Chapter 618: Guilliman Is Chewing Soybeans JPG

The garrison forces in the Sindu Star System could be divided into three parts.

The world engine directly subordinate to Zelas, the fleet under the Silent King's command, and the fleet brought by Zandrik, directly loyal to him—these three components combined.

As overall commander of the Sindu Star System's defense fleet, Zandrik theoretically could command both the Silent King's fleet and his own, and with Zelas's approval, could also deploy the world engine.

Such a massive fleet guarding a star system was indeed sufficient to repel any form of enemy assault.

The Silent King's fleet was stationed at the outermost edge of the system, encircling the outer rim of the asteroid belt, serving as an impenetrable wall to directly block enemy advances.

Zandrik's forces were positioned behind the asteroid belt.

The asteroids in the Sindu Star System were primarily composed of extremely hard metals, mixed with traces of black stone left over from sixty million years ago, their surfaces coated with a layer of ice formed by the frigid vacuum of space—so even the lightning arc arrays of the Necrons struggled to destroy them in a single strike; they had to slow down and navigate around these asteroids.

This was precisely why the Silent King chose the Sindu Star System as the core of the Soul-Draining Dead Zone—this asteroid belt was a natural defensive barrier.

Zandrik's forces were stationed behind the asteroid belt specifically to ambush enemy units forced to slow down while crossing it.

The plan proceeded flawlessly; though the Storm King's central fleet was powerful, it had already lost both flanks and suffered considerable losses.

At this moment, the Storm King's fleet faced the Silent King's elite fleet like waves crashing against pitch-black reefs—relentless, yet shattering the instant they touched the rocks.

The Necron overlords directly loyal to the Necrons, watching the reckless Storm King fleet, began to sneer.

"Save the Storm King for us—blow up all the tomb ships!"

"Hah! Count me in!"

"Good idea!"

"That'll be awesome!"

"Not my kind of Emperor—kill him outright!"

The Silent King's dynasty had declined to its nadir over sixty million years; most of these overlords' linguistic logic modules were damaged, their speech lacking coherence—they had only risen to prominence after the Silent King's return.

But at that very moment, the asteroid belt behind them suddenly moved.

The massive asteroids seemed to gain their own will, hurtling toward the Silent King's fleet.

Simultaneously, Zandrik's forces behind them launched their own assault.

On those asteroids, Zandrik had secretly installed numerous miniaturized gravity engines capable of accelerating the asteroids to extreme velocities in short bursts, endowing them with tremendous kinetic energy.

This development completely caught the Silent King's fleet off guard—they initially failed to comprehend it as an attack, unable to fathom why the asteroid belt behind them was drawing closer.

Until the first asteroid slammed into the fleet—its sheer mass, volume, and the acceleration granted by the gravity engines turned it into an extraordinarily lethal weapon.

The impact occurred: the first asteroid struck a Shroud-class light cruiser head-on, shattering violently; the living-metal hull ruptured and disintegrated, mingling with debris that scattered chaotically in all directions.

Then, more ships were drowned in the asteroid rain, exploding alongside the shattered asteroids, becoming uncontrolled cosmic debris.

In panic, parts of the Silent King's fleet turned around, attempting to use their lightning arc arrays to fire in unison and shoot down the asteroids.

Their actions quickly proved effective—though a single lightning arc array could not destroy these asteroids, the concentrated fire of many was sufficient to tear through the thick ice and metallic crusts.

But some asteroids, upon being struck by the Silent King's fleet, detonated the torpedoes Zandrik had planted inside—suddenly dissolving and rupturing the metal bodies, yet leaving the black stone within untouched.

These black stones, propelled by explosion and inertia, scattered in all directions at sub-light speeds, slicing through the ships attacking the asteroid rain like shrapnel from grenades.

Zandrik's forces seized the opportunity to launch their own assault against the Silent King's fleet, forming a pincer movement with the Storm King's forces.

Simultaneously, some of the modified asteroids within the belt activated—not targeting the Silent King's fleet, but hurtling toward the system's world engine.

Instantly, a torrential meteor shower erupted over the world engine, forcing its weapons to divert to defend against the asteroids.

And the remaining weapons

A clear door-opening sound suddenly echoed—the flagship of the Blood Angels, Red Tear, and the flagship of the Sons of the Phoenix, Phoenix's Pride, led a vast human fleet directly into the interior of the Sindu Star System, positioning themselves between Zandrik's forces and the world engine.

Yet whether the Blood Angels' Glory Queen-class battleship Red Tear or the Phoenix's Pride, meticulously designed by Fulgrim, both now served merely as backdrop.

At the center of the human fleet, a colossal vessel shaped like a trident stood firm in the void.

It was a Deepgrave-class battleship, larger than the Glory Queen-class, one of the three originally forged by the traitor Primarch Loke, once belonging to Airebath and named the Blessed Lady, now known as Dora Cabinet.

This magnificent warship engaged the world engine in combat, illuminating the entire Sindu Star System with the glow of lances and lightning arcs—so bright that even the star dimmed noticeably.

Yet in this furious battle, one crucial figure was missing.

Guilliman idly grabbed a handful of soybeans from the small cloth bag Zhou Yun had given him, popped them into his mouth, and chewed as he read Zandrik's message.

The Storm King Imotekh had not appeared in the Sindu Star System.

This Emperor of the Sotek Dynasty had vanished as if erased, absent from this critical war.

Beyond the Soul-Draining Dead Zone, within the roaring warp storm,

On the Glory Queen-class battleship Glory of Macragge, Guilliman chewed soybeans between his teeth, then lifted his head to gaze at the metallic silhouette standing in the shadows.

The Emperor of the Sotek Dynasty, the Storm King Imotekh, stood firmly inside Guilliman's office.

Guilliman's honor guard, the Unconquered, formed a ring around him—but the Storm King showed no sign of alarm.

He calmly regarded Guilliman seated behind the desk, tapping the ground once with his scythe—so large it seemed oversized even for a Necron Emperor.