178: The Silent King is coming

The Eastward Torrent swept through the Imperium of Man's Far East Star Sector with irresistible force. Extragalactic deep-space rooting and the Void Siphon progressed steadily amidst unknown whispers, as the Human Federation's territory and power surged during this dual-front expansion to a point that stifled the traditional powers of the galaxy.

However, the malice of the universe is like a shadow, always quietly coalescing at the peak of glory. This time, the threat did not come from the retreating Imperium of Man, nor from the temporarily dormant Chaos Godss, but from those cold, ancient metal undead whose logic differed vastly from the living.

The Necrons, an ancient race that once ruled the galaxy, were not a monolith. While the downfall of Ouroska and the Thanatos Dynasty shocked the Necron world, it also caused some even more ancient and transcendent beings to begin re-evaluating the threat level posed by this short-lived race known as the Human Federation.

The Silent King, the nominal supreme ruler of the Necrons, governed many dynasties but had long been in self-imposed exile beyond the galaxy. His gaze was always focused on a grander threat at the cosmic level: the all-consuming Tyranid main hive fleet. In the past, the Silent King had mostly remained indifferent to the internal strife of the galaxy, allowing the various dynasties to act as they pleased.

However, the Human Federation's performance began to lead this ancient monarch's algorithms to a new conclusion.

The growth speed, technological absorption capacity, the desire to manipulate reality and the Warp, and the cold, efficient, and highly aggressive ideology displayed by this short-lived race not only threatened the survival of individual Necron dynasties but also, on a deeper level, fundamentally conflicted with the Silent King's plans for the future of the galaxy.

The Human Federation's order was one based on pure human existence, a complete denial of non-human intelligence. This was irreconcilable with the future galactic vision envisioned by the Necrons, led by their own ascended beings.

More critically, the Firmament Network and the abyss of order established by the Human Federation in the Eye of Terror—this large-scale stabilization of reality and extraction of Warp energy—though primarily aimed at Chaos, had ripples that were beginning to slightly interfere with certain deep-level Necron technological networks that relied on precise spacetime phases and constant Warp background values. It was like throwing a massive boulder into a pool of still water; the ripples would reach every corner.

After long calculations and weighing the options, the Silent King's silent logic core finally made a decision: the Tyranid threat was a slow and certain consumption, but the Human Federation's threat was a rapid and fundamental subversion.

Before the Tyranid main hive fleet reached the core regions of the galaxy, this poisonous heresy that was changing the galactic ecological niche had to be uprooted first.

Thus, without any warning, several powerful Necron dynasties—which had originally deployed their main fleets at the edge of the galaxy to monitor and delay the Tyranid vanguard and were loyal to or had close agreements with the Silent King—began to quietly adjust their strategic direction.

Their Tomb Worlds flickered with an eerie green light, and massive fleets awakened from the cold depths of the tombs. No longer pointing toward the direction of the incoming Swarm, they instead aimed their cannons squarely at the Human Federation's ever-expanding territory, especially the rapidly repairing and expanding Firmament Network in the Eye of Terror.

“Large-scale Necron fleet movement detected! Signals originating from multiple dynasties! Trajectory analysis points to key nodes of our Firmament Network and the outer routes of Keystone-1!” The alarm from providence instantly echoed through Keystone-1.

“Has the Silent King finally lost his patience?” Han Zhe's gaze narrowed as he instantly grasped the situation. “Giving up on fighting the Tyranids to deal with us first... it seems our threat level in their eyes has surpassed the all-consuming Swarm. adjudicator, assess the threat scale and response options.”

“Threat assessment: Extremely high.” The adjudicator's voice was more solemn than ever before.

“Confirmed participating dynasties include at least three top-tier military dynasties and several medium-sized ones. The total fleet size is estimated to be more than six times the enemy's total during the scythe of the end operation.”

“Their tactical style will be vastly different from the Necrons encountered previously, emphasizing coordination, spacetime suppression, and pinpoint elimination. Primary attack target deduction: 1. Key nodes of the Firmament Network, intending to destroy our achievements in stabilizing the Eye of Terror. 2. Keystone-1 and surrounding Ark Worlds, intending to annihilate the core worlds of the Human Federation. 3. Possible simultaneous restoration or sabotage operations targeting our newly occupied Necron territories.”

“Projected win rate for conventional response plans: below 50%. Although our fleet is strong, we face simultaneous high-intensity strikes across multiple fronts and points, and under the Silent King's coordination, the enemy's tactics will be more unified and efficient.”

“Conventional plans won't work; we need unconventional means.” Han Zhe's fingers unconsciously tapped the command console. “We must disrupt their offensive rhythm, buy time, and concentrate our forces. How is the progress on our newly acquired time technology research?”

The Chief Technologist responded immediately: “Based on the fragmented data from the STC-Ω project noah and the deep analysis of spacetime shield principles by the Tomb of Time Research Station, we have achieved key breakthroughs in theoretical models for limited causal interference and local time flow manipulation.”

“The prototype Experimental Time Echo Observer can already capture and analyze time image residues with strong energy disturbances that occurred within specific areas over the past few hours. However, the theoretical gap for actively performing large-scale, reversible Time Reversal remains massive, and the risks are immeasurable.”

“We don't need large-scale reversal.” A sharp light flashed in Han Zhe's eyes. “We don't need to change the 'effects' that have already occurred. We only need to create a tiny, insignificant delay in the enemy's 'cause'.”

He brought up the star map and locked onto several key spacetime coordinates that were about to become jump assembly points for the Necron fleets.

“adjudicator, technical team, I want you to come up with a plan within seventy-two hours: create small-scale, short-duration, controllable Time Stasis Fields or Time Flow Loops at these coordinates. Required effect: When the Necron fleets attempt large-scale phase jumps into or through these areas, the time flow within their fleets or the jump process itself will experience an extremely brief but lethal misalignment or cycle relative to the outside. This should cause jump failures, fleet desynchronization, or even internal system collapses. It doesn't need to last long—even a few seconds of chaos will be enough to disrupt their meticulously planned synchronized offensive and win us a critical window to redeploy our defensive forces.”

“Actively creating local temporal anomalies as a tactical weapon?” The Chief Technologist gasped. “It's theoretically feasible, but the implementation difficulty and risks are high. If it spirals out of control, it could trigger small spacetime singularities or unpredictable Timeline Pollution!”

“The risks are within controllable limits,” Han Zhe's tone was beyond doubt. “Utilize the reality-stabilizing capabilities of the Firmament Network and the Imprisoner-class platforms as anchors and buffers. adjudicator, I need you to perform simulations at maximum computing power to find the safest and most effective time interference points and implementation parameters. This is our best chance to turn the tide of this disadvantage.”

“Understood. Initiating highest-priority deduction. Project code: Time Tether.” The adjudicator's core light began to flicker with an almost burning frequency, calling upon all relevant data obtained from STC-Ω, Necron spacetime technology, and even the Extragalactic Void Siphon project.