My Command Barge crossed the ocean with me standing on its podium, Rahkikh and Thaszan beside me, and two Immortals piloting it. We flew like a jet, but I took it back, comparing it to a jet would be insulting, we broke the sound barrier minutes ago and still accelerated.
I held the Barge tight to not fly off during the sonic boom, but the scenery surrounding me concerned me more, the sort of thing you'd see in a war or natural disaster movie.
The day turned to night as the sunlight could not breach the sea of pitch-black clouds above us, the thunder deafened us, making me use commands to talk to Rahkikh, Thaszan, and the Immortals.
It would be difficult to see in the rain if I still had eyes, but that was nothing more than an inconvenience now. However, the lightning worried me even though I was Necron, as it fell like water, hitting anything metallic or high enough.
The dark raging sea, with its huge waves rising and falling, engulfed the Ork ships and downed plane's flaming wreckage, the great metallic vessels crashing into each other before sinking.
The remaining Orks jumped into the water, grabbing anything that floated, doing their best not to suffer the same fate as their ships, nevertheless, they were not the only ones who suffered from this storm.
My units fell as well, Night Scythes, Doom Scythes, Tomb Blades, Ghost Arks, and Doomsday Arks, taken down by the Ork cannons or the storm's lightning.
They disappeared in a green light, teleported to the tomb, to be repaired and returned to combat, a vicious but normal cycle for Necrons, who are rarely and truly killed, and I intend to keep it that way.
The weather was deadly for those still flying, but none of us had a choice, the Orks and I, had to fight with all our resources.
My units fought Orks in the distance, glowing like green stars highlighted against the rain midst of a path of destruction, emerald beams, bullets, rockets, and artillery shining in the darkness as the thunder drowned the explosions.
Meanwhile, the Ork cannon's fire created bright red bursts while the bullets created small, almost imperceptible lights thanks to the protocols I used.
Strangely, this vision possessed a kind of beauty, however, I've daydreamed long enough, I saw approaching Dakkajets and Blitza-Bommer.
I commanded my close units to come and green lights flashed through the clouds as if a spirit moved among them, until the Doom Scythes and Night Scythes flew beside me in formation.
They arrived surprisingly quickly thanks to my Command Barge, since I can command all my units instantly on the battlefield with it, and order ships in orbit if I had any.
Another curiosity is that I don't control the Barge, I order the Immortals and they pilot it. Now, a Dakkajet fired at us, however, a green bubble blocked the shots, quickly blinking with each impact.
So, I commanded the Immortals and my units.
"Down the plane."
They complied, firing the Barge's Gauss Cannon, hitting the Ork plane and violently de-atomizing half of the jet with its pilot as the remains fell into the sea like a fireball.
Part of my aircraft moved ahead to eliminate the Orks our my path, opening fire as the two sides met, entering their respective dog-fights. Above, below, and around me, energy bolts and bullets covered the air while the waves swallowed the defeated.
A screen opened in front of me, showing a green triangle, us, chased by two red triangles, Orks. A red circle left one of the red triangles and a rocket passed beside the Barge, exploding ahead.
The Immortals flew down, avoiding the explosion, and then up, still advancing. However, more red circles appeared and the Necrons did their best to maneuver around.
Two Ork planes flew behind me, close enough to see their pilots shouting and hitting something on their control panels. Suddenly, openings appeared in the aircraft, revealing several incoming rockets as dozens of red circles appeared on my radar.
The Immortals made increasingly risky evasive maneuvers, flying from top to bottom and from left to right while the Barge spun on its axis.
Rahkikh and Thaszan did not move an inch, meanwhile, I clung to the Barge for my life, I would have vomited if I were still made of flesh.
The Barge dived suddenly with the rockets right behind. I ordered the Immortals to rise upon approaching the water and the rockets sank into the ocean.
However, I didn't lose my pursuers, since a bullet rain came from above, rippling in the water and the Barge's shield.
Time to get rid of them.
I sent two orders, the Immortals reduced the Barge's speed sharply, making the Orks pass us, then, two Night Scythes came firing from above, turning the planes into fireballs falling into the sea.
The Scythes accompanied me now, two green triangles stood beside the main one on the radar, however, ten red shapes appeared in front of the green ones. Luckily, the Scythes were not the only units following me.
The ocean turned green, starting with a light, and another, and another... Tens, hundreds, thousands, and millions of Scarabs left the ocean bottom and flew with the Barge in a double helix.
The Immortals and the Scythes fired as the Orks did the same, shooting down three of the ten planes while the Scarabs disassembled the rest, forming a wall in front of them.
They endured the bullets and rockets until the aircraft collided with them, covering the planes and tearing them to pieces, quickly dismantling them.
Nevertheless, I made a mistake, I didn't order the Immortals to stop rising, and now we entered a storm cloud. I tried to order them to descend, but it was too late, lightning fell toward us, turning the world white.
I don't know how much time passed, I heard a muffled noise that got louder and louder, and a screen with a flashing message greeted me when my vision returned.
"Shields Off!"
Shit!
Looking around, I saw total darkness.
Was I in the storm cloud?!
A bolt of lightning passed beside the Barge, missing by a few inches.
Yes, I was!
The Immortals dodged the lightning while I thought about what to do. Outlines shone between the clouds with each passing lightning.
My Scythes were still here!
They cut the dark clouds like a lake's surface, stopping beside me. My satisfaction was short-lived as lightning struck both of them, lighting them on fire as both teleported to the tomb.
What should I do? What should I do?
Light shone ahead!
The cloud's exit!
We moved toward the light, but a force of nature was not easily fought as lightning hit the Barge's left and right sides, leaving smoking holes.
"Alert! Critical Damage Taken!"
"I know!"
The Immortals flew faster, but electricity flowed near the exit as if the cloud tried to stop our escape.
Not this time!
I swung my Staff of Light above my head, building up energy as the cloud fired its lightning. I fired mine and our attacks collided, turning the world white again.
Rain and thunder greeted me when my vision returned.
I left the cloud!
I immediately ordered the Immortals to fly lower, reaching an acceptable height, not too high, not too low, but my attention switched to the radar where several red triangles followed us.
I considered letting my units handle them, but something ahead changed my mind, a mountain-sized wave carrying several flaming Ork ships almost standing at a ninety-degree angle.
We did not have time to dodge, so I sent more orders. My flying units retreated while the Scarabs advanced and enveloped my Barge, forming a bubble and entering the wave.
Everything darkened, with the Necron's artificial green glow being the only light source. We could not fly without seeing where we were going, so I controlled the Scarabs and saw the world from their viewpoint, mainly a giant crab's pincer trying to crush us.
The Immortals accelerated and the Barge passed through it before closing and moved on, however, a ship's halves came from above without time for us to dodge, so we entered it.
I increased the Scarab's light intensity, serving as hundreds of green lanterns, and navigated the narrow corridors, lightly colliding with the walls.
We passed drowned or disintegrated Orks, parts of damaged Necrons that teleported to the tomb, ammo rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and storage rooms until we reached an alley.
Part of the scarabs, not enough to break the bubble, left and hit the wall with their legs, opening a hole in the ship's outside before returning to us.
However, something chased us now as if we didn't have enough problems, a giant sea serpent. The Immortals accelerated as the serpent swam faster with its mouth open to swallow us.
Luckily, we left the wave, but the monster jumped from the water, falling toward us with its mouth open.
The Scarabs broke the bubble and covered the serpent's face, which roared in pain as hundreds of sharp legs slashed and pierced its flesh, allowing us to escape.
I spotted my objective after several near-death experiences that would have stopped my heart if I still had one, the Warboss ship. It was the size of an aircraft carrier, covered in weapons, painted black and red, pirate themed of course, and had masts for some reason.
To my delight, the units I sent in the first wave closed on the ship, but its armor and offensive capability kept them at bay as that giant cannon still worked.
The Immortal flew low towards the cannon, meanwhile, I readied my staff, energy flowing through its handle towards its tip's ornament as we advanced.
I hope this works.
-Gol D. Loota's Ship-
Gol D. Loota watched the battle as his Boyz fired at the Tin Man's forces, his smaller ships sank, but the larger ones still fought.
Tin Men mounted flying bikes difficult to hit, passing between bullets and rockets, shooting at them, and moving away, only to repeat the process.
The slow but resistant flying ships were the real danger, the ones carrying several Tin Men tried to approach and deploy its troops, but the cannon fire kept them away.
However, the second type was the worst, it had a gigantic and powerful cannon that turned the smaller vessels into molten metal.
"Boss!" An Ork holding a spyglass on the crow nest shouted.
"Wut!"
"Der's iz a Tin Man kom'n!"
"Give me dat t'n!"
The Ork threw his spyglass to him, who looked in the pointed direction, seeing a large Tin Man holding a strange staff covered in green lightning. Many military leaders would feel uneasy, but he was an Ork, the bigger the enemy, the better the fight!
"'Da Tin Men's bozz shuwed up! Let's give 'im 'ur 'elcome! Ready da Kannons! Reload da Supa-Kannon!"
"Yes, boss!"
The Orks ran frantically across the deck, aiming the Kannons at the Tin Men's boss while a group reloaded the Supa-Kannon, a modified artillery piece with a long barrel, holed muzzle for gas release, and metal shielding in the front.
They inserted a large projectile on the cannon's back and closed the hatch while an Ork ran to the simple controls, so simple that even he could use them with medium chances of killing his allies in the process.
They consisted of two cranks and a button, the first made the cannon rise and fall, the second moved it left and right, and the button fired the weapon.
"All 'eady, bozz! We kan shoot da Tin Man'z 'ouse!"
"No! Change da target!"
"Wut 'e gonna shoot, bozz?"
"Da Tin Man!" Loota pointed at the enemy leader.
"Right, bozz!" He spun the cranks, aiming at the new target.
"Well done, Boyz! 'Ere 'e komes, we'll show da Tin Man'z dat 'e shudn't 'ave messed wiv uz!"
"YEZ BOZZ!"
All of the ship's frontal kannons aimed at the enemy, guns of all shapes and sizes, mounted or carried by the crew covered the deck.
Other species would consider the Dakka's amount an exaggeration, but it would never be enough for the Orks.
"Fire!"
"WAAAGH!"
Bullets and artillery ripped through the storm, shells of all calibers flew in a metal hail toward a single target that refused to be easily hit.
The Tin Man's aircraft flew away from the first volley as the shells hit the water, but the Orks followed it, creating waves and explosions right behind.
"Wut iz ya doin' standin' vvae? Aim for da tin man!" Loota shouted to the Ork controlling the Suppa-Kannon.
He complied, turning the cranks and moving the weapon to the right, following the Tin Man who quickly moved in the opposite direction, dodging more shots and projectiles as the kannon pursued him.
His staff's lightning became more noticeable as he changed direction and faced the ship, closing the distance.
"Fire!"
"Yes, boss!" The Ork pressed the button.
Simultaneously, the Tin Man fired a large green beam toward the Suppa-Kannon before performing a sharp upward turn, his aircraft standing upright and shooting skyward.
The beam entered the cannon's barrel when the Ork pressed the button, nothing happened, and he pressed it repeatedly. Suddenly, the weapon turned red as boiling steam came from its interior, then…
BOOM!
-With the Overlord-
BOOM!
The cannon exploded in a fire and metal ball, killing several Orks, destroying part of the ship's defenses, and making the remaining crew run in panic.
My units and Barge descended, flying over the exploded area as the Ghost Arks deployed their troops on the deck. Warriors and Immortals fired at any surviving Orks, their death screams echoing through the flames.
"Rahkikh, Thaszan, come with me!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The Barge hovered above the deck, Rahkikh, Thaszan and I jumped off and walked through the destruction.
Now, where was Warboss?
I had my answer when a metal pile shifted and the Ork in question appeared with a furious roar.
"We finally met."
"Decided ta shaw up Tin Man?! Did yer got tired ov 'idin' like a koward?!"
"I'm not a coward, I just fight smart, unlike you, but enough of that, we can spend the day exchanging insults. However, I don't think we've introduced ourselves, I am Akatosahk Ulthagakh, Necron Overlord."
"Hmph! I'm Gol D. Loota! Warbozz ov dis Warband! I will turn yer in' scrap fer sinkin' me ships!"
"CRA! I will turn yer in' scrap fer sinkin' me ships!" The squig that landed on the Warboss's shoulder repeated.
Gol D. Loota? Someone wasn't subtle with the reference.
I cannot deny that I had a strange feeling when I saw the Warboss, I wanted to fight him alone, a desire to face my enemy and show that I am the superior.
"Waaagh!" Loota pointed his gun at me and pulled its trigger.
DAKKA!
DAKKA!
DAKKA!
Rahkikh jumped in the way with his shield raised, harmlessly blocking the bullets.
"Krump 'em!" Loota shouted and several Ork ran towards us.
I commanded my troops and a shootout started on the deck, meanwhile, I saw Loota entering a door amidst the chaos.
Where was he going?
Orks don't tend to run away, which means he has a plan. I'd like to pursue him, but I have to deal with the Orks in my path first, which worried me a little.
Come on! Calm down! This is your first fight in this body, you have your troops and weapons ready! Just don't do anything stupid! Fight like a true Overlord and don't die trying!
I pointed my Gauntlet of Fire at the Orks and a flaming green wave consumed them. I stopped when enough time passed and walked through the burned corpses with Rahkikh and Thaszan accompanying me.
The path was full of Orks carrying all kinds of melee weapons, but my Lychguards finished them quickly in a bloodbath.
"Move from our lord's way, green skins!" Rahkikh ran toward the mob, slamming his shield into an Ork's face, pulverizing his bones and sending teef flying away.
He slashed the Ork's head as a second one approached with a raised ax. However, he spun around fluidly, severing the Xeno's arm and cutting his neck.
A third one tried to cut his chest, but he blocked with his shield, deflecting the attack, breaking the Ork's balance, severing both of his arms, and plunging his sword into the Xeno's chin with the tip protruding from the head.
An Ork came screaming from behind, but Rahkikh spun again, slashing him from top to bottom, almost splitting him in two. Another one came from the right, receiving several quick cuts in the stomach, chest, and face, his pieces falling on the floor.
Thaszan also did well, swinging his War Scythe above his head, decapitating two Orks before using his weapon as a jumping pole, landing into an Ork crowd and slicing one of them in half, creating a bloody fountain.
He used his weapon's butt to strike an Ork's stomach, felling the bloody-spitting green skin, and thrust his scythe forward, piercing the Xeno's chest. He then pointed the blade upwards and yanked it, splitting the Ork in two.
Thaszan severed an Ork's legs with a low blow, stomping on his head, leaving a bloody stain on the ground. A mob attacked him at once, but he swung his scythe masterfully, the Orks couldn't approach as their arms, legs, and heads flew away.
I won't need to fight at this rate and I think it's better this way. Thaszan and Rahkikh killed all the Orks on the way until...
CRACK!
The floor beneath me cracked and a large metallic claw grabbed my leg, pulling me toward the darkness before I reacted.
"My Lord!" Rahkikh and Thaszan calling me was the last thing heard.
END OF CHAPTER