Sons of Aiur

The Protoss fighters arrived silently, their engines barely audible, as soft as a cat's breathing during a nap. Their communication methods were clearly different from humans, making them impossible to intercept.

The nimble, golden-blue butterfly-shaped and angular Protoss fighters sped past the Jormungand Brood that were howling at the sky, and rained down a deathly storm of scorching beams of light guided by focusing lenses.

Behind the beautiful butterfly-shaped wings, flames spread out, and thousands of Zergling and Hydralisk were instantly burned to ashes.

The nimble fighter plane that flew over Augustus's head possessed an ingenious design and a magnificent, harmonious beauty; it was as light as an ice-blue butterfly taking flight and as sharp as a shot arrow.

The blue plasma beams scorched the ground, and the Zerg ' Creep, resembling paste in a hot pan, and their organic structures began to curl and collapse.

The wood used by humans to assemble benches in Central Park was carbonized under the burning of plasma beams, and the stone slabs and steel on the ground were struck by the Protoss beams in a dazzling flash, scattering into molecular states in the air. The rippled super waves could be clearly seen from a mile away.

Augustus saw a large swarm of Mutalisk and Scourge flying towards the Protoss machine group like a black cloud, and then the Zerg on the ground temporarily retreated.

"Wow--look at these spaceships, they're fucking gorgeous. Can Swann build them?" Tychus looked up, his fierce face now showing a blank expression.

The last time Tychus witnessed the Revolutionary Army's engineering corps building Bunker in a sea of insects, and watched Swann hand-weld a high-energy gas-collecting drone, Tychus believed that engineers were omnipotent.

"I really don't know." Augustus shook his head and waved to recall Faraday and Sarah Kerrigan.

Augustus ordered all units to retreat in an orderly manner to the central platform of the Mar- Sara High Airport via the public channel. Under his command, the remaining Revolutionary Army soldiers began to abandon all heavy weapons and supply crates, taking only the mostly mangled remains of their comrades.

He knelt on one knee and picked up a blue soldier's identification badge made of synthetic resin from the ground, which was covered with red blood and purplish-black carapace. The badge was on a layer of human and Zerg limb remains, the blood of the owners of these remains already cold.

The plaque was covered in blood and bore the soldier's number, name, place of origin, and the date he joined the Revolutionary Army.

The owner of this plaque was once agile and deeply loved his homeland, but now he is a mangled corpse. The young warrior was torn apart like a can of food by a ferocious Jormungand Hydralisk, and his body has been dismembered into many pieces, making it extremely difficult to put it back together.

"A Korhal, Sterling. His father is an heir to a viscount from an old era, and his mother is a noblewoman from the core world of Valhalla." Kerrigan slung her gun over her shoulder and walked toward Augustus. She had just picked up a red Revolutionary Army flag from the other side, which was now stained with acid and had large black spots showing as if it had been scorched by flames.

"You remember him because he was one of the men and women taking a swordsmanship class on the lawn of the Korhal Sterling Academy College when you were driving past it on the day you joined the Federal Marine Corps," she said.

"Let's go, or are you waiting for the bugs to eat you up?" Tychus had already turned his gaze away from the glittering Protoss ship.

Tychus urged Augustus to pick up a broken helmet from the ground, "You can't take everyone with you. In this rotten place, many have been eaten by insects. Go back to the Hyperion, have a shot of Knak brandy or get drunk, and everything will be alright."

Augustus silently put away the soldier's nameplate and watched several Revolutionary Army soldiers walk past him.

"Let's escape this sad place first, and then mourn those who weren't as lucky as us," he said.

"Augustus, the ship to take us back to the Fleets has arrived," Kerrigan reported to Augustus.

"They've finally arrived, otherwise the air force would have been collecting our corpses." Augustus breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's right, I've said it before: the Air Force is responsible for flying, the Marines are responsible for dying," Tychus said. "Damn it."

"Stop complaining, Tychus. I gave you a chance to pilot a warship, but you couldn't stand the loneliness and even drove drunk," Augustus. "In the end, you begged me to transfer you back to the Marines."

"Later I realized that the feeling of being grounded is what makes me feel most at ease," Tychus said. "A real man should be able to conquer cities in armored vehicles as tough as mountains."

"There will be opportunities, Tychus. Let us turn our attention to the distant future." With that, Augustus took one last look at the battlefield strewn with corpses before running with a group of medics carrying stretchers toward the launch port.

The Protoss forces attracted almost all the attention of the Jormungand Brood; these two races, which had suddenly entered the human world's view, seemed to be natural enemies, irreconcilable foes.

The surviving soldiers of the Revolutionary Army's Guard Division, led by officers of all ranks, retreated in an orderly manner along several runways toward the airport, maintaining order even under such circumstances.

After a day and night of fierce fighting against the main attacking Zerg hive, the Jormungand Zerg, less than a thousand of the original four thousand soldiers were left. The officers of the Revolutionary Army were extremely brave, with more than half of them killed in action. There were even cases where a battalion could only be commanded by a single lieutenant.

Since Augustus's Guard Division only receives a small number of new recruits from Korhal each year, the actual strength of the division will only decrease, and the officers and even soldiers who are still alive will be promoted at an extremely fast pace.

Currently, only battle-hardened non-socialized armies can withstand the onslaught of the Swarm on the battlefield without collapsing, and Augustus's Guard Division is the elite of the elite.

In this force, which is mainly composed of Korhal veterans, anyone who shows cowardice in combat or is shown to have any doubts about the meaning of the revolution or the ideology of Augustus will be dismissed. The Guard Division only accepts true warriors, and they almost never accept recruits from other planets except for those of Korhal descent.

During the retreat, Augustus directed the retreating troops while observing the distant battlefield.

The golden-blue Protoss fighters were swarming the Jormungand Zerg the sky and on the ground. They were light and elegant, and even the smallest ships shimmered with the icy blue glow of plasma shields. The Protoss fighters circled and maneuvered at speeds and turns that were absolutely impossible for human fighters, hunting down the frenzied Zerg with cold ruthlessness.

If they were facing a human colonial resistance force, the latter would obviously crumble at the first touch. But the Jormungand Brood attacks without regard for casualties or losses, and they will eventually overwhelm this Protoss army.

Every now and then, butterfly-shaped Protoss fighters would be transformed into streaks of golden-blue light by the attacks of the Mutalisk, Scourge, and Flying Crabs. The astonishing shockwaves and radiation generated when these fighters exploded would instantly destroy even more Zerg.

After Augustus confirmed that the last platoon had entered the high platform where the launch port was located, Jim Raynor, who had been out of contact for a long time, was able to re-establish contact with him.

"Augustus, these Protoss will hold off the Jormungand Brood for us for a while." Raynor's voice came through Augustus's communicator headset intermittently. He was currently on a Revolutionary Army warship engaged in combat with the Mutalisk.

"You're truly one of my lucky charms, Jimmy. Those Protoss don't need our rescue, so how did you manage to get to know Protoss?" Augustus stood at the entrance of the launch port, watching the last Guard Division soldier walk in, followed by Tychus, Kerrigan, and the others.

"Slow down, Jack! I almost threw up the military rations I ate yesterday. Those Mutalisk can't catch us!" Suddenly, a series of bumps and explosions came from the other end.

"It's Matt Horner, Matt Horner Matt Horner, sir." A very soft voice came from inside; it was Matt Horner Matt Horner, whom Augustus had brought back from the Tyrador IX.

Matt Horner Matt Horner has been piloting small speedboats for the Revolutionary Army for the past few months. Even as a new recruit, Matt Horner's skills in piloting the spaceship are already superb. This is not his first time encountering such light vehicles from the Terran Confederacy, which can be seen in many fields.

"Sorry Matt Horner, I won't make that mistake again. Slow down, Matt Horner, no rush." Raynor added, "Actually, the situation was a bit complicated."

"At that time, my ship was 1,600 feet (about 500 meters) in the air, at least several thousand yards away from the Protoss trapped on the street, and the Protoss commander's voice on the ground appeared directly in my mind."

At this moment, Raynor was tightly strapped to the seat of the combat ship, which was being tossed around in the air, and had nothing to do but pray that the plane wouldn't crash.

"It wasn't that they hacked into our communication devices; it appeared directly in my mind. It was like a thunderbolt; at first, I thought we'd been struck."

As the "Psionics language" Augustus walked into the launch port, he glanced at Kerrigan beside him; at least, Kerrigan couldn't do that now.

"Yes. Since John came along, I've learned more about this. According to him, he's a High Templar of the Protoss Empire, the Sons of Aiur, and an Apostle of the Khala. It's a bunch of titles I don't understand, but strangely enough, I can understand their meaning. Templar Knights are warriors among the Protoss."

Raynor's speedboat was flying among at least a hundred Mutalisk, and at times had to use its speed to dodge incoming acid. If the pilot made a single mistake, everyone on board would be killed instantly.

"Then he said there were thousands of Hydralisk ahead of us and we had to get out of there immediately," Raynor said.

"The answer is obvious. I'm going to save them. Of course I'm not going to run away." Raynor's voice was filled with static as Augustus boarded a shuttle.

"Then I led my men to parachute over them, and when we landed, we crushed a whole bunch of Zergling, killed Hydralisk with a single shot, and blew up an Overlord with a single pistol bullet," Raynor said.

"My men fought alongside the Protoss, and with the support of subsequent Protoss fighters, they routed the Jormungand Brood."

"I admit there's some exaggeration involved, but the facts aren't too far off from what I'm telling the story. Even the Protoss High Templar —I bet they were important figures—were amazed by our 'courage' and 'selflessness'," he said.

"Before that, the Protoss always thought humans were a selfish and greedy race; they never imagined that there were brave people like me among us."

At this time, Jim Raynor was still a young man with a strong sense of justice and passion, full of energy. Most importantly, Raynor was pure; Augustus asked Raynor to save people, he genuinely went there to save them, without any ulterior motives.

This was enough to surprise the Protoss.

"I imagine that Protoss High Templar must have found it quite amusing when he learned you were there to rescue them." As Augustus spoke, the shuttle he was riding in began to slowly ascend after a shudder.

"No, you have to understand, the Protoss have absolutely no sense of humor whatsoever. They don't understand jokes at all," Raynor said. "The Protoss expressed their gratitude for our rescue and consider us respectable warriors."

"It seems you've already tried, Jimmy," Augustus said calmly.

"You should leave Ma Sara. Everyone has already left, and there's no need to stay any longer," he said.

"Mar- Sara is completely finished." Raynor sighed deeply. "I was thinking of coming back here with Elizabeth and John after I retired, just like what you and I did in Mar- Sara, as lowly Magistrate."

"Matt Horner, take us away," he said. "Before that, we should inform our Protoss comrades."

"Sir, I'm not sure if our communication equipment can reach the Protoss. Their communication methods are different from humans." Matt Horner's voice sounded distant from Raynor.

"Whether we shout it out through a megaphone or whatever, let's do it this way," Raynor yelled. "Damn it, how come these Mutalisk are everywhere?"

"Jimmy, see you at Hyperion," Augustus.

Outside the shuttle window, a hundred roaring, orange-red contrails shot into the sky. Several squadrons of A-17 Wraith were escorting the evacuating ships, but to Augustus they were just a few black dots moving further and further away.

Amidst the shuddering of the shuttle, the brightly lit Mar- Sara Airport was receding further and further from Augustus.

Because the airport has its own nuclear fusion power plant, it was able to maintain a normal power supply and keep the lights on even after the fall of Mar- Sara.

As the shuttle continued to ascend and pass through the sparse clouds, the lights gradually turned into blurry dots of light, and then went out one after another as the Zerg swarmed into the airport, like an empty office building.

Ma Sara was plunged into deep darkness.

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