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Chapter 336: How Much Are You Willing to Pay for Hope?
🕑 Added 2025-10-03 13:26:29 +0000 UTCChapter 336: How Much Are You Willing to Pay for Hope?
In the void, the Tyranid bio-ships were the dominant force. From this perspective, the Necrons led by Zardathusa were actually the weakest faction in the Cryptus System.
However, the fact that Anrakyr was no longer coming also had its downsides. It meant that Lucan would have to pay a greater price and use more of his own strength to face the Tyranids. Zardathusa alone was not enough to whittle down their numbers.
But with Anrakyr out of the picture, wasn't there a new candidate available?
Lucan looked at Trazyn.
Faced with Lucan's gaze, Trazyn felt that he had never experienced such a look in his entire existence. Most people who saw him were filled with fear or hatred. But Lucan's eyes held... a look of yearning?
"Trazyn, since we've already cooperated twice, how about we add another item to our partnership?"
"What are you planning?"
"Why don't you join this war as well?"
"Impossible!" Trazyn immediately refused. "I will not intervene in your wars. There is no benefit in it for me. Besides, I am a protector of history and artifacts, not a tamperer."
"Don't be so final," Lucan pressed. "Principles can also be changed. Whether one is willing to do something or not simply depends on whether the reward is sufficient, does it not?"
"Are you willing to hand over the operating principles of the SCV?" Trazyn's voice was hard, but his posture was honest. "If so, I am willing. I will commit all of my strength to winning this war for you."
"No, no, no. The reward is not that," Lucan said, shaking his head. "It is... a hope."
"Hope?!" Trazyn scoffed. "You humans are talking to us, the Necrontyr, about hope? Before you say such things, shouldn't you take a look at your own Imperium?"
"The hope I speak of is not for humanity, but for your Necrontyr," Lucan said softly. "Trazyn, this body you now possess... is it truly what you hoped for?"
"The hope of the Necrontyr? What right do you have to say that?!" Lucan's frivolous tone ignited a spark of anger in Trazyn's heart. Although he did not participate in the internal struggles of the Necrontyr, this was still a sore spot for them, Trazyn included. The Necrontyr had become what they were today because of the deception of the C'tan. In exchange for power, they had lost far more.
"What if I told you that I can indeed see the future?"
"The future? Have you seen the future of the Necrontyr?!"
"Perhaps. I have seen the moment when your Necrontyr regain their flesh."
"Enough!" Trazyn snapped. "With your human technology?! We Necrontyr have searched for countless years and found nothing. With your current level of technology?! Be it the technology of the physical universe or the psychic powers of the Empyrean, not even your Emperor could accomplish it. Why do you think you can?"
"Perhaps it is not possible in this galaxy... but that does not mean it is impossible. You know what I'm talking about. The SCV, for example, is something even you cannot comprehend. It all depends on whether you are willing to take this bet, Trazyn. You will soon see more and more technologies that you could never have imagined. And I can find that technology for you. You are a protector of history, but if you had a chance to change your current state, would you take it? If it were any other Necrontyr, I would not have said a word to them. But you are different, Trazyn. I know you are not like the others."
Although Lucan was not yet completely certain, he was not just bluffing. Once his Synaptic Lathe reached its final stage and he obtained the Horizon Probe, he would be able to change the various laws of the physical universe. The transformation of the Necrons was based in the physical world. There was no reason he wouldn't be able to reverse it, once he could manipulate the laws of physics.
Hearing Lucan's words, Trazyn fell silent. If he had not had his previous suspicions about Lucan, he would have dismissed this as an arrogant and ignorant boast. But connecting all the pieces together, Trazyn found that he was actually beginning to believe him.
The two stared at each other in silence. After a full hour had passed, Trazyn finally spoke.
"This time," he said, his voice a dry rasp, "I am willing to take this bet. But, Lord Lucan, you must show me a glimmer of this hope you speak of, and soon. Otherwise, you will learn the consequences of angering me."
"I am glad you have made this decision, Trazyn. Then what you need to do is to help me weaken the number of Tyranid bio-ships in this system."
"I will find a way."
"Right, Trazyn," Lucan added. "If I were to say I hope to guide Zardathusa towards the Tyranids, I assume you wouldn't mind?"
"I do not mind," Trazyn replied. "Even if you don't, I believe that with Zardathusa's current mental state, he would have joined the battle on his own anyway."
Trazyn had no desire to protect the honor of the Necrontyr. He knew that a conflict between Zardathusa, the humans on this planet, and the Tyranids was now inevitable. He had been wondering if Zardathusa's mind was stable. If it were, perhaps he would not have agreed with Lucan's plan. But now, it was clear he already knew the result.
The reawakened Zardathusa was extremely unstable. The erosion of time had already caused problems with his mind. Add to that the fact that you've been asleep for a very long time, you wake up with a belly full of anger, and you see that your house is full of people, two of whom are fighting each other and making a complete mess of the place. And most importantly, your house has been robbed! Your chief Cryptek is missing! And your tomb world's technology archives have been breached!
At this moment, Zardathusa had nowhere to vent his fury.
"Come out! Show yourself! Face me, you thief!" he bellowed.
Trazyn's duplicate, currently possessing the body of an ordinary Necron Warrior, felt the Overlord's rage from within the tomb.
"Sigh... another one has gone mad," he mused. "There are more and more mad Overlords these days..."
The number of slumbering Necron dynasties was far greater than imagined. Some dynasties had even had their minds damaged by the long sleep and had chosen to self-destruct. Some powerful dynasties had thus been completely annihilated from history.
Zardathusa, having searched his entire tomb world, had not found any trace of the intruder. He then turned his attention to the Cryptus System, his former territory. The warning signal had awakened him; his domain must be under a sufficient threat.
Soon, the current situation in the Cryptus System appeared before him. The Necrons who had awakened on Iphix had nearly finished their encirclement of the humans and Tyranids on the surface. He saw the battle between the humans and the Tyranids, and the Tyranid bio-ships in orbit were the first to attract his attention. He had never encountered the Tyranids before and did not know of their existence.
This time, there was no Anrakyr to analyze the situation for him. He was at a loss. But regardless of who had entered his tomb world, the Tyranid creatures before him were the closest enemy.
At Zardathusa's command, countless Necron constructs began to erupt from the soil of Peltar.
