Hydehurst is an agricultural world spread over the ocean, belonging to the Orpheus sector. The Mechanical Ark arrived here and relied on its powerful combat power to quickly eliminate the local greenskins.
While wars raged in other places, the quiet time here was a good time to dig graves.
The Mechanicus Priest’s drilling machine penetrated deep into the seabed and was immediately besieged by the underworld guards. The well-prepared Skitarii swarmed forward, armed servitors and intelligent control legions with full firepower.
Each Mechanic Ark is comparable to a hive city, easily accommodating tens of billions of people and hundreds of billions of troops. Relying on a steady stream of skitarii, the Cult Mechanicus bulldozed the underworld guards and entered the pyramid.
The Mechanic-Priest was particularly happy, like a pirate who had entered the treasure house, his eyes glowing green, and he couldn’t wait to order the excavation.
He vowed to regain technological leadership and make the Adeptus Mechanicus great again.
At the same time, from Mandeville Point in the Hydehurst system, a huge fleet sailed out. The Gothic towers and churches above indicated that they belonged to the Empire.
But even so, it still aroused the vigilance of Mechanical Ark: “Unknown fleet, please identify yourself, otherwise we will use lethal force!”
The fleet consists of nine battlecruisers, three battleships, and a large number of cruisers and frigates. It is almost as big as half a legion and is enough to make Ark Mechanical nervous.
The unknown fleet replied: “We are the Space Wolves Legion. We have received intelligence that the Orks are about to launch an attack here. We have been ordered to garrison here!”
The Adeptus Mechanicus looked at each other. There was indeed a Space Wolf Legion nearby. However, they did not bring puppets. The Astropath was unreliable and Ark Mechanicus could not verify it.
At this time, a large number of cruisers and destroyers sailed into the Hydehurst galaxy in batches, gradually taking control of various strategic points. Ark Mechanicus immediately warned:
“Please stop advancing or we will use lethal force!”
However, the battleship replied coldly: “We are under the jurisdiction of the theater command. You have no right to order us. We have been ordered to garrison here. Anyone who blocks it will die!”
The battleship then entered the galaxy, its main cannon of the light spear flashing slightly, as if it was ready to fire at any time. Faced with such force, Ark Mechanical was not sure of victory.
So they compromised: “I hope you won’t get close to the main star. We are conducting scientific research activities.”
The unknown fleet readily agreed and replied: “As long as you make sure there are no green skins on it, we won’t disturb you.”
Mechanical Ark breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed. In order to facilitate exploration, the main star had long been cleared and there were no green skins.
Soon, several moon-class cruisers approached the main star and started scanning with auspicious devices, but Mechanical Ark always felt that something was wrong.
At this moment, a gap suddenly opened below the Moon-class cruiser, and a bipolar cyclone torpedo shot out like a meteor, heading straight towards the surface of the main star.
“No–!”
The captain of the Mechanical Ark was wailing in pain. His forging sages were still on the planet. If the cyclone torpedo crashed into the surface, none of them would survive.
He immediately ordered the fire team to intercept the cyclone torpedo. At this moment, the moon-class cruiser’s macro gun suddenly fired and bombarded the Mechanical Ark indiscriminately, but was blocked by the void shield.
However, this move seriously interfered with the interception work. Only two of the three bipolar cyclone torpedoes intercepted, and the remaining one hit the surface like a meteor, penetrated into the ground, and detonated the earth’s core.
In an instant, the entire Hydehurst Prime was blown to pieces, and none of the Tech-Priests and Forge Sages on it survived, declaring the exploration a failure.
At this time, Mechanical Ark came back to its senses and realized that this fleet was not the Space Wolves Legion at all, nor was it to defend against the Greenskins. They had only one purpose:
Destroy the Adeptus Mechanicus’ quest!
Where did the unknown fleet come from?
A guess came to Mechanical Ark’s mind, and without any time to think, he immediately ordered a counterattack and retreated at the same time.
He must report everything that happened here to Mars and let them know that the competitors have broken their hearts and are fighting against the Mechanicus.
However, the unknown fleet was well prepared and took advantage of the situation. At this moment, it swarmed up and focused fire on the Mechanical Ark from all directions.
The void shield flashed one after another, and Ark Mechanical fought back while fleeing toward the galaxy. Due to its powerful firepower, a large number of light cruisers were destroyed in an instant, and several moon-class cruisers were severely damaged.
Just as it was approaching the Mandeville Point step by step, about to enter subspace and escape, the space in front of it was distorted, and a huge iron ball jumped out.
When Mechanical Ark discovered that it was the Battle Moon, his heart suddenly went cold. Compared to Mechanical Ark, the Battle Moon was about the same size and could not win quickly.
The gravity generator was activated, and in just a short moment, the Mechanical Ark was unable to move and could only passively accept the baptism of fire.
However, the unknown fleet seemed to have other plans. They controlled the battle moon and slammed into the Mechanical Ark. In an instant, a second sun appeared in the galaxy.
Mechanical Ark and Battle Moon were both annihilated, bursting out with huge energy that swept across the entire galaxy.
Looking at the devastated galaxy and the battleship, Said’s puppet nodded with satisfaction. In this way, even if there were traces of the battle, there wouldn’t be too many.
Far away in Terra, Said asked: “Brother Huang, are you okay over there?”
The Emperor said calmly: “Okay, when the subspace storm sets off, no communication or navigation will be able to leave Hydehurst.”
Said breathed a sigh of relief. Although this tomb world is only a side branch of the Menak Dynasty, if it is awakened, it is likely to wake up the main branch as well.
By then the entire Orps sector will be in flames of war, and Said must prevent this from happening.
The most efficient way is to use cyclone torpedoes to completely destroy the tomb world.
It’s not that Said doesn’t want to have a good talk with the Mechanicus, but with the current relationship between the two parties, any persuasion he makes will be regarded as a conspiracy by his competitors.
So let’s cut the mess quickly, destroy the tomb world and the exploration team together, and then fake the scene to avoid subsequent conflicts.
Not long after the exploration team lost contact, a group of green-skinned garbage mountains were chased by an imperial fleet and arrived in the Hydehurst system.
Then the greenskins saw the wreckage and fragments all over the galaxy, and the big tech master let out a waaaagh with excitement. He didn’t care about pursuing the imperial fleet and rushed towards the piles of scrap metal.
Its fleet has suffered heavy losses, and it is planning to dismantle a few Xiami warships to repair the garbage mountain. Now that there is such a large garbage dump, it is a blessing for the greenskins.
At this time, the Martian Mechanicum asked for help from the legions near the incident site. However, the nearest legion was several light years away. The subspace storm was raging and subspace navigation was impossible.
If it were a conventional powered voyage, it would have taken at least several years to reach the scene of the incident, and by then the greenskins would have destroyed them all.
Said’s abacus was brilliant, but he forgot that there was more than just the Emperor in the Warp.
On Mars, the independent giants were at a loss, and a biological sage asked:
“The gear is on. Due to the obstruction of the subspace storm, we cannot send out a rescue fleet. Your Excellency, General, we must prepare for the worst!”
Another sage sighed: “That is an entire mechanical ark, almost a mobile hive. There are not many forces in the galaxy that can destroy it!”
Everyone was excited and looked at him. Another person asked: “You mean…the murderer is…”
He pointed in the direction of Tyra, and the hint was particularly obvious.
At this time, General Casting slammed the table and said angrily: “There is no doubt without evidence. The top priority now is to find the Mechanical Ark!”
The following person wondered: “But that would require traveling through the subspace storm, and the rescue fleet would not be able to reach it at all.”
The foundry general waved his hand and said confidently: “Don’t worry, the subspace storm will subside soon.”
Everyone was stunned, and one of his subordinates asked: “How did General Foundry know?”
The Foundry General looked at the questioner and said in a cold voice: “Do you want to know?”
The subordinate was excited and said quickly: “No, I don’t want to know!”
The foundry general said: “Then get ready!”
At this time, the independent faction was exploring the alien ruins, and news of the loss of a mechanical Ark spread like wildfire, causing a lot of discussion on Mars.
Since this was a secret operation, Mechanical Ark was secretly dispatched by the independent faction without discussion by all parties. If the responsibility is to be investigated, a group of people from the independent faction cannot escape the blame.
As a result, the loyalists secretly collaborated in an attempt to use this as an excuse to attack the independent factions, and Mars became tense for a while.
At this moment, the loyalist leader Arkan Rand found General Forge and said straight to the point:
“General, I hope you will stop exploring the alien ruins privately! This will lead to uncontrollable disasters. If you agree, we will not be held responsible for the loss of the Mechanical Ark.”
The foundry general sneered: “Is this Terra’s instruction? Their information is really well-informed!”
Arkanland nodded: “His Royal Highness the Prince said that endless excavation will only awaken the Necrons and create a powerful enemy for the Empire.”
The Foundry General’s voice became even colder: “Is he giving orders to the Mechanicus?”
Akanland shook his head: “You misunderstood General, this is just an initiative, you might as well take a look at this.”
After speaking, he handed over a piece of information. After taking it, General Foundry was shocked and said in surprise: “This is a complete alien ruins!”
Akanland nodded: “Yes, Your Majesty General, this kind of alien is called Necron. It has stronger technology than the Golden Age. During the Great Expedition, the Prince’s Legion has discovered several intact ruins.”
The Foundry General said displeased: “In this case, what are you doing here, showing off to me? Forbid the Mechanicus to do the same thing? Then only allow him Terra to set fire, and not allow me Mars to light the lamp?”
Akanland shook his head: “General, you have misunderstood again. The original power allows joint development, joint exploration, and sharing of results with the entire Mechanicum!”
Akanland deliberately emphasizes “whole”, which means that both independents and loyalists can send people to participate.
The Foundry General remained calm and said calmly: “What are the conditions? What does the Mechanicus need to pay?”
Arkanland smiled and said: “As long as we make a promise, we will never explore the Necron tomb privately. Once we discover a new tomb, we must tell each other.”
“As long as you agree, we will not pursue the matter of Mechanical Ark, and all the information on the previous research on the Sotec Dynasty will be disclosed to you!”
The foundry general replied coldly: “The Mechanical Ark that disappeared in Hydehurst was done by Said, right?”
Arkanland spread his hands and said, “Do you think he will tell me?”
The casting general’s whole body was mechanical. When he heard this, his body roared, and a stream of steam was emitted, and then he said calmly:
“Go back and tell your master that I agree to his proposal and ask him to send the information quickly. In addition, the Mechanicus will also participate in the excavation of the Mandera Galaxy!”
The sound of “Master” made Arkanland a little displeased. He nodded and said: “I know, General, I also fight for the Mechanicus, but in a different way!”
After saying that, he stood up and left, leaving the Foundry General alone with an expressionless expression.
After an unknown amount of time, the attendant came to him and whispered: “Your Majesty General, the exploration fleet reported that the Mechanical Ark collided with a battle moon and was destroyed.”
The foundry general asked calmly: “Do you know who did it?”
The attendant whispered: “It’s not certain yet, but the most likely suspect is the orcs. Their battle moon collided with the Mechanical Ark, but…”
The Foundry General asked, “But what?”
The attendant continued: “But there are traces of Hydehurst being attacked by a cyclone torpedo. The orcs cannot do this, and there are many puppet remains at the scene!”
The foundry general asked again: “Hydehurst was originally an agricultural world with puppets stationed on it. Is it normal to have wreckage?”
The attendant shook his head: “No, after investigation, the puppet did not come from Hydehurst, but from Battle Moon. This means that the real culprit is probably…”
The foundry general waved his hand and said: “Stop talking, withdraw the rescue fleet, say that the Mechanical Ark was destroyed by the orcs, and that’s the end of it!”
The attendant was surprised and whispered: “This is a Mechanical Ark. Is this all?”
The casting general said with a cold face: “Now is not the time!”
Terra, the Royal Palace, in the empty throne room.
Said said to the air: “Brother Huang, the subspace storm has subsided like this? Is it the fault of the Four Gods?”
In original history, the Emperor had calmed warp storms many times, and the Four Gods of Chaos could do the same, but they did not do so often.
The emperor replied faintly: “I don’t know, the four gods are either making trouble, or Xi Gaoqi has motives. Is everything going well for you?”
Said nodded: “It should go well. The oil man values knowledge more than anything else. As long as the value is great enough, he can let go of his hatred!”
“But I’m worried that the separatists will make a big fuss out of this matter, and the founding general will also have a grudge, or even acquiesce in the growth of the separatists.”
The emperor asked calmly: “Do you have a way to deal with it?”
Said shook his head: “No, we can only continue to support the loyalists, let them occupy a dominant position, and even cast generals.”
The Emperor sighed faintly: “When I defeated the Void Dragon, I had already foreseen the Iron Man rebellion and the age of strife, so I locked the Void Dragon on Mars and founded the Mechanicus.”
“If there had been no Iron Rebellion, the Mechanicus would have been humanity’s technological beacon. If there had been an Iron Rebellion, the Mechanicus would have been responsible for protecting human knowledge.”
“But after you, Said, appeared, the Mechanicus seemed to have become redundant and even a burden to mankind, a cancer that had to be cut off painfully.”
Said comforted: “Brother Huang, don’t be so pessimistic. The Mechanicus has still made a lot of contributions to mankind. Although there are many shortcomings, there are also many advantages.”
“For example, the maintenance of various facilities in the empire is inseparable from the Mechanicus. Also, if something happens to me, the Mechanicus is what you said, preserving all human knowledge.”
At this time, the Emperor asked quietly: “What if they rebel? Just like the original body!”
Said was stunned for a moment, and then said decisively: “Then suppress it with iron blood, and there are loyalists here, it will only limit the civil war to Mars, and it will not affect Terra!”
There is not much information about the Mars Rebellion, so we can only deduce it bit by bit based on the political situation of Terra~
In the original history, the Terran government wanted to control the Mechanicus, but the machines called Titans to block the door, so that they could retain their autonomy. Now that the empire has changed from mortals to supermen, the outcome of the game is bound to change ~ Power is Leviathan, which can instinctively control itself. Expansion and devouring, whether it is the devouring room or the devoured party~
