After listening to all of Trajan's reports, even Noah couldn't help but feel a little unsettled.
A massive fleet, whose size and numbers created a silent zone that already encompassed thousands of light-years, was heading towards the galaxy.
Such an opponent... even for the well-informed Noah, he had rarely seen such a large-scale Tyranid Fleet during his time serving in the federation.
If he were in the federation, he wouldn't fear these Tyranid Swarm, because the federation had even mass-produced light-year-scale astronomical warships like the Eternal Spire. But here, he was alone.
"Has the Custodes fleet sent out to explore determined the exact number of these Tyranid Swarm?"
Although Noah didn't think the Custodes could obtain detailed data, he still asked hopefully about the true scale of this Tyranid Swarm.
Trajan replied with a look of guilt: "I apologize, Warmaster, we have not confirmed the specific scale of this Tyranid Fleet. All we could detect was that the great devourer field it created could cover thousands of light-years, making Warp abilities ineffective."
"As for the exact numbers and scale of the enemy, although our fleet engaged the enemy, even with just the scans from our titan ships, we couldn't fully confirm the true scale of these creatures."
"During the battle, we already discovered at least a thousand Leviathan-class warships, each the size of a planet, pushing forward."
"The Patrol Fleet's titan ships launched attacks on the enemy, but even for the Patrol Fleet, whose titan ships' main cannons could easily destroy a planet, hitting the enemy's warships only managed to punch a large hole in them, making them lose combat effectiveness."
"However, the Tyranid Swarm's vitality is so tenacious that when we blew a large hole, their warships would at most drift in the void. Once a large number of Tyranid Swarm filled in the gap, that warship would become active again."
"To completely eliminate a Planetary-level Leviathans Tyranid Fleet often requires two titans to fire a full volley together, effectively splitting the opponent in half."
"Only then can it completely lose its vitality; even if the subsequent Tyranid Swarm wanted to rescue this Leviathan warship, they couldn't, and could only dismantle the warship on the spot."
"Based on the data obtained from the current engagements, our scientists conducted a detailed analysis of the Tyranid Swarm's decomposition and manufacturing processes.
It only takes 5 years for the Tyranid Swarm to decompose a Leviathan-class warship and then rebuild a new one."
5 years, this time might not seem like much to Noah, but to the people in the war zone, it was somewhat astonishing. If the Imperium were to build a Planetary-level warship, let alone 5 years, it might not even be able to build one in 500 years.
Given the immense scale of these Tyranid Swarm, if Noah hadn't appeared here, only the Emperor himself could have eliminated them.
Hoo... Noah took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure.
"So you mean you already discovered Tyranid Swarm with Planetary-level Leviathans fleets when you were operating outside the galaxy, and you even engaged them?"
"Then, according to the information received by the Patrol Fleet, have you confirmed their numbers?"
"Not an exact number, even just a rough estimate for now would be best. We need to have some idea."
Given the trouble the Tyranid Swarm brought this time, Noah didn't expect his Patrol Fleet to have the ability to directly detect the main strength of the enemy.
However, having intelligence, even if it wasn't perfect or accurate, was always better than having none at all.
Trajan thought for a moment and then gave a number.
"As of now, the number of planetary-sized Tyranid Leviathans we have discovered should be around 483."
"This is clearly not all of their Planetary-level Leviathans. Based on the planetary scale you provided, most of their Planetary-level Leviathans are around 16 units in size."
Holy Terra's planetary scale is 24 units.
"Among them, there are also some exceptionally large Planetary Leviathan units, around 39 units in size."
"The Planetary Leviathan attacked by the Patrol Fleet should be around 18 units in size. We can confirm that with the main cannons of a titan, two titans firing together can destroy enemy Leviathans up to about 18 units in size, anything below 20 units."
This intelligence was much more accurate, and Noah absorbed it into his mind for detailed calculation.
"Alright, I understand. You said, how much longer until the Tyranid Swarm reaches the Ultima Segmentum?"
"4 months. They only need 4 months to approach the Imperium's borders and simultaneously launch an attack on the Ultima Segmentum," Trajan reiterated the enemy's approach time.
"Good, I understand. From now on, besides the 4 Patrol Fleets needed for patrol preparations here in the Segmentum Tempestus, the remaining four Patrol Fleets will also be under your command.
Combined with the fleet currently patrolling the Solar Segmentum, the total number of Patrol Fleets under your command in the Custodes will reach 8. Now, gather these 8 Patrol Fleets and launch an offensive!"
"My requirement is to delay them for as long as possible. We need time to recover, and we also need time to prepare."
"The enemy means ill, and it will be difficult to contend with them using our existing military strength. Your mission is to continuously harass this Tyranid Fleet, slowing down their advance. I will figure out how to deal with them."
"Have Guilliman send all data regarding the Imperium's research on the Tyranid Swarm to me. I need to understand them."
"Understood. I will convey your request to Regent Guilliman. He will send all intelligence concerning the Tyranid Swarm to you. I will personally lead the fleet into battle next."
Trajan stood ramrod straight, gave Noah an aquila salute, and then turned to leave.
The Custodes remained the Imperium's strongest force, and Noah also did not diminish their status. Combat missions like fighting the Tyranid Swarm were still prioritized for the Custodes.
Trajan was well aware of the responsibility he bore; he needed to defend the Imperium.
He had to buy time for Noah, and also for the Imperium of Man. The Imperium of Man needed to mobilize more resources and fleets to resist this Tyranid Swarm invasion.
The last Tyranid Swarm invasion left the entire Imperium dizzy. This time the scale was even larger; if the Imperium didn't prepare early, things would be even worse.
Trajan left, and Noah continued his research once again.
The threat of the Tyranid Swarm was indeed immense, but Noah still needed to resolve the problem of the Chaos Gods of the Warp first. They couldn't have them tripping him up while fighting the Tyranid Swarm, could they?
He had to quickly perfect this virus bomb and then deploy it into the Warp to make those Chaos Gods of the Warp even quieter, even though the Chaos Gods of the Warp had been quite subdued during this period.
Noah's attention was still focused on the Warp, but the Emperor had been exceptionally happy during this time.
The plight of the Segmentum Obscurus 108 Worlds and the renewed interruption of humanity's resurgence had indeed filled the Emperor with immense anger and pain.
However, the moment the war ended, the Warp became much cleaner.
Numerous Greater Daemons, some capable of destroying an entire human Citizen planet when acting alone, were crushed like mere pawns in this war.
And the death of a Greater Daemon could not be without some cost.
The reason why no cost was evident before was because the real universe was also constantly channeling various chaotic negative emotions into the Warp.
This included a series of negative energies like violence, slaughter, and war.
This resulted in the negative energy in the Warp not decreasing much; instead, it was continuously increasing.
But this battle, which unfolded in World 108, caused a reduction in the constantly increasing negative emotions in the universe.
That was tens of millions of years of negative emotions and negative energy accumulated by the universe; one war directly cleared out half of it!
If such a war were to happen again, all these negative emotions in the Warp would likely be cleared, and those four guys would probably directly become true gods.
However, although a war of this magnitude was unlikely to happen again, the Emperor's life had become much better during this period.
The calm Warp made him quite happy even while sitting on the golden throne.
Beyond that, the more important thing was the massive expansion of the Binding Legion.
World 108 indeed suffered heavy losses, and the process of humanity's resurgence was indeed interrupted, but the expansion of the Binding Legion made the Emperor's daemon army even more formidable.
Noah valued every human Citizen and treated them as treasures, but the Emperor was not like that.
He valued the concept of humanity itself, as he wasn't familiar with anyone else.
For the Emperor to manage so many human citizens, this was the only way.
Although World 108 was severely damaged, leading to the interruption of humanity's resurgence, Chaos would no longer be able to threaten Noah for a long time.
It wouldn't be easy for a Warp that had been half-emptied to recover to its peak.
Now, the Emperor's daily routine was to watch Noah research weapons to deal with Warp Daemons.
At the same time, he would tease the four guys next to him.
The Chaos Gods of the Warp naturally saw Noah researching weapons to deal with them, as Noah never intended to hide it from them; instead, he openly researched them right in front of them.
But they were unable to intervene.
Did they really think they could do anything just because Noah let them watch?
After half of the negative emotions in the Warp were cleared, these Daemons themselves underwent some strange changes.
Not to mention, Noah himself was a powerful Psykers; although he couldn't defeat the four of them head-on, it didn't mean he couldn't withstand a few blows.
Now that Noah was researching weapons, preparing to make the four of them suffer, they had better just endure it, otherwise, if they angered the scientist below and he desperately tried to fight them... Just thinking about this scenario, the four Chaos Gods couldn't help but frantically shake their big heads, trying to shake this terrifying scene out of their minds.
No, no!
Such a thing must never happen; being targeted by a scientist is not frightening, being targeted by an enemy is not frightening, but being targeted by a powerful scientist who is also your enemy... More importantly, they couldn't kill him, and that made all the difference.
Now Noah could concoct things that would make them suffer; if this guy was pushed too far, who knew what he would pull out? What if he came up with something that would destroy everything?
"What? Aren't you very brave? Why don't you try to move again if you have the guts?"
the Emperor saw the Chaos Gods' reactions and couldn't help but tease the guys opposite him once more.
"Shut up! This time, you can only say you were lucky; if you're so brave, stand up!"
Khorne was somewhat angry watching Noah creating weapons to deal with him, yet he couldn't do anything about it.
When he heard the Emperor's words while already in a bad mood, he couldn't help but retort.
"Hmm? Are you serious?" the Emperor's tone rose several degrees, and he immediately prepared to stand up from the toilet... Everyone was having a good time just exchanging verbal jabs, why couldn't this guy take a joke?
"Fake, fake, it's fake, alright, sit down!" Seeing the Emperor about to stand up again, Khorne quickly spoke, signaling him to sit down.
Even if everyone was determined that the Emperor wouldn't stand up, who knew if this guy would suddenly have a moment of madness?
Under normal circumstances, if the Emperor did that, they should still give face; otherwise, if they provoked this guy into actually standing up, it would be different.
After the Emperor's interjection, the Warp returned to peace.
the Emperor resumed his spectator stance, preparing to watch the Chaos Gods of the Warp suffer when Noah's weapon was deployed into the Warp.
The other four, meanwhile, watched Noah's hand-crafted weapons with pained expressions.
He had even started building factories, preparing for mass, assembly-line industrial manufacturing.
What to do? They couldn't afford to provoke the Warp, nor could they afford to provoke the one outside, so they could only endure it, all because they had fought fiercely in Noah's territory earlier.
However, they were still Chaos Gods of the Warp, and after watching Noah make bombs, a smile still appeared on their faces.
The Imperium of Man's fleet had discovered the Tyranid Fleet beyond the galaxy, and the Chaos Gods of the Warp naturally had some sense of this discovery.
Although they hadn't directly found it, the sensation was there.
They could perceive that the Imperium of Man was about to face an unprecedented catastrophe.
That's right, they were about to be tormented by Noah and unable to interfere with the real universe, but they also believed that the Imperium of Man, facing a huge catastrophe, would likely have no time to quarrel with them.
At that time, everyone would suffer; looking at it this way, their suffering didn't seem so bad?
Thinking this, the four Chaos Gods of the Warp's moods improved, and they once again reverted to their spectator stance.
Such was the situation in the Warp, while in the real universe—
Trazyn and Oberon had been waiting with their warships in the Segmentum Obscurus 108 Worlds, ready to meet Noah.
For them, they had all the patience in the world to wait there.
At the same time, Noah was, after all, the supreme commander of this star sector, and he needed to clean up the mess after the war, which they could understand.
The human Citizen fleet could, of course, also spot the Necrons fleet lingering in the void, but no one paid them any mind; instead, everyone was busy with their own reconstruction efforts.
Patrol Fleet would sometimes patrol past the Necrons fleet, but they made no further moves against them.
The other party was just parked there; they couldn't just attack them, could they, especially since they had fought side-by-side a while ago?
A perfect misunderstanding thus arose.
The Necrons wanted to see Noah, but the problem was that these guys hadn't sent an official notice.
These guys thought that with their fleet parked there, Noah should greet them; as for waiting, what was a little waiting time?
The Necrons had slept for 60 million years; they didn't mind waiting a bit longer.
It was just that this waiting period was a bit long... And on the human Citizen side, the Necrons fleet was parked there, and since they were former comrades, they couldn't just attack them, so they just let them stay.
The two sides coexisted harmoniously like this, completely unaware—one waiting for humanity to contact them, the other allowing them to park in their void, too lazy to manage them.
When the human Patrol Fleet once again passed by the Necrons fleet, Trazyn could not help but begin to contact the human fleet.
A communication from the Necrons was directly forwarded by the Patrol Fleet to Noah, allowing the Warmaster to handle the matter, as the humans had no experience dealing with the Necrons.
Previously, encounters always involved fighting to the death; for such special Necrons, they truly had no social interaction.
"Hmm?? Is this Necrons fleet still staying in the void and not leaving?"
Receiving such a communication from the Necrons made Noah somewhat confused, as the war had already ended, so what were they still doing there?
Were they waiting for him to give them some rewards?
With this thought, Noah connected the Necrons' communication to his own equipment, and soon the figure of Tarason the Immeasurable appeared before Noah.
Trazyn first performed a very elegant Necrons salute to Noah.
Then he got straight to the point.
"Respected human Warmaster, this should be our first meeting. I have a trade I would like to conduct with you, I wonder if you are willing?"
"Elaborate. What trade do you wish to conduct with me?" "Could it be that you are asking me for a soul?"
After all, you should be considered a mechanical civilization, right? I truly don't understand why the robots of your civilization don't have souls?"
"I can understand ordinary units not having souls, but why do even high-ranking units like yourselves lack souls?"
Noah's words directly interrupted what Trazyn was about to say.
For the Necrons, what is most important? Isn't it the soul?
And why did they end up like this? Wasn't it because they were deceived by the C'tan, their souls becoming a feast for the C'tan, while they themselves became mechanical lifeforms?
Although it seemed they had gained eternal life, the sorrow within was only understood by the Necrons.
Without souls, the Necrons meant there was no longer a continuation; the civilization would eventually head towards its demise.
Their future was already sealed; once the consciousness of those more advanced Phaeron and Overlord within the Necrons Infinite Empire disappeared, then the Infinite Empire would completely vanish from the galaxy.
Hearing Noah directly mention souls, and asking if he was there to request a soul from him, Tarason the Immeasurable became somewhat agitated.
Along with Trazyn, Phaeron Oberon of the Sollantek Necron Dynasty also became agitated.
Although his status seemed to be inferior to Tarason the Immeasurable, he was still a Phaeron, and a Phaeron meant he was the head of his domain.
The conversation had now reached the level of souls, and of course, he also wanted to obtain a soul.
Oberon was the first to lose his composure and spoke, "You just mentioned souls, do you have a way to grant us souls?"
With an excited heart and trembling hands, his gaze was fixed on Noah, fearing that Noah would deny their question.
Even though their rationality was telling them that the possibility of Noah helping them obtain souls was very low.
But what if?
What if this human Warmaster, who had created countless miracles, might have a way?
Given the current predicament of the Necrons, it is difficult to understand why they have such a persistent pursuit of souls, because a great civilization is about to disappear, and they are heading towards their demise.
This feeling of waiting for death is unbearable for any living creature.
Facing the tension and expectant gazes of the two robots opposite him, Noah didn't feel anything in particular; instead, he nodded.
"Of course. Although my research into the path of mechanical ascension is not deep, merely granting souls to mechanical lifeforms is a simple matter that can naturally be done."
"This is just a small application of Psykers. Under normal circumstances, don't robots all possess souls when they are assembled?"
Noah didn't understand why the Necrons would be without souls, so he not only answered their question but also asked a question in passing... Trazyn and Oberon fell silent.
Why would they be without souls? This involved a major secret of the Necron Empire. Should they tell this human in front of them?
Wait!!!
What did they just hear? They seemed to have heard the human Warmaster opposite them say that creating souls was a very simple matter, and he had a way!!!
The two Necrons, who were just contemplating whether to tell Zhou Xing this secret of the Necron Empire, instantly realized the most important part of Noah's words for them.
He can!
Noah can get them souls!!!
Noah looked at their intense reaction, frowning slightly, seeming somewhat puzzled by their excitement.
"For Psykers, guiding, shaping, and even bestowing the prototype of 'consciousness' is not an untouchable domain.
Of course, the process for a complete 'soul' that can grow and experience autonomously is more complex.
However, I also need to tell you that for a normal mechanical civilization, granting souls to its subordinate units should be the simplest thing to do."
Noah didn't understand why they had such a high degree of shock and concern about this matter?
For a mechanical civilization, isn't it normal for robots to have souls? If mechanical units don't have souls, how can their civilization develop?
Unless that mechanical civilization is a Geth-like consciousness--
But even a Geth-like consciousness still needs a soul.
It's just that the soul only needs to be provided to a main core; without a core, a civilization cannot go far, and their technology will stop advancing.
Because a soul means creation.
Without the existence of a soul, technology cannot advance, and they can only rely on old things.
Alright, Noah once again stated that he could grant a mechanical soul.
The increasingly excited Necrons Phaeron and Trazyn couldn't help but say to Noah.
"Please, great human Warmaster, may we visit your laboratory to confirm if you can grant souls? This is very important to us, so we must confirm it definitively."
"If what you just said is true, then congratulations, you will gain the friendship of the entire Infinite Empire, and you will become the most important existence in the entire Empire."
"Please believe me, you will need our friendship."
Although extremely excited, Noah's words alone could not be fully trusted, so verification was necessary.
Friendship with the Necrons?
Even if these guys didn't say it, Noah was prepared to get it, after all, he didn't have a sufficient intelligence network in this galaxy.
And those damned long-ears had done such a thing to him; not seeking revenge was not Noah's usual style.
But where the long-ears were still needed to be found.
The Imperium of Man's intelligence agencies could be said to be quite abstract, so Noah set his sights on the Necrons.
"Of course, I will grant you access. You can each bring your guards in. I allow you to bring your guards as a courtesy from me."
To Noah, the Necrons' guards were almost negligible. For Noah, even if Trazyn the Infinite appeared before him, he could crush him with a single hand.
Letting them bring their guards in was just a gesture of goodwill.
Noah's immediate priority was to recover his strength and lick his wounds, but besides that, he also needed to collect as much intelligence on the Aeldari as possible, and then eliminate those Aeldari!
He didn't mind being somewhat lenient with these Necrons because it was all worth it.
Robots are also good partners for humans, aren't they?
Having received Noah's permission, the Necrons naturally acted swiftly. Both Trazyn the Infinite and Oberon, the Phaeron of the Minor Necron Dynasty, almost simultaneously went alone.
Noah telling them to bring their guards and agreeing to let them in with their guards was a sign of respect, giving them face.
But if they were really so tactless as to actually bring their guards, that would be a bit... Although Noah already trusted them so much and was willing, the Necrons naturally had to show their sincerity.
Under the guidance of the Custodes, these two Necron, a Phaeron and an Overlord, were led before Noah.
And after they met each other, Noah saw these two mechanical skeletal figures.
The two Necron Overlord and Phaeron, in turn, saw this scientist before them, who looked almost identical to a legend.
They looked at each other for a moment, then all three extended their hands, shaking hands to conclude.
"So how do you want me to prove that I can bestow a soul upon a machine?" Noah didn't have much time, so he was direct.
The two Necrons didn't expect Noah to get straight to the point so quickly, but after a moment of stunned silence, they quickly got into character.
That Noah could prepare to Daemonstrate so quickly indirectly proved that Noah could indeed give them souls, and being able to obtain souls was the most important thing for them. This was truly excellent.
"This method is very simple. I will bring a noble from our Necron Empire. You only need to give him a soul. If you can give him a soul, then giving us souls should not be a problem."
Sacrifice was necessary. They didn't mind sacrificing a noble to verify whether Noah could give them souls.
If it succeeded, they would be extremely happy, and even if it failed, it would just be the death of a noble.
Rulers generally wouldn't put themselves in danger; at least they would let their subordinates try first.
"Of course, I agree with your proposal. So please go and summon the noble you wish to bring."
"I have already deactivated the spatial force field shield of my laboratory. Your phase-shifting technology is quite good; just teleport directly into my laboratory."
As he spoke, Noah deactivated the shield system in the laboratory, allowing the space to be teleported into once again.
Noah's statement left Trazyn and Oberon slightly bewildered.
They hadn't even realized that when they entered the laboratory, they were already unable to use phase-shifting technology?
Trazyn quickly began a self-check of his system. He soon discovered that this was indeed the case.
Noah wasn't joking; when Noah's system was active, his phase-shifting technology indeed failed.
This discovery made Trazyn regard Noah even more highly, and at the same time, he realized the importance of the Imperium of Man's shields.
No wonder... Trazyn recalled what he had discovered about the cygnus war engine on the battlefield. These gigantic war engines were almost invincible and unresolvable presences on the surface.
Even if he directly attacked these cygnus war engines with his world engine, he was confident that these things would definitely hold out for a period of time.
But in the war, the fact that these cygnus war engines were destroyed by the Chaos Gods left him somewhat bewildered. Now, it explained the situation to him.
Most of the destroyed cygnus war engines had their shields broken, losing their shields under the direct intervention of the Chaos Gods.
Without shields, the Greater Daemons in the Warp could use an endless tide of creatures to literally bury the cygnus war engines alive.
The Warp could use such methods, but the Necrons could not.
Trazyn's attitude towards Noah became increasingly respectful. This was definitely an epic-level scientist; he had never seen anyone so formidable, even within the scope of the universe.
Trazyn's mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts. Compared to him, Oberon seemed much calmer.
Unlike Trazyn, an Overlord of a Necron Dynasty, if his Minor Necron Dynasty were to clash with Noah, he believed Noah could scatter his ashes.
Since the other party could scatter his ashes, thinking so much was meaningless. Instead of thinking about that, it was better to summon a noble from his subordinates.
Oberon contacted his dynasty through encrypted communication.
Not long after, a ghostly green phase-shifting light illuminated the open space in the center of the laboratory.
A Necron noble, slightly smaller than Oberon and adorned with intricate patterns, materialized.
The green light points in its eyes flickered, revealing programmed deference and a hint of unease towards the unknown.
"This is Lord Verakles, a loyal noble of my dynasty," Oberon introduced in his uninflected metallic voice.
Although his tone was uninflected, the anticipation in his eyes was visible to everyone. That was a soul, something the Necrons had desired for a full 60 million years!!
Noah nodded, saying nothing more. He walked to a control panel on one side of the laboratory, his hands rapidly operating on the blue-glowing interface.
Several mechanical arms silently slid out from the ceiling and under the floor, their tips flashing with strange energy beams.
"Before bestowing a soul, a small physical examination must be performed on your noble. If any components are problematic, some modifications will be necessary."
"It will be quick, don't worry. It's just to prevent the souls given to you from being somewhat deformed. After all, when based on a soul, whatever your initial form is, that's what the soul will become."
"Although the soul will subsequently change according to the changes in the body, it's better if it's perfect from the start."
As Noah spoke, he completed the examination of the other party.
After a blue light scan, Noah drew a conclusion.
"Your liquid metal is quite good, high quality, no problems," Noah said, reaching out and pointing at the Necron noble opposite him. After a distant point, he said,
"Alright, he already has a soul."
Noah's words fell, and the entire room was stunned.
Just like that, with such a light touch, and then there's a soul?
Trazyn and Oberon could hardly believe what they were hearing. If they hadn't seen wrong just now, Noah simply checked if his subordinate noble's body was healthy, then gave a light touch?
"It's done like that, and there's a soul?"
Oberon spoke in disbelief. Heaven knows how much the Necrons had sacrificed for souls, and then Noah's light touch made them feel incredibly absurd.
"It's not that he has a complete soul. Since you have been without souls for too long, directly giving a soul would be too expensive. I merely planted a seed in him."
"With this seed, he can have his own soul in just 400 to 500 standard Terran years. This is an extremely low-cost method, and I think it will be of greater help to you Necrons."
"After all, expensive things can only be afforded by the upper echelons. For the sake of your other common people, I chose this for you."
"In short, the foundation has been laid. You Necrons should have a way to detect souls, so why not try it?"
Noah picked up a cup of green tea from his table and took a light sip.
For him, the matter of souls was just a small thing.
A finished soul requires the sacrifice of a sentient ai, which is too expensive. However, a common soul seed only requires Noah to casually use psionic energy as an Introduction .
Evidently, Noah was eyeing the Necrons' liquid metal. Any creature's brain makes decisions: one is cheap, potentially affordable for common Necron civilians. The other is for nobles. Which one can earn more money is naturally self-evident.
If one holds a monopoly and everyone demands it, then of course, it must be something that even common people can afford.
The Daemonstration of the soul seed was merely to give the Necrons a catalyst, so that they would seek soul seeds for low-cost needs in the future.
As for high-cost sentient ai souls, Noah was waiting for them to ask personally, so he could make an exorbitant demand and severely overcharge them.
Testing, of course, was necessary. Noah was making his own plans, and Trazyn and the others quickly took out their instruments and began scanning the Necron noble in front of them.
The next second, the instruments in their hands began to emit pleasant sounds.
This meant that the Necron noble in front of them truly possessed his own soul!!!!
"This, this, this..."
Oberon was so excited he could barely speak. This was truly the most important day for the Necrons!
They had found a way to possess souls, and with souls, the Necrons would no longer be like dry bones in a tomb.
After 60 million years, the Infinite Empire finally ushered in a true turning point!
However, soul seeds were not enough; they wanted to try a finished soul.
"Esteemed human Warmaster, name your price. We want to try a finished soul. After all, soul seeds... seem insufficient. As nobles, I believe we should be able to afford the price of a finished soul."
Without Trazyn needing to speak, Oberon spoke first.
Noah, who was waiting for them to speak, rejoiced inwardly, but on the surface, he put on a very difficult expression.
"As you know, my subordinate worlds have just experienced a devastating war. Almost every world has suffered heavy losses, and I truly cannot afford to waste these resources to give you a complete soul."
Noah put on a very embarrassed expression, almost directly telling them that if they wanted to experience a finished soul, they needed to pay.
Noah's actions were tantamount to a direct hint. The Necrons, being creatures who adhered to noble etiquette, could very clearly understand the meaning of Noah's words.
"That was our oversight, Warmaster. Rest assured, just give me a price and a list of how many resources are needed. Just tell me on the list, and I will order the resources you need to be sent over."
"Finished souls are more expensive; I can understand that."
"After all, regarding the expensiveness of time, I don't think anyone understands it better than our Necron Empire. Our history is a race against time."
The Necrons' predecessors, the Necron Infinite Empire, was an empire that constantly needed treatment due to its genetic diseases. Its citizens all suffered from severe illnesses.
For the citizens of the Necrons, their daily routine was to take medicine to stay healthy and continue living. And as time went on, their illness would become more and more severe.
Once the medicines they developed had no effect on their disease, then death would come.
Although they slept for 60 million years after becoming Necrons, these Necrons were the ones who understood how precious time was.
The other party's kind words made Noah's face show some timely smiles. Finally, a list of supplies was sent to Oberon's hand.
It included Necron resources, living metal, as well as various basic resources for rebuilding his planets. It could be said that the price Noah offered for a basic sentient ai soul was equivalent to 1/100 of the resources to rebuild a colony.
And these resources could basically produce over a hundred thousand sentient ai souls.
These resources were definitely not cheap, and Noah could be said to have made a huge profit, after all, profits of over a hundred thousand times.
But it was precisely these resources that satisfied the Necrons' definition of nobility and the preciousness of time.
Oberon nodded in agreement after reading it.
"The price you offered is very reasonable. I think the price you offered is absolutely a fair price. I didn't expect you to be so fair, so of course, I cannot be stingy."
"I will quickly allocate the resources you need. As for the next experiment subject, please continue to use nobles within my Dynasty, if that is acceptable to you?"
Oberon cautiously asked for Noah's opinion.
soul seeds had been tested, but complete souls had not yet been tested. As rulers, they felt it was better to be cautious.
"Of course. After all, I need to show the guests what kind of souls I provide. I can understand you, however..."
"What you said before, if souls could be given, then the friendship of the Infinite Empire would be gained, is that statement still valid?"
"Valid! Absolutely valid! You are now the most honored guest of the Infinite Empire. If needed, my guard can stay to protect you."
Oberon didn't speak, Trazyn immediately rushed to answer!
Although he was only an Overlord, in some respects, his status was even nobler than Oberon, the Phaeron. After all, the difference between a Grand Necron Dynasty and a Minor Necron Dynasty was not just a little.
What he said, from a certain perspective, could represent the Necron Dynasty he represented.
"If you have any difficulties, tell us directly! If you have any needs, you can also tell us directly. Feel free to state your demands!"
This opportunity to show favor to Noah was one that needed to be seized well.
"Alas," the other party said, but Noah turned around and sighed sadly.
Noah was expressing his needs, and Trazyn naturally understood what Noah's actions meant, so he quickly spoke up.
"You can state your needs, and as long as we can do it, we will. Please trust the friendliness of the Necron Infinite Empire towards its friends."
After Trazyn finished speaking, Obyron also quickly expressed his opinion.
"Yes, sir, you can express your thoughts. The Infinite Empire is always friendly to its friends. If you have any difficulties, please tell us and never take risks yourself."
At this moment, Noah represented the future of the Infinite Empire.
The future of the Infinite Empire couldn't be secured just by two individuals gaining souls, especially since those two individuals weren't them, but merely nobles under their command.
If something were to happen to Noah at this time, those two nobles would gain a huge advantage.
They would be seen as the last hope for the Infinite Empire's legacy. This was something neither the Overlord nor the Phaeron could accept.
"Alas," even though the Necrons had already said this, Noah still turned around again and sighed heavily.
He had learned this from the Federal diplomats: to express his difficulties and firmly leverage those who wanted to rely on him.
Indeed, the more they needed him and the more difficult he appeared, the more these guys on the other side would strive to accomplish the task when it was brought up. However, this method could only be used in specific situations.
If the Necrons weren't so desperate for him to provide them with souls, using such a method would only allow the other party to leverage him.
But what could he do when the Necrons' need for Noah was unique and urgent?
Noah still didn't directly tell the two Necrons opposite him about his situation. Instead, he feigned deep thought and remained silent for a while before slowly speaking.
"As you know, I engaged in a fierce confrontation with Chaos, and the losses were not insignificant..."
They understood. This was about requesting support. However, the two Necrons still didn't speak. After all, they believed that given the price of souls, the resources they would provide would definitely not be small, and it should be enough for Noah to rebuild. The matter was definitely not that simple.
The two Necrons remained silent, waiting for Noah to state the main point.
"humans are never a weak race; I need to make that clear to you. And now that we humans have suffered such a provocation, I believe it is necessary to seek revenge."
After Noah spoke these words, both Necrons realized that the main point had arrived.
Trazyn spoke first.
"If you have a need, I believe I can make a promise to you on behalf of my dynasty. As long as you require it, my dynasty can also pursue those long-eared ones."
Trazyn could say this easily, but Obyron could not.
He was merely the Phaeron of a minor Necron dynasty; his dynasty was not strong enough to make such a promise, nor could it directly destroy an Aeldari Craftworld.
The most important thing was that his dynasty also faced the same trouble as Noah: they couldn't find the Aeldari Craftworlds.
"There's no need for you to act. The hatred of humanity must naturally be avenged by our own hands."
Although Trazyn offered for the Necrons to participate, Noah did not agree; instead, he rejected the proposal.
The hatred of humanity must, of course, be resolved by humanity itself. What would it be if the Necrons helped with revenge?
He only needed coordinates, not for the Necrons to carry out the resolution.
"What I need are the coordinates of the Aeldari. You Necrons were once the overlords of the galaxy; I am well aware of this. Therefore, I assume you should be able to find the coordinates of those long-eared Aeldari, right?"
To prevent the two individuals in front of him from continuing to babble and to save time, Noah now chose to directly state his objective.
"Coordinates?"
Even the Necrons couldn't possibly know all the coordinates of these long-eared Aeldari.
After all, they had slept for 60 million years, and the Aeldari had even come to dig up their tombs.
Moreover, they had built Aeldari Craftworlds that now wandered throughout the entire galaxy, so it wouldn't be easy to exterminate them all.
Obyron's face showed difficulty, but Trazyn, on the other hand, showed delight.
Because a minor Necron dynasty might not be able to solve this problem.
But he was different; he happened to know of an artifact that could be used to detect these Aeldari.
The Celestial Orrery. The Celestial Orrery was an artifact used by the Necron Maynarkh Dynasty to correct the existence of some threats to them.
One could say it was used to target whatever displeased them; once a location was targeted, it would immediately be erased by the Necrons, but the resulting cosmic void would require long-term maintenance by the Necron dynasty.
This artifact was rarely used by the Necrons because its consequences were too severe, but... if not used for destruction, it could be used to monitor the entire galaxy.
Since Noah only needed to know the coordinates of the Aeldari, Trazyn could once again do a favor and go to that Necron Dynasty to borrow and observe.
The last time, during Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade, he had borrowed the Celestial Orrery from the Maynarkh Dynasty for observation, which allowed him to discover the legendary battle on Cadia and preserve it.
However, even though he had a way to solve this problem, Trazyn's expression began to turn extremely grim again.
There was no other reason; it was simply because he was widely regarded as an unwelcome figure among the major Necron Dynasties.
No one would welcome a thief, even if that thief found a pile of excuses for himself. But a thief is a thief, and no matter what excuses he finds, it will only provoke disgust from others.
Last time he went, he had paid a huge price in resources and favors, and this time would be even more troublesome.
So, although Trazyn had found a solution, he was still a bit hesitant, and Noah saw his hesitation.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me that the mighty Necron Infinite Empire can't even pinpoint the location of those stray dogs?"
Noah's tactic was a provocation, but Trazyn's expression became even more unpleasant at that moment.
Was he to admit to the other party that his status among the Necrons was extremely awkward? Although he was the Overlord of a Necron Dynasty, his reputation and prestige among others... Trazyn indicated that he still wanted to save face, especially in front of someone like Noah, who could grant him souls.
"If you have any problems, just bring them up. Or I can give you a soul, which you can give to anyone you choose. Consider it a reward, how does that sound?"
"As long as you can provide me with the location of one Aeldari Craftworld, I will give you 100 souls, and they will be finished products specifically for noble use."
Noah named his price, and that price made Trazyn suddenly turn his head, his eyes gleaming.
Souls were incredibly important to the Necrons, and now he could acquire some unowned souls and hand them over to other Necron Overlords. This was an excellent political resource for him.
The Necrons were a star-spanning empire similar to a feudal system, composed of various great dynasties, small dynasties, and medium-sized dynasties.
Therefore, within the Necron's Infinite Empire, there were all sorts of political maneuverings. For Trazyn, souls were the most crucial element in his hands right now.
With souls that he could freely bestow upon others, he could use them to continue elevating his status and position within the Infinite Empire, and also use them as a form of exchange.
Obyron merely watched enviously as Trazyn acquired these souls; he had no way of obtaining them.
Because sometimes identity was very important, and he was just a small dynasty.
A small dynasty like his simply couldn't get involved with the Oluscar Dynasty.
The saying, "An innocent man with a treasure is guilty," was true.
If he were discovered to possess souls, he would be forcibly ordered to hand them over by his superior dynasty.
It was better to be honest and simply do business with Noah.
The Phaeron of every Necron dynasty possessed considerable wisdom, and it was this wisdom that allowed their dynasties to endure to this day.
Otherwise, they would have long been annihilated during the Infinite Empire era and the War in Heaven.
The deal with the Necrons was struck.
Trazyn, carrying the souls Noah had prioritized for him, headed to the Oluscar Dynasty.
Obyron, on the other hand, took his entire dynasty's fleet and personnel to dig for support.
Noah, meanwhile, prepared to start using the bombs he had already created.
The main idea was that everyone would have a bright future.
Except for the Chaos Gods in the Warp, whose faces were as black as the bottom of a pot, looking as if their fathers had died.
When they saw that Noah had already manufactured his Warp bombs and was preparing to deploy them into the Warp, these Chaos Gods were already deeply despairing.
A single bomb indeed had little effect on the vast Warp, even if it was iterated, but what if this thing could be mass-produced?!
In Noah's production facility, these bombs were being produced at a rate of 200 per day, and Noah had now accumulated 1,000 of them.
The Chaos Gods already felt that they would be attacked every day, with an endless stream of rifts appearing in the Warp. They were simply going to be disgusted to death.
It was like a certain kind of damage that you could ignore, but if you truly ignored it, it would make you pay a sufficient price, and even if you healed, it wouldn't matter, it would appear every day.
The Chaos Gods were cracking up.
the Emperor, however, was exceptionally happy.
The environment of the Warp had finally improved.
With Noah's actions, these Chaos Gods would have to seriously consider whether continuing to interfere with the real universe would provoke an even crazier retaliation from this scientist.
One side was overjoyed, while the other merely wore a mournful face, but regardless of their emotions, the final punishment still fell. Noah, without a word, deployed all 1,000 Warp bombs.
Among them, a full 800 were directly thrown at the so-called Grandfather.
Didn't Nurgle love viruses?
Didn't Nurgle love his so-called eternal life?
Then let him see what a true virus was.
The violent explosions of Warp viruses occurred in the Warp, and then they spread like a plague in all directions. Nurglings and Greater Daemons under Nurgle were devoured and turned into mere pigment in the blink of an eye.
When Nurgle did not intervene, large numbers of Nurglings and Greater Daemons disappeared. Their essence returned to the Chaos Gods, and they themselves were completely annihilated.
The return of their essence meant that a portion of the negative energy in the Warp was once again purified and drastically reduced. This was not a good thing for the Warp; it meant that their Warp Daemons were rapidly weakening.
In his helplessness, Nurgle had no choice but to intervene personally.
Emerald green light touched these corrosive voids, fiercely suppressing them, but even with Nurgle's personal intervention, the result was not as simple and swift as imagined.
These voids, responsible for devouring certain energies in the Warp, not only did not disappear immediately under Nurgle's attack but instead bit fiercely like jackals seeing flesh and blood.
Although these energy voids eventually disappeared under Nurgle's suppression, when Nurgle withdrew his hand, it had been bitten to pieces.
His originally rotten fingers were now gnawed to bits. After a while, Nurgle finally recovered, and the plague energy in the Warp decreased once more.
Nurgle suffered the heaviest losses, but after the other Chaos Gods finally dealt with the 1,000 bombs deployed by Noah, their faces, like Nurgle's, showed pain.
The four Chaos Gods exchanged glances across their respective divine realms.
"We must destroy Noah's manufacturing plant! If he keeps deploying these things every day, the energy reserves in the Warp will be unable to recover!!!"
Tzeentch's eyes darted around, and then he personally began to pluck the threads of fate. Large numbers of Tzeentchian Daemons, led by Kairos, prepared to infiltrate the 108 Worlds of the Nebulous Sector.
Unlike the previous wars, this time their goal was to destroy Noah's manufacturing project.
Chaos could no longer afford large-scale wars; they could only resort to surprise attacks.
For Chaos, for the Warp, to maintain the previous status quo, they had to exert their full strength.
The Warp's operation had begun, but Noah had no time for them. After deploying his bombs, he chose to begin assembling his legions.
He was a scientist, but he was also a Warmaster in this civilization!!
Since he was a Warmaster, he had his own responsibilities; he wanted revenge.
When Trazyn transmitted the coordinates of the first Eldar world to him, he would gather his legions and then, with the force of a thunderbolt, crush and annihilate them.
For the first time, Noah, as a scientist, personally began to assemble a legion. His legion was not a conventional single force like the Custodes, Grey Knights, or Space Marines.
The attempt to incorporate super-strong genes into the Custodes had failed, and even the attempt to incorporate genes from the Stars into people in the Warhammer universe was almost a failure.
Except for the delicious genes added to the orks.
But this did not mean that Noah had lost his abilities. As a scientist, he still came up with a new idea: Psionic Custodes.
His continuous research into the Warp allowed him to successfully create Psionic Custodes... The Custodes, who already possessed powerful martial prowess, combined with extremely high resistance to Chaos corruption and powerful psionic abilities.
This would be a powerful legion!!
Beyond that, the more important challenge was facing the threat of the Tyranids. However, compared to the Eldar Craftworlds, which could be dealt with by a ground invasion, the Tyranid threat was much more troublesome.
While assembling the legions, Noah also needed to gather a fleet. More importantly, he needed to construct stargates in the fringe systems of the Ultima Segmentum to facilitate fleet support and assembly.
Time, he needed time; he needed time to gather his legions.
Noah needed time for research, and the legions also needed enough time to produce a fleet. Where would this time come from?
Naturally, it required the Custodes to fight for it personally.
To resist the Tyranid Swarm's invasion, Noah directly dispatched eight Patrol Fleets. This fleet group, composed of these eight Patrol Fleets and supplemented by one million Custodes, formed the defensive fleet against the Tyranid Swarm.
When this fleet arrived at the edge of the Ultima Segmentum via the stargate network, they resolutely charged into the deep dark space of the universe, untouched by the astronomican.
The galaxy is a very small place within the universe, with a diameter of merely 50,000 light-years.
Such a size is but a drop in the ocean compared to the entire universe, and the Emperor's radiance can only illuminate these 50,000 light-years.
However, a drop in the ocean does not mean the universe is bountiful; at least, it is not bountiful around the galaxy.
There is a huge void around the galaxy.
Apart from the galaxy, which has a large number of planets, other areas are primarily voids, and the void's diameter is about 150 million light-years.
This is also why the Imperium of Man's warships rarely leave the range illuminated by the Emperor's astronomican to explore.
On one hand, without the guiding light of the astronomican outside, they cannot confirm their position and direction.
Once there is no astronomican navigation, exploring in the universe can easily lead to self-destruction.
On the other hand, the galaxy is already the most abundant star system in this vicinity. Outside the galaxy, you may not be able to find abundant star systems.
It is more likely that you will only find a bunch of voids.
Within the galaxy, you would encounter a star system every five to six light-years, but in this void, you might not encounter a single star system for hundreds of light-years.
For the Imperium's abstract navigation capabilities, this is utterly disastrous.
However, with the addition of hyperspace engines, the Custodes could confidently order their Patrol Fleets to enter the outer reaches of the galaxy.
Once the fleet entered the outer reaches of the galaxy, they were enveloped by endless darkness, as stars no longer existed; only darkness accompanied them in the deep space of the universe.
Such a journey, if one stares into the void for too long, can drive a person mad.
But the Custodes were different; they possessed an unyielding will, so even staring into the void continuously would not drive them directly insane.
The Custodes' fleet navigated through the void, and relying on the powerful detection capabilities of the Patrol Fleet, they had already locked onto the Tyranid Fleet heading towards their Ultima Segmentum from afar.
When Trajan saw the Planetary-level Leviathans approaching their direction, he couldn't help but gasp.
Although he had previously engaged with Planetary-level Leviathans, such Leviathans merely had the appearance of planets; their actual combat power was not as high as imagined, but... but their colossal size already indicated that even without powerful combat power, their represented combat capability was absolutely not weak.
At least in terms of being difficult to destroy, they were indeed absolutely difficult to destroy.
A single Planetary-level Leviathan was already so difficult to deal with, let alone the hundreds of Leviathans now within their scanning system.
...Everyone prepare for battle. At our current speed, we will encounter the Tyranid Swarm's vanguard in just two standard Terra days.
The Warmaster has entrusted most of the main fleet to us. Our mission is to hold them firmly.
At the very least, we must buy the Warmaster enough time to build sufficient warships, otherwise, when this fleet enters Imperial territory, we will inevitably face the destruction of the Ultima Segmentum.
The Custodes' soldiers are resolute and tenacious, but even with such resolute and tenacious soldiers, Trajan still wished to explain the importance of their current mission to them.
Because this could increase the warriors' sense of honor, even for the Custodes, whose sense of honor was already almost impossibly high.
But even at its highest, there are still ways and means to further increase it.
For the Custodes, a higher sense of honor means unleashing greater combat power.
After Trajan discovered this Tyranid Fleet, the Tyranid Fleet's hive Mind also discovered the human fleet.
Tyranid Swarms are a very peculiar entity; because they are always hungry, they always need to eat.
Most importantly, they can subtly sense where there is enough food, even without sending out a large number of vanguards, they can sense where there is a large amount of food.
They only need to thoroughly investigate in the Warp. The astronomican light emitted by Guilliman when he established the Second Imperium attracted these Tyranid Swarms.
Those previously defeated by the Imperium were merely the Tyranid Swarm's vanguard exploration forces, and this time, the true vanguard squad of the Tyranid Swarm had arrived.
As a civilization that has almost traversed the universe, their detection technology is naturally not weak. Trajan could detect them, and they, of course, could also detect Trajan.
"Zzzzzz... Zzzzzz..."
After a unique Tyranid Swarm language, a full 40 Tyranid Leviathans from the massive Tyranid Fleet broke away from the fleet group and headed towards the Custodes at a faster speed.
The previous engagement made them realize that the human fleet was not to be trifled with. This time, they dispatched more Tyranid Leviathans, preparing for a more extensive probing attack.
The fleets of both sides began to rapidly approach each other at a speed incomprehensible to other races in the galaxy, even the Eldar, except for the Necrons, and battle alarms were sounded.
When the distance between them was only about 20 light-years, the first volley erupted, with the titan ship firing first.
The massive laser gun attack instantly pierced through the body of a Tyranid Planetary Leviathan, but this was nothing.
Visibly, this Tyranid Leviathan was constantly being repaired.
A large number of Tyranid Swarm units sacrificed their lives as nutrients to repair the Leviathan-class units; this was the benefit of the Tyranid Swarm's gestalt consciousness.
Ordinary Tyranid Swarms have no consciousness; everything they do is in obedience to the commands of their superiors, so they can sacrifice everything.
Trajan, who had already fought the Tyranid Swarm, did not take this sight to heart.
The next second, even larger titan attacks also fired.
Larger holes were opened in the body of the Tyranid Leviathan that had already been attacked, and this strike heralded the death of that Leviathan.
Eight Patrol Fleets meant that eight titans attacked simultaneously, destroying four Tyranid Leviathans instantly before the Tyranid Swarm had even engaged the human fleet.
From this perspective, the Tyranid Swarms seemed to have no combat power; they only needed to maintain distance and attack with titan ships, and they were fully capable of grinding down these Tyranid Leviathans.
But as a cosmic scourge, are the Tyranid Swarms really that weak?
Although the four Swarm hive-World Leviathans were eliminated immediately, Trajan's face showed no joy, as the next scene confirmed why he lacked any hint of happiness.
After the Swarm hive-World Leviathans were destroyed, the remaining Planet-Class Leviathans behind them showed no hesitation.
Like a single massive organism, they directly swallowed their fallen comrades, mouthful by mouthful, into their bellies.
The next second, the Planet-Class Leviathans that had devoured their comrades grew even larger.
This was the most challenging aspect of fighting the Swarm Leviathans.
The Swarm could absorb all biomass and strengthen themselves, and these Planet-Class Leviathans could similarly devour the bodies of their dead comrades to enhance their combat power.
Visibly, the data detected by the warships was skyrocketing.
The outer shells of these Swarm hive-World Leviathans, which had devoured their comrades, became even harder.
Trajan, who had been watching this unfold, showed no surprise.
After all, this was their second engagement.
The most difficult point about the Swarm was this: they could devour their comrades, and in fact, this wasn't even the most perverse aspect of the Swarm.
If caught in a prolonged engagement, these Swarm could even re-birth the devoured Leviathans from within their bodies, turning them into satellite Leviathans.
This was a conclusion the Custodes had drawn during months of skirmishes with the Swarm.
According to this theory, if given enough time, the Swarm might even be able to reproduce new Planet-Class Leviathans from the biomass they had destroyed.
"Was the scene just now recorded?
If so, immediately transmit it to the Warmaster via our communication network."
"If we rely solely on warship combat, we will likely struggle against these bugs. We need to send this file to the Warmaster and see if he has a better solution."
As the saying goes, when the sky falls, the tallest one bears the burden.
For many in the Imperium, Noah's existence was truly a blessing. If Trajan were alone, he might be frowning right now.
But with Noah, that wasn't necessary; they only needed to execute the Warmaster's orders.
"Yes, Commander, I have already sent the data to the Warmaster," a Custodian beside him said, cupping his hands to indicate he had carried out the order.
"Good, now it's time to continue the fight."
"Our mission is to delay the Swarm's advance towards the Ultima Segmentum, so we need to destroy as many of their large warships as possible."
"These bugs won't waste such valuable biomass. As long as we can destroy their large warships, it will be enough to buy the Warmaster time."
"Now, everyone disperse and fight independently. Remember to utilize our speed advantage; do not engage in static combat with those bugs."
The order quickly spread throughout the fleet. Eight patrol fleets, like unfolding steel petals, instantly scattered.
All fleets, centered around Titan-class or Battleship-class vessels, formed dozens of flexible attack formations.
The superior maneuverability of human warships was showcased to its fullest in the vast emptiness of deep space. They no longer attempted to form tight battle lines but instead broke into smaller units, using their warp drives for short, precise jumps, launching assaults on the colossal Swarm Leviathans from various unconventional angles.
The Swarm's reaction was equally swift. The remaining thirty-six Planet-Class Leviathans did not retreat due to the death of their comrades; instead, they accelerated forward, their rough, thick carapaces generating strange streams of energy as they moved through the void.
Simultaneously, countless smaller Tyranid vessels—like moths, beetles, or twisted arthropods—swarmed out from orifices on the Leviathans' surfaces, forming an endless tide of biomass, attempting to overwhelm the human fleet with sheer numbers.
"All ships, maintain distance! Prioritize eliminating approaching small Swarm units! Lance arrays, free fire! Torpedoes, focus on the Leviathans' propulsion systems!" Trajan's orders quickly reached all Custodes Navy commanders.
In an instant, the silent void was illuminated.
Dense beams of light, like the needles of death, weaved through the Swarm tide, each flash vaporizing large sections of small Tyranid ships.
Inferno Cannons spewed destructive flames, while Nova Cannons detonated clusters of devastating energy spheres nearby, turning approaching Swarm into cosmic dust.
More importantly, the Disintegrator Cannons directly disintegrated all matter to prevent the Swarm from continuing to utilize these materials.
Disintegrator Cannons had proven extremely useful in previous battles. They could directly break down matter, making it much harder for the Swarm to replenish their units.
Meanwhile, proton torpedoes, trailing long plumes of exhaust, struck the relatively vulnerable propulsion organs at the Leviathans' rears like precise surgical knives, triggering a series of violent explosions.
In the initial engagement, the Custodes held an almost absolute advantage. Swarm units had little room for resistance against them, being largely slaughtered because the Swarm's attack range had not yet closed in.
However, the onslaught of the Swarm was endless.
The shattered remnants of Tyranid ships did not drift for long before being devoured by the surging comrades behind them. Some Leviathans even opened their massive mouths, sucking in battlefield debris along with smaller Tyranids that were not yet completely dead, converting them into new energy and matter.
Their wounds healed at a visible rate, and some Leviathans even subtly increased in size during the battle.
More importantly, as the distance between the Swarm fleet and the human fleet grew shorter, the Swarm's attacks gradually became more effective.
Large quantities of bio-plasma cannons, thermal acid barrages, thermal acid batteries, bio-torpedoes, grappling tendrils, and devouring tentacles began to assault the Custodes fleet like a raging tide.
The Swarm seemed to have gained some enhancements from their previous engagement with the Custodes; their attacks could even reach superluminal speeds, keeping up with the Custodes warships, thus making their efforts no longer in vain.
This was also why the Swarm fleet had only deployed 40 bio-Leviathans; after all, only these 40 Planet-Class Leviathans could engage in superluminal combat.
Trajan observed this change and quickly gave an order.
"Quickly record the current situation and send it back to the Warmaster! The Swarm seems to have grown even stronger!"
A large number of missiles, torpedoes, thermal acid barrages, and bio-plasma cannons bombarded the Custodes' shields, all blocked by the power shields.
The physical attacks, however, were all directly thrown into the warp by the void shields.
Sometimes, it truly felt like the Imperium of Man deserved to be attacked by the warp, after all, whose shields operate like that? Others are minding their own business at home, and you just go and hit them.
Who could accept relaxing at home only to have a cannonball smash into their face?
The fleets of both sides went back and forth. Thanks to the effective detectors in the Patrol Fleet, Noah successfully received a summary and report of the battle situation ahead.
He had already successfully seen the threat of the Tyranid Swarm. The threat of these Tyranid Swarm was not that their warships were powerful; on the contrary, their warships were not strong.
The true threat of the Tyranid Swarm was their vast numbers and their ability to even devour their own kind and then reproduce more warships.
Especially those planet-sized Tyranid Swarm Leviathans, they could easily produce more Tyranid Swarm units and then charge towards the Imperium of Man's fleet. This was undoubtedly powerful.
Noah watched all this, then he glanced at the number of Patrol Fleets he had already produced.
"Hmm."
In the time that had passed, only one fully-staffed Patrol Fleet had been produced.
There was no other way; the time was simply too short. In just four months, to have even one Patrol Fleet produced was an act against heaven.
"Trajan, hold on, continue to delay. I have a new Patrol Fleet that will Warp to your position in two days.
You will take command of this fleet to strengthen your own fleet's forces. Remember, you must hold back these Tyranid Swarm and buy us time."
When a new fleet was produced, Noah did not hesitate. He immediately Warped this new fleet, preparing to support Trajan.
Although doing so had the suspicion of a piecemeal tactic, it didn't matter. The number of the Tyranid Swarm was decreasing every moment, while our fleet was endless.
The Imperium of Man, this vast Imperium, its population advantage was Daemonstrated at this moment. At the same time, the usefulness of that large group of intellectuals in the Ministry of Political Affairs was also Daemonstrated.
Noah directly assembled this group of people and then sent them to the Naval Academy for training.
The Naval Academy was constantly replenishing a large number of naval officers and soldiers for humanity, and then after the fleet appeared, the Naval soldier would be filled in and Warped to fight.
The Tyranid Swarm, after all, was on a distant expedition. Their data was already there; it was just a small vanguard fleet. Although this scale was quite large for Noah at this time, he could still wear down the enemy to death.
Trajan, who was commanding the fleet in battle, received the voice communication from Noah.
The next second, his mood calmed down. This was the advantage of having a tall person. With a tall person backing him, he only needed to execute orders.
And reinforcements were coming! That was wonderful!
Trajan informed all the Custodes of this situation, and when the Custodes received the news that reinforcements were about to arrive, they became even more eager for battle.
For the Emperor, for the Warmaster, for the Imperium, for glory, for humanity!
The Custodes were the most powerful military combat units of the Imperium of Man. Their morale itself was also a very constant value.
At this moment, the Custodes, with an indomitable spirit, continued to engage in fleet battles with the Tyranid Swarm in space.
The situation on the Tyranid Swarm's side was pretty much clear here. At this time, Noah retracted his attention.
The Custodes could buy enough time, and then more Patrol Fleets could rush to support. For now, he still had to kill the Aeldari first!
The Warp had already been retaliated against by Noah, and the matter of the Tyranid Swarm could not be resolved in a short time. So, the situation once again returned to dealing with the Aeldari.
The grudge of the Segmentum Obscurus 108 Worlds had not yet been avenged.
Noah was still assembling his legions. Now, everything was ready, just waiting for Trazyn to use the splendid star chart to determine the locations of those Aeldari Craftworlds for him.
"Don't disappoint me, Trazyn..."
Noah murmured, resting his chin on his hands.
Trazyn, on whom Noah had placed a great deal of hope, was currently leading his world engine towards the Necrons' crown world, Thanatos.
The splendid star chart could be said to be one of the greatest treasures in the galaxy.
It was kept by the Olyka Dynasty. Last time, Trazyn had visited once, paying a great price to obtain the qualification to view the splendid star chart.
However, this time, Trazyn had enough confidence that the other party would lend him the splendid star chart.
Trazyn's warship arrived at the Crown World Thanatos. He had already been there once last time, so this time he was very familiar with the route.
When he arrived, the Olyka Dynasty had already discovered his arrival, and a communication was directly sent to him.
Trazyn immediately connected the communication, and what appeared before him was Nehekh, the Phaeron of the Olyka Dynasty.
"Trazyn!? Why are you here again? Didn't I tell you last time not to approach my world again? This time you ignored my warning again. Are you trying to start a war!?"
The Olyka Dynasty made a deal with Trazyn last time because Trazyn paid a great price, but that didn't mean the Olyka Dynasty was willing to deal with this guy.
It was best to keep this guy far away and not let him get close to his world. Otherwise, who knew what he would steal? "A thief never leaves empty-handed" described him perfectly.
"Don't be angry, great Phaeron. This time I came to you because I have a great piece of good news."
Any other time Trazyn saw the Phaeron coming out to drive him away, he would definitely run away, but this time was different. He had absolute leverage.
"I have something in my hand that you will definitely be interested in, and this time you only need to lend me the splendid star chart for a look, just like last time. How about it? Do you want to do this business?"
As soon as Trazyn finished speaking, Nehekh, the Phaeron of the Olyka Dynasty, said resolutely.
"No, I don't want to make any deals with you. I have no interest in anything you have.
You won't be able to borrow the splendid star chart this time. It's a work of art, and also a divine artifact. It absolutely cannot be used by you like this!!!"
Trazyn succeeded before because he successfully bribed an Overlord within the Dynasty, so it was lent to him.
But this time, the Phaeron himself came forward. What could an Overlord like Trazyn offer to move a Phaeron?
So, without waiting for Trazyn to say what he wanted to trade, the other party flatly refused him.
This was exactly what Trazyn wanted to see. The more arrogant and proud the other party was now, the more humble he would be later. Even a small Necron Overlord like him could make a Phaeron beg.
"What if I say that the thing I'm trading with you is a soul? As long as you let me see the splendid star chart and search for some things, I can give you a soul, allowing you to possess a soul again!"
!!!!
As soon as Trazyn finished speaking, Nehekh fell silent.
He didn't believe that Trazyn would have the guts to deceive a Phaeron, which meant that what he said was true.