Quick Battle, Quick Decision

"Ever since the first Protoss died at the hands of his own kind, this damned war has been like a raging bull, and it won't stop until it smashes everything to pieces."

Raynor pulled a communicator from his dark gray mountaineering vest and called for support from the Revolutionary Army Fleets in the stationary orbit of Aiur.

"Now that the civil war has broken out, my opinion remains the same as before." Augustus looked around at the blood-soaked arbitrator's bench and the long corridors that stretched in all directions, confirming that the Dark Templar had all left.

The council guards, clad in red robes and golden armor, stood silently by the few remaining arbitrators. Considering the status of the many deceased Conclave members among the council, its students, and supporters, as well as their wisdom and the secrets and knowledge they possessed about the glorious history of the Protoss Empire, this was an unimaginable loss for the Conclave.

The number of seats in the Conclave has always been a secret known to outsiders. The only thing that is known is that each member is indispensable and carries great weight. Members of the Council may have accumulated enough prestige and knowledge over centuries to rise to the ranks of leaders. They are loved for their political talents and passion for the Khala and the Empire, and are renowned for their wisdom.

Since the Battle of Aiur, the losses to the arbitrator class have been incalculable, so much so that the Conclave had to re-select new arbitrators to fill the gap in council seats.

"If we want to minimize the Protoss casualties from internal strife, we must dismantle the rule of the Conclave and the Arbitrators and force them to surrender." Augustus chose a path leading to Tassadar's location and walked across an arched bridge of light made of translucent shaping energy.

"I believe the Conclave Arbitrators who remain in the Heart of the Conclave Kor-shakal do not want to start a civil war, otherwise they would not have held a meeting for the purpose of peace." Artanis walked side by side with Augustus, and due to the height difference between the Protoss and humans, he looked like a golden Giant.

"Artanis, my friend, do you think that since the Dark Templar of Orega can come here and wreak havoc, they can certainly wreak havoc in the Conclave's headquarters?" Augustus glanced at Artanis.

"You are too upright and obedient to the rules, to the point that you rarely think about the darker side of things or what constitutes a conspiracy."

"You suspect that Kor-shakal was also attacked?" Artanis's blue-glowing eyes began to narrow.

"If that weren't the case, they wouldn't have been able to issue the order to attack while being attacked here," Augustus told him. "And the council can't be entirely composed of pacifists. I believe many arbitrators would love to use a war to wipe out the Dark Templar of Aiur."

"If necessary, they would even declare war on Shakuras. Every policy the Protoss Empire has enacted against the Dark Templar Dark Templar is based on the judgment to search for and annihilate them," he said.

Never judge others by your own standards.

"Augustus, the war has begun. Londerstein, Duke, Pulaier, and Haller are all requesting orders from the Field Marshal's headquarters," Kerrigan told Augustus.

"The Fleets was also attacked by the Conclave, but their main targets were Artanis and Yurlan's Fleets," Raynor followed.

"Hold the line and await the next order," Augustus. "We are not the key to this war; it is Zeratul and his Dark Templar. They must deal with the Conclave as they have with the Cerebrate."

"I need an elite force—drawn from the Guard Division and Ghost operative."

"How many people do you need?" Kerrigan asked.

"A standard special tactical company requires every member to be equipped with anti- Psionics EMPs and lock-on weapons," Augustus.

"The Heaven's Devils' usual tactic is that when diplomacy fails, we have no choice but to parachute in on the enemy generals and take them down. The Heaven's Devil Squad are experts at this," Raynor said. "But who knows how good Kor-shakal's anti-aircraft firepower is? If they can take down the bugs, they can take down our scrap metal too."

"Our spaceships are no match for the Umojan. They can evade the Confederacy's detection system to carry out espionage missions, while our dilapidated ships can't even hide from the eyes of an insect."

"Without an inside agent, infiltrating the Heart of the Conclave would have resulted in enormous losses. And do you really want to compete with the Protoss in terms of whose elite warriors are more valiant and skilled in battle?" Kerrigan said.

"We can bring Tychus along," Raynor shrugged.

"What are you going to do, Augustus?"

"Our advantage over the Conclave is that Tassadar, Artanis, and Fenix are military leaders who have practiced the way of war for centuries, and the Templar Knights they lead are truly brave and skilled troops, while the Conclave knows nothing about military affairs," Augustus.

"This is precisely the flaw in the Protoss Empire's caste system. Once the Khalai Caste, as scientists, artists, and engineers, and the Templar class, as Templar Knights, and the Arbitrator class, as politicians, are separated, the power of these highly specialized classes as a whole will be greatly weakened."

"On paper, the Conclave is far stronger than Tassadar's forces, and countless weapons of war are buried underground and in ruins within the heart of the Kor-shakal Province Heart of the Conclave," he said.

"But if you were to learn about the Conclave's defense strategy along the border between the provinces of Kor-shakal and Antioch Province, you would find that they are not only bad at military tactics, but they also lack even the most basic military common sense."

"I've seen the Conclave's deployment map. They've deployed troops along the border, with their main legions guarding key routes. It looks like a well-organized operation, but what if we don't launch an attack from the border at all?" Raynor chuckled. "The Conclave has always relied on their Fleets to deter the Zerg, but Fleets can't indiscriminately bombard the war zone."

"But what do you need to do with a special forces unit?"

"I want to make sure that when I'm commanding on the front lines, no Dark Templar will suddenly jump out and cut off my head," Augustus. "Now our opponents are the Protoss, which is why I've repeatedly strengthened the warriors' skills in fighting the Protoss through intensive training."

"Unless they kill us first," Raynor sighed. "Those revolutionaries are right, your life belongs to the revolution."

"I'm different; I belong to justice."

As he spoke, Augustus already arrived in front of Tassadar. A group of council guards and Templar Knights were protecting the arbitrators in the middle, and there was no tense atmosphere between the two sides.

Although Aldaris was also a rigid and stubborn arbitrator, he was relatively enlightened compared to his colleagues in the Conclave. No matter how many Cerebrate Zeratul's Dark Templar killed in Aiur, some arbitrators still believed that the Dark Templar had to die.

"Tassadar, the Conclave has declared war." As Augustus approached Tassadar, the Templar Knights around him made way for him, except for the Council Guards, who belonged to the Arbitrators.

Do you have any clues?

"I tried my best to avoid this situation, but now I feel truly exhausted," Tassadar said. "The Conclave along the Antioch - Kor-shakal line has launched a full-scale attack on us, and dozens of soldiers have been killed in a short period of time."

"The Council has deployed Colossus and Arbiter, along with large numbers of Zealot Legions and Council Guards to the front lines," he said. "And our High Templar and other forces are repelling their offensive."

As Tassadar spoke, a Holographic Projection map unfolded before everyone, showing the symbol representing the Conclave advancing into the heart of the Antioch Province.

"Judging by this, are they planning to devour us all at once? They've got guts," Raynor said, stroking his fine beard.

"Since the Conclave initiated the war, they must believe they are destined to win," Augustus.

"It seems that the Conclave believes that capturing Antioch signifies victory in the war," he said.

"In my opinion, we should hand over Antioch to them and concentrate our forces to break into the weakly defended Heart of the Conclave from the Temple of the Preservers in the west of the Kor-shakal Province. This war must be won quickly."

"Augustus Mengsk, your thoughts coincide with mine."

Tassadar agreed, "I have already done so. Executors and provincial governors willing to fight for me are regrouping through the matrix network that spans Aiur, while the Conclave seems completely oblivious to the need for such a convenient and efficient way to deploy troops."

As the highest-ranking executive in the current Protoss Empire, Tassadar commands far more executives than the Conclave. They are true military leaders who understand the essence of war, and their respective tribes are their armies.

"Their hearts must be filled with rage, and that rage has clouded their judgment," he said. "The arbitrators are trying to use the same methods they use against the Zerg against us, and they will pay the price for such a misjudgment."

"We have neither the time nor the inclination to wage a Total War against the Conclave. As expected, the civil war should be over within a few days." Augustus originally thought that Tassadar would hesitate on whether to fight the Conclave and their supporters, but this high-ranking executive was always decisive in military matters.

As Tassadar experienced more and more brutal wars, he became less likely to let emotional considerations cloud his judgment and delay his chances of victory.

"Not only that, Tassadar, I have another plan." Augustus had been planning in his mind for a month now how to defeat the Conclave using the existing forces.

Artanis, standing to the side, couldn't get a word in edgewise; he gained a deeper understanding of Augustus's merits as a leader of humanity.

"I will seriously consider it," Tassadar said.

"The Zerg of the Sain Province have an underground network of tunnels leading into the Kor-shakal Province. These interconnected underground caves are spread throughout Aiur, and their deepest parts have yet to be explored," Augustus.

"My men have found an underground tunnel leading directly to the heart of Kor-shakal. With the help of the Nydus Worm we control, we can open a tunnel that leads directly to the Heart of the Conclave."

"What, you mean— the Nydus Worm you control?" Tassadar was also taken aback; he clearly hadn't expected this.

"Do you remember the newborn Cerebrate we caught in Char?" Augustus asked Tassadar.

"Ah, I remember. I recall Chief Engineer Rory Swann mentioning that the lazy Cerebrate does nothing but watch TV and drink Coke." Tassadar didn't quite understand what watching TV and drinking Coke meant, but his memory was excellent; he remembered everything people said word for word.

"Damn it, when did Swann get involved with Tassadar?" Raynor muttered.

"Uh--we call that Cerebrate Alpha, in honor of the first Cerebrate we captured." Augustus unaware that his domesticated Cerebrate had already brought shame upon the Protoss.

In short, the immature newborn Cerebrate neither wanted to obey human commands nor wanted to lose its life for disobeying, so it had no choice but to give up.

After its Overmind died, it was well aware that it was no longer immortal.

"When the Overmind was still alive, this Cerebrate was not yet able to control individuals from other groups, but now it is able to selectively use its mental power to capture and control some of the Zerg that have become feral due to the departure of the Overmind and the other Cerebrate." Augustus skipped over this topic and continued.

"Through the Cerebrate Alpha, we have gained control over many Zerg, including the Nydus Worm."

"How do you manage to command a proud and powerful Cerebrate to serve humanity?" Tassadar still didn't quite understand.

"The answer, of course, is that the fat otaku is neither powerful nor arrogant," Raynor quipped sharply.

"Through coercion, enticement, and the promise of freedom," Augustus, "I promised it I would help it become the new Swarm Overmind as much as possible."

"What that human said is true. There is indeed a large network of Zerg tunnels underground in Kor-shakal. They intend to use those dark tunnels to ambush us. Their exits have now been filled in by the Council Guards and Templar Knights. After the Overmind died, those tunnels were also abandoned by the Zerg." Arbitrator Aldaris had been listening to the conversation between Augustus and Tassadar.

"You're planning to use the Zerg's tunnels to attack the Council?"

This was somewhat strange, as they were loudly discussing how to deal with the Conclave right in front of these arbitrators. Clearly, neither Augustus nor Tassadar considered Aldaris an enemy.

"Why is this arbitrator still standing here?" Raynor, who was always outspoken, finally realized something was wrong and was just short of calling for someone to throw Aldaris out.

"No, I am not your enemy." Aldaris sensed the malicious thoughts in Raynor's mind and immediately waved his hand, saying, "This war is inevitable. Regardless of my past stance, I hope the Protoss Empire will return to peace and unity."

"That's right," Augustus. "So we need Zeratul and the Dark Templar's help to use the Zergling Network to gain direct access to the Heart of the Conclave and control all the Conclave Arbitrators."

Upon hearing Augustus's words, everyone looked towards Zeratul was not far away. The Dark Prelate had not spoken since Orega's departure, and in the poetic words of the Protoss, his grief had flowed like a river.