Chapter 154: Siege
They were everywhere—dense, endless legions of the Necrons.
The once vast ochre-red wasteland was now devoid of even a trace of its original hue.
It was all Necrons.
Necron warriors, swarms of scarabs, and destroyer units—summoned by their Overlord—were rapidly advancing toward the rear lines.
In a makeshift trench behind a small hill, Hades felt a chill down his spine. The feed from the Stormbird of the Iron Warriors showed that in less than ten minutes, the first wave of returning Necron forces would reach the southern side of the Necro-construct complex.
Meanwhile, the Death Guard and Iron Warriors were attempting to breach from the north side of the complex.
Ever since the Necrons awakened from beneath the surface, these strange and eerie blackstone structures had emerged from deep within the planet. The geometrically shaped buildings rose in staggered heights, and glowing green lines traced the symbols of the Ithakas Dynasty.
At the heart of the blackstone city stood a pyramid-shaped fortress, constantly spewing out Necron soldiers—
This was the Necro-construct where the Necrons executed their Reanimation Protocols.
At the very center of the fortress stood a towering black pyramid, its steps rising high, with green energy lines cascading down from the peak like a waterfall.
What caught Hades' attention was the lack of heavy firepower inside the Necro-construct complex itself, according to aerial reconnaissance. All the heavy weapons detected so far were mounted on the outer walls of the city.
Necron warriors continuously poured out of the Necro-constructs, marching in formation toward the north side of the city.
Endless. Tireless. Even in death, they would rise again from the Necro-constructs behind the lines. These soldiers were the Overlord's most expendable force.
But these numerous foot soldiers were not the real threat.
To the Death Guard and Iron Warriors, the true obstacle in this siege lay in the city walls and the heavy firepower mounted atop them—
Scaled-up Gauss weapons. Compared to the handheld Gauss guns of the Necron troops, these had even greater destructive power—enough to tear through a Space Marine's power armor and disintegrate them at the atomic level.
The good news was, they had their own weapons to respond. Alongside the drop pods, the Iron Warriors had deployed their artillery as well.
But with significantly fewer cannons than the enemy, it would be far from enough to counter the Necron heavy weapons on the city walls.
Hades looked across the field—approximately two kilometers, but packed with Necron units.
They couldn't afford to be delayed. If they were held up, the enemy artillery would decimate them.
The first wave of attackers would have to scale the walls, eliminate the Necron gunners, and buy time for the main force behind them.
They needed to cross that distance as quickly as possible, breach the complex, destroy key structures, and use the terrain to counter the impending Necron reinforcements.
"Looks like we need a strike team," Hades said.
Against the enemy's Gauss weaponry, the high mobility of the Space Marines would be their key to survival.
But what made him uneasy was that neither the Death Guard nor the Iron Warriors excelled at such operations. One specialized in slow, methodical advances and holding firm lines; the other was a master of constructing military fortresses.
If only the White Scars—or some other chapter—were their allies in this mission, it would be great
Dantioch, standing beside Hades, gave him a nod, breaking his train of thought. The gesture was clear—he was ready.
There was no time to second-guess the tactics now. Hades took a deep breath and opened the full communication channel.
"All units, listen up!"
"If you ranked in the top 30% during sprint drills, step forward! Pair up, two per team!"
"Your mission is to reach the enemy fortress and eliminate their artillery gunners. Remember—do not get bogged down!"
"Stay spread out. Do not cluster!"
"Keep an eye out for enemy artillery at all times!"
Hades glanced back toward the Iron Warriors operating the cannons. They had already begun digging trenches on the spot to shield their artillery and were calibrating firing coordinates for the enemy's heavy weapons.
Alright—no need to remind the gunners. They knew exactly what they were doing.
Hades turned back to the battlefield ahead. He gripped his obituary blade tightly and assumed his stance.
"I'm going with you," came Dantioch's voice over the channel.
Hades hesitated—he had indeed planned to break through alone.
"No. You're in charge of the main force," Hades replied.
"We need someone to stay and lead."
There was silence on Dantioch's end after that.
Then, the time came. A phrase every Death Guard knew by heart crackled through the channel—
"Advance."
Hades was the first to charge forward. Unlike most of his chapter—renowned for their slow, methodical advances—he had more experience in high-mobility assaults.
Like cold water thrown into hot oil, the dense ranks of Necrons exploded outward. Gauss beams and Tesla arcs lit up the sky.
On the fortress walls, spotting the attackers, the Necron artillery turned, received their firing commands, and began locking on.
Hades felt like he was sprinting through a sea of Necrons, every step accompanied by the shriek of metal. He swore he hadn't touched solid ground once.
Don't stop.
Don't stop!
Countless Necron warriors reached up from beneath his feet, as if trying to drag him into a metal abyss. Gauss blasts rained down from the fortress above, detonating around him, sending up clouds of black dust—the atomized remains of Necrons caught in their own fire.
An alarm screamed in Hades' mind. Something was wrong.
By all logic, this kind of Necron density shouldn't be possible in his sector!
This felt as if the entire battlefield's Necrons had converged on him!
But hesitation, even for a second, would mean death. Stopping would make him an easy target for the fortress guns.
He had no choice but to keep his momentum, tearing open a path toward the Necro-construct through sheer brute force.
His scythe swept in wide arcs, each swing slicing through swathes of metal bodies. There was no elegance, no finesse—just raw power.
When faced with a wall of lesser enemies, violence was the only key that fit the door.
However, outside of Hades' charge, back in the trenches, Dantioch stood dumbfounded as he observed the battlefield.
To everyone's surprise, the vast majority of the Necron forces were surging toward Hades' direction, leaving only a sparse number of warriors engaging the first wave of Death Guard. But even those few Necrons were swiftly beheaded under the sweeping blades of the Death Guard.
Compared to the utterly berserk Hades at the front, the rest of the warriors were starting to realize—something was off.
The Death Guard charging toward the Necron Necro-construct began deliberately clearing out Necron troops along the way.
Dantioch noticed it too. He quickly ordered some of the artillery teams to begin shelling the area around Hades. The unusually high Necron density in that zone provided the perfect opportunity for bombardment.
As the first wave—led primarily by Hades—neared the fortress wall, Dantioch gave the order for the main force to prepare to advance.
Hades pushed his pace—faster, and faster still. The Necron warriors flooding toward him couldn't keep up. He moved like a stone skipping across the surface of water, leaving shockwaves in his wake.
The dark wall loomed close. He was there!
With a leap, Hades hurled his scythe—Obituary. Its blade locked firmly onto a ridge on the fortress wall. Gripping the chains that extended from its haft, Hades launched himself up like an arrow, scaling the wall in one fluid motion.
Behind him, other Death Guard began flinging their scythes as well, using them as grappling tools to climb.
Once atop the wall, Hades immediately shifted his focus to the heavy artillery. The standard Necron warriors were no match for him, and with far fewer defenders stationed on the wall than below, he carved through them like a ghost in a graveyard. Bolter fire rang out, and Necrons fell in droves.
The Death Guard who had joined him soon launched their own purge. Necron artillery fire weakened significantly—perfect timing for the second wave of Space Marines to advance.
Realizing they had drastically reduced the enemy's heavy firepower, Hades narrowed his eyes, scanning the battlefield.
Finally, he spotted it—a platform unlike the rest of the artillery emplacements. This was it.
Without hesitation, Hades ordered the precision-engineered servo-pack on his back to deploy a melta bomb. He then signaled the nearby Death Guard to clear the area.
Two sharp explosions echoed out, and a section of the Necron fortress wall collapsed, creating a breach large enough for the main force to push through.
Success.
Hades thought to himself as he turned to watch the mixed forces of Iron Warriors and Death Guard carving a path through the Necron tide.
Dantioch stared at the now shattered Necro-construct in front of him, deep in thought.
Ever since the main force had entered the northern portion of the city, Hades had been leading a small team of Death Guard to plant explosives at key structural points. It only took a small amount of demolition to bring the grandiose buildings crashing down with a mournful groan.
The fallen blackstone structures created a makeshift barrier in the northern sector, granting them a defensive advantage.
Dantioch had wanted to ask how Hades had so quickly identified the weak points of the buildings, but the words never made it out. It didn't feel like the right question to ask.
So the Iron Warriors commander simply watched as Hades moved with ease between structures, like a fish in water, planting bombs with calm precision.
Since Hades had blown a hole straight through the opposing resurrection constructs, the pressure on them had lightened considerably. The combined forces of the Death Guard and Iron Warriors fought the Necrons in the blackstone jungle. With their Reanimation Protocols disabled, even the last advantage of the lesser Necrons had evaporated.
As Hades destroyed at least a quarter of the buildings, Dantioch attempted to contact Perturabo to ask whether the surface assault might receive aerial support. Unfortunately, Perturabo and Mortarion were both fully engaged with the Necron fleet in orbit—neither Primarch responded.
[Begin setting up defensive formations.]
[And get the air units ready to support us.]
Hades' voice came over the channel. The Death Guard, without hesitation, left the task of "defense" to the Iron Warriors—who were far more professional at it.
But on Hades' end, something felt wrong.
Ever since entering the blackstone-built city, he had sensed a faint tremor—an odd, resonating hum from the blackstone.
What is this?
He didn't have time to dwell on it. Hades continued directing the Death Guard in placing explosives while watching the flow of the battle.
As expected, they had lost contact with the fleet in orbit. Knowing the speed of the Necron ships, he could only hope the Death Guard could avoid them.
Still, as long as the Iron Warriors could stall the Necron fleet, the Death Guard should be able to retreat along the planned route.
Hades thought this as he prepared to plant another—
He suddenly leapt backward!
A beam of green light—far more brilliant than the Necron's standard firepower—grazed past him and scorched the nearby structure.
Hades snapped his head around—only to see a shadow slipping back into the blackstone buildings.
A Deathmark!
The Deathmark was the Necron sniper unit. But Necron lords rarely deployed them, considering their methods "dishonorable."
Still, Hades realized one horrifying implication:
If a Deathmark was on the field, that meant that a Necron Lord in this tomb had awoken!!!
What the hell?!
Weren't the Necron nobles supposed to be in deep stasis—nearly impossible to awaken under normal circumstances?!
Almost as if in response to his thoughts, a towering figure emerged from the apex of a blackstone pyramid in the center of the city—far larger than any regular Necron—looming over Hades' forces.
"You dodged that? Not bad."
The Necron King spoke.
Before the last word left its mouth, a laser bolt flashed through the air and struck down an Iron Warrior.
The Deathmark had chosen a new target.
[Watch for snipers!]
Hades shouted over the comms.
"I was wondering what kind of creature you would be."
The Necron King continued. He held a warscythe, its heavy energy field humming with deadly power, and began descending his high perch at a measured pace.
Some Astartes tried to shoot him, but unsurprisingly, the Necron shields absorbed the incoming fire.
With every sentence the Necron King uttered, another laser beam would flash from within the ruins—his Deathmark, faithfully obeying his every word.
Even though the Space Marines tried to evade, the Deathmark's precision sniping was relentless, disrupting their rhythm and breaking up their advance.
"But it seems you're nothing more than a lowly trickster."
"Though... your presence... a soulless one?"
"No, not quite."
Didn't matter. He'd know once he had the prey in his grasp. The Necron King thought lazily.
He was getting bored anyway. Might as well talk to his new plaything a bit longer.
"I shall grant you a battle, lesser being."
"If you have any little tricks, you'd best use them all."
"If you prove... interesting, perhaps I'll let you live long enough to die properly."
As the Necron King—Djoseras—stepped onto the final stair of the pyramid, the main Necron force finally appeared, emerging from the southern part of the city.
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