Kill a Brain Bug

"What? They really intend to do that? Antiga's government is corrupt enough. For God's sake, the Confederacy is truly insane." Kerrigan didn't need to listen to read the fluctuations in Augustus's thoughts; her jade-green eyes were surging with golden Psionics due to anger.

"My dear, after what happened with Korhal IV, the Confederacy completely lost its original bottom line." Augustus looked at Kerrigan: "For a long time, violence has Overmind all of humanity's worlds."

"General Warfield, they're practically forcing our Fleets into battle. We can't allow the Confederacy to bomb Antiga with impunity."

"The Protoss Fleets has been spotted at 50 degrees and 4 astronomical units to port. Are they trying to interfere in our 'dispute' with the Confederacy Fleets?" Warfield said.

"I'm sending you the footage; you can see it in the Power Armor's headset. I originally thought the Protoss couldn't tell us apart from the Confederacy, just like we can't tell two chicks apart without the tags on their feet."

"They start meddling when the chicks are pecking at each other in the cage? If that's the case, the Protoss shouldn't be ignoring the Guild Wars either," Augustus. "It seems the Protoss won't interfere in the internal conflicts of us 'lower races'."

A video with scrambled, snow-like text entered Augustus's headset. In the video, dozens of Confederacy battlecruisers with flashing lights were anchored on the edge of the pale yellow Antiga Prime, and a large number of Wraith were swarming out from the port of the battle armor.

For a fleeting moment, ripples appeared in the synchronous orbit of Antiga Prime, as a gold and blue fleet consisting of at least one hundred Protoss carriers and thousands of fighters suddenly appeared and approached the combined fleet composed of the Federation Delta Squadron and Nova Squadron.

This must have caused great chaos within the Confederacy Fleets, with radio communication frequencies on various communication channels increasing more than tenfold in a very short period of time.

The Confederacy had already witnessed how the Protoss Fleets's main cannons destroyed the Sara's Sisters from orbit. No matter how confident the Confederacy's naval generals were in their new armor, they wouldn't believe that steel could withstand the Protoss cannons capable of evaporating oceans and blasting planetary surfaces into crystals.

The reason the Confederacy Fleets dared to approach Antiga was mainly because they believed that since the Protoss would bomb the planet sooner or later, dropping some missiles in advance wouldn't be a problem.

Another reason is that they clearly saw the Revolutionary Army Fleets in space remain unattacked despite being so close to the Protoss Fleets. But now the Confederacy Fleets commanders have realized that people are different.

The Protoss Fleets had assumed an attack posture, but they did not launch an attack immediately. The Confederacy's brown and purple steel Fleets and the Protoss's gold and blue Fleets faced off for a full few minutes, until the Delta Squadron's flagship warped away first, and the Confederacy Fleets retreated.

The Protoss Fleets, having discerned the Confederacy Fleets's intentions, forced them to retreat.

This Confederacy Fleets has already wasted far too much time in Antiga, and the Confederate Congress of Tarsonis must be furious about their incompetence.

"If Duke from Alpha Squadron had been commanding this Fleets instead of the Nova Squadron's general, he might have already charged forward." Augustus no longer paid attention to the war in outer space orbit.

"These Confederacy bastards will pay the price for their actions and suffer the consequences of their own deeds."

Augustus immediately ordered the dispatch of Raynor Raynor's Raiders and troops under Governor Pulaier of Mar- Sara to search for any surviving insect hives, and commanded air force transport planes to land immediately to transport the wounded and dead.

Next, the Revolutionary Army's Engineer Corps on the Ansadar Plains established a communications base at the site of the destroyed Garm Brood hive. Several Revolutionary Army Marine divisions began to withdraw to Ansadar in succession, while the First Guard Division, commanded by Augustus, was responsible for covering the rear.

While ordering his troops to retreat, Augustus remained in place, keeping an eye on the Protoss ground forces. He discovered that the Protoss army was resting on top of tens of thousands of Zerg, some of Protoss were doing things like cleaning up the battlefield—cutting off valuable Zerg fangs and claws as souvenirs, which was likely related to the customs of some Protoss tribes.

The Protoss forces have always maintained a certain distance from Augustus's Revolutionary Army and have shown no intention of communicating with humanity.

"The Zerg main hive in this area has been cleared—which means the Zerg in Ansadar have been eliminated. Now we just need to deal with the remaining Zerg hives in Antiga." Kerrigan was speaking to Augustus when she suddenly noticed that he and Faraday and the others were looking up at space.

Kerrigan tilted her head, her long, fiery red hair tossing to one side. Even the wind in Antiga seemed red as sparks from the battlefield flew past the ends of her hair.

A magnificent Protoss warship emerged from the clouds above Antiga. Rather than a warship, it resembled a resplendent golden palace or a work of art composed of obtuse angles, acute angles, graceful geometric shapes, and spirals.

Its slender, streamlined golden hull moved gracefully and lightly through the sea of clouds, like a golden leaf and a golden ship cutting through the waves. Storms and lightning swirled around the warship, and countless wasp-shaped and butterfly-shaped warships circled around it.

Above Augustus and the others, several Wraith with orange flames shooting from their tails were flying toward the incomparable golden behemoth, leaving trails of condensed water vapor in the sky.

"The flagship of the Tassadar Expeditionary Force, the Starship," Kerrigan said, looking at the warship.

Based on the intelligence currently available to the Korhal Revolutionary Army, the Fleets led by Executive Officer Tassadar is merely a temporary expeditionary force assembled by the Protoss Empire to eliminate the Zerg, and the history of the expeditionary force's warships can even be traced back to more than a dozen centuries ago.

In other words, at least in the era when humans were still gazing at the stars from their fires, the Protoss may have already been able to build these super warships capable of incinerating planets.

"How beautiful!" Augustus lowered his head.

"War and aesthetics coexist. This looks more like something to be displayed in a museum. By our human timeline, these warships are antiques." Kerrigan suddenly realized that when Augustus looked at the Protoss warships, his gray eyes seemed to be sparkling with pink peach blossom stars.

None of the noble ladies of Tarsonis, including Kerrigan, enjoyed such treatment.

Of course, Augustus wasn't simply admiring the Protoss warships. If he could, he wished that human warships could also possess main cannons capable of leveling planets, sturdy plasma shields, and a massive number of incredibly powerful carrier-based interceptors.

"Even antiques can easily destroy the steel behemoths that humanity is so proud of. Those Confederacy ships in orbit around Mar- Sara that were destroyed by the Protoss Fleets due to the Zerg infection were all directly vaporized," Augustus told Kerrigan.

"If it weren't for Tassadar commanding this Fleets, we wouldn't even have had a chance to get close to Antiga."

As Augustus spoke to Kerrigan, a slender, golden Protoss shuttle emerged from the hatch beneath the Star Shuttle.

The shuttle stopped a few hundred yards from Augustus, who, as a sign of respect for the Protoss, Augustus his guards to form a welcoming procession.

He guessed that this might be an envoy or diplomat, although such a profession might not even exist in the Protoss Empire.

Augustus could not find anything like a hatch on the outer shell of the Protoss shuttle; he could only see some beautiful polygonal windows and exquisite patterns. A Protoss High Templar emerged from a recessed iris on the side of the shuttle, followed by a whole row of Protoss Templar Knights clad in gold and blue armor.

These Protoss warriors were taller than the human warriors in Power Armor. Compared to the Tal'darim warriors the Revolutionary Army had seen, the Protoss warriors of Tassadar possessed exquisite and shimmering armor, beneath which lay soft, pale white silk robes.

Protoss warriors rarely wear helmets; their chins, which are much longer than those of humans, are adorned with metal ornaments to conceal their rounded edges, and their long nerve bundles are tipped with ornate gold ornaments and crystals.

Finally, a tall Protoss dressed in a purple and white robe and armor appeared. He wore a cross-shaped belt inlaid with blue gems around his waist, and his armor was like shimmering white gold and flowing silver. A storm of Psionics lifted him up, allowing him to hover several feet in the air.

As he approached Augustus, it was as if he were riding on arcs of electricity and storms, truly resembling a god. By the time Augustus realized that it was Tassadar, the man was already within arm's reach.

"En Taro Adun, Executive Tassadar." Augustus extended his right hand, which was covered with servos and armor plates.

Tassadar hesitated for a moment, gleaning the meaning of the handshake from Augustus's superficial understanding. The Protoss executive's gleaming sea-blue eyes narrowed slightly before he extended his hand and shook hands with Augustus.

The Protoss's hands are very large, almost the size of two or three human hands. They have wrinkled, light blue skin and thick, trimmed nails at the tips of their fingers. However, the hands of the Power Armor are not small either, so they are not completely covered Augustus's hands.

"Salute to Adun, Marshal Augustus." Tassadar's voice appeared directly in Augustus's mind. "You may not know the meaning of Adun, but I tell you, my friend, he is a hero of our people, who saved us from the doom of being destroyed by the Dark Templar."

Although humans are a race with lower levels of Psionics than the Protoss and cannot control their thoughts, Tassadar could easily read Augustus's mind, but he did not do so.

Tassadar noticed Sarah Kerrigan beside Augustus, his gaze lingering on her for several seconds. Clearly, Tassadar was astonished that such a powerful Psionics existed among humans.

This has shattered Tassadar's understanding of the upper limit of human Psionics Psionics; he may believe that there are likely more than just this one human Psionics.

Beside Tassadar stood a female Protoss clad in a white robe, her light blue eyes reflecting only indifference towards humanity and an air of utter disregard for everything.

Augustus speculated that this was likely a Protoss Preservers, a role similar to a human historian. The difference was that they were living, mobile databases and libraries of knowledge.

For example, the scene of Augustus and Tassadar meeting today will be directly preserved as a memory by this Protoss Preservers, allowing the viewer to relive everything that happened today from her perspective. Usually, only those considered the greatest Executors and elders of the Conclave have Preservers by their side, to witness and record important moments in history.

Protoss Preservers are few in number, and Rohana, the Supreme Preservers of the Spear of Adun, should rightfully hold a higher position.

"You are wondering why I have come," Tassadar said.

Augustus indeed puzzled, but he didn't like the feeling of having his thoughts read.

"After extensive reconnaissance and the reconnaissance efforts of the Sargas Templar, we discovered a massive Zerg hive on the other side of Antiga. The War Advisors believe that the Zerg's Cerebrate are located there." Tassadar's understanding of the Zerg far surpasses that of humans.

"The Swarm is like the nerve endings extending from a brain, and the Cerebrate is their mastermind. If we can kill just one Cerebrate, the Swarm will collapse."

"You really did that?" Augustus knew that even if Cerebrate was killed, it could be resurrected by the Overmind. A Cerebrate whose physical body was killed could be reborn in another reconstructed body. To completely kill a Cerebrate, it was necessary to use the Void energy possessed by the Dark Templar Protoss.

However, so far, Augustus has not encountered Protoss Dark Templar, nor does he know the coordinates of their homeworld, Shakuras.

"No, we haven't encountered the Zerg any longer than you have," Tassadar said. "But there's no doubt that the Zerg are also creations of our gods, the Xel'Naga, because they also react to the Kydarin Crystal."

"We'll try killing a Cerebrate and see what happens—that way, we won't have to sacrifice our warriors' precious lives to fight against the vast horde of Zerg."

"...Perhaps that will be useful." Augustus appeared to be pondering Tassadar's words. However, he knew that the resurrection of the Cerebrate would take time, and the temporary loss of a Cerebrate could have irreversible effects on the Swarm.

Frankly speaking, Tassadar's words are beyond the scope of what is taught; nowadays, probably no one except Augustus can understand the meaning of terms like "Xel'Naga" and "Kydarin Crystal."

After all, at this point in time, a human shouldn't know so much about the Protoss or the Zerg.

"What is the Xel'Naga?" Augustus.

"They are our creators, the gods who guided the Protoss in history. Because of the Xel'Naga's teachings, we were able to quickly move from the tribal era to the interstellar era. It's just that the Xel'Naga are no longer in Aiur or anywhere we have ever been." Tassadar appeared very patient.

"I know you don't believe in God, but for my ancestors back then, those technologies that we can't fully understand today were simply miracles."

"Gods?" Augustus smiled. "I am my own god."

"Are they no longer there?"

"The Xel'Naga left long ago, and since then, our people have been mired in a long period of division and devastation," Tassadar said. "Without the great Khas, we would have continued to be divided."

"So, when will we be able to kill that Cerebrate?" Rather than saying that Augustus wasn't interested in the history of the Protoss and their gods, it would be more accurate to say that he already knew too much to want to delve deeper.

Augustus more concerned with when he could deal with the Zerg on Antiga Prime, so he would have time to consolidate his rule on that planet and help the other peripheral planets.

"Before the next solar cycle begins, after the moon sets," Tassadar said.

"Do you really think we can help you?" Augustus. "It seems you don't need our help to kill that Cerebrate."

"We are happy to fight alongside real warriors. And compared to the native inhabitants, we really don't know the terrain of this planet," Tassadar said.

"What I learned at Fortress of Adun and the Templar Knights Academy taught me that pride is of no benefit in a war," he said.

"I have already witnessed the power of humanity in you and in all of you."

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