Send Back Word, Duke's Great Victory

June 9, ship time 7:54 - it has been about three standard hours since Korhal Revolutionary Army Fleets jumped to this point.

Norad II, this majestic steel giant ship was originally the flagship of Terran Confederacy's ace unit Alpha Squadron, and the vehicle of Colonel Edmond·Duke.

The traces left by Colonels Alpha Squadron and Duke can be seen everywhere on this magnificent Behemoth-class Battlecruiser. Both his appearance and ferocious temper are close to that of a silverback gorilla. The man hung more than twenty Alpha Squadron flags of different styles on the bridge of the Norad II, and all the signs and medals used to show his military exploits in hundreds of large and small battles were painted on the walls and portholes of the battleship.

Compared with the Hyperion, the Norad II, the flagship of the Alpha Squadron, is even larger. In addition to the interior corridors that still look awkward, both the bridge and various cabins and activity areas look grand and even magnificent.

But now this battleship has a new owner, that is Augustus·Mengsk, and the latter is willing to call this a small change of ownership.

No matter from which angle you look at it, the Behemoth-class Battlecruiser Norad II is an unparalleled war masterpiece, with rows of laser cannons and upgraded energy shield defense arrays. The nearly one hundred fighters inside the hangar are all brand new Wraith.

These latest fighters are far ahead of older jet fighters such as the Avenger and Hellhound fighters in terms of maneuverability and weapon power, and can also better adapt to the combat environment in space.

Importantly, the nuclear arsenal of Norad II also contains twenty small tactical nuclear bombs equivalent to one hundred thousand tons of TNT and two Apocalypse Nuclear Missile, which are enough to flatten half of Tarsonis City.

--To use these cute but grumpy gadgets, you only need to press a red button that is harmless to humans and animals.

Even so, Augustus never felt any joy. In his opinion, the gains were far less than the losses. Accurate statistics showed that Korhal Revolutionary Army was in The Rope Rock System encounter suffered heavy losses, leaving only four Giant class frigates, two Reagan class cruisers and five destroyers, and only 597 remaining combat airships.

Nearly five thousand Revolutionary Army pilots and Fleets soldiers died in this battle. These pilots generally only received training for half a year or even less. Most of them were recruits. So many lives that bloomed like flowers can never return to Korhal IV, their hometown.

After reporting the losses and casualties of Fleets, Augustus's Umojan Fleets consultant told him that some of the deceased were from the Sterling Academy, the same alma mater of past Mengsk Family members, and some of the victims were even people he knew when they were in school.

Death is no longer unfamiliar to Augustus. At the time of Turaxis II, the deaths of Omo and Benjamin were opposite to those in Augustus's class. It's a heavy blow for everyone. Although Augustus still doesn't want to admit it in his heart, there are Korhal warriors like Omo dying all the time.

Their death was a heavy blow to the parents, enough to destroy a fragile family. But on the list of reports, it was just a series of names and numbers.

Augustus asked the names of these people in detail, but did not say a word.

"I want to know what kind of loss we have caused Alpha Squadron." On the bridge of the Norad II, Augustus asked his expressionless consultant Umojan.

"The sergeant in charge of statistics got some exact numbers of kills. In the battle named Rope Rock System, we shot down a total of one hundred and twenty-six Avenger fighters, thirty-eight Wraiths, and three Sphintaux-class Confederacy destroyers - a long-foot-shaped cuboid battleship."

Alpha Squadron's losses cannot be accurately counted, but there is no doubt that their equipment and soldiers exceed Revolutionary Army's by a lot. If Augustus hadn't captured Alpha Squadron's flagship Norad II's flagship like a tiger's mouth, then this would undoubtedly have been a complete defeat.

Korhal Revolutionary Army's family background is too thin, which is enough to make them suffer.

"And the price we paid was ten times theirs." Augustus's tone was no different from usual, but Kerrigan beside him could feel his inner sadness and frustration even without using telepathy.

Augustus·Mengsk is not invincible. A battle-hardened general can prove his unstoppability with many exemplary battles, but just one tragic and humiliating defeat is enough to erase all his honors.

"You can't blame yourself for the death of those people. I heard the screams and last voices of those victims before they died." Kerrigan said to Augustus, "They regarded death as home."

"I should have done better." Augustus said after consultant Umojan left.

"Mengsk, I can't think of a better way to deal with the situation just now. If there were twice as many ships as Duke, then I would have suggested that you raise your hands and surrender." Tychus said, "What else can you do? Do you want to crash into it with all your might or run away in despair, leaving a pile of wreckage and looking at the Revolutionary Army indifferently? Morale among Fleets has been severely damaged."

"You must fight, and next time everyone will know that their commander does not lack the courage to launch an attack." Warfield said to Augustus, "As Arcturus once said, if you command a hundred people, you can remember all their names, past and present, but if you command a hundred thousand people, you must have ruthless indifference."

"Can you do it?" Augustus asked him.

"I can't do it." Warfield said, "I can't do that. Arcturus can't do it either."

"Oh no matter what, Fleets has been damaged more than half, and Steel Justice is no longer able to participate in the next battle. We must find a new port to repair and repair the warship." Augustus shook his head and searched for the nearest supply port to Fleets on the star map.

Norad II still uses the star map database of Confederacy, so many Confederacy ports marked in green are unable to dock. On the contrary, the Kel-Morian and Umojan interstellar ports and docks marked in red are much safer.

But what makes Augustus feel troublesome is that these ports are either too far away or are within the attack range of Terran Confederacy Fleets.

"It will take a lot of time to return Korhal IV and Umojan, and the first batch of Fleets heading to Korhal is probably already on the coming hyperspace channel."

"From this point of view, the only reliable place is here." Augustus retrieved a galaxy and a gray-green planet on the star chart, which looked like Korhal IV shrouded in gray fog.

Augustus Draw a triangle between the galaxy where Norad II is located, the position of this planet and Dylarian Shipyards: "From here to Deadman's Rock only needs It takes less than half a day, and the fastest trip from Deadman's Rock to Dylarian Shipyards is only four days. As far as I know, there is currently the largest mercenary organization here - Hill and Harris's Mercenaries."

Almost at the same time that the Kel-Morian people announced that they would sign a peace treaty with Terran Confederacy, although many older mercenaries believed that there would be no more wars in the future and the mercenary market would inevitably shrink significantly, two people named Glavin Hill The mercenaries of and Remy·Harris officially established their own mercenary organizations and recruited professional mercenaries from Umojan, Kel-Morian Combine and even Terran Confederacy.

"The Umojan Dominion closest to us will take much more time than this, and the Kel-Morian people are likely to do something secretly." Warfield said.

"Deadman's Rock, this was once a planet that was far from that bad - many years ago. But now it has become a garbage dump in the entire universe. Nearly two-thirds of the land is covered with cosmic garbage and industrial waste. It may only take a few years to destroy a vibrant ecosystem, and we must spend exponentially more time to repair it." Kerrigan searched for information about this planet in his memory.

"This planet lacks a strong government. Uncontrolled mining of minerals and industrial pollution have destroyed the already fragile environment. In recent years, people from all walks of life have come here to pursue their dreams of getting rich overnight or seek political asylum. Over time, this place has gradually become a holy land for pirates, mercenaries and smugglers."

"Of course, there are rebels." Tychus wanted to scratch his butt, but he quickly gave up when Power Armor was between him.

"It's Revolutionary Army." Kerrigan shook his fiery red ponytail and corrected Tychus's mistake.

"Almost, little girl." Tychus shouted, "For freedom! You are not really fooled by Mengsk, are you? No?"

"People like you don't understand Augustus's great ideals. You only know how to eat, drink, whore and gamble." Kerrigan said back to Tychus.

"No one knows Mengsk better than you!" Tychus mocked her.

"That's enough. I'm neither as great as you think, nor as despicable as you think." Augustus ended the topic, and then entered an encrypted communication code on the main screen. Just a few seconds later, a young man wearing a pair of sunglasses even at night appeared, with the background of a dilapidated office under the lights and the walls covered with firearms.

"Good evening, Mr. Mengsk. I think you may need some new mercenary contracts. I heard that Korhal IV is working with Tarsonis's Confederacy Central The government is at war." Glavin Hill said with a smile, "I took a big risk to contact you. I heard before that Korhal IV needed a transport ship, and I immediately sent many people there."

"Of course the price is three times that of peacetime." Augustus exposed him directly.

"This brings us to the issue of inflation caused by the war. Terran Confederacy and Kel-Morian Combine squandered all their foreign exchange reserves in Umojan and owed a large amount of foreign debt. It is normal for prices to rise." Hill said, "I am definitely not raising prices."

"Sooner or later you will pay the price for this. I heard that you were doing business with Korhal IV, Terran Confederacy and Kel-Morian Combine at the same time." Augustus said, "You once sold Kel-Morian people for a sum of money. To be honest, it's hard for me to believe you."

"That's different. Kel-Morian people owe us money and have violated the contract. This is a matter of principle. Mr. Angus·Mengsk will never give up mercenaries for half a cent. Unless I am crazy, I will betray a long-term and trustworthy customer." Hill had no expression on his face.

"As long as the Korhal people and the Confederacy government keep fighting, the mercenaries will always have food to eat," he said.

"Okay, after talking for so long, you must have some big orders for me." Hill lit a cigarette for himself.

"I need to occupy your mercenary port for a period of time." Augustus continued, "And, in the next two months, I will sign as many mercenary contracts as you have."

"I heard that Korhal IV is going to be in big trouble, but my mercenary brothers will not go Spider Mine or take a shower in a rain of nuclear bombs. Do you understand, they will not do a job that is obviously going to lead to death." Hill touched his chin, gradually unable to control his overflowing smile.

"Do I look like someone who has been taken advantage of?" Augustus tapped his fingers on the table of the bridge console.

"Okay, but the cost of berthing at the port is not cheap. How many ships do you have? Tell me so I can have an idea." Hill said.

"Not much." Augustus sent a number using encrypted communication.

"This is impossible, three ships? Two of them are flagship-level. You must be kidding." Hill crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Our little port is not that big, but the space station can fit in it."

"Speaking of which, where did you get these big guys? I heard that Kel-Morian people are selling battleships. But the price is ridiculously high."

"From the hands of Confederacy Fleets." Augustus said bluntly, "Then it's settled."

"Okay, it's settled." Hill originally thought that Augustus was just a young but talented Confederate Marine Corps officer with a small family fortune, but he didn't expect that he was still a ruthless character who dared to rape Terran Confederacy Fleets.

After deciding to re-evaluate the power in the hands of Augustus·Mengsk, Hill closed the communication link.

"He is not worthy of trust." Tychus said.

"Yes." Augustus nodded and said, "But when we arrive at Deadman's Rock, we will have the final say there."

"Oh, you bad guy." Tychus showed an evil smile, "But I like you."

At this time, a secondary screen of Holographic Projection lit up, which was the radar scan image that lit up.

"An unknown jump signal and an unsigned communication request were detected." Adjutant, number Norad II, said in a cold mechanical voice.

"Connect." Augustus said.

"Augustus·Mengsk, we meet again. Just wait for five minutes and I will catch you, this cunning Korhal fox. Do you think you can escape? Alpha Squadron will chase you. To the end of the world, to the end of the universe." When Duke wanted to say something else, Augustus closed the communication link. So Duke's arrogant face was frozen forever, but the still picture looked a little distorted.

"It sounds like Colonel Duke is about to catch up with us." Augustus pointed at Duke's thick nostrils on the main screen.

"Duke must be so angry that he can eat his own boots right now." Tychus laughed heartily.

"... He even said the time." Warfield was stunned and speechless.

"Where is Swann? How is he handling it?" When Augustus looked at Kerrigan, it goes without saying that this beautiful and considerate (in the true sense) Ghost operative had already handed him a connected personal terminal.

"Oh--come on, you did it Thatcher! Little girl, you have to tighten that screw!" A noisy voice came from the personal terminal.

"Well done!"

"Okay!"

"Rory·Swann, I want to know if you have dealt with those signal trackers. You said ten minutes ago that you are almost over the hurdle. My understanding is that you are about to complete the work." Augustus considered his words. He recently discovered that he sometimes couldn't understand the local dialect of Meinhoff people.

"Oh, wait until I get that wrench back, it's still outside the airtight cabin." Swann didn't seem to hear clearly.

"That's right, boss, these kids have done a great job and they are worthy of the salary you paid."

"Let's jump." Augustus looked at the communication links Duke sent one after another, turned around and said to the navigator, "Before that, let's let our old friend scream in anger."

Napoleon, bridge.

"Mengsk! Regardless of whether they are big or small, brothers, brothers, eldest, and second, they are all a bunch of uneducated country bumpkins!" Duke yelled in the bridge without grace. When the technical sergeant reported to him, this anger reached its peak.

"We can no longer obtain Norad II and Steel Justice location updates." The technical sergeant said with some confidence.

"How could it be so fast!" Duke shouted flatly, "No way! You must have made a mistake somewhere!"

"Colonel, the Fleets headquarters would like to ask you about the latest battle situation of Rope Rock System." At this time, the colonel's adjutant walked into the bridge and asked him.

"Just say." Duke immediately calmed down. "We destroyed more than two thousand rebel ships and severely damaged the Augustus·Mengsk rebels. I will submit a more detailed report later."

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