Inside the tomb hall.
Silently withdrawing his gaze from the Custodian Guard, Leonardo, Adam shook his head helplessly.
'As expected of you, Trazyn. You cheeky bastard'
When it came to pulling off such abstract stunts, he had to admit that Trazyn had a unique touch.
''However, don't think this is the end.'
Adam thought to himself.
One day, he would definitely visit the Necron Overlord's Solemnace tomb world for a proper zero-dollar shopping spree.
Just like a British spice trader would.
As the galaxy's greatest collector, Trazyn's collection held many rare treasures that were well worth finding a way to acquire.
Whether it was the last of the ancient Orks, the clone of the Primarch Fulgrim, Necron technological relics, or C'tan shards, they were all unique items exceptionally difficult to find elsewhere.
But for now, he had more pressing matters to attend to.
Looking at the Necron army in the distance, which had gradually fallen into chaos, Adam turned to Archmagos Cawl, who was operating something next to a hovering servo-skull.
"How is it?"
"Just as you thought, those xenos have yet to restore a complete command hierarchy. It is the perfect time for us to attack."
Checking the data before him, Cawl nodded.
"Very well."
Hearing the answer he wanted, Adam immediately turned and strode forward. Surrounded by his companions, he reached the edge of the Void Shield's protection, leading the way.
Noticing the humans' movement, the Necrons' anti-matter particles and Gauss rays began firing incessantly toward them, but they were all completely blocked by the pale white Void Shield.
The vibrating air, carrying high-temperature winds, whipped against Adam's clothes, making them rustle loudly.
He raised his hand and pointed forward.
"Everyone, those xenos are leaderless and have lost their full command capability. This is our best chance to counterattack!"
"All forces, advance! Show no mercy to our enemies!"
As Adam's voice fell, the eyes of everyone in the specially crafted squad glowed with fanaticism.
"For the Emperor!"
Like a howling gale, the team instantly left the protection of the Void Shield and charged toward the Necron battle line.
Tactics?
Non-existent.
'My super-brain tells me it's time to use super-strength!'
According to Imperial Guard experience, a squad of fewer than a hundred people in such an intense battlefield should, theoretically, have a survival time measured in seconds once they left the protection of a fortress.
However, this squad was different.
Their individual quality was... a bit high.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Under the cover of heavy artillery fire directed by Archmagos Cawl—falling like a torrential rain—the roar of Astartes bolters intertwined with the hum of Mechanicus arc weapons. Vast psychic lightning and a rain of plasma bolts rang out in unison.
The distance that originally separated the two sides was crossed in an instant. Any Necron attempting to block their path dissolved like snowflakes under their staggering firepower.
By the time the leaderless, sluggish Necrons regained their senses, the squad had already pierced into their defensive line like a sharp blade.
A buzzing chainsword quickly tore through living metal, piercing the torso of a Necron. The Astartes silently withdrew his weapon, while the Kastelan Robot beside him swung its mechanical power fist, smashing a mechanical skull like a watermelon.
Shards of broken metal flew everywhere, piling up with the remains of other fallen companions.
Finally, a Tomb Obelisk standing in the rear adjusted its muzzle, aiming its heavy Tesla arc cannon at the targets wreaking havoc in the lines.
But the fire command was never given.
Unnoticed, the Inquisitor had appeared at the top of the black obelisk, coldly swinging her power sword. The glow of warp teleportation around her had not even dissipated yet.
Below, the Tesla barrels had already been crushed into twisted, useless scrap by powerful psychic energy.
Witnessing this, Night Scythes and Doom Scythes hovering in the air dove down to eliminate the psyker playing with "witchcraft."
Their fate, naturally, was either to be crushed on the spot by the vast psychic power released by Sibylla or to be dragged down from the sky by Commissar Yarrick using a magnetic beam, slamming into the ground in a burst of fire.
"Area secure. Threat confirmed neutralized."
Soon, Sibylla's report came through the vox-comms.
Adam strode forward with satisfaction.
With every step he took, bolts of plasma manifested and hovered beside him before firing flexibly and freely, turning every visible enemy vehicle into unrecognizable scrap metal.
Any Necron Warrior that attempted to approach Adam was reduced to dust before they could even get close.
Under Adam's fierce assault, even the Necron phalanxes, famous for their tenacity, saw their formations inevitably torn to pieces.
Meanwhile, on another part of the chaotic battlefield.
Beneath the wreckage of a shattered Transdimensional Ark, where the ground was a mess of scorch marks and shrapnel, a Cryptek struggled to pull his remaining body from the debris.
Sutton, the Cryptek, scanned his surroundings and used a plug-in in his data core to check his status.
Hm.
Data core 7% damaged. Main structure partially compromised. Both mechanical legs scrapped. Energy transmission array damaged.
If it were any worse, he would have reached the "kill line" and been forced into resurrection protocols—printing a new mechanical body and downloading a backup of his mind core.
But Sutton, who loathed the concept of biotransference to begin with, could not accept a resurrection method that might damage his precious memories.
He laboriously pulled out a box, and sand-like Scarabs swarmed out, quickly covering the surface of his living metal body to stabilize his fragile frame.
'At least I survived.'
Sutton finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, a Canoptek Scarab crawled out from a corner. On its surface, a green holographic image of Trazyn was projected.
"Welcome back. You look like you're in bad shape, Void-bringer."
Looking at the battered Cryptek, Trazyn's voice held a hint of awkwardness.
"To be honest, I thought you were dead."
"I am... currently functional," Sutton replied. "What is the status of the battlefield after the loss of the command hierarchy?"
"See for yourself."
Using the Scarab as a data relay, Trazyn transmitted the current battle data into Sutton's mind array.
After absorbing the situation, Sutton remained silent for a moment.
The situation was much worse than he had anticipated.
The combined combat power of the opposition far exceeded his imagination. Their breakthrough capability was shocking, even giving the Cryptek the illusion of being back in the War in Heaven.
Where did they even come from? Is this still hundreds of thousands of years later?
"So, what is your opinion now?"
"My suggestion is a strategic withdrawal."
Trazyn sighed with a very human-like quality. "You've seen the combat effectiveness of those humans. Moreover, I even suspect there is a C'tan shard disguised as a human among them."
He recounted the phenomena he had observed.
"This battle isn't your fault, Sutton. You were just incredibly unlucky."
"Fine, I understand."
Sutton's ghostly green eyes stared at Trazyn's image. After a long pause, he spoke again.
"However... I want to make one last attempt."
"Wait, you can't be serious?"
Trazyn seemed to guess the Cryptek's plan. "You're going to release the C'tan shard?"
"Yes."
Sutton nodded.
"If what you say is false, then all the better; the power of the C'tan shard is enough to wipe these humans out and let me turn defeat into victory. And even if what you say is true, it doesn't matter—the best way to deal with a C'tan shard is to deploy another C'tan shard."
The Cryptek's tone carried a sense of resignation. "Let it be. You know me, Trazyn. I cannot accept fleeing back to the Dynasty without putting up any resistance."
"Sutton, you will regret this," Trazyn couldn't help but say.
"I am the master of this tomb world, Trazyn."
Sutton shook his head and spoke calmly.
_________________
Omake:
"You will regret this Sutton!"
"Trazyn! I am the Hokage!"