On the surface.
Several massive Mawlocs had forcibly excavated a tunnel through the living metal ramparts. Yuki smashed through a cluster of Necron Warriors that were closing in.
So far, aside from a vast number of aircraft and standard Necron infantry, the more powerful units had yet to appear. It could be inferred that this dynasty had not yet fully awakened. The few super-sized "pills"—the Monoliths—that had been hastily deployed could be left to the bio-ships to handle.
The Necron cities had already thrust themselves above the ground. This ostentatious display annoyed Yuki. What was the difference between this and a final boss putting a giant eyeball right on its chest?
Thus, a super Tyranid squad composed of elite units—Hive Tyrants, Neurotyrants, Lictors, Mawlocs, Raveners, and Harpies—launched a violent incursion, charging through Necron fire until they reached the entrance of the tomb.
"So this is the defensive capability of our physical universe's ultimate materialists."
Yuki once again recalled the time he had watched from the sidelines as the World Engine was destroyed. It was hard to imagine that such a war machine could be brought down by eight hundred Space Marines with melta bombs. But then again, that was the logic of the Warhammer world.
Although he often mocked the concept of boarding actions in the Warhammer universe, wasn't he now leading a swarm of bugs to do exactly that? Granted, the units he brought for this boarding action were exceptionally powerful.
Since he was in this world, he had to play by its rules. Yuki pulled his thoughts back and focused his gaze on the entrance to the Tomb World.
The Gauss defense towers had already been neutralized by the bio-acid cannons of the Hive Ships and the Harpies. Otherwise, relying solely on his own armor to resist Gauss fire would have surely resulted in some injuries.
The deep Necron tomb possessed an interior far wider than its exterior suggested. Several massive bridges connected different sectors, and countless dark factory chambers stood within. They passed a pool of living metal, where the substance was being agitated like water. Thousands of Necron Warriors rose from it; Yuki paused for only a few milliseconds before continuing forward. These units weren't fast and couldn't catch him, so they were best ignored.
Eventually, the Tyranid boarding party arrived at a grand hall, designed in the classic Necron tomb style. Accompanied by the hum of Phase Blades, dozens of blades emerged from the darkness. These phase weapons could cut through an enemy's body by flickering between different dimensions. In other words, they could ignore almost all forms of armor.
The ones wielding these weapons were the Skorpekh Destroyers.
The Destroyer Cult—Yuki remembered that depending on the translation, they were also called the Annihilation Cult. They were individuals whose minds had completely vanished after bio-transference, leaving behind only a pure hatred for the living. Strictly speaking, Flayed Ones were also part of the Destroyer Cult, but Yuki wasn't entirely clear on those specific details. His Necron-loving friend probably couldn't have explained it clearly either, as that part of the lore was as inconsistent as ever.
In short, it was a combination of the most dangerous weapons and the units that hated life the most. Once these units were allowed to leave the tomb and return to the world of the living, they would destroy every biological thing in sight.
The Skorpekh Destroyers rotated their metallic bodies, their living metal joints emitting low, grinding sounds. Their massive phase blades blurred into arcs of green light during their frantic spins, sweeping toward the swarm like a deadly whirlwind.
The Norn Emissary controlled by Yuki was the first to meet the charge. Despite its massive size, the beast displayed startling agility as it neared the ground. It suddenly lowered its stance, several pairs of appendages slamming into the rock strata while its claws lunged out like vipers, precisely striking the mechanical leg joints of the lead Destroyer. The entire Skorpekh Destroyer instantly lost its balance and was sent flying.
The dozens of elite Tyranid units joined the fray. They knew the lethality of the phase blades. Tyrant Guards used their bone scythes to jam the trajectory of the blades, while a Hive Tyrant endured a slash with its shoulder plate to plunge its tail-stinger through a Destroyer's core.
Although the Necrons' living metal was constantly self-repairing, under the weight of absolute numbers, the Skorpekh Destroyers were quickly dismantled into sparking components.
The moment the last Destroyer ceased moving, the green runes on all the wreckage suddenly flared. Broken metal parts were pulled by an invisible force and vanished into warped space.
"Phase teleportation protocols again. These tin cans always slip back to their nest to respawn if they can't win a fight."
Just as he was accessing the data on Necrons within the Norn Emissary's memory bank, the eastern wall of the tomb suddenly dissolved into dust. A presence stepped out from the swirling mists of energy, causing all Tyranid organisms to momentarily stiffen.
It was a Skorpekh Lord, several times larger than the other Destroyers, with dark light flowing through the green runes embedded in its chest plate.
A Destroyer Lord? Had he stumbled into the nest of a Destroyer Dynasty? What was the title of this Tomb World's ruler? Lord, Overlord, or Phaeron?
Please don't let it be a Phaeron...
While he was thinking, the Skorpekh Lord had already lunged in front of him, its two pairs of phase blades slashing in a cross pattern. The Norn Emissary dodged to the side, though a large chunk of tissue was still shorn from the edge of its carapace. Yuki counterattacked immediately, pinning the Lord's blade-wielding right arm with his appendages, all while feeling the sharp pain of his left shoulder plate being torn by the enemy's auxiliary claws.
"You're just a Lord. Did you really think you could turn the tides?"
The muscle fibers of the Norn Emissary suddenly swelled. With the ear-grating sound of twisting metal, it forcibly tore off the Skorpekh Lord's right arm along with the phase blade. When the glowing green blade clattered to the floor, the green flames in the Lord's eye sockets visibly dimmed.
But Yuki knew very well that this was far from over. He noticed the Lord's backplate was absorbing energy from the space around it, and the outlines of teleportation matrices were appearing where the dismantled Destroyers had fallen. If he couldn't completely destroy the reanimation protocols, this battle would be endless.
Yuki charged forward. The Norn Emissary was still larger than the Skorpekh Lord, and it pinned the Lord to the ground, launching a frantic assault. The Norn Emissary's bone blades, spikes, and various bio-weapons stabbed into the Lord's body; even the sturdy living metal was pierced by the Tyranids' miraculous bio-technology. More and more parts were stripped away.
Minutes later, the Skorpekh Lord had been reduced to scraps, and like the others before it, it began to be teleported away. This time, Yuki had the Neurotyrant track the direction of the energy flow.
This should be possible, right?
Found it.
The Neurotyrant pointed in a specific direction. Yuki was certain that this led to where the master of this tomb resided.
"Necrons... I want to see just how powerful that Overlord really is."