Why are there so many traitors?
The Silent King's words made Astromancer Orikan's mind momentarily freeze.
If he and the Silent King were still alive, Orikan would surely ask the Silent King: was it the Silent King who had a tumor in his brain, or he, Orikan, who had a tumor in his brain?
The Silent King had destroyed his entire race, abolished the master control protocol that could unite all Necronss under a single will, so what right did he have to demand loyalty from the Necronss?
But Orikan looked at the long spear in the Silent King's hand, wreathed in unquenchable flames, and felt the chilling anger emanating from his tall, slender body, and his vocalizer seemed to rust.
Had that spear not been destroyed back then?
No wonder that one was so wary of the Silent King, just based on this spear...
Orikan was speechless.
Although the Silent King was not a wise monarch, he was definitely a powerful one; almost every Necrons, when facing the Silent King, would feel a sense of dread, as if they had become a vile, inferior creature, fit only to grovel at the Silent King's feet, with an inexplicable fervor and loyalty rising in their hearts.
Orikan often suspected that this was because the Silent King had retained some form of control protocol, using it to maintain partial control over the Necronss.
Facing the Silent King's cold questioning, Orikan's logical brain even began to produce a series of illogical thoughts, starting to wonder if his role as a spy had been exposed?
Even an inexplicable urge arose in his consciousness, prompting him to prostrate himself before the Silent King and confess all his crimes.
"But thanks to you, Master Orikan!" Hapsatras the Radiant, beside the Silent King, suddenly changed his tone, from condemnation to praise for Orikan.
"Hm?" Orikan was slightly stunned; he was still under the influence of the Silent King's prestige and hadn't fully broken free, his thoughts not entirely clear.
"If you had not provided the list of hidden traitors in advance, we would have wasted a great deal of resources, final payments, and military provisions on that group of traitors!" Hapsatras the Radiant praised.
"Oh!"
Orikan suddenly exclaimed, realizing the truth.
Not long ago, Orikan had given the Three Saints Council a list, claiming that everyone on it was a hidden traitor and that their supply of materials should be cut off, their final payments refused, and their military provisions and reinforcements taken away, to prevent them from absconding with a large amount of the Silent King's property to aid the enemy.
But in reality, that list was given to Orikan by that one, containing the Necrons Phaerons and Phaerons under the Silent King who were wavering.
These Phaerons and Phaerons were originally wavering between Anrakyr and the Silent King, but the Silent King's actions of cutting off their supplies, final payments, and military provisions completely pushed these Phaerons and Phaerons towards Anrakyr.
Yet, the Silent King still fully believed that Orikan had uncovered the hidden traitors in advance, saving him a batch of property.
Or rather, the Silent King didn't really care if those individuals were wavering or betraying.
He was an extremely confident being; anything less than absolute loyalty was, to him, absolute disloyalty.
"You've truly worked hard," Hapsatras the Radiant comforted Orikan.
"Serving His Majesty the Silent King is no hardship!" Orikan declared righteously.
The faces of all three Sages showed admiration.
"Master is truly a loyal and devoted minister! With Master at our side, the revival of the Necrons Stellar Empire is within sight," Hapsatras the Radiant praised.
Orikan once again respectfully saluted the Three Saints Council, but did not forget the main purpose of his visit.
Hapsatras the Radiant listened to the future Orikan had predicted by observing the trajectories of the stars, nodding repeatedly as he listened.
"Master Orikan means that the petty thief Anrakyr intends to gather all traitors in the Volian-Vash System to conspire and rebel, overthrowing our dynasty, and plotting treason?" Hapsatras the Radiant asked, his gaze flickering as he stared at Orikan.
Orikan nodded in agreement, after which the Three Sages fell into a dead silence, as if the Silent King was having an unspoken exchange with the other two Sages.
This was certainly not something Orikan had calculated; his astromancy was a science, not some mystical witchcraft like Aeldari prophecies, Imperial revelations, or Numerology, which could draw inaccurate conclusions without any basis.
The principle of this science lay in observing the trajectories of the stars to predict the flow of time, finding that momentary inevitability among infinite possibilities.
But the problem was that Orikan's science was rigorous, while the universe itself was not so rigorous; due to the existence of the Warp, temporal dislocations often occurred, and Orikan often had to correct these errors in the galaxy himself.
The Volian-Vash System was located on the edge of the Pariah Nexus, a location now long consumed by Warp storms, where time had become chaotic, making it impossible for Orikan to observe such a precise future.
This information also came from that one, but Orikan was actually somewhat puzzled.
Anrakyr was clearly that one's spokesperson among the Necronss, so why would he betray his location? And at such a crucial moment?
If the Silent King himself were to directly attack while Anrakyr was holding that 'Twenty-Two Phaerons' Alliance against the Silent King...
Just with the spear in the Silent King's hand, Anrakyr and some of those Phaerons would surely die.
To die before even achieving success would undoubtedly be a devastating blow to Anrakyr's rebellion, and that one, having lost Anrakyr, such a useful spokesperson, would find it very difficult to gather another group of Necronss...
Did that one believe with certainty that the Silent King would not directly intervene?
"The Great Silent King Szarekh says: Master Orikan underestimates the heroes of the galaxy," Hapsatras the Radiant chuckled twice, as if saying that even Orikan could make mistakes.
"...Huh?" Orikan was momentarily stunned, not understanding Hapsatras the Radiant's meaning.
Hapsatras the Radiant subtly waved his metal arm, and a grand star map appeared in mid-air.
That was the region humans called the Nephilim Sector or the Pariah Nexus, and Necronss called the Anti-Immaterium Matrix.
The shape of this region now resembled layers of donuts.
The innermost center still maintained the Anti-Immaterium Matrix, a region completely isolated from the Warp, and this area still belonged to the Silent King.
The next outer ring was marked red, that ring consumed by Warp storms, where the polarity of the Blackstone Matrix was reversed, and it was now the area occupied by humans.
And beyond the Pariah Nexus, human forces formed a semicircle, covering half of the Pariah Nexus, while the other half was occupied by the forces of Stormlord Imotekh.
This Stormlord had not yet publicly announced his betrayal of the Silent King, but he also did not obey the Silent King's command; instead, he was like a beast waiting to hunt, lurking in a corner of the battlefield, awaiting his opportunity to strike.
Hapsatras the Radiant lightly extended a finger, marking the location of the Volian-Vash System.
That location was precisely at the junction of the outer ring of the Pariah Nexus and the Anti-Immaterium Matrix.
"Master often resides in the Astromancy Tower; although he is skilled in astromancy, he does not understand tactics, strategy, and politics."
Hapsatras the Radiant said in a boastful tone:
"The place where the treacherous ministers conspire is chosen to be so close to the area under our control, rather than a safer location."
"It's almost as if they are deliberately luring us to attack them; this is clearly a trap exposed right before our eyes."
"Of course, we three Sages do not question Master's prophecy, we just think that Anrakyr has already become a pawn."
Orikan was slightly silent; he could, of course, see what Hapsatras the Radiant was saying, but was there any need to boast about something so obvious?
But Orikan did not agree with his conclusion.
Orikan believed that given Anrakyr's importance, that one was unlikely to abandon Anrakyr.
But the Silent King underestimated Anrakyr, or rather, he underestimated almost all beings; he seemed to instinctively treat everyone else in the galaxy as fools, which was one of the reasons he was easily deceived.
He only saw this as a clumsy trap, completely failing to consider that there might be a trap beneath the trap.
"How can my wisdom contend with the Silent King's?" Orikan said, bowing his head slightly.
Hapsatras the Radiant actually nodded in satisfaction.
How could he have the nerve?
If the Silent King's wisdom truly surpassed Orikan's, he should have adopted Orikan's suggestion back then and not undergone biotransference.
"Then, Your Majesty, shall we let the criminal Anrakyr go?" Orikan asked.
"Master Orikan, when you find an enticing bait in the wilderness, but a snare is hidden beneath it, what would you choose to do?"
Hapsatras the Radiant did not wait for Orikan's answer, but continued on his own:
"Neither foolishly step into the trap, nor abandon the bait."
"Instead, find a stick elsewhere and poke the bait out."
"We will tell Stormlord Imotekh about this, and let him step into this trap for us."
Orikan was slightly stunned, raised his head, and looked carefully at the location of the Volian-Vash System again, vaguely seeming to realize something.
"It is truly worthy of you! Truly worthy of you!" Orikan praised repeatedly.
Accompanied by Orikan's praise, Hapsatras the Radiant let out a satisfied, low chuckle.
In the Warp at the edge of the Nephilim Sector,
On the Sons of the Phoenix Chapter's vessel, the Emperor's Glory,
Chapter Master Thor, a Primaris Sons of the Phoenix who had once been captured by Necrons General Zandrekh the Crowned, was currently fleeing through this ship.
In the corridor behind him, metallic footsteps echoed through the hallway, cold as death itself.
But this death seemed in no hurry to claim Thor's life; it emitted an eerie green glow, pacing through this ship that it had clearly infiltrated and controlled, like a hunter stalking Thor.