The Rise of Antiga

"Tell me more specifically, Warfield. How much has Antiga Prime changed?" He looked at Warfield as he released Kerrigan.

"Besides Abaddon, we also rescued Maltair IV, Miranar, and Adena, protecting many towns abandoned by the Confederacy garrison during the Zerg invasion." Warfield gestured for Augustus to follow him to the shipyard under construction. "We'll talk as we walk; some things you'll only understand once you see them for yourself."

When Augustus caught up with Warfield, a group of high-ranking Revolutionary Army and guards bearing the golden wolf insignia surrounded him. Wherever Augustus was the center of attention.

"On those planets, the militia's fighting strength and will to fight are actually much higher than the relatively small number of Confederacy troops," Warfield Augustus as he boarded the shuttle.

"When we arrived at Maltair IV, Miranar, and Adena, the Zerg had almost completely destroyed the weak defenses there. The Abaddon, however, had already wiped out a Swarm reconnaissance force that had invaded their homeland. Anti- Confederacy sentiment was also widespread there, so Londerstein's army received a warm welcome upon landing."

"The Abaddon? I've heard they're a notorious separatist faction, but their xenophobia is also quite severe. My father tried to rally supporters there in the past, but the response was lukewarm." Augustus walked with Warfield in the shipyard's dockyard.

"They thought they could withstand the Zerg attack and were unwilling to evacuate with us. Fortunately, during the time you and Tassadar's Fleets raided Char, the Zerg slowed their attacks on planets like Abaddon and Martel, and even withdrew from there at one point," Warfield said.

"The Zerg did not completely destroy those planets; most areas remain unaffected. I am planning to retake these planets and station troops there."

"We can't take too big a step yet. We don't have enough troops to defend too many planets right now. If the Zerg suddenly attack a planet, the troops stationed in other regions will inevitably be scattered when they come to the rescue," Augustus said, offering his different opinion.

"Right now, concentrating our forces to Antiga is the safest option. We can first establish mining stations and outposts on Adena, a planet that itself contains mineral resources, and then consider the possibility of re-establishing a planetary administrative district."

"Yes, we still need to proceed steadily and surely, we can't rush things," Warfield said after thinking for a moment.

Not counting the 40,000 soldiers of Alpha Squadron and the 90,000 soldiers of Nova Squadron, the Revolutionary Army's active-duty soldiers have now expanded from the initial 100,000 to the current 450,000, including 22 full-strength divisions of 12,000 each of the Korhal descent, two full-strength divisions of the Sara descent, a 60,000-strong army group in Deadman's Port, and three Antiga divisions, with more than 3 million soldiers in logistics departments and reserves.

Two-thirds of these soldiers were equipped with Power Armor, with over 300,000 possessing standard Power Armor. Among them, 200,000 were Ripper Power Armor orders delivered by the Kel-Morian Combine, which were then repainted from black to a deep red with gold trim and reissued to Augustus's Revolutionary Army.

The Ripper Power Armor, released in the later stages of the Guild Wars, was primarily a Kel-Morian Combine armor designed to rival the CMC-200. In an era where the CMC-300 was widely deployed in the military, it had become outdated. However, Power Armor remained a revolutionary piece of equipment that distinguished them from ordinary troops.

The remaining troops are mainly composed of CMC-200 and CMC-300 tanks, the latter primarily consisting of the Guard Division and the initial ten divisions. The more than 4,500 tanks have significantly increased the Revolutionary Army's combat effectiveness compared to the early stages of the uprising. Currently, the Revolutionary Army is also collaborating with the Umojan Protectorate to produce its own War Pigs Enhanced Armor to equip Augustus's elite guard.

This massive army is capable of rivaling the regular army of the Terran Confederacy and even launching a war against a certain prime planet, but when facing the Zerg, no matter how many personnel or weapons they have, they are clearly insufficient.

Regardless, the size of the Revolutionary Army was enough to make the Confederacy elites of Tarsonis dumbfounded. The more the Confederacy army pursued and blocked them, the more the number of the Revolutionary Army increased, and the area they controlled grew larger and larger.

Leaving aside the colonies still under construction, Agria, with its four million inhabitants, and Antiga Prime, with its twelve million-strong population, can be considered the Revolutionary Army's base in the Koprulu Sector.

This area is not in the core region. If the Terran Confederacy wants to defeat Antiga's Revolutionary Army, it must mobilize a much larger Fleets. However, that would inevitably create a huge gap in the defense of the core world, exposing Tarsonis to the terrifying Zerg.

At the unfinished assembly center ahead, hundreds of workers in orange-grey overalls and hard hats are laying decks, pipes, and cables. Their work clothes bear the multi-triangle logo of the Eneas Star Construction Group of the Umojan Republic and the white swan emblem. Red flags and slogans of the Revolutionary Army, "Fight for Freedom," stand tall on the steel frame under construction.

The vast majority of these workers were Maltese and Miranar, skilled laborers from foundries, shipbuilding plants, and steel smelting plants in their homelands.

After the Zerg invaded the workers' homes, large areas of farmland, infrastructure, and factories were severely damaged, prices soared, and people who had become refugees almost overnight suddenly lost everything.

It was Warfield's army that saved them when the Confederacy army was defeated. Food and relief supplies transported by ships from the Revolutionary Army's agricultural planets of Agria and the Umojan Republic prevented the refugees who flocked to Antiga from going hungry and cold.

Millions of refugees joined the construction of Antiga, volunteering for the cause of the Revolutionary Army. They believed that the Terran Confederacy had abandoned them, and that the Korhal Revolutionary Army was the only one protecting them and their families.

At this point, the people on the elevated structure began to descend to the platform via the engineering ladders and walked towards the workers' canteen located inside the attached ecological park. Behind them was an atmospheric stabilization device that was nearing completion. Meanwhile, another group of workers arrived by bus and took their place.

Although the workers, who were walking toward the restaurant, were still hundreds of yards away from Augustus and were exhausted after a long day of work, they stopped and removed their hats in respect when they saw Augustus's dark gray cloak in the distance before returning to their own path.

"They're only standing here because of you," Warfield said to Augustus with a chuckle.

"It shouldn't be like this. It's because you still have those warriors who have died or been wounded." Augustus shook his head, refusing to accept the honor that had been bestowed upon him. "We can continue to stand here because of the protection of the fallen. Only through all this can our families and children live a good life."

"No matter how lofty our ideals may be, my dream remains the same: that people can live happily without the oppression of oppressive governments or alien threats. Children can grow up without fear and find jobs."

"Nothing can be worse than the current Terran Confederacy. You can definitely do a great job. Your father and brother believe in you, which is why they trust you so completely," Warfield said.

As they were speaking, a small, rather dilapidated, grayish-brown transport ship, billowing smoke, stumbled through the shipyard's dock entrance and entered the mooring area, followed and escorted by two Wraith with the Revolutionary Army insignia on their wings.

"Every day, people from other colonies flee to Antiga. Some are families who have fled in haste upon hearing the news of the impending Zerg invasion. They pool their money or find other ways to find spaceships that can traverse the star system," Warfield said, pointing to the transport ship docked in the lower berth in the distance.

"Antiga was originally one of the first planets invaded by the Zerg, but now it's actually the safest. After we rescued many settlements, more people learned that Antiga not only didn't fall, but actually drove out the Zerg."

"We are the light of humanity, General," Harnack Hank said casually.

"The people who came here also made a great decision, after all, we are the ruthless rebels that the Terran Confederacy speaks of," Warfield said.

"Refugees' civilian ships can't fly very far without refueling, so Antiga is their only option," he continued. "It's the only known planet with a large military presence and that's relatively safe. Many people found their way here by accident, intending to use Antiga as a transit point."

"Let's go take a look." Augustus glanced at the civilian transport ship, which looked to be on the verge of falling apart, and noticed that the spaceship's pilot was operating the thrusters to steer.

"Among these refugees, there are likely people carrying the Zerg virus, or agents infiltrated by the Terran Confederacy, pirates, or some other organization. We must be careful; we suffered greatly at the beginning." Londerstein finally spoke up. After almost all his family members perished in the Korhal War of Independence and the Zerg invasion, he had become even more taciturn.

"I have complete confidence in my warriors who will protect me." Augustus waved his hand, and no one dared to object anymore.

The berth Augustus located was more than a thousand feet away from the civilian berths on the lower level, requiring the use of an engineering elevator. The elevator was large enough to accommodate Augustus and his officers and guards.

It was only then that Augustus truly grasped the immense scale of the shipyard. Its walls resembled sheer cliffs, and the small spaceships flying through them looked as tiny as birds. In the distance, the platforms under construction looked like black dots, with dense black pipes extending along the sections awaiting construction.

The outer walls, which are about to be assembled, and rows of ten-inch alloy steel plates to be laid are exposed to the space environment, so the workers there must wear thick spacesuits.

The lower platform was somewhat crowded, with all sorts of transport ships and Galaxy Jumper filling the berths, stretching as far as the eye could see. Most of the transport ships were old models from the Colonial Era, dilapidated and patched up like scrap metal; they were probably the ships piloted by the colonists' grandfathers.

Several squads of Goliath Combat Robot guard the area, and Revolutionary Army soldiers, fully armed with guns and ammunition, are everywhere. There are also multiple military medical teams on standby to deal with emergencies.

The rusty hatch of the transport ship that had just landed in the harbor opened with a hissing sound as the air valves deflated, and a middle-aged couple and a blond little boy stepped out.

They were clearly frightened when they came down, their faces showing panic. They seemed at a loss when being checked and questioned by several Revolutionary Army soldiers who ran over.

"They're terrified," Kerrigan sighed beside Augustus. "There are 'rebels' everywhere, or rather, uniformed soldiers who instill fear in these people."

"The insignia on the spaceship belong to the people from the Temar IV," Warfield said.

When Augustus led dozens of high-ranking officers and soldiers toward the couple, they were clearly even more frightened.

"This is the Revolutionary Army's shipyard; you are safe now." Augustus approached the couple, the surrounding soldiers all stood at attention and saluted him.

Augustus' handsome face wore a friendly smile, which seemed to have a strange magic, immediately calming the uneasy couple. If it had been Tychus Finley, they would most likely have thought they had walked into an interstellar relay shipyard run by black market merchants and pirates.

"General, we come from Taimar." The husband in the couple was filled with courage when he saw his family.

"I heard the Zerg and Protoss were going to destroy Temal, so I fled in my cargo ship. These aliens are terrifying; they've already destroyed Cha Sara and Ma Sara, and Temal will soon be incinerated by the Protoss— "

"Has the Zerg already invaded Temar?" Augustus didn't correct the man's misconception about the Protoss.

"I don't know, sir. Some people say the Zerg have appeared in Temal, and panic spread from one town to another, then the city descended into chaos. There was a serious riot at Temal's air launch port, and I heard that the army was massacring those who stormed into the air launch port before they withdrew."

The middle-aged man, looking haggard, became more and more agitated as he spoke, as if he were fighting against evil Zerg and Confederacy soldiers slaughtering civilians.

"What else is there, sir? I don't know. I'm telling the truth. Taimar is doomed. Everyone is thinking about escaping as soon as possible, but many people don't even have a decent car, let alone a spaceship."

"Sergeant, take them to the living quarters and settle them in. In a couple of days, send them to Antiga Starport to board the spaceship that will take them to the surface," Augustus said to a Revolutionary Army officer who had just been inspecting a transport ship.

Then, Augustus walked up to the couple's son, who looked to be no more than six or seven years old, and stared into his bewildered and frightened eyes with his cold gray eyes.

"We are the Revolutionary Army, you are safe."