To ensure their strike hit home, the Men of Iron made far colder decisions than the Imperium.
Although some of the mechanical warships had already cleared the Annihilation Cannon's line of fire, many vessels remained within the beam's reach.
Even more Necron ships were caught within that area, locked in combat with them.
Even the Necrons had never experienced this kind of warfare, which inflicted almost as much damage on one's own forces as on the enemy.
Apart from the Dark Angels, almost no one in the Imperium would use their comrades as cannon fodder or bait like this.
If anyone else tried it, the surrounding allied forces might mutiny.
The Dark Angels were different. Once they were finished, they would conveniently turn the other allied forces into entries in a casualty report as well.
Their secrets would remain safe, and every sacrifice would be honored.
As the beams arrived, a vast void opened in the center of the tangled battlefield.
Dozens of Assault Cruisers and Strike Cruisers, along with a Command Flagship and hundreds of thousands of heavy drones, were vaporized in the beams together with nearly twice as many Necron ships.
With their energy still unspent, the beams slammed straight into the fleet behind the Necron lines.
After destroying more than a dozen Scythe-class Harvest Ships and two Scourge-class super-heavy cruisers, the beams struck the enormous Cairn-class Tomb Ship at the very rear.
The surging beams flickered relentlessly against the Tomb Ship's Phase Shield until they dissipated completely.
Only after the blinding light faded did the Dark Angels present notice something unusual aboard the enormous Necron flagship.
The black pyramid atop the massive Tomb Ship had unfolded completely, exposing a strange energy source.
It was a C'tan Shard, with a gigantic humanoid form bound within it, roaring endlessly