Ominous Omen

The Burning Lands.

The battle at Alpha Landing Point continued until dawn, with Augustus's army and his Protoss allies repelling seventeen attacks from Tiamat, Garm, Jormungand, Leviathan, and the Gorander Brood until sunrise and sunset.

Augustus had faced the Swarm head-on several times, but none of the encounters had been as perilous as this one.

By the latter half of the night, the defenses were shattered and riddled with holes by the Swarm. Nydus Worm burst from the center of the base, and hordes of screaming monsters poured out of the collapsed openings. The roars used to intimidate the enemy were the most terrifying sounds Augustus had ever heard.

For the past few years, Augustus rarely had nightmares, and his sleep quality had been quite good. But after everything that had happened last night, he was convinced that he was in a terrible nightmare from which he would never wake up.

No one wants to have the same dream again: hordes of monsters surging up, as if countless evil spirits were trying to drag you into the abyss.

If those screaming monsters succeed, Augustus will face the fate of being disemboweled. Without the Taldarin's reinforcements, Augustus would never believe he could have survived this long.

Fortunately, Augustus once again persevered to the end and became the true victor. Although it was a Pyrrhic victory, Augustus always reminded himself that the gains and losses of a battle should be considered from the perspective of a grand strategy.

As the dawn of Char's star system broke through the earth, the golden star in Char's binary system immediately leaped out.

The morning chill had barely lingered on Char's surface before vanishing; the golden light flashed for a fleeting moment, and the near-red sunlight bathed Char's rocks in a molten iron-like hue.

When Augustus looked ahead from behind a sloping Raptor Hydralisk, Mutalisk ground was littered with red Zergling and Hydralisk. The dark mass of Overlord, Mutalisk, and Brood Guardian in the sky had dispersed, and those that remained flew high, like black kites that had been released from their grasp.

Further away were the defensive fortification walls, broken in several places. In that direction, the corpses of the Zerg were piled up like dead fish floating on the surface of water, in a viscous pool of blood. Mixed among these corpses were human bodies and the remains of some Dragoon that gleamed golden under the searchlights, like gold nuggets stuck diagonally into the body.

The Zerg ceased their attack before sunrise, and even with Protoss reinforcements still arriving through Gateway, it was only a matter of time before they overwhelmed this place. Something must have forced the Overmind to recall its race.

A massive Goliath Combat Robot knelt amidst the zombie corpses, its cockpit covered in dead Zergling, with only a section of the flagpole remaining stuck behind it. The red flag on the flagpole had long been corroded beyond recognition by acid, and only the golden eagle and wolf insignia of the Alpha Squadron could be vaguely seen.

The Goliath Combat Robot was piloted by a mechanical sergeant from the Alpha Squadron. He was one of the few soldiers in the army who had not undergone resocialization and was Confederacy soldier who had voluntarily joined the Revolutionary Army.

Augustus knew very little about the mechanical sergeant's past, and didn't even know his name until a dozen minutes ago. Sergeant Rhodes's hometown was a truly remote planet that was considered a backwater, and his town had less than two hundred people in total.

Rhodes is the only son of a sheriff in the area. Like many others in the Edge World of the Terran Confederacy, if he doesn't finish college and go to the core world to make a living, his most likely future will be to follow in his father's footsteps.

Raynor's hometown was also such a place, with the same people living there throughout its long history, doing the same work for generations.

The most important decision in this mechanic sergeant's life was to join the Confederacy Army with the recruiters, and another equally important life choice was to do something that would make him a hero and be admired by others.

When Augustus was forced to abandon the fortifications and retreat, this Alpha Squadron mechanic piloted Giant Goliath into the enemy ranks, standing between him and the pursuing Zerg.

After confirming that all the Zerg had withdrawn, Augustus retreated to his bunker and surveyed the last few soldiers around him— Raynor with bloodshot eyes, Faraday with an expressionless face, and the last two surviving members of the Marshal Guard. Next to him was an overturned transport platform unloading crane, and at his feet were piles of spent shell casings and abandoned guns.

Several members of the Marshal Guard lay in pools of blood, their sturdy new alloy steel Power Armor riddled with holes from the Hydralisk's spines. Another man had a grotesque head encased in his arm—a Hydralisk that had bitten his arm before being decapitated by Protoss's Templar Knights Psionics.

"We almost got drowned by the swarm of bugs; there were more bugs than there was sand here." Raynor was still in high spirits, just like everyone else who was still alive; he had just received his second injection of Stimpack.

Although the side effects of the Stimpack would cause Raynor excruciating headaches and severe insomnia for dozens of hours after the drug wore off, and he might even drool like an idiot, no one cares about those things when it comes to life and death.

"Augustus, several times I thought our adventure was about to end, and I would have to hand over your business back to your father and brother." He was still shaken.

In the most critical moment, Raynor and the Marshal Guard tried to get Augustus onto the transport ship, but everyone knew that space was no safer than the ground, with at least tens of millions of Mutalisk and Scourge in Char's high orbit.

"I bet you're mistaken, Jimmy." Augustus had just been injected with Stimpack, and although his subconscious was still telling him he should be extremely tired, he truly felt like he could punch a bull to death.

"I won't stop until I want to take a break."

"Stop, or the Confederacy and the bugs are about to give us a good beating," Raynor said.

At that moment, a Dragoon bearing some scars emerged from behind Augustus, followed by two Templar Knights Zealot Psionics blades. The Templar Knights nodded to Augustus, a way of showing respect to humanity.

The Protoss showed no intention of speaking with Augustus, but simply walked past them and moved forward. Some of the Zerg were not yet dead; even after suffering fatal wounds, their regenerating cells maintained a high level of vitality.

Augustus glanced at the helmets of Raynor, Corporal Faraday, and the others, noticing the blood of the Zerg and the tiny holes etched by the highly corrosive acidic blood of the dying Mutalisk: "Calculate the casualties, Sergeant Ryan. Give me the results within an hour. And it's not just numbers; I need a list."

Most of the officers on the command channel had already disconnected, leaving only electrical noise and static.

"The two largest Zerg hives, Tiamat and Jormungand, have already left, leaving only the Garm hive in Sath and a few other hives." Raynor was at the orbital satellite base station in the command center of the liaison base.

All the Revolutionary Army satellites in Char's orbit have been destroyed by the Zerg, but the last satellite was still operational half an hour ago.

"What do you think those two hive clans were doing?" Raynor asked Augustus.

"Could it be that there's another Protoss landing force on Char? Or perhaps Zeratul's Dark Templar have made the Overmind of the Swarm feel threatened? Zeratul said the Zerg wanted revenge? Revenge on whom? I bet the Overmind still doesn't know the location of the Dark Templar."

"It's hard to say, Jimmy," Augustus moment's thought.

"Tassadar's Protoss Expeditionary Force fought their way into Char, and then Zeratul's Dark Templar killed three more Cerebrate in succession."

"If the Swarm Overmind wants to deliver a swift and fatal blow to the Protoss, then striking at their weakest point and tearing their throats is what a predator would prefer to do." He thought his speculation was still too conservative.

To be precise, Augustus speculating on what the Overmind might do, but rather deducing from established historical events.

"I suspect the Swarm are planning a powerful counterattack against the Protoss Empire, likely targeting several Protoss planets."

"The most frustrating thing for the Protoss planets is that all the planets ravaged by the Zerg are now inhabited by humans." Raynor followed Augustus's train of thought, speculating on the Overmind's intentions. "We don't even know if the Protoss have any colonies at all."

"Hmm, I only remember Zeratul mentioning a planet called Aiur, which seems to be the Protoss's homeworld. It must be very far from here. Even if the Zerg know where it is, we don't know how long it would take them to fly there," he said.

"That's not like our raid on Tarsonis, back then we were well-prepared."

"The Overmind doesn't do things without a reason." After saying that, Augustus followed several Protoss Templar Knights were walking towards him out of the cover and onto the ground piled with corpses.

Among the Zerg lying nearby, Augustus's Power Armor legs were stained even redder. He would occasionally pull out his electromagnetic pistol to finish off the Zerg that were still clinging to life.

Only now could Augustus catch a glimpse of the base's current state in the daylight. The sturdy defensive walls were reduced to ruins, 90% of the buildings had been razed to the ground, and only the Protoss's magnificent, artistic Gateway remained standing.

Augustus tried to remove the Zergling insect corpses from the Goliath Combat Robot, but he hesitated when he realized that the pilot inside had already been torn to shreds.

Not long after, bad news came from the Revolutionary Army Fleets in high orbit around Char.

"The Protoss Expeditionary Force Fleets ultimately failed to defeat the Zerg in the Char system... Their numbers have reached a billion. Protoss Executive Tassadar's Fleets was forced to retreat to the outermost planets of the Char system, and we also had to evacuate from Char's high orbit." Captain Komoran connected with Augustus's communication channel.

"We are still trying to send fighter jets and transport ships to Char, but with little success," he said.

"You'd better do what you should, Captain. We'll figure something out." Augustus immediately accepted the reality, knowing that complaining was pointless. "Where are Duke and Tychus's troops?"

The captain replied, "General Duke and Tychus's forces are nearby, but I'm afraid they won't be able to break through the Zerg's encirclement to provide support."

"I understand," Augustus nodded.

"Jimmy, I'm afraid we'll have to stay on the Char for a while longer," Augustus said to Raynor behind him after issuing a series of orders to Captain Komoran.

"What? This is the worst news I've heard since I arrived in Char. The bugs that stormed the base last night almost destroyed all our supplies." Raynor realized what was happening.

"Staying in Char, a place teeming with Zerg, is hardly a pleasant experience. What about Tychus and the others?"

"At least the Taldarin army is still with us. I'm trying to contact Tychus and Duke." Augustus finally got through to Tychus's communication channel, which meant they were quite close to him, given the lack of communication base stations in the vicinity.

"You're alive, Mengsk." Tychus's voice sounded somewhat excited, but that emotion was quickly concealed beneath his deep, magnetic voice. "I was about to return to the Hyperion, but I rushed here as soon as I heard you were surrounded. But there are just too many insects out there."

"Later I got in touch with Duke's people, and they suffered heavy losses on their way here. But Duke did manage to capture a few Nova Squadron scouts and alien scientists—don't ask me why there would be scientists in this war-torn hellhole," he said in a muffled voice.

"In short, it's a complete mess."

"Good brother, Tychus. Remember to tell Duke to spare the lives of those prisoners." Augustus had to admit that Tychus had earned his trust through his actions.

"I'm almost there. The bugs outside are retreating. Who knows what those bugs are thinking? Hey, if you have any spare manpower to help us, please lend a hand as soon as possible."

"This was truly thrilling; even the most exciting shooting Game in the entire Milky Way Galaxy couldn't compare." Tychus was a master of warfare, but his weaknesses were just as obvious as his strengths. He became incredibly talkative on the battlefield, radiating enthusiasm from head to toe.

"Char ... this filthy little planet that's been kicked by demons is the most hellish place I've ever seen," Tychus continued loudly into Augustus's channel, which had just been switched to Raynor by the latter. "Oh, I almost forgot, we are demons."

"Take the rest of the men and meet Tychus," Augustus said to Raynor. "In Adun's name, see if the Protoss can offer us any more help."

"Stop trying to glorify yourself, Tychus, you bastard," Raynor said mercilessly over the channel before leaving with a member of the Marshal Guard.

At this moment, the communication crystal that Augustus always carried with him began to shine again.

"Come to this coordinate, my friend." Zeratul's image appeared from the light refracted by the communication crystal, his veil and robes noticeably more worn than before.

"We have observed unusual signs of spacetime fluctuations in the Overmind's main hive region, an unusual and ominous sign."

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