On the defensive lines, more than a month had passed since the last great explosion. During this period, the Tyranid swarm had resumed its assault. Without the Fortress-Monastery to divide their attention, the Tyranids now had only one target left.
Endless waves of Tyranids surged toward the human positions. Deprived of the Orbital Command's precise tracking, the defenders were forced to rely on saturation bombardment to counter the swarm's charge.
However, they now had the addition of the Astartes within their ranks. The rear of the line no longer had to fear the swarm's flanking maneuvers; the Scythes of the Emperor would show the bugs exactly who the true masters of close-quarters combat were.
Supported by the heavy fire of the Aiel Guard, the rear positions remained as stable as a mountain.
At this moment, Alexei stood alone inside the Medical Institute, staring at the data on the screens before him. "So, this is the crystallization of the Emperor's work..."
By utilizing clever excuses—such as "let me check your internal injuries" or "I need to scan you to craft mechanical prosthetics so you can keep fighting"—he had convinced the Scythes of the Emperor to willingly lie on the scanning platforms for extended periods, providing him with a wealth of data.
"Whew..." Alexei exhaled a long breath. The next step was to find a way to obtain a gene-seed so he could attempt to create his own super-soldiers.
Stealing one directly was out of the question, but he wondered if the Ghosts could "recover" one from a fallen Astartes...
"I hope you won't mind; it's all for the sake of humanity," Alexei murmured.
He stepped out of the Medical Institute and looked toward the thundering front lines. No matter how elite his Aiel Guard were, they had suffered heavy casualties under the continuous pounding of the Tyranid swarm.
Fortunately, time was on his side. According to his calculations, the next wave of reinforcements was due to arrive soon. If they could hold out until then, his ground forces would return to their peak strength.
He only hoped the Tyranid hive fleet wasn't too clever. They shouldn't have figured out how he had arrived directly over Sotha yet; otherwise, if they surrounded the planet completely, he would be out of options.
Alexei returned to the Orbital Command station. Although he couldn't see the swarm's movements in detail, he could still monitor the status of every legion and defensive line from here.
Beside him, General Brand was calmly deploying troops via the communication system, plugging gaps in the lines, distributing firepower, and striking at the swarm's weak points.
Chapter Master Thorcyra, who had just rotated back from the front, was busy wiping his monomolecular chainsword. Now, the Space Marines could fulfill their true purpose. If the Aiel Guard on the lines were the unbreakable shield, then the Scythes of the Emperor were the sharpest spearhead.
Whenever a line encountered a Tyranid breakthrough that couldn't be halted, the Scythes of the Emperor would intercept the swarm from the flank and carry out precision strikes against synapse creatures.
Suddenly, a communication request came in from the front. A commander appeared on the screen, reporting to the group, "My Lord, General, Planetary Fortress No. 3 is under heavy Tyranid attack. Requesting reinforcements!"
Brand nodded and turned to Thorcyra. "Chapter Master, if you would be so kind."
Thorcyra stood up slowly and nodded. "Very well. Leave it to us." He strode out of the Orbital Command with heavy, echoing steps.
He immediately led two companies of Astartes toward Planetary Fortress No. 3.
The command center returned to its usual busy atmosphere. With the help of Thorcyra and his battle brothers, everyone believed that Planetary Fortress No. 3 would once again be saved.
However, a long time passed, and the Space Marines did not return to camp. Alexei, who was reviewing data, suddenly felt an ominous sensation—the same pang of unease he had felt once before.
As he was pondering this, the ground began to tremble. The entire crust of half the planet Sotha began to shake violently.
"My Lord, we are detecting abnormal energy readings from deep underground!" Brand said, his expression grave.
"This is bad..." Alexei looked at the screens, which were flashing with warnings of high-energy reactions. This was truly bad; the Necron Dynasty had indeed awakened.
"As expected, a massive free-for-all is an essential part of the Warhammer experience..." Alexei couldn't help but rub his temples and mutter. He immediately ordered Brand to notify the front-line troops to fall back to safe zones.
At the front of Planetary Fortress No. 3, the charging Tyranid swarm was suddenly swallowed by countless fissures opening in the ground.
Sensing that something was wrong, the Space Marines had already retreated to safe defensive positions. Thorcyra watched the collapsing ground with an increasingly grim expression. He remembered what Alexei had told him—that extremely powerful xenos were hidden beneath Sotha.
Now, those blasphemous xenos structures were gradually emerging before his eyes. Countless pyramids glowing with eerie green light began to break through the crust, slowly revealing themselves to everyone. An invisible pressure began to weigh on the hearts of all present.
But suddenly, that invisible pressure was neutralized by something unknown. Their bodies felt heavy and then light in an instant.
In the distance, the Pharos Lighthouse—which had been damaged for untold ages—inexplicably began to activate. A violent humming sound began to resonate.
The Tyranid Hive Mind also sensed these abnormal structures. Countless Termagants and Hormagaunts surged toward the massive, ghostly green pyramids.
Just as they were about to pour into the buildings, countless green beams of light shot out from the gateways. The former masters of this galaxy, the ultimate victors of the War in Heaven, and the pinnacle of physical technology—the Necrons—had officially awakened.
Countless Necron Warriors, transformed from the Necrontyr citizenry, stepped out of the tombs. The beams fired from their weapons could disintegrate an enemy's body directly at the atomic level. Even the ultimate biological lifeforms of the universe, the Tyranids, were no exception.
No matter how thick the chitinous armor, it was but a single shot before a Gauss Flayer. This was the "true damage" of this universe; only those synapse creatures with psionic shields could withstand a shot.
However, the synapse creatures that usually wielded powerful psionic abilities began to grow sluggish and weak, as if their psionic power was being suppressed by some invisible field.
The Tyranid swarm could only rely on sheer numbers to barely withstand the Necron purge. However, in the next moment, the Hive Mind realized it was wrong.
Dedicated Necron melee units began to appear on the battlefield. Skorpekh Destroyers, using their three spider-like legs, charged rapidly into the swarm, their massive hyperphase blades carving a path of blood through the endless bugs.
More and more Necrons appeared on the battlefield, sandwiched between the Tyranid swarm and the human positions. Countless green energy beams were also fired toward the Aiel Guard on the lines.
Despite their heavy power armor, a single hit meant instant death. The humans began to huddle behind cover, offering what limited return fire they could.
Among all the pyramids, the largest one suddenly began to pulse with light. Then, a majestic voice echoed across the entire sky of Sotha.
"Ignorant primitive organisms... witness our return, and embrace your death!"