บท 4: War on multiple fronts II
I teleport on the battlefield a short distance away from the Aeldari Warlocks and the Avatar of Khaine to clear out the stragglers who are forgetting themselves. My Lychguards are following me from any Aeldari I either don't see or don't care about to kill personally. I move with precision, killing fast and efficiently. More and more Aeldari are cut down by my hand and their souls are absorbed by my Staff of Power. After a while of the Aeldari rushing to their deaths, the Avatar of Khaine finally feels what is happening and turns towards me.
"YOU!! HOW DARE YOU!?! JUST LIKE YOUR C'TAN MASTERS PLAYING WITH WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. LET ME TEACH YOU A LESSON!"
The magma giant swings his weapon, the 'Wail of Doom' with incredible force and psychic power, cutting down on me and trying to destroy me completely in one go. I swing the Staff of Power upwards and our blades clash.
*BOOOOOOM*
In a cataclysmic clash of psychic power and sheer physical force, our blades touch and cause the surrounding space to crumble with the exchange. The fiery bloodthirsty temper of the Aeldari God of War and Strife meets my cold hard light-speed calculative prowess. The force of his swings shudders all of my Necrodermis body and would destroy any lesser being in an instant. But I'm not just anyone. I meet all his attacks head-on, slowly process his fighting style and calculate moves that are coming in the future.
My Lychguard is busy dealing with the Farseer and the other Aeldari Warlocks who are major problems for any other Necron. But my Lychguards are far superior to any other in the galaxy. The way they use coordination and technology in a beautiful green blend of destruction and death is remarkable.
'How long until they are ready?'
I connect to my Nemesor mentally while parrying another attack from the Avatar of Khaine.
'Soon, Lord Hasyn. The Krorks have once again arrived and are being their usual nuisance. I had to distribute the forces differently again, to hold everything off still.'
'Good, keep me updated.'
The plan I had in mind from the very beginning. The Fortress World of the Old One was always going to fall, but it was supposed to be easier than what is happening right now. We were supposed to have many more soldiers to fight and also the help of our C'tan Master. Now, I am fighting an overwhelming army of Krorks and Aeldari alone, while a big portion of my own army was lost in the landing.
But all is going according to plan and soon this will be all over.
*BOOOOOM*
Another attack lands from the Avatar and his fist impacts my chest with full force, unleashing a blow of psychic energy and flames. The intense heat is not as much of a problem as it might be for anyone else since my C'tan Master is known as the Burning One and his antics have given me quite a high resistance to heat. But the psychic power still does damage and crushes my chest area's Necrodermis.
There is no pain, no anger, no frustration ... just more of the same logic and learning as time passes. The way the Avatar of Khaine fights, is getting more and more predictable. Any moment and I will have it all figured out. My feet hit the ground and stopped my movement forcefully. Knowing the next attack is already incoming, I have a stasis orb in my hand already and drop it in his path of movement.
The orb activates, just as he appears before me. Time stops for a moment, holding the Avatar in place while my Necrodermis heals at impressive speeds, making my body not only in perfect condition but slightly above that.
[Warp energy detected. Catalogued and processed. Counter being implemented.]
Every battle, interaction and experience adds to my growing power and knowledge. Nothing is ever stagnant. The massive amounts of energy the Avatar releases are unlike anything I have ever felt. The only thing I know that could rival and even surpass it is the power the C'tan wield.
[Immaterium storm detected. Fight against the Avatar dimming the boundaries further. Suggested end to the fight as soon as possible.]
The stasis field is broken by the Avatar using his massive powers to break out of the time field forcefully. The Wailing Doom slashes through space-time to reach me and tries to decapitate me in one go. That doesn't yield any effects though, as I am prepared and counter his attack with one of my own.
Our clash continues and as we fight, I control the fight to push into the lines of the Aeldari, to do damage to them and save us Necrons the trouble. But the Avatar realises what is going on and changes his approach. Massive amounts of fire and magma shoot my way, as space twists and burns. The constant learning has paid off and I can read his moves before he does them. My Staff of Power knicks and slices his body more and more, while it siphons off his power slowly, by draining the soul of the Warlock whose body Khaine inhabits right now. The sheer scale of Khaine's presence in the Immaterium stops my attacks from reaping the souls of the Aeldari he uses for an Avatar, but he is still growing weaker.
And finally, the signal arrives.
'Lord Hasyn, the Blackstone Pylons are ready.'
The light of my eyes shines brighter suddenly. In a show of unimaginable dexterity, speed and sheer skill, I swing my Staff of Power and pierce the Avatar of Khaine with it.
"RAAAAHHHH!!!"
The Avatar screams in pain, as my Staff of Power absorbs more and more of his energy and soul. This also damages the Aeldari god Khaine while he chooses to stay in the Material realm. I can feel the power of the soul increase as it is absorbed and finally leaves nothing but an empty hull of the Warlock behind, forcefully pushing Khaine back into the Immaterium.
...
The battlefield in the close vicinity suddenly drops dead silent. The Krorks are continuing their usual shenanigans, but the Aeldari Farseer and the remaining Warlocks are in awe that I managed to defeat the Avatar on my own. It's a skill issue.
[Immaterium storms detected. Reaching critical point. Opening of the Immaterium and spilling out of psychic energy imminent.]
Massive storms start to appear in the sky, dwarfing the very planet we are fighting on. I can feel the psychic winds pick up and lighting starts to strike. But all of this leaves me unimpressed as it was all accounted for. I connect to my Nemesor Nakhmos.
'What are your orders, Lord Hasyn?'
'Do it. Activate the Pylons.'
'As you command.'
The ground starts to shake in the next moment and from it, several massive pylons rise into the sky. These Blackstone Pylons appear all over the Fortress World of the Old Ones and immediately act as anti-psychic field emitters, restricting the activity of the Immaterium in proximity to them. Space-time is stabilised right after that and the Warp storm recedes to nothing, cutting off the influence it has on the material realm. But that isn't the only effect it has.
'Blackstone Pylons 100% operational, my Lord. Shall we proceed?'
'Affirmative.'
From the pylons, an invisible pulse permeates the realm around it and affects the entire planet. These pulses have a very nasty effect, of disrupting the connection of Warp-sensitive beings have to it. The Immaterium has been sealed off and those who normally had a strong connection to it and could draw power from it, are now left ... blank.
"What?... what is going on?"
"I can't feel it anymore!!"
"Are .. we dying?"
All around the battlefield, the Aeldari are undergoing existential crises. But it's not only them, the Krorks are also feeling strange for some reason and their Waagh energy has receded to almost nothing. It worked perfectly it would seem. The timing could have been a bit better and if we had more functional soldiers, it would have gone far quicker, but this is fine as well.
"Attention all Necron's. Launch attack: Final assault. Level the battlefield and remove the filth from our eyes. It is time this farce ended," my voice transmits to all Necrons on the planet.
.
The tides have never turned any faster than they did at this moment. When before we were reacting and I was panning and redistributing the troops to react and play the game of war that was going on, this time we are razing everything to the ground and killing anything that lives.
I swing my Staff of Power in quick succession and cut down the Krorks who stand in my way. Nothing remains of them and their spores are destroyed a moment later. Nothing survives here today. The Aeldari are in peril right now. The connection to the Immaterium was severed, rendering them weak and especially confused. The Blackstone Pylons was a project the C'tan would one day be thinking about creating. And yet here I am already finished with it and tested in battle.
I cut through the Farseer and the remaining Warlocks with ease and make my way towards the fortress of the Old One. The planet is about to be fully taken over by us and while 'the Burning One' wouldn't like us killing everything without him being able to feast, I'm sure he'll get over it when he sees what I will prepare for him. There is only one thing I require from the Old One and that's all his memories and knowledge. The Old Ones are ancient and the knowledge they have amassed will be well worth it.
"Lord Hasyn, another wave of resistance has appeared in the fortress."
"Technological?"
"Indeed sir. We believe Jokaero."
"So they had some of them at hand. What kind of technology?"
"Nothing substantial. A large energy shield, that protects them from most of our assault and some energy-based weapons, designed to take out our machinery."
"A pathetic attempt to turn this fight around. Change the frequency of our Doomsday Arks until you find the right one and then enter the fortress. Otherwise, I'll turn it off myself."
"At once, my Lord."
The Jokaero are an intelligent alien species that resemble the orange-furred great apes of Old Earth known as orangutans. Though lacking any known form of language, they are capable of tremendous feats of technological construction and manipulation, and specialise in the development of weapons technology, particularly miniaturised weapons. They aren't developed enough yet to be of any danger, but their inherent talent concerning technology could prove bothersome. So we will make sure this nuisance is taken care of today.
I feel the Doomsday Arks change their frequency to somewhat lower levels, making them less lethal, but more useful against energy-based defences like this shield. As the green energy hits the shield, it slowly starts to dissolve and give way for our troops to advance. I take the lead this time. Followed by my Lychguard and my Nemesor Nakhmos, I lead all of our forces into the fortress of the Old One. The Immaterium is as stable as it has ever been and all communication using psychic energy technology is rendered useless. I don't want the Old One to warn the others of our achievements.
Anything that moves is killed. All enemies are destroyed, and nothing is left alive. I slowly make my way through this giant fortress. There are various large laboratories and rooms for scientific experiments. The history of the Old Ones' race and all their accomplishments can also be found. This will prove useful for me.
I blow the enormous door off its hinges and enter the giant 'throne room' where I can see a cold-blooded fat reptilian creature sitting and looking at me with anger and hate.
"So you're here, machine. How pathetic to see the once pathetic and weak Necrontyr transformed into even more pathetic soulless husks of metal. Are you happy with your decisions? Where did your jealousy lead you? Into eternal servitude."
"Your attempt at riling any form of emotion has been noted frog."
"Ah right. You can't feel any emotions anymore, because you gave away your souls for 'immortality'. Truly a wise decision."
"You could have offered your help to us in our peril and given us some form of ... sunscreen, to protect us from the deadly radiation. Your self-proclaimed benevolent and gentle species, who claim to have wished to nurture the younger, sentient peoples of the galaxy and spread life and intelligence across the cosmos, could have helped the Necrontyr. But you refused our pleas."
"Bah! When the Necrontyr met us, you developed a deep, jealous hatred for us, due to our near-immortal lifespans. The Necrontyr petitioned us for the technological secret of eternal life but we refused. Why would we not refuse? You couldn't have used the technology anyway. It was designed for us and us alone."
"Your argument is lacking. An intelligent species such as you, could have easily developed some kind of cure for our problems. Instead, you left us to our eternal suffering and death. We had to find other means to help ourselves. And while waging war wasn't the most logical choice, it was the one the Silent King chose to unite the Necrontyr."
"Is that supposed to be an argument? You have caused so much destruction and death. Your entire species has doomed us all and you still believe that this is truly what you want. In truth, you are being used and manipulated by the C'tan, your slavers as they consume more life and souls to satiate their never-ending hunger. You will end the same way I will."
"Your logic is flawed. The C'tan will be dealt with and I will personally slay those who remain and take everything they have, just like they did to us all those years ago. But you won't be alive to witness it."
"Do your worst. Kill me."
"You misunderstand. Killing you is not for me to do. There is something ... else, I have planned for you," I say and motion for Nakhmos to hand me the device I created. It looks like some kind of miniature vacuum machine, that is attached to a long and big needle. I see the fear and shock in the Old One's eyes as I hold his head and slam the giant needle into his brain.
"RRAAAaaahHHEEEAAaaaahAAHAA"
I can't rejoice emotionally, but hearing one of the reasons for my situation scream, does put a smile on my ... mind. After a gruelling 4 minutes, the process is finished and all the knowledge of the Old One is extracted, leaving an empty fat husk of reptile biology. There is nothing left, as I have not copied but fully extracted everything, to do the most damage and deal the hardest blows.
I take the device and connect it to myself, loading all the information into myself. All of these wonderful things the Old One knows and the millions of years of accumulated knowledge are uploaded and stored for me to process. My mind is already beyond anything the galaxy can understand and I begin to devise plans within plans on how to continue from here. I will have to find a way to either use the Immaterium for the same biological marvels as the Old Ones, or I will find other scientific ways to accomplish them.
"How is it, my Lord?" Nakhmos asks me.
"Perfect. We have just made our first step to freedom, Nakhmos. Not long, until we are ready."
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