On the human defensive lines, the smell of gunpowder and blood hung heavy in the air, and the roar of artillery never ceased. For some time now, the Tyranid swarms had been relentlessly battering their front lines. Even though these were not the Hive Mind's primary forces, the wave after wave of tide-like assaults kept the nerves of every soldier on the line stretched to the breaking point.
What unsettled the troops even more was that the Necron Deathmarks had begun attempting to assassinate high-ranking human officers. Alexei had no choice but to task his Ghosts with their protection. Although the two units operated on different power levels, the Ghosts were able to hold their own through sheer home-field advantage and their psionic abilities.
The rest of the primary forces from both Xenos factions remained locked in a stalemate on the distant main battlefield; the Necrons were being dragged into a war of attrition, pinned in place by the inexhaustible swarm.
Meanwhile, in Sotha's low-orbit, flashes of light bright enough to be seen from the ground flickered intermittently. Alexei knew those were Necron vessels. Judging by the density of the fire, this fleet was actually managing to suppress the splinter fleets of Hive Fleet Kraken.
"Damn it. I suspect the Imperium has noticed what's happening here. It won't be long before the main Imperial Navy arrives to join this free-for-all," Alexei muttered, standing in the orbital command center and watching the screens. Half of Sotha's sky was strobing continuously from the naval engagement.
On the ground, dense clusters of Blackstone structures had lit up, and stasis fields were being deployed across the landscape. Countless Tyranids crammed into every available inch of space, surging toward the Necrons as the Will of the Great Devourer clashed with the Gloom Weave (Null Zone).
All the humans could do was pray that the Xenos didn't turn their gaze toward them. "How much longer until the second fleet arrives?" Alexei turned and asked Brand.
"Estimated arrival in three days," Brand replied immediately, his expression equally grim.
Three days... the planet's low orbit was now almost entirely choked with alien ships. The Tyranids had brought all their capital ships in the system to the vicinity of Sotha, even abandoning their pursuit of the remnants of the Sothan human navy.
The Necron fleet was equally terrifying. One Necron vessel after another rose from the planet's surface, including many capital ships. Among them was even a World Engine (Cairn-class Tomb Ship). When that 15-kilometer-long hull emerged from the depths of Sotha's crust, the expressions of everyone in the command center turned complex.
Alexei himself frowned. He began to wonder if he should have ever dropped that Apocalypse-class nuclear warhead. Now, the war between the Tyranids and Necrons had spiraled completely out of control. Once one side emerged victorious, humanity would undoubtedly be the next to be destroyed.
Furthermore, if the Necron Tomb World beneath Sotha fully awakened, it would have a devastating impact on the entire sector.
The intensity of the war had exceeded their expectations, and they were left with no other choice. "Retreat," Alexei said to the heavy-hearted Torquill beside him. "There is no hope left for Sotha. Let's leave this battlefield to the Imperial Navy."
Torquill remained silent for a long time. Sotha was their home world, and defending it was his duty. But he knew Alexei was right; the planet was beyond saving.
"How do we evacuate?" he asked, suppressing emotions he wasn't supposed to have.
Good question. Alexei looked up at the flickering sky. He estimated that under these conditions, his Battlecruisers probably couldn't even enter the atmosphere. The moment they appeared near Sotha, they would be detected by both the Tyranids and Necrons and promptly destroyed.
Alexei looked down at the crystal on his interface representing the power of the C'tan. "Perhaps this is the only way." With the energy currently stored in the crystal, he was fully capable of warping in a Protoss fleet.
He had originally planned to warp in Protoss ground units, but the moment the Cairn-class Tomb Ship appeared, he knew that the outcome of the ground war had become secondary.
"Let me witness the Golden Armada of the Protoss." Alexei's gaze fell upon the list of Protoss ships on his screen. Although he couldn't warp them all in at once, a portion of them would be sufficient.
Sufficient to hold out until all humans had evacuated Sotha.
Alexei looked up at the digital monitors. "The Necrons aren't the only ones at the apex of the galaxy."
Before that, he had to stall the ground offensives of both parties. Seven days—the crystal would last for seven days once activated.
"That's enough." Alexei turned and walked out of the command center. "I'm going to the front."
Frontline Battlefield, Planetary Fortress No. 3
Frontline Commander Anna stood inside the fortress. Every blast from the fortress cannons caused the ground to tremble violently, providing the soldiers with their last shred of security. As long as the heavy vehicles on the line were still firing, they would never fall.
"Ma'am, a massive Tyranid swarm is approaching from the distance!" a comms officer's voice crackled through the noisy battlefield chatter.
"Notify everyone on the line. Prepare for defense!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
All heavy vehicles at Position No. 3 opened fire at full capacity. Countless shells rained down like a storm into the unending Tyranid swarm. Although these weren't the Hive Mind's elite units, their sheer numbers were enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
Just as the swarm was about to hit the human lines, a terrifying roar suddenly echoed across the entire battlefield. A gargantuan Nydus Worm erupted from the flank of the Tyranid swarm, and countless Zerg poured out from its maw. The Tyranids were caught completely off guard, and their entire offensive began to crumble.
Anna walked out of Fortress No. 3, staring at the scene in shock: "The Zerg Swarm?!"
Countless Zerg—creatures that shouldn't even be on this battlefield—were streaming out of the Nydus Worm. Their numbers were so staggering that they actually began to suppress the Tyranid swarm on the field. A brutal "swarm vs. swarm" slaughter erupted instantly, plunging the battlefield into total chaos.
At that moment, Alexei stood with his hands behind his back on a slope overlooking the carnage. Behind him, a Zerg Hive was taking shape with impossible speed. Numerous biological structures sprouted from the ground in an instant, and purple Creep spread toward the distance at a visible rate. Inside the hive, larvae transformed into cocoons one by one, only to burst open moments later into fully formed combat units.
Countless Zerg rushed into the Nydus Network entrances. The biomass accumulated over the past three years began to dwindle rapidly. Alexei had activated the crystal; in just a few heartbeats, the swarm had already reached a formidable scale.
They would take over the ground for the next three days. Three days later, the Golden Armada would descend to show the enemy the true power of the stars.