Rosicky raised a hand, signaling everyone to halt.
He walked up to the base of the massive spider statue, gently running his fingers across the inscriptions and patterns carved into the stone.
From the data crystals of the Iron Lords, he had learned the language of the Araneus.
The "Archaeologist" found that while the script on the pedestal differed slightly from Araneus-tongue, it belonged to the same linguistic family.
Immediately, he and sixteen Savants began the work of deciphering.
"First, we'll use glyph and symbol analysis to compare letter evolution, then calculate distribution patterns of the symbols," he instructed.
The Savants spread out, each reading and memorizing the phrases in their assigned section.
They then regrouped, cross-matching letters, aligning ancient Araneus-tongue with its modern form.
The [C] on the pedestal matched the modern […].
The Savants further tabulated high-frequency letter clusters and terminal symbols, determining how often each letter appeared in certain positions, thereby inferring their grammatical roles.
The Shadows of Order first identified articles and pronouns, then moved on to verbs and nouns.
At last, the Savants cracked the words, unraveling the meaning of the sentences.
The results were compiled and handed to the Archaeologist. After arranging them, he grasped the full sense of the inscription.
Rosicky relayed the summary over the vox comms channel:
"The Araneus Continuity revered spiders, viewing them as incarnations of death. They called them Death Spiders and raised statues in their honor."
"Beneath lie eight tomb chambers, storing the corpses of Iron Lords and Tech-nobility, believing the Death Spider would guard them."
Finally, the Archaeologist voiced his conclusion, grounded in his knowledge of ruins:
"At the center of the underground tombs, there must be an altar."
"Only through the altar can the Death Spider's protection, its blessing, be placed upon the dead."
"Would the tombs have guardians?" someone asked.
Since receiving the Gene-Father's gift of strength, Adams had grown fascinated by funerary cultures. On his campaigns, he had collected countless books and relics.
He knew the dead despised disturbance. Core tombs should have guardians.
The Archaeologist nodded slightly, acknowledging the Gravedigger's reasoning.
"On the pedestal, I found not only spiders, but also canine forms. The inscription names them Death's Watchdogs."
"Native to Necromunda, mechanical hounds about a meter long, half-machine beasts."
"I suspect we'll meet some kind of special hound inside the tomb, perhaps an even stronger construct."
The Gravedigger nodded calmly.
"Then we go to the tombs."
From his nearly toneless voice, the Archaeologist still caught a faint trace of interest.
The Shadows of Order advanced toward the underground crypts. At the gates, Rosicky suddenly called:
"Stop."
The Forge Lord's deep eyes scanned the massive doors. Raising his left arm, he activated the multi-function scanner mounted on it.
Seconds later, the scan confirmed his visual judgment.
"The alloy gate is composed of multiple metals, an artifact of ancient technology."
The techmarines at his side, unlike those of other legions, had not painted their power armor red to mark allegiance to Mars.
The Shadows of Order kept their armor black, only the pauldrons painted in Mars' crimson.
One techmarine, his augmetic eye glowing, scanned and exclaimed:
"The alloy door and the tomb are seamless. If we use thermal charges to blast it open, the entrance could collapse."
"Not only that," the Forge Lord added.
He lowered his left arm and raised his right. From his gauntlet sprouted dense mechanical probes, tapping across the alloy like feelers.
The tactile probe measured a surface roughness of 0.52 microns. The thermal probe reported a negative temperature coefficient of resistance: −4.1% per degree…
Ten seconds later, the Forge Lord consolidated the data.
"The alloy gate uses a special ancient-tech design. Its negative thermistor array links directly to the entire tomb complex."
"The frozen tomb is effectively a munitions cache."
"Any violent breach would collapse the whole necropolis."
Adams sucked in a breath. The tomb's masters were more ruthless than he imagined, willing to be buried alongside any intruders who disturbed their rest.
"Rosicky, can you open the gate?"
The Forge Lord didn't answer immediately. His probes tapped rhythmically, tick, tick. Twelve seconds later, he replied:
"Yes."
Servo-arms unfolded from his back, mechanical claws extending probes.
Each strike of the claw was accompanied by the tapping of multiple probes. The arms moved at blistering speed, sparking as they worked.
Thirty minutes later, the arms retracted, sparks still crackling from overworked parts.
With a thunderous groan, the alloy gate slowly opened.
Rosicky led the way inside, Shadows of Order close behind.
They passed two corridors before the ground trembled. Out from the shadows came dozens of mechanical hounds, each nearly two meters long.
Normal Necromundan hounds were only one meter. These were monstrous.
Some rushed on the ground, others scuttled across walls and ceilings with metal claws.
Their eyes flared red as they lunged at the Astartes.
A dozen mechanical hounds surged at Rosicky at once.
But Rosicky was no longer just a Tech-Priest. With the superhuman physique of an Astartes and further augmentations after becoming an Archaeologist, he was formidable.
He drew his power axe and swung it upward in a cleaving arc, slicing a hound apart.
The Shadows of Order wove their axes like threshers, shredding a dozen more hounds.
Though unarmored, Adams had undergone both the Corpse Collector and Gravedigger enhancements. His body was stronger than ever, his movements sharper.
He slung his atomic disintegration rifle, drawing a power sword instead.
The Gravedigger blurred through the battlefield, dodging the hounds' eye-lasers, striking with precise stabs.
The disruption field tore apart alloy bodies, scattering pieces across the tomb floor.
The Shadows of Order pushed forward, reaching another chamber.
Under covering fire, the Forge Lord set his servo-arms to work on the next gate.
With another crash, it opened, revealing burial treasures: data crystals and bizarre mechanical constructs.
Leaving two Techmarines and four Corpse Collectors to handle the corpses, the Orders pressed on.
Through four more corridors, they reached the heart of the necropolis.
The moment they beheld the altar, every Shadow narrowed his eyes.
The altar was built entirely of data crystals, each one brighter, more dazzling than any they had seen before.
Even the Astartes had to squint against the brilliance.
"A data altar. A treasure," the Forge Lord whispered in awe, leading his techmarines toward the relic of the Dark Age of Technology.
Meanwhile, the Gravedigger led the Corpse Collector in purging the hounds and opening the other seven tombs.
Once all eight tombs were uncovered, Adams felt a starburst within himself; he had fully absorbed the Gravedigger's power.
As the Archaeologist sifted through the knowledge stored in the altar, the fleet of their Primarch arrived at the rendezvous, joining the Second and Seventh Chapters.
Before giving the attack order, Nareth's mind drifted to a vision he had plucked from Slau Dha's psychic thoughts.
In that vision, the seer of a craftworld stood before Slau Dha.
"Slau Dha, fate has revealed to me: the Lord of the Mon-keigh will gift the Dionysian Spear to Nareth."
"If Nareth gains that cursed artifact, it will hinder our great design. He must die!"
Nareth's gaze deepened.
'Should I slow down, let the Wolf King take the victory?'
The thought flickered, then he dismissed it.
'No. The Emperor never said the Dionysian Spear or Fang Keep would be given to whichever Primarch fought in the Wheel of Fire. That was only my own inference.'
'Nor did he say the Spear would go to the one who took the Ork Warboss's head; it could be another. If he chooses me, then win or lose, the Spear will be mine.'
Resolved, Nareth steeled himself. Only by striving for victory could he claim Malcador's gift.
The Primarch gave the order: "Execute the plan. Attack!"
...
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu