News from Antiga

"For your money."

Tychus paused for a moment, then emphasized.

"I thought there would be some more genuine friendship between us." Augustus showed a rare hint of a smile, but it didn't last long. He pointed back the way he came, gesturing for Tychus to get lost.

"Go to Eldritch's armory immediately and collect your equipment. Remember, don't mess with the engineering corps; next time, no one will be able to pull you out from under Swann's engineering vehicle."

"I'll definitely win next time." Tychus muttered under his breath as he led his men away. His feud with Swann had a long history; they had disliked each other since their time in Meinhoff.

"He's such a troublemaker." Augustus shook his head, turned and walked toward the main entrance of the command center at Eldritch Base. He walked through the heavy airlock and up a ramp covered with non-slip carpet into the bustling command room, where guards and staff saluted him.

"Welcome back, Commander. There are twelve latest intelligence reports and Protoss messages. Antiga Prime Horace Warfield, who is stationed on Antiga Prime, has sent you a report on the recent situation in the Koprulu Sector." The Adjutant's voice came as Augustus walked to the main console.

"Open it on the main screen." Sarah Kerrigan, dressed in a bright white, form-fitting Ghost combat suit, strode around the command room with her horse-like long legs, scrutinizing all the Revolutionary Army officers present, her flowing red curls resembling waves and swirling crimson clouds.

Reports from frontline troops appeared on the Holographic Projection screen above the main control console with folded borders. The most recent one was a report from Jack Haller, commander of Nova Squadron, who reported that his Resocialized Soldier brigade of nearly 5,000 men was engaged in battle with the main force of the Jormungand Brood in the Sava Forest in central Sain Province.

Duke's Alpha Squadron was ordered to join forces with Protoss High Overlord Fenix's troops to besiege the central city of Sain Province, while Londerstein's two Revolutionary Army divisions were locked in fierce fighting in the western part of the province.

Meanwhile, the forces of former Confederacy - Sara Pulaier, nicknamed "The Governor," have penetrated deep into the eastern part of the Sain Province. They are the farthest-reaching force among all the Revolutionary Army units, and the only one whose achievements can be compared with those of the Protoss.

Pulaier's troops are all tough guys from the Sara System. Their fierce military style is forged by the harsh natural environment of their homeland and comes from their hatred for the Zerg and Protoss.

Augustus had already received these reports on his way to the command center. Meanwhile, more soldiers entered the Sain Province under his orders, and Revolutionary Army soldiers and fully loaded vehicles could be seen marching along the roads on the northern border of Antioch.

The location information and direction of advance of each unit displayed on the battle map in front of them can more intuitively reflect the route of the Revolutionary Army's large-scale troop movements. On the land full of Zerg nests and primeval rainforests, every step forward is accompanied by bombardment from the Revolutionary Army heavy artillery and Protoss orbital cannons.

The Sain Province was already ravaged by numerous wars between the Protoss and the Zerg, and now it has been completely reduced to a scorched wasteland, comparable to Mar- Sara after being bombed. Every siege and capture means sacrifice and stark casualty figures.

Augustus turned to a page with rough statistics on casualties, then closed it with a heavy heart. No war is without death, and no transfer of power in the Confederacy has ever been achieved through peaceful evolution, but on this brutal battlefield, far more Revolutionary Army soldiers died for reason and the belief in protecting humanity.

Revolutionary Army soldiers are dying in Aiur, in a land they had never heard of just a few months ago. In this battle, many bodies were either not recovered or devoured by ravenous Zerg.

Even so, no one believes that the sacrifices of the Battle of Aiur were meaningless. Just as the Umojan Republic strongly supported Korhal's rebellion, once the Protoss were completely defeated, humanity, having lost its allies, would have no choice but to face the wrath of the Swarm.

Those young soldiers who took up arms out of sheer enthusiasm could not comprehend the profound significance of the Battle of Aiur, as described by the officers and commissars. They believed they were engaged in an absolutely righteous cause simply because Augustus had raised his voice.

This is also why Augustus Mengsk was classified by the Terran Confederacy as an agitator and a conspirator. The Confederacy's elite also claimed that he used some kind of psychotropic drug to enslave his rebel fighters, because they believed that the soldiers could only maintain their fighting spirit by taking drugs.

"The battle in the Sain Province will end with the arrival of the next twilight, and if the Overmind does not summon the Tiamat Brood guarding its hive, then the final victor will surely be us," Augustus declared emphatically.

Although the fighting in the Sain Province was more brutal than expected, with two full-strength divisions of the Revolutionary Army already severely damaged by the Swarm's attacks and ambushes and forced to retreat to Antioch, they continued to win victories.

The Protoss were the main force in this battle. They deployed automated intelligent machines, including Colossus, and more than a dozen massive Zealot legions in the Sain Province. Most of the Protoss warriors, from the Templar Knights class of the Protoss Empire, launched a desperate counterattack under Tassadar's leadership, which they called the War of Redemption.

With the participation of numerous ancient war weapons, the Colossus, the Protoss army was able to regain control of the Zerg on the main battlefield after suffering heavy losses. The Colossus's heat ray guns, deployed into the battlefield, were incredibly powerful, capable of severely damaging the Zerg's dense formations; fire has always been the most effective weapon against them.

Meanwhile, the Protoss Empire's Mothership opened a short-lived black hole at the edge of the Aiur System, swallowing millions of Leviathan Sky Swarm, allowing the remnants of the Protoss Empire's invincible Fleets to regroup under the Mothership's radiance.

"It can only be us, Augustus." Kerrigan could sense the turbulent emotions beneath Augustus' calm exterior.

"Hopefully, Warfield has brought good news." Augustus opened the report Warfield had sent from the Antiga Prime system. Considering the difficulty of transmitting information beyond the Koprulu Sector, this message may have come from a month or even longer ago.

This is a message consisting mainly of text, from Warfield's command center.

"Hmph, the Terran Confederacy is still haunting us." Kerrigan glanced at it and said.

Warfield's report did not mention a large-scale war; in the Antiga system, surrounded by powerful enemies, the Terran Confederacy and the Zerg remained the Revolutionary Army's main adversaries. The latest report indicated that the Tal'darim had also appeared in the Koprulu Sector, but only as scattered reconnaissance units or small raiding ships.

"It seems the Confederacy has finally managed to hold onto the core world. A few months ago, they almost couldn't." Augustus noticed that the report mentioned Confederacy ships appearing near the Antiga system. They were clearly terrified that Antiga Prime had not only survived the Zerg and Protoss but was also thriving.

Antiga Prime at the heart of the Zerg invasion, is not merely a refugee camp for those from peripheral star systems; it is rapidly transforming into the center of the worlds under the Revolutionary Army rule. Its population has reached over 42 million due to the continuous influx of refugees, and this number continues to rise.

Large numbers of refugees displaced by the Zerg's ravages poured into the Revolutionary Army's world during the time Augustus left Antiga, not because they particularly agreed with the Revolutionary Army's ideology, but simply because it was the only place still accepting refugees.

The Confederacy had once sworn to protect its people, not only refused to send rescue ships to help the refugees evacuate, but also forbade the planets under its control to accept them. Thus, the desperate people had no choice but to set off for the Revolutionary Army planets, which the Confederacy described as evil and brutal.

As the most populous planet in the hands of the Revolutionary Army, Antiga Prime's development has delighted Augustus. Apart from its drastically different natural environment, it has become a new Korhal, a haven for refugees and a beacon for anti -Confederacy fighters.

Antiga replaced Korhal as the most mentioned planet in the Confederacy media, becoming a new symbol of revolution.

"After the Swarm Overmind invaded Aiur, the pressure on the Confederacy and other human worlds has significantly decreased." Kerrigan stretched out a hand and pulled up a star map of the Koprulu Sector on the main screen, marking the Terran Confederacy's homeworld, the Zerg- controlled areas, and the Revolutionary Army's homeworld Antiga Prime, in different colors.

Even though the Zerg offensive against the human world is gradually weakening, a large number of Zerg still inhabit planets Char. These main hive worlds divide the Confederacy's core planet from Antiga Prime, forming a natural barrier.

If the Confederacy Fleets wants to attack Antiga, it will have to cross Zerg territory. Since the Confederacy forces do not have Psi Disrupter to shield them from Zerg attacks, they will inevitably be attacked simultaneously by the Revolutionary Army and the Zerg, because the Revolutionary Army has even installed Psi Disrupter that can transmit jamming signals outwards on the bows of their warships.

It is precisely because of the great distance from the Confederacy's core world that if the Confederacy wants to send out a new strike Fleets, its multiple main worlds will inevitably be left defenseless for a long period of time.

If the Confederacy's military leaders were truly determined, they could have easily sacrificed several prosperous main planets to forcefully send Fleets to attack Antiga. However, the Confederate Congress disagreed with launching a military operation that would require abandoning the core world, which is probably because they truly care about their people.

However, those planets not only provided politicians in the Confederate Congress with a massive amount of high-value votes, but also contained countless Confederacy noble families' businesses and overseas territories. The nobles and politicians also disagreed due to internal struggles and games, arguing to the death about protecting the core world or reclaiming lost territories. Some well-known politicians even proposed surrendering to the Zerg.

Compared to the internally chaotic Confederacy, the Revolutionary Army Government was much cleaner and more efficient because it did not have a complex network of relationships or a parliament; all power was in the hands of Augustus alone.

Although Antiga was the first planet colonized by the Confederacy, it has always been quite backward. Fortunately, it is also the place with the most resistance movements, and it does not have the deeply entrenched traditions of the Confederacy's ruling class. The rule of the tycoons and nobles is extremely weak here.

It is precisely because of this that Antiga, as an open and emerging land, has ushered in the biggest transformation in nearly two centuries.

"It won't be long before Antiga becomes another climax in this revolution," Augustus his hands on the edge of the console.

"The Terrans will soon learn how happy people are under the Revolutionary Army's control. No, that's not enough; we must implement new systems on more planets."

Augustus also received more news about the planets controlled by the Revolutionary Army. The mines on Mar- Sara were rebuilt, and new mineral deposits were discovered on its sister planet, Cha- Sara.

The Revolutionary Army's rule over Altera rich in high-energy gas reserves, is now firmly established, and that planet is providing Antiga with a steady supply of oil and gas resources. While Haji is relatively far from Antiga Prime, it has a Xel'Naga Gateway connecting to the Dark Templar's homeworld of Shakuras, making it unafraid of Confederacy attack.

"When we return to Antiga, the Revolutionary Army will launch a counterattack." Augustus noticed this unpleasant news just as he was enjoying a rare moment of good spirits.

Umojan and the Ogrub's intelligence network revealed that a real terrorist organization within the Terran Confederacy was wreaking havoc on various planets under the guise of the Revolutionary Army. They were retaliating against the wealthy, attacking Confederacy officials, and claiming to be acting on orders from the Great Marshal Augustus Mengsk.

Not only that, they also committed atrocities in the name of justice and revolution, robbing and even kidnapping people—even though these rebels did not actually understand the meaning of those two words, nor did they care about the trauma people suffered because of their resistance.

A man named Criffin Dannal came into Augustus's view. His men were either losers from all walks of life or desperate outlaws. Now, Dannal's followers were assassinating Confederacy officials in Tarsonis, claiming it was the will of the Great Marshal Augustus.

But Augustus knew nothing about this person.

The Confederacy is falling apart due to the growing number of rebels, which is certainly good for the Revolutionary Army, but those rebels are not actually following Augustus's orders. Some people simply treat the revolution as a business to make money and other things.

"Keep a close eye on these rebels and try to make contact with them," Augustus. "Get rid of the most vicious among them and recruit those who are willing to help."

As Augustus issued his orders to Warfield, a communications officer reported new progress in the excavation work at Eldritch Lake.

The command center was located next to Fortress of Adun, with the tranquil Eldritch Lake visible through the wide windows of the command room. Even without the soldier saying anything more, Augustus could see an incomparably eerie green shadow rising from the lake's bottom, like a giant whale surfacing to breathe.

"Well done." Augustus looked at the lake and realized that this spaceship might be even larger than the Protoss Mothership.

"How did Swann even start the Xel'Naga ship?"