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Chapter 338: The Final Battle Begins
🕑 Added 2025-10-04 12:13:34 +0000 UTCChapter 338: The Final Battle Begins
The Hive Ship, weathering the storm of fire, rammed a Necron Tombship, biting it in half. However, in return, it was blasted by the flagship of Zardathusa, its own flesh torn asunder.
Using the Necrons' unique teleportation technology, Zardathusa teleported a contingent of Necron Warriors and Immortals directly into the mothership, attempting to destroy it from within. The boarding parties of both sides began to slaughter each other in the ship's interior. From time to time, a violent explosion would tear open the mothership's outer armor, sucking a swarm of Tyranid creatures and Necron Warriors out into the void.
Watching the losses his forces were sustaining, Zardathusa actually felt a pang of regret. Under normal circumstances, the loss of these ordinary units would not have bothered him. But Trazyn had sapped many of his Crypteks. Without the operation of a sufficient number of Crypteks, these Necron Warriors could not quickly use their Reanimation Protocols to recover and rejoin the battle.
Relying on their numerical advantage, this splinter fleet of the Hive Swarm managed to hold the Necrons at bay, preventing them from advancing. But at the same time, the Necrons had successfully tied down a large number of Tyranid warships.
As the two sides began their war of attrition, Lucan and Dante knew their chance had come. There was no possibility that the Tyranids and the Necrons would stop fighting and cooperate to deal with the humans. With the Necrons now in the fight, it was the perfect time for humanity to intervene.
The Tyranid swarm on Asphodel had been cleared, which meant that Asphodel now had the capacity to mobilize a large number of troops. The Cadians were eager to end this battle. One after another, Raider regiments and the Cadian Shock Troops were transported via the starport onto warships.
Most importantly, five of the Blood Angels' successor chapters had already arrived at the periphery of the Cryptus System. With Lucan using his Mechanicus Authority to enhance the astropathic equipment, Mephiston had been able to receive their faint signals. Their positions were relatively close, and by undertaking a perilous warp journey, they had been the first to arrive. Although these Chapters were not at full strength, with the addition of the Blood Angels and the Flesh Tearers, the number of Astartes in this system had now reached nearly 6,000.
"Lord Lucan, five Chapters have arrived at the edge of the system," Dante reported. "The remaining Chapters will not be able to make it in time. But even these who have arrived cannot enter the Cryptus System."
"Five? That's enough. It should be enough to put more pressure on the Tyranids. I will solve the problem of their entry."
Lucan had realized that the forces under Zardathusa's command were smaller than he had imagined. The Necrons' intervention had still not pushed Leviathan to the brink. He still hadn't found the synapse-creature he needed on the battlefield. It seemed he would have to rely on the humans in the Cryptus System to add more pressure. And these five newly arrived Chapters could once again bolster humanity's strength.
Dante led Lucan back to the astropathic chamber. Lucan sat down cross-legged. Just as Dante was wondering how Lucan was going to solve the problem of the Shadow in the Warp, an indescribable power began to spread throughout the entire chamber.
At this moment, Lucan had once again connected to his Warp Projection. His Mechanicus Authority and the power of the Xel'naga were both activated to their fullest extent. Using the astropathic equipment, Lucan guided his projection to the periphery of the Shadow in the Warp.
In the world of his Warp Projection, Lucan could already see the shadow formed by the consciousness of the Great Devourer. The shadow was as black as ink, as if it had truly shielded everything in the warp. The area formed by the shadow no longer seemed to belong to the warp at all.
But as Lucan's Warp Projection drew closer, the Shadow in the Warp began to churn. The ink-like shadow began to be torn apart and devoured by the Xel'naga. As Lucan pushed his power to its limit, the Shadow in the Warp covering the surrounding area indeed began to thin.
"It's working!"
However, as the largest Tyranid tendril in the galaxy, the scale of its Shadow in the Warp was also greater than imagined. To completely devour and purify it was something that Lucan was capable of, but the Xel'naga would probably be stuffed several times over. He didn't have time to slowly digest it now.
Realizing this, Lucan immediately and briefly disconnected from his Warp Projection and spoke to Mephiston, who was at Dante's side.
"Mephiston! Seize this opportunity! The Shadow in the Warp has been weakened! Tell those Chapters outside to take advantage of this window!"
Although Mephiston did not know how Lucan had done it, he did as he was told. He could indeed feel that his own psychic connection to the warp was growing stronger. The negative effects of the Tyranid Shadow were weakening.
At that moment, the Navigators of the few Blood Angels successor chapters outside the Cryptus System were surprised to find that the warp route that had been blocked had reappeared. A clear astropathic message was received. The Chapter Masters, almost without hesitation, immediately began their warp journey to ensure they did not miss this opportunity.
When the brief journey was over, they found that they had truly entered the Cryptus System. And after confirming their entry, Lucan temporarily stopped his devouring.
"Whew... so full... just how massive is the main Tyranid force outside the galaxy?" he panted.
"Lord Lucan... you actually did it?!" Dante stared at Lucan. "Emperor above... is this truly a power that a human can possess?"
"Dante, don't ask so many questions! Have the fleet set out! We must end this war as soon as possible."
The arrival of the five Chapters had added another 20 fast-assault Strike Cruisers and Battle Barges to the human forces. They used the secret passages known to the Imperium to bypass the Diamor Shield and successfully rendezvoused with the Imperial fleet.
And the incoming reinforcements were not just these. The large warships of the Mongorte Dynasty had been waiting at Agathos. The final battle had begun. This was not the time to be concerned about losses. And now, they had received Lucan's order.
One after another, the warships activated their warp drives. A follow-up fleet, composed of one battleship, five heavy cruisers, and forty light cruisers, entered the Cryptus System directly. The battleship was one that Lucan had Guilliman strong-arm from the Navy after he became a High Lord. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to buy one. No matter how many resources one had, the Navy and the Adeptus Mechanicus would never sell a warship of this class. Every battleship was qualified to be the most important defensive force of an entire sector.
As the main force headed toward Iphix to join the chaotic battle, a force composed of 1,000 Blood Ravens, the entire Flesh Tearers Chapter, and a Raider regiment charged toward Peltar. Another entire Raider regiment was sent to Tartarus, where the Grand Prism was located. The Imperial garrison on Tartarus had also discovered a force of Zardathusa's was approaching it. This artifact had to be in human hands. A single regiment of Raiders was more than enough to hold off the small number of Necrons.
The tomb world, from which Zardathusa had taken a large number of his soldiers, was now at its weakest. Although there were certainly still a considerable number of Necrons in the tomb, these immortal creatures were not immune to the erosion of time. Compared to when this tomb world had first entered its slumber, its numbers had surely been greatly reduced. And to destroy a dynasty, one had to destroy the core of its tomb world.
Once the Tyranids were dealt with, a conflict with the Necrons was inevitable. And this task was assigned to the Blood Ravens and the Flesh Tearers. This kind of special operation in an underground space was more suitable for these Astartes.
As the Necrons used their weapons to destroy one Tyranid bio-ship after another, the human fleet also joined the battle. Suddenly caught in a pincer attack, the Hive Mind had no choice but to pull more of its bio-ships away from the skies of Iphix.
But what made the Hive Mind most nervous was what Lucan had just done in the warp. The devouring power Lucan had displayed had made the Hive Mind feel a true sense of crisis.
