The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Along the walls of the command center's main hall stood rows of Ponderers, some shattered, others still silently operating. The array of Ponderers stretched into another vast, arched chamber. Armored glass cases, worktables piled high with data slates, and the remnants of Genestealers in shattered sample tubes on the floor indicated that this place had once served as a Mechanicum laboratory for xenos research.

"If it were a Genestealer attack, they wouldn't leave the remains of their own kind here."

Tech-Sergeant Karl observed as he approached a damaged monitoring station, its mechanical arm broken, the severed fiber bundles still sparking.

He extended a metal probe, inserting it into the damaged device, then glanced at other sections.

"Can you recover the surveillance footage from inside?"

Facing the Captain's inquiry, the Tech-Sergeant shook his head.

"No, it's strange. The data here has been corrupted. I'm uncertain whether it was the enemy or the priests here, but I suspect it was an electronic weapon attack of some kind, though it doesn't match any electronic attack I'm familiar with."

At that moment, Souleiman suddenly recalled something, saying softly:

"Is it possible it was Necrons?"

Upon hearing this, the Tech-Sergeant's expression faltered, but after a moment, he clapped his hands lightly.

"That's right, the claw marks! They must be from massive metal claws, incredibly sharp and hard. Genestealers wouldn't have weapons made of such material, only Necrons."

"So, this place was attacked by Necrons. But it was said they've never been sighted before, and their tombs should be beneath Cinder Furnace."

Just then, Souleiman caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and immediately gripped his plasma pistol. The Tech-Sergeant asked:

"What is it?"

"Something's here... it's coming."

The Tech-Sergeant looked up, spotting something emerging from a hole in the ceiling, seemingly slipping down from the building's second floor. It moved with a metallic buzzing sound—upon closer inspection, it was a massive metal insect, flat like a scarab, with vicious-looking hooks and claws along its edges. It hovered in the air with silver wings, dragging bladed limbs, its small red lenses focusing on the Space Marines, its gleaming mandibles clicking.

"Necron micro-machinery..."

Just as he finished speaking, they heard a low, loud crackling and buzzing sound from above. Then, a section of the ceiling collapsed under the weight of thousands upon thousands of metal scarabs, cascading down like an avalanche.

Before Souleiman could even react, a scarab lunged at him, its mandibles screeching against his armor.

"Damn it!"

Souleiman swatted the scarab off him, then swung his power sword, smashing the darting beetles.

Beside him, the Tech-Sergeant was doing the same, sweeping his cog axe through the space around him. The other Terminators began firing wildly at the surrounding floor, bolters pulverizing countless scarabs, but an endless swarm of insects surged in to fill the gaps.

"Watch the flanks!"

From other parts of the hall, more miniature killing machines were coiling their slender legs, leaping forward, buzzing through the corridors.

"Retreat! Get out of here!"

Knowing that the longer they stayed, the more dangerous it would become, Souleiman threw a plasma grenade and began directing the squad to retreat towards the entrance.

"Flamers!"

Tech-Sergeant Karl shouted, drowning out the chittering clamor.

"Use them against these things!"

A veteran wielding a heavy flamer blocked the doorway, washing each area with promethium.

The scarabs convulsed in the flames, rising like ash from the fire, some spiraling upwards with burning wings.

At that moment, gunfire erupted elsewhere, and reports flooded in to Souleiman.

"Enemies spotted outside the walls! They're emerging from underground!"

"Clawed xenos wearing human skin!"

"Necrons, these are Necrons! Use plasma on their heads!"

"Can the automated turrets be restored?"

Souleiman knew that restoring the automated turrets required entering the control room, but it was now filled with scarabs. Then, he looked up at the sky; Stormhawks and Thunderhawks were strafing and bombing, continuous explosions echoing outside the stronghold.

Just as he was about to connect to a pilot's visual display to assess the enemy's scale, a wall to one side suddenly burst open, sending Souleiman, who was standing closest, flying.

What smashed through the wall was a monster, appearing as a solid rectangular block, larger than a Baneblade. Thick, segmented legs writhed beneath its body, and a pair of vicious claws extended from either side of its maw. Its head was merely a metal plate covered in lenses. Countless scarabs swarmed over the creature. Souleiman had never seen such a bizarre machine, nor did he know it was called a Canoptek Tomb Stalker.

Sensing the threat, the Terminator who was wielding the flamer turned around, directly encountering its massive pincers.

Instinctively, the Terminator veteran aimed his weapon at the enemy, the burning flames engulfing its body—but to no effect.

Then, the pincers clamped firmly onto the Terminator's helmet, and more limbs pinned the Terminator down, lifting him from the ground. Another pair of pincers clamped onto the veteran's arm with incredible speed, severing the arm holding his weapon.

Before anyone could react, the machine's head bloomed like a metal flower with sharp petals, its razor-edged mandibles mercilessly cutting through the Terminator's helmet, piercing the veteran's brainstem.

Blood and gore erupted as the Space Marine's head exploded.

During long periods of hibernation, the Necrons are protected by silent and tireless machines, and among these powerful mechanical engines, the most terrifying is one that unfortunate human victims call the Tomb Stalker.

The Tomb Stalker possesses a sturdy shell composed of living metal, covered with mechanical components, bladed limbs, and sharp armored plates. This centipede-like structure is often as large as a dozen men. Utilizing mysterious phase generators, it can burrow into the lords' tombs, moving freely beneath the solid ground. It can also pass through inert matter like water, traversing rock and stone, effortlessly crossing ruins and rugged terrain often scattered across the battlefield.

With its combination of immense size and regenerative capabilities, the Tomb Stalker is virtually an indestructible war machine, even surpassing the more common Necron Warriors. These insectoid creatures will continue to strike and kill ferociously, even when injured or dismembered.

Therefore, only powerful suppressive fire can potentially harm a Tomb Stalker.