Mass reactive rounds, crude devices made from a crude alien race, slammed into Hautsi's chest. It registered the impact as pain, without the sensation it used to bring. Hautsi missed that most of all. Pain, suffering, despair. These were the things that made It's people fight so hard and live so bitterly yet passionate lives. The cracked ribs instantly began to bend back into shape, repairing on asub molecular level.
Hautsi felt the destruction of the Monolith. Growling Its displeasure. These aliens had come here to plunder the planet. Yet this world was of Hautsi's people, and though a prison, It felt revulsion at the idea of them taking it as there own.
The Overlords original plans of flight evolved. It would make a stand here, accrue assets through the Dolmen gates to the other Duat structures.
Already Hautsi was connecting with the underlying structures, long silent and abandoned tombworks, awakening all manner of ancient Cryptek constructs and more of the Duats prisoners turned warriors.
Thirty of them held the line infront of It, lazily laying into these strange creatures in curved armour of midnight. Flesh and bone inside armour. The symbol on their shoulders had been the thing which had made Hautsi change tactic. A great Scorpion icon in blood red.
The symbol had caused Its memory pool to run an automated search, for something Hautsi had no memory of. Yet that symbol struck a nerve. A ... feeling. And feelings were so addictive now.
Another artillary shell landed amongst the Lychguard. They automatically raised their shields, luminescent green energy took the brunt of the primitive explosive ordnance but one of their number fell. Unable to locally repair it disappeared as if disintigrating, returned to one of the many reanimation halls to be repaired.
The Silent King may well have sold their souls in the process, but in some ways the deal did get them what they wanted. They were immortal and practically invincible.
But what a cost?!
Hautsi's palm itched, as if someone small was trying to hold it. It found itself staring a space to Its side, half expecting eyes of brilliant colour to be looking up into Hautsi's eyes with pride.
The half complete memory burned. Hautsi wanted to kill something. Kill it and kill more. Kill and kill and kill.
Across the courtyard, Its warrior phalanx had finally fallen, as had several scarabs and a spyder construct.
Tomb Blades shot overhead, impossibly darting between the ruins and trees to engage the enemies flanks. Green lighting shot over Its head as another Phalanx of warriors, skulls with blood on their jaws, fired at range at the enemy.
Hautsi spotted a winged alien, his great axe pointing at him in a challenge. The Overlord returned the gesture and made to charge into the fray with little support. Suicide. A blissful and sweet ending to the nightmare.
One of Its bodyguard, a Lychguard, stopped Hautsi with a flat palm upon Its sternum. An intimite and fatal gesture to a superior on any occasion. Hautsi raised the titanic warscythe in Its hand to strike down the disobediant Lychguard but stopped inches from the strike. The Lychguards mask was bowed, acceptance to the judgement. But the flat palm, the gesture was so familiar.
We need you with us. Came a sluggish message across the Cryptnet, from the Lychguard. The army was not yet fully awoken. To risk Its own life now would be stupid and selfish. Selfishly forgetting the revenge of all here in favour of Its own need for an ending. No. Such fun would come later.
Huatsi flushed away the rage and gave the order to back away as the enemy was bombarded at range by all the fire power in the area. It felt humiliation in the gesture, watched as the winged alien was taken down, sensed it yet lived. Good. This was not yet done then.
The Overlord felt a confirmation that the flanking attack to the right had been succesful and the enemy withdrawing. Excellent.
Hautsi turned around to continue Its work within the tombworks of the Duat. The battle would continue without It. But the aliens would be back... and in greater numbers.
It was time to see what else was imprisoned here...
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