Back into the Sewers

Ovilia's allegiance came as a slightly unexpected surprise to Chen Xi.

But the gains this matter itself could bring were not particularly great.

Aside from a notification that popped up for Chen Xi—"Gained the loyalty of an Adeptus Mechanicus Sage. Experience +100"—there were not even any points.

Moreover, the help Ovilia herself could offer Chen Xi was limited. Or rather, she was already doing everything she could do.

As for the rest, it was nothing more than having Ovilia herself join the battlefield as a combatant, or having her make things for Chen Xi.

The latter could be considered a decent perk, but after Gutierrez had joined them, it was not all that enticing. After all, Gutierrez could make most of the things Ovilia could make.

The difference between them was like that between a blacksmith skilled at making plate armour and one skilled at making lamellar armour.

There was a difference, but it was not particularly significant.

Still, gaining Ovilia's service at least meant Chen Xi no longer had to worry about her refusing orders in the future. That alone made it worthwhile.

Chen Xi had originally only intended to use Gutierrez to keep Ovilia in check. He had never expected her to serve him, so resolving things so smoothly was an unexpected bonus.

Having settled the matter with Ovilia, Chen Xi now needed to focus on dealing with the threat posed by the Necron tomb.

This was a very direct threat to Chen Xi.

So, after receiving the token Ovilia had given him, he handed it—along with the spoils he had promised Ovilia last time—to Mai Mai, the Rogue Trader, and had him take a ship to the Forge World to contact Ovilia's sisters.

After all, Chen Xi was the Planetary Governor and was not suited to casually leaving the planet under his administration.

He also needed to deal with the Flayed Ones, so it was indeed unsuitable for him to leave Rostov II.

If it had only been him before, there would naturally have been no alternative. He could only have made the trip himself.

But now that Mai Mai, Twilight, and Gutierrez had joined them, he could free up his hands and operate on two fronts to deal with more problems.

"Mai Mai and Twilight are handling the Forge World mission. Will it really be enough with just the two of us going into the combat instance?" Gutierrez asked Chen Xi with some unease as he prepared his Power Armour and weapons.

In tabletop roleplaying games, a Forge Master could kill a whole squad of Flayed Ones by himself, but actual combat was obviously not the same as rolling dice at a table.

It was perfectly normal for Gutierrez to worry about things going wrong.

"What are you thinking? You're an Astartes Forge Master, I'm an Inquisitor equipped with relics, and we've got a squad of Sisters of Battle with us. We're only clearing out some Flayed Ones. We have more than enough combat power." Chen Xi ribbed Gutierrez. "Unless there are other Necrons around, or there are simply too many Flayed Ones, there's no way this will go wrong.

"The planet's PDF has been blockading the sewers this whole time. If there were a lot of Flayed Ones, they would have broken through the blockade long ago. The PDF couldn't stop them."

"I've just never done anything like this before, so I'm not confident!" Gutierrez chuckled sheepishly, but quickly composed himself. Leaning on his Forged Great-Axe, he said, "I'm ready."

Although the Forged Great-Axe modified from the Phase Blade he had designed himself was sealed away, it was not as though he had no weapon to use. This Forged Great-Axe could still deliver the power of a normal one.

Together with the boltgun mounted on his power pack, he could not display the full strength expected of a Forge Master, but he still possessed the combat capability of an ordinary Astartes.

With Chen Xi and the Sisters of Battle beside him, as long as they did not step into a trap or get surrounded by a large number of Flayed Ones, there basically would not be any major problems.

Once the two were ready, they took a Chimera APC to Sector A7-012.

The area had now been completely evacuated. The residents who had lived there had been relocated to nearby sectors, and the only people visible on the streets were members of the Planetary Defense Force.

Rachel had set up a large number of barricades and deployed heavy firepower here, making Sector A7-012 look like a war zone.

As they traveled through the area, more than a dozen defensive checkpoints made the place seem heavily guarded.

But to Chen Xi and Gutierrez, it all seemed rather ordinary.

It was not that there were any flaws in the defenses. Rather, PDF defenses were indeed easy for Space Marines and Sisters of Battle to punch through.

Simply put, the defensive strength alone was insufficient.

If it had been the Astra Militarum, they might have been able to stop a frontal assault by Astartes and Sisters of Battle, though they would still have paid a terrible price in casualties.

Five Astartes could wipe out hundreds of Astra Militarum soldiers along a defensive line as easily as playing a game. The Sisters of Battle were somewhat weaker, but not by much.

However, this planet only had the PDF, so Chen Xi naturally did not demand too much. Once he and Gutierrez arrived at the sewer entrance, they greeted the Imperial Guard major responsible for the defenses and entered the sewers together.

Since everyone who went down was wearing Power Armour with fully sealed helmets, they naturally could not smell the stench of the sewers.

But the analytical instruments on the Servo-skulls floating around them began analyzing the air composition as soon as they entered the sewers.

"There are basically no toxic or harmful substances in the air. It seems this planet's environment really is quite good." Since everyone in the team was one of their own, Gutierrez and Chen Xi chatted idly through their helmet comms.

"Rather than saying the environment is good, it would be more accurate to say it hasn't been developed. This planet has only been an Imperial colony for seventy years. Many things are still new, so naturally it lacks the garbage and exhaust found in Hive Cities that have stood for centuries or millennia." Chen Xi answered Gutierrez, but his gaze remained vigilant of their surroundings.

Necron Flayed Ones were not particularly powerful, but they were not enemies to be taken lightly either.

If they relied on their team's decent strength and underestimated them, letting their guard down, things really could go badly wrong.

And while they were talking, the Servo-skulls had already detected something approaching.

"Prepare to engage! Right-hand passage!" Chen Xi hurriedly relayed the information to Gutierrez and the Sisters of Battle, while raising his Plasma Pistol and preparing for combat.

At Chen Xi's warning, Gutierrez and the Sisters of Battle instantly adjusted their stances, raising their weapons and aiming in the direction he had indicated.

The enemies did not keep them waiting long. In the blink of an eye, two metallic skeletons wrapped in tattered leather burst from the shadows and lunged at them.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The sound of boltguns firing instantly echoed through the entire sewer.