bookpower Chapter 594 594: The Stormlord Forces the Silent King, Lures Nurgle
Chapter 594 594: The Stormlord Forces the Silent King, Lures Nurgle
Though the Ultra Brothers aren't the originals, the power they wield is the genuine Earth-grade version—fully on par with the Space Garrison, and even among their elite.
Especially the ones Rhodes summoned: these Ultra warriors can be further enhanced, boasting combat power far beyond what the Necrons could imagine.
Once the Ultra Brothers joined the battle, the war became utterly one-sided.
Those secret weapons the Necrons rolled out might work against ordinary civilizations, but against Ultras they were laughably inadequate.
They even deployed C'tan weapons—and by meddling with C'tan shards, they basically delivered themselves to Rhodes's doorstep. He was only too happy to accept the gift.
Unless it's a complete C'tan, sending shards now is nothing but feeding Rhodes.
The moment those C'tan shards were released to attack, they were seized by the likes of Daram, the Dark Emperor Alien Empera, and the Angel Zog that Rhodes had dispatched!
The captured shards were sent into an extradimensional world, where Rhodes summoned his existing Cosmic Phantom Beasts to absorb the shards together.
With the Necrons' ultimate weapons cleanly dismantled, their unwilling leadership remembered yet another doomsday device: one that could control black holes.
They were certain that if they deployed this superweapon, they could defeat these damned humans and defend Necron dignity.
But once they brought out black-hole weapons—sorry, Rhodes still wasn't impressed.
Rhodes sent out his trump card—more precisely, his trump enforcer.
The Dark Emperor Alien Empera is literally the dark side of the universe, wielding the power to manipulate black holes.
After the Dark Emperor moved, the Necrons could only admit helplessly: even black-hole weapons couldn't handle the humans.
As for collapsing stars—those couldn't harm the humans either, because Tartarus would arrive first and pause time at the battlefield.
The Necrons' taboo weapons were fundamentally useless against humanity. Meanwhile, the complete-version Ultras, the King Joe robots, and the newly issued Iron robots in the Imperial Army—
All placed unimaginable pressure on the Necrons!
After months of fighting, Rhodes had driven the Necrons to the brink. The Necrons within the entire Tomb Zone were being uprooted one by one.
This war also boosted the Imperium's morale sky-high. So these metallic skeletons weren't all that, after all.
They can still be beaten by us humans—crushed in defeat by our hands all the same.
The Silent King did not seize a rapid victory over humanity as he'd imagined, nor did he bring home an unprecedented triumph to rally his people.
As the war dragged into a quagmire, the Triarchs of various dynasties and several independent Necron Overlords saw their trust in the Silent King plunge to rock bottom.
A mere human race—and our mighty Necrons couldn't swiftly subdue them. They couldn't even win a localized campaign.
Repeated failures made the Stormlord ever more smug, constantly needling the Silent King.
He even gave frequent speeches, proclaiming that the King was unfit to lead the Necrons—that the reason the Necrons became what they are today was his inaction and weakness.
They clearly won the war back then, yet he handed away the fruits of victory, ordered the entire species into dormancy, and left the galaxy's hegemony unclaimed.
For a time, more and more Necron Triarchs grew dissatisfied with the Silent King.
The Great Sleep had cost the Necrons dearly; many Triarchs had issues upon awakening.
The Flayer Virus and rampant memory loss tormented them all.
"The Silent King is nothing but a shameful degenerate, a laughable failure, a thoroughgoing coward.
He has no face to meet the Silent Kings of old. He is a traitor to our kind—a thief," the Stormlord shouted, fists raised, at a clandestine Necron gathering.
He ceaselessly hurled insults at the Silent King. Under him sat several Triarchs and more than a dozen Overlords—Necrons who had openly thrown in with the Stormlord's faction against the Silent King.
"He's unfit to lead us. Unfit," one Triarch said agitatedly.
Since his resurrection, his body had suffered major issues, and in his dynasty more than a dozen Overlords had various failures—madness, inability to fully awaken, or massive data loss.
It was the Silent King who led them to the Star Gods, and the Silent King who persuaded the Triarchs to accept biotransference—
To abandon their flesh and embrace this so-called mechanical ascension, becoming these neither-man-nor-ghost forms.
Others who'd joined the Stormlord's faction muttered as well—anyone in his camp would hardly think well of the Silent King!
"The great Stormlord is right. That fellow is a shameful traitor. Our species declined to this state because of his inaction," said a female phaeron with a metallic skeletal body as she rose. She was actually Rhodes's planted mole, AsanethAyu.
For Necron council sessions, she had to use a stand-in, controlled remotely via the true body's virtual projection—
Perfectly concealing that she'd already been resurrected. And among the Overlords and Triarchs attending, at least a third had accepted AsanethAyu's alterations and been resurrected!
They were using a special method to pilot their Triarch bodies to the meeting.
The Stormlord didn't know he was about to be sidelined. He naively believed he led this resistance, unaware that collapse often starts from within.
"Look now—look at the idiocy he's wrought. He's taken such a beating from a small human species, yet he thought a victory here could reverse his reputation.
Reality slapped him hard. I believe more Necrons will soon see this hypocrite's true face and join our great cause," the Stormlord shouted, raising his weapon in excitement.
"Many under the Silent King's banner are at their limit—we can win them over," AsanethAyu said.
"We believe, great Stormlord, that you will lead us to overthrow that tyrant's rule—
And guide the Necrontyr into a new chapter," declared a Triarch already allied with Rhodes, standing up at AsanethAyu's signal,
Shouting loudly—others chimed in, one by one.
"Since you all choose to believe in me, I dare promise every one of you: I will lead the Necron species to new glory, to a new dawn," the Stormlord said excitedly.
Heaven itself favored him!
Who would've thought the Silent King would suffer such a humiliating defeat at the hands of humans?
His face in the dirt—now a single call to arms would bring more Triarchs to his side to oppose that fool.
"Long live the Stormlord! Long live the Stormlord!" Led by AsanethAyu, the Triarchs and Overlords cheered.
...
Meanwhile, at another Necron assembly, nearly all awakened Triarchs appeared as virtual projections in the Silent King's grand hall.
"I cannot accept this, great Silent King. This is a shameful defeat—a provocation against our species—a failure for us all.
We once crushed the vainglorious Old Ones; we imprisoned the C'tan who schemed to enslave us. And now we lose to laughable humans—to these lesser beings?" a Triarch roared.
"He's right. Our race is exceedingly great, yet today we suffered the unimaginable. Whose fault is this?"
"Why must we endure such defeat? Great Silent King, tell us."
Several Triarchs moved in tandem to press the Silent King—a boldness they wouldn't have dared before.
Because of the command protocols, the Triarchs had once been bound to obey the Silent King's orders unconditionally—even to the point of ordering their dynasties' collective suicide.
But since the Silent King lifted the command protocols, the Triarchs were beyond his direct control.
"I know you're grieving, and I know you're angry—but understand this: we can still turn this around. We can still restore the splendor of our kind," the Silent King said.
Why do these humans possess such terrifying technology? By rights, the Necrons should sit at the peak of tech in this universe!
Even the Eldar only matched them in tech—surpassing them only in wraithgate technology.
"You owe us an explanation, great Silent King. Otherwise, I think we should choose a true leader—one who will bring fortune to the Necrons, lead us to victory, and reclaim galactic hegemony," a Triarch said with a cold snort.
"You dare question the Silent King's decisions? You dare defy the ruling triumvirate?" barked the Triarch-guard at the Silent King's side.
"Don't you slap those old labels on us. The command protocols are gone—you can't force us anymore," an Overlord stood and snapped back at the guard.
If their true bodies were present, none would dare—yet all attended by projection, their true forms remained in their tomb worlds, so they spoke freely.
And how much power did the Silent King still control? More Triarchs and Overlords had joined the Stormlord's rebellion.
"I'll give you an answer. Give me three months. I will personally lead an army against the human called Rhodes. I will strike down his forces and his secret weapons," the Silent King declared, announcing he would personally take the field against Rhodes.
Only by going himself could he banish the shadow of defeat and revive Necron morale.
...
On Rhodes's side, it was time to deal with Nurgle!
He planned to bring the Goddess of Life, Isha, at the fiercest moment of battle, draw the Plaguefather's attention, and drag him into the Ultra universe.
As for the 40K war with the Necrons, Rhodes would delegate. He'd only be gone three days.
When he returned, he'd go all-out to eliminate the Silent King.
The Goddess of Life Isha, radiating vitality, left the Cosmic Beast Planet openly. Bathed in divine life-light, she entered the Warp and traveled toward Rhodes's star system.
That terrifying life-signal was a blazing beacon in the Warp—catching the eye of a certain green fat man.
Sensing that rich life aura, the green fat man beamed with delight.
It was his beloved Isha—she'd finally appeared. "Wait for me, Isha—Father's coming to save you! I'll take you back to my Garden and care for you tenderly."
Nurgle eagerly lumbered toward Rhodes and Isha. Using Isha to lure the green fatso was trivially easy—he would definitely take the bait.