Inside the central square of Horrison Castle, simulated combat training continued.
The atmosphere was considerably lighter now compared to the earlier bout against the Canoptek Wraith.
Hum—
The metal orb skimmed the ground at high speeds, executing erratic, serpentine maneuvers with its anti-gravity field.
This time, it no longer simulated wall-phasing, airborne Wraiths. Instead, it mimicked the most basic and numerous units of the Necron legions: the Canoptek Scarabs.
Though terrifying in sheer numbers, their attack pattern was singular. They crawled along physical surfaces, overwhelmed enemies through swarm tactics, and gnawed through armor with matter-deconstructing mandibles.
"Watch your feet! Focus fire!" Korber bellowed.
Six point-man operatives lowered their barrels in unison, saturating the ground with fire.
Pah! Pah! Pah!
Marker rounds struck the high-speed cluster of metal orbs with precision.
"Beep—Simulated units destroyed."
Andy gestured, recalling the metal orbs to his hand. He nodded as he looked at the squad of soldiers, whose confidence had visibly surged.
As expected.
The earlier Wraith simulation was set to hellish difficulty; dealing with Scarabs was far easier.
Furthermore, the performance of the metal orb under Andy's control severely exceeded standard parameters.
While Necron units relied on anti-gravity levitation, they were still bound by physical inertia in the material universe. Canoptek Wraiths exhibited noticeable deceleration and turning radiuses when changing direction, with a set speed cap, while Scarabs were restricted to ground crawling.
However, Andy's orb was forged from a mimetic multi-alloy, micro-managed directly through his processing power. Its direction changes were sharp right angles, and its acceleration was instantaneous—far superior to actual Necron units.
Simply put, Andy was training these men using an over-spec approach.
If the soldiers could keep up with the orb's rhythm and maintain high accuracy under such absurd difficulty, then in actual combat...
Facing the relatively slower movements of real Necron units, everything would feel like slow motion to them.
"Maintain this intensity," Andy instructed Korber. "Train them for three more days."
"Build their muscle memory so their immediate reaction to a shifting shadow is to execute a tactical maneuver."
"Understood, Boss!"
While gunshots echoed across the square, a convoy consisting of two heavy flatbed transport trucks and four all-terrain off-road vehicles slipped into the wasteland under cover of night.
Engineering Division Six had departed.
Reagan sat in the lead off-road vehicle, holding the heavy data drive and the latest topographic map.
Their mission was demanding.
The two trucks behind them carried a 5.8-ton monstrosity along with its supporting geothermal power equipment. Their objective was to haul this equipment to the Western Great Desert hundreds of kilometers away, locate the gravitational wave beacon, bury the base station, and activate it.
The road was treacherous, and secrecy was paramount.
"Chief, are we really skipping the main road?"
The driver, an experienced hand from the Scavenger, asked with concern as he watched the terrain grow increasingly rugged.
"The main road is too conspicuous," Reagan said, scanning the map. "The Boss specified that this operation must remain low-profile."
"If other warlords spot us hauling equipment toward that dead zone, it'll draw unnecessary trouble."
The convoy bypassed the primary trade zones, threading along the periphery of the Kolembeck Ruins. The ground was littered with sharp metallic debris and radiation craters. However, the modified vehicles of Engineering Division Six featured heavy-duty suspension systems that pushed them through the rough terrain at sixty kilometers per hour.
Roughly three days later.
The convoy entered a stretch of rolling sand dunes.
The Dune Vein.
This was a major mineral vein publicly shared by the Kolembeck Trade Zone, rich in various rare metals. Although labeled as public property, control was dictated by raw firepower. It had previously served as a meat grinder for several mid-sized warlords, but following the conclusion of the Western Front battle a few days ago, it had acquired a new owner:
Eis, and her Dusk.
Reagan had no desire to cross paths with Eis's forces; he retained a lingering dread of that woman.
"All units pay attention, activate stealth mode."
Hum—
A strange, water-like ripple spread across the surface of all vehicles.
The Ultra-Performance Stealth Skin was activated.
It was not entirely new technology, but rather a camouflage system reverse-engineered from the biological stealth technology of the Raith race.
The origin of this technology was somewhat notable.
Over the past few days, the interior of Horrison Castle had not been entirely peaceful. There was unusual activity around the launch shaft, as if the entities below had sensed the movements above.
To prevent the Raith from mounting an ascent, Andy deployed extensive UV light strips across key choke points. Unwilling to yield, the aliens dispatched frequent scout squads to sabotage the lighting and surveillance equipment.
Predictably, Andy ambushed them.
He eliminated the scouts and deposited their remains into the Alien Tech Dissection Station. This analysis unlocked the Ultra-Performance Stealth Module, which Andy promptly installed across the vehicles and escort personnel of Engineering Division Six.
With the skin active, the outlines of the vehicles blurred, blending into the surrounding dunes. Unless inspected at close range or scanned with heavy thermal imaging radar, the movement of a heavy convoy was completely imperceptible.
The convoy pressed deeper under stealth.
According to the coordinates on the data drive, the gravitational wave beacon was located in the deepest depths of this mineral vein.
However...
As the convoy crested a massive dune and the view opened up, Reagan slammed on the brakes.
"Halt! All vehicles stop!"
The trailing vehicles braked abruptly, skidding across the sand.
Reagan leaned over the steering wheel, peering through the windshield at the valley below.
There were people down there.
And a massive force at that.
Two massive landships were anchored in the center of the valley, their black hulls looking cold under the moonlight. While smaller than multi-kilometer capital ships, these clearly belonged to a task force under the command of the Dusk.
Why are they here?
Reagan's heart sank.
This was the location of the gravitational wave beacon. Had Eis discovered the Necron ruins as well?
That seemed unlikely.
Upon closer inspection, he realized the situation was abnormal.
The two ships were not conducting excavation or mining operations. Their broadside cannons were firing frantically at the surrounding dunes and rock walls.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosive flashes illuminated the night sky.
On the ground, hundreds of soldiers in yellow-and-black uniforms held a defense perimeter anchored by the landships, their weapons spewing continuous fire.
An intense battle was underway.
Reagan adjusted the magnification on his binoculars to identify their adversary.
He drew a sharp breath.
Dozens of dark red figures moved swiftly through the shadows—featuring elongated limbs, razor-sharp biological scythes, and uncanny stealth capabilities.
The Raith!
The number of Raith present was staggering, easily exceeding a thousand, swarming the Dusk's position from all directions.
This was not entirely surprising.
Andy had noted that the Raith were indigenous to Planet Zais, residing not only within the launch shafts but throughout the planet's extensive underground networks. A location like the Dune Vein, with its complex terrain and subterranean caverns, naturally served as one of their major nesting grounds.
What shocked Reagan was not the presence of the Raith, but the combat efficiency displayed by the Dusk forces.
It was an absolute slaughter.
Not of the humans, but of the Raith.
Eis's troops did not engage in disorganized fire like typical wasteland warlords. Their formation was tight, and their firepower distribution was calculated.
Crucially, dozens of strange spheres hovered ahead of their defensive line.
Basketball-sized and armored in gold plating, these spheres were ringed with energy lenses glowing with blue light. Unattached to any supporting structures, they levitated entirely via anti-gravity systems, maneuvering nimbly across the battlefield.
Are those...
Reagan recalled rumors circulating through Kolembeck a few days prior. The conflict between Fortress Odin and the Dusk had erupted over a cache of unearthed Golden Age relics.
This was evidently one of those relics:
The Standard Funnel Drone.
Zzzzt! Zzzzt!
The funnels opened fire.
Instead of kinetic rounds, they discharged thin, high-density particle beams. Their fire rate was rapid, and their accuracy was absolute.
Every beam resulted in a fallen Raith.
The stealth capabilities of the Raith scouts proved useless against the funnels' sensor arrays. The moment they exposed themselves, even while cloaked, they were locked onto instantly and pierced by particle beams that severed limbs and destroyed torsos.
Pfft!
A Raith attempting a flank attack jumped into the air, only to be targeted by three funnels simultaneously. High-energy particle streams vaporized half its body mid-air; the remaining charred limbs crashed to the ground, still smoldering.
The intelligence and lethality of these weapons vastly surpassed the current technological baseline of Zais.
Watching the one-sided engagement, Reagan was filled with questions.
What was Eis's objective?
If her goal was territorial expansion or resource acquisition, she should have targeted rival warlords to secure richer mineral veins. Why venture into the depths of a desolate wasteland to battle hostile indigenous entities?
Deploying high-value Golden Age assets indicated a significant investment.
Aside from sand and the undiscovered Necron beacon, what made this location worth such an effort?
Could she also be aware of the beacon?
That seemed improbable; the data drive was a singular artifact, and it was currently in Andy's possession.
"Chief, what's the plan?" the driver whispered.
"The path ahead is blocked. If we push through, we'll get dragged into the crossfire."
Reagan gritted his teeth. "Hold position. Stay down."
"Maintain stealth and monitor the situation."
Their objective was to deploy the base station, not to engage in combat. Until Eis's true intentions were clear, remaining undetected was their top priority.