However, even if the Necrons had achieved the limit of what an unascended civilization could accomplish, they were ultimately not ascended. In the face of truly ascended civilizations, there was an insurmountable gulf.
The battleships of the Imperium of Man now faced the same situation; the only vessels capable of inflicting effective damage on the Tyranid Swarm fleet were the brilliant-class battleship.
Protected by a massive swarm of its offspring, the Tyranid Hive Mother Ship slowly appeared before Zeke. It was a vessel the size of a planet.
"Is this what you said we absolutely need to eliminate?" Szarekh looked at the Tyranid Swarm vessel before him and spoke to Zeke without turning his head.
"Yes! And we must destroy it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it will be able to produce more of these powerful Tyranid Swarm fleets. Even if it can't produce battleship-class Tyranid, but..."
Szarekh understood Zeke's meaning: "You mean that while it cannot produce vessels the size of a battleship, it can directly manufacture larval ships the size of destroyers, frigates, and cruisers, is that right?"
Zeke nodded, confirming that Szarekh had guessed correctly.
"The true Tyranid Swarm disaster has arrived. We must destroy this hive ships. We absolutely cannot let it escape. Attack, whatever the cost!"
Zeke waved his hand fiercely, and as his large hand swept down, the Human Legions fleet began charging toward the Tyranid Swarm.
Even if they had to ram and self-destruct, they were determined to destroy the Tyranid Hive Mother Ship before them, along with the Tyranid Swarm fleet protecting it.
The Tyranid Swarm, of course, was not to be trifled with; massive Tyranids fleets and Saurian Tyranid Swarm fleets began attacking the Human fleet.
Even The Great Devourer, a native of Warhammer but also a member of the Tyranid Swarm, appeared at the Galactic Rim.
The main body of The Great Devourer appeared, but it did not show up in the core battlefield where Zeke and his forces were engaged; instead, it materialized near The Great Wall.
The Human Legions preparing for battle on The Great Wall witnessed a truly horrifying sight: a Tyranid Swarm body, nearly the size of The Great Wall itself, appeared before them.
The Great Wall incorporated various dark technologies from the Necrons, the Imperium of Man, and the Terran Dominion, allowing it to be constructed into such a massive defensive line.
But no matter what, the Tyranids were different.
No matter how powerful the Tyranids were, they were still bound by the laws of biology.
The body of a Tyranids The Great Devourer, which was nearly the same size as The Great Wall, was simply astonishing!
"Attack! Attack! Destroy this giant organism, eliminate it! We absolutely cannot let them cross The Great Wall."
The appearance of the Tyranids The Great Devourer was shocking, but the Imperium of Man and Necrons defenders on The Great Wall were not to be trifled with either.
Massive attacks began to fire.
Countless energy torrents violently bombarded The Great Devourer's body.
The Great Devourer, in turn, extended various spikes and weapons from its body, stabbing fiercely toward The Great Wall.
The colossal body collided, and The Great Devourer's massive form slammed into the first layer of shields.
The ability to sustain such a gigantic body was sufficient proof of The Great Devourer's incredible physical quality.
When its attack hit the shields, the dark blue anti-matter shields began to ripple.
Most terrifyingly, every action taken by The Great Devourer emitted an indescribable fluctuation.
If it manages to shatter the anti-matter shields, the Human Legions on The Great Wall will be affected.
While it might not immediately cause the Human forces to lose combat capability, a carbon-based lifeform of The Great Devourer's caliber possesses an unparalleled suppressive force against any other carbon-based lifeform.
"Szarekh, they need you at The Great Wall. The Great Devourer has appeared. Switch to another battleship, return to The Great Wall, and command the troops there. Leave this place to me."
"If The Great Wall's shields fail due to insufficient energy, then you will need to withstand The Great Devourer's biological pressure."
Although Zeke had been commanding the Human fleet to surround and attack the Tyranid Swarm fleet, his gaze never left The Great Wall.
From the start of the battle until now, his intuition had been telling him that the enemy before them would not be this simple.
The Tyranids The Great Devourer had not appeared yet.
The Great Devourer was also a member of the Tyranid Swarm, and he did not believe that The Great Devourer would do nothing when the Human Legions launched an all-out attack and the Necrons Legion had committed all their main forces.
Just as he had predicted, The Great Devourer appeared when the Human forces entered the true heat of battle.
Just like The Great Devourer Zeke had seen previously in the Warp, it possessed an unparalleled body, and this body far exceeded Zeke's expectations.
That area required a god-level entity to hold the fort, and the only god-level entity available to mobilize at this time was Szarekh.
The Emperor could not move; he had to watch the four rogues in the Warp to prevent them from making any irrational moves.
Humanity and the Necrons could not afford to be attacked from two sides at this moment.
"Alright, I'll go now!" Szarekh did not ask Zeke why; he simply chose to execute Zeke's command.
At this crucial time of engaging the Tyranid Swarm, Zeke telling him to leave meant something had definitely happened at The Great Wall that required his personal attention.
Szarekh quickly used the teleportation equipment inside the brilliant-class battleship to transfer into another battleship. Under the transport of the battleship, he began his return to The Great Wall.
A short-distance jump had little impact on a battleship.
The moment Szarekh appeared inside the battleship, the battleship's jump was initiated.
Szarekh departed.
This sudden attack by the Tyranid Swarm far exceeded Zeke's expectations. To prevent any further unexpected events, Zeke felt it necessary to raise his alert level.
He reached out and lightly traced the space before him.
The figure of the eternal throne appeared before Zeke, immediately materializing beneath him.
To prevent any unforeseen circumstances that he might be unable to handle, Zeke chose to sit upon the eternal throne.
The eternal throne had already opened a cosmic passage once, and its energy was far from recovered, but that was irrelevant.
The inability to open a cosmic passage did not mean it couldn't provide Zeke with sufficient amplification.
The individual combat power of Zeke sitting on the eternal throne versus Zeke without the eternal throne...
...was incomparable.
To ensure no other accidents occurred, Zeke had to guarantee his combat power was at its peak.
Even if it meant risking serious injury, he absolutely had to destroy that Tyranid Swarm's hive ships; he could not let it escape this place.
The void of the galaxy was awash with blood, and when Guilliman successfully returned to Terra, he urgently rushed into the Throne Room, seeking out the Emperor who was seated on the Golden Throne.
Since the Emperor could freely stand up from the Golden Throne, he rarely sat on it anymore.
At least, Guilliman hadn't seen him sit on it in years.
But now, the Emperor was once again seated on the Golden Throne.
Throughout the Terra Imperial Palace, the Custodes had entered a state of maximum alert; it was time for them to fulfill their promise and defend the Emperor of Mankind with their lives.
Seeing his son rush in, the Emperor merely raised his hand, gesturing for Guilliman not to be so anxious.
"I already know about the situation on the Galactic Rim. Zeke has given me information, and now my duty is to watch over the four evil gods in the Warp."
"You also have your duty, go, Guilliman.
Go and fulfill your duty, mobilize the great Army to support The Great Wall. I have already notified your brothers, and they are rushing towards The Great Wall."
"Hold that place, Guilliman. The Tyranid Swarm must not cross The Great Wall. This is your duty."
The Emperor didn't even give Guilliman a chance to speak; a psychic force emanated from him, gently teleporting Guilliman to the Department of Governance within the Terra Imperial Palace.
When Guilliman arrived, the 12 members of the High Lords Council had already reassembled, and the Imperial Regent Malcador was also ready.
Department of the Interior officials, who would normally be off duty from the Terra Department of Governance, had all returned to the Department of Governance to work overtime. At this moment, the Imperium of Man was brightly lit.
"I won't say much else. This is the most critical time for humanity's survival. I hope everyone will not falter and fight for the life and death of humanity."
Guilliman raised his hand and heavily struck his chest.
"For the manifest destiny of humanity!"
"For humanity!"
Everyone echoed the cry, then sat down in unison, beginning to methodically process the various material and military deployments within the Imperium of Man.
The Great Wall, this final defense line of the Imperium of Man, was not something easy to maintain.
It was practically a gold-devouring beast; to keep The Great Wall combat-ready long-term, the Imperium of Man had to continuously transport massive amounts of resources there.
At the same time, the stargate network was not designed for unlimited travel. Normally, this wasn't apparent because the traveling battleships were within the stargate network's capacity, but now, with a large number of battleships from four sectors of the Imperium of Man needing to travel, it was undoubtedly challenging the stargate network's limits.
To maintain the Imperium of Man's transit capability, they also had to input a large amount of energy into the stargates to ensure they remained usable.
The Imperium of Man sprang into action; one renowned Astra Militarum unit after another began to move towards The Great Wall for support.
Among them were Cadians, Kriegers, Mordians, and Catachans.
Astra Militarum from various worlds of the Imperium of Man were all working hard to support The Great Wall defense line at the very edge of the galaxy, and even the Orks, shouting 'loyalty,' began to head towards the Galactic Rim.
As Zeke's two most loyal subordinates, Gork and Mork deeply understood their responsibilities. Unlike others, when they were convinced, they were convinced.
As long as nothing happened to Zeke, Gork and Mork would be the most loyal Warp gods to the Imperium of Man.
A massive Tyranid Swarm Army arrived. Countering them would be an equally massive Ork Army; an endless stream of Ork Legions began to march towards The Great Wall.
The Orks naturally possessed their unique technology; the collective WAAAGH! energy from their massive numbers could even temporarily affect the incredibly powerful Tyranid Swarm fleet.
More importantly, the characteristics of The Great Wall meant that even if the Tyranid Swarm fleet defeated the human and Necrons fleets under Zeke, they could only deploy Army units to attack The Great Wall.
Streaks of light constantly moved through the galactic void, with numerous battleships heading towards a single objective.
Zhou Ping'an's Parents were well aware of Zeke's current predicament, but they also had no time to worry about Zeke's safety.
They also had their own responsibilities to bear.
The two did not return the splendid-class battleship to Zeke's side.
Because it was impossible.
This battleship would not obey their commands; it only obeyed Zeke's commands. If Zeke told it to protect, then it would only protect.
But this didn't mean that Zhou Ping'an's Parents couldn't do anything for their son... The Yaeger House also needed a leader to guide them in continuing to fight for humanity's future, and this is what Zhou Ping'an's Parents were doing at the moment.
Various factions in the real universe were heading towards The Great Wall for support, and the Chaos Gods in the Warp must have also learned of the current situation.
Tzeentch curiously looked towards The Great Devourer in The Great Wall region, and the next second, The Great Devourer's shadow devoured him.
The Warp shadow brought by The Great Devourer himself was enough to render the Chaos Gods helpless against him, let alone spy on him.
Tzeentch, having been given a big slap by The Great Devourer, immediately found his other three unfortunate brothers; now, the Four Gods of the Warp were reunited once again.
Upon seeing the Emperor, who was seated on the Golden Throne and staring intently at them, they made a decision that exceeded the Emperor's imagination.
The four evil gods floated before the Emperor, their hands raised high to indicate they had no ill will.
"What exactly do you four intend to do here? Don't think that Zeke is preoccupied right now; even if it's just me, I can still suppress all four of you. Don't forget, I am the Dark King!"
As he spoke, the Emperor prepared to rise.
"No, no, no, you don't need to stand up. We are not here to cause trouble this time; we just want to ask if you need our help."
Tzeentch's words, full of sincerity, made the Emperor, who was originally preparing to stand up and obliterate these four fellows, sit back down. He looked at the four in front of him with some surprise and asked in astonishment.
"What did you just say?" He and the Chaos Gods had been locked in a love-hate struggle for so long. Although there had been cooperation under Zeke's instigation, these four ultimately betrayed him.
The Emperor fundamentally didn't believe these four in front of him, but the authority of the Dark King was telling him that what Tzeentch had just said contained no deception.
"I asked if you need our help. If necessary, we can also dispatch a demonic Army from the Warp to participate in this war."
To ensure the Emperor understood clearly, Tzeentch specifically raised his tone, shouting in a bellowing voice.
"Are you out of your mind? Tzeentch, is that something you would say?" The Emperor looked at Tzeentch with suspicion, but Tzeentch had no intention of wasting any more time with him.
"Did you not understand what I said?"
"I asked if you need our support. If you do, all four of us can send our troops to fight alongside you."
"I'm serious. Neos, you've already ascended to godhood, surely you can discern the sincerity and truthfulness in our words now."
The Emperor, confronting the Four Chaos Gods, was not in a hurry, but the Four Chaos Gods, who offered assistance, seemed somewhat eager.
Khorne, seeing Tzeentch and the Emperor dragging their conversation, finally couldn't hold back: "Neos, don't worry, this time we have no ulterior motives. We are simply preparing to support you."
If it had been Khorne who spoke, the Emperor wouldn't have been so suspicious at first, as this big guy was famously incapable of lying. He was always straightforward and disdained using falsehoods.
After hearing Khorne say this, the Emperor, half-believing, withdrew his weapon and reseated himself upon the Golden Throne.
"Although it was you, Khorne, who said it, I still trust your words, but..."
The Emperor looked at the Four Chaos Gods before him with great confusion and questioned, "What's the reason? Can you tell me what the reason is?"
"I know clearly that there is never a free lunch in this world. For you four to suddenly show up, and at this particular time—"
"Unbelievable!"
"Humanity has no need to take such a risk. Your words are not credible."
The Emperor did not believe that these four would help humanity for free, as previous collaborations had always been based on mutual interest.
These four had been cooperating perfectly fine, but when they saw him ascend to godhood, they unhesitatingly allied with the Chaos Gods from the other two galaxies.
Even the four evil gods from the galaxy they had devoured joined them, which was enough to prove that these guys had already conspired together.
In any case, the credibility of these four had plummeted to rock bottom.
The Emperor was unwilling to trust them,
The risks of trusting them far outweighed any potential benefits.
Tzeentch saw the Emperor's apprehension and began to explain.
"You don't need to be so wary of us. The main reason we choose to ally with you is that we also have our own needs."
"Do you remember the ring that appeared in the Warp before?"
Tzeentch brought up The Circle God, and Tzeentch's words reminded the Emperor of the entity that had appeared in the Warp earlier, instigating them to jointly attack him and Zeke.
But what about it? Wasn't that ring allied with Tzeentch and the others?
"I remember, but so what? Wasn't that guy allied with you?" Such a reason alone couldn't convince the Emperor.
The combat power displayed by that ring, in the Emperor's estimation, wasn't overly strong, though it was almost certainly an avatar.
But these four guys on the other side could just play along, there was no need for this.
"You don't know that its origin was eventually forcibly devoured by us.
It wasn't something it willingly gave us, so no matter what, this grudge has been recorded."
"Furthermore, it had its own demands when it gave us its origin, and we did not fulfill its demands."
Tzeentch didn't continue, and the Emperor naturally understood the other party's meaning: debts always had to be paid.
"Then you should just return that origin. You don't need to be so afraid. I don't trust your explanation."
It was merely a matter of debt repayment. Although that ring might potentially devour Tzeentch and the other four to replenish its own origin, this was only a possibility, not a certainty.
What if the Chaos Daemon Legions of the Four Chaos Gods appeared within The Great Wall and then helped the ring in battle? How would that be?
Wouldn't that also trap the human army? This risk could not be taken.
Unless Tzeentch could provide a reason that would make the Emperor trust them one hundred percent and confirm that they had no choice but to stand with his side, he would not loosen his grip.
Seeing that the Emperor remained steadfast in not letting them leave, and even seemed ready to stand up and beat them again, the Four Chaos Gods quickly came up with a clever idea in their urgency.
And this thought truly led him to the real answer, and an answer that could convince the Emperor.
"Do you remember that psychic fleet that briefly appeared in the galaxy and was eventually destroyed?"
Ancient memories were unsealed at this moment, and the Emperor immediately understood what Tzeentch and the others were referring to: those were extremely devouring creatures.
"I remember, but so what?" Although he recalled the danger of those Higher-Dimensional Daemons, the Emperor still didn't understand what Tzeentch meant by mentioning them.
Tzeentch didn't keep him guessing. He pointed a hand towards Zeke's battlefield, specifically at the void black hole that was already shrinking and very unstable.
"You can sense the aura within that black hole. Does it have the aura of those guys?"
Although the Chaos Gods of the Warp couldn't detect the situation on the Zen Garden side, they could still see a little of the battle on Zeke's side, especially the aura of that black hole.
As top powerhouses in space and dimensions, Higher-Dimensional Daemons possessed the most advanced technology specifically for this aspect.
To send the Tyranid Swarm over and even sustain it for such a long time naturally required the Higher-Dimensional Daemons' effort, so the black hole inevitably carried their aura.
The Emperor, half-believing, released his own aura.
By virtue of the Warp's special nature, he instantly appeared in the real universe, finally plunging fiercely into the void black hole.
In an instant, he felt the aura of the Tyranid Swarm, an aura of endless life carried by the Tyranid Hive Mother Ship.
Unlike The Great Devourer's state of hungry consumption, the Tyranid Hive Mother Ship carried an infinite aura of life.
This creature could get its fill, but after it was full, a large amount of life would be left over, so it couldn't help but birth small offspring and propagate a powerful civilization.
However, the aura of the Tyranid Swarm was not the most important... Although the Emperor's aura was quickly annihilated by the Tyranid Swarm warriors around the Tyranid Hive Mother Ship, the Emperor still sensed the aura of the Higher-Dimensional Daemons that Tzeentch had mentioned.
"I sense that what you say is indeed credible. Then this is your last chance. If you betray me, I will drag all four of you down with me, even if I die."
The Higher-Dimensional Daemons were simply the most terrifying enemies in the Warp, and their appearance made the Emperor choose to trust Tzeentch and the others at this moment.
Soon, a consensus was reached in the Warp. The demonic armies of the Four Chaos Gods and The Emperor's Curse Bound Legion all began to appear on The Great Wall at this moment.
Only at this moment did the Four Chaos Gods, who had always been the shadow of the Great Devourer, finally see that astonishingly massive entity.
No wonder such a thing could directly ignore the Warp and cause such massive repercussions.
Given its sheer size, how could the impact it caused not be immense?
A large number of Chaos Daemons appeared near the Humans and the Necrons, which naturally provoked hostility from the Humans. Fortunately, The Emperor promptly dispatched the Curse Bound Legion to prevent conflict.
If The Emperor hadn't sent his Curse Bound Legion to offer some explanations, the armies of the Imperium of Man likely would have started fighting these Daemons immediately.
Reinforcements grew in number; the entire galaxy seemed to unite at this moment, jointly resisting the approaching storm of disaster.
After gaining a brief respite, The Emperor took a step and arrived on the battlefield where Zeke was located.
The Emperor, who had just arrived, witnessed a scene he had never imagined in his life: a brilliant-class battleship was destroyed under the bombardment of massive tyranid missiles—
The sight before him truly shocked The Emperor.
"How is this possible?" The Emperor couldn't believe that even a top-tier vessel like a brilliant-class battleship could potentially be destroyed by the Tyranid Swarm.
Just how great was the predicament Humanity faced this time?
Was this the End?
This question appeared in The Emperor's mind, but before he could ponder it, a barrage of tyranid missiles began heading toward his position.
The Emperor, who had become the Dark King, couldn't help but recoil after sensing the destructive power contained within the tyranid missiles.
The tyranid missiles carried the power of disaster. As ascended Tyranid units, they possessed the ability to pose a threat to the Void Realm and Warp deities alike.
Although that last volley of tyranid missiles was only somewhat threatening to The Emperor, and even focused fire might not penetrate his shield, it had already shattered the myth of the Chaos Gods of the Warp.
"The Emperor, do not stay still.
Attack immediately and destroy those missiles before they reach you.
Do not let them get close to you. You are only a single unit, and if you face the attack of a battleship, you will still pay a price."
Seeing The Emperor's first reaction was to dodge, Zeke, inside the battleship, couldn't help himself and quickly informed The Emperor using his psychic power.
Psychic individuals have the strength of psychic individuals, gods have the strength of gods, and battleships have the strength of battleships.
Although most civilizations in the star sea rely on their fleets for combat, this does not mean that individual combat power is ineffective.
A Chaos Gods like The Emperor is still capable of causing sufficient impact and threat to the Tyranid Swarm.
His power is strong enough that he can destroy the tyranid missiles flying towards him from a distance.
Hearing this, The Emperor finally stopped. With a wave of his hand, he drew the Emperor's Sword and unleashed a golden light wave, instantly destroying the dozens of tyranid missiles flying towards him.
He had almost forgotten, focusing too much on how powerful the disaster-level Tyranid Swarm in front of him was, forgetting that he himself was also powerful enough.
Seeing that The Emperor was alright, Zeke finally breathed a sigh of relief and then spoke to The Emperor through his psychic power.
"Neos, do you see that massive Tyranid Hive Mother Ship? It must be destroyed. Only by destroying it can we buy time to grow and wait. If we let that thing escape, we'll be in trouble."
The Dark King represents destruction; he possesses extreme aggression. Zeke currently needs to command the battleship to destroy the surrounding Tyranid warships and cannot spare the effort, but Neos can.
Taking advantage of the fact that the main Tyranid warships were currently engaging his own battleships, Zeke quickly signaled The Emperor to act.
The Emperor's gaze instantly locked onto the massive vessel in the distance, which resembled a moving planet.
Its volume even exceeded the largest planetary fortress, and ominous purple light shimmered on its chitinous shell.
Surrounding it were tens of thousands of smaller Tyranid vessels, like a swarm protecting a queen bee.
Meanwhile, numerous standard Human battleships were engaged in fierce combat with these smaller Tyranid vessels, inflicting heavy damage upon them.
"I see it," The Emperor's voice echoed back through the psychic link.
"This creature is very powerful. Its body contains immense psychic energy; I fear it will not be easy to deal with."
Zeke retorted testily, "Isn't that obvious? If he were easy to deal with, would I need to mobilize so many armies to fight here?"
"I will command the fleet to open a gap for you. Go destroy that thing."
"Currently, our fleet does not possess the capability to destroy it. Only you have powerful single-target attack ability that can pose an absolute threat to him. Furthermore, it likely won't notice such a small combat unit like you."
"Even if we take a step back, even if you can't destroy it, you must severely wound it.
That way, he will at least have to spend massive resources recovering himself instead of immediately spawning forces to trouble us."
Honestly, with fighting reaching this stage and even brilliant-class battleships suffering losses, Zeke found it hard to be certain they could completely destroy the Tyranid Hive Mother Ship.
Therefore, he could only plan for the worst-case scenario as much as possible.
"Don't worry, leave it to me. Even if I can't finish him off, I will certainly make him regret it!"
After saying this, The Emperor began flying forward, while the brilliant-class battleship and the Human fleet, under Zeke's command, began to move in a formation designed to support The Emperor's combat.
To ensure The Emperor's combat power remained at its peak, Zeke commanded the Humans, the Necrons, and the brilliant-class battleship to continuously clear all Tyranid Swarm units ahead of The Emperor, whether they were ascended Psychic Lock drones or non-ascended Tyranid fleets.
They didn't even have the qualification to see The Emperor before being directly destroyed by the surrounding fleets, ensuring The Emperor had an unobstructed path.
The actions of the Human and Necron fleets naturally could not be hidden from the Tyranid Hive Mother Ship, which was currently surrounded by its own forces.
When the Mother Ship saw The Emperor charging towards it under Human protection, and even sensed the aura of destruction emanating from The Emperor, the Tyranid Hive Mother Ship, which was already battered by Zeke and constantly looking for an escape route, completely panicked at this moment.
No one had told it when it came over that these entities existed here, especially that bastard charging towards it. He carried an aura similar to that of the original gods—an aura of finality and destruction.
Although this power was not yet strong, and still had a considerable distance to go compared to the super-ancestors like The Circle God, nevertheless... The Emperor could still manage to destroy her.
"Help! Help! Help! Don't come near me!"
The Tyranid Hive Mother Ship sensed the aura of danger, and even while protected, it wanted to flee immediately.