As the Blood Ravens unleashed a torrential assault, wielding wargear "borrowed" on the logic that they thought it worked better this way, the eyes of Yvraine, Emissary of Ynnead, shimmered with a calculating light.
Though the Ynnari had aided in the resurrection of Roboute Guilliman, it did not imply the Aeldari held any particular affection for the Imperium. Their cooperation was born purely of the terror wrought by the Great Rift; a necessity for survival. Yvraine was acutely aware that the Ynnari were few in number. Compared to the established Craftworlds, they were little more than a band of wandering insurgents. Every casualty was a permanent, irreplaceable loss.
Had it been otherwise, she would never have risked an audience with Guilliman.
However, the combat efficacy displayed by the mechanical legion and the Blood Ravens Chapter before her sparked an idea. She might drastically reduce the death toll of her own warriors by ensuring these Imperial forces took the vanguard. After all, despite the intelligence brought back by Aeldari scouts, no one truly knew what awaited beyond the phase gate.
Under the tripartite cooperation, the Necron forces garrisoned here were swiftly eradicated. Of the thousands-strong mechanical legion, barely over a thousand remained before they had even engaged their primary target. The Aeldari had suffered losses as well, though mostly limited to a few unfortunate Aspect Warriors vaporized by gauss beams. Their numbers still held near a thousand.
The Blood Ravens, having arrived late and seeing the heaviest targets already prioritized and picked off by the concentrated fire of Axion's Armored Wardens, were largely relegated to sweeping the field.
Just as Cohn returned to the Webway gate, intending to ask Axion for a situational report, Axion's forces suddenly accelerated, charging directly toward the nearby phase gate.
War demanded efficiency. Once a target was confirmed, there was no room for hesitation. Infiltrating the heart of enemy territory required the element of surprise. The Necrons defeated here had merely been caught off guard by the sudden expansion of the Webway. If they did not strike before the enemy could muster a response, they would be ground down by attrition.
Axion did not believe for a moment that the "Breath of the Gods" would be left undefended, waiting to be destroyed.
Even Yvraine, who had been contemplating how to broach the subject of the vanguard, was taken aback by the sheer decisiveness of these "iron-clads."
Cohn started to speak, but seeing the mechanical legion already plunging into the phase gate, he could only grimace and prepare to follow. Beside him, another Company Librarian caught Cohn's shoulder, holding him back.
"Do not be reckless. Look at these Aeldari; they seem in no hurry. We still do not understand why Cawl's mechanical legion is collaborating with these xenos, nor why they have spared these enemies of the Emperor."
The specific circumstances of Guilliman's revival had been strictly classified by the Ultramarines and the Grey Knight Grand Masters. Even the legendary Inquisitors present had not leaked word of the xenos involvement. Barring those who were physically there, the truth remained buried. The Blood Ravens had no way of knowing that this xenos force was, in a twisted sense, "loyal" to the Imperium's interests.
…
Axion was unaware that the Blood Ravens had halted due to their distrust of the Aeldari, nor did he realize the Aeldari intended to preserve their strength by letting the Imperials go first.
The scene before him was staggering.
Emerging from the phase gate, the mechanical legion found themselves on a colossal plaza. A titanic, sky-piercing monolith stood at the far end. Before it sat a strangely contoured dais, pulsating with green energy conduits. At the center of the pedestal stood a hexagonal pillar several meters high.
That was the Breath of the Gods.
The distance was a mere few hundred meters. In the center of the plaza, several Lychguard stood sentinel. Beside the protruding dais stood a Cryptek, leaning on a staff, watching the newcomers with clinical curiosity.
More problematic were the other phase gates arranged neatly around the plaza, facing different directions. This plaza was likely a primary staging point for Necron forces from the surrounding regions, perhaps even other planets. They didn't need a standing army here because reinforcements could be summoned through the gates at a moment's notice.
Furthermore, the Necrons clearly did not believe any enemy could reach this sanctum to "entertain" them. Though this world had been Imperial territory before the Necron assault, the cities were now ruins. Canoptek Scarabs were busy deconstructing Imperial architecture to clear space for obelisks and necrodermis structures. Necron patrols scoured the planet; against tens of billions of humans, their numbers were few, but they were efficient. Some Imperial survivors with unshakable faith or fragmented regiments still conducted guerrilla strikes or hid in the wastes.
"Intriguing. The constructs of a crude species," the Cryptek's voice rang out, dripping with mockery.
But soon, his ocular sensor locked onto the Aegis Protector beside Axion and the twelve Armored Wardens emerging behind them. He recognized the metallic composition instantly.
It was Necrodermis, living metal.
There was no doubt. He had never heard of another race capable of utilizing this material, which belonged solely to the Necrontyr. Unless... it were a C'tan. But the Star Gods had long ago been shattered and enslaved; those who escaped had fled the galaxy. There should be no C'tan left in this sky.
This was a dangerous revelation. He had only been waiting here because Aeldari presence had been detected. Compared to humans, Aeldari were superior test subjects; more sensitive to the warp, more attuned to the soul. Allowing them to reach this point had been a trap. A trap to harvest the Aeldari.
Axion did not know why the Necron had not opened fire. He didn't care. The objective was in sight. A few hundred meters was nothing to an Armored Warden equipped with Atomic Pulse Cannons.
The long-range Armored Wardens fanned out, their six-clawed chassis locking firmly into the ground. The twin cannons on their arms fired simultaneously. Twelve beams of brilliant, searing light lanced toward the hovering Breath of the Gods.
The Lychguard below did not move. Even the Cryptek by the base remained stationary. The beams converged before the pedestal, only to splash harmlessly against a suddenly manifesting phase-shield.
The Cryptek immediately let out a rasping, high-pitched laugh.
As the first volley failed, the phase gate behind Axion flickered again. Cohn led his Blood Raven brothers onto the plaza, followed closely by the Ynnari.
"Ugh!"
Every Blood Raven and Aeldari who stepped onto the plaza let out a muffled groan of profound discomfort. These Imperial demigods and Aeldari elites had faced weapons that pierced flesh and severed limbs without a flinch, but this was different. A soul-deep sensation of emptiness, a void-like hollow, washed over every living thing.
The Battle-Brothers of the Blood Ravens, whose psychic sensitivity was no less than that of the Aeldari, felt it most acutely. The Librarians and Yvraine felt their vision darken, nearly losing consciousness on the spot.