Captain Kaelen held his breath, watching the pure white wings, tinged with a subtle blue, unfurl in mid-air.
Sanguileno! The great warrior of the Chapter's legends, a mysterious entity who always appears when the Blood Angels are in their direst need.
This noble warrior wore a golden mask similar to Chapter Master Dante's, engraved with the face of Sanguinius.
The heavily scarred Executioner roared and charged at Sanguileno.
Sanguileno's silver-white blade flickered in the shadows, deftly parrying the Executioner's crimson claws.
However, that Executioner was also exceptionally fast, quickly raising its bio-cannon and unleashing a barrage of bio-projectiles at Sanguileno in the sky.
Sanguileno abruptly flapped his wings, arcing through the air to evade the Executioner's attack.
At the same time, more Tyranid Behemoths broke through the dwindling Death Company lines, roaring as they charged towards Sanguileno in the sky.
Three newly joined Executioners lunged at Sanguileno.
The silver-white longsword sliced through the air, and Sanguileno agilely left gruesome bloody gashes on their bodies.
However, the one-eyed Executioner seized this opportunity to once again swing its blade at Sanguileno.
It was far faster, more agile, and more lethal than the other Executioners.
Sanguileno parried with his sword, diving down from the sky.
Unexpectedly, this one-eyed Executioner retreated without hesitation, avoiding a head-on confrontation with Sanguileno.
Then, a dense volley of whistling bio-projectiles shot towards Sanguileno.
Fortunately, Sanguileno's reaction speed was equally swift, and he rapidly ascended, dodging the incoming bio-projectiles.
Captain Kaelen's expression grew slightly serious as he watched this scene.
He found this Executioner to be peculiar, far more savage, insidious, vile, and also faster and stronger than the other Executioners.
This completely defied logic; Tyranid are almost all produced according to specific genetic sequences, and most Tyranid of the same species are similar, with very little individual variation.
Yet, the insidious cunning of this Executioner far surpassed that of an ordinary Tyranid.
A blue Doraemon was lying on a deck chair beside the biomass pool, as if on vacation by the sea.
Alexander, in the guise of Doraemon, watched the five pumps operating rapidly, continuously drawing viscous biomass from the biomass pool and sending it into his four-dimensional pocket, feeling a surge of satisfaction.
After verifying that extracting biomass from the Tyranid and converting it into money was feasible, he made another trip to Lexio, where he exchanged for several more powerful pumps from the locals.
This biomass was concentrated organic matter, extremely dense in nutrients, and could fetch a very good price even in the Future Department Store.
Moreover, extracting biomass was not only a quick way to earn money but also effortless.
With the arrival of the C'tan, the hive mind had almost all its attention focused on the two Tyrants.
The Tyranid's most powerful units were tied down by fragments of an ancient material universe's deity.
Alexander seized this opportunity, before the hive mind could react, to move between various biomass pools, always using his anywhere door to escape before the Tyranid could catch him.
Alexander took out a deck chair from his four-dimensional pocket, lay on it, continued to extract biomass, and continued to enjoy the epic duel between the C'tan fragment and the Tyrants in the distance.
The C'tan fragment was much smaller in volume compared to the Tyrants.
But the power emanating from him was far stronger than that of the Tyrants.
The Burning One fragment stood in mid-air, with scorching streamers like solar prominences constantly sweeping around, leaving a pile of scattered ashes with each pass.
The material world seemed to yield before his raging flames.
He moved like a constantly flickering star, instantly crossing hundreds of meters, weaving between the Tyrants.
Each time he swung his arm, layers of psychic shields were burned to ash. Even psychic energy from the Empyrean would be ignited by him.
The Burning One hunched his body and let out a roar that resonated with the fundamental structure of the material world.
Then, dimension itself seemed to begin to burn with his roar, and endless flames erupted from the void, forming solar wheels that rained down upon the Tyrants.
In an instant, one Tyrant's psychic shield was torn open by the flames.
The Burning One raised his flame-wreathed arm high and swung it fiercely at the Tyrant.
This almost savage fighting style proved effective, and the Tyrant let out a painful wail, stumbling and falling onto the ruins of a nearby building, knocking down a row of tall structures. More than half of its body was also bathed in scorching flames.
So savage that it fought almost purely on instinct, but being a C'tan fragment, instinct alone was enough to crush an Tyrant.
Just then, Alexander noticed that the Tyranid were gathering not far away, charging towards him with fury.
He skillfully stuffed the five large pumps into his four-dimensional pocket, then pulled out his anywhere door, ready to make a run for it.
"Alexander."
Suddenly, the winged figure in the now flickering white light spoke: "My power encountered a one-eyed Tyranid Executioner in Tartarus, with an exposed skull, covered in scars, insidious and cunning."
"Do you have any idea?"
Hearing the words of Sanguinius, Alexander paused for a moment.
A unique Executioner, one-eyed, with an exposed skull, covered in scars, insidious and cunning…
Damn, could it be…
Almost no Tyranid Behemoth was a match for Sanguileno in a single blow.
The silver sword, bright as snow, continuously cut down the charging Tyranid Behemoths, each strike leaving a gruesome bloody gash.
But only that unique one-eyed Executioner…
If it were a head-on duel, Calian believed Sanguileno could slay it.
But this Executioner's intelligence far exceeded Calian's imagination; it used other Tyranid Behemoths to constantly harass Sanguileno, while it stayed at a distance, attacking with its bio-cannon and occasionally seizing Sanguileno's weaknesses to deliver a blow.
"It truly is One-Eye, the Executioner," a voice full of surprise suddenly rang out.
A whistling sub-atomic cannon shell shot towards the one-eyed Executioner.
The one-eyed Executioner, almost without hesitation, used its claws to drag a Screamer-Killer beside it to the front.
The sub-atomic cannon shell exploded, and the Screamer-Killer was utterly blown to pieces, splattering into a bloody mess.
In the ruins not far away, a round figure was suspended in mid-air.
It was a blue Doraemon, with a red nose, its body composed of spheres, and a strange small propeller on its head.
Alexander put the Leman Russ Eradicator back into his four-dimensional pocket, looking at the one-eyed Executioner before him with great surprise.
One-Eye!
This was not the One-Eye from the Lower Nest that Alexander knew.
It was the Tyranid Executioner One-Eye, who shared his name. Among the countless nameless 'fodder' Tyranid, he was one of the few named Tyranid, considered a heroic unit among the Tyranid.
He was one of the vanguards of the initial Tyranid invasion of the galaxy. Due to various accidents and the efforts of an unnamed human hero, he was shot through one eye and frozen in the ice of the cave world of Calth.
Nearly a century later, a group of ignorant smugglers accidentally dug out One-Eye from the ice, and at this time, he was not truly dead.
Freed from his frozen prison, One-Eye had lost his connection to the hive mind. However, using his node-creature characteristics, he reassembled a group of Tyranid and genestealer that had been hidden deep within the Calth caves for many years, and quickly began to rampage across the planet.
And, perhaps stimulated by old wounds, a century of freezing, or the unique circumstance of being disconnected from the hive mind, One-Eye underwent some kind of evolution, becoming more powerful, cunning, and terrifying than ordinary Tyranid Executioners.
The Ultramarines tried everything to defeat One-Eye's forces, but ultimately failed to find One-Eye's body.
Then, One-Eye began to appear on more worlds, and even beyond the Ultramar Sector, as if he would constantly resurrect.
When Alexander heard this story in the past, he speculated that One-Eye's consciousness and genetic sequence might have been uploaded and absorbed by the hive mind, becoming a special Tyranid unit, constantly resurrecting in his former form.
This was a unique unit within the Tyranid, a one-of-a-kind special Executioner. The Tyranid deploying him truly went all out.
Alexander, in the guise of Doraemon, flashed and appeared beside Sanguileno.
Sanguileno nodded slightly at Alexander, saying nothing.
Alexander also said nothing to him, directly pulling out a Speed-up Clockwork from his four-dimensional pocket, inserting it into Sanguileno from behind, and twisting it a few times.
"Don't kill him; if he dies, he'll return to the Tyranid," Alexander said to Sanguileno.
Sanguileno nodded, then vibrated his wings, and in an instant, his figure vanished from his original spot.
Then he appeared almost as if teleporting beside One-Eye, who was attempting to self-destruct.
Sanguileno, accelerated by the Speed-up Clockwork, was impossibly fast, almost too quick for the human eye to follow.
In everyone's sight, Sanguileno seemed to have become invisible.
They only saw One-Eye's six limbs suddenly severed by flashes of silver light, circling in the air before abruptly falling to the ground.
One-Eye, reduced to a Tyranid 'stick', crashed to the ground. Without his limbs, he was like a giant worm, twitching and writhing on the ground.
The surrounding Tyranid Behemoths rushed forward, trying to kill One-Eye.
Because the hive mind knew that if Alexander got his hands on One-Eye, not only the biomass, but even his consciousness might not be recovered.
However, only flashes of white light flickered in the air.
Sanguileno, already capable of matching a Great daemon, was impossibly fast under the enhancement of Alexander's Speed-up Clockwork.
The Tyranid Behemoths attempting to pounce and kill One-Eye were instantly torn into several pieces by Sanguileno.
Alexander seized the opportunity, his figure flashing, and in a blink of an eye, he appeared beside One-Eye.
One-Eye let out an angry Damn at Alexander, as if accusing him.
Or rather, the hive mind was using One-Eye's body to curse Alexander.
Alexander grinned, and without hesitation, grabbed One-Eye and stuffed him into his four-dimensional pocket.
Captain Kaelen watched this scene with a bewildered expression, looking at the Tyranid carcasses covering the ground, Sanguileno occasionally appearing in the air, and the blue Doraemon standing in the center of the battlefield with a satisfied smile.
He always felt that the things he experienced in the Netherworld Star System were more bizarre than his entire century of service before.
Just then, Captain Kaelen felt a wave of heat wash over him. He looked up, bewildered.
Then he saw a "star" approaching the sky of Tartarus.
Fire, scorching, burning fire extended from the void, weaving into intertwining coronal ribbons that encircled the Burner C'tan Shard.
The figure engulfed in flames moved at a speed Dante could barely comprehend, evading the attacks of two Tyrants.
A coronal-wreathed fist instantly tore through the psychic shield of one of the Tyrants, striking heavily against its chitinous carapace.
The Tyrant stumbled backward. The Burning One, using fire as a blade, ripped a bloody gash in the Tyrant's chitinous armor.
Then, its scorching fist plunged into the flesh, and blazing, hot flames vigorously burned, injecting into the giant beast's body.
The giant beast let out a pained wail.
The flames on the Burning One ignited every part of its body; orange-yellow fire surged from the crevices of the chitinous carapace, and the Tyrant's body began to swell, heat up, and turn red.
Then, with a loud bang, the Tyrant's body exploded, scattering charred flesh everywhere, showering over the ruins already reduced to black ash.
"Roar!!!"
A low roar emanated from the body of the Burner C'tan Shard, and the material world let out a wail and tremor. Flames, defying the laws of physics, continuously surged from the void.
The Burner C'tan Shard uttered a series of stuttering, strange words.
Dante guessed they might be words the Necron once used.
Anrakyr's metal body stiffened slightly. He quickly glanced at the C'tan Shard in mid-air.
The C'tan Shard had just spoken the Silent King's name in the Necron language.
There was a hint of hatred in that voice.
This C'tan Shard seemed to be vaguely recalling past grudges and gradually beginning to break free from Anrakyr's control.
The C'tan Shard roared, and the flames defying the laws of physics that surged from the void converged, solidifying into a dazzling sun.
The Burning One grabbed the sun with one hand and hurled it fiercely at the approaching Tyrant.
In an instant, even the psychic shield, formed from powers from the Empyrean, was ignited. The sun smashed directly into the Tyrant's head.
Immediately, the star exploded, and the scorching corona and sparks engulfed most of the Tyrant's body. The giant beast then crashed down.
Anrakyr projected his will onto the C'tan Shard, which was still barely under his control.
The C'tan Shard was to travel to Tartarus, manually adjust the magnificent prism with its own power, guide the star's energy into it, and ultimately ignite the entire star system.
Hopefully, after this task was completed, it would still remain under Anrakyr's control.
The Burner C'tan Shard roared, and scorching flames formed a swirling ring around it. Then, the flames violently burst forth, sparks incinerating everything around them, and the Burning One transformed into a scorching fire meteor, flying into the sky, burning through the atmosphere and entering the cosmos.
The combined forces of Anrakyr and Dante swiftly eliminated the last group of Tyranid guarding the Mechanical Spire and arrived before its tightly shut gate.
The gate of this Mechanical Spire remained closed, but Anrakyr contemptuously waved his hand.
The gate immediately opened. Compared to Anrakyr's incredibly complex mental labyrinth, these primitive machines left by humans were mere child's play.
The Overlord and Dante stepped together into the ruined corridor within the spire. Blood Angels and Necron Warriors followed closely behind.
Pipes and machinery formed complex passages within the spire, and the rampant Tyranid symbionts made the place even more terrifying.
Cadia warriors who had once garrisoned the spire and workers who hadn't managed to evacuate lay around the passages. The Tyranid within the spire's apex were feasting wantonly.
These Tyranid turned their heads to look at Anrakyr and Dante.
Their mouths still bore the blood and organs of loyalists.
Dante let out an angry roar, his power axe instantly cleaving open the beast's skull.
Anrakyr seemed unwilling to fall behind him, striding forward quickly, his war scythe flashing in the air, a crackling sound of sparks echoing.
Before long, Anrakyr had surpassed Dante by several steps, tearing a path through the Tyranid like a sharp blade.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Anrakyr felt a competitive emotion surging within him.
"My Lord." Mephiston's voice suddenly echoed in Dante's mind.
Dante subtly nodded. He knew Mephiston was communicating with him through psychic means.
For the Necron, who lacked souls and could not access the Warp, this method of communication was absolutely confidential.
"That Necron Overlord named Anrakyr is not right."
Mephiston's tone was filled with deep confusion:
"To be precise, all Necron are not right."
"Hmm?" Dante's eyelids lifted slightly in bewilderment.
"They… seem to have come alive."
Mephiston seemed to be organizing his words, making them more coherent:
"That Necron Overlord has a faint echo in the Warp."
"If ordinary humans in the Warp are like candles about to be extinguished, then what ripples from him are the faint sparks that burst from a candle flame."
"This cannot be called a true soul; at most, it's something akin to the machine spirit. But he indeed has an echo in the Warp; he is no longer purely an existence of the physical universe."
"And other Necron also seem to have this tendency, just much weaker than Anrakyr."
Dante blinked lightly. His superhuman Astartes intellect allowed him to quickly grasp Mephiston's words.
Anrakyr had an echo in the Warp.
This was truly bizarre. According to the information Dante possessed, these Necron were purely soulless beings, cold machines. All emotions they displayed were merely feedback simulated by incredibly complex circuits within their metallic bodies, utterly devoid of true feelings and souls.
In a sense, the Necron were just a group of abhorrent intelligences, a group of machines completely isolated from the Warp.
However, Mephiston told him that Anrakyr had an echo in the Warp, a very faint soul. But Mephiston also couldn't explain how this change had occurred.
Neither Anrakyr nor the other Necron themselves had even noticed this change.
Only Mephiston, possessing powerful psychic abilities, could detect such subtle shifts in the Warp.
This matter held great significance for the Necron. As far as Dante knew, many Necron longed to reverse death, regain their souls, and escape these cold bodies.
Dante glanced at Anrakyr ahead.
The Necron Overlord seemed to be getting somewhat excited by the battle.
And Dante and the Blood Angels had already fallen six or seven meters behind him.
"Gene-witchcraft-modified apes, aren't you a bit too slow?" Anrakyr turned his head, casting a contemptuous glance at Dante.
"…" Dante stared at Anrakyr for a while.
Anrakyr also noticed Dante's peculiar gaze.
"What?" Anrakyr's blue-glowing head tilted.
"No, nothing." Dante said, without batting an eyelid, "I just remembered something not very important."
"What is it?" Anrakyr asked, somewhat confused.
"Nothing, I've already forgotten." Dante, wearing Sanguinius' golden mask, nodded slightly to Anrakyr, signaling him to continue forward.
Although the Necron had temporarily formed an alliance with the Blood Angels, they were still xenos, enemies of humanity. Their regaining of souls might not necessarily be a good thing for humanity.
Moreover,
Dante knew that if he could thoroughly investigate why the Necron had begun to echo in the Warp, holding onto this secret would be enough to control many Necron factions.
However, now was not the time to investigate this matter.
Once the plight of Baal was resolved, Dante would certainly return to the Netherworld Star System to investigate why this change in the Necron was occurring.
The Necron Warriors around Anrakyr occasionally fell. Their living metal bodies were torn with wounds by the Tyranid, and then they were teleported away.
The Tyranid would then attempt to decapitate Anrakyr, only to be slain by Anrakyr in turn.
These Necron Warriors from Perdita in the Netherworld Star System were far inferior to Anrakyr's loyal Eternal Legions.
Unfortunately, Anrakyr had no choice but to send his veterans to protect his spacecraft and stasis crypts.
Anrakyr wielded his war scythe, dismembering the Tyranid that lunged at him.
Dante, wielding his power axe, also advanced quickly, dismembering one Tyranid after another into bloody chunks.
The combined forces moved forward step by step until they broke through the Tyranid blockade and reached the magnificent prism transfer control console at the spire's apex.
Anrakyr's war scythe swiftly cut open the door of the transfer control console, and he and Dante stepped inside together.
Various extremely complex instruments were arranged throughout the transfer control console.
But Anrakyr's powerful willpower could be exerted upon any machine, giving him absolute control over these steel creations.
These creations, complex in human eyes, were mere children's toys to Anrakyr.
Overpowering the will of this control console was as simple for Anrakyr as subduing a child.
And those ignorant human red-robed figures needed various complex rituals, prayers, and appeasements to control what they called "The machine spirit."
Anrakyr connected his will to this control system with just a thought and a gesture.
The machinery hummed, but Anrakyr paused slightly.
He could vaguely sense that within this control console, which connected to the entire Ashford magnificent prism energy utilization system, a simple, beast-like will was relying on instinct to express its joy.
It was singing praises for the arrival of some entity, but that entity was not Anrakyr… it was…
"Praise the omnissiah… Praise the omnissiah…"
Fragmented, broken voices echoed in Anrakyr's ears, which made Anrakyr pause.
Then the control console began to hum, actively cooperating with Anrakyr to adjust the power of the magnificent prism.
Anrakyr the Traveller listened to the control panel's praises of the omnissiah and felt a slight bewilderment.
Could it be that under the strange prayers of those red-robed humans, even the machine itself had become superstitious?
But Anrakyr the Traveller had no time for such thoughts now.
The Burning One's C'tan Shard had already gone to Tartarus to manually calibrate the magnificent prism's firing, and Anrakyr the Traveller also had to act quickly, completing everything before the C'tan Shard lost control.
His will flowed from the control panel into the entire Ashford's magnificent prism energy utilization system, built by humans.
When the magnificent prism was discovered by humans, the so-called Adeptus Mechanicus from Mars, influenced by the Void Dragon's shards, developed a complete system for utilizing the magnificent prism's energy.
The entire Netherworld Star System, all human-inhabited planets, were using the magnificent prism to extract energy from two stars.
Although the system built by humans was crude, it now proved useful.
Anrakyr the Traveller would use them as relays, guiding the magnificent prism to direct the immense energy of the stars into the core of the gas giant Aelos, igniting that gas giant completely, causing it to rapidly collapse and release a powerful heat storm that would engulf the entire Netherworld Star System.
The human and Necron fleets had already hidden behind the planet, escaping the heat storm's assault.
The millions of Tyranid warships in the star system would be completely incinerated.
Anrakyr the Traveller opened his eyes and looked at Dante and the Blood Angels behind him.
He nodded slightly and said to his temporary allies, "I have finished."
Dante nodded back, and the combined Necron and human forces quickly began to retreat.
They had to return to Melos Port before the magnificent prism activated and the gas giant Aelos exploded, igniting the entire star system.
There, they would join the few remaining Cadian Shock Troopers still holding out and retreat to the far side of Ashford.
"This was never what I wanted."
Alexander, wearing Doraemon's face, looked up at the C'tan Shard, burning all over, stretching its hands towards the magnificent prism.
The power of that material universe's god was manually adjusting the magnificent prism, making this machine that extracted stellar power roar continuously.
Before Alexander was the magnificent prism's control panel, made of dull gray metal, with a green glowing button that was the master control of the magnificent prism; complex activation runes flickered on it.
Once the Burning One manually completed the calibration, Alexander would activate this rune, causing the magnificent prism to release the star's energy, shooting it towards the various planets of the Netherworld Star System.
This energy would pass through Ashford, reflect off the crawler array on Lexio, and then shoot into the stellar core of the gas giant Aelos.
"This was never what I wanted."
Alexander repeated again, shouting in a poetic tone to Sanguileno and the Blood Angels beside him:
"I never intended for my tools to attack."
"We once drove out the genestealer from the underhive, but the Tyranid attacked me, the Tyranid attacked all of us."
"It stole biomass from humans and attacked the humans of Netherworld."
Captain Calian, clutching his chest, looked at the blue Blue Cat in confusion.
And the expression of Chaplain Arofen, standing by, was even more twisted; if Sanguileno hadn't been standing next to the blue Blue Cat, Calian suspected Chaplain Arofen would have rushed forward to smash the Blue Cat's metal head with his Crozius Arcanum.
And Sanguileno himself... that legendary hero gripped the silver blade in his hand tightly, seemingly suppressing the urge to strike the Blue Cat.
"Netherworld has only one chance to be saved. If you don't seize it, then I will complete it."
Alexander grinned, gently placing his hand on the activation rune.
The words he was reciting were a modified version of Horus' declaration when he started the Great Heresy.
Sanguileno, standing beside Alexander, would have probably burst out cursing if he wasn't trying to maintain his image in front of the Blood Angels.
Sanguinius in the faint white light had already started cursing.
It was just that he had consumed too much power, and his voice was now barely audible.
"So, let the war begin!"
Alexander saw that the Burning One had calibrated the magnificent prism in the sky.
Under the profane glow of the Netherworld Star System's twin stars, this ancient Necron creation shone like the morning star at dawn, as if to cast its light across the entire Netherworld Star System.
"From the skies of Ashford to the edges of the Ringworld!"
"Let the seas of Lexio boil, let the Tyranid fleet fall!"
"Even if I spill my last drop of blood, I want to see the Netherworld Star System liberated again."
"If I cannot save it from your invasion, Tyranid—"
"Then let the Netherworld Star System burn!"
Alexander slammed his hand onto the green-glowing activation rune.
In the void, the magnificent prism erupted with blinding light.
That was the star roaring.
On Lexio, the Death Company Dreadnoughts roared, swinging their power claws.
Beside them were the warriors of the Death Company and the people of Lexio, determined to defend their homeland to the last moment.
In their final moments, these Blood Angels from the Flesh Tearers Chapter achieved the honor Seth had hoped for.
These mad warriors, through their noble sacrifice, held back the Tyranid, buying the Great Monastery the last bit of time.
The surviving people of Lexio respected these warriors in black power armor, even though they knew these warriors had long since fallen into madness.
"The cursed one of Lexio," the people of Lexio reverently called them, commemorating their sacrifice, wishing them release from the curse in death.
Many Lexio people were encouraged, willing to leave the monastery and hold the final line, even if it was extremely dangerous.
"But this is our land and sea," the leaders of the Lexio nomads said, "May your Emperor, now our Emperor, bless our deaths."
Until the very last moment, High Sister Magda's initial goal was achieved.
The nomads on Lexio once again wholeheartedly believed in the Emperor.
They praised the Emperor's name and charged into battle.
Perhaps the Emperor heard their prayers, heard High Sister Magda's prayers.
The monastery's Void Shield, which had been silent for countless years, was miraculously awakened and activated at the last moment.
Almost everyone felt the machine spirit of the Void Shield roaring.
Then, the Flesh Tearers, Battle Sisters, and surviving Lexio nomads in the Great Monastery saw the sky dyed blood-red by the scorching sunlight.
The sky was burning, and the seas of Lexio boiled and roared with it.
The Tyranid roared in the scorching shockwave descending from the sky, their bodies turning to ash and dissipating within it.
The arrays of crawlers welcomed this light, reflecting and concentrating it.
On Ashford, at Melos Port,
The Necrons betrayed their allies at the last moment.
The Necrons of Zalathusa vanished from their positions at the very last moment as the planet was engulfed by stellar light, teleporting back to their tomb world with their ships.
Humans were left to fend for themselves; the entire star system would be destroyed, but Zalathusa's deep underground tomb world would be unharmed.
In fact, not only humans, but Anrakyr the Traveller was also left behind, utterly bewildered.
Anrakyr the Traveller cursed Zalathusa for abandoning the honor of an Overlord.
But he himself also hastily departed shortly after, as the C'tan Shard was breaking free of its restraints.
Melos Port was almost in ruins; the Blood Angels of the Sixth Company, the remaining Cadian warriors, and the hive city gang members held out until the last moment, until Dante and the others returned.
The Astra Militarum and gang members were among the first to be evacuated.
Reyna and General Drost boarded the storm raven's crew compartment.
General Drost looked at the planet with weariness.
Millions of Cadian people on Ashford had sacrificed themselves here.
They should have gone to Cadia to fight for their homeland, but now they would turn to dust in the roar of the star.
Reyna's eyes were even more lost.
This was her homeland; she had given everything for it, but in the end...
Reyna gently reached out and touched the Holy Word Records tattoo on her cheek.
The tattoo seemed to be gently warming, as if with the Emperor's glory.
"If all this is the Emperor's plan, then it is the best plan," Reyna murmured softly.
"This is not just the best plan."
General Drost coughed a few times, raising his tired face to look at Reyna:
"In the Emperor's name, we have done our best."
"Think of how many people we saved; how many on Ashford survived because of the efforts of Alexander, you, and the hive city gang members."
"And think of how many Tyranid died because of our efforts; we defended Ashford, defended the Netherworld Star System, and even defended Baal, defended humanity."
"Here, every glorious deceased soul will return to the Golden Throne."
At this point, General Drost paused.
He glanced around but did not see Sister Adelaide.
Recently, that Battle Sister seemed to have been distracted by something, and had her own little secret...
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was vying for his attention, General Drost looked at Reyna and said:
"Where do you plan to go next? Baal or..."
Reyna gave General Drost a confused look.
"Or... Cadia."
General Drost's tired face showed a dry smile:
"You and your people have all been tempered by war, and my troops... the Cadian 184th needs successors and new strength."
"We must return to Cadia, not just with a few tens of thousands of people."
Reyna was almost speechless, staring at General Drost with wide eyes: "But we are not Cadians..."
Reyna held her breath, knowing what this meant; it was a great honor.
"You can be."
General Drost seemed to have regained some of his former strength; he raised his voice slightly:
"Cadia stands, not just the fortress stands."
"The warriors of Cadia, the name of Cadia, will also stand."
"Are you willing to become a Cadian? Cadia will be a new home for you and your warriors."
"And Ashford... Ashford will also stand because of your valiant fight."
"The planet may be destroyed, but loyalty and honor will not."
The magnificent prism on Tartarus roared, releasing a searing light.
The light of the Netherworld's profane binary stars was condensed into one, and with Ashford and Lexio as intermediaries, high-energy particle beams bombarded the atmospheres of the two planets, creating dazzling auroras.
Under the precise control of the Burner C'tan Shard, this scorching beam of stellar energy shot directly towards the gas giant Aelos. The planet's thick atmosphere ignited and burned, revealing the solid, flammable core within.
Above Ashford, Dante on the Avenging Blade watched this scene.
He knew that this gas planet was about to explode, releasing a powerful shockwave that would sweep across the entire star system.
On various planets, there were still many surviving Astartes, Astra Militarum, and Battle Sisters who had not yet evacuated or found shelter, and they too would become victims of the explosion.
Dante gently waved his finger, giving an order.
He still had one last gift for the Tyranid on Ashford.
The Blood Angels ships, standing in orbit above Ashford, unleashed all their macro cannons, torpedoes, and lances upon this planet, which had already been overrun by the Tyranid.
Everything burned under the orbital bombardment. The already crumbling hive city began to collapse inwards.
One by one, spires accumulated over millennia crashed down. The luxurious palaces of the Top hive and the wide streets of the Upper hive all turned to dust in the bombardment. The Lower Nest of Ashford saw the sky and the sun again after ten thousand years.
The towering statue of Sanguinius still stood at a crossroads in the Lower Nest, holding a sharp spear pointing at the ground.
His sharp spear seemed to merge with the orbital bombardment falling from the sky, transforming into a spear of light to punish the alien enemy.
Then, in the searing beam of a lance, the statue that had stood for ten thousand years also vanished.
Dante gazed at the planet below, watching Ashford's hive city turn into completely collapsed ruins.
The surviving Tyranid stood in the ruins, roaring loudly at the Blood Angels ships in the sky.
Meanwhile, Dante's ships swiftly hid on the far side of the planet.
At the same time, the surface of the gas planet Aelos began to burn under the light of the magnificent prism. The vast, ocean-like surface of the gas planet was forcefully burned open, creating a monstrous gash that reached into its core.
The entire planet exploded after a violent tremor. Countless gaseous substances ignited and were ejected into the Netherworld Star System. The entire gas planet instantly transformed into a scorching nebula, accompanied by a powerful shockwave that swept across the entire Netherworld Star System.
The bio-ships in space let out silent wails. Their chitinous carapaces were insignificant in the intense heat released by the planetary explosion, burning into char alongside their flesh.
Millions of Tyranid bio-ships turned to charcoal in the explosion, and as the shockwave enveloped every planet in the Netherworld Star System, the swarming Tyranid on them rapidly evaporated and vanished like morning dew in the sun.
On Lexio, Seth and High Sister Magda looked out beyond the cathedral monastery. The entire star system was enveloped in scorching flames.
The sea that had pursued the shepherds on Lexio for thousands of years evaporated, and the Tyranid on Lexio were also burned into vapor and disappeared.
"It's over," High Sister Magda said wearily, her face full of pain and sorrow.
"Over?"
Gabriel Seth slightly opened his mouth, spitting out a mouthful of bloody air. Fangs subtly protruded from his mouth.
How many of the remaining Flesh Tearers died on this planet? How many fell into the Black Rage because of this?
If not for the cathedral's Void Shield activating by chance, almost all Flesh Tearers would have been reduced to dust.
Gabriel Seth felt only anger and an uncontrollable bloodlust.
"By the blood of Sanguinius, this is just the beginning."
"Only blood can repay blood."
Gabriel Seth's roar was low and chilling, filled with an uncontrollable bloodlust.
High Sister Magda nodded stiffly. Ten thousand Battle Sisters had followed her to Ashford.
High Sister Magda looked behind her and saw only a few dozen Battle Sisters still standing by her side.
"May the Emperor forgive my sins," High Sister Magda wailed.
Tartarus was bathed in a sea of fire. Dark red sunlight, ejected contents of the gas planet, and scorching impact swept across the entire planet's surface.
The Priest Arofen and Captain Kaelen on it had hastily evacuated, entering their ships and hiding on the far side of the planet.
On the scorching, burning planet, only a golden figure and a blue fat man still stood.
Sanguileno, wearing a golden mask, floated in the sea of fire. The intense flames from the planetary explosion slightly singed his feathers, bathing him in a dark red glow. His mask also shone brightly.
Alexander's adaptation lamp vanished with the wind. This item from the 22nd century granted him unparalleled environmental adaptability.
Let alone the searing shockwave from a planetary explosion, he would not suffer the slightest harm even walking on the surface of a star.
Alexander glanced at the golden armored warrior beside him, who was clearly touched by the Warp.
He seemed to stand in the flames by virtue of his Warp characteristics, having suffered no real harm.
Both he and Alexander were watching the scene in the sky.
Above Tartarus, three suns burned fiercely.
The Netherworld Star System's two profane binary stars, and the Burner C'tan Shard.
The shard of that ancient material universe god was using its power to control the magnificent prism, releasing scorching stellar light.
But with the shockwave from Aelos' explosion, even the magnificent prism itself was slowly cracking under the impact of the planetary explosion.
This ancient Necron artifact, capable of harnessing stellar power, shattered into pieces of black metal.
What followed was a ripple on the two profane stars of the Netherworld Star System, caused by the recoil. Scarlet coronas were ejected, falling into the Burner C'tan Shard like blood-stained ribbons.
No sound was heard, but whether it was Alexander or Sanguileno, or indeed everyone in the entire Netherworld Star System, they all heard a joyous roar.
It was the satisfaction of a thirsty vampire tasting blood again, the joy of a lost person suddenly understanding, the delight of a shard of an ancient god slightly realizing its own existence.
The entire Netherworld Star System trembled, and almost everyone simultaneously noticed that the air had become much hotter.
The countless beings on the ships instinctively looked towards the direction of the Netherworld Star System's stars.
On the barge used by the Blood Angels to rescue Ashford's residents, Reyna, with a Cadian Shock Troopers insignia pinned to her chest, stood before a porthole, gazing at the three dimly burning suns in the distance.
Behind her, countless Ashford refugees also stared blankly at this scene.
But only Reyna knew what it was.
She had learned of the existence of the C'tan from the Blood Angels.
They were the gods of the ancient material universe, pure energy beings that fed on stellar energy.
The Burner C'tan Shard roared, seizing the energy of the Netherworld's binary stars. The light of these two stars seemed to dim noticeably.
The blood-like stellar light gradually merged into the body of the Burner C'tan Shard, also burning His body crimson.
The energy ribbons around Him, like a corona, intertwined, forming a pair of huge, membrane-like wings.
The thin wings, large enough to cover all of Tartarus, then spread. The raging flames on Tartarus instantly converged into a scorching fire tornado, merging into the Burner's body.
He is the Burning One, the Lord of all Flames, the fierce fire that incinerated the pride of the Old Ones.
He roared silently, and the material universe portion of the entire Netherworld Star System seemed to submit to Him.
The searing flames thrown out by the planetary explosion rapidly converged from all directions of the star system, surging into His body.
Alexander waited calmly, waiting for the power of this C'tan to return to its peak.
He knew that this C'tan Shard before him had almost broken free from the shackles imposed upon it by the Necron, and had slightly regained some self amidst its fragmented personality and memories.
An ancient god of the material universe was attempting to return, and He was gradually growing stronger.
The entire Netherworld Star System had become His feeding ground; its stars, its flames, its burning, even...
The Burner C'tan Shard gently vibrated its membrane-like wings.
Though the light of stars was sweet, it could no longer satisfy Him.
In His fragmented memories, the Burner C'tan Shard recalled something even more delicious.
In ancient times, when the Necron were still known as the Necron, the C'tan discovered something more delicious and powerful than stellar light in the Necron.
Souls. The souls of living beings attracted the C'tan more than the stars themselves, making the C'tan drool.
So the C'tan wove the lie of biotransference, promising the Necron immortality in living metal bodies, and teaching the Necron to create the furnaces for forging life.
However, Alexander knew that...
The so-called biotransference was the C'tan' dining table and kitchen.
The C'tan feasted on the Necron souls, which they processed into sweet treats.
The kitchen waste they left behind became the Necron.
What was injected into the Necron metal bodies was merely a replicated data personality.
This was one of the most foolish mistakes in the entire galaxy; the Necron destroyed themselves.
Now, the Burner's consciousness was gradually awakening, and His craving for souls was reawakened.
And the barges in this star system, carrying countless humans, became the dinner plates in His eyes.
The Burner let out a silent roar, and flames inexplicably ignited in the void.
Then He gently vibrated His wings, and His flame-engulfed body surged into the starry sky like a bird, flying towards the ships suspended on the far side of the planets.
But this god of the material universe did not notice that...
Standing on Tartarus, the blue raccoon-like creature also had a similar greed welling up in its eyes.
It was a look of wanting to eat, of seeing Him as food.
"Brother, brother, don't run, you smell so good."
Alexander grinned and pulled out an anywhere door from his four-dimensional pocket.