Chapter 130

Dante stared at the Necron Overlord before him.

This Necron Overlord named Trazyn the Infinite was clearly not the same person as the king he had once seen.

But this Necron Overlord also used standard High Gothic, which seemed almost cumbersome to Dante, to converse with him.

Every one of his pronunciations and every word was carefully considered, and Dante was no less so.

The two of them exchanged their respective goals with such formalities.

Trazyn the Infinite revealed the arrogance common to Necron Overlords.

He declared that Tyranid organisms were a kind of interstellar pest, and no Necron Overlord should ignore the threat they posed.

In order to eliminate this pest, Trazyn the Infinite was willing to cooperate with the Archangel's progeny—that is, Dante and his party—to eliminate the swarm entrenched in this system.

Dante nodded slightly; both he and Trazyn the Infinite understood that

even if the fleets of the Blood Angels and the Necrons joined forces, they would not be able to defeat the swarm entrenched in the Underworld System.

In the void, millions of bio-ships were occupying that space.

The number of ships the Tyranids possessed was even greater than the number of Necron and human ground units in the Underworld System.

By the same token, achieving victory on the ground was also an impossible thing.

Trazyn the Infinite's metallic body reflected the dim, scarlet sky of Ashfold.

The shattered city of Phodia silently corroborated his view.

Every spire and residential area of this hive city was occupied by countless Tyranid organisms.

Thus, Trazyn the Infinite proposed his plan to Dante.

In the Underworld System, there was a terrifying weapon capable of destroying most of the Hive Fleet.

That was the ancient creation known to humans as the "Celestial Orrery" and to the Necrons as the "Starflame."

It was part of a massive stellar energy utilization system built by the Necron Mephrit Dynasty, a giant prism that could draw energy from the scarlet twin stars of the Underworld System.

Humans had discovered the Celestial Orrery on Tartarus and modified it, allowing it to transmit the star's energy to every planet within the Underworld System.

"Your technology is as immature as a child playing with mud, but this time, the mud also has its use," Trazyn the Infinite declared proudly.

According to him, the Celestial Orrery could not only draw energy but could also be used as a weapon.

Through the modifications made by humans, Trazyn the Infinite could cause the Celestial Orrery to release a destructive beam of stellar energy.

This energy beam would, according to his design, be fired into the core of the gas giant Eros.

The gas giant would then explode, sweeping across the entire system.

At that time, the Necron and human fleets would hide behind the star to escape the explosion,

while the swarm would lose most of its fleet and be burned to ashes in the void.

And to achieve this, Trazyn the Infinite needed Dante's cooperation.

First, the Crypteks under Trazyn the Infinite would go to Tartarus to reactivate the Celestial Orrery.

After that, he himself would go with Dante to the Mechanical Spire on Ashfold to gain control of the Celestial Orrery.

In addition, the Adepta Sororitas on Laixi must ensure that the Sol-Relay vehicle in the Crawler convoy was operating normally, acting as a relay station to transmit stellar energy.

And finally, the star's light would fall upon Eros, igniting the planet's core and causing an unparalleled explosion.

Dante nodded slowly; the Necrons clearly had their own agenda,

but the current situation was so desperate that he had to make the right choice.

He agreed to the Necron's plan and, in accordance with his authority as an Astartes Chapter Master, would issue an Exterminatus order to the entire Underworld System.

Then the meeting ended quickly.

The Necrons displayed cold efficiency; they left quickly to begin their own actions.

Dante turned around and saw General Droste dragging his lame leg toward him.

General Droste looked at his own weary face reflected beneath Dante's golden mask.

"My Lord, I respect your wisdom... but are the Necrons truly trustworthy?" General Droste asked a question he would never have asked before.

He once could have firmly said that he would not hesitate to cooperate with xenos for the sake of victory, but now Droste's heart was full of doubts.

"Do I trust the Necrons? No, not at all."

Dante shook his head slightly.

"I have led my Chapter for several centuries, General. I think we both understand one truth... some wars cannot be won. This is the problem we face."

"Do what can be done; even if it is full of risks, we must still do it."

Dante stared at the weary old general and said softly:

"Just as you trust that man named Zhou Yun... Although Sister Acelade and you both assured me that he was not corrupted by Chaos, Sister Acelade even guaranteed with her own life that Zhou Yun was a devout member of the Imperial Cult, loyal beyond words."

"But you did not; you only assured me that he was not corrupted by Chaos or xenos... But is he loyal? Is he devout?"

General Droste lowered his head slightly; he very much hoped he could tell Dante that Zhou Yun was a devout and loyal member of the Imperial Cult.

But...

Thinking of some of Zhou Yun's statements, the corners of General Droste's mouth couldn't stop twitching.

Especially those terms he had mentioned... "Black Rage," "Red Thirst," "Chicken Meatballs," "Angel Sauce," "Second Empire"...

General Droste instinctively felt that if he said these words, it might lead to some bad results.

This was a judgment ability he had developed over hundreds of years of fighting. He even felt that these few words were more dangerous than a Chaos Daemon Prince.

So he chose to remain silent, and the training the Cadian soldiers had undergone also led them to remain collectively silent.

"But you still chose to trust him."

"Just as you and your soldiers hid some details from me, I still chose to trust you."

Dante looked at General Droste and said:

"We all have secrets, but as long as we can ultimately carry out the will of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang and Sanguinius, and can save more people..."

"... then even if it means cooperating with xenos and stooping to death, I will accept it."

General Droste nodded slowly and stiffly: "My Lord, may the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang protect you, and protect us as well."

Having said that, General Droste turned and walked away.

Dante watched Droste's departing back and sighed softly in his heart. The Brain Worm had caused severe damage to the general's mind, but he had not yet fallen; if there was a suitable opportunity, he might still be able to burst forth with his former strength.

"My Lord." Mephiston walked toward Dante, his face also showing some fatigue.

After landing on Ashfold via a drop pod, Dante and Mephiston encountered a powerful Zoanthrope.

Mephiston defeated it, but because of this, he faced the Hive Mind directly and had not yet fully recovered.

"Captain Kaelen encountered resistance; the Genestealers have gathered in the Viceroy's Palace..." Mephiston said.

Dante nodded slightly.

He had learned of the grievances between the Viceroy and the Genestealer Patriarch from General Droste.

"They are trapped by the Genestealers now?" Dante asked.

"Not anymore." Mephiston shook his head: "The Genestealers have already fled."

"After Captain Kaelen noticed this, he contacted the injured Brother Avery. Brother Avery saw with his own eyes a man in silver power armor suddenly appear and blast the Genestealer Patriarch to death with the main gun of a Leman Russ Eradicator..."

"..." Dante blinked gently, straightening out the words in Mephiston's mouth.

!. Read

A man in silver power armor, using the main gun of a Leman Russ Eradicator, blasted the Genestealer Patriarch to death...

"Zhou Yun?" Dante remembered the man who was almost like a demigod in the words of the Astra Militarum soldiers.

"I suspect it should be." Mephiston agreed with Dante's opinion and continued: "After he appeared, the swarm also had unusual movements."

"A large number of swarms began to surge toward the Viceroy's Palace, and even Hive Tyrants appeared... as well as a considerable number of Carnifexes and Screamer-Killers."

"Does the Hive Mind also value him so much?" Dante muttered to himself.

"Captain Kaelen and the others are very likely to be trapped in the Viceroy's Palace because of this."

Mephiston looked at the Viceroy's Palace towering into the clouds in the distance, where a dense ocean of chitin was surging:

"Should we send reinforcements?"

"Of course..."

Dante nodded slightly:

"Let the Death Company take action."

Augustus Flax had a dream.

What a beautiful dream it was.

In the dream, his parents were not contaminated by Genestealers but returned safely after an interstellar voyage.

His mother hugged him—this was not in accordance with aristocratic etiquette.

His father praised him because he had managed Ashfold in an orderly manner while he was away—this was also not in accordance with aristocratic etiquette.

You are the best heir and will become the best Viceroy.

Father praised the young Augustus Flax like this.

Later, later, his parents gave birth to a younger brother for him.

Tiberius Augustus, a pure, unmutated, cute younger brother.

As time passed, his parents grew old and died.

Augustus Flax became the Viceroy, and his younger brother Tiberius became his right-hand man.

The two brothers managed Ashfold together.

They renovated the lower hive, expelled the gangs, and allowed the workers to live in a safer environment.

They also strengthened their armaments and established a PDF force almost as powerful as the Astra Militarum.

They even launched an expedition into the lower hive, clearing out many vicious existences entrenched within it.

Finally, finally, the swarm descended from the sky.

But Augustus Flax did not flee this time.

He led the PDF and stood at the very front of the battlefield.

Tiberius was with him, and Zhou Yun and General Droste were also standing by his side.

They were almost like heroes at that time.

Augustus Flax of course knew that these were all false.

But he still couldn't help but immerse himself in it, immerse himself in this beautiful future.

"You are a hero, Augustus. Everyone has their own responsibilities, and you have fulfilled yours."

In the dream, Zhou Yun patted Augustus Flax on the shoulder and said with approval.

"What the hell are you sleeping for?!" Suddenly, Zhou Yun's voice really rang in Augustus Flax's ears.

(End of chapter)