered: "Kaleen isn't… it can't be targeting Kaleen."

"Could it be…" Dante's gaze drifted to Leina, seated in the rear of the Storm Raven.

Leina now oversaw Astra Militarum affairs in place of General Drostron, while also commanding local resistance forces in Asford.

She had led the Astra Militarum and hive gang members to guide the Blood Angels.

Dante suspected this situation stemmed from the man she knew—the man named Zhou Yun.

"It's definitely Zhou Yun's doing," Leina said, her eyelid twitching slightly, without hesitation.

The moment she spoke, the Saint's bio-cannons roared, spewing searing beams of fire.

The beams tore across the sky, striking the spire housing the Viceroy's Palace.

Yet to Dante's surprise, the blasts did not hit the palace directly—they struck the central lower section of the spire.

The entire Viceroy's Spire began to tremble; the Saint fired again, again targeting the mid-lower portion.

As if something atop the spire terrified it—so much so that it dared not strike the palace directly.

"Zhou Yun has a strange red cloak—I don't know how it works, but it seems to reflect all ranged attacks." "Hah?" Traveler Anarquel burst out laughing: "You mean a piece of red cloth can deflect the Saint's bio-cannons?"

"Human, did you lose your mind from dabbling in sorcery and being swept away by the High Heavens' tide?"

Veins bulged on Leina's forehead.

"Hah. If your species were still in your so-called Golden Age, I might believe you. But—"

Before Leina could retort, Traveler Anarquel fell silent.

He suddenly recalled a trace of a time-traveler he had discovered in the Underhive.

"There is some merit to your claim. Such a possibility does exist."

Traveler Anarquel turned seriously to Leina.

"My judgment was flawed. I apologize."

Leina's lips twitched involuntarily.

Though Traveler Anarquel's voice carried the Necron's inherent coldness, Leina detected sincerity within it.

She had been preparing to imagine how Zhou Yun would retort with his usual foul mouth.

Instead, Traveler Anarquel, for reasons unknown, had directly apologized to her.

!. ead

Beside her, Dante shuddered slightly, as if amused by the Necron overlord.

This Necron overlord was proud, arrogant, conceited, and had a foul tongue.

Yet unlike other Necron lords, he was not capricious—he displayed a compulsive sense of fairness.

He even willingly admitted his mistakes, possessing a peculiar moral code.

According to Dante's knowledge, this Necron overlord loved aiding other Necron tomb worlds.

But such aid was never free—he extracted one-tenth of the soldiers from the aided dynasty, regardless of their willingness.

Yet what truly intrigued Dante was: what had caused Anarquel's perspective to shift so suddenly?

Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed from afar—the spire bearing the Viceroy's Palace let out a mournful cry.

As the Saint's long-range bombardment continued, the entire spire shook uncontrollably, then collapsed inward under its own weight.

The Storm Raven carrying Captain Kaleen and his Terminators rose into the sky, ascending into the clouds.

Zhou Yun stood atop the swaying, crumbling Viceroy's Palace, watching them depart.

Captain Kaleen had invited Zhou Yun to board the Storm Raven and evacuate.

But Zhou Yun knew—the Saint had targeted the palace because of him.

If he boarded the Storm Raven, he could not use his reflective cloak inside the cabin; the Saint would concentrate fire and deploy numerous flyers to intercept it.

Then escape would become a nightmare.

Zhou Yun steadied himself, reaching into his fourth-dimensional pocket.

【Item Name: Doorway】

【Origin: 22nd Century Earth—Future Department Store】

【Rating: The original and most famous secret item. Do not use while girls are bathing.】

【Manufacture Date: 231. 3】

【Function: When the user grips the handle and thinks of a destination, the other side of the door connects the two locations. Open it, and you may cross to your target.】

【Value: 11, 50, 00 credits】

The Saint of Insects had appeared; the Necrons had entered the battle.

This meant the Underworld System was nearing its end. It was time to redeem the Doorway.

Zhou Yun watched his savings vanish in an instant, leaving only a few coins—his cheeks twitched slightly.

Though he knew his next plan would let him earn back ten or even a hundred times this sum, he still felt the sting.

Every credit here had been painstakingly scraped from the Tyranids.

If he didn't mind, the Tyranids probably would.

Zhou Yun reached into his fourth-dimensional pocket. The red-pink wooden door, soft as silk, was pulled out.

The most famous, most frequently used item—Doraemon's Doorway.

Zhou Yun couldn't help but feel excited, slowly extending his hand toward the Doorway's handle, gently turning it.

The Doorway opened slowly—but the scene beyond stunned Zhou Yun.

It was a vast, linen-colored land made of unknown material, stretching endlessly into the distance, yet not vanishing at the horizon—instead curving upward, as if extending into the sky.

Zhou Yun leaned his head out of the Doorway, gazing upward curiously—yet saw no sky, no clouds, no sun, only a hazy ambient glow.

Suddenly, Zhou Yun heard a distant whistling sound—perhaps the roar of a motorcycle cutting through the air.

(End of chapter)