Saint Doraemon bestowing souls upon the Necron—could it be true?
This thought made Overlord Szarekh's mind freeze for a moment. He quickly shook his head, banishing the idea from his mind.
It wasn't because he was particularly loyal to the Silent King, but because the Silent King had paid him.
His Nihilakh Dynasty loved to collect wealth, and that famous thief, Trazyn the Infinite, was legally an Overlord of the Nihilakh Dynasty, though this scoundrel never obeyed Szarekh's commands.
Overlord Szarekh himself also enjoyed collecting wealth, but he was more ethical than Trazyn; he preferred to acquire riches through trade from other Necron Dynasties.
Furthermore, compared to the ethereal prospect of regaining a soul, Szarekh preferred a treasury full of wealth.
For the Silent King's final payment, Szarekh decided to make one more effort.
His will condensed, his mind raced, and he quickly realized that these humans were not completely immune to the Pariah Nexus.
They merely possessed greater resistance, and as their front lines approached the Blackstone Pylon, the effects of the anti-Warp field began to reappear on them.
Thank goodness. If they truly possessed some technology that made them completely immune to the Pariah Nexus, Szarekh would have suspected the Old Ones were reviving within them.
Szarekh narrowed his eyes slightly, instantly formulating an entire tactical plan in his mind.
Since their target was the Blackstone Pylon, Szarekh would grant their wish.
"Retract the front line fifty kilometers, and re-establish positions ten kilometers near the Blackstone Pylon."
"Where are the Tech-priests? Shrink the Blackstone Pylon's anti-Empyrean field to the planet's surface and increase its polarity by eighty-five percent."
Szarekh's words caused a stir among the Tech-priests.
"Phaeron, doing so will cause the entire anti-Empyrean matrix to become unstable, and forcibly increasing the polarity by eighty-five percent will make the Blackstone Pylon's polarity unstable. When subjected to high-intensity Warp energy impacts, it might reverse polarity and instead amplify the Warp," a Tech-priest quickly informed Overlord Szarekh of his concerns.
But Szarekh didn't care.
Affect the overall anti-Warp matrix? So what? The contract he signed with the Silent King was to protect the planet beneath their feet, not the entire Pariah Nexus. What did the overall stability have to do with him?
Secondly, when subjected to high-intensity Warp energy impacts, it might reverse polarity and instead amplify the Warp.
By the Deceiver, I've already maximized the Blackstone Pylon's anti-Warp polarity. Could high-intensity Warp energy still appear?
Szarekh's command was swiftly executed. The Necron front line quickly began to retract, and the Astra Militarum and Astartes pursued them. In almost half a day, the humans had advanced to a point where they could vaguely see the Blackstone Pylon.
Indeed, as Szarekh had predicted, stasis phenomena began to reappear among the humans. Many humans' movements became sluggish, and even the gene-modified Ogryns began to be affected by stasis, their combat efficiency steadily decreasing.
Meanwhile, the Necron's strength was concentrated in one place, suffering almost no losses, and becoming even stronger than when they were dispersed previously.
With this ebb and flow, according to Szarekh's logical analysis, the humans should have collapsed very quickly.
However, the predicted situation did not occur.
Those humans, shouting things like 'Loyalty!', 'For the Emperor!', 'For Saint Doraemon!', 'Souls to the Golden Throne!', and 'To the 22nd century!', actually managed to hold back a Necron offensive, killing many Necron troops and stabilizing their positions.
Did this make sense? Was this logical?
In terms of both weaponry and troop numbers, the Necron were infinitely stronger than the humans.
And then they just shouted a few times and held their ground?
Could it be... that he, Overlord Szarekh, the commander, had made a mistake?
No way. He, a mighty Necron Phaeron, couldn't possibly be worse at commanding than that ordinary human with a cigarette?
After several rounds of engagements, Szarekh had to admit,
He genuinely seemed to be outmaneuvered by that mortal.
Several offensives had been repelled by the human forces commanded by that mortal named Kreed.
Just a short-lived mortal, yet he could rival a sixty-million-year-old Necron Phaeron in command ability.
This race called humans truly had some issues.
But it didn't matter.
The stasis phenomenon was expanding, human soldiers were being consumed every moment, while his Necron army was infinite and immortal.
"Gauss rifles three centimeters up! Volley fire!"
At Szarekh's command, the Necron launched their thirteenth assault on the human positions. The emerald muzzle flashes of the gauss rifles instantly illuminated the dusty battlefield, followed by a laser rain and bolter storm from the human Astra Militarum; they seemed to have anticipated it, having prepared in advance.
But according to Szarekh's calculations, under the influence of the Pariah Nexus, the humans should have been nearing their limits. This attack should at least tear a gap in their positions—
Suddenly, Szarekh heard a crisp footstep echoing across the battlefield. The roar of gauss weapons, the crackle of bolters, the whine of tank treads—so many sounds reverberated, yet all gave way to that light footstep.
This clearly defied the laws of physics. Szarekh adjusted his vision, looking in the direction of the sound.
He saw a woman, her body covered in shallow burns, her hair like straw in the sunlight, wearing massive armor and holding a rolled-up banner, slowly ascending a small hill in the center of the battlefield.
The hail of bullets and shells around her seemed to be actively avoiding her... Szarekh's metallic heart skipped a beat.
Dust drifted across the battlefield, the scent of gunpowder filled the air, and the aura of death permeated the void.
But Joan felt no fear.
Death was Their dominion, death was eternal slumber, death was the prelude to returning to the Golden Throne and the 22nd century.
But here there were no Warp tides, no Empyrean torrents.
The bulwark of Blackstone had turned this place into a dead silence, the gaze of the gods could not be cast down, the chaotic evil could not descend.
But this did not mean that the power of the Emperor and Saint Doraemon could not descend.
The Emperor is humanity, and humanity is the Emperor.
Saint Doraemon is the future of humanity, and the future of humanity is Saint Doraemon.
The connection between humanity and the two great existences was so close that even the Blackstone Pylon could not completely sever it.
As long as the fire of faith burned, the Necron's anti-Warp matrix could not harm devout believers.
As long as the fire of faith burned, true miracles could transcend the limitations of the Pariah Nexus and descend.
As long as the fire of faith burned, the souls of all beings would still be protected by the two great existences.
As long as the fire of faith burned...
Joan, clad in Paragon Warsuit armor, stepped into the midst of the battlefield.
Within the heavy Paragon armor, the machine spirit had weakened due to the Warp's suppression, but Joan, by sheer force of will, managed to control this massive machine, walking into the very center of the battlefield.
Her will extended in all directions, sensing that the Astra Militarum were growing increasingly weary, their souls slowly stagnating. The fire of faith in their hearts was slowly extinguishing.
Once faith was lost, nothing could protect their souls.
Joan chose the hill in the center of the battlefield and stepped onto it.
Gauss weapons, laser beams, bolters... everything on the battlefield seemed to avoid her, causing her no harm whatsoever.
Both humans and Necron noticed her presence.
The human side gasped, as many warriors who believed in Saint Doraemon recognized Joan's identity, knowing her to be the Saint, chosen by both the Emperor and Saint Doraemon.
Many of their warriors tried to rush forward to protect Joan.
But their speed was ultimately no match for the Necron. Several Necron Doom Scythes noticed Joan and aimed their gauss annihilator cannons at her.
These metallic monsters were among the most deranged types of Necron. Upon awakening, they were tormented to madness by endless cold and emptiness, hating all life forms in the world, transforming themselves into terrifying killing machines, existing solely to destroy other life.
And the Doom Scythes had chosen to modify their lower halves with anti-gravity chassis, supporting their massive upper limbs and the gauss annihilator cannons, which were almost as tall as an Astartes. Any enemy, even the heavy tanks of the Astra Militarum, would be reduced to ashes under their bombardment.
Their gauss annihilator cannons began to flicker with deadly emerald light—
Joan slightly turned her head, looking at those few Doom Scythes with her indifferent yet fervent eyes.
Even the cold and insane Necron were awed by that gaze.
Those eyes were like the remnants of a burned-out star: dead, dim, flickering.
But the moment she looked at the Necron, that extinguished star was rekindled.
Or rather, the mighty power of a star re-entered the girl's body.
Beneath her skin, covered in shallow burns, flames seemed to flow faintly.
"The Emperor's will burns brightly, tolerating no xenos. You, the impure, shall be purged."
Short syllables escaped her lips, and golden flames suddenly ignited on the Necron aiming at her, instantly transforming those war machines made of living metal into burning fireballs.
A horrific tearing sound of metal echoed in mid-air. In almost a blink of an eye, those Necron Doom Scythes turned into ashes and dissipated into the air.
This incredible scene left both the Necron forces commanded by the Phaeron and the human forces stunned.
Was that some unknown weapon? Or some Psyker attack? Or was it a true miracle?
The Pariah Nexus was clearly humming, and many Astra Militarum, even Astartes, were still affected by the stasis effect.
But the girl had indeed demonstrated some supernatural power.
Joan slowly unfurled the battle standard in her hand and raised it high.
The Emperor's two-headed eagle and Saint Doraemon's cat-like face simultaneously fluttered on the battle standard in the wind, shining brightly in the battlefield's dust, like a blazing golden sun.
"Children of Man! Please listen to my words! For this is what Our Lord wishes to tell you!"
Standing on the high hill, Joan pointed her battle standard towards the distant Blackstone Pylon:
"I declare to you: Death is a lie woven by xenos and traitors!"
"That blasphemous xenos creation called the Blackstone Pylon can block the covetousness of Chaos, block the malice from the Warp, but it can never block the protection of the Emperor and Saint Doraemon."
"Children of Man! Be filled with fervent faith! Wherever you are, Our Lord is always with us. Whenever it is, your souls shall return to the Golden Throne and the 22nd century."
"Now, join me in thirteen praises to the Emperor's sacrifice, and twenty-two praises to Saint Doraemon's hope."
"I am Joan, a devout believer of the Emperor and Saint Doraemon. I pray with you all!"
Joan's battle cry rippled out, and almost all the Astra Militarum simultaneously felt two gazes fixed upon them.
In an instant, they looked up and seemed to see, above the clouds, a skeleton seated on the Golden Throne and a blue metallic figure like a cat watching them, waiting to witness their unyielding struggle.
Suddenly, the influence of stasis was swept away, and only fervent faith burned and roared in the chest of every warrior.
Overlord Szarekh stared blankly at this scene, repeatedly confirming with the Tech-priests that they had not mistaken the Blackstone Pylon's polarity.
Such obvious Warp reactions, such obvious Psyker effects, were brazenly appearing directly beneath the Blackstone Pylon.
Damn it, what's wrong with this world?
Can't things be a little more logical anymore?