Reinhardt's roar and the thunderous whine of his Chainsword burst through the thick fog like a hurricane, instantly cleaving into the Helldivers' desperate battleground. He immediately located the players mired in heavy combat.
Pyro was using his now-useless lasgun as a club, trying to beat back two Hormagaunts besieging him. His armor was scored in multiple places by razor-sharp claws, and blood was seeping through the cracks in his carapace.
The other players were in a similar state, tightly encircled by dense ranks of xenos. The flashes of their automatic weapons and lasguns were weak in the dim mist, seemingly on the verge of being swallowed whole.
"Fall back!" Reinhardt commanded again, his voice like a resounding bell that shook the battlefield. He didn't pause. The Chainsword in his hand, carrying destructive power, immediately sliced into the Hormagaunts attacking Pyro.
The spinning teeth easily tore through the xenos' chitin and flesh, splitting one Tyranid in two. The other tried to leap at Reinhardt, but he met it with a heavy side-kick, sending it flying backward and pulverizing several smaller bugs into a bloody pulp upon impact.
Given a brief moment of reprieve, Pyro immediately reacted, shouting, "Retreat! Fall back to the main defense line!"
Hearing Reinhardt's order and Pyro's confirmation, the Helldivers immediately mobilized. They fired relentlessly, using their remaining ammunition to the utmost to hinder the swarm's pursuit, while struggling to withdraw to the rear defense line. Every step was incredibly difficult; every player walked along the edge of death.
Reinhardt became their unyielding shield. He positioned his entire body to block the path behind the retreating players, facing the tidal wave of Tyranids alone.
The Chainsword became a lethal blur in his hands, each swing guaranteed to take multiple alien lives. His bolter was unholstered and held single-handedly in his left grip, firing precise and deadly bolter rounds that obliterated any xenos attempting to flank them.
He stood like a solitary reef in the heart of the swarm. No matter how the aliens attacked, they could not move him. However, the sheer number of xenos was overwhelming.
They surged from all directions, throwing themselves at the killing machine without regard for their own lives.
"Ssslash!"
A Tyranid Warrior, lurking in a dead zone of the terrain, launched a sudden ambush from the flank. Its sharp bone blade sliced through the air and raked violently across the Power Armor on Reinhardt's chest and abdomen.
Sparks flew!
The tough ceramite armor was torn open by a deep, bone-visible crack. Internal wiring and hydraulic tubing were exposed, and a faint, electrical sizzle could be heard.
Although the attack did not wound Reinhardt directly, the protective and dynamic capabilities of his Power Armor were significantly reduced, causing a slight stiffness in his movement.
Reinhardt acted as if he hadn't noticed. He spun around, and his Chainsword, fueled by fury, instantly split the Warrior in half. Blood splashed out, staining his damaged breastplate red.
He used his body to buy the Helldivers valuable time for retreat. As the last player stumbled back behind the defense line, Reinhardt finally retreated himself, supported by heavy bolter fire, his damaged Power Armor clanking as he marched rapidly back toward the Leman Russ wreckage.
Once back within the lines, the players immediately returned to their cover positions, vigilantly watching the restless swarm in the fog ahead.
After the recent brutal fighting, everyone was exhausted, but their eyes held a mixture of relief at having survived and profound respect for Reinhardt.
Reinhardt also climbed atop the Leman Russ wreckage. He did not immediately check his wounds but turned to Pyro, who had just narrowly escaped death.
"Are you alright?" His voice was as low as ever, but held a trace of subtle concern.
Pyro looked down at the lasgun in his hands. The previously straight barrel was now slightly twisted and deformed from the impact, and the casing was covered in scratches and scorch marks. He shook his head with some regret: "I'm fine, I'm just bummed this gun is busted. It was actually quite comfortable to use."
As he spoke, Pyro's eyes involuntarily fixed on the alarming rift in Reinhardt's chest armor—the scar left by the Tyranid Warrior. The exposed internal wiring and metal structure were clearly visible in the gloom.
He asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"
Reinhardt simply shook his head, his voice perfectly calm: "It didn't wound me. The attack only damaged a few power transmission lines in the armor, but that is a minor issue. As long as the power pack is intact, combat effectiveness will not be severely compromised."
Just then, Pyro's eyes suddenly froze on a point in the empty space, and he quickly widened them, blurting out: "What the hell?! What's going on?"
Reinhardt instantly grew alert, quickly scanning the direction Pyro was looking, but even his genetically enhanced eyes could only see the dense spore mist and vague silhouettes of the xenos.
"What is happening?" he asked gravely.
"No, nothing... just pretend I saw wrong," Pyro's tone was strange. He offered no explanation and quickly withdrew his gaze. Reinhardt, trusting him, did not press the matter further.
In reality, what had just happened was anything but minor.
Pyro, as a player, had a system panel which, alongside specific military tasks like holding ground, assaulting key positions, and digging trenches, displayed a Total Task Progress Bar for eliminating the Tyranid swarm on the planet.
This progress bar only appeared after Chapter Master Calgar's reinforcements arrived. Initially, the bar stood at around 20%. In the month since, the players' assaults and the subsequent mass burning campaigns by allied forces had painstakingly pushed the bar up to 30%.
Just a moment ago, Pyro had glanced at it habitually, only to be stunned: the progress bar had instantly jumped from 30% to 50%!
This was an absolutely extraordinary change!
"Holy smokes, what just happened?" Pyro wondered internally. "Did the Tyranids build another Norn Emissary and then crash it due to user error? That spike is insane!"
That was a full 20% progress! To put it into perspective, the 'Helldivers' plus tens of thousands of Space Marines, over an entire month, had managed to push the progress from 20% to 30% at great cost.
Now, in the mere few minutes it took for them to retreat, the progress bar had been violently hauled forward by some 'Invisible Hand'.
This implied that nearly one-fifth of the Tyranid biomass or a single, critically important strategic objective on the planet had been annihilated in an instant. This could not have been caused by the simple collapse of a typical xenos swarm.