"Have we finally found Trazyn the Infinite's lair?"
Alex learned from Cortana that the Emperor Niuma Battle Group's Players had found one of Trazyn's collection planets.
"Master, should we have them attack immediately?" Cortana asked.
Alex shook his head. "That would be too rash. Trazyn, as a Necron Overlord, isn't that easy to deal with."
Trazyn the Infinite is the ruler of the Tomb World Solemnace.
He fancies himself a preserver of the galaxy's history, artifacts, and major events, earning him the nickname "King of Figurines."
He is the only physical entity in the galaxy capable of contending with the Blood Ravens for the title of "Saint of Thieves."
His most favored tactic is to use various avatars to play the trick of "luring the tiger out of its mountain lair."
Whenever an enemy painstakingly kills a Necrons that looks very much like the King of Figurines, they turn around only to find their treasury has been ransacked by another of the King of Figurines' avatars.
This trick has been tried and tested, leaving countless victims gnashing their teeth.
Even among the many Necrons dynasties, Trazyn is quite hated, because he always takes advantage of others' slumber to open their treasuries.
Although the Necrons are not as glorious as they once were, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse.
Moreover, Trazyn is no ordinary Necron Overlord.
This guy has countless trump cards up his sleeve.
Dealing with him is extremely difficult.
"Then what should we do?"
"The Hogwarts Battle Group Players are still in his hands."
Cortana asked.
Alex didn't answer Cortana's question; instead, he asked about something else.
"Were there many Players who signed up for the rescue mission released earlier?"
Cortana nodded. "Currently, over four hundred Players above Level 18 have signed up to participate in this mission."
"Very good. Over four hundred Players who have completed their second awakening should be enough to cause Trazyn a lot of trouble."
Alex smiled, a plan forming in his mind.
"The most troublesome thing about the Necrons is that once they are killed, they are teleported back to the furnace to regenerate."
"This time, we will use his own methods against him."
Cortana showed a curious expression. "How does Master plan to do it?"
Alex already had a preliminary plan.
"Except for some soul-like games, most games set up resurrection and teleportation points at the entrance of a dungeon."
"That way, Players don't have to waste time running around after failing."
"Trazyn can be considered a tough BOSS, and that Museum Planet, though a hard-to-crack nut, is a rewarding dungeon."
Cortana's eyes widened; she had guessed a bit of her Master's idea.
"Master, are you going to set up resurrection and teleportation points near the Museum Planet?"
Alex nodded. "Immediately arrange for a warship equipped with a lighthouse and an Emperor's Shrine to join the fleet attacking Trazyn, ensuring that Players can re-enter the dungeon immediately after resurrecting."
"This way, no matter how many trump cards Trazyn has, there's no need to worry at all."
"The endlessly resurrecting Players will continuously deplete Trazyn's trump cards, and this Necron Overlord's collection will be the Players' best reward."
This could give Trazyn a profound lesson without him having to pay for it himself—it was truly a win-win situation.
If Trazyn were to hear Alex's thoughts, he would surely look bewildered.
"What kind of win-win is this? It looks like I'm losing big time?"
"Okay, Master, I'll arrange it immediately." Cortana paused after speaking, then continued, "Master, Cortana has something good to show you."
"What good thing?" Alex looked confused.
Cortana projected a set of heavy power armor.
"This is my newly developed Hell Pioneer Power Armor, possessing performance far exceeding all current power armors used by the Imperium."
After carefully reviewing the Hell Pioneer Power Armor's parameters, Alex's pupils slightly dilated, and he showed an incredulous expression.
This was a power armor containing multiple high technologies.
It was as heavy as a Terminator, but its combat performance far surpassed a Terminator's.
This Hell Pioneer Power Armor has a built-in special cold fusion battery, supporting long-term endurance.
(Cold fusion was initiated by Dora Workshop, aiming to use Golden Age knowledge and Cortana's computing power to create a room-temperature, normal-pressure fusion technology to support small and medium-sized equipment.
Cortana contributed the most to this process, and as the project achieved phased results, she naturally mastered this technology.)
It has special thrusters on the back, supporting long-distance flight for the user.
It has an optimized version 2.5 Thinker System built-in, which can maximize the user's combat capability and battlefield survival capability.
It has a complete life support system, supporting survival in low temperature, toxic fog, high temperature, and other environments.
It has shield projection, capable of projecting a force shield within a certain range that can resist all attacks.
It has a self-contained medical system, capable of specifically treating various penetrating wounds, impaired bodily functions, and even a certain degree of soul damage.
It also has a hibernation device; if trapped and unable to escape, the armor's slumber function can be activated, supporting sleep for thousands of years.
Most critically, the armor uses shape-memory active nanomaterial, possessing a self-repair function.
As long as the armor can absorb enough energy, it can slowly reshape the power armor and repair damaged areas.
"This… this…"
Is little Cortana working so hard now?
First the storage bracelet, and now such a powerful set of armor.
Without a sound, has she already become so diligent?
This Master of hers, on the other hand, has become somewhat lax, which is truly shameful.
"Master, this is the armor Cortana developed for your personal guard."
Cortana looked at Alex with anticipation, waiting for his praise.
"Guard?" Alex's face was somewhat confused.
"Your personal guard, my Lord. You are now the acting Regent of the Imperium, yet you have never had your own personal guard."
"Although Players can occasionally serve as your personal retinue, Cortana still believes you should recruit a personal guard composed of local natives."
"You may think you don't need protection, but a loyal personal guard can help you solve most troubles."
Cortana explained in detail, making Alex nod thoughtfully.
This was indeed a problem.
He had been too busy before and had forgotten about assembling a guard.
It was time to consider this matter.
"You've thought of everything, Cortana."
"Of course." Cortana's tone was proud. "Cortana will consider every detail for Master."
"This set of Hellfire Adeptus armor was developed for your personal guard, and after this, Cortana will continue to iterate, ensuring it always remains more advanced than all armors on the market."
Alex nodded, smiling. "Cortana, you've really done a great job."
"Heh! Heh!" Cortana also laughed. "Everything is for Master."
Alex thought for a while before speaking: "How about this, Cortana, you allocate a batch of Hell Pioneer Power Armor and have the expeditionary fleet transport them to the Emperor Niuma Battle Group's Players."
Cortana looked confused. "Why, Master?"
"The armors sent will serve as a reward for rescuing the Hogwarts Battle Group, and at the same time, we need to collect data on this armor's performance on the battlefield to continue updating and iterating."
Alex explained the reason for his actions.
"So that's it, Master's foresight is truly impressive." Cortana looked enlightened. "I'll get right to it."
Alex watched Cortana's retreating figure, feeling a little emotional.
He hadn't expected Cortana to grow so fast.
Given time, she might even completely replace Void Dragon and Vashtorr, becoming the God of Technology in the Warhammer Universe.
"I need to work harder too."
Alex stepped forward; he had to continue dealing with government affairs.
The powerful bureaucrats of Terra had already been taught a lesson, but there were still many small flies.
When sweeping away corruption, you must hit both the tigers and the small flies.
… … … …
Museum Planet.
"Welcome back, Curator."
As Trazyn's Necrons warship entered the atmosphere and hovered above the magnificent pyramid, his chief technician, Sunnet, greeted him.
"Have there been any problems with my collection during this time?"
After a flash of teleportation, Trazyn appeared inside the pyramid.
The interior of the pyramid utilized unique dimensional space technology.
The space inside was far larger than it appeared from the outside.
Countless artifacts were contained within the stasis fields and Dimensional Cubes of metal platforms, displayed in the spacious and bright hall, extending all the way to the end.
The vast interior space of the pyramid was divided into different exhibition halls, with artifacts categorized by species, time period, or major events.
The dome of every exhibition hall was fitted with permanent reactors, providing a continuous supply of energy to the hall, supporting various operating equipment.
On the walls, surging energy flowed like a spring, wave after wave, sequentially illuminating the ancient runes on the walls.
Subsequently, this energy was injected into the black metal platforms, preserving the exhibits exactly as they were the moment they were placed inside.
"Everything is normal this time, Curator."
Sunnet appeared beside Trazyn.
Like Trazyn, Sunnet had also transformed into an immortal metal body.
Of course, due to his status, as the Chief Technologist, his active metal body was far more refined and perfect than that of ordinary soldiers.
"Place the human artifacts I just acquired in the Human Exhibition Hall, categorized by timeline, and categorize the other artifacts by species."
"Understood, Master." Sunnet bowed, then summoned Canoptek Scarabs and low-ranking servants to transport the newly acquired artifacts.
Trazyn, meanwhile, casually opened an interface to view his collection.
Flashing text and images unrolled like a scroll, displaying the artifacts in the exhibition hall to him.
Trazyn had spent countless years collecting artifacts for his exhibition hall, possessing several Museum Planets dedicated to housing artifacts, including the world of Somnus.
The galaxy was simply too vast; every species had stories that needed to be remembered.
A single planet simply could not accommodate so many exhibits.
Looking at the newly added entries on the list, Trazyn smiled, his great undertaking having advanced several more steps.
On the other side, Sunnet also transported the collected items from the spaceship into the exhibition hall at the fastest speed.
This was not a simple task, as the sheer number of exhibits led to an unimaginably large exhibition hall, with different halls forming a winding and intricate layout.
Architectural Spectres followed long-term directives, continuously expanding outwards, causing the structure to extend in all directions.
There were some expanded rooms that even Trazyn and Sunnet had never set foot in.
Following orders, Sunnet placed the captured humans in the Human Exhibition Hall.
This hall housed symbolic objects from various important historical nodes in human history, such as the governor of the first colony, the skull of the first Navigator, prototypes of the Stone Men, prototypes of the Men of Iron, and other artifacts from the Dark Age of Technology.
There were also items from the 30K era, such as Thunder Warriors, Custodian Guards, and newly born Astartes.
Sunnet placed the newly acquired God Chosen artifacts next to the Cadia artifacts that Trazyn had brought back some time ago.
After confirming that the stasis field was operating normally, Sunnet left with the servants and Canoptek Scarabs.
......
After the Emperor Niuma Battle Group monitored the Museum Planet for several days, Imperial reinforcements arrived.
A punitive fleet was anchored at the edge of the star system, using the stealth technology provided by Cortana to evade the Necrons's scanning devices.
The Players of the Emperor Niuma Battle Group received a mission to rescue the Hogwarts Battle Group, and also obtained the Hell Pioneer Power Armor provided by Alex.
This made the eyes of the young Players go wide.
It should be known that the Hell Pioneer Power Armor had not been released for sale, meaning that the sets worn by the Warmaster and other Players were limited editions.
"How could these Emperor's Cannon Fodder have the nerve to say that Old Bird getting a medal mission was an inside job last time?"
"Damn it, why are their armors cooler than ours, and their performance so much stronger?"
"It's a fix, this is the real fix."
"Unfair, demand to weaken the Emperor Niuma Battle Group."
"..."
The Players pounded their chests and stomped their feet, cursing about a fix.
The Players of the Emperor Niuma Battle Group were indignant at such accusations.
All of this was due to their hard work; how could there be a fix?!
Of course, they did not argue about this matter, but rather happily put on their Hell Pioneer Power Armor.
Immediately after, they departed in a Phantom Shuttle designed by Dora Workshop and manufactured by Mars, preparing to parachute onto the Museum Planet.
Cortana promised to shield them from the Necrons's scanning devices.
At the same time, other Players would also conduct airborne operations, creating a diversion, to destroy other areas of the Museum Planet, attracting the Necrons's attention, and alleviating the pressure on the Warmaster and other Players.
......
The vast and boundless void was as dark and cold as ever.
A stealthy Phantom Shuttle silently traversed the vast void, heading towards the target planet.
Inside the shuttle, the Players of the Emperor Niuma Battle Group were conducting their final inspections.
They were about to parachute to the surface to execute the mission of assaulting and rescuing the Hogwarts Battle Group.
If they could be safely rescued, that would be best.
If not, they would destroy the containment device, letting them commit suicide and escape through resurrection.
The cabin was dark, with only the working mechanical devices emitting flickering lights.
The Hellfire Adeptus armors of the Warmaster and Tenjiro were outlined by green and red lights.
Under the enhancement of the Power Armor, their physiques became even more imposing.
"Everyone check your weapons."
The Warmaster surveyed everyone, his voice low.
"Last confirmation of mission information, confirm that relevant data has been received."
"Proceed to the mission location, rescue the Hogwarts Battle Group. If a safe evacuation is possible, that's best; if not, self-destruct directly, do not be captured."
"Now loading mission coordinate information."
As the Warmaster's voice fell.
A prompt sounded inside the helmets of Tenjiro, Twisted person, and other Players.
[Mission data receiving, Thinker System processing…]
[Activating airborne overlay, mission coordinates confirmed, activating…]
The helmet's HUD panel formed a virtual scene, marking the mission details and route.
Cortana, as a Star God, possessed scientific research capabilities that could be described as the most cutting-edge in the galaxy.
Coupled with the various imaginative ideas brought by the Players, she possessed both endless knowledge and innovative thinking.
This set of Hell Pioneer Power Armor, personally designed by Cortana, could truly be described as 'awesome'.
Donning this Power Armor, the Warmaster and other Players' perception of the battlefield situation increased by several levels.
[Mission coordinates North 38° 53.707′, West 77° 02.182, confirmed.]
Cortana had been tracking the Players of the Hogwarts Battle Group from beginning to end.
The Necrons technology used by Trazyn was completely undefended against her, so she had a perfect understanding of where Old Thirteen and other Players were imprisoned.
[Entering atmosphere soon]
After the system prompt sounded, it was immediately followed by the pilot's voice, "God Chosen, please prepare for airborne deployment. Any closer, and the enemy will see us."
"Understood, all team members switch to flight mode, confirm airborne operation."
The Warmaster switched his Power Armor to flight mode and issued commands to Tenjiro and other Players.
As he operated, the helmet's HUD panel also changed.
The flight icon turned from gray to green, and the teammate emblems above the panel also flickered with the same light—indicating that the entire squad was ready.
[Opening door]
[Opening door]
With the rapid prompts, red lights flashed.
A strong wind blew in from outside, but the Players, who were already prepared, remained motionless against the gale.
"Go." The Warmaster stepped to the cabin door and looked down.
They were tens of thousands of meters above the surface at this time, clearly able to see the clouds beneath their feet.
"At this height, even skydiving isn't this exciting."
The Warmaster muttered a few words, then leaped out.
Tenjiro and other Players followed closely behind.
The immense weight created exaggerated potential energy, causing the Warmaster and the others to fall towards the ground like meteors.