The Soul-Purging Dead Zone is not a new phenomenon; it appeared during the War in Heaven between Terra and the Old Ones, solely to prevent the galactic rift torn open by the Old Ones.
Even before his living conversion, Trazyn was a knowledgeable scholar, After achieving an immortal metal body, he devoted more energy to the study of history and culture.
The various campaigns of the War in Heaven were also within his scope of study.
Towards the end of the War in Heaven, the Old Ones were losing ground in the war.
To reverse the situation, they attempted to fully introduce the power of the Warp into the material Universe.
This way, they could gain a greater advantage.
The current Great Rift was, in fact, torn open by the Old Ones.
However, when the Warp was torn open, the demons born from negative emotions like slaughter and despair did not obey the Old Ones' commands; instead, they attacked the Old Ones.
Later, the C'tan built Blackstone Fortresses to mend the rift.
"I suspect this time's Soul-Purging Dead Zone is being led by the returning Silent King, Szarekh, and the Illuminator, Szeras, with other dynasties providing assistance."
"Once the Soul-Purging Dead Zone is activated, the only way to stop them is through an all-out war, destroying all the obelisks."
"An all-out war, destroying all the obelisks?" Daniel closed his eyes in contemplation, pondering the thought.
The Silent King, Szarekh, was the last and most powerful Silent King of the Necron.
During the Necron era, many Phaeron ascended to the Silent King's throne, but as the clock of destiny gradually pointed towards the Necrons, only Szarekh had the last laugh.
When he ascended, the first battle between the Necron and the Necrons had already been lost.
They were forced to abandon a large amount of territory and retreat to their core domains.
To win victory and prevent the extinction of their race.
Szarekh chose to cooperate with the C'tan, Ultimately, the Necron gained immortal bodies, achieving mechanical ascension, but at the cost of their souls' annihilation, after the Old Ones' defeat, Szarekh chose to lead his people in regicide, eventually defeating the C'tan one by one and imprisoning their main fragments using dimensional cubes.
The War in Heaven ended, but what awaited the Necron was not a bright future, but a shattered galaxy full of enemies, although the Old Ones were defeated, their creations, such as the Aeldari and Orks, were still very powerful, at that time, the Necrons could no longer support another racial war.
Ultimately, the Silent King made a decision to put all dynasties into slumber until they would reawaken sixty million years later to reclaim dominion over the galaxy, after all dynasties fell into slumber, he destroyed the 'master protocol' controlling the Necrons and piloted his flagship, the Song of Oblivion, out of the galaxy, beginning his long self-exile.
The Silent King traveled for tens of millions of years, returning from beyond the galaxy only in the 38th millennium.
No one knows what he experienced, nor what strange things he found out there.
To be honest, Daniel was very wary of this fellow.
The Necrons possess faster-than-light travel technology that does not rely on the Warp.
If Szarekh had been traveling at faster-than-light speeds during his time away from the galaxy.Tens of millions of years would be enough for this king to visit many places, reach many galaxies, witness their development, and learn their mysterious technologies.
Such a well-traveled being, even if not supported by Phaeron like the Storm King, would definitely be a formidable opponent.
Szarekh might be the Imperium of Man's most troublesome enemy in the material Universe.
If he could be dealt with, the Imperium of Man would have no formidable enemies left in the material Universe.
The T'au, despite its seemingly advanced technology, is walking the same dead end that humanity once did.
They are merely replicating the glory that humanity once had.
In the future, even if they are not annihilated by the Imperium of Man, they will perish due to the Warp, after all, they do not have a Human Lord comparable to a god to turn the tide and fight against the Warp.
The Orks, this race is also showing signs of resurgence now, but unfortunately, their internal strife is severe, and merely recovering to their Great Crusade era scale is likely their limit.
Weapons are ultimately just weapons; they cannot become true rulers.
The Aeldari have declined and are now vassals of the Imperium of Man.
It is unknown how many years it will take for them to rise again, as for the Squats, they have been stagnant for many years, overly reliant on their Ancestor Cores, and pose no threat, after a thorough review, the only force capable of stopping the Imperium of Man is the Necrons led by Szarekh.
The Illuminator, Szeras, who is allied with Szarekh.
is also an extremely troublesome fellow; he possesses bio-transferrence technology and is one of the culprits behind the birth of the Necrons.
He is obsessed with unraveling the mysteries of life and attempting to become a god, as Daniel pondered, Arale, maintaining her loli appearance, stood behind him, intimidating the two Necron Overlords.
Orikan and Trazyn dared not speak much, They both knew the terror of the C'tan.
Even if they were Necron Overlords capable of making the entire galaxy tremble, in front of the C'tan, they were merely ants that could be crushed at will.
They had personally witnessed the terrifying power displayed by the C'tan in their prime.
In an instant, they could destroy a planet and slaughter countless lives.
If Szarekh hadn't taken advantage of their internal weakness to shatter them all, the galaxy would have long become their playground, after weighing his options, Daniel looked at Trazyn, "Then let's go to war, First, defeat the Silent King, Szarekh, and then we'll talk about the rest."
"Saint, this is the best method, Please allow me to be your vanguard and win this battle for you."
Trazyn volunteered.
He had already made up his mind, planning to harvest a good haul of those fellows' collections, and then rule the remaining Necron as their savior, at that time, with the help of Arale and the Saint, he would restore the Necron' physical bodies.
That way, he would become the greatest hero of the Necron.
"What kind of war can a scholar fight? You should just leave it to me." Orikan saw through Trazyn's intentions and also offered his own idea.
"You—"
Trazyn stared intently at Orikan, "I kindly brought you into the Saint's camp, and you immediately try to stab me in the back?"
"I am serving the Saint." Orikan snorted coldly.
First, bio-transferrence.
Now, setting an ambush to make me fall into a trap.
You've done all the shameless things; if I don't trip you up a bit, I'd be letting myself down.
"Arale."
Daniel ignored the bickering duo and turned to Arale in her loli state.
"Master." Arale tilted her head, looking at her master.
"Create a new data patch targeting the Soul-Purging Dead Zone." Daniel said, "For the next period, we must focus our main efforts on resolving the Soul-Purging Dead Zone."
Arale nodded, "Okay, Master."
[Announcement: Expansion Pack [Soul-Driving Dead Zone]
Content: The already chaotic galaxy is in turmoil once again, as an ancient race intends to reclaim their status as galactic overlords.
They possess powerful technology beyond comprehension, and bodies made of metal immune to all damage.
They have awakened from a long slumber of sixty million years, intending to sweep away all inferiors who obstruct their cause of restoring their ancient empire…
They are the Necrons, 'whose numbers are immeasurable, and whose name is eternal death'.
The Necrons' original name was Necron…
… …
The Silent King - Szarekh has returned from the edge of the galaxy, and together with Illuminor Szeras, is constructing black obelisks across the galaxy, releasing Silent Fields, causing the death of countless Imperial citizens, intending to use this to counter the Warp and reclaim galactic hegemony.
In the name of the God-Emperor, for those innocent Imperial citizens, the Imperium of Man calls upon all Saints to collectively resist this ancient race.]
[Expansion Pack Content: Effective immediately, the Imperium of Man officially declares war on the Necrons hardliner forces led by The Silent King - Szarekh and Illuminor Szeras.
First: Trazyn the Infinite and Orikan have agreed to join the Imperium of Man and become technical advisors to the Imperium, Therefore, this campaign only targets those hardliner forces unwilling to coexist peacefully with humanity.
Second: The Imperial Bank will issue a new round of war bonds to support this galactic-level war.
Third: … … … …
Fourth: … … … …
After the expansion pack concludes, war scores can be used for… … … …
]
[Daily Thought: +++In the name of the Emperor, we shall spare no effort to defend humanity's survival, even if it means sacrificing our lives and souls+++]
Arale's actions were as swift as ever.
Daniel checked it over, after confirming there were no issues, he had Arale upload it to the Warhammer OL official website, as usual, it was scheduled for release at 6 PM.
Having settled the expansion pack matter, Daniel looked at Trazyn and Orikan.
The two stood obediently, not daring to voice any objections.
They were once commanded by the Star Gods, and now Daniel commanded the Star Gods; anyone with a clear mind knew they couldn't afford to provoke Daniel.
"Are you truly certain you want to command armies against Szarekh?" Daniel asked them calmly, after all, the Silent King was the true ruler of the Necron, and even without the master control protocol, the various dynasties still held him in awe.
"Szarekh's era has passed." Trazyn said first, "As long as you, Saint, guarantee your promise is real and effective, I will find a way to persuade them."
"I never break my vows; the Necron will become vassals of the Imperium of Man, just like the Aeldari, Additionally, I will also find a way to help you regain your physical bodies."
Daniel nodded, reiterating his oath.
"Then I shall serve you." Trazyn said.
Having been with the Imperium of Man for so long, Trazyn had long harbored apprehension about the Imperium of Man's power.
With the help of Arale, a Star God, humanity's technology in certain areas had begun to surpass that of the Necron, before long, humanity would become the most technologically advanced race in this galaxy, a rising sun and a setting sun about to disappear below the horizon were simply incomparable.
If they were to continue opposing humanity according to The Silent King - Szarekh's ideas, and continue with the unrealistic dream of galactic hegemony.Then the fate of the Necron would surely be very bleak.
Currently, the various dynasties all had problems to varying degrees; the appearance of the Flayed Ones and the loss of sanity among the lower-class citizens were all very serious issues.
If they couldn't convert back to biological forms, even if they didn't go to war with humanity, the demise of the Necron was inevitable.
"I will also serve you, Saint of the Imperium of Man." Orikan also said, "Just give me the task, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
"You…" Trazyn looked at Orikan, feeling an urge to beat him severely.
"What about me…" Orikan chuckled, "Do you have any objections?"
"Alright, stop arguing." Daniel said, "You will both serve as Imperial envoys to the battlefield, As for who will become the new Necrons ruler, that will depend on who your people support more."
Daniel did not want to interfere excessively in Necrons affairs.
Their ruler should be decided by themselves, after dispatching the two, Daniel had Arale open communications to discuss the upcoming campaign arrangements with Guilliman, Lion, and Corax and Jaghatai Khan, who had just returned to the Imperium.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy.
The Battle Roses Battle Group, investigating deeper with Inquisitor Drax, arrived at a world attacked by the Necrons, at this time, Imperial forces were still stubbornly resisting, attempting to reclaim the planet.
Drax received a distress call from the surface, an Astartes from the Salamanders Battle Group, a Battle Sisters, were protecting a group of survivors moving through the ruins, hoping for support.
"There are still some survivors on the ground; the task of rescuing them can only be entrusted to you."
"These people are very important; they are in a Silent Field, yet they have not become soulless automatons like others, This is very much worth noting."
Drax assigned the rescue mission to the Saints of the Battle Roses Battle Group.
"Mission assured."
Little Alpaca gladly accepted the mission and set out with her companions.
… … … …
Inside a tomb pyramid on the planet's surface.
Illuminor Szeras, tall and spider-like, walking on mechanical legs, approached a stasis crypt.
"Execute awakening protocol."
As his words fell, the stasis crypt, silent for tens of millions of years, glowed and slowly opened, revealing a tall Necrons.
"Greetings, Illuminor Szeras, Master of Matter, Lord Santigula, by Deathmark protocol, serves you."
Szeras nodded, He casually opened a green holographic light sphere.
"A swarm of pests has occupied our world, I have punished them, but the survivors still attempt to reclaim this planet, Go and eliminate these threatening targets."
"My soul container has marked your selected targets." The Deathmark stared intently at the humans in the projection.
Szeras was displeased to hear his response.
"Do not use unscientific terms like 'soul', My experiment is at a critical stage, and no unexpected variables can be allowed."
"This unit questions the necessity of being awakened, Destroyer units could easily be dispatched for these targets." the Deathmark replied.
"Questioning your leader is a very foolish thing, Destroyer units are too mindless, and this matter requires precision, speed, and minimizing the threat." Szeras stared intently at the awakened Deathmark.
"I understand, I will serve you according to protocol." the Deathmark nodded.
"Go, eliminate these targets and crush the pests' resistance, Oh, and there's an uncontrollable variable: some of my failed experimental subjects are wandering about, Ignore them."
The Deathmark nodded, opened a dimensional portal, and went to execute the mission.
Meanwhile, in low orbit, the Battle Roses Battle Group traveled to the surface in a transport craft.