Nareth led the group into the Ymga Monolith.
They ascended along a long and steep staircase, moving ever upward.
They quickly covered several tens of meters. When they were still a dozen or so steps from the end, before setting foot on the red onyx bridge, Nareth halted, and the others followed suit.
Gabriel peered over the Black Emperor's mighty shoulder towards the archway. He saw the previously stationary cannons begin to rotate, aiming in their direction.
"We need to input the correct control protocol into the pillars at the entrance; otherwise, the defensive weapon systems will open fire on us."
He recalled the memories transmitted by the Black Emperor and identified the cannons.
"Gauss Cannons. If we force our way through the cannon area at the archway, casualties will likely be significant."
Gabriel said with a furrowed brow.
Miguel Cuesta, the technomancer, scanned the Gauss defense array, observing the power cells and analyzing the connections and operational patterns of the kinetic transmission system.
After a moment, he spoke.
"I can use the Mindforge Staff to disrupt its power node."
Without the Mindforge Staff, he wouldn't be confident in disrupting the power node under the suppression of his psychic abilities.
But with the Mindforge Staff in hand, his capabilities were greatly enhanced.
"Handle it, Miguel." Nareth gestured for Miguel to come up and stand beside him.
Miguel ascended the steps. He took a deep breath and swung the staff, aiming the heart-shaped head at the crystal shimmering with green light.
Miguel channeled psychic energy into the staff. An invisible stream of energy shot out like a thread.
With a dull thud and a sharp tearing sound, the energy crystal of the power node crackled and burst.
Particles of alloy, like a swarm of electrically charged mosquitoes, scattered across the floor.
The dozens of Gauss cannons drooped powerless.
"Well done," Nareth praised.
Praise from his father made Miguel's face shine with pride.
The team advanced again, reaching the top of the staircase. Their boots sank into a damp, green mist.
Suddenly, a cacophony of harsh noises reached their ears.
It was the clattering collision of war-machine claws, mixed with the roar of gravity engines.
"Leave this to me." Sanchez stepped forward.
A beam of emerald light shot out from the darkness, clearly outlining the silhouette of a spider-like creature.
It was the size of a crane truck, constructed of metal.
The moment he saw it, Sanchez matched it to the Tomb Stalker from the information provided by the Black Emperor.
He knew Tomb Stalkers were responsible for overseeing maintenance and repairs, while also acting as primary security protocol automatons, serving as the eyes and ears of the central operating system, detecting intruders and swiftly dealing with them.
The Tomb Stalker projected a sensory scan grid, a silent spectrum of dark green light sweeping over his black armor.
The "Incendiary" charged forward rapidly. He gripped the sword forged from a Fenrisian Kraken tusk, his spirituality enveloping the blade, igniting it into flame.
A beam shot from the jaw of the Tomb Stalker. A layer of flame erupted over the "Incendiary"'s body.
The flames hissed, swallowing the beam.
Sanchez's burning flame sword cleaved into the multi-legged, spider-like monster.
The fiery blade split the unique armor of the Necron machine, shattering the glowing green sensor arrays and energy coils.
After hacking the Tomb Stalker to pieces with several strikes, the "Hunter" gained some understanding of it.
Although not as familiar as the flesh and blood lifeforms he had slain before, it gave him an intuitive understanding of the ancient machines.
From a "Hunter"'s perspective, Sanchez warned the Shadows of Order:
"Destroy their energy coils to take them down."
The team stepped onto the bridge carved from red onyx and looked around.
The bridge spanned a chasm between two high walls. The nearby walls were covered in exposed coil circuits and web-like glyphs. The other end merged with the dark structures deep within the tomb.
After advancing nearly a hundred meters, the screeching scrape and clatter of metal claws sounded again. More tomb guardians were arriving.
More bizarre spider-like machines crawled forth. These constructs not only served as maintenance robots for the Ymga Monolith but would also be immediately summoned for defense if intruders were detected, transforming into terrifying, lethal enemies.
Quite different from the machines the Shadows of Order first encountered, the new mechanical guards adopted a rather cautious posture.
The initial spider-machine destroyed by Sanchez had transmitted the intelligence it scanned, including the attack it suffered in its final moments, to them.
After computational assessment, the threat level of the intruders was deemed high. All Tomb Stalkers were in combat mode, standing ready.
Their weapon arrays were primed, their pincer-like arms constantly opening and closing, and the particle beamers on their backs began charging.
The Honour Guard uniformly raised their boltguns, firing a dense barrage at the glossy metal exoskeletons.
The first wave of spider-machines was destroyed on the walls, falling one after another.
Then came the second wave, the third wave. More Tomb Stalkers hid in the shadows, crawling out from the darkness, their countless eye-prisms reflecting a sinister cold light.
The team charged forward along the bridge surface. They saw a large gathering of mechanical guards at the end of the bridge.
Some of these mechanical guards suddenly opened up, releasing countless swarming, tiny metal constructs.
Tens of thousands of miniature machines, resembling beetles, swarmed up, rushing forward rapidly.
Each metal mechanical insect followed a simple subroutine, adhering to a set of pre-designed algorithms to avoid each other's flight paths and deftly evade the walls on either side.
The xenos alloy beetles were densely packed, moving in unison like a shimmering tapestry soaring through the air.
The "Pyromaiac" raised his hand, erecting a "Wall of Fire."
Two fiery serpents leaped up, casting a circle of blazing walls around him.
The Canopteck Scarab crackled as they fell, melting like insects.
The Shadows of Order fired a dense barrage, shattering the mechanical creations.
Nareth strode forward, ascending the steep staircase.
As the team climbed the steps, the mist drifting on the stairs condensed into moisture.
The stairs spiraled as they rose, and the walls of several massive halls came into view.
Countless pillars, kilometers high, thrust down from above. Green pulses generated by oscillations surged and throbbed within the crystals.
Irregular arcs of jade-green lightning crackled and jumped between the pillars.
The team passed through an even longer and steeper staircase, reaching the end of the pillars: an irregular pyramidal structure.
The pyramidal structure was dozens of kilometers high, with each side measuring several kilometers.
An oily, dense mist rose from the pyramid. The airborne micro-dust shimmered with a green fluorescence. Green pulses from the oscillations surged and throbbed in the surrounding crystals, crackling loudly.
Arsena as a "Student of Ratiocination" gazed at the structure ahead, inferring based on the observation.
"The construction of the pyramid clearly marks it as the core structure within the Monolith."
"At each of its four corners, there is a black stone chamber serving as a foundation. These should be four important componaents."
Nareth nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the pyramid shimmering with dazzling light.
"That pyramid is the energy core of the Ymga Monolith. I believe a Trascedent C'tan shard is inside."
The team continued forward, heading towards the black stone chambers.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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