As they continued on, Tarvitz's tactics became clear.
The squad no longer advanced blindly toward the rally point like a swarm of headless flies.
Whenever one of those milky-white, grotesquely shaped "Stone Tree" structures appeared ahead or on their flanks, he decisively ordered the squad to destroy it as quickly as possible while maintaining a defensive formation.
Every "Stone Tree" that collapsed brought a further, perceptible reduction in the invisible oppressive presence and communications interference around them.
Even the air seemed to grow a little "thinner." Although Murder Star's harsh environment remained unchanged, that targeted, intelligent, malicious suppression was being stripped away bit by bit.
It was as though they were using brute force to punch breathing holes through a thick, clinging darkness.
They advanced and destroyed as they went. The "Stone Trees" hung with the remains of Blood Angels, or occasionally other unknown creatures, were reduced to rubble amid explosions and the roar of metal.
Strangely, aside from the first Giant Spider Xenos they had encountered, they faced no further attacks from creatures of that type—or any other.
The wasteland remained deathly silent, with only the wind, their footsteps, and the sounds of destruction echoing across it.
This unnatural calm did not reassure Tarvitz. Instead, it raised his vigilance to its peak.
After destroying dozens of these structures, the squad could clearly make out the silhouette of a prominent landmark in the direction of the rally point.
Just as that towering, dark-red rocky mountain, seemingly split by a giant axe, came into view, a violent signal fluctuation surged through Tarvitz's helmet. Then a voice he had not heard in far too long, heavy with electromagnetic static but barely intelligible, broke through the last layers of interference and pierced his ears.
"...Ground units...this is...Mercy's Journey...respond if you read...repeat...this is..."
*The