Custodian Alessio's halberd carved a dazzling golden arc through the air, colliding with the Hive Tyrant's massive claw.
"For the Emperor!"
The Custodian's roar exploded like thunder, and the disintegrator field scraped against the chitinous carapace, producing blinding sparks.
The massive claw, powerful enough to tear apart a Leman Russ Tank, was blocked head-on, but Alessio's golden battle boots also sank half a foot into the ground from the impact, and the servo-motors in his shining golden armor whirred under the strain.
Knox stood at the edge of the battlefield, narrowing his eyes.
"Tsk, the Custodian's power of faith is truly potent."
The black vortex in his sea of consciousness was frantically drawing in the aura of faith that erupted from Alessio during the battle—its purity was even higher than Terra's holy oil, each wisp containing ten thousand years of accumulated loyalty and fanaticism.
But absorbing too much seemed to have side effects…
Alessio suddenly stumbled, his halberd's swing trajectory deviating by half an inch, and the Tyrant's bone blade grazed his shoulder guard, leaving a gruesome scratch.
"Strange…" the Custodian muttered, his voice coming through his faceplate with a rare hint of confusion, "My movements… they've slowed?"
Knox nervously touched his nose.
"Cough, it might be Warp interference," he spouted nonsense with a straight face, while secretly reducing the strength absorption, "I suggest you recite a few more holy words to refresh yourself."
Alessio snorted, raising his halberd again, but Knox no longer had time to admire the Custodian's heroic posture—his Soul-Seizing Eye penetrated the earth's crust, clearly seeing that deep underground, something older and colder was awakening.
The tremors in the earth's crust grew more and more violent, and the plaza's flagstones undulated like waves.
A black stone obelisk suddenly burst out of the ground, its surface inscribed with Necron runes lighting up one by one, and emerald phase energy flowed across the monument like blood vessels.
Then came the second, the third…
"Necron tomb…" Knox 's eye twitched, and he couldn't help but sneer as he looked at the black stone obelisks breaking through the earth: "Necrons plus Tyranids, this is truly a hodgepodge."
This wave was truly an unexpected surprise.
He had originally only intended to come to this planet to siphon off some "faith" from psykers, but he never expected to run into such a sandwich situation—Tyranid spore mines above, a Necron Dynasty tomb world below, and a suspicious Custodian in the middle.
Knox rubbed his temples, suddenly feeling that being the CEO of the Netherworld was truly stifling.
Other gods were worshipped by their followers with incense, but he, on the other hand, had to scrounge for faith like an interstellar beggar.
Now, things had gone wrong.
The ground in the center of the obelisk cluster collapsed with a roar, revealing the dark tomb passage below.
Necrons marched out of the darkness in formation, cold green flames flickering in their eye sockets.
Leading them was a Necron Lord clad in ornate, emblazoned armor, his phase spear emitting an ear-splitting hum.
The Hive Tyrant seemed to sense the threat, letting out a deafening shriek, and turned to pounce on the Necron Lord.
"Lesser creature," the Necron Lord's synthesized voice echoed like a death knell in an ancient tomb, "This place belongs to the Sautekh Dynasty, trespassers—annihilation."
The phase spear thrust out, and a ghastly green beam pierced the Tyrant's chest, putrid insect blood gushing out like a waterfall.
Knox couldn't help but whistle: "Good hit, keep it up!"
He wished these two groups of monsters would tear each other apart, so he could take the opportunity to slip away and harvest some "Nether Energy."
But fate clearly didn't intend to let him off easy.
"Inquisitor!" Alessio's furious roar came from behind him, "Explain!"
Knox had already put on his harmless expression when he turned around: "Well—" He drew out the sound, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Necron Lord impaling the Hive Tyrant's chest with a spear, putrid insect blood spraying everywhere, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "You see, doesn't this just prove my judgment? If we hadn't landed early, how would we have discovered that this planet has been doubly contaminated by the Tyranid and Necron?"
The Custodian's halberd remained unmoving, pointed at his throat: "You are using the Custodian Guard."
"How could I!" Knox said with a look of deep distress, "I am doing my part for the Emperor. Think about it, if these Necrons and Tyranid were to slip into the heart of the Imperium…" He deliberately left the sentence unfinished, letting the Custodian imagine the consequences.
Alessio's faceplate turned slightly, looking at the two alien factions tearing at each other.
Knox took the opportunity to quietly activate the Mirror of Retribution, a wisp of faint light crawling along the ground towards the Custodian's feet.
At the same time, the netherworld emblem on the back of his hand suddenly lit up, and a pitch-black rift opened beside him.
Ox-Head and Horse-Face stepped through the void, the Nether Energy entwined around their great axe and soul-binding chain causing the surrounding air to solidify.
Alessio suddenly paused.
"These are… Warp entities?" The Custodian's voice carried a rare hint of hesitation.
Knox grinned, while secretly activating the power of the Mirror of Retribution.
"No, they are the Emperor's blessing."
As he whispered, the Mirror of Retribution's illusion quietly unfolded.
In Alessio's eyes, the figures of Ox-Head and Horse-Face gradually twisted, transforming into two of the Emperor's Angels clad in golden armor. Their faces were indistinct, but the holy radiance surrounding them shook the Custodian's spirit.
"The Emperor's envoys…" Alessio murmured, the sharp point of his halberd unconsciously lowering a few inches.
In the illusion, one of the "angels" turned to look at Alessio, his voice as solemn as a church bell:
"Custodian, your loyalty, the Emperor already knows."
Alessio's body trembled slightly, and a hint of wavering flashed in his eyes behind the faceplate.
Knox took the opportunity to intensify the illusion, shrouding the entire battlefield in a golden mist.
The Necron warriors in Alessio's eyes transformed into Chaos Daemons, while the Hive Tyrant became a roaring Khorne Greater Daemon.
"For the Emperor!" Alessio roared, turning to charge towards the "Chaos Daemons," his halberd swinging, leaving a golden afterimage.
Knox let out a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.
"Phew… I finally managed to fool him."
The battle lasted a full two hours.
In Alessio's eyes, he was fighting alongside the Emperor's Angels against the filth of Chaos.
In reality, the Necron Lord was ultimately torn into metal fragments by the Hive Tyrant, and the Tyrant itself had its head pierced by Alessio's halberd.
Ox-Head and Horse-Face, after harvesting enough "Nether Energy," were recalled to the Netherworld by Knox .
The entire City of Edicts had been reduced to ruins, and the Tyranid spore mines in the sky began to fall, each spore pod exploding on the ground, releasing swarms of Hormagaunts and Termagants.
The Custodian Guard ship's artillery fire wove an interception net in orbit, but everyone knew—this planet was beyond saving.
Alessio stood amidst the ruins, his halberd propped on the ground, his breathing slightly heavy.
"Inquisitor…" The Custodian's voice carried a hint of imperceptible fatigue, "Just now… I seemed to see the Emperor's envoys."
Knox 's expression remained unchanged: "The Emperor's will is omnipresent, especially on a battlefield like this."
Alessio was silent for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Perhaps… I was overthinking it."
Knox secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he knew that this illusion could only temporarily deceive the Custodian. Once he returned to Terra, Alessio would very likely discover the truth under the Emperor's psychic scan.