Slayn's Sharp Claws

"Tal'darim?"

In an instant, Zeratul read the word from Augustus's surface thoughts, "They left Aiur long before the Nerazim. For a long time, we have known of the existence of the Tal'darim, and that they are fanatical believers who worship departed gods, but we know very little beyond that."

"The Revolutionary Army once encountered a Tal'darim expeditionary force on a jungle planet; their cruelty and barbarity left a deep impression on us," Augustus nodded and said.

"The Tal'darim wear red robes and black armor; they are cruel and bloodthirsty, quite different from the Templar Knights and Dark Templar."

"The Taldarim on Bhekar inflicted terrible losses on human settlers, and we paid a heavy price to drive them out," Raynor said. "Later we learned that it was only a small part of the vast Tal'darim expeditionary force."

"I can't believe the Taldarim have fallen so low," Zeratul said to the High Templar. "It seems the Tal'darim took the Colossus from that stasis facility."

"Zeratul, we humans call that stealing," Raynor corrected Zeratul.

"The Kel-Morian Combine forces during the Guild Wars probably shared a lot in common with the Tal'darim; they would paint captured Terran Confederacy Power Armor black and shamelessly declare it their own scientific research achievement."

"What exactly are these Taldarim doing? Don't they have their own Khalai engineers?" asked the High Templar sent by Tassadar.

"Perhaps," Augustus shrugged his dark gray eyebrows. "But what belongs to others is always better than what you have, isn't it?"

"You're right," Raynor agreed.

"Augustus, the Kel-Morian Combine Executive Office of Luria has just made four or five calls to the Marshal's Command to inquire about the Ru'an Ruins. It seems they must have discovered something through orbital satellites." Kerrigan stopped Augustus at this moment.

"Just a little commotion," Augustus immediately told Kerrigan. "Tell him I had no idea I had signed any agreement or was obligated to report everything to the local CEO in Luria."

"If I wanted to overthrow the legitimate government here, just as I did to the Terran Confederacy, my agents would have already delivered the head of the local executive officer."

"The ruling class fears us revolutionaries the most," Raynor laughed. "As the old saying goes, those with nothing to lose are not afraid of those wearing shoes."

At this point, the outer walls of the stasis facility that sealed the Colossus had been completely stripped away, and three giant machines, as tall as towers, stood silently inside, just as they had when they were placed there.

The Colossus.

It was taller than any Protoss mech humans had ever seen. Four long, thin, golden mechanical legs, like insect appendages, supported its main structure, which was covered with raindrops. The Protoss warriors beneath it and the human engineers and soldiers in the distance were nothing more than ants under its feet.

As the blue-white static light curtain slowly descends, these war machines, sealed away centuries ago due to destruction and slaughter, awaken amidst the dazzling blue arcs emitted by the mechanical sensor lenses and the Khaydarin Lattice. The destructive weapons that have slumbered here have returned once more.

Amidst the harmonious hum of the intelligent system and the built-in Psionics matrix, one of the Colossus strode across the remaining wall of the spectral chamber with its mechanical legs, nearly half its own height, as easily as an adult man stepping over an anthill.

The Colossus was so tall that it resembled a moving skyscraper, inspiring a sense of awe and fear in those who witnessed its immense size.

No one would doubt that the Colossus colossus's insect-like feet, capable of adapting to various terrains, and the sharpness of its massive, razor-sharp, stable legs, along with many other structural features of its body, were designed for killing and destruction.

Augustus couldn't help but think that this terrifying war machine would be able to easily cross human lines, its sharp walking limbs would pierce human bunkers and tear open the armor that humanity was most proud of.

The threat posed by Colossus to a predominantly infantry-based human army is absolutely not to be underestimated; its mere presence on the battlefield can instill in the enemy an indescribable terror.

"Who is controlling them?" Augustus watched as these colossal Colossus leaped gracefully and nimbly over the numerous Revolutionary Army vehicles and equipment on the ground, their dexterity almost disproportionate to their enormous size.

The three colossal machines quickly vanished in the light rising from the warp field, and Tassadar's phase engineers were warping them back into the Fleets.

"They are intelligent machines; their artificial intelligence can autonomously distinguish between friend and foe, accurately discern the commander's orders, and resolutely destroy every enemy they encounter," Zeratul said.

"Are you unable to build any more Colossus now?" Augustus asked the High Templar.

"The Conclave did not assign enough Phase Technicians to the Fleets to produce new weapons before the expeditionary force set sail," the High Templar said. "We are more accustomed to warping reinforcements or mechs directly from Aiur or other star forges, rather than forging them on-site."

"That's such a pity." Augustus help but think that if they had enough Colossus, even just sending Colossus colossi that the Protoss Empire had already forged and then sealed away to the front lines of Aiur, the Protoss might have been able to defend their homeland."

As they were talking, Tassadar approached from afar with several High Templar and his Preservers Zamara, who was dressed in a white robe. Upon seeing Augustus, Tassadar said, "I learned from the Khala that the other three Colossus have likely fallen into the hands of the Tal'darim. It's unimaginable how much slaughter and destruction those extremists, driven mad by their fanatical worship of the gods, will unleash with these terrible weapons of war."

"But they're long gone." Raynor said to Tassadar, "It'll be difficult to retrieve the lost item. Knowing the Tal'darim as I do, they will never obediently return it as is."

"But even so, we must teach these Tal'darim a lesson." Tassadar felt genuine anger that such a weapon had fallen into the hands of the Tal'darim.

"So, what leads or clues have you made, Executor?" Augustus asked Tassadar.

"The Dark Templar discovered a Tal'darim outpost while searching for other remnants of the nearby star system," Tassadar said.

"They really are nearby." Raynor's eyes lit up. "It's been a while since we've fought the Tal'darim. It's time to teach them a lesson."

"Are there any other ancient facilities here that seal away the Colossus?" Augustus more concerned with another question: even if the Revolutionary Army couldn't control the Colossus, the stronger the Protoss allies were, the safer they would be.

"No, Preservers Zamara knows the locations of all the stasis facilities. In her memory, there are only two Colossus facilities in this sector," Tassadar denied.

"Alright, count us in." Augustus glanced at Raynor, who was rubbing his hands together, knowing that he couldn't wait to get revenge on the planet Bhekar.

"The Tal'darim strongholds must be hiding many treasures they've collected from other places. Hopefully, there will be some surprises."

The Bletok System, Petra Asteroid Belt.

A belt of over a million asteroids, composed of metallic polymers, rocks, and ice, orbits a deep green gas giant. Scattered within are crystalline minerals ejected into space millions of years ago. These beautiful crystals shimmer with a cobalt blue light in the interstellar glow, like blue pearls in sand.

Asteroids moving at high speeds under the influence of a planet's powerful gravitational field are as large as two standard Earths, while others are merely tiny specks of interstellar dust.

The edge of the asteroid belt gleams with the brilliant light of the galaxy's blue stars, as if edged with a shimmering gold, a magnificent sight resembling a solar corona.

The Taldarim outpost is located on a massive rock in the center of the asteroid belt, about one-third the size of Earth. Because it is surrounded by several asteroids that block out the light from the star in the system, it is often shrouded in darkness.

A dark city shrouded in shadow exudes a suffocating atmosphere. Crimson crystals hanging above it radiate a deathly light. Arched corridors with black spikes and spires piercing the sky meander across the rocky asteroid's surface. In these imposing corridors, symbolizing a path forged through countless trials, Taldarim Supplicant slaves, clad only in tattered grey rags covering their vitals, continue to build barracks, mansions, and forges for their masters.

Occasionally, Taldarim fighters with crimson surfaces would land on black metal platforms surrounded by red curtains, from which Taldarim warriors clad in black armor and wielding spears or longswords would disembark.

In an instant, the red crystal above the massive Taldarim outpost suddenly darkened, and the Taldarim Ascendant and their slaves in the arcades immediately surged into all the defensive structures. All the particle cannons, their muzzles flashing crimson light, locked onto the sky amidst flickering refraction.

Augustus, standing aboard the flagship of the Revolutionary Army Fleets, the Hyperion, witnessed all of this through the ship's monitors, silently mourning for these pathetic thieves.

This location is extremely far from the Taldarim's homeworld, Slayn. The Tal'darim must have established an outpost here for purposes other than marking territory or expansion.

"There are many Tal'darim on this asteroid, and they appear to be orthodox Taldarim, not the fanatical Naeon expeditionary force driven from their homeworld Slayn." Augustus stared at the main screen on the Hyperion's bridge. "This seems to be more than just an ordinary outpost."

"We'll figure it out soon," Raynor said, dressed in his general's uniform.

At that moment, the bridge of the Hyperion was suddenly illuminated by the light emitted from the Protoss Fleets's main cannons. The burst of blue-white flames tore a path through the entire asteroid belt, allowing a small Fleets to pass through. Large amounts of pierced debris were either annihilated in the beams or thrown into the depths of the asteroid belt.

An assault Fleets composed of Scout, Dark Templar corvette fighters, and shuttles pierced the asteroid belt like a sharp sword amidst the flashes of the warp field, and then engaged in fierce combat with the roaring Taldarim fighters.

Although they left Aiur long after the Aeon of Strife, the Taldarim's fighters still look very similar to those of the Protoss Empire.

One after another, the magnificent and ferocious Tal'darim warships were destroyed under the combined attack of the Protoss Empire and the Dark Templar, turning into flickering flames.

Under Augustus's orders, the Hyperion followed Tassadar's flagship Star Shuttle, deep into the asteroid belt, escorted by nearly two hundred Wraith from several Revolutionary Army air wing squadrons.

Explosions erupted one after another as beams of particle cannons from the Taldarim outpost swept across the rocks in the asteroid belt, only to be silenced by the even more intense barrage from the Protoss Fleets.

By the time Augustus arrived on the asteroid where the Taldarim outpost was located aboard the Little Devil transport ship, large numbers of Protoss Templar Knights and Dark Templar had already occupied most of the asteroid and stormed the Taldarim base.

"The warriors of Taldarim are ruthless and fierce; do not let any escape." Augustus walked toward the gangway of the transport ship and gave orders to the Revolutionary Army's Guard Division and Raynor ' Raynor's Raiders Mobile Infantry.

In this battle, the assistance of Augustus's Revolutionary Army was merely icing on the cake; the Templar Knights and Dark Templar were the absolute main force.

"Yes, sir."

Under heavy Marauder, elite Revolutionary Army raiders, rocket infantry, and Goliath Mech followed the charging Templar Knights forces. Among them, the Taldarim lord, clad in dark gray heavy armor, could be vaguely seen leading his high-ranking Ascended warriors in battle against Dark Templar outnumbered him many times over.

The Taldarim warriors are known for their strength and ferocity; even when attacked from both sides, they refuse to surrender to the enemy.

During the battle, a Taldarim Colossus, entirely in deep black, appeared. It straddled the dark spires of the Taldarim complex and materialized amidst the red glow of Thermal Lance. In the scorching, all-encompassing plasma stream, the high walls vaporized, and the Protoss Templar Knights on the ground were reduced to ashes in the beams.

"Take care of that monster." Augustus noticed a figure on top of the Colossus, a high-ranking Taldarim Ascendant tightly connected to it by chains, and the massive Colossus seemed to be his high-ranking chariot.

Several ragged Taldarim Supplicant stood around this Taldarim Ascended, occasionally transforming into a torrent of red energy that flowed into the Ascended's body.

As the Taldarim Colossus inflicted further casualties on the Protoss army, a large number of Dark Templar Corsairs targeted it. Amidst the green flashes of the Void medium and the relentless bombardment of neutron weapons, the Tal'darim Ascendant piloting the Colossus was forced to retreat.

Meanwhile, one of Raynor's forces had already stormed into the Taldarim base, and the massive reports they sent back, interspersed with strange and terrifying roars, about unspeakable creatures, made Augustus's expression more serious than ever before.

Yesterday, they were laying tiles in front of the door, and it was incredibly noisy; I couldn't concentrate at all.

The good news is, it's almost finished.