The Sautekh Dynasty fleet under attack by the Dark Angels naturally refused to take the blows lying down, and fierce fighting broke out in space almost immediately.
Noticing that the Dark Angels were being attacked by the Necrons, Abaddon was about to turn his fleet around for a surprise attack, but the arrival of an enormous fleet quickly put an end to that idea.
Countless dazzling beams came from afar, skimming past the edges of numerous Dark Angels ships.
The Necron fleet, which had been steadily overwhelming the Dark Angels, immediately pulled away from the Imperial Fleet.
Even so, a vast swath of Doom Scythes were instantly vaporized as they tried to evade.
Swarms of crescent-shaped Dirge-class Light Cruisers fell back behind the Necron fleet after once again severely damaging several Dark Angels ships.
What happened next left Iax struggling to react.
In a fleet-wide transmission from the Necron fleet, a Necron of exceedingly unusual appearance appeared on Iax's comms display.
"I am Zahndrekh, crowned general of the Sautekh Dynasty. Your conduct today was utterly unbecoming—a disgrace!"
"Now declare your title, you despicable ambusher!"
Being reproached by an enemy in wartime was an entirely new experience for Iax.
Yet Iax had no intention of responding. The Men of Iron were not adept at trading insults.
The only answer Zahndrekh received was a fleet salvo without warning.
Compared with the Necron fleets Iax had encountered before.
As one of the Sautekh Dynasty's Necron Overlords, Zahndrekh commanded an immensely powerful force.
For the moment, Iax had no particularly good way to deal with the enormous Necron fleet.
Due to issues with its construction, the Forgeheart traveled relatively slowly through realspace and would still need a considerable amount of time to reach the battlefield.
Moreover, the Forgeheart carried no wide-area Doomsday Weapons and