A Battle of No Return

"Boom--Boom--"

The entire command center trembled with a dull, rumbling sound, and flashes of white light illuminated Augustus's resolute face. It wasn't thunder or lightning, but the devastating roar of the Yamato Cannon and Protoss warships bombarding the main hive area.

The war spread to the Velari Province and surrounding provinces, resulting in countless deaths. Aiur continued to burn, the flames of war growing ever more intense, like a song reaching its climax today.

"The Protoss Empire's last Fleets has joined the battle, and countless Protoss warships are warping over the Overmind's lair." Standing next to Augustus Kerrigan's white-gloved hands were operating the star chart console, projecting an image captured by sensors and the science ship's high-precision cameras onto the Holographic Projection screen in front of her.

One after another, the magnificent Protoss Fleets appeared on Aiur's stationary orbit. Their elegant alloy hulls and butterfly-wing-like curves perfectly embodied the Protoss Empire's master phase engineers' interpretation of beauty and art. They shone brightly, their golden light as radiant as the sun. Rows of neatly arranged Carrier, their carrier-based aircraft densely packed together, moved back and forth, their tails flashing with blue light like fireflies.

As dusk fell, the ground was shrouded in darkness, with only the sky shining brightly, as if that were the brightly lit city and the ground was the night sky.

Within this vast Fleets, Arbiter, once considered extremely rare, are now numerous. These magnificent and prestigious lunar-shaped ships hover above all warships and other vessels. Usually, only the noble Arbitrator class pilots Arbiter to overlook the entire battlefield. These are support vessels equipped with advanced stealth and stasis field generators, and their interiors are filled with the powerful Psionics energy of the Arbitrators.

No Protoss Executive would refuse the help of an Arbiter, which is both a powerful tool for dividing the battlefield and for placing the entire army under an invisible force field. However, Arbitrators rarely join the expeditionary force; they are responsible for leading the entire Protoss Empire and do not need to be as knowledgeable about the art of war and command as Executives.

In this Fleets, some Arbiter even acted as flagships, guiding the newly arrived Protoss Fleets to adjust their course, which meant they would be the first to bear the brunt of the Zerg attack.

"This is the last invincible Fleets of the Auriga Tribe, unleashing endless fury." A Protoss Templar Knights inlaid with blue Khaydarin Crystal appeared on the communication channel, with the orange banner of the Auriga Tribe behind him.

"Fight for Aiur!"

"Everything is for Aiur." On another synchronized channel, Aldaris's blue eyes would occasionally turn into gold, brimming with Psionics energy.

"The Council's support has come at just the right time, Arbitrators." Tassadar was a wise leader; he did not hold a grudge against the Conclave for trying to arrest him. Even if not for a greater crisis concerning the survival of the entire race, Tassadar would not be vindictive.

"With your addition, the attack on the main hive and the Overmind itself can now be put on the agenda," he said.

"We believe that, as the executive officer chosen by the council, you already had a plan for the attack," Aldaris responded.

"The council once doubted an executive who bore the honor and light of Khala, and even attempted to interfere in areas where he was not skilled. Now, we will heed your opinion."

"This is our last chance." Tassadar's words contained no pretense; he simply stated the attack plan firmly and resolutely.

"We must kill more Cerebrate to Overmind the Overmind, weakening it. At the same time, the warriors must clear a path to the Overmind itself—whether on the ground or in the sky—so that we can Overmind directly and utterly slay this abominable monster."

"Simple and direct, that's a hunter's easy trap, better than a thousand brilliant ideas." Aldaris paused for a moment, seemingly listening to the opinions of the other arbitrators.

"Do it that way, and the Conclave will pave a path to Overmind for you," Aldaris continued.

"Convey the will of the Conclave to the entire Fleets, Firstborn, this is the end of glory."

"Fight," Tassadar said finally. "Warriors, allies of humanity, we would not have come this far without the support of any one of you."

"This is the final battle; it will surely resound among the stars."

After these words, the brief conversation between the leaders was about to end. Now, everyone faced only one task—to pave a path to the location of the Overmind.

"So, what are you going to do after that?" Augustus, who had been watching Tassadar and Aldaris's conversation, asked loudly at this moment. His voice inevitably brought everyone who was about to lose contact back to their screens.

"What are you going to do, Tassadar? How can we ensure we can kill the Overmind?"

"From our numerous battles with the Overmind, we know that the monster, which is larger than a city, possesses unimaginable Psionics power—it can directly open a wormhole leading to Aiur," Augustus.

"It can revive Cerebrate, and may itself be eternally immortal."

"We once tried to kill the newly resurrected Prince Gabriel Tosh of the Blades with ordinary weapons, but he has once again risen from the dead. When facing a far more powerful Overmind, we must strike decisively and kill him at all costs."

Of those present, only Augustus understood the meaning behind Tassadar's words. Tassadar had never revealed his plans to anyone else; he was by nature sincere and honest, yet unusually, he concealed his intentions from his friends.

When facing the rest of the coalition forces, Tassadar simply repeated the plan he had just told Aldaris, never mentioning the final step.

Among the allied forces, including Fenix, Artanis, Taldarin, and Zeratul, all they knew was that they had to break through the defenses around the Overmind, defeat the Zerg guarding the lair, and then kill the Overmind.

But none of them noticed an obvious problem: how to kill the Overmind.

Tassadar was stunned. He hadn't brought it up simply because he wanted to avoid the question.

After a few seconds of silence, he replied, "Sacrifice."

Tassadar's words were brief.

"What kind of sacrifice?" Without any hesitation, Aldaris, who was listening, blurted out:

"Are our sacrifices enough?"

"I alone is enough." Tassadar simply repeated calmly, "Aldaris, I alone is enough."

"To kill the Overmind, naval cannons are far from enough. Even if we destroy all of Aiur, the Overmind might be the only surviving being." Augustus continued, "Since Zeratul said that when he first killed Cerebrate Cerebrate, he felt the Overmind bleed and be injured as if it were a mortal body rather than a body of steel, then that proves..."

"The Void energy of the Dark Templar can injure or even kill the Overmind, but Zeratul's power is far inferior to the Overmind's. To kill the Overmind, one would need hundreds, even more, of Zeratul's."

Before coming to Aiur, Augustus discussed this issue with Zeratul and Tassadar many times, and their answers were surprisingly consistent: to kill the Overmind using the Void Psionics wielded by the Dark Templar, just as they had killed the Cerebrate.

But this is almost impossible. Although the Cerebrate ' Psionics is already very powerful, compared to the Overmind, the gap is greater than that between stars and the moon. Even the most outstanding Dark Templar Masters, when wielding Psionic Blade to stab the Overmind, might only manage a superficial scratch.

At first, Tassadar and Zeratul were both in a state of dejection and melancholy, while Augustus believed that: miracles happen with great force.

The conclusion is obvious: if one Dark Templar cannot kill the Overmind, then gather more.

In the original story, Zeratul, as a wandering Dark Prelate who did not concern himself with the affairs of his tribe, was accompanied by only a hundred Dark Templar. But after Augustus went with them to Shakuras to seek help, things changed completely.

The Dark Templar number in the hundreds of thousands, each a powerful and deadly master of shadow who once traversed the Shadow Walk. When these Dark Templar unleash the storm that swept across Aiur a thousand years ago, just as their ancestors did, the Psionic Storm brimming with void energy will destroy everything in its path.

However, an obvious problem is that this would require a very, very large number of Dark Templar to sacrifice. This number could be extremely large, and for the Shakuras Protoss, whose population is already far smaller than that of the Aiur Protoss, it would be an absolutely devastating blow.

Of the Dark Templar who came to Aiur, not all warriors were willing to die for their homeworld, a place they had only heard of since birth. Even if the Dark Templar were willing to do so, Zeratul, who led these warriors out of Shakuras, would become a sinner against his race.

The Dark Templar left Shakuras on the orders of the matriarch. They trusted Zeratul and were therefore willing to obey his commands. Very few warriors returned home. The spirits of Nerazim will return to the Void, and the surviving Dark Templar can only hear the voices of their kin once more in the whispers of the Void.

At that time, Tassadar strongly opposed the idea, believing that the Dark Templar were helping the Aiur Protoss should not be forced to make such a great sacrifice. Tassadar was a great warrior, and his greatness lay in his willingness to sacrifice himself for others and for his race.

"That requires unparalleled power, a power that doesn't come from the might of a star, but from the boundless energy of the void and the power of the Khala." Tassadar's sky-blue eyes seemed to be looking directly at Augustus behind him through the distance between the screens, as if blaming him for his unexpected interference.

At this point, even if Tassadar was unwilling to reveal his plans, he had to give an explanation to his allies and the Conclave.

Tassadar asked, "Aldaris, do you still remember the Twilight Ascension of Adun?"

"That was the first feat we called the ascension of the soul, a magnificent and moving story that is still told today," Aldaris said immediately.

"Adun, the first Twilight Apostle — Anaksun, once merged the power of the Void and the Khala to save the Protoss, achieving a sublimation of his soul in the terrifying power that erupted from it," Tassadar said.

"And I will follow his example. The power of Twilight Ascension is greater than the combined power of the Void and the Khala."

"I can't understand it. Apart from Adun, no one can simultaneously wield the power of the Void and the power of the Khala." As the Arbitrator, Aldaris clearly knew more.

"I can," Tassadar simply said. "I will pilot the Star Shuttle alone toward the Overmind, inject enough Void energy into the warship to merge with the Khala Psionics within, detonate the entire warship, and perish together with the Overmind."

"Do you know what that will bring? You're..." The flames in Aldaris's eyes flickered, forming an expression similar to a human frown.

Aldaris had vehemently questioned Tassadar and expressed disdain for his betrayal, but that did not mean he harbored any prejudice against Tassadar.

"No— Tassadar." Zeratul's image appeared from the other side of the screen. "There must be a better solution."

"Augustus mentioned your thoughts to me, and for the first time you've kept them from us. You're determined to sacrifice yourself and perish with the Overmind, but without your leadership, where will the Templar Knights go?"

"And who will protect the people of the Protoss Empire?"

Zeratul's appearance was sudden, as if he had been listening to their conversation all along.

"Zeratul, the Dark Templar!" Aldaris's feelings toward Zeratul were complicated. Even though he knew that the Dark Templar's power was crucial, his loathing for them still lingered.

After all, from birth, the Protoss of the Protoss Empire are taught that the Dark Templar are corrupt and evil, and that they will destroy the Khala and the Protoss Empire.

Tassadar was astonished that Augustus knew his thoughts; it was unbelievable, as he had never mentioned it to him. Tassadar could only guess that his own words and actions had revealed this, since he was not good at hiding his thoughts.

Based on his understanding of Augustus, Tassadar believed that it must have been this human leader's eagle-like sharp mind, meticulous observation, and keen intellect that uncovered the clues and ultimately pieced together the truth, thus allowing him to deduce his true thoughts.

"And Artanis," Tassadar mentioned a name, and the owner of that name immediately cried out in alarm and disbelief.

"No matter what I do, I can never lead our people like you." Artanis was shocked by his spiritual mentor's words.

"I believe you can, Artanis," Tassadar said. "If you don't know what to do, listen to Zeratul and Fenix, and the wisdom of Augustus Mengsk will also help you."

"--For Aiur, for the Protoss Empire, for the continuation of our people, the Templar Knights will fight to the death so that more Khalai can live. Someone must make a sacrifice; forgive my selfishness."

"That can only be me."

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