In orbit.
The crew and soldiers who had just returned to the ground for rest were once again rushing back to the fleet without stopping.
At the same time, a large number of newly recruited conscripts, who had only been issued uniforms and rifles and received almost no training, were continuously transported into space, their faces filled with panic.
In front of the small ships frantically loading people and supplies, a Strike Cruiser, leading a battle line of Cruisers and Light Cruisers behind it, was fiercely exchanging fire with the Necron Fleet opposite.
Meanwhile, the eldar warship was stationary between the two forces, spewing thick smoke and spinning powerlessly.
Thick Gauss Rays from the Necron warship continuously pierced through the vast void, with dense energy lightning swirling around the green light columns. As long as they hit a ship on Sith's side, even a lunar class Cruiser, its shields would immediately be broken, and the hull directly struck.
Watching another Gauss Ray hit the broadside of a Light Cruiser behind him, Sith saw large sections of the ship's hull instantly disintegrate around the warship, leaving no human remains visible.
The entire area struck began to irreversibly decompose.
This sight made Sith's eyelids twitch. He looked at the enemy fleet ahead, numbering no more than a hundred ships, the smallest force he had ever encountered.
Yet, the pressure from the Necrons was so immense that Sith felt almost breathless.
Because, in terms of technological prowess alone, the Necrons were undoubtedly the most powerful existence in the entire galaxy.
As an ancient civilization that participated in the War in Heaven and the War with the C'tan, and even successfully backstabbed the C'tan after the war, their strength was undeniable.
Necron warships were an overwhelming force against human ships of the same class.
The Imperium of Man's wars against the Necrons often ended up relying solely on numerical superiority to win.
It could be said that from space to ground, humanity was completely outmatched in quality by the Necrons.
Even an Astartes, if hit by a Gauss Ray from a Necron ground unit, would ultimately only be completely disintegrated.
As for Mortals...
Sith thought of this and glanced again at the Light Cruiser's hull, which was still continuously disintegrating. Even now, Sith hadn't seen any bodies float out.
Mortals, even their very existence would be completely disintegrated and erased.
Watching the Light Cruiser gradually losing combat effectiveness, desperately firing more Macro Cannons before its complete destruction, Sith could only face the Necrons who had stopped approaching and instead dispatched two raiders towards Bayer's warship, choosing once again to widen the distance.
Although the Imperial space combat tactic against the Necrons was to get in their face and blast them with Macro Cannons.
But seeing his few ships now, Sith still dismissed the idea of getting too close.
He just slowly retreated, while personally commanding the Strike Cruiser, which had its power amplified a hundredfold, to fire wildly at the Necrons.
While Sith's bridge was in a frenzy, the distant Necron Fleet and the seemingly helpless eldar warship in the middle both showed a rare, shared look of horror.
Inside the Tomb Ship at this moment, a metal skeleton covered in ornate decorations had its bionic eyes in its metal skull constantly flashing green.
The Necron Overlord held his scepter, standing before the'stone' bridge that flickered with dim green light. Through the massive floor-to-ceiling window, he observed the distant Strike Cruiser, which was firing exaggerated Light Lances, and for a long while, no words came from his audio array.
He merely watched an raider, comparable to a human frigate, fail to dodge and get hit. Seeing a single shot penetrate the entire raider, the Necron Overlord's personality core flashed with emotional fluctuations far more intense than Sith's.
"These monkeys..."
"When did their technology become so advanced?!"
Deep within Uusbar's personality core, he thought stiffly. Although the other Light Cruisers and Cruisers seemed normal, the power of that Strike Cruiser, acting as the flagship, was terrifyingly exaggerated.
Uusbar even witnessed one of their Gauss Rays hit the enemy's void shield and, unusually, fail to penetrate it.
This sight shocked him far more than the human named Bayer stealing his master's holy relic.
Because stealing something was, after all, just stealing; it wasn't a major issue for the entire Necron Empire.
But now, looking at this Imperial Fleet that appeared out of nowhere, and seeing the exaggerated combat power of that Strike Cruiser, this was news that could overturn the entire Necron Empire.
If every human warship had such power...
Uusbar's metal body couldn't help but straighten slightly, his green eyes even glowing brightly enough to illuminate the surrounding bridge.
"We must acquire this warship and reverse-engineer it."
Uusbar whispered deep within his personality core, gazing at Sith's Strike Cruiser.
While looking at Sith's warship with greed, he didn't forget his primary mission.
His metal skull rotated slightly, and his green bionic eyes turned towards Bayer's eldar warship.
The long-silent audio array now emitted a mechanical electronic voice:
"Why haven't you found that filthy thief yet?"
At the arrogant reprimand, the Necron crew, who retained only a minimal personality core, coldly and mechanically searched. Then, an extremely clear image was projected in front of Uusbar.
A large number of strange, mutated crew members were desperately resisting the Necron boarding party. Every time a Gauss Ray pierced through a corridor, disintegrating the crowded crew into dust, more mutated crew members would surge forth from behind.
Among these mutated crew members were a few eldar pirates, who were simultaneously cursing Bayer and fighting for their lives.
On the other side of the warship, Bayer shot and killed his previous partner. With furious eyes after the Pirate Prince's death, he skillfully pulled out a spirit stone and collected the souls of these Eldar.
Standing up and seeing the pursuing Necrons getting closer, Bayer touched an ornate Necron cube in his In my arms (bosom) and decisively turned to enter an escape pod.
A large number of mutated Mortals cultivated by Bayer wanted to follow. Seeing this, Bayer simply raised his hand:
"You stay. My new partner seems to be an Imperial. If you go, how can I make these Imperial people good partners of mine?"
The mutated Mortals' faces froze. Although a strong desire for survival appeared in their eyes, as if controlled by some genetic-level mechanism, after Bayer's words, these Mortals,'strengthened' by Bayer, could not disobey his command.
The mutated Mortals were controlled by Bayer to turn and become cannon fodder, while the escape pod, carrying Bayer alone, along with the Necron cube he clutched tightly to his chest, suddenly left the eldar warship and flew towards Sith's slowly retreating Strike Cruiser.
Soon, after discovering Bayer, the Strike Cruiser readily opened its reception deck.
He landed relatively safely.
In the distance, the Necrons, who had searched the entire warship but couldn't find Bayer, furiously blasted the eldar warship into debris and then turned their cannons, beginning to approach Sith.
On the deck, seeing the relentless Necrons, Bayer was about to compose himself to meet what he now didn't know was his nth partner, when he looked up into the interior of the deck.
The sight before him made Bayer freeze entirely.
"War... warhound?"
As a veteran of the Great Crusade era, Bayer looked at the World Eaters, whose armor had completely reverted to the blue and white livery, and subconsciously uttered the Legion's name from before Horus's return.
Then his eyes continued to scan past the warhound, seeing before him a scene where, although not numerous, all nine Traitor Legions were present.
Bayer instantly felt as if he had traveled through time.
He even stared intently and looked back at his surroundings, then, with confusion, couldn't help but bury his face again:
"By your God-Emperor."
"Where have I been brought?"
"Is this still 40K?!"
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