Warhammer: Empire Reboot

The breathing rhythms of the twelve clan leaders all changed.

The prophet did not know that this was more dangerous for Saim-Han than the number of enemy ships.

The entire war logic of the Ark civilization is based on "seeing the future first, then choosing to act." If the prophet cannot see, it is equivalent to the helmsman closing his eyes, and the Ark carrying hundreds of millions of people is running naked in the dark.

"But they're like sharks that have smelled blood."

Ilanser turned his gaze back to the star map: "There's an anchor point nearby. They're here to steal something."

Do we have one of those?

The Spirit Bone Network self-check shows that the Soul Stone Vault, the Network Gate, and the Ranger Loot are all normal.

Several minor abnormal fluctuations were observed in the outer shipping lanes, but all were some distance from the main body of the ark.

"The Spirit Bone Network self-check is empty; I cannot confirm."

Horace muttered an old Redmoon Clan saying, roughly meaning "to be blindfolded and thrown into a horde of orcs."

A female clan leader broke the deadlock.

"Now that the mad dog has bitten our throats, finding out the truth is the privilege of the living."

Horace lowered his hand from his chest.

"Entire clan, enter the war sequence."

Saim-Han has entered a state of war.

The red Eldar light cruiser glided out of the concealed dock, and the phantom frigate deployed its holographic field. Void riders and jet motorcycle formations flew out from beneath the clan towers, forming a high-speed defensive arc along the outer track.

Saim-Han does not play fixed matches.

Their defenses were always a nomadic campaign around their homeland: outer escort ships cut off enemy ships, light cruisers attacked engines and turrets, jet motorcycles intercepted boarding boats, and the Ark itself constantly adjusted its course to ensure that the enemy would never complete the encirclement.

When the Chaos Fleet arrived, the battlefield rapidly expanded to tens of millions of kilometers.

The six ominous arks resembled six wrecked star cities dragged from the warp, forming a slowly tightening encirclement.

The Black Legion advances along the central axis, the Red Pirates cut off the outer escape route, the Dark Mechanicus releases its tracking furnace, and the Steel Warrior heavy gunship sets up a wall of fire at a distance.

In the first round of matches, Saim-Han had the advantage.

The Eldar are moving too fast.

Before the chaotic macro-cannon barrage even arrived, the light cruiser had already changed course. The holographic field created a large number of false targets, and the first salvo all hit empty air.

Horace led the Crimson Moon Clan Void Rider squadron to flank the Red Pirate Privateer Fleet, unleashing Star Darts and Molten Bombs at the engine area.

Three Red Corsair corvettes went out of control. One collided with a friendly ship, and another was finished off by an Eldar torpedo and destroyed.

"Cut off the engines! Disabling the fire control! Force these idiots to crash into each other! Anyone who dares to greedily chase down a low-health enemy will have their clan name stripped!"

After a single strike, the Chaos Fleet, though numerous, resembled a clumsy behemoth whose skin was being constantly sliced ​​open by blades.

In the sixth hour of the battle, Chaos lost more than 30 frigates, two cruisers were severely damaged, and a Dark Mechanicus tracking furnace was hit by a torpedo.

The Eldar's blades are fast enough.

But Vashtor watched the battle report through a remote projection, and the projection gears didn't even turn an extra revolution.

As expected.

Saim-Han's mobile fleet is one of the most difficult targets to capture in the galaxy, and the battle will drag on for a long time if you rely solely on the Ark and the regular Chaos fleet.

Given enough time, the Eldar might be able to escape the encirclement using the network.

It needs something that can slow down the Eldar.

Turn them from hunters into prey.

In the seventh hour, the Slaanesh fleet entered the battlefield.

The outermost ninth hunting ring collapsed first.

It was composed of young riders from the three clans: Crimson Moon, White Mane, and Flame Spear.

They were fast enough and had enough courage.

Six hours before the start of the battle, they shot down more than twenty boarding boats, destroyed two tracking furnaces, and even skimmed close to the hull of a Red Pirate cruiser, nailing a molten bomb into its propulsion port.

They thought they had adapted to the war.

Then, the first young motorcycle team suddenly broke apart without being hit by live ammunition.

The three riders veered off course and charged straight at a warship that had no legion markings.

The ship's hull was not like metal, but more like the skin of a living creature, covered with patterns like musical scores.

The captain tried to intercept, but was a beat too slow when he turned.

His hand hesitated, unsure whether to pull the control stick. In that split second, the Chaos Cannon filled the gap.

The phone shattered, and the Soul Stone popped out of the chest armor.

As the rescue drone approached, a purple ray of light shot out from the crack in the warship, carrying away the Soul Stone.

The captain's scream echoed for a second in the psionic channel of the Ninth Hunting Ring.

Only one second.

But what happened in that one second was heavier than the pain.

Every Eldar knows the name of that fear: being eaten.

The soul is chewed up piece by piece by the thirsty lady, never ending.

The second motorcycle squadron attempted to remotely destroy the warship's outer structure.

After the hull cracked open, a row of human faces embedded in metal were revealed inside.

Eldar, humans, and certain extinct alien races.

They were alive, and as they turned to the riders, their lips moved, uttering the names that each of them least wanted to hear.

First love, enemy, deceased father.

The formation experienced a half-second delay.

Half a second was enough; the Chaos Guardian fleet pressed forward.

Within twelve minutes, the ninth hunting ring had lost more than half of its members.

The third motorcycle squad forcibly shut down psionic perception, cut off the clan channel, and continued fighting using visual perception and onboard runes.

They destroyed three landing pods and intercepted a demon engine, but failed to recover their companion's soulstone.

Horace ordered a retreat.

In the channel, a young voice retorted hoarsely, "Clan leader, we're not all dead yet, we can still charge in one more round!"

"Shut up! Look at the soul stones on your chests, they're trembling! Everyone retreat!"

The channel went silent.

For Saim-Han's riders, admitting that their souls are afraid is harder than admitting that their bodies are bleeding.

But no one can deny that the stone in their chest is trembling.

The ninth hunting ring began its retreat.

The gap it leaves cannot be left empty.

The Crimson Moon Clan's elite reserve force took off from the Ark's anchorage.

There were only thirty-seven riders.

Their Storm Serpent motorcycles were individually tuned by clan artisans, with ancestral blessings engraved on their spirit bone cores, and small lockboxes for collecting soul stones hanging on both sides of the machine.

They came to take home the soul stone that the young man failed to protect.

Leisani is in this team.

The third leader of the Red Moon Clan's "Returning Soul Riders".

As she boarded the Storm Serpent, a young rider who had just returned stood on the edge of the mooring ring.

The left shoulder of the suit was burned through, and the hemostatic gel had not yet solidified, with dark red liquid dripping down the arm armor.

"Lysani is leading the way... Arian has fallen behind! The signal's gone down, but he probably hasn't been chewed up by those monsters yet..."

Young people should use all their willpower to control their vocal cords and prevent them from trembling.

Lysani fastened her helmet.

"Send me the final coordinates."

The data flows through the core of the spirit bone and locks into the target rune.

"Let me go, I must go back!"

Are you going back to your death?

"I am not a coward who is scared out of his wits!"

She glanced at him. His helmet covered most of his face, revealing only his jawline and the corners of his mouth.

“I know, so stand firm and don’t let Slaanesh use your mother’s voice to trick you into going out for a second time.”

The young rider clenched and unclenched his fists.

Lasani starts the engine.

The core of the spirit bone lit up, and the landline emitted a deep rumble.

Horace's voice rang out in the elite channel.

"Return Riders! Clean up the mess in the Ninth Ring! Retrieve the children's Soul Stones! Remember, absolutely no approaching those ships with mouths!"

"No matter who calls your name on the communication channel, don't make a sound! Don't turn around!"

"Red Moon Third Team, obey orders."

She led the team out of the parking circle.

The outer void of the Ark world is burning.

The Chaos Fleet, like ever-tightening iron chains, pressed in from different directions with six ominous arks.