War of the Foreign Races

The immigrants of Bhekar's Korhal spent a harrowing night, while the Tal'darim hunters remained hidden in the dense jungle, spying on the immigrant camps lit up by lights and the military barracks and command centers that had sprung up in the hands of the Revolutionary Army's engineering corps. Transport ships and landing craft illuminated half the night sky, their engines roaring throughout the night.

Overnight, more than 120,000 Revolutionary Army Marine Corps divisions, Alpha Squadron airborne divisions, and mercenaries from Kel-Morian Hammer Security Company landed in Bhekar, and soldiers in various colors of Power Armor crowded the makeshift airport.

The August Colony, a large assembly named in honor of Augustus Mengsk's grandfather, was brightly lit all night. Large quantities of cargo containers loaded with ammunition and supplies filled the dispatch center and the settlement square. Heavy artillery and tanks were dropped onto the ground by APOD-42 heavy transport planes, and numerous armored soldiers, mechanics, and engineers made the entire landing site bustling with excitement.

As the sun rose again at dawn, the noisy August Colony that had been bustling all night finally quieted down. The fully equipped soldiers of the Human Revolutionary Army had already assembled in the settlement square and the open spaces cleared by large excavators, forming neat square formations by battalion and company.

After Moria expanded its military, the Revolutionary Army's equipment underwent a new round of modernization. More than 100,000 of the Korhal's elite troops, including a 50,000-strong legion of the Port of the Deadman's Port and four divisions of the Mar- Sara, were equipped with Power Armor, mainly the Confederacy's CMC-200 standard Power Armor, KMC Ripper armor, and tens of thousands of CMC-style armor sets provided by the Umojan Republic.

In addition to adding one or two howitzer battalions and a fully-equipped Kraken I Railgun to each infantry division to enhance firepower, Augustus allocated a large number of Kel-Morian tracked armored personnel carriers, bulldozer-converted heavy combat vehicles, light reconnaissance vehicles, and multi-functional van-shaped Sabre Command Vehicle to each unit. This enabled the Revolutionary Army's ground forces to move efficiently on the complex terrain of the alien battlefield.

In terms of individual heavy weapons, thanks to the Revolutionary Army's acquisition of a large number of cheap weapons from Moria's military factories, every Revolutionary Army soldier carries Electromagnetic Grenade and grenades. Each Revolutionary Army company is equipped with two 10-man fire support squads, whose weapons are diverse, including heavy machine guns, individual rocket launchers, flamethrowers, Boatswain Heavy Cruiser Sniper Rifle, and EMP chaff for the Protoss.

During the more than two months of time travel, Augustus and his generals and staff officers did not spend their days idly in the cabin. They formulated corresponding combat plans with the Tal'darim as their hypothetical enemy and ordered the science station and physics laboratory to conduct research on anti- Protoss weapons.

At this very moment, Augustus was in the command tower of the August Command Center, looking at a Holographic Projection 3D map that covered seven major settlements and dozens of small and medium-sized settlements. On this map, one could see hundreds and thousands of marked Tal'darim shrines, almost every one of which was built on Terrazine vent.

"We believe that these altars built around the Terrazine must be Taldarim strongholds, or that the Terrazine has important value or cultural significance to them." Beside Augustus, Faraday was reading the report transmitted back by the Scout.

Only his adjutant and a few others were in the command post, while the other Revolutionary Army were waiting for Augustus's orders in their own troops.

Londerstein descendant of the Korhal nobles, led a Korhal legion, mainly composed of soldiers from Korhal IV Sterling, Lexington, and Ridenheim, comprising two corps and three mechanized divisions, totaling 40,000 men. This was the backbone of the Revolutionary Army, and many followed Marshal Augustus's command.

Harnack Hank, known to the Confederacy as Red Devils Hack, leads two brigades composed entirely of Firebat and gas-fueled Firebat. They are all soldiers from the Koprulu Sector who are most passionate about barbecues. The Heaven's Devils tattoo on Harnack's body becomes the emblem of this unit, a Heaven's Devils surrounded by red flames.

This badge now seems to carry a rather ominous meaning, and can be interpreted as meaning that they were born in flames and will also perish in flames.

Lieutenant Colonel Tychus Finley continued to lead his two Sterling Wolf Hunters Divisions, an elite force often deployed to the most dangerous battlefields or the weakest points in the defenses.

After further reorganization, Raynor's Raynor's Raiders had nearly eight thousand elite soldiers. Their mission was to use Vulture and tanks for high-speed maneuvers to provide support to friendly forces or to outflank the enemy and attack from the flanks or rear.

The legion of the Deadman's Port remained in the Fleets as a backup force, scattered across various warships as apprentice sailors and ordinary sailors to maintain the normal operation of the warships. As for Mira Han, who was highly regarded by Augustus as the commander of the Deadman's Port Legion, it was still too early for her to take office, as she lacked the qualifications and experience to command respect.

Duke's Alpha Squadron had over 20,000 men land at Bhekar. The Alpha Squadron still used their old insignia, but added the wolf's head of the Mengsk Family, indicating that the unit was directly loyal to Augustus himself. Apart from the officers, they were all civilian soldiers, and Augustus did not want to expand the Alpha Squadron any further for the time being.

Augustus's former superior, Lieutenant General Horace Warfield, led the former 33rd Ground Assault Division of the Confederacy forces and a Revolutionary Army corps of about 50,000 men, of whom more than 4,000 were former Resocialized Soldier, and the rest were soldiers conscripted from the industrial cities and mines of Korhal.

Warfield's troops were the main force of the Revolutionary Army participating in the Battle of Bhekar, while Duke's Alpha Squadron and mercenaries served as the vanguard. Harnack, Raynor, and Tychus's units were tasked with supporting them in the battle.

"These Terrazine shrines are of vital importance to the Taldarim, and our aim is to seize them, not destroy them. Thus, the Taldarim will have to reveal themselves in order to protect their shrines," Augustus nodded and said.

"Our probes haven't found any Taldarim cities. Judging from the level of technology the Tal'darim have demonstrated, I think their buildings are likely located within an invisible force field, or perhaps the Taldarim are like space pirates among humans, using their warships as their home," said Sarah Kerrigan, who has been appointed Augustus's new lieutenant.

"We cannot confirm their exact location in Bhekar."

"Your guess is very likely correct," Augustus nodded. "If the Taldarim's understanding of the expeditionary force is not much different from ours, then Bhekar's army is very likely not a complete Taldarim army."

"As soon as we capture those Terrazine vents and shrines, the Taldarim will charge at us like madmen." Augustus then began issuing orders. "Believe me, that would be like defecating on the heads of these Taldarim, especially when it's done by humans whom they despise."

On the map, each Terrazine diatoms is marked as a point by the intelligent computer, while the locations of each Revolutionary Army legion are represented on the map in the form of flags.

"Order Duke and Lieutenant General Warfield to prepare for the attack. The battle will begin at the scheduled time." Augustus looked at his mechanical watch, which was now stopped at 7:10.

"All troops must be in their designated positions by 7:15, advancing with artillery shells and flamethrowers. Don't worry about damaging the environment of Bhekar; we don't care about any pollution," he said.

"Have you seen that Tal'darim corpse?" Augustus asked Kerrigan as he awaited reports of orders being carried out. As always, this capable agent kept her long, fiery red hair tied back in a simple ponytail during operations.

"Yes, just as our biologists have said, this is a species with powerful Psionics. Their Psionics and human Psionics are essentially the same thing, but their composition is completely different." Kerrigan nodded.

"The Tal'darim Psionics —it always makes me uneasy and fearful," she said. "Based on the information we have so far, the Taldarim use their bracers to conjure Psionics blades as a means of attack."

"This Psionics blade can cut through almost any material known to humankind. It can slice through iron like mud and is indestructible."

"This is similar to the monomolecular lightsabers I know of. So, could our Psionics use similar tools to condense Psionics blades?" Augustus's cold gray eyes seemed to gleam.

"Of course, what I'm more concerned about is whether we can replicate the Tal'darim's plasma shield."

"What did Swann say?" he asked Kerrigan.

"This is different from ours, don't worry. Little girl, it's a real shame you interrupted my train of thought." Kerrigan shrugged and said, "Then he left me aside to focus on studying that Tal'darim armor, saying he was going to figure out the blueprints."

"I don't think he's likely to succeed unless we capture a few of the Taldarim engineers," Augustus.

"Swann's second-in-command, Mr. Viktor Kaczynski, did speak with me for a while," Kerrigan said. "He believes that the Taldarim's technology is built on technology that we could never understand, and that the gap between the Protoss and humans is roughly equivalent to the gap between us and monkeys."

"Even monkeys have sharp teeth, Tal'darim use blades too, don't they?" Augustus said, as he heard Lieutenant General Warfield's voice on the command center's communications equipment.

"Warfield's forces are about to launch an attack; the time is now 7:13."

"This is Duke. Alpha Squadron is in position, and we'll be able to shave the Tal'darim's pointed heads off very soon."

"Jim is here."

On the Holographic Projection screen in the command center, images transmitted from various command vehicles and aircraft showed that the human troops on the ground had arrived at their designated attack positions.

The planned strike point has five sanctuaries of Terrazine that are close together. Large amounts of purple gas are gushing out from the cracks in the ground. The dense purple gas even obscures the sky. The jungle covered by Terrazine has sparse vegetation, with shrubs and trees withered. It is clear that Terrazine is harmful to the surface plants.

A squadron of bombers, converted from APOD transport planes, was flying over the Terrazine of Diazine. This bomber formation, consisting of more than forty-five bombers, was dropping potent herbicides on the ground, causing the dense jungle to wither rapidly, gradually turning the lush green forest a yellowish-brown color.

This powerful herbicide is primarily used to clear a space in complex, vegetated environments, even if it causes almost permanent damage to the contaminated land. In the later stages of the Guild Wars, neither the Kel-Morian Combine nor the Terran Confederacy remained concerned about environmental destruction.

Duke's Alpha Squadron led the way, followed by Firebat in white Power Armor and Firebat carrying only fuel canisters and flamethrowers. More than 20,000 Alpha Squadron soldiers were spread across a dozen square miles of land.

In the rear, Warfield's artillery had already begun firing. They didn't need to worry about the Taldarim Protoss shrines at all. With heavy artillery roaring, the ancient alien creations were immediately engulfed in a hail of fire. The Terrazine gas wells were bombarded relentlessly, and their composition, similar to high-energy gas fuel, caused them to ignite quickly. In an instant, the Taldarim shrines were engulfed in flames.

"These are all cultural relics," Augustus said regretfully. "If we sold them to a Umojan, they would probably be worth a lot of money."

"The Tal'darim haven't reacted at all," Kerrigan said, looking at the main screen.

"You're too impatient," Augustus said, as a Revolutionary Army Scout hovering in the air captured images of the Taldarim ground forces below.

Several thousand Tal'darim warriors suddenly appeared from the right and left flanks of Alpha Squadron. Emerging from the warp field, they moved nimbly and swiftly through the withering jungle. The Tal'darim warriors' strong and powerful legs enabled them to advance at speeds far exceeding those of humans.

These Tal'darim warriors were all clad in deep black armor, covered with blood-red cloaks or robes. Their armor was covered with thorn-like spikes and vertical blades, and decorated with the sharp teeth and claws of giant creatures. Some Taldarim even wore the helmets of the Revolutionary Army soldiers as trophies to flaunt.

The armor and helmets of the Tal'darim warriors are not all the same. They wear pointed, conical helmets, some with two scarlet Psionics blades on their arms, and others wield long-handled, double-edged recurved scythes or scarlet crystal spears.

Among these Tal'darim warriors stood enormous spider-like mechs with two pairs of mechanical legs. The mechs possessed flat, disc-shaped bodies and long mechanical legs, and were weaving a dense crimson barrage with their incredibly powerful phase-disrupting beam cannons.

Those Taldarim hovering a few feet above the ground were undoubtedly the leaders of this force. They were surrounded by a thick crimson mist and were accompanied by many Tal'darim who were barely clothed and looked like servants of the other Taldarim.

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