Hax's red-glowing bionic eye stared fixedly at the cannon that looked ready to explode at any second. As a rigorous Techmarine, he dearly wanted to stay and verify that Tech-Priest's prediction—whether the barrel would truly fail at exactly thirty minutes.
But the battlefield would not wait.
"Brother Hax, keep up." Sicarius's voice rang through the comm channel. Though still commanding, it carried a faint note of urgency. "There are still defensive lines we need to inspect. We can't waste time waiting for a cannon barrel to explode."
"Yes, Captain." Hax could only reluctantly withdraw his gaze and follow the squad with heavy steps.
The Ultramarines passed through the labyrinthine trench network and arrived at a strategic height commanding a vital route. The view here was broad, and numerous heavy weapon emplacements had been set up.
Behind a bunker built from sandbags and camouflage netting stood a weathered Leman Russ main battle tank. When the blue giants appeared on the high ground, the hatch atop the tank was abruptly thrown open, and a Death Seeker tank commander leaned halfway out.
Seeing the rows of towering, formidable Ultramarines before him, the commander froze for a moment. Then he instinctively saluted and blurted out, "Holy shit, so many Adeptus Astartes? Looks like I'm about to die gloriously."
Still haunted by the earlier cannon, Hax ignored the mortal's astonishment and instinctively swept his gaze over the massive steel beast.
The data that came back made his mind tremble once more.
"This Leman Russ—" Hax stepped forward, his metal fingers lightly brushing over the scratches of varying depths and patched welding seams on the tank's armour. "Its metal structure is old and fragile. It looks like it has been in service for a very long time."
"Yes, sir." The commander patted the tank's turret, his