There's something wrong, the Orks were quiet, too quiet. Their attacks on the local population diminished and all of their vessels sailed toward a single point, a large and rocky vegetation-covered island.
"Haratek?"
"Yes, my Lord?" He answered from the start of my throne's stairs.
"The Orks plan something, prepare the tomb defenses. Prioritize the Sentry Pylons, Gauss Pylons, Tomb Sentinels, and Canoptek Wraith's repairs and activation."
"Yes, my Lord. If I may ask, why waste precious resources fighting such primitive creatures?"
"You are making the same mistake many have made in the past, underestimating the Orks. They are random and illogical creatures, but not stupid. Underestimate them and you will meet your end. Now do as I commanded."
"Yes, my lord, I will disappoint you." He bowed and left the throne room.
I, on the other hand, facepalmed myself.
Orks, why Orks? Couldn't it be an easier enemy to deal with?
However, I can't ignore them now. I provoked them and now they are coming after me. Haratek had the Scarabs and Spiders repair some of our units, so it is time to activate my warriors.
I concentrated and commanded them.
-XXXXXX-
"Awake!"
Necron Unities and War Engines awakened in various water-drained sections of the tomb, thousands of Necron Warriors, and dozens of Necron Immortals and Doomstalkers left the tomb, receiving several orders.
"Doomstalkers, assume defensive positions. Warriors and Immortals, divide into squadrons and patrol the tomb's perimeter."
-XXXXXX-
"Now, I can only wait and prepare, but as the saying goes, no plan survives contact with the Orks. Rahkikh, Thaszan?"
"Yes, my Lord?" My Lychguard responded simultaneously.
"Prepared yourselves, for we will probably be under attack."
"We will not allow harm to come upon you, my Lord." Rahkikh said.
"My scythe will dismember your enemies, my Lord." Thaszan replied.
"I'm pleased to hear it."
What have I got myself into?
Executing a mental command, several data screens appeared around me, live recordings of different areas around the tomb, detailed maps, marching units and their number, the tomb condition, and reports.
I need an artificial personality to manage all this information.
-XXXXXX-
Weeks passed, nothing happened, and I was getting paranoid. However, the longer the Orks stay without attacking us, the more time we have to repair the tomb, and the more units become ready to be deployed into battle.
I increased the number of Warriors patrolling the outside, some assuming defensive positions alongside the Doomstalkers. Everything seemed fine until one of my Immortals sent me a message straight to my mind.
"My Lord, here is squadron 23." The Immortal said monotonously.
"Report!"
"Something moves further ahead."
"Let me see!" I focused and controlled a Necron Warrior from the squadron.
Something kicked sand clouds, scaring the fish further ahead, then, I saw a red flash, an orange glow, and something hit the Necron Warrior, damaging his left eye.
It was an Ork horde, wearing metallic suits with tanks on their backs, a kind of diving suit.
"Retreat!"
"Yes, my Lord."
The Immortal and his squadron retreated while firing at the Orks. The Gauss Weaponry was effective against the green-skin's rustic attire, destroying their helmets and oxygen tanks.
Exposing them to the bottom of the ocean, forcing them to hold their breath until drowning, their heavy suits preventing them from swimming to the surface.
However, the Orks were in greater numbers despite the Necron's technology, firing bullet walls toward the squadron while the defeated ones were teleported back to the tomb.
A Nob carrying a Big Shoota sent a bullet hail toward the squadron, damaging most of the Warriors, but his joy was short-lived, as his upper torso became ash due to the Immortal's Gauss Blaster shot.
Immortals were Necrontyr's veteran warriors during their lifetime, retaining their battlefield experience even after losing their souls, so he commanded his squadron, executing tactics and strategies, retreating among the rocks at the ocean bottom.
The self-repair fixed their damaged bodies, the Immortal receiving the least due to his armor's higher quality. Now, he analyzed the situation, simultaneously reporting to his Overlord.
The squadron retreated through an underwater stone maze, but in a few seconds, the strategy was done. The Immortal ordered two Warriors to leave their cover at the entrance and shoot the Orks, killing two and drawing the other's attention.
The Orks quickened their advance, firing as the Warriors retreated further into the maze, occasionally shooting back. Unfortunately, they tried to enter all at once, getting trapped in the narrow entrance.
They hit and pushed each other, realizing too late the Immortal's Gauss Blaster aimed at them, shooting in succession and destroying the mob at a molecular level.
"Foolish creatures."
The squadron moved easily through the maze, previous patrols mapped it a long time ago, and repeated the same strategy, funneling the Orks in narrow passageways to be disintegrated by the Immortal's Gauss Blaster.
Slowly but surely, they exited the maze, with the Orks emerging screaming and shooting a few minutes later, only to silence themselves upon seeing what stood ahead.
Hundreds of Warriors and dozens of Doomstalkers formed tight and unyielding defensive positions, using the high rocky terrain as protection and high ground against the enemy.
If the Orks wanted to advance, they would have to fight an uphill battle.
"Open fire." The Immortal commanded and green lightning rained on the dumbfounded Orks.
Doomstalkers fired their Doomsday Blasters in an arc, reducing the green skins to ash while the survivors retreated into the maze, taking cover behind boulders and shooting when they could.
Meanwhile, the Immortal oversees the defense, sending reports to his Overlord.
-XXXXXX-
It started, and the other squadrons further away from the tomb reported Ork's presence.
I ordered the distant ones to retreat while the closer ones formed defensive lines around the tomb, each composite by a hundred Warriors, a dozen Doomstalkers, and one Immortal commanding.
Several screens showed different battlefronts, simultaneously, I received detailed reports from my Immortals, processing it all due to my Necron mind.
"My Lord?" Haratek's face appeared on a screen.
"Yes, Haratek?"
"You should see this."
The screen shrank and a bigger one appeared beside it, worrying me, as an ork fleet approached from the north, the direction where the ork island stood.
There should be a hundred ships, larger than the ones I sunk and equipped with pirate and 21st warship weaponry. A gigantic vessel led the fleet, with a well-dressed ork on its front.
That must be Warboss.
"TIN MAN! YER WILL TEEF FOR SINK'N MA SHIPS! YER HOUSE WILL BE A GUD LOOT!"
I wonder how he will face me. My troops are underwater and the diving Orks aren't doing much. Sadly, I got my answer through one of the screens showing the underwater fight.
There were half-spheres with glass windows and two metallic pipes on the underside of every ship. As if that wasn't enough, circular compartments opened in the front and sides of the vessels, releasing several torpedoes.
They hit the tomb's north defenses, taking a Doomstalker and a few Warriors down. So, the underwater attack was a distraction.
"Haratek, are the scarabs available?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"I will control some of them."
"As you wish, my Lord."
I concentrated and saw from hundreds of thousands of eyes, moved hundreds of thousands of legs, and controlled hundreds of thousands of bodies. The scarabs left the tomb in a dark swarm covered in green lights, circling the defense line and approaching the ship's side.
The underwater guns fired and I did my best to dodge, but they hit the metallic shoal in some areas, leaving holes soon filled by more scarabs.
Finally, the machines reached the ship, their combined strength pushing it aside, attacking with their sharp legs covered in Disruption Field, tearing a hole in the hull.
Water entered and the scarabs flew down a corridor like a black liquid, ripping apart the Orks on the way. Few fired their Shootas, but could not do much against the approaching metal mass.
I divided the shoal and surrounded the vessel, pushing it against the closest one until five ships were stuck together. The ork crew trying to recover while I had the scarabs retreat, except for one.
That one scarab entered the ship's armory, finding torpedoes, cannonballs, and ammunition, climbing on them, and raising its leg.
Immediately, an ork entered the room and I waved at him before lowering the scarab's leg towards a torpedo. The green skin closing the door was the last thing I saw through the scarab's eye.
-XXXXXX-
BOOM!
The ships exploded in one of the screens, now ninety-five more ships to go, this will be a long day. I shifted my attention to the screen showing the Warboss yelling something at his crew.
"RELEASE 'DA CHARGES!"
Charges? What charges?
The Orks ran across the ship's decks, pulling levers beside metal structures full of barrels, leaning them toward the water, and dropping their contents shining a red light.
One of these barrels sank next to my scarab shoal, and when one of them touched it...
BOOM!
A huge explosion destroyed hundreds of scarabs, who collided with other barrels, generating a chain reaction.
"Haratek, activate the defenses!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
Some areas outside the tomb opened, revealing large structures known as Sentry Pylons and Gauss Pylons, who fired at the ork ships, immediately destroying the closest ones with their Gauss Exterminators and Gauss Annihilators.
The fleet dived itself, part going left, part going right, and the rest remaining where they stood. They tried to surround the tomb, but I did not allow that.
"Haratek, concentrate fire on the ships that broke formation!"
"As you wish!"
The defenses changed targets, shooting at the ships trying to surround us, but those that were still afloat fired torpedoes, cannonballs, and shells, hitting the tomb. The building rocked a little, but no serious damage was done.
Hm... I wish my troops weren't busy with the Orks at the bottom of the sea. Let me try something.
>Command Protocols
Protocol of the Sudden Storm
Protocol of the Vengeful Stars
> Protocol of the Hungry Void
Start Protocol?
Y/N
>Y
Initiating Protocol of the Hungry Void
95%
96%
97%
98%
99%
100%
Protocol Initiated
-XXXXXX-
All units received their Overlord's protocol in several defense lines around the tomb, immediately entering into action. Their already absurd accuracy suddenly increased, hitting the Orks headshot after headshot.
There was no time to scream, there was no time to take cover, the hiding Orks received a Gauss bolt the microsecond they poked their heads from their hiding places.
Ork numbers were reduced across all lines of defense with absolute, methodical precision, leaving piles of headless corpses behind. However, the battle was not over, the tomb still stood and the Warboss was not out of tricks.
END OF CHAPTER