Even perfect Necron creations couldn't withstand the ravages of time. Perhaps this Tomb World had once possessed a complete set of defensive systems, but most of them had fallen silent and could no longer stop the looters from digging in.
The Necron soldiers before them were dragged out one by one and smashed apart. Precious Living Metal was packed into sealed containers. One unit of Living Metal could buy a Leman Russ Battle Tank on the Mars Forge World.
As they searched the Tomb World, the Blackwatch had smashed through seven waves of Necron forces. The corridors they passed through were littered with broken metal and shell casings. Hogg didn't care how valuable the Tomb World was to researchers. He blasted straight through the walls with heavy plasma and melta weapons, heading directly for its core.
The closer they got to the core, the stronger the resistance became, and casualties began to mount. The badly wounded soldiers who could no longer fight were loaded onto carts by the Auxilia following behind and taken back to the surface for treatment.
More and more human soldiers poured into the Tomb World. Each Blackwatch squad was accompanied by a platoon of Auxilia equipped with powered armor, tasked with clearing out the areas they had already captured.
Just as Hogg was enjoying the show, the firepower ahead suddenly intensified. A vast chamber large enough to accommodate the landing and takeoff of warships appeared before them.
Obelisks bearing death rays stood densely all around. On the central platform, the Stasis Sarcophagus had been opened. The five-meter-tall Necron Lord, magnificent and imposing, had awakened, with numerous Lychguard guarding its side.
The Necron Lord spotted Hogg looking at it. Within its eyes, streams of data flickered as it analyzed him. The lingering Psionic Energy on Hogg left it puzzled. It had never encountered this kind of energy before.
As it continued processing more data, the troops behind arrived at Hogg's side. Seeing the Eldar among the Space Marines, the Necron Lord, awakened after a long slumber, flew into a rage. Its deep voice thundered through the chamber:
"So, you're the Old Ones' lackeys! My warriors, destroy them!"
In an instant, sickly green beams lit up the entire chamber. Hogg had barely stuck his head out when concentrated death-ray fire blasted him straight into the wall.
Seeing their father attacked, the Blackwatch beside him flew into a rage and howled as they returned fire. Plasma and bolters roared, Striking Scorpions darted about, and the Dreadnoughts arriving late from the rear used the corridor to provide fire support.
But the Necrons' fire was too dense. Without heavy weapons, the Blackwatch were forced back into the corridor.
The newly made Raider armor was wrecked outright. Dazed, Hogg pulled himself out of the wall. Smoke curled from his damaged front armor; it was clearly headed back to the factory for a major overhaul. Furious, Hogg used his mechanical tentacles to tear off the useless parts.
"Fuck you! This is my brand-new Power Armor! I'll tear you all to pieces! Waaaagh...!" In his fury, Hogg stopped maintaining his human form and began to reveal his true nature.
Beneath Hogg's damaged armor, his flesh began to boil and swell. His two-meter-tall frame rapidly grew, surging in size. Scarlet flesh fused with his armor as several tentacles sprouted from his back, their tips sprouting the plasma weapons and bolters he had devoured. He swelled to seven meters tall, his exterior encased in thick chitinous armor that left only sinister spikes exposed.
Fully unleashing his nature and transformed into a monster, Hogg roared and leaped toward the Overlord at the center of the chamber.
Seeing their father grow so enormous, the Blackwatch were filled with surging pride. Dark red lightning flickered across their bodies, as if they had gone blood-mad.
Ginny's eyes glowed red as she leaped down and smashed apart an Obelisk that was opening fire. She let out a battle cry. "This must be Father's might! Crush them!" The enraged Blackwatch surged forward, no longer pinned down, and charged the Necrons.
After transforming, Hogg felt invincible. Wild strength coursed through his limbs; he felt as if he could kill the Emperor with one punch. His massive claws tore apart the Lychguard that fought back. Their feeble Gauss beams could only damage the outer layer of his chitin, which repaired itself in an instant.
But the ancient Overlord who had once dominated the Galaxy was no pushover. Facing the enormous creature, it showed no fear. It raised its staff, and immense gravity descended, pinning Hogg in place. The staff transformed into a spear that radiated searing heat. The extreme temperature warped space as the Overlord, undaunted by the Primarch's aura, thrust the spear at the monster before it.
Under gravity powerful enough to crush a Titan, Hogg neither dodged nor flinched, taking the hit with his massive body. The searing energy wasn't some ordinary soldier's Gauss beam; it burned away a huge chunk of flesh. But the distance between them had closed. His Psionic Energy-charged claws swept across and tore open the Overlord's shield.
"You little shit! You dare fight me up close? Have you been asleep so long you've gone senile?" Hurling insults, Hogg began to circle the Overlord in combat.
The seemingly spindly Overlord was terrifyingly powerful. With its superb agility, it fought like a hunter, every strike tearing and burning away a huge chunk of the monster's flesh. Though the flesh healed quickly, the heat sent Hogg's body temperature soaring. Scalding gas vented from the tubes that had grown on his back. Just as the Necrons thought they could finish off the monster before them,—
The torn flesh scattered across the ground had, unnoticed, spread over the entire battlefield. Dark red lightning erupted, and sparks flew from the surrounding Necron structures.
"Damn it!"
Freed from the crushing gravity, Hogg's speed surged. He seized the Necron Lord's body with both hands. Even the Necron's Living Metal body couldn't withstand such savage strength.
With a grating rip, the Necron Lord was torn in half. The searing spear slipped from its owner's grasp and fell to the ground.
"You can't kill me. This is only one of my bodies. Once it's destroyed, a stronger version of me will return." Torn in two, the Necron Lord mocked Hogg's futile efforts.
"Can't kill you? Old man, times have changed."
Ignoring the chattering Necron before him, Hogg let his actions speak for themselves.
The seven-meter-tall monster ripped open his own abdomen. Twisted tendrils reached out from within, their phantom forms breaking through the fabric of reality. Amid the squelching of writhing flesh, the Necron's remains were dragged into Hogg's belly.
Feeling much better, Hogg punched his glowing red stomach, physically suppressing the Necron's struggles inside, then rejoined the battle.
The enormous beast charged through the Necron soldiers, rampaging wildly. Its frenzied tentacles uprooted Obelisks and wielded them as weapons, dealing true death to the Necrons.
Soon, Hogg's rampage had left no intact Necrons at the scene. Only a few Canoptek Constructs still crawled around on the ground, but the Blackwatch who arrived afterward finished them off one by one.
Gazing at the enormous beast before her, Ginny stepped forward to ask Hogg how he was doing.
"Father, have you destroyed that terrifying Xenos?"
Hogg lowered his head to look at the now-tiny Blackwatch below him. He only burped and patted his belly, indicating that it would take a while.
Although Hogg couldn't find the other bodies the Necron Lord had hidden away, he could still use his own corruptive nature to construct a fleshy cage, seal the remains, and spread his corruption over them. Once this body was corrupted, even if the Necron activated its other bodies, it would gain no information about what had happened here.
As Hogg was digesting his meal, he suddenly felt a vague fluctuation, as if something were calling to him.
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