Protoss Ground Forces

The crackling sound of the flames burning the Zerg and the beast-like roars sent chills down the spines of many soldiers present. The raging flames illuminated almost half the street, and soon the stench of burnt protein filled the air.

The alien monster, not much larger than a local large dog, remained sensitive and excited under the influence of adrenaline. However, when it excitedly crawled out from under the manhole cover, Harnack Hank and his elite Firebat, who were prepared, immediately splattered a ball of scorching plasma flame on its face.

Augustus and the Revolutionary Army soldiers protecting him felt not a shred of pity as they watched the monster writhe and struggle in the flames, desperately trying to shake off the fire clinging to its body.

The first Zergling that suddenly appeared was merely the signal for this Zerg squad to launch an attack; more Zergling followed immediately, leaping out of the sewer manholes.

Emerging from the underground sewer system, these Zergling are 1.5 times the length of ordinary Zergling. They possess a rare atavistic trait: colorful, sail-shaped spiky plates extending from their backs to their tails. These alien monsters have harder chitinous carapaces and sharper, pale claws, resembling small tanks.

They may be directly commanded by the Cerebrate Yack, the leader of the Jormungand Brood, via Psionics link. This loyal offspring and servant of the Overmind did not perish in the destruction of Sara. Yarck is simultaneously commanding the massive army of Jormungand Brood within the brain chambers of every Deep-Space Behemoth, which are filled with central nervous systems and soft tissue.

The wall of flames in front of the Firebat failed to stop the relentless surge of Zergling. They were like rats pouring out of a granary or packs of hyenas leaping out of a sewer well. Until these alien monsters used their flesh and blood to withstand the raging flames, more Zergling sprang from the bodies of their fallen brethren and pounced on the heavy power suits of the Firebat army.

The Revolutionary Army Firebats' improved CMC-250 power armor is far more robust than the standard Marine Corps power armor, so these little monsters cannot cut through the thick armor in a short time. But even so, the two pairs of sharp, dense bony scythes on the springtails' backs can easily slice through and penetrate the Firebats' relatively fragile helmets, smashing open the soldiers' skulls.

Other Zergling, enduring the scorching flames, plunged their long, dagger-like claws into the plasma feedback unit of the Firebat's flamethrower. This blocked the flamethrower, causing the intense heat to flow backwards into the Firebat's Power Armor, turning the Power Armor itself into a scorching oven.

What awaited those Firebat Firebat was an extremely tragic fate, like retribution for the many people they had burned alive; they all ultimately died in the flames they themselves had emitted.

These Zergling are quite intelligent; they have found ways to deal with humans instead of simply charging in. Local battles are breaking out all over Mar- Sara, and whenever the Zerg in a certain area discover a weakness in humans, this skill is synchronized to all newly born Zerg through genetic material.

The Zerg, this dangerous and deadly race, has been evolving, striving to eliminate genetic defects until they reach the pinnacle of biological evolution, achieving perfection.

Because the Firebat Power Armor is generally two feet taller than the ordinary CMC-200 or even CMC-300 Power Armor, the Marshal's Elite Guard soldiers, who are behind the Firebat and carrying Gauss Rifle and individual rocket launchers, can only fire between the Firebat ' shoulders to avoid accidentally injuring their comrades.

"Ah--ah--" Faced with the Firebat ' wails, the elite guards could only end their lives from behind with rifle bullets, sparing them the agony of being burned alive.

Many Firebat don't die at the hands of the enemy; the most agonizing way to die is being trapped inside their own Power Armor and burned alive. Furthermore, few are willing to endure the high temperatures of wearing Firebat Power Armor. Therefore, the Firebat in the Confederacy Army are mostly resocialized death row inmates, while only the Firebat in the Revolutionary Army are voluntarily recruited lunatics.

Augustus could hear the Firebat ' agonizing screams, and the sight of these brave warriors wailing filled him with deep sorrow. At this moment, it was best for his comrades to end their lives with pistols, thus sparing them the agony of death.

To this day, countless Revolutionary Army soldiers and intelligence agents have sacrificed their young lives for the revolutionary cause.

"Fix the wellhead," Augustus ordered. "Throw in all our grenades and explosives."

The Marshal's Elite Guard behind the Firebat immediately carried out the order. After Moria purchased a large amount of ammunition left behind by the Kel-Morian Combine after the Guild Wars, each Revolutionary Army soldier carried far more grenades and bullets than before.

With the help of Power Armor, soldiers no longer need to worry about load capacity, which is something that ground and air transport commanders should consider.

"Damn it, if only Zander were here, he could easily pull out a few boxes of explosives from his armor," Raynor shouted as he fired a C-14 Gauss Rifle.

Max Zander, the Heaven's Devils, was no longer by Augustus's side; he was now in charge of commanding the Revolutionary Army's airborne forces. Under Zander's personal example Revolutionary Army's airborne troops had become explosive maniacs who would throw Electromagnetic Grenade at the enemy as soon as they landed, and wherever the Revolutionary Army's airborne divisions went, it was as if they had just experienced a large-scale carpet bombing.

"Throw them all out!" Tychus roared at Faraday and his Marshal's Elite Guard's guard. "Even an old lady could move faster than you!"

A deafening explosion answered Tychus's roar. Blue electrical pulses and arcs from the Electromagnetic Grenade surged from the blasted sewer manhole, and the soaring light instantly engulfed the Zergling within. Immediately, silence fell over the soldiers' area.

But then a creature of the same kind, even larger than the previous Zergling, emerged from the brilliant arc of electricity. It had a huge head and blood-red skin, and its bright orange eyes gleamed with a kind of intelligent brilliance.

If those Zergling were larger dogs, then this was a male lion in its prime, its extremely tough leather skin covered with a blood-red carapace, as if stained with dried blood.

Under Augustus's orders, the remaining Firebat retreated. A platoon of the Marshal's Elite Guard used all their weapons to fire at the newly appeared monster, but they were all surprised to find that the bullets could not harm it at all.

"Goodness, a big one," Tychus said. "I bet it's the mother of those bugs from before, and now it's here for revenge."

However, the giant, bright red Zergling insect only poked its head out before retreating back underground into its cave. At this moment, two nearby Revolutionary Army arrived to provide support, forcing the Zerg to retreat.

"A king among Zergling," Raynor said. "It ignores fire and Electromagnetic Grenade; its carapace is comparable to those giant Zerg, like mammoths, found on Turtle Island. It doesn't look simple."

"Even a fool knows it's not simple." Tychus chewed on the cigarette in his mouth and put away his heavy machine gun. "Besides, I don't see how that thing looks like anything. Don't think we didn't learn those things in elementary school."

"That's what Augustus." Raynor looked at Augustus behind him.

"Well, after all, the marshal is the highest-ranking officer here," Tychus said. "They've retreated."

"They know we're a tough nut to crack."

"Quickly, treat the wounded," Augustus ordered. "Send a medic platoon from the nearby troops."

"Sarah, can you feel anything?" He then turned to Sarah Kerrigan beside him.

"The Swarm is puzzled." Kerrigan pressed her hat brim to her lips. "They don't understand why we discovered this raid. They'll find out why. They'll retreat into the shadows and wait again, waiting for the next opportunity."

"It sounds like you'd better be more careful lately, Augustus," Raynor said. "The bugs have read our minds; they know you are the soul of the Revolutionary Army."

"The leader of the Cerebrate Yack Jormungand," Augustus repeated the name. "If we kill it, its swarm will surely fall into chaos."

"I've heard an old saying, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,'" Raynor said. "But how do you kill it? It might not even be on Mar- Sara."

"There will be a way." Augustus looked at a wounded Firebat being pulled out of Power Armor. He knew that each Zerg hive had a Cerebrate as its leader, and the Cerebrate was actually the brain of tens of millions or even billions of Zerg. Once the Cerebrate died, its hive forces would go berserk.

However, the Cerebrate are actually immortal, because the Overmind of the Swarm can resurrect the dead Cerebrate. Only the Nerazim, another branch of the Protoss, can kill the Cerebrate forever, sealing off their chance of resurrection.

Augustus spoke, he walked toward the wounded man being carried onto a stretcher and noticed that the man's entire chest had been torn open by a Zergling; the gruesome wound indicated that his chances of survival were slim.

The Firebat, who was in a coma, did not receive a greeting from Augustus. With his eyes closed, he was carried onto an APOD transport plane that had landed nearby.

Harnack, the soldier's direct superior, silently carried the stretcher away.

This is a soldier from the Ma Sarahiro region. He is fighting not only for the revolution and his superior's orders, but also for his homeland.

The surface of Mar- Sara is teeming with Zerg, and such sacrifices occur almost every minute. The Zerg are not the Confederacy Army; they are deadly and numerous, and only retreat voluntarily in rare circumstances.

Augustus had long since witnessed death; dying in battle had become commonplace.

"We've suffered heavy casualties against the Zerg." Raynor closed his eyes in anguish as he looked at the charred corpses being pulled from the scorching Firebat Power Armor. "We're facing the Zerg head-on, and evacuation will take time."

"We have already evacuated more than 500,000 people, but it will still take time to take the rest away. But the Zerg won't just stand there and watch; they are endless, and we can only pay with human lives," he said.

"Yes, our army only numbers a few hundred thousand," Augustus. "We need reinforcements, whether from the Confederacy or the Protoss."

"Those who believe in the Confederacy are the dumbest idiots in the world. As for the Protoss," Raynor shook his head, "We know very little about them. I've heard that the Protoss landed in Mar- Sara not long ago, and some people saw their ground troops wearing gold and silver armor."

"Is this true? I don't really believe it."

"I received reports from Londerstein, Nord, Zander, and Duke; they all discovered the Protoss ground forces," Augustus. "The Protoss ground forces appeared in the very center of the Jormungand hive, amidst countless Zerg."

"Although they haven't made any contact with our people, every time the Protoss forces appear, the Zerg around our base and refugee camps start to retreat," he said.

"It's clear that the Protoss are helping us, buying us time to evacuate the refugees."

"Such a good thing?" Tychus exclaimed in surprise.

"You mean the Protoss commander was a great philanthropist? Is that even possible? He showed no mercy when he blew up those ships in high orbit around Chau Sara and Mar Sara."

"This is truly the best news I've heard in a while," Raynor said. "That being said, why would the Protoss help us?"

"Protoss? If it's them, why don't they just blow up Mar- Sara? That would be so much easier." Tychus didn't believe it either. "In their eyes, we're probably no different from the Zerg."

"I don't know," Augustus, "But it's a good thing for us."

As Augustus said, the Protoss Expeditionary Force ground forces that landed on Mar- Sara did indeed help the Revolutionary Army and the refugees a great deal.

Meanwhile, the situation in Mar- Sara became increasingly complex, with the Jormungand Brood, the Confederacy forces, the Revolutionary Army, and the Protoss Expeditionary Force all fighting each other for different purposes.

"I hope we can meet with the commander of the Protoss Fleets. If that's not possible, I'd like to at least have a formal conversation," Augustus.

"Perhaps they can help us deal with the Confederacy?" Tychus hatched a wicked plan.

"That's unlikely," Augustus shook his head. "They won't get involved."

"Let's go to the governor's mansion in Mar- Sara." Augustus sighed, feeling a pang of sadness. Augustus always been fighting and waging wars, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it.

"I heard that the new governor of Ma Sara wants to see me."

"A new governor?" Raynor shrugged. "How many is this? I heard the Confederacy sent a new governor after we left, but he ran away when the Zerg invaded. This should be the third one."

"In just one year, Mar- Sara has already had three governors. I must say, the Confederacy's efficiency in this regard is truly unique," Tychus said sarcastically.

"I heard he's had a rough time. The Confederacy sent him to deal with the rebels and the Zerg, but shortly after he arrived in Mar- Sara, the governor's mansion was taken over by our people," Augustus. "Let's go see that unfortunate fellow. A governor-level Confederacy official surrendering to the Revolutionary Army is big news worth making a fuss about."

"I remember the new governor's name is Plerkotai, don't scare him."

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