Within the Sacred Soul Cult's territory, the first shoots of an economy had already begun to emerge—markets, shops, and all manner of professions.
Where there was demand, there would naturally be a market.
The tomb world had become far more active. In addition to maintaining the existing mechanical infrastructure, the Crypteks and Necrontyr had begun exploring the culture and technology they had lost.
Bit by bit, they were recreating their ancient culture, architecture, and mechanical creations that had nothing to do with war.
Eden gazed at the increasingly lively streets with great satisfaction.
"This is what a civilized world should look like. The missionaries and court officials have done a fine job…"
This proved that the Necrontyr were gradually adapting to their cultural revival and their new way of life.
Many Necrontyr who had retained their minds were slowly returning to their former professions instead of treating themselves as nothing more than killing machines.
Of course, it was still essentially an elaborate exercise in role-playing—unless the Necrontyr truly regained their flesh and souls one day.
The only difference was that they now possessed emotions. They could derive pleasure and a sense of purpose from playing these roles.
They loved it.
As a result, they worshiped the Sacred Soul Cult even more fervently and placed their faith in the New God, believing that He could save the souls of all living-metal beings.
All in all, it was a good thing.
And Eden had no intention of stopping with this territory.
He wanted to draw the other dynasties into the movement and revive the culture of their ancient civilization together.
Make the Necrontyr great again!
That was the belief he had instilled in his followers as the Divine Envoy and Prince of the Necrontyr.
A grand dream.
"Charles, I believe you truly can save the Necrontyr."
Even Fahra couldn't help marveling at the bustling tomb world.
Everything before her looked exactly as it did in her memories—exactly as she had imagined it countless times.
Any Necrontyr who witnessed this scene would firmly believe that the Sacred Soul Cult and the New God could deliver the future they had promised.
"That outcome is inevitable. Making the Necrontyr great again is my lifelong ideal," Eden replied.
In truth, it was merely the slogan he intended to use to conquer the Necron xenos.
Grand visions made it easier to unite the Necrontyr.
Only then could he gather enough strength to defeat the Silent King—and anyone else who opposed him.
During this period, Eden had used his living-metal clone body to infiltrate the enemy's territory. He had even sacrificed himself to the young Phaerakh before he finally gained a clear understanding of the Infinite Empire's internal power structure.
Simply put, the Infinite Empire's political organization was remarkably similar to the United States back on his homeworld—except vastly larger and spread across space.
The Infinite Empire was essentially a federation of many dynasties. Those dynasties were like the states of America, each possessing its own autonomy.
In theory, of course, they all answered to the Triarch.
The Triarch was jointly governed by three Phaerons, who ruled together. Beneath this system, they organized the royal court and administered the entire Infinite Empire.
It even had a touch of the separation of powers about it.
"However, the Triarch now exists in name only. The Silent King has monopolized all authority, while the other two Phaerons have become little more than his mouthpieces.
"Even in Necrontyr history, such a situation was exceedingly rare."
Eden and Fahra sat aboard a Catacomb Command Barge as it slowly carried them toward the banquet district.
The immediate threat of the Sacred Soul Cult's destruction had temporarily passed, while Nemesor Zahndrekh's delegation was already on its way.
Eden was using every moment he had to analyze the Infinite Empire's political situation and plan his next move.
"The Silent King made a disastrous error in judgment when dealing with the C'tan. His mistake allowed the entire species to be deceived, and in the end, he had no choice but to flee the galaxy for a time to avoid being held accountable.
"Now that bastard has seized his chance to return to the galaxy, but he can no longer rule the Infinite Empire as absolutely as he once did.
"And a new challenger has appeared—Imotekh the Stormlord. Zahndrekh is one of the Nemesors serving beneath him…"
Eden continued to turn the situation over in his mind.
From that perspective, the current political struggle within the Infinite Empire resembled a United States presidential election, with the various dynasties acting as individual states.
Whoever secured the allegiance of more dynasties would control more military forces. That candidate would ultimately win, claim the Triarch's Throne of Dominion, and rule the entire Infinite Empire.
At present, the two leading candidates were the Silent King and Imotekh the Stormlord.
The Silent King was the seasoned veteran and former supreme ruler. He had fled after suffering a catastrophic failure midway through his reign, but now he had returned to the galaxy and was trying to accomplish something great once again.
The Stormlord, meanwhile, was the rising star. He had only seized the throne of Phaeron in recent years, but he had steadily expanded his power and now coveted the Throne of Dominion.
As for winning public support, the Silent King's main platform was the Contra-Immaterium Nodal Matrix.
He claimed that he intended to use a blackstone veil to suppress and erode the souls of the galaxy's living beings, turning them into material for reversing biotransference and ultimately granting the Necrontyr new bodies of flesh.
It was a rather inflexible platform, but the Silent King's deep foundations had still won him a great many supporters.
Yet he also possessed a fatal weakness.
During his previous reign, he had committed a colossal blunder involving the C'tan.
He had, in political terms, taken a truly monumental dump.
That disaster had cost the Silent King the trust of many Phaerons. The Stormlord and his other opponents repeatedly dragged the matter back into the open, criticizing him and putting him through yet another public flogging.
While denouncing the Silent King, the Stormlord used his uncompromising attitude and slogan of conquering everything to win the support of many Phaerons who had become disillusioned with the old ruler. His territory was also expanding rapidly.
For the moment, the two candidates were evenly matched.
Overall, however, the Silent King still appeared more likely to win.
"Yet somewhere beyond their sight, a new candidate—a formidable new competitor—is quietly gathering strength.
"He is preparing to enter this contest for supreme authority over the Necrontyr and claim the Throne of Dominion for himself."
Eden was speaking of himself.
Once he had thought everything through, he realized that his chances of joining the contest were actually quite good.
After all, the Sacred Soul Cult could grant the Necrontyr emotions—something neither the Silent King nor the Stormlord could offer.
Furthermore, the idea of "making the Necrontyr great again" was highly unifying and easy to spread.
He should be able to win the support of the dynasties that longed to recover their flesh and souls—and those dynasties undoubtedly accounted for more than half of the entire Infinite Empire.
Aside from the die-hard hardliners, who would be difficult to deal with, the rest shouldn't pose too much of a problem.
There was enormous potential here!
Eden's objective had now become perfectly clear.
Once he resolved the immediate problem and expanded his forces, he would travel from state to state…
No, from dynasty to dynasty.
And campaign like hell!
Once he secured enough support and accumulated sufficient power, he could raise an enormous army and enter the final struggle.
The two-way contest would then become a three-way standoff.
Even if he ultimately failed to claim the Throne of Dominion, he could still brutally fracture the Infinite Empire and drain its strength.
That would make it far easier for the steel tide of humanity's armies to flatten the entire Pariah Nexus.
Of course, if he succeeded, he could drastically reduce humanity's casualties and resolve the Necron problem through gentler means.
During the process, he could also use the strength of humanity's armies to secretly eliminate his political opponents and accumulate more power for his candidacy.
"Perfect!"
Now that Eden knew what to do next, his mood improved considerably.
He admired the scenery on both sides of the street. Numerous stalls lined the route, with Necrontyr moving between them.
They no longer resembled killing machines. They looked like living beings going about their own business.
Even so, seeing Necrons squatting behind market stalls was still almost too absurd to bear.
Most of them were selling spare components, works of art, clothing, Sacred Soul Cult relics, scriptures, and similar goods.
This transformation had largely been influenced by Zabok's Kalozasa Dynasty.
Those fellows believed themselves to be human, so they had brought many human customs with them.
That wasn't a serious problem.
Far from undermining the original Necrontyr culture, those customs made integration easier. They were better suited to the present situation and simpler to promote.
"It hasn't been easy."
Eden sighed with emotion.
Accurately restoring Necrontyr culture required far too much time and effort.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible to solve such a problem in the short term. Fortunately, Eden had ultimately resolved it by drawing upon humanity's resources.
As luck would have it, the Adeptus Mechanicus happened to possess an entire research institute dedicated to the study of ancient Necron culture.
Some people could at least understand researching xenos weaponry and technology. At worst, that merely bordered on heresy.
But studying an alien species' ancient culture—their everyday clothing, food, environment, and other subjects utterly unrelated to warfare—was regarded as a pure waste of Imperial resources.
After all, not even the Necrons themselves still possessed such things. How could researching them be anything but a waste of the Imperium's resources?
In the old Imperium, the Inquisition would have brought down its fist long ago.
But the present Imperium was different.
The cogboys studied everything imaginable. The sheer variety of their projects was staggering. As long as someone had the courage to submit a proposal, the administrative departments had the courage to approve it.
Consequently, the cogboys who lacked the ability to research advanced technology chose obscure fields instead.
They would rack their brains to secure funding and establish virtually any project they could think of.
Some had already begun researching such topics as void-whale mating, the edibility of Orks, the most cowardly creature in the galaxy, and Element 710 within Tyranid organisms.
Ancient Necron cultural studies happened to be one of those obscure projects.
Those cogboys had spent nearly a century researching the subject, with the tomb vaults contributed by the Collector Trazyn serving as study material. Their findings were remarkably comprehensive.
They called themselves archaeologists of ancient Necron culture and had even split into two small schools of thought.
Each faction held different views on questions of ancient culture. They argued endlessly while competing for the research funding allocated from above.
Of course, none of that was important.
What mattered was that the cogboys' research had produced a complete system of Necrontyr culture, greatly assisting Eden in his role as the Savior.
It allowed him to better construct his image as a Necrontyr prince.
Humanity had accomplished what the Necrontyr themselves should have done.
At this point, there might not be anyone in the entire Infinite Empire who understood the Necrontyr better than Eden, the Savior!
"I really must thank Trazyn for his generous sponsorship.
"If we hadn't dug up so many of his tomb vaults, the cogboys would never have obtained firsthand materials for their research."
It was the collection from the King of Miniatures' vaults that allowed Eden to pass himself off as a high-ranking Necrontyr noble.
Before departing for the Pariah Nexus, he had even loaded nearly half a ship with relics and antiques to bolster appearances and substantiate his identity.
As for the possibility of his identity being exposed, that was practically nonexistent. According to the Necrontyr databases, their records had suffered problems long ago.
There was no complete line of inherited data at all.
The only potential complication was Trazyn discovering the truth and charging over to cause trouble.
Apparently, Trazyn had gone completely insane with rage. He was scouring the galaxy for the band of Orks that kept digging up his vaults and had even gone to war with an Ork empire over it.
It was poetic justice.
Who could have imagined that the most shameless thief in the galaxy would one day be robbed himself?
And his thieves rarely stole a single item. They usually cleared out the entire vault and hauled everything away aboard heavy freighters.
Orks might generally be lacking in intelligence, but some of them were exceptionally gifted in cunning.
One example was the Ork grave robber known as Iron Crowbar. His gang had perfected the art of grave robbing.
In any case, the Collector Trazyn's laborious efforts had preserved the flame of Necrontyr civilization.
After obtaining that flame, Eden had carried it forward and successfully achieved a partial cultural revival.
It was a truly magnificent accomplishment.
Soon afterward, the Catacomb Command Barge arrived at the prepared banquet district and gradually slowed.
When Eden saw the magnificent pyramidal structure ahead, he couldn't help drawing a deep breath.
What happened next was the most important matter currently facing him.
"I have to win Zahndrekh over. Otherwise, I'll have no way to seek support from the other dynasties."
Eden knew that with the Sacred Soul Cult's current strength, it would be extremely difficult to win the support of distant Phaerons.
After all, his ambitions had grown. He no longer intended merely to seize several regions and turn them into bridgeheads for the Imperial armies.
Without an elite army to support him, traveling to distant dynasties and proclaiming that he intended to make the Necrontyr great again would only make him look like a madman.
There was also a chance that supporters of the Silent King or the Stormlord would surround him, gang up on him, or simply have him assassinated.
If he ended up fleeing with his tail between his legs, how could he continue posing as a candidate? How could he possibly convince the Phaerons that he possessed the strength to contend for the throne?
That made Zahndrekh indispensable.
The Nemesor would not only serve as a prestigious endorsement, but also provide Eden with a formidable military force.
Poaching one of the Stormlord's commanders would itself be a demonstration of power.
Beyond that, Eden had another concern.
He was running out of time.
The Phaerons of the Infinite Empire were not all fools—especially those who supported the Silent King. They possessed more than enough intelligence to recognize a threat.
If they noticed what the Sacred Soul Cult was doing and understood Eden's true intentions, they would most likely send in the Triarch Praetorians immediately.
They would never tolerate the rise of another influential religious faction.
Such a movement would directly threaten the Silent King's power.
When that happened, Eden would no longer be facing the army of a single Nemesor. He would be confronting the finest elites in the entire Infinite Empire.
Therefore, he had to move quickly!
Once he won Nemesor Zahndrekh over, Eden intended to gather the army and depart immediately.
He would travel from dynasty to dynasty and begin his grand campaign tour around the Pariah Nexus.
As long as he moved quickly enough, the Silent King and the Stormlord would not realize what was happening until the war was already underway.
By then, it would probably be too late for them to stop him.
"I wonder what expressions they'll make when they see me, the third candidate, entering the contest for the Triarch's Throne of Dominion?"
Eden was already looking forward to it.
If his plan proceeded smoothly, he should have thoroughly gutted the Silent King's home territory by then.
As he continued contemplating his plans, Eden followed the formal customs of the Infinite Empire and prepared to welcome his arriving guest.
In Necrontyr aristocratic culture, a host was required to greet any visiting guest personally, though the precise ceremony varied according to the visitor's status.
Because the Necrontyr had once possessed such short lives, they had treasured every meeting.
Within the Infinite Empire's hierarchy, Eden's current position was theoretically only slightly higher than Nemesor Zahndrekh's.
Both of them were high-ranking nobles.
Therefore, proper etiquette required Eden to receive him in person. Anything less would be regarded as a deliberate provocation.
Eden had only just reached the designated reception area when he saw a small tomb ship slowly descending.
It was Nemesor Zahndrekh's personal vessel.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]