"Enemy bearing confirmed! Entire company, fire at will!"
Hoarse shouts clashed across the static-filled Communications Channel. The Imperialis Militia, clad in field uniforms, raced across the barren surface of Murder Star like a gray torrent of iron, sheltered by the rumbling steel bodies and massive shadows of the Leman Russ Tanks.
The shriek of Bolters and hum of Laser arrays merged into a backdrop of death, crimson beams tracing brief, lethal paths through the billowing dust.
They advanced in silence. Beneath their Helmets, their faces might have been twisted with fear or blue from lack of oxygen, but discipline and instincts forged through countless drills drove their steps as they poured dense, if somewhat feeble, volleys into every writhing black shape in sight.
What truly shook the earth were the towering shadows behind them.
Questoris-class and Armiger-class Knight Walkers strode forward, every rise and fall of their steel feet making the rocks groan.
Their towering bodies passed over the Mortals' ranks like moving metal icons entering a bloody arena.
The family heraldry engraved on their armor gleamed faintly beneath the dim daylight, symbols of pride, bloodline, and promised destruction.
"Full-spectrum sensor sweep. Mark high-temperature sources and clustered signals." Inside a Questoris-class Knight, the pilot's cold voice passed through mechanical filters, carrying a hunter's focus.
Its multiple targeting systems locked onto a stretch of dust churned relentlessly by explosions. Several blazing points on the graphical display were rapidly breaking through the ground.
"Targets locked. Filthy xenos, receive purification."
Before the words had faded, the barrel of the heavy rapid-fire cannon on the Knight's right arm suddenly lit with the eerie glow of gathering power.
The next second—
"Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—!!!"
Rapid, violent cannon fire, charged with the promise of utter annihilation, ripped through the air!
In a single breath, more than a dozen