Bzzzt.
A new virtual image appeared in midair above the conference room. Everyone turned to look at it, their expressions extremely grave.
It was image data the Imperium had obtained concerning the Silent King.
In the footage, the stars were pitch-black. Flickering cannon fire lit the void, and people could see an Aeldari Craftworld.
That magnificent ark, larger than an asteroid, was covered in towering sails, like a moving world.
It was fighting a Necron Tomb Fleet. Every attack it launched fired deadly waves of light.
Around the Craftworld were even more sail-ships. They roamed through space at extreme speed, striking the Necron warships.
Everyone watched patiently. This latest footage from the frontier was a good opportunity to understand the strength of the Necrons, and they also wanted to know how the Silent King commanded troops in battle.
"Judging by the current state of the battle, the Aeldari fleet will win. They have the Craftworld as a shield, and they also possess the advantage in speed, allowing them to inflict more damage on the Tomb Fleet."
The admiral from the Departmento Munitorum spoke as such. As one of the supreme commanders of the Redemption Fleet, he possessed extremely strong judgment in void warfare.
Moreover, he had fought both Aeldari Craftworld fleets and Tomb Fleets before, so he understood the strength and tactical habits of both sides.
"At most, nine standard minutes. The Aeldari warships will break through the Tomb Fleet's defensive line. If they move the sail-ship battle group on the flank thirteen light-minutes to the left, they can break through the line even faster and secure victory."
Guilliman glanced over the compiled combat data, then raised his head and spoke with considerable confidence.
In an extremely short time, he had understood the fleet layouts of both sides and provided targeted operational advice.
Eden was looking at the dense streams of data and felt his eyes swimming. He had no idea what was going on.
After all, this Savior's ability to command a fleet was roughly limited to shouting, "Everyone, full attack!"
When he heard Guilliman's analysis, he could not help sucking in a cold breath. "Hiss. As expected of you, the Imperium's number one master of micro-control!"
The past poverty of the Imperial Navy had created the Lord of Ultramar's extreme micro-control skills.
If there had been more time, this number one micro-control master of the Imperium might even have given advice on how many degrees a particular capital ship's cannon muzzle should be adjusted.
Why did that somehow feel a little sad?
Fortunately, the Imperium no longer needed such extreme micro-control now.
Old Guilliman had also honorably retired from the position of fleet commander and no longer needed to personally command fleets.
"However, judging by the current battle situation, the Silent King's ability to command a fleet doesn't seem all that impressive."
Eden looked at the void battle playing out in midair and frowned slightly.
If the Silent King's direct fleet was only at this level, then his reputation was somewhat undeserved.
Even if the Tomb Fleet that had appeared in this battle was only one part of his vast fleet.
Eden was not the only one. Guilliman and the other primarchs also realized this problem and fell silent.
They were waiting. More than that, they were curious as to how the Silent King would break the situation.
In their field of view, the Tomb Fleet changed. It parted down the middle, as if welcoming some sort of existence.
Even through the virtual projection, everyone could feel the Tomb Fleet's reverence toward the one arriving.
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, a terrifying unknown beam flashed between the stars, then vanished within a thousandth of a second, too fast for the naked eye to distinguish.
Only Eden, Guilliman, and the other primarch-level beings were able to observe what had happened.
Their brows furrowed. They could not help holding their breath, and they felt an indescribable threat.
"Savior above, what weapon was that?!"
The admiral reacted, abruptly standing up with disbelief all over his face.
He had not seen the attack happen, but he saw the scene after the attack.
The Aeldari Craftworld had already broken apart. Only half of its hull remained, drifting through the pitch-black void, while the sail-ships around it and behind it had become burning wreckage.
Without question, the Silent King had acted. With just one strike, he had destroyed the Aeldari Craftworld.
After that vast ancient Aeldari vessel was struck, its shields shattered instantly, and its hull suffered devastating destruction without the slightest ability to resist.
That was one of the most powerful warships in the galaxy, a Craftworld on which the Aeldari relied to survive and maintain their foothold in the galaxy.
And it had been destroyed just like that?
Even more troublesome was the fact that Eden, Guilliman, and the other primarchs did not know when the Silent King had acted, nor what kind of weapon he had used.
It was that terrifying.
Everyone's expressions turned uncertain and dark. For a time, they were speechless.
"According to the Adeptus Mechanicus's assessment, this was some kind of ultra-high-concentration anti-etheric energy beam, and its intensity exceeded the limits of our detection machines."
Taco broke the silence in the conference room. His voice trembled slightly.
"That was an energy beam of at least several thousand terawatts, perhaps even higher. It is enough to destroy most matter in the galaxy, and even high-intensity composite field shields would find it difficult to withstand!"
Even the Imperium's most powerful shipborne main cannons and relic weapons could not produce such destructive force.
They had tested this before. When cyclone torpedoes struck a Craftworld, they could at most blast out a small crater.
That was nothing like the Silent King's attack, which had wiped out the whole target in one blow.
"No wonder the Tomb Fleet didn't bother with refined command. With an attack method like this, there's no need to waste effort on tactics…"
Eden felt a headache coming on.
With his current armed forces, he could destroy an Aeldari Craftworld through certain tactics, but there was no way he could do it so cleanly and decisively.
An attack like this was truly terrifying. He had no idea whether his Dream could withstand one shot.
As for other warships, even the primarchs' Gloriana-class flagships would most likely be dead if they encountered it.
How were they supposed to fight that?
But then again, the Silent King was an existence who had lived through the War in Heaven. Even if he had declined somewhat, his reserves were still deep.
Back then, the Aeldari had merely been auxiliary forces under his enemies, the Old Ones. In that era, a Craftworld would at most have counted as a logistics freighter.
It was not the main force on the battlefield at all.
Using a relic weapon from the War in Heaven to strike a freighter would naturally be devastating.
"I wonder how long that kind of attack needs to prepare, and what sort of cost it requires. Surely he can't fire it continuously, right?"
Like Guilliman and the other primarchs, Eden's mind raced as he considered countermeasures.
If the Silent King could continuously attack in this form, then the Redemption Fleet humanity was so proud of would be nothing more than a little sampan before the Necrons—mere target practice.
If that was truly the case, how many fleets would the Imperium need to prepare as targets before it could exhaust the Silent King's weapons in a state of total war?
The Imperium was terrifyingly wealthy now. In the shipyards of the forge worlds, warships were being launched like dumplings dropped into a pot. If they simply piled on enough force, victory might not be impossible. It would only depend on how great the price was.
But if the price of victory was bankrupting the Imperium and battering it into severe weakness, that was something Eden absolutely could not accept.
Even if they won the war in the end, it would only benefit other species, just like what had happened to the Necrons long ago.
The Silent King had paid an immense price to destroy the Old Ones and the C'tan. After winning, the Necron empire had also fallen into extreme weakness.
He had even foreseen that the Aeldari would seize the opportunity to rise, so he quickly pulled his entire empire into slumber to avoid their edge.
Not only that, the Silent King had also led his elites out of the galaxy to search for new colonies.
"That old thing really can endure. He's absurdly tough."
Eden could not help clicking his tongue.
The Silent King had waged war outside the galaxy for tens of thousands of years. He had endured until the Aeldari empire rose, then fell, and shattered into fragments. Then he had endured until humanity rose and then crashed, only returning to the galaxy afterward to make the Necrons great again.
Supposedly, he had even encountered the Great Devourer beyond the galaxy.
This was absolutely a ruthless figure. Who knew whether he had obtained anything good outside the galaxy?
In the air above the conference room, a new virtual recording began to play. It also concerned the Silent King.
At last, everyone was able to see the appearance of that ancient existence.
It was a massive and intimidating mechanical figure, his pupils burning with green flame.
The Silent King stood atop an ancient blackstone platform covered in runes. Beside him were two Necron phaerons, each only half his height.
His physique was large enough to crush the vast majority of intelligent life in the galaxy. Merely standing there, he radiated the aura of a king.
Even through the virtual recording, his gaze brought tremendous pressure to everyone in the conference room.
Even Eden could not help sitting up straight, staring at this virtual footage.
In the footage, the being standing beside the Silent King, calling himself Hapthatra the Radiant, spoke with great arrogance.
"Lowly primitive life-forms, the great and eternal Szarekh has descended. He is the Shatterer of Gods, the Reshaper of Worlds. You should tremble, for his arrival means your end.
"Submit. Lower your heads. Bend your knees. Pray that your species may receive the chance to become lawful slaves."
The Silent King never spoke. Instead, the heralds beside him conveyed his will, displaying his supreme status.
No matter when it was, he had no need to speak. His will was the highest command.
Hapthatra the Radiant conveyed the Silent King's will in his own way, arrogantly looking down upon the recorder.
"You should be grateful that you still have your lives. Tell your lowly race and your cowardly ruler.
"Oh, let me think. Is your ruler that malformed mutant, that sorcery-cured slab of meat, or that clown named the Savior?"
"Damned xenos! Such arrogance. They should be crushed!"
Rogal Dorn gritted his teeth and forced an angry voice from his throat.
Those soulless metal shells dared insult the Emperor and their elder brother. He could not accept it.
He was not the only one. The expressions of the other primarchs and high-ranking Imperial officials were also very poor.
Eden, however, did not feel particularly emotional. That fellow, the Silent King, was proud beyond measure. It was normal for him to look down on the Emperor.
In the eyes of that ancient existence, the Emperor was a youngster, and one whose genes were severely mutated at that. He was a young being polluted by Warp etheric energy, and at most, he could throw his weight around in the Warp.
The Emperor had no way to compare with him in the material world.
More importantly, the Silent King already possessed anti-Warp technology. The so-called etheric energy or psychic power the Emperor relied on was utterly worthless before him.
That was why he insultingly called the Emperor, the Master of Mankind, a sorcery-cured slab of meat and a malformed mutant.
As for Eden, the Savior, the Silent King was probably even less likely to take him seriously. It was normal that he would look down on him too.
In other words, the Silent King looked down on everyone equally. Everyone in the galaxy was trash in his eyes.
After all, he had even killed the galaxy's gods. There was no achievement more glorious or noble than that.
"That old bastard Silent King really knows how to put on a show. Why didn't I think of getting two people to speak for me?"
That was what Eden thought.
Whether it was raising his hand to destroy an Aeldari Craftworld or the persona of never speaking, the Silent King's style was at the absolute maximum.
Eden, the Savior and Imperial Emperor, still had to open his own mouth and speak. If he met the Silent King in the future, his aura would be suppressed by the other side.
He could already imagine the scene.
He, the Savior, would be leaking domineering aura and just about to launch into a verbal attack, only for Hapthatra the Radiant to jump out and roast him. His momentum alone would fall to the lower position, and he would not be able to make full use of his verbal firepower at all.
That would not look good.
No matter how he looked at it, the Silent King would be a powerful opponent. If Eden did not defeat him, he would not be able to sleep well.
In the virtual footage, Hapthatra the Radiant was still discriminating against humanity right to its face.
"Lowly primitive life-forms, crawl away at once. Tell your so-called ruler that the great Szarekh will take over the galaxy that belongs to him.
"Your people and resources will be fully requisitioned. You must continue to offer tribute to the great Szarekh.
"Humanity must pay taxes, just as before. You will provide the great Szarekh with the Eleventh Tithe!"
???
When Eden heard this, he almost lost control of his expression.
Damn it. The Necron xenos had learned the real thing. They had learned the advanced ideas of the old Imperium, and now they wanted humanity to pay them the Eleventh Tithe?
At last, the Silent King's virtual footage finished playing. The beings attending the meeting also received more detailed, up-to-date intelligence on the Necrons.
It was freshly compiled intelligence, delivered to the conference room at the first opportunity while it was still hot.
Guilliman and the others suppressed the anger in their hearts and began reading through the intelligence. They might all participate in this war, so they had to understand their opponent as much as possible.
"What are your thoughts on this? The Silent King is humanity's most threatening opponent in the galaxy. We must defeat him."
Eden raised his head and looked toward the others as he spoke.
Aside from understanding the opponent, the purpose of this meeting was also for him to hear what the others thought.
Put simply, he wanted to see whether anyone had constructive opinions, then align everyone's thinking.
"Humanity cannot enter total war with the Necrons. At least, not now. Doing so would only drive those xenos to unite faster."
Guilliman gave his view. At present, there were still signs of division within the Necrons. A total war would, in effect, be helping them.
It would let their internal contradictions heal faster, making them even stronger.
"Correct."
Eden nodded when he heard this. The Silent King's provocation of the Imperium might very well be an attempt to use an external threat to integrate the Necron empire.
If Eden took the bait, the other side would probably open champagne in celebration.
But if they let it go and allowed the Pariah Nexus to keep expanding, humanity would also suffer a pure loss, and the strength of the Necron empire would increase even further.
That was all real Imperial territory. Tens of thousands of trillions of humans were under threat. He could not tolerate that.
After several hours of intense discussion, the meeting still achieved a satisfying result. Under the Savior's guidance, everyone aligned their course.
Regarding the problem of the Necron xenos, the Imperium would temporarily refrain from launching a total war and would continue focusing its efforts on post-disaster reconstruction and Warp expansion.
All human civilized worlds around the outer perimeter of the Pariah Nexus, as well as those that might be affected by the xenos veil, would be collectively evacuated and relocated to other regions. The relevant departments would handle resettlement.
At the same time, however, the Departmento Munitorum would gather all elite forces, actively prepare for war, organize drills, and make preparations for total war.
The Imperial armies had to reach a state where they could fight at any moment—and win once they fought.
Of course, the problem of the Pariah Nexus could not be delayed, nor could it be ignored. The Imperium would use the internal contradictions of the Necron xenos, the emotion virus, and ideological evolution as breakthrough points.
They would create an opportunity for humanity to launch a total war and kill with one decisive strike.
In short, humanity would still fight the Necrons. They simply had to wait for the right moment.
"In that case, begin the operation.
"This time, we must succeed and remove the Necrons, this stumbling block on humanity's road to prosperity and revival!"
Eden slapped the table and ended the meeting, then hurried toward the Sanctuary's armory.
He, the Savior and Imperial Emperor, would go deep into the Pariah Nexus to personally spread the emotion virus and meet that terrifying Silent King for himself.
He wanted to see exactly who was the mightiest being in the galaxy, and who was the galaxy's true king of swagger.
Rumble.
Not long after, Eden arrived at the deepest part of the Sanctuary armory: the secret research institute located several hundred kilometers underground and guarded under the strictest security.
Then the thick metal doors slowly opened, and an unsettling ghost-green light spilled out.
(End of Chapter)
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