Yin-Yang Person's Rotten Ass

"Your family is disgraced because of you, Governor Richard. Look at the foolish things you've done. Your men, dressed in the latest Power Armor and using Federal Marine Corps, have been routed by rebels with sticks and motorcycles, losing most of Mar-a- Sara in less than a week."

"Currently beyond saving, utterly defeated."

Edmond Duke and Governor Mar- Sara had clearly known each other for a long time; their friendship dates back to the youth of the two noblemen. Of course, this did not diminish their mutual dislike.

"The Confederacy's territory spans the entire Koprulu Sector, yet the Congress ends up sending pigs, donkeys, and scale insects to manage a colony, simply because they are nobles."

Duke held his head high, looking down at Governor Mar- Sara's tear-streaked face with an arrogant and condescending air. He knew that Richard had lost his position, and the Lyon Family behind him would instead thank Duke for saving their property in Mar- Sara.

When nobles hear of the suffering of the lower classes, they may shed a few tears out of their commendable compassion, but when it comes to their own life or death, they often cannot stop their tears.

The Old Families of Tarsonis requires their Heir to possess exceptional abilities to inherit the family's power, but they cannot expect every family member to be outstanding enough.

"Colonel." Behind Governor Mara Sara was a nickel-plated alloy wall, and to the right was a heavy lead door studded with rivets, next to which stood fully armed personal guards, not his suited staff and drunken military advisors.

This indicates that the governor is currently hiding in a secret underground chamber of the governor's palace. At this very moment, while war rages across the Mar- Sara region, the chamber is adorned with expensive Silk carpets and decorated with gold and silver utensils, sparkling with jewels.

"We are about to be overwhelmed. The rebel planes are bombing our positions relentlessly. Once Augustus Mengsk's men launch their final assault, we will be finished." The governor stopped crying as quickly as he had suddenly burst into tears.

"How many of them are there?" Duke squinted his triangular eyes, looking like a dangerously venomous Viper.

"At least two hundred thousand." The governor's sausage-thick lips trembled.

"Unmanned Scout photographed the insignia of at least ten rebel divisions, along with a large number of armored and mobile units. They are not a group of armed Korhal IV farmers, but a genuine army."

"Nonsense." Although Duke didn't believe Governor Mar- Sara's words at all, he still used them as a reference. Duke estimated that there were probably between fifty and one hundred thousand rebels on the surface of Mar- Sara.

"There simply isn't that many rebels," Duke said.

However, considering that the rebels possess a certain amount of CMC Power Armor, they cannot be treated as ordinary insurgents. Normally, a Federal Marine Corps of about two hundred men is enough to easily quell a rebellion in a city, and a battalion of marines is sufficient to defend a Outer Colonies.

Since Angus Mengsk and his ambitious sons instigated the rebellion, a regional uprising has no longer been something that the Marines in that region can easily suppress.

"Colonel Duke, get your Alpha Squadron to land in Mar- Sara as soon as possible." Governor Mar- Sara was growing impatient; he feared Duke would stand idly by and watch the capital fall.

"Otherwise, you should bear at least half the responsibility for the fall of Ma Sara, and I will truthfully report your indifferent actions of standing idly by."

"Richard, I've always said you're an idiot, and I'm not wrong." Duke's arrogance had reached its peak. "The fox has fallen into the hunter's trap, and now it's threatening those who are about to lend a helping hand."

"You Viper! Mara Sara is about to fall, and you're still shouting here!" Governor Mara Sara was furious.

"Then I'll see whose responsibility this is," Duke said, ordering his adjutant to shut down the communications connection.

Amid the governor's hysterical roars, Duke began to think calmly, a new operational plan forming in his sharp, angular mind. The Alpha Squadron carried a number of small tactical nuclear bombs with a yield of 20 megatons, enough to raze a medium-sized city and turn an area of about 30 square miles into scorched earth.

However, according to images of the Southern Hemisphere Capital Region taken by the Mar- Sara orbital satellite on the main screen of the Norad III bridge, the rebel positions can be seen to have overlapped with the Governor's Planetary Defense Force and organized militia forces, like intertwined tree roots.

Orbital bombardment would inevitably result in friendly fire, and precise pinpoint strikes could not destroy the constantly moving rebels. To recapture Mar- Sara, Duke would have to send his Alpha Squadron down to low Earth orbit in landing craft to defeat Augustus's rebels.

Completely destroying the entire capital district would mean that Duke would face moral condemnation and would be held responsible for the deaths of nearly half a million Mar- Sara civilians and tens of thousands of Confederacy soldiers in the capital district—even though Duke didn't care at all.

Ultimately, Duke could find a thousand reasons to exonerate himself from court-martial. For example, the ruthless rebels released a terrible virus in the capital region, infecting everyone, and Alpha Squadron had to purify the infected land.

But at least for now, Duke doesn't have the authority to use nuclear weapons at will. Duke isn't really keen on earning himself a reputation as a butcher; massacring civilians would only make his already difficult path to promotion more complicated. In many situations, he prefers to charge into battle himself to prove his courage.

"Lieutenant, besides those battlecruisers, are there other rebel Fleets in the Sara System?" At this moment, Duke looked out the bridge window at the orange-brown planet Mar Sara. In the Battle of Tarsonis six months ago, twenty-six rebel warships appeared and were recorded, and fourteen of them successfully warped away.

This is highly inconsistent with the number of rebel warships in the Sara System, unless the rebel Fleets has been dispersed into several relatively small Fleets.

"Sir, our reconnaissance units and radar still haven't detected any more rebel Fleets in the Sara System," the adjutant replied.

"Judging from the rapidly increasing energy index, they are preparing to leap out."

"We can't let them get away," Duke said after a few seconds of silence. "Fleets forward, block that rebel Fleets."

At that moment, the main screen on the bridge lit up again.

"A communication request from the command center of Marine Corps Division Mar- Sara. The division is commanded by..." Duke interrupted him before the adjutant could finish speaking.

"Connect." Duke stood ramrod straight, a certain possibility already in his mind.

"Duke. The last time we met was in the Rope Rock System, and even longer back in Turaxis." Augustus was displayed on the main screen of the Norad III bridge.

Due to various electromagnetic interference frequencies during the war, the image was not very stable, and snow-like gibberish occasionally appeared on the Holographic Projection screen. Even so, Augustus's iconic Mengsk Family gray hair and gray eyes, as well as his sculpted face, were still deeply imprinted in the eyes of every Alpha Squadron soldier present.

On the screen, Augustus was wearing a dark gray military overcoat and a wide-brimmed military cap with the insignia of the Revolutionary Army, sitting in a single sofa. The brim of the cap blocked the light coming in from the window, causing half of Augustus's eye to be covered in shadow.

Behind him stood Faraday and Sarah Kerrigan, while Revolutionary Army soldiers in dark gray uniforms moved back and forth on the spacious Command Island.

Augustus Mengsk, the rebel leader, has become synonymous with rebellion since the Guild Wars. He instigated riots, ignited wars, and brought black terror to planets.

Augustus was clearly at this moment in the circular Command Island atop the command center. The walls of the Command Island were replaced with translucent tempered glass, allowing the Confederacy commander to sit on the Command Island and overlook the entire Confederacy military camp. The Terran Confederacy's command center was a nearly square, gigantic building cast from steel and refined crystal ore, with sloping Plasteel plates on its outer walls, strong enough to withstand artillery fire and even small nuclear bombs.

For a long time, commanders of the Terran Confederacy have remotely monitored barracks, military bases, and operations departments at all levels via control consoles in the Command Island atop the command center. The fact that Augustus was sitting there proves one thing: Mar- Sara's Marine Division had already been defeated by the rebels.

"Mengsk, if you're here to reminisce, then there's nothing more to say between us." Duke made no attempt to hide his dislike for Augustus.

"For a traitor like you, I will only give you one bullet."

"Heh." A smile appeared on Augustus' handsome face. He pointed at the screen. "I thought you should at least be a lieutenant general by now. Why are you still wearing the rank of colonel?"

"Are you reluctant to part with your old clothes?"

Duke's forehead veins bulged instantly. He wanted to refute it but was speechless for a moment because it was indeed the truth. After a moment of silence, Duke's anger burned even brighter.

"Arcturus was already a colonel before he retired, and you served almost three times as long. Of course, we all know that such a promotion is still too slow in the Marine Corps."

"It's none of your business." Duke wanted to close the communication, but that would undoubtedly show that he was guilty, which made him even more unwilling to swallow his anger.

Duke was always the one who mocked and bossed others around; it was never Augustus's turn to be the one to ridicule him.

"Who do you think you are now? A stray dog! Korhal has already been destroyed, do you want the people of Ma Sara to suffer the same fate?"

"Edmond Duke." Augustus did not directly answer Duke's question; he was clearly deliberately steer the conversation in his favor.

"Look at you, so talented yet unappreciated, so suppressed," he sighed. "With your abilities, you could never be confined to a mere colonel."

"In the Confederacy Navy, even if you are promoted to captain, that might be the end of your career. But with me, I will not only make you a general, but you will also have a place in the new cabinet."

"At that time, you will be a veteran and a pillar of the New Terran Confederacy."

"I don't know if all lunatics like you like to daydream," Duke spat out a cold gust of wind through his cracked teeth. "The Confederacy Navy has a thousand battlecruisers and more planets, while you're nothing but pathetic wretches running around. The Mengsk Family, whose totem is the wolf, is now nothing but a pack of drowning dogs."

"I am a member of the Tarsonis Old Families, while the Mengsk Family is merely the landowners of a small planet."

"Bring your Alpha Squadron to pledge allegiance to me." Augustus seemed not to hear what Duke was saying; he just kept talking to himself.

"And I will give you everything you want but can't have. Or are you willing to spend your life as a colonel, ridiculed by the rest of the Duke Family?"

Duke chuckled in exasperation. In a sense, Augustus's words had indeed stung him. The inability to become a general, to go any further, was a pain that would forever remain in Duke's heart.

Duke quickly regained his composure, staring at the screen as he said, "Why are you deliberately provoking me? Is it to buy time so your troops and Fleets can withdraw in time—"

"This is just a holographic image you deliberately recorded, while the real you is definitely somewhere in Mar- Sara —no, someone as cunning as you might be on Fleets in synchronized orbit, ready to leave at any time."

"No, this is not a pre-recorded hologram," Augustus replied.

"I just think what you said is both foolish and unnecessary to discuss," he said. "My promises to you will always stand."

"Join us, and you won't just be Edmond Duke of the Duke Family anymore; people will only think of the Duke family when they talk about you."

"Do you think I'd believe that?" Before Duke could finish speaking, Augustus's face disappeared from the screen.

"Locate the coordinates of that command center!" Duke trembled with rage.

"We're unsure if this is a pre-recorded video, or even if this location is fake," the adjutant said. "It's no secret that you haven't been promoted to general, because since the Guild Wars, all newly promoted generals have been publicly awarded their ranks."

"Shut up," Duke uttered two cold words.

"Listen, we don't know whether Augustus Mengsk is in that command center or in the Fleets in synchronous orbit, but that doesn't matter."

"I will crush all of Augustus Mengsk's army until I find him!"

"But this could very well be a trap," the adjutant said.

"To hell with the traps!" Duke roared in anger. "There are traps everywhere, should I be afraid to take them?"

"Pass on my orders: prepare the landing craft! I will personally defeat Augustus Mengsk's rebels at Mar- Sara!"

Thank you for voting!

I was exhausted after midnight, let me rest for a while.