"Damn it!"
The Silent King could no longer maintain his former composure. The sight before him caused genuine pain.
He could tell that most of the C'tan shards and ancient relics aboard the Lord of Hope's command barge had come from his own treasury.
The usurper had plundered the vaults of the Szarekhan Dynasty, then used the stolen C'tan shards and precious relics to construct a command barge. Now he had brought that same vessel before Szarekh to flaunt his power.
The sheer arrogance was intolerable!
What the Silent King found even harder to endure was that the Lord of Hope's command barge looked more majestic than the Dais of Dominion. Its splendor completely overshadowed the presence of the supreme ruler himself.
That was what expertise looked like.
Eden understood exactly how to promote his authority and cultivate a glorious public image. Even when working with the same materials, different designs and methods of presentation could produce entirely different results.
Both vessels were command barges, for example.
But using avatars of C'tan shards to pull the vessel was far more awe-inspiring than the crude imprisonment employed by the Dais of Dominion. It presented the Lord of Hope's authority far more clearly.
The many overlapping layers of Eden-gold plating and the vessel's specially designed profile also made Eden's command barge appear larger and more imposing.
"This is what you call a cultural gap. No one understands the creation of religious authority and grand monuments better than I do..."
That was Eden's conclusion.
The Imperium had already mastered such things
"Damn it!"
The Silent King could no longer maintain his former composure. The sight before him caused him genuine pain.
He could tell that most of the C'tan shards and ancient relics incorporated into the Lord of Hope's command barge had come from his own vaults.
The usurper had plundered the treasury of the Szarekhan Dynasty, then used its C'tan shards and priceless relics to construct a Catacomb Command Barge before parading it in front of him.
The sheer audacity was intolerable!
What the Silent King found even harder to endure was that the Lord of Hope's command barge looked more majestic than the Dais of Dominion. It completely overshadowed the presence of the Necrons' supreme ruler.
That was the difference professional expertise made.
Eden understood perfectly how to promote his authority and cultivate a glorious public image. Even when working with the same basic materials, different designs and methods of presentation could produce entirely different results.
Both vehicles were Catacomb Command Barges, but using manifestations of C'tan shards to pull one like a chariot was far more breathtaking than the crude imprisonment employed by the Dais of Dominion. It displayed the Lord of Hope's supremacy far more effectively.
The countless layers of Eden-gold plating and the barge's specially designed frame also made it appear larger and more imposing.
"This is what you call a cultural gap. No one understands how to build religious authority and monumental spectacles better than I do..."
Eden thought smugly to himself.
The Imperium had always been exceptionally skilled in this field. Eden had expanded upon its methods, refined them, then transplanted and integrated the results into Necron culture.
It was like bringing technology from a higher dimension into a lower one.
The Necrons could hardly be blamed.
After most of their souls had been devoured and their minds rendered numb, their culture had fallen into a state of continuous decay. The same was true of their technology.
The technological progress of their entire species had ground to a halt. In many areas, it had even regressed dramatically.
The Dais of Dominion had been constructed under those conditions, so naturally, its appearance left much to be desired.
By this point, the Necrons were barely capable of creating anything truly new.
The Silent King, his phaerons, and the rest of the Necron nobility were all using antiques that had survived for sixty million years. Their possessions looked battered, ancient, and painfully dated.
Even their Blackstone veil could only be constructed using surviving technology from the distant past. The Cryptek Conclave had still needed several grueling centuries to finish the thing.
In short, their creations, including the Dais of Dominion, were undeniably powerful, but they did not look particularly impressive.
That mattered, especially at a moment when a ruler needed to display his majesty.
Eden's extravagant Catacomb Command Barge had improved and optimized existing Necron technology, then wrapped it all in superior visual design and presentation. Naturally, it overshadowed the Silent King's throne, seized control of the spectacle, and crushed the opposing side's momentum.
It was the equivalent of the Silent King driving an old, beat-up luxury car while Eden showed up in the latest limited-edition model.
Even their engines sounded different.
Ahead of Eden's extravagant command barge, the manifestations of the C'tan shards roared and unleashed waves of intimidation.
They were far more exciting than the Dais of Dominion, which merely drifted forward in silence.
To the Necrons, it looked as though the Lord of Hope had enslaved and subjugated the C'tan who had once considered themselves invincible.
With that, Hapthatra the Radiant's accusations that the Lord of Hope was a slave to the C'tan collapsed on their own.
"Silent King, I've been waiting for you.
"No wonder it took you so long to get here, riding that piece-of-junk throne..."
Eden gazed across the distance at the slowly approaching Dais of Dominion and the Silent King seated upon it, unable to resist mocking him.
The thing really was rather slow. It did not even have a decently powerful spatial drive.
Hearing this, the Necrons looked at the Silent King's Dais of Dominion again, and much of the fear in their eyes faded.
The throne was indeed moving rather slowly.
It could not compare to the Lord of Hope's command barge.
"..."
The Silent King grew increasingly furious, especially when he noticed that the gazes focused upon him were gradually becoming tinged with contempt.
He wanted to roar at the Lord of Hope that the Dais of Dominion possessed a far more advanced engine.
It could not only generate contra-empyric energy, but also temporarily create Dolmen Gates into the Webway.
This meant the Dais of Dominion could perform phase teleportation and cross the entire galaxy through the Webway in an instant, arriving wherever its master wished.
It had no need for conventional speed.
That was one of the reasons the Silent King was seeing red.
His Dais of Dominion clearly possessed the finest possible configuration and was far more valuable than the Lord of Hope's command barge.
Yet in this contest between royal conveyances, he had unquestionably lost in terms of sheer presence.
It was like the supreme ruler had arrived in a discreet luxury car, only for a pack of clueless biker girls to mistake it for a junker and laugh because its acceleration could not match some gaudy custom scooter covered in flashing lights.
How could that not make him furious?
Unfortunately, reality was cruel.
The Necrons had endured emptiness and silence for far too long. Now that they could experience emotions again, they naturally favored things filled with energy and color.
They preferred a flashy blond bad boy like the Lord of Hope and his neon-drenched street racer, not some cold and lifeless figure like the Silent King.
Eden understood the fundamental nature of emotion within the Warp.
He had accurately grasped the emotional needs of the Necrons and used that knowledge to construct a new Dais of Dominion that shocked them far more deeply.
Then again, this was also the Savior's usual nouveau riche style.
As the Warp's King of Knockoffs, Eden loved throwing resources into his creations until they dazzled like the sun wherever he went.
"Faster!"
Seated upon the Dais of Dominion beneath countless watching gazes, the Silent King became increasingly irritated.
He had never thought much about it before, but now even he felt that his throne was moving too slowly.
There was nothing he could do about it.
The Lord of Hope, that treacherous bastard, had added another layer of spatial interdiction on top of the existing blockade.
The interference prevented phase teleportation, leaving the Dais of Dominion no choice but to travel at its normal speed.
The scene became painfully awkward.
Fortunately, despite the awkward atmosphere, the Silent King eventually reached the region and entered a standoff with the Lord of Hope.
The two kings stared at one another.
Soon, the Silent King's Dais of Dominion and the Lord of Hope's command barge began advancing slowly toward each other.
The atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive. The observing phaerons and nobles became unbearably tense.
They knew that this decisive battle would determine whether their dynasties survived.
It would also decide the fate of the Necrons.
A duel conducted according to the Necrons' ancient codes was about to begin. Its ultimate victor would rule their species and perhaps the entire galaxy!
"No matter how the Lord of Hope manipulates his image to deceive our people, absolute strength will ultimately bring about his defeat."
The Silent King understood that truth perfectly.
Every grand image and every trace of royal authority required power to sustain it. Without strength, everything would dissolve like foam upon the water.
The Lord of Hope had unquestionably surpassed him in terms of presentation, but if the usurper fell in the coming duel, the image he had cultivated would vanish in an instant.
"Ah, pitiful slave of a false god. The great Szarekh has arrived. Are you prepared to crawl before him?"
"Where are your retainers? Could you not find a single phaeron willing to join you in this duel?"
Hapthatra the Radiant and Mesophet of the Shadowed Hand stepped forward onto the circular platforms surrounding the Triarchal Menhirs, floating ahead of the throne.
They began the traditional prebattle trash-talking.
According to the ancient codes, any duel between kings permitted the involvement of retainers, provided those retainers were willing to give their lives for the duel and the ruler they served.
The Necrons stared curiously at the extravagant command barge shrouded in an energy veil.
They wanted to know which two phaerons were willing to follow the Lord of Hope into battle.
Finding individuals with such devotion would be difficult, but they believed the Lord of Hope could surely find two loyal followers willing to sacrifice everything for him.
Then thirteen Menhirs, each wrapped in the energy of the C'tan, slowly floated out from the extravagant command barge.
An uproar immediately swept through the audience.
A phaeron stood upon each Blackstone Menhir.
Among them were Zabok, Zahndrekh, Kask, and several other powerful phaerons.
Even Imotekh the Stormlord was there.
Eden had given Imotekh an opportunity to take revenge upon the Silent King for stabbing him in the back.
Hapthatra and Mesophet stared at the sight in complete bewilderment.
It was like challenging someone to a street fight, only for a van to pull up and unload an entire mob of opponents.
Was this even allowed?!
The two proxy phaerons immediately sensed that something was wrong.
This duel was about to become a gang beating, and they were the ones getting beaten.
Worse still, the Silent King's side possessed only two Menhirs, while the enemy had thirteen.
That meant the Lord of Hope's side also enjoyed far greater firepower.
Eden's extravagant Catacomb Command Barge possessed a decisive advantage by design.
Hapthatra swallowed hard, then cursed furiously.
"Shameless slave of a false god! This dishonorable conduct violates the sacred codes!
"You are unworthy of challenging the great Szarekh!"
This was clearly an unfair duel.
The Lord of Hope had far too great an advantage in numbers.
"My apologies, but no one understands the codes better than I do. They place no restrictions upon the number of retainers permitted to either duelist."
Eden was telling the truth.
The Necrons' ancient codes contained no rule limiting the number of participants in a duel. The Necrons had simply grown accustomed to fighting three against three.
That custom had been based on the number of members in the Triarch.
Eden did not care about tradition.
If there was no gang beating, could it really be called a duel?
This was simply how the Savior and Lord of Hope fought!
"Szarekh, if you're afraid, you may find an equal number of phaerons to join your side."
Eden deliberately provoked his opponent, his voice dripping with mockery.
Given the present circumstances, no phaeron would risk being destroyed by joining the Silent King's side.
More importantly, if the Silent King actually began searching for volunteers, he would only lose even more of his authority without accomplishing anything.
Sure enough, the Silent King offered no response from the Dais of Dominion.
He appeared to understand that this outcome was inevitable.
Once he had lost the trust of the Necrons, such a result had become unavoidable.
"Slave of a false god!
"Your treachery and cowardice prove that you can never become the true supreme ruler!"
"Ah, what a pathetic and contemptible trick."
Unlike the silent Szarekh, Hapthatra and Mesophet continued spewing abuse.
They declared that the Lord of Hope was afraid of the great Szarekh and terrified of facing him in a proper duel. That was why he had resorted to such a despicable tactic.
In short, they kept talking endless amounts of shit.
Eden showed not the slightest trace of anger. Instead, a strange smile appeared on his face.
"So you two think you're good at talking shit? I'll show you what real trash talk looks like.
"I'll also show you the true meaning of wolf-pack tactics!"
He gave the Silent King no time to react.
With a slight lift of his sceptre, Eden formally began the duel between kings.
This would be his first direct confrontation with the Silent King.
"Silent King, go f*** yourself!"
"You worthless nepo baby! You inherited your throne through blood, destroyed the entire Infinite Empire, and you still dare parade around like this? I'll *@&^ you!"
Zabok was the first to attack.
His thunderous voice nearly tore the void apart.
This was the Lord of Hope's answer.
It was crude, direct, and utterly overwhelming, the mightiest roar the Infinite Empire had ever produced!
The phaerons and Necron nobles trembled as they heard Szarekh subjected to such vicious public humiliation.
They were shocked, but they also felt an extraordinary sense of release.
That was satisfying.
For tens of millions of years, no matter how much they resented the Silent King's actions, none of them had dared insult him like this in public.
Eden could feel the emotions of the Necrons. He understood the resentment and frustration they had suppressed for so long.
Strictly speaking, the Silent King was the Necron equivalent of the Emperor of the entire galaxy.
No matter how many outrageous things he did, no one dared humiliate him openly.
Worse still, Szarekh had two proxy phaerons under his command. Whenever other phaerons faced the Silent King, Hapthatra and Mesophet would frequently mock them until they were left utterly humiliated, their dignity torn to pieces.
Now the Lord of Hope had brought even more mouthpieces of his own and unleashed them upon the Silent King, allowing the Necrons to enjoy every word.
"What intolerable defiance! How dare you..."
Hapthatra finally recovered and attempted to retaliate against the insolent rebel.
Before he could finish, another phaeron from Eden's side joined the battle and began tearing into him.
"Hapthatra, you rotten-ass court jester! I'll f***ing %@#￥... Go lick Szarekh's ass!"
"Exactly.
"According to intelligence gathered by the Deathmarks, that f***ing court jester only became the Silent King's favorite because the two of them have a very special arrangement."
Asses.
Once again, everything came back to asses!
Another phaeron immediately joined in, displaying the true essence of ass-fic as he delivered his insults in vivid detail.
"Hapthatra and Mesophet, those two favorites who sold their asses, are always doing things with the Silent King aboard the Dais of Dominion... and the Silent King even plays the role of..."
Thirteen phaerons employed wolf-pack tactics against the Silent King, Hapthatra, and Mesophet.
As they hurled obscenities, they also projected all manner of explosive images, scandalous rumors, and supposed evidence, systematically dismantling the dignified public images of their opponents.
It was an extraordinarily thrilling and dangerous exchange.
Damn!
The phaerons and Necron nobles drew breaths of nonexistent cold air as they listened to the vicious insults and the endless ass-fic.
They had no idea whether any of it was true or even remotely plausible.
For the moment, they chose to believe it anyway.
At the very least, they listened with great interest.
Wasn't this far more entertaining than watching the galaxy burn, space split apart, and stars explode everywhere?!
The Necrons looked again at the Silent King and his proxy phaerons aboard the Dais of Dominion.
Something had changed in their gazes.
From that moment onward, the image of the supreme ruler had been deconstructed.
His majesty was gone.
"The power of ass-fic is truly terrifying!"
Eden sighed in admiration.
He knew perfectly well how destructive this tactic could be against a dignified public image.
The venerable Emperor had nearly fallen victim to it himself.
If the Inquisition and Grey Knights had not acted quickly enough, heretics and traitors across the galaxy would probably still be spreading those stories.
Even now, fragments of ancient ass-fic concerning the Emperor continued to circulate in the darkest corners of the Imperium.
Such things were best left unspoken.
"You... You... You..."
After being called a court jester and a two-faced freak, Hapthatra became so furious that he could barely speak. He nearly keeled over on the spot.
Mesophet, meanwhile, had been abused into near-depression and was beginning to question his entire existence.
Never before had he suffered such extreme humiliation.
The Lord of Hope had publicly stripped these respectable Necrons naked, leaving them without the slightest shred of dignity.
"Is Szarekh looking a little hot over there?"
Eden turned his gaze toward the Dais of Dominion.
The Silent King continued maintaining his silent persona, but his entire body was glowing red, his features had twisted with fury, and smoke was beginning to rise from his head.
(End of Chapter)
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