At the edge of the Khalifa System, rings of blue ripples suddenly spread through realspace.
The ripples grew increasingly violent, finally tearing open fissures like cracks in a shattered mirror. Then, one after another, Imperial warships surged through them like monstrous beasts emerging from cocoons in the abyss.
The Hammer of God led the charge, its immense battleship hull completing the transition from folded dimensions to realspace in an instant. Its prow turrets were already fully charged, and the macro-cannon arrays along its broadsides pointed into the depths of the system like bared fangs.
Dozens of cruisers followed close behind, along with over a hundred frigates and countless escort ships. The entire Calixis Battle Group completed its collective jump at unprecedented speed.
"Report! All fleet vessels have arrived safely!" The communications officer's voice rang across the bridge, brimming with barely concealed excitement. "The Short-Jump Engines performed flawlessly! No ships went off course or suffered damage!"
A faint smile appeared on Commander Marlan's tense face.
"Praise the Omnissiah! Praise the Saint!" Marcus-018 cheered fervently on the engineering deck. "This is a miracle! This is sacred geometry!"
But reality soon cut their joy short.
"Alert! Massive numbers of hostile signatures detected!" The scanning officer's voice suddenly rose. "Bearing... damn it, they're everywhere!"
On the holographic star map, green points of light representing Necron warships spread like a plague. Those bizarrely shaped vessels emerged from the Khalifa System's Asteroid Belt, the rings of its gas giants, and even the star's corona. They had been lurking here all along, waiting for prey to walk into their trap.
"Estimated strength: at least three hundred vessels!"
Maran slammed his fist against the armrest. "It's a trap! They knew we were coming!"
"No," Liu Zhipeng said calmly. He hovered in the center of the bridge, his golden