Duke's Defeat at Huarong Path

Augustus's exclusive Commander-type Power Armor was on his right, a fully assembled CMC-300 Power Armor, painted bright red, with a gold emblem of the Korhal Revolutionary Army's Whip Ring on the shoulder armor.

This is the standard paint scheme for the Revolutionary Army. As for organized Raynor Raynor's Raiders, they use blue and Wings of Liberty paint schemes to distinguish them, while the new recruits of the Deadman's Port use black and purple paint schemes and skull and crossbones insignia.

The commander's armor is made of titanium alloy and features more information transceiver processing devices and Psionics shielding devices from the Umojan Shadow Guard Officer Academy compared to other standard models.

This Commander Power Armor comes from the Umojan Republic's XT39323 laboratory. It is meticulously crafted, using a multi-layer coating process, and is equipped with many advanced artificial intelligence and battlefield assistance systems. Its built-in computer is designed based on the main computer of the Reagan colony Mothership and is capable of processing massive amounts of information.

The 9-foot-tall (approximately 2.7 meters) Power Armor stood silently beside Augustus. Its internal servo system firmly locked the joints, allowing it to stand upright like Knight Armor. The wearer simply crawled through the opening in the armor, had others lock the buckles, and then donned the helmet to immediately engage in combat. -- Even without assistance, a well-trained Marine should be able to don it within five minutes.

Augustus donned his Power Armor with little effort, while Kerrigan used her telekinesis to lock the buckles and seal the armor, allowing the internal gas to enter a stable internal circulation state.

"When a marshal goes to the front lines, it means he has no one else available." Kerrigan said as she put on her goggles while handing a C-14 Gauss Rifle to Augustus.

"I had to do that. If Duke's men break out of the narrow, Barren Canyon, his troops can spread out on the plains, and then we'll still have to send civilian and officers to the battlefield," Augustus. "At that point, Martin Fortress won't be any easier to defend than the easily defensible canyon bottleneck."

"You have to understand, that position is on a hill with an elevation difference of several hundred feet. To take it from Alpha, the position would have to climb a long slope with steep rock walls on both sides, making it impossible to go around. The best way to take it would be to use heavy artillery bombardment or send an airborne force to attack from the rear of the position," he said.

"Summon my troops."

After saying this, Augustus walked towards the command center to Command Island, while Kerrigan silently followed him.

It was 5 a. m. on the 20th, and the sky was still very dark. A meteor shower was falling, with hundreds of fleeting meteors appearing and disappearing in an instant.

Augustus reviewed his troops in the transport square at Martin Fortress, with even the engineers of the Engineer Corps driving their ten-foot-tall SCV ready to go to the front lines, and staff officers and technical personnel from various departments armed.

Even the civilian personnel had received basic training in Power Armor and were proficient in using Gauss Rifle. Many of them had been serving in front-line units just a few months ago, until they were transferred to the command post by a single order.

The Revolutionary Army's chief engineer Rory Swann, dressed in Power Armor and carrying a grenade launcher, was ready to fight. Augustus initially wanted Swann to stay, but considering that even the chief engineer and the marshal's friend were among those he had mentioned, he said nothing more.

The command center, including civilian staff, numbered nearly two thousand people, all of whom were among the most loyal fighters in the Revolutionary Army. Even in Korhal, these men were considered pioneers of the revolution, not only forerunners of Korhal's independence cause but also staunch followers of the Mengsk Family and Augustus himself.

When Augustus stood on the high platform in the center of the square, he could see many Revolutionary Army soldiers clad in Power Armor. Augustus did not give any speeches or pre-battle mobilizations, because as long as he was there, everyone present was able to muster high morale.

More than sixty APOD transport ships that took off from the airport landed in the square a few minutes later. Augustus the first to board a transport ship, and more soldiers followed closely behind.

Under the cover of fighter jets, the transport planes ascended into the clouds and headed toward the Barren Canyon. After flying for about twenty minutes, Augustus was sitting next to the observation window, could see the Barren Canyon flashing bright orange light and barrage of bullets on the HUD display screen connected to the front camera of the spaceship. The canyon walls were brightly lit by the flames of war in the darkness.

"This is Harnack Command Post. The bottleneck position has been breached. Captain Tychus Finley has led the Sterling Wolf Hunters to retake the position, but at least two hundred Alpha Squadron soldiers have still managed to get through the bottleneck." A young voice came through Augustus's command channel as his transport plane drew closer to the canyon. It was one of Harnack Hank's sergeant majors.

"How long ago was this?" Augustus asked calmly.

"About fifteen minutes ago, we don't know their location now—they didn't try to attack from our rear, but continued to advance south, and now they've disappeared from our thermal imaging map," the Revolutionary Army sergeant said.

"Can you confirm their unit number and commander?" Augustus.

"I don't know, sir, but I'm sure they're heading towards the canyon's exit—they're trying to escape," the sergeant said.

"Please inform command and Marshal Mengsk!"

"I am Augustus Mengsk," Augustus said on the communications channel. "The Revolutionary Army Command pays the highest tribute to all the soldiers of the 4th and 5th Battalion of Harnack, the 1st Brigade and 2nd Brigade of the Sterling Wolf Hunters, the 2nd Division of the Revolutionary Army, and the Reserve Brigade."

"It is our honor, Marshal." The sergeant's voice trembled before the communication was cut off.

"We are all Korhal people, we were born for Korhal, and we will fight to the death for Khar."

After taking a deep breath, Augustus went back into the transport plane's cockpit. "Pilot, how far are we from the bottleneck position?"

"Marshal, about two miles to go," the pilot said.

"Accelerate." Augustus had no intention of paying attention to the fleeing Alpha Squadron soldiers. Although, given the highly resocialized structure of the Alpha Squadron, this fleeing Alpha Squadron must be commanded by an officer of captain rank or higher, Augustus did not intend to waste time on these people.

Just then, the voice of a Wraith captain came from Augustus's helmet.

"This is Wraith -117. I've spotted a Confederacy army unit below—they are Duke's elite guard, commander of Alpha Squadron."

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