Hybrid

"What is that? A monster, it looks like a hybrid of Protoss and Zerg, a fantasy from some bizarre horror movie. Merciful God, it makes me sick."

The voice of Major Schwarzenegger, commander of the Revolutionary Army's Guard Division, came through the communications unit of Commander Augustus's Power Armor. He was the overall commander of this operation appointed by the Marshal's command.

Counting the number of times James Adam Schwarzenegger fought for Marshal Augustus Mengsk and his new regime, which he swore to defend at all costs, in the Battle of Korhal, the Battle of Char, and the Battle of Mar-a- Sara, this officer, who was promoted for his iron-willed military style and admirable legendary military exploits, has never exclaimed in surprise at an enemy as he does today.

Even as the Confederacy Arclite Siege Tank crushed Schwarzenegger's left arm, he refused to utter a sound that would be considered weak, despite the excruciating pain that could have knocked someone unconscious.

"It's gone! Damn it!" Major Schwarzenegger roared. "Thomas, get down, it's behind you!"

"You bastard, I'll send you to hell!"

As Augustus glanced at Kerrigan and Raynor beside him, he cut off the audio communication with Major Schwarzenegger, leaving only the emergency call communication open, "You've all seen the footage from the external cameras on the frontline soldiers' armor—this abominable monster can affect people's minds, driving everyone who has seen it in person insane and out of control."

"Even the most determined people cannot escape this spiritual influence that makes them cease to be themselves."

On the helmet HUD display of the Augustus Power Armor, a hideous, twisted monster was bathed in crimson blood mist. Its blue-purple glowing eyes stared ferociously at the human before it. Its ugly, deformed limbs were covered with waving spikes, appendages, and slender arms similar to those of the Protoss.

Its ferocious head was like Hydralisk's massive crest and layers of chitinous armor crudely placed onto the Protoss's slender skull. Its long, narrow jaws, more like those of Protoss, actually housed a gaping maw full of sharp teeth, and blood-red energy circuits extended along its terrifying head all the way to the back of its head.

This monster, a hybrid of Protoss and Zerg genes, was unusually massive. It crouched down like a beast poised to attack, and it filled the entire frame of the external camera.

Augustus merely watched the recurring image; the horrific image's hideous ugliness and bizarre horror caused him a feeling of nausea.

Fortunately, this Hybrid monster did not use human genes, nor was it a monster similar to a human; otherwise, the feeling of disgust would have been even stronger.

Those who should feel the most terrified are probably Tassadar and Zeratul.

"I sensed their presence." Kerrigan's eyes gleamed with a metallic light. "Undeniable, chilling."

"What the hell is this thing? Protoss infected by the Zerg?" Raynor Kerrigan: "But didn't the Protoss say that it's impossible for them to be infected by the Zerg Protoss?"

"We'll find out soon enough." Augustus saved the video and ordered all reserve troops to join the battle in the command channel, to eliminate the enemy inside the Taldarim outpost as quickly as possible.

However, although the appearance of this hybrid monster, Hybrid of Protoss and Zerg genes, successfully repelled the enemy's attack, it immediately triggered a rage among both Templar Knights and Dark Templar. Using Protoss genes, or even the bodies of their own kind, for genetic modification experiments was naturally considered an insult and a desecration.

The Templar Knights ' battle cry could be heard even miles away, while the Dark Templar ' blades reaped the lives of their enemies with even greater ruthlessness.

"Good heavens, the Tal'darim have stirred up a hornet's nest. These Protoss are so angry they could devour a dozen Taldarim alive—if they had mouths," Raynor said as he followed Augustus onto the armored command vehicle.

"The Tal'darim must be conducting some kind of genetic engineering experiment, mixing the Protoss's powerful Psionics abilities with the Zerg's Zerg bodies to create a monster that combines the advantages of both Zerg and Protoss." Kerrigan said, shoving Augustus into the back seat of the Armored Vehicle and smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes before getting in herself.

As the command vehicle moved, it was flanked by several Armored Vehicle of the same type, Foxtrot Armored Vehicle, Kel-Morian heavy tanks, Arclite Siege Tank, and a large number of Raynor's Raiders Vulture hovercraft. At the same time, at least two brigades and Guard Division- affiliated railgun artillery units were deployed on this giant asteroid to ensure the intensity of the strikes against the enemy.

Augustus learned that the Taldarim outpost had been completely breached, he had already arrived at the ruins ravaged by the Protoss particle cannon fire. Even though the Tal'darim fortress had been destroyed in the battle, and the high walls forged from black Protoss organic metal had long since collapsed under the bombardment, the building still stood majestically, like a sleeping black beast looking down at those who were watching it.

The towering black spires and jagged, sloping patterns are still breathtaking. The vertical obelisks radiating from the main building and the enormous circular arena, which is quite different from the style of the Aiur or Shakuras Protoss, are the main features that distinguish the Taldarim's architectural layout from other Protoss.

The interconnected corridors, solemn ramparts, and stone gates outside Taldarim Fortress were designed for war, while the enclosed and oppressive winding corridors and numerous airtight rooms were built for the intrigue and secret hiding among the Taldarim Ascended.

Augustus dismounted from the Armored Vehicle and, under the protection of his guard, walked into the interior of the Taldarim fortress. On this rocky asteroid with sub-standard gravity, it took him quite some time to adjust to the pace of walking.

The walls of the labyrinthine corridors were covered with carvings of the terrifying, twisted monster from before. It was a Hybrid monster between Protoss and Zerg, with a strong, armored body and appendages like the Zerg, and long Protoss like the Zerg.

Compared to the Protoss's rounded limbs, these monsters have angular bodies, with colorful Hydralisk crests and alien-like jaws. Their long tongues come from an unknown Zerg species.

This is a product of forbidden genetic engineering, evil and grotesque.

This appears to be some kind of totem, depicting the creation of the world by the gods and the scene of mortals chosen by the gods ascending to the heavens to be with the gods on the day of the world's destruction. However, these vague and abstract depictions were beyond Augustus's comprehension.

"The monsters up here give me a terrible headache and send chills down my spine," Kerrigan said as she escorted Augustus through the corridors into the fortress.

"What exactly are the Taldarim planning?" Raynor blurted out, "I bet there's some kind of conspiracy involved."

Upon entering the Taldarim Fortress, Augustus was immediately illuminated by the glow of blood crystals. Exquisite pillars supported the high dome, with dozens of narrow, arched windows at the top. The faint starlight cast a thin glow on the statues of Taldarim high lords and blood masters on the walls and floor.

When Augustus found Major Schwarzenegger, the latter hurriedly apologized for his lapse in discipline during the operation, but Augustus stated that he didn't need to apologize for such a trivial matter. More than twenty soldiers died in this operation, all at the hands of the Hybrid monster.

The hall was filled with corpses and the wreckage of Protoss spider-like mechs. Containers made of transparent crystal were filled with the corpses of Zerg, some of whom were barely clothed Tal'darim. Augustus noticed that the innermost containers contained Templar Knights like Tassadar, their half-open eyes gleaming with a faint blue light, and long bundles of nerves swaying like seaweed in water.

At the center was a massive Hybrid corpse, its arched back as tall as two people as it fell face-first to the ground. Beside this Hybrid were three or four much smaller corpses, only slightly larger than ordinary Protoss Templar Knights.

Tassadar and Zeratul stood before the Hybrid corpses, their Psionics surging with a deep loathing and hatred for these monsters. Augustus walked toward Tassadar and the others, his eyes fixed on the abominable statue staring down at him from the ceiling of the hall.

"The Tal'darim experimented with the genetic material of the Protoss and the Zerg, ultimately creating these horrific hybrids before us!" Zeratul's voice, reflected in Augustus's mind, trembled with extreme rage. "Who was behind such evil experiments? Was it a high-ranking Tal'darim lord?"

Augustus approached Zeratul and Tassadar and was astonished to find the furious elder trembling with shock and disgust, his dark skin covered in irregular white spots resembling human goosebumps.

"How blasphemous." A High Templar beside Tassadar, his blue eyes blazing with psionic Psionics, pointed to the Hybrid corpse on the ground and said, "I have never seen such an evil and dark creation."

"I am deeply saddened for the Protoss brethren who have been harmed as a result." Tassadar knelt on the ground and placed his hand on one of the massive Hybrid horns.

"This monster is far more powerful than either the Protoss or the Zerg." Augustus saw Tassadar's sorrowful expression and realized that this monster might have previously been a Templar Knights.

"Gods, all I see is darkness." Zeratul collapsed to the ground, stunned by this astonishing discovery.

"Have you ever captured a living Taldarim?" Augustus suddenly thought of the crippled Tal'darim they had captured in Bhekar, but that Tal'darim knew nothing about these Hybrid, and it was likely that only a few Taldarim knew about these secret experiments.

"We've captured some Tal'darim, but they refuse to reveal the secrets they know," the High Templar beside Tassadar said, looking at Augustus.

"Then we'll force them to talk," Augustus. "Only torture will work against these Tal'darim."

"Let's deal with these Tal'darim," he continued. "Colonel Haller of the Nova Squadron is a master of torture, and his Nova Agents know a hundred ways to make their enemies talk."

The advantage of incorporating the Confederacy army is that, despite the many corrupt elements within the military, there are also many capable individuals in the elite units. In addition, professional soldiers who have experienced the Zerg war are not only reliable, but can also quickly coalesce into an indestructible force on the brutal battlefield.

"It's no use, Augustus. These most revered lords of the Tal'darim are all dead. They either died at the hands of our warriors or at the bloody blades of other Taldarim lords or Ascended." Zeratul reluctantly brought up the word "servants."

"Only their servants survived—those Tal'darim who revered their rulers yet knew nothing of the truth."

At that moment, a group of blood-soaked Templar Knights brought a dying Tal'darim lord. His black armor, covered in black spikes and star-moon blades, was riddled with holes, and his crimson battle robes were stained black with deep purple blood.

Behind these Templar Knights followed a large number of Taldarim slaves, their feet bound together in chains that were clearly forged by themselves. Their exposed skin was an unhealthy pale color, and they were much thinner than the armored high-ranking Taldarim.

"Who ordered you to create these monsters here?" Tassadar strode toward the Taldarim lord who was bound in the stasis pod.

This stationary capsule, suspended in mid-air and propelled by a gravity accelerator, is shaped like an oval capsule just big enough to hold a Protoss. The energy-based shell encases the Tal'darim lord inside. Stasis and spacetime fields cause time to stand still briefly, keeping the dying Taldarim lord in a constant state of impending death.

"Who is the true master of the Taldarim?" As Tassadar asked this question, the Tal'darim lord in the stasis pod was forcibly awakened.

The only response to Tassadar was the silence and sharp sarcasm of the Taldarim lord. "Tsk tsk. Noble Templar Knights? What do you expect to get from me? Your feigned mercy is nothing but cowardice. Kill me, I will not live for your worthless pity."

"A human?" Despite the fact that this Taldarim lord had lost half of his chest—an injury that even Protoss would find difficult to endure—he still appeared quite energetic.

"You ephemeral insects, born in the morning and dying at dusk? I can crush you as easily as crushing ants, but before that, I will revel in the pleasure of slaughter. Torture is merely a test for my ascension to Godhood." The Taldarim Lord: "Ah—do it! Do it now!"

"What are the Chosen Ones?" Zeratul asked. "Are your gods the Xel'Naga?"

"You know nothing about Amon," the Taldarim lord chuckled sharply.

"What is Amon?" Tassadar seized on the word.

"He is the end of the Chain of Ascension, the beginning of everything, and the end of corruption."

"Amon, He is your end."

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