Chapter 566

A massive Tomb-class tomb ship, shaped like a crescent moon, docked at the Tomb World of Gidreem.

The Crowned One, Trazyn, was eating in his private chambers while watching the tomb ship emit a verdant glow.

Beside his table, his captives and honored guests were watching with twitching faces as Trazyn picked up food—deemed non-toxic by forty poison-testers—and stuffed it into his mouth.

He chewed a few times in a show of pretense, as if that useless metal mouth could truly taste anything, after which the chewed-up food fell from his metal skeletal frame onto the floor.

"This old bag of bones is even crazier than the maddest boy I've ever seen," a greenskin Warboss sitting next to Saul muttered.

Saul, Chapter Master of the Children of the Phoenix, had no choice but to nod in agreement with the alien's statement.

Saul had been captured by the Necron Crowned General Trazyn about three or five years ago.

At the time, his Chapter had accidentally collided with Trazyn's main force; to cover the other members of the Chapter, Saul had stayed behind alone on the flagship to engage in a one-on-one duel with Trazyn.

Saul had to admit that although this old general was a bit eccentric, his martial arts were indeed so exquisite that one could not help but admire them; Saul had narrowly lost to him.

He had thought he would die right then and there, but after disarming him, Trazyn not only did not kill him, but instead declared that Saul was a worthy opponent, and according to the "Necron Noble War Protocol," he would ensure that Saul received the proper courtesies as his captive.

Trazyn was as good as his word; he indeed ensured that Saul was treated with dignity, invited Saul and his other captives to dine with him every week, politely introduced them to the culture, customs, and various technologies of the Necron Empire, and even frequently sparred with Saul, teaching him how to fight as if Saul were his honored guest.

Gradually, Saul also figured out the mindset of this old general, Trazyn.

He believed that he was still a Necron of flesh and blood, and even believed that Saul, the greenskin Warboss beside Saul, the Genestealer Patriarch, the Aeldari pirate captain, and the Astra Militarum commander were all Necrons as well.

All the battles that erupted between them were merely due to internal Necron disagreements, a noble civil war between aristocrats.

Therefore, Trazyn followed the "Necron Noble War Protocol," did not use assassination units including Deathmarks, did not use any barbaric or disorderly means of warfare, maintained respect for enemy generals, responded to all challenges to single combat, and treated captives with courtesy.

Saul had to admit that although this old general was eccentric, he was indeed a somewhat lovable and respectable old man.

Trazyn also had a good impression of Saul.

He declared that he saw in Saul the bearing that a Necron aristocrat should have, and promised that as long as Saul defeated him in single combat one day, he would release Saul.

Trazyn picked up a cup of hot tea and poured it into his mouth; the scalding tea spilled out from between his metal skeleton, and then he said slowly:

"I will release you all; my fleet will place you at the location where you wish to be released."

This sentence made the captives near the dining table freeze for a moment, and then it stirred up a wave of commotion.

"The Hua Hua Hua Di Huang protects, what kind of Necron trick is this?"

"Are you insulting Da'ya? You old bag of bones!"

"This must be the great power of the Four-Armed, Two-Rooted, Thirty-Six-Legged God-Hua Hua Hua Di Huang."

"By Cegorach's backside, you iron lump, you've finally gone completely mad."

Facing the exclamations of the captives, Trazyn was not in a hurry; he just shook his head with some helplessness, seemingly feeling sad that these captives had discarded the etiquette that Necron aristocrats should have.

"Why?" Saul asked in a clear voice: "Trazyn, I have not yet defeated you; do you intend to humiliate us in this way?"

Saul's words made Trazyn feel satisfied; he nodded slightly and said: "No, this is to protect you, and also to protect my honor."

"The Silent King has issued a summons to us, and I will respond to this summons and leave Gidreem temporarily."

"In this era where rites and music have collapsed, too many former aristocrats have abandoned their original honor and etiquette, turning instead to become base and shameless."

"Even among my subordinates, many have turned into this shameful appearance; if I leave, they would probably kill you to eliminate future trouble."

"To protect my honor, honored guests, I request that you leave my Tomb World safely."

"Old bag of bones, Da'ya guarantees you will regret this; Da'ya might not be able to beat you, but Da'ya knows someone who can answer you, and Da'ya will find the biggest and toughest Bone-Crusher boss to smash your iron lump to pieces," that Ork Warboss shouted while slapping the table.

"Trazyn, because of my oath to the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang and Saint Doraemon, I will leave," Saul said, staring at Trazyn: "But I owe you a battle; wait, I will return to have another one-on-one duel with you."

A smile seemed to appear on Trazyn's metal face: "I await the revenge of you two, and I also look forward to capturing you two again, to let you chat with this old man."

Just at this moment, an extremely tall Necron holding a warscythe walked in from the gate and came to Trazyn's side, bowing respectfully to the old general.

He was Trazyn's Vanguard Commander, Orikan, who in Saul's eyes was a terrifyingly formidable opponent.

Trazyn was only slightly stronger than Saul, while Orikan completely crushed Saul.

Among all the people Saul had ever met, probably only a few, such as Khârn and Sharrowkyn, could steadily defeat Orikan.

"My lord," Orikan leaned close to Trazyn's ear: "Overlord Imotekh has arrived."

Trazyn belonged to the Sautekh Dynasty, and the de facto Overlord of the Sautekh Dynasty today was none other than that Stormlord, Imotekh.

Trazyn was loyal to and directly subordinate to him, but Imotekh had quite a few opinions about the Silent King, and he also seemed unable to understand Trazyn's intention to respond to the Silent King's actions.

"Apologies, everyone, my Overlord has summoned me, and I ought to go and accept his questioning."