"Hiss. More bad news? Can't the Imperium catch its breath for once?"
The piercing alarm from the communicator made Eden jolt. His whole body went a little numb.
Bad news always made people miserable.
No wonder that bastard Guilliman had looked so old when he served as regent. Even his hairline had receded.
Back then, the bad news had been hundreds of times worse than it was now. Any single piece of bad news could have yanked the old Imperium's oxygen tube and made humanity croak on the spot.
How could anyone not worry and grow anxious? How could anyone eat or sleep properly?
After receiving the alarm, Eden no longer had the mood to keep lying on those fragrant thighs.
This was the highest-level alert. It meant the Imperium might be facing a crisis-level disaster, one that required him, the Savior, to handle personally.
Humanity had only just survived the Black Tide disaster. He had barely warmed his seat, and now something had happened again?
"The Warp is relatively calm right now. The Chaos Gods are all recovering and healing. Most likely, this alert comes from the physical galaxy.
"Is it those metal shells? Don't tell me the Great Devourer has arrived?"
As Eden pondered, he opened the supreme alert and browsed its contents. His expression grew more and more solemn.
For a time, he fell silent.
"Your Majesty?" the fox abhuman princess asked worriedly as she saw the Savior's silence.
Anything that could make the great Imperial Emperor look so grave had to be a terrifying disaster.
She was worried about the Imperium, and even more worried about her own people. Abhumans also had to follow the Imperial armies onto the battlefield.
If the disaster occurred near their star system, it would be even more frightening. Perhaps the entire system would be destroyed.
But what else could threaten the Imperium ruled by His Majesty the great Savior?
The fox abhuman princess did not quite understand.
"Do you think I, the Imperial Emperor, am the most majestic and mighty being in the galaxy?" Eden suddenly asked.
His words stunned the graceful beings around him.
"You… you are, of course. There is no being in the galaxy greater than you, and no one stronger than you."
The fox abhuman princess came back to herself and spoke with a flushed face, unable to stop herself from tightening her thighs.
In the eyes of these abhuman tribes, the Savior was already the most powerful being in the galaxy. Nothing could compare to the Imperium of Man.
The galaxy belonged to the Imperium, and abhumans were also part of this great empire. They took pride in that, deeply and sincerely.
Fox abhumans were born to worship the strong. She herself had only won the opportunity to come to the throne world and serve His Majesty the Savior after fierce competition.
Because of that, she had become the noblest existence among her royal clan, and she also had the chance to secure more benefits for her people.
"You're right. No one can defeat me, and no one can defeat the Imperium."
Eden rose from the fox abhuman princess's lap, pinched her cheek, and spoke with considerable confidence.
"Those who dare challenge humanity, those who dare challenge me, will be utterly destroyed and made to submit beneath the Imperium's iron tide.
"You need not worry either. Simply wait for the horn of victory. Once I have conquered the enemy, I will return to conquer you."
After Eden finished speaking, he signaled for these graceful beings to stop attending him, then stood and walked outside.
The fox abhuman princess and the others watched his tall, gleaming-gold back, their gazes turning somewhat dazed.
They were already looking forward to it. More than anything, they hoped they could accompany the great Savior, the Imperial Emperor, on his victory parade during the celebration.
Eden returned from the rear garden to the Sanctuary bedroom, where attendants helped him put on magnificent robes.
After that, he hurried toward the Sanctuary's grand conference room.
His expression was not very pleasant.
In truth, Eden had been showing off just now. He could not truly be counted as the mightiest being in the galaxy. At least, not yet.
But as the Imperial Emperor, the most important principle was that he could never say he was not capable, especially in a world that worshiped strength to such an extreme degree.
If even he, the Imperial Emperor, lacked confidence, then how could his warriors charge into battle? How could they endure in difficult circumstances?
In the old Imperium, the Emperor's greatest role was not that he possessed immense power and could occasionally send down miracles. It was that people believed he was invincible and omnipotent.
That way, even in the most desperate moments, people would maintain their faith, believing the almighty Emperor would send down a miracle to save them and help them defeat xenos and heretics.
Humanity would never fail.
That was the true key to humanity's ability to maintain morale amid despair.
Now that the Emperor had successfully retired, Eden, the Imperial Emperor, had taken the old man's place and become humanity's spiritual pillar.
Therefore, he, the Savior, had to be omnipotent and invincible. He had to be able to lead humanity to victory over everything, without showing the slightest weakness.
And he had to win.
…
The Sanctuary, grand conference room.
Above the ancient metal table in the conference room, more than a dozen virtual projections lit up. They belonged to Guilliman and the other Imperial primarchs, as well as high-ranking officials from the Departmento Munitorum.
Taco and the other members of the secretarial department stood solemnly nearby. Everyone was waiting for the Imperial Emperor's arrival.
After some time, everyone turned toward the door and bowed slightly.
"Let's begin the meeting directly."
Eden nodded to them in response, then strode to his seat and sat down, his expression grave.
"Your Majesty, the latest intelligence shows that new changes have occurred in the Necron xenos veil in the Zone of Silence.
"It is expanding at an astonishing speed, crossing the defensive system we constructed and engulfing dozens of Imperial sectors as well as even more Aeldari xenos territories.
"At present, all regions covered by the veil have lost contact, and no one has returned."
Taco's tone was low. The projection device in the conference room displayed the current state of the Zone of Silence, also known as the Pariah Nexus.
It was an incomparably vast black region. There was no light, no communication. It had fallen into complete silence.
It was as if it had died.
Without question, that place had become the territory of the Necron empire. The former galactic overlords had awakened and begun to expand. This ancient species wanted to restore its old glory.
Eden, Guilliman, and the other high-ranking Imperial officials looked at that pitch-black region with heavy hearts.
This terrifying veil domain was expanding rapidly. No one knew when it would stop, or whether it would eventually engulf an entire segmentum—or even the whole galaxy.
For humanity at present, the Necrons might pose an even greater threat than the Great Devourer.
After all, the Great Devourer was still far outside the galaxy, while the Necron threat was real and immediate.
In the past, humanity had found it difficult to resist even a single Necron dynasty. Now, they might be facing the entire ancient Necron race and its high-ranking existences.
Every one of them wielded power capable of destroying planets. Their ancient weapons could destroy any Imperial warship.
Just like the Orb of Eternity Eden had previously obtained, the Necron phaerons practically each had one, and they also possessed even more powerful weapons.
Back then, they had obtained formidable technology and power from the C'tan, and they had beaten the Old Ones, the Aeldari, and even the Orks at their peak until they howled.
Even the gods of the material world—the C'tan, the Star Gods—had eventually been destroyed by the Necrons, and the shards of their bodies had likewise become Necron weapons.
In the conference room, everyone fell silent, quietly listening to Taco's report. The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.
"Before the mechanical ark of the Necron Research Institute disappeared, it transmitted back a set of research data concerning the field inside the stilling zone.
"The Archmagos described it as a high-intensity blackstone field network covering an entire sector. Its source is unknown, but it may originate from the deepest part of the Zone of Silence."
Taco projected the materials provided by the Adeptus Mechanicus and spoke slowly.
"What can be confirmed, however, is that these fields spread in non-Euclidean fractal patterns beyond our comprehension. The fields intertwine with one another, forming a gigantic structure.
"The ultimate purpose is to maintain and expand an anti-etheric energy field. Even other psychic and biological fields will be disrupted…"
"An anti-etheric energy field that can also disrupt biological fields. This thing is extremely purpose-built."
When Eden heard this, his expression shifted slightly, and his eyes brightened.
That was something humanity needed.
As he pondered, Taco, the head secretary, paused briefly before continuing in a clear voice.
"After verification, the xenos veil in the Zone of Silence almost completely isolates the energy of the Warp, making it impossible for Chaos daemons to survive. Chaos entities in nearby star systems are fleeing.
"In addition, even the biological fields of the Tyranids have suffered severe disruption. The command signals of synapse creatures have become chaotic.
"The Archmagos's original words were: humanity needs this technology, and must obtain it. It is the necessary technological foundation for our development of the Warp and for stopping the Great Devourer."
Eden nodded inwardly. He had long coveted the Necrons' blackstone technology, especially the Pariah field they had recently developed.
It was just that the Imperium had been rather unlucky. One crisis had followed another, leaving him with no energy to deal with the Pariah Nexus.
Of course, his original plan had also been to gather elites, punch into the region, seize some technology, and run.
Not to start an all-out war.
He, the Savior, deeply understood the way of lying low. Without mastery over the relevant technology, and without overwhelming strength against the enemy, he would not lightly start a war.
But judging by the current situation, it seemed they might have no choice but to fight.
More importantly, he had previously sent the living-metal governor, Phaeron Zabok, into the Pariah Nexus to spread the emotion virus and the new Holy Soul Cult.
"Up to now, that fellow Zabok hasn't sent back a single message.
"Did that mole get killed, or is the signal being blocked by the field and unable to transmit back?"
Eden frowned.
This was troublesome. If the important strategy he had arranged failed, humanity would have no choice but to clash head-on with the Necrons.
And this war could not be delayed any longer.
In his memory, the Pariah field seemed to be a technology developed by the Necrons' supreme Cryptek, Illuminor Szeras.
That fellow was the creator of biotransference technology, one of the chief culprits who had brought such ruin upon the Necrons.
He was also an existence who possessed more technological knowledge and skill than almost anyone else in the galaxy—or even the universe.
Now that Illuminor Szeras had developed the blackstone Pariah field, there was no doubt it had given the Necrons wings, allowing them to seek greatness as a species once more.
If that fellow were given enough time, no one dared imagine what other great treasures he might pull out for the Necrons.
"Time waits for no one…" Eden sighed softly.
He believed humanity's research speed was not slow either, and that humanity could also produce even better treasures.
Unfortunately, humanity had started too late. Compared with the galaxy's old races, it was still a youngster, and its accumulated time was a weakness.
When the others were flying around in great ships, waging war across the galaxy until the heavens darkened, the earth shook, and entire star systems were ground away, humanity had still been single-celled organisms.
Only after they had mostly finished fighting and begun recuperating did humanity climb down from the trees, start drilling wood to make fire, and take its first steps into civilization.
Back then, after the Necrons had gone to sleep, the Aeldari had rapidly developed. They probably looked at humanity the way one looked at monkeys.
In fact, when they first encountered humanity, humans really were monkeys. It was similar to how humans now looked at gorillas.
And now, after all the great races had fallen into decline, humanity had finally begun to become great again—only for the old overlords to wake up together.
It was truly unlucky.
"Hopefully the Old Ones don't crawl out of their coffins too. Otherwise, this will become a real circus."
That was what Eden thought.
In short, humanity had no choice but to face the Necrons, these former overlords of the galaxy. There was almost no room for reconciliation.
After all, the galaxy could only have one overlord. Before the true overlord was finally determined, there could only be endless war.
Unless humanity gave up resistance now, bowed its head, and willingly became a vassal species.
But that was impossible. Leaving aside whether humanity's pride could accept it, the differences between the two sides in body and ideology alone would make coexistence extremely difficult.
Those Necron metal shells had no emotions of normal life at all. Most likely, they would only treat humanity as carbon-based animals.
Then use them for experiments.
Unlike the Aeldari, at least they still had emotions similar to humans. Their high-ranking figure, Yvraine, leader of the Ynnari, could even exchange suggestive glances with that fellow Guilliman.
Between those two races, there was at least the possibility of vassalage and coexistence.
"Should I sacrifice old Guilliman a little, arrange a wedding for those two, strengthen the friendly relationship between humanity and the Aeldari, then gather more Aeldari and give the Necrons a proper beating?"
Eden glanced at Guilliman, and this thought suddenly popped into his mind.
Although he, the Aeldari Savior, had gradually gained control over more Aeldari branches, he had not yet fully controlled all Aeldari.
Especially the Ynnari.
They counted as one of the strongest Aeldari branches, almost entirely made up of Aeldari elites.
If both sides became family, would they not be equivalent to Imperial troops? More importantly, everyone shared common enemies, such as the Prince of Pleasure and the Necrons.
That would be an enormous help.
In any case, the foreseeable future of the galaxy was a struggle for supremacy between humanity and the Necrons.
The Aeldari could hardly want the Necrons, that brutal mechanical race which had once ground them into the dirt, to win. Would that not leave them trapped between the Prince of Pleasure on one side and the Necrons on the other?
At that moment, Eden noticed Guilliman looking over, so he nodded and showed a faint smile.
???
Guilliman looked at his good brother's unreadable smile and, for a moment, could not make sense of it.
"Lord Taco, perhaps we can organize a vast fleet to break through part of the Zone of Silence and seize the blackstone technology within."
An admiral from the Departmento Munitorum offered his suggestion.
That was a commonly used tactic of the New Imperium: use a fleet vast enough to blot out the heavens to force a breakthrough through enemy defenses.
No matter how advanced the enemy's technology was, it would be hard to withstand that.
"That is precisely where the difficulty lies.
"The veil field of the Zone of Silence can counter etheric energy and biological fields. It can also affect human souls. Ordinary humans will find it difficult to fight inside it.
"Space Marines can fight within it, but they will also feel discomfort," Taco said, shaking his head.
The moment he finished speaking, everyone's expressions grew even more solemn.
That meant humanity's numerical advantage would vanish, and they would have to pay an even greater price in sacrifice.
Not only that, the Chaos Legions and Tyranid hive-ships under Eden's control would also become difficult to deploy. The same was true of psychic power.
For the New Imperium, that was a massive weakening.
"In that case, let us organize an elite force and launch a high-speed thrust into the interior of the Zone of Silence to destroy or seize their blackstone technology."
The Khan offered a new view.
This was the tactic at which the White Scars Legion excelled. As long as they could destroy the blackstone technology or bring it back, humanity would have a chance to develop a countermeasure, and even obtain this powerful technology for itself.
"Lord Khan, according to our calculations, the success rate of a strike plan is extremely low unless the leader can withstand the Silent King."
Taco spoke as such.
As he said this, he turned to look at Eden with great respect.
"Among humanity now, the only one capable of destroying the Silent King is our great Savior, Your Majesty.
"But we absolutely cannot allow Your Majesty to plunge deep into the enemy host under such circumstances and face their encirclement. No one can bear the consequences of that…"
Psychic power could not be used in the Zone of Silence. That meant the Savior would have to rely on the strength of his physical body to defeat the enemy, and under the encirclement of an endless mechanical tide, behead the Silent King.
Once the Savior went deep into the enemy's belly and acted, it would be a desperate boarding strike that could not be allowed to fail.
For the Imperium, that would mean gambling the fate of all humanity. It was an irrational choice.
Even if the Savior, His Majesty the Imperial Emperor, insisted on going, these subjects of his would do everything in their power to advise against it.
"The Silent King!"
The instant Eden heard the name of that Necron leader, his gaze turned cold.
Yes, that man.
That mighty existence who had lived through countless ages, defeated the Old Ones and every C'tan, and successfully won in the end.
He was also Eden's greatest rival on the path to becoming the galaxy's overlord.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]