What followed was intense yet monotonous boarding combat.
Energy beams. Shells. Torpedoes. Acid. Tendrils. Bioswarm projectiles—all crisscrossed the battlefield. Every moment embodied this universe's theme.
[A world of war and despair. A shithole dimension even transmigrators refuse to visit!]
This boarding action lasted thirty-six grueling hours.
Finally, the glorious Emperor-class battleship could endure no more. Its hull structure failed. It fractured into sections. The battle was over.
Space fell silent. No more Imperial Navy counter-fire. The golden angel statue—sword raised, cloak billowing—atop the Emperor-class shattered with its ship. The Imperial fleet was utterly annihilated.
As for the Overmind's force: all three Leviathans suffered damage. One was critically wounded, unable to regenerate. Dying.
Zerg Swarm fleet losses: incalculable.
†Forcing boarding actions was too reckless.†
Leviathans were Tier-10 psionic organisms. But their psionic power was primarily used for warp travel and species communication. Psychic shields? None. Only the flagship Leviathan, bearing the Overmind, had his psychic shielding.
Otherwise, StarCraft 2 Viking fighter missile barrages wouldn't damage Leviathans.
As for psionic tiers—unnecessary elaboration. StarCraft 2's classification system. Warhammer 40K has its own psyker grading.
†Finally over. Long fight.†
"Overmind. The city is fully occupied. Most resistance has been eliminated. Only scattered pockets remain in deep urban zones and peripheral areas. Additionally: the daemon warp rifts cannot be sealed. Zerg units dispatched through the rifts have lost contact."
†Do not enter the warp. Establish defensive perimeters around the rifts. They won't persist indefinitely.†
Given Nurgle's nature, the rifts should close after seven days.
The Four Chaos Gods had their sacred numbers. Nurgle's was seven. Almost all Nurgle-associated incidents involved that number. Seven plagues. Seven warp rifts. Seven ships. Seven Great Unclean Ones.
The warp was absolutely off-limits. No living being could endure that realm.
Unless your name is DOOM SLAYER.
†Replenish bombardment damage with creep. Utilize every available resource on this planet. I need to reconstitute our forces.†
"As you command, Overmind."
The Zerg Swarm had sustained heavy losses. Replenishment was necessary to prepare for future threats.
The Overmind had largely refrained from deploying his lighthouse-bright psionic power. The Genestealer cult was annihilated. No Tyranid Hive Fleet would be drawn here.
Nurgle's daemons repulsed. Hive Imperial forces destroyed. No immediate threats to the Zerg Swarm remained. Time to macro.
†My resources are nearly depleted. And that's WITH tactical advantages. Without them? Who knows who'd be pushing whom.†
The Hive's population was immense. If not for the initial infection wave crippling Hive defenses, the outcome would have been far less certain.
Even the Genestealers had ended up defending the gates.
Then Zasz reported again: "Overmind. We have encountered unusual hostiles."
†What kind of hostiles?†
"They appear to be… metallic automatons. Troublesome. They seem to possess self-repair capabilities."
†Wait. Self-repairing metallic automatons?!†
The Overmind froze. He shifted his perception to the Zerg units engaging these hostiles.
The Zerg were killed instantly. But the Overmind glimpsed it: a mechanical skeleton, eyes glowing green, wielding a gauss blaster. A single shot perforated a Zergling's skull.
He switched to a surviving Zerg's view. Yes. Exactly the faction he suspected.
What were the Necrons doing here?!
Necrons一they would not attack alien worlds unless there was a tomb world beneath. But that was impossible. This planet's interior had been thoroughly surveyed. Nothing.
†Wait. That Necron insignia.†
Necrons operated under dynastic systems. Their forms bore insignia of their dynasty. These insignia resembled ancient Egyptian motifs: crescents, circles, crosses. Difficult for laymen to distinguish.
The Overmind's knowledge of Necron dynastic heraldry was limited.
But this dynasty's insignia—he recognized it.
[Nihilakh Dynasty.]
†TRAZYN!!!†
Only that famously infamous Necron Overlord would appear here.
†Zasz! Conceal yourself! NOW! Hide!†
Trazyn the Infinite. Necron Overlord of the Nihilakh Dynasty. High-ranking Necron noble.
His hobby: collecting interesting things from across the galaxy. The Emperor's Custodians. A 30k Ultramarines tactical squad. Prime Orks. Ancient Eldar technology.
A transmigrator's threat. You could not appear too exceptional. If Trazyn noticed your exceptional nature, he would trap you in stasis and add you to his galleries.
The Overmind couldn't confirm it was Trazyn. Regardless: Zasz should hide.
The Necron force on this planet was minuscule. Roughly three hundred warriors. They fought around a Necron transmission obelisk. Leveraging terrain, they temporarily resisted Zerg Swarm encirclement.
Unlike Imperial flashlights, Necron warriors' standard gauss blasters were devastating. One hit, lethal threat.
Roach carapace couldn't withstand those lethal green beams.
"Overmind. Hostiles have appeared beside me. I don't know from where."
†What?!†
Perception shift. The Overmind saw Necron pocket dimensions open beside Zasz. Deathmarks emerged from these dimensions. They picked off the Hunter Killers surrounding Zasz, one precise shot after another.
One Deathmark was visually distinct from the others. Clearly—a higher Necron authority puppeting this form. Like the Overmind himself.
This Necron deployed an unknown device. Zasz and the space around him were immediately enveloped in a stasis field. Frozen.
†Ah! It REALLY is Trazyn!!!†
Disaster. Complete disaster. Zerg units around Zasz attempted to rescue the Cerebrate. Too late.
Zasz was drawn into that anomalous pocket dimension. Vanished from the Overmind's perception. The link severed.
Less than five minutes elapsed.
The Cerebrate. Gone.