Torrasque Ultralisk

Augustus gazed at the Protoss High Templar who was levitating in mid-air using Psionics. The beautiful patterns and scythe-shaped lightning emblem engraved on his ancient golden armor, along with the deep blue robes and scorpion-tail-shaped insignia on his armor, indicated that he was a warrior from the Sargas tribe.

This is a branch of the ancient Aiur Protoss tribe, descendants of hunters and assassins from the Age of Strife. Their ancestors were as elegant and deadly as the spotted big cats of the Aiur rainforest.

The Templars of Sargath have always been ruthless killers, skilled in the art of slaughter. Their duty to kill and their love of freedom make them incompatible with the Protoss Empire, which adheres to the doctrines of the Khala. It is said that most of the rebellious Protoss Dark Templar Nerazim come from this tribe.

Many of the Protoss Empire Expeditionary Forces in Tassadar's Koprulu Sector came from the Sargas Horde, since ruthless killing was what the Sargas Templar were best at.

The Protoss of this tribe still retain the custom of hunters reaping the spoils of their prey, and they occasionally use the tusks of wild beasts to adorn their overly rounded, long chins, making themselves appear more threatening.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance to your search efforts."

Augustus, "The Cerebrate Sars of the Garm Brood is a cautious, suspicious, and cunning fellow; it will surely be hiding in the deepest part of the hive."

His understanding of the Zerg tunnel network comes from research findings at the Zar- Sara Confederacy Zerg Lab.

"Each underground hive is a huge underground city. The Zerg's underground tunnel network is interconnected and consists of large main hive areas, secondary hive areas, and hatching areas. The tunnel network connecting these giant underground caverns is like an intricate urban transportation network, and the tunnel network eventually leads to the deepest main hive area," he said.

"As long as we follow one of the worm tunnels, we can find the Zerg Cerebrate hiding in the main nest area."

"Simple, but it gets to the heart of the matter," the High Templar said. "Many deep-seated worm networks have evaded our Fleets's attacks. If that Cerebrate is still alive, it must be hiding in what it considers its safest place."

So far, both humans and Protoss only know that there is a Swarm mastermind within the Zerg swarm, and they have never seen the Cerebrate that are so closely guarded by the Swarm.

"Line up, advance!" Augustus gave the order to his two hundred-plus soldiers without the slightest hesitation.

Tychus Finley led the way, still smoking a cigar, his helmet fogged up with condensation.

"My Templar Knights will follow you," the High Templar Augustus. "The Zerg's underground hives still harbor many dangerous monsters."

More Templar Knights emerged from the night, their gleaming golden armor and blue robes shining like the sun in the darkness.

"You've really been a great help," Augustus chuckled.

"That's how it should be," the High Templar said, his voice sounding earnest and serious in Augustus's mind. The Protoss were always serious to the point of being rigid, behaving with considerable restraint, only unleashing their fury in battle.

At this moment, Augustus and his group were on a flat Red Plateau, surrounded by burning Zerg hives. The Creep covering the ground had been swept across by Protoss beam weapons, appearing curled and dry as if burned by flames.

Stepping down this plateau, one finds a trench carved out by the Protoss main cannon. In the beam of the searchlights on his Power Armor, Augustus could still vaguely see the charred Zerg corpses welded to the ground by the scorching plasma.

The thermal imaging system on the Augustus HUD showed very few images of the Zerg; they were either burning in the Protoss's scorching blue rays or being shredded by the Protoss Templar Knights's Psionics blades.

The landing site is mostly flat hills and sandy land. Billions of years ago, this area was the mouth of a long river. Most of the area is conducive to the Zerg using their claws and teeth to dig deep tunnels and build nests.

The region also contains large areas of exposed crystal veins and numerous high-energy gas vents. These precious minerals are equally important to the Zerg, as they can strengthen the Zerg's exoskeletons and claws, and act as catalysts to make the Swarm operate more efficiently.

From the perspective of the Garm Brood leader, this is indeed an excellent location for nesting. At the same time, the Garm Brood's Cerebrate clearly did not anticipate the arrival of the Protoss Expeditionary Force; otherwise, they would certainly be staying on the Behemoth, Swarm could escape at any time via Chrono Warp.

"So we really have to go underground to find bugs? I'd say that's far more risky than going up against Duke's Alpha Squadron in Mar- Sara," Tychus said as Augustus ran up to him from behind.

"Our tanks and Goliath Combat Robot are completely unable to maneuver in the narrow tunnels, while the insects thrive because they hatch from those filthy nests, like maggots that transform into flies from rotten grass roots," he said.

"That's why I chose to lead an elite force rather than a division, Tychus," Augustus said, glancing at Kerrigan who was running beside him.

"Sarah, can you sense anything?" he asked.

Kerrigan not only the strongest known Psionics to date, but also possibly the most unique; her special sensory abilities towards the Zerg have not been found in any other Psionics.

She could easily sense the presence of the Zerg and know their location, but Kerrigan had to be careful not to use her Psionics on any Zerg within five yards of them, or the Swarm would sense her presence.

"The Zerg have retreated underground, and the Protoss are also penetrating deep into the Zerg hive," Kerrigan replied. "It seems the Zerg are still trying to defend their nests."

"The Garm Brood didn't choose to flee, either because the Cerebrate felt it was unnecessary, or because there was something here that they had to protect," Augustus.

"We can sense a powerful Psionics creature lurking underground; it should be a Cerebrate." The High Templar walked to Augustus's side. He was floating in the air, using Psionics power to move quickly across the ground.

Approximately forty or fifty Protoss Templar Knights, each wielding a blue Psionics blade, stood beside the humans. Their Psionics blades were not hilt-type, but rather clustered, dense beams of light emitted from some kind of wrist-shaped emitter on the back of their wrists.

The Protoss warriors' armor also features sophisticated equipment; perhaps their glowing eyes can see in the dark like felines, but the Protoss Templar Knights seem to be using their glowing Psionics blades for illumination—which look like flashlights.

"Look around for any cave entrances, preferably large enough to look like a giant snake has slithered through," Augustus.

"Good, boss." Harnack Hark fired several flares using the extra launchers on his Firebat Power Armor arm, and the other soldiers followed suit.

"There." The High Templar discovered the entrance to a cave before anyone else, and that dark opening was now piled high with dead Hydralisk.

"Templar Knights, attack!" he commanded. "May Adun guide our way."

The Protoss were the first to enter the dark cave. This cave, dug by the Zerg, was clearly intended for the largest Zerg units; the towering Protoss could easily walk inside.

"Follow them," Augustus.

Augustus quickened his pace to catch up with the agile Protoss, while Kerrigan and Tychus followed closely behind.

In the beam of the Power Armor searchlights, the entrance to the cave appeared unusually smooth, covered with a layer of white sandy soil, and even the jagged rocks had been smoothed by the rough armor plates of the Hydralisk that guarded the place daily.

The cave appears to be naturally formed, and the work done by the Zerg here is merely to widen and deepen it.

"Stand back, let me scout ahead." Tychus stopped Augustus before he could lead the way into the cave, and went in first. "Don't get in my way while I'm beating up those bugs, understand?"

"Let the experts stand in front, boss." Harnack put on his helmet and tossed a lit laser lighter into the tank.

This young man, who had worked for a few weeks in the Shiloh underground mine, knew something about underground pits, such as how a lighter could send a person flying if a narrow pit was filled with toxic gas or leaked high-energy gas.

"The Zerg are cleaner than we thought." Tychus was completely oblivious to what Harnack was doing; he only noticed that the Zerg burrows were much better than he had imagined, free of slime, sticky Creep, and disgusting acid.

In fact, the cave entrance is more like a reptile nest, which is likely related to the habits of certain species of Zerg.

"Stop talking nonsense, Tychus, watch your step," Augustus shouted into the communication channel.

As they entered the dark and narrow cave, a gently sloping underground passage appeared before them. Augustus felt a sense of oppression and tension, and he quickly focused his attention on the rock walls and sand on both sides.

"Activate the oxygen generator and air recirculation system inside the armor. Do not breathe the air in here; it is likely poisonous," Augustus commanded over the channel.

Even Kerrigan wore a helmet, and her advanced combat suit, which contained many circuits, functioned similarly to Power Armor.

At first, the passage was quite wide, enough for the Revolutionary Army soldiers in Power Armor to pass through, but after walking a straight distance of more than two hundred yards, it gradually narrowed and became lower, and the slope became steeper and steeper.

The troops led by that High Templar of Sargas had long since gone far away; their nimble footsteps were already difficult to detect, and now they were even less noticeable.

With these Protoss warriors clearing the way for Augustus, they no longer needed to worry about one or two crazed Zerg suddenly appearing ahead.

After walking for a few more minutes, the underground tunnel became narrower and narrower, until it could barely accommodate two soldiers in Power Armor passing side by side.

Just as Augustus hesitated to continue, they gradually came to a fork in the road. The worm tunnel they had previously traversed split into three, each leading in a different direction.

"There's wind. These tunnels are interconnected; at least one is being used as a ventilation duct. What we need to find is the hub tunnel that leads directly to the main hive area," Kerrigan said.

"The Protoss must know the exact direction," Augustus. "They are far more sensitive to Zerg Psionics than we are, and they are perfectly capable of confirming the direction with more sophisticated equipment."

"Stop."

Augustus stopped and searched the ground for the Protoss's large footprints with huge toes.

"Come with me," Augustus.

What follows is another tense advance through the underground worm tunnels. It must be said that walking in the dark underground is not a pleasant experience. When the thrill and excitement of exploring the unknown turns into horror and death, even the most fearless adventurer in Kel-Morian will feel uneasy.

Gradually, scattered remains of Zerg and clusters of dark purple Creep began to appear on the ground. The once relatively clean pit immediately became damp, and strange, flesh-colored food tissues clung to the rock walls and the ground like fat or organs from the intestines.

Almost all the dead Zerg were killed with a single blow; both the Zergling and Hydralisk had their heads severed or their hearts pierced with a single strike. During this time, Augustus didn't even hear the screams that should have echoed through the Zergling tunnels, demonstrating the Templar Knights ' attacks were as swift as lightning and thunder.

"I take back what I just said. Bugs are just a bunch of 'unclean, bad kids,'" Tychus said.

"Oh my god, that's disgusting," Harnack screamed.

"Hank, brighten the fire!" Augustus shouted.

Upon hearing Augustus's words, Harnack excitedly lit the flamethrower on his arm and, together with the other Firebat in the group, burned the strange organisms to ashes.

The road ahead was even more difficult, littered with the corpses of Zerg and foul-smelling tumors, among which were some spider-like monsters, presumably Zerg species hatched specifically to guard their nests.

"Keep moving forward." After dealing with the tumors, Augustus waved his hand and ordered the troops behind him.

After walking for nearly ten minutes, Augustus hadn't encountered Templar Knights. Only the increasing number of Zerg revealed the kind of enemy they had met.

It wasn't until a deafening roar made humanity realize they were in an underground tunnel teeming with monstrous creatures that the roar echoed, accompanied by the tremors of the sand beneath their feet. One can only imagine the incredible size and grotesque nature of the creature that roared.

The passage abruptly ended behind a pile of Hydralisk, revealing a colossal cavern before Augustus. Its height was such that it could contain a massive Swarm hatchery, Mutalisk Spire, and countless densely packed insect mantle chambers filled with green insect eggs, some of which were even larger than tanks.

The Sargas Templar are battling a monster far larger than a normal Ultralisk. It has crimson skin and more than one pair of giant scythes. It is a walking behemoth covered in sturdy armor and spikes, and even the Protoss Templar Knights appear tiny in its presence.

"My God, what the hell is going on?" Tychus cursed.

"It didn't collapse under its own weight. How do this monster's organs work? It should be sluggish and need to eat constantly to replenish its energy," Kerrigan said.

"An elite individual among the Ultralisk," Augustus. "Without the help of the Protoss, it is enough to wipe us all out."

"The good news is that I'm certain the Cerebrate is nearby."

In the Chinese version, it's translated as Tyrannosaurus.