"Could you transport me directly onto one of the Val Amulets?" Saar asked, adding, "Any one will do."
Saar, eager to fulfill his mission, was no longer content to simply observe. He had been charged by the Prophet to infiltrate the Blackstone Fortress and assist the Tyrannian forces in dismantling it.
"Go ahead," Qin Mo replied, nodding his approval.
Saar looked somewhat taken aback, casting glances at the two sentinels standing nearby. The sentinels only spared him a brief glance before returning their focus to the holographic display.
An unsettling feeling crept over Saar. He suspected he might be going to the fortress alone. Given humanity's distrust of the xeno and the Lord of Tyrannia's deep-seated aversion to anything related to psychic energy, Saar couldn't shake the notion they might be planning to abandon him.
Then, to his surprise, Qin Mo broke into laughter, joined by Gray and Yaon. Saar was more bewildered than ever.
"Rest assured," Qin Mo said with a reassuring smile, patting Saar on the shoulder. "You came here to help us; there's no way we'd send you alone to the Blackstone Fortress. But I need to know one thing: what exactly are you planning to do once you get inside?"
Saar answered frankly, "I'll disrupt their consciousness, forcing them to shut down."
His answer made it sound as though the fortress had a mind of its own.
Because of the Celestial Engine's presence, powered by both the Fragment of the Nightbringer and the living metal body of another Star God, the Blackstone Fortresses were now fully engaged in this conflict. Abaddon and Huron's crews alone could never have wielded the fortresses' power so seamlessly.
"So, how do you plan to interfere with their consciousness?" Qin Mo pressed further.
With a sigh, Saar pulled out two items—devices fashioned from spiritbone, a material unique to the Eldar, much like living metal was to the Necrons. "I need to reach the Val Amulet's core. I'm not entirely sure of the path, but these devices will guide me. They are ancient relics designed to calm machinery driven to madness."
Saar's words sounded like mystic jargon, but Qin Mo understood. The Eldar, as a race crafted by the Old Ones, were psychically gifted far beyond humanity, intertwining their technology with their psychic abilities.
"Take the sentinels with you," Qin Mo said, his gaze shifting to the hologram where the Weepers' flagship hovered. "The Weepers shall join you as well."
"That should be sufficient," Saar replied with a satisfied nod. "Though it will take time to navigate the fortress…"
"I understand. Go." Qin Mo, no longer striving for a swift resolution, was willing to invest as much time as necessary in this decisive war for humanity's fate.
Saar prepared for the transport, while Gray established contact with the Weepers. Yaon, thinking he too would be sent to the Blackstone Fortress, soon realized his safety protocols hadn't activated when Saar and Gray vanished. Qin Mo had quietly instructed the Golem to withhold Yaon from the transfer.
"Am I not going to the fortress?" Yaon asked.
"No," Qin Mo replied, nodding.
Yaon felt a pang of disappointment. He couldn't fathom why he hadn't been chosen. As he pondered this, Qin Mo suddenly added, "You did well. On the forge world, you thwarted that demon-summoning ritual. Well done."
The unexpected praise lifted Yaon's spirits immensely, though he was too overwhelmed to come up with an appropriate response.
Meanwhile, the fleets were fully engaged.
…
The two Blackstone Fortresses unleashed another volley from their vortex cannons, aimed squarely at the Celestial Engine. The Celestial Engine's satellite structures retaliated with particle lances. The Tyrannian and Chaos fleets bore down on each other, both skillfully maneuvering to avoid the Celestial Engine and Blackstone Fortresses.
Unaware of the Celestial Engine's true capabilities, the Chaos fleet was unwittingly drawing closer not only to the Tyrannian fleet but also into range of the Celestial Engine's arc weapons array.
The battle's opening salvo erupted as the Revenge of Souls and the Lord of Tyrannia—two massive battleships—traded fire, particle lances and torpedoes clashing with void shields, beams, and macro cannons. The colossal ships exchanged blows across kilometers.
Abaddon, seated on his throne aboard the bridge of the Revenge of Souls, studied the unfolding battle with a wary eye. That planetary-sized weapon was locked in a struggle with the Blackstone Fortresses—or so Abaddon believed. Even so, he harbored no illusions about a swift victory; he expected a stalemate in the system.
As Abaddon considered his strategy, a communication hologram appeared, showing Typhus' face. "What's your plan against the ship currently engaging you?" Typhus asked.
"To destroy it," Abaddon replied, swiftly formulating a plan. "I'll feign weakness, draw the enemy vessel closer, and with your Doom's End, we'll take it down swiftly."
Taking down an enemy battleship wouldn't instantly secure victory in a massive fleet battle, but it would deal a severe blow to the opponent's morale and protect his own fleet from the warship's firepower.
Typhus, pleased with the plan, nodded in agreement. "Let's proceed."
The Revenge of Souls continued trading shots with the Lord of Tyrannia, the distance between them steadily shrinking. The Doom's End slowed, preparing to strike as soon as the Tyrannian battleship pursued the Revenge of Souls.
A battleship, massive as it was, couldn't hide, but despite having spotted the Doom's End, the Lord of Tyrannia forged ahead.
"A young captain, perhaps?" Abaddon sneered, noting the opposing commander's apparent lack of finesse.
"Detecting a high-energy reading!" someone on the bridge suddenly reported.
Abaddon's brow furrowed, a sense of foreboding prickling at him.
Outside the Revenge of Souls, to the Chaos fleet's left—facing the Celestial Engine—a torrent of lightning began surging toward them. The Celestial Engine's arc weapons array had fired without warning. By the time the Chaos fleet's ships registered the arcing bolts, it was too late. Lightning cascaded from left to right, sweeping through the fleet.
The arc overwhelmed every escort's void shields in an instant; even those on the far right failed to withstand the electric onslaught, with explosions erupting throughout the fleet. Cruiser shields overloaded, with those nearest the left taking severe damage.
Only the battleships' shields held, but the Revenge of Souls was still locked in combat with the Lord of Tyrannia. Without its shield, the Revenge's port side was pierced by a particle lance.