Earth Return Faction

"The Confederate Congress has passed Resolution No. 4 submitted by the Senate, declaring you Public Enemy Number One. The bounty on Augustus Mengsk has been increased to 2.5 billion credits, of which 500 million is an additional contribution from the d'Arbanville Family, who claim it is all for the sake of better justice."

In the governor's office of the Immigrant Territory in Geladi City, Sarah Kerrigan stood in front of Augustus's desk.

This office boasts elegant interior furnishings. The desks, chairs, counters, wine cabinets, and even the gold and red silk carpet on the floor are all crafted by Protoss artisans based on human culture. The cabinets, vases, and water glasses are all hand-cut from pure crystal, possessing a gem-like beauty.

The wine cabinet has a built-in Defensive Matrix, which can not only prevent any villains who covet Augustus's treasured wines from spying on them, but also eliminate the possibility of any unscrupulous person trying to poison the food and water consumed by the Revolutionary Army leader.

A green, rhomboid Ihan Crystal hangs from one end of a canvas on the wall. According to Zeratul, the Dark Prelate gifted the crystal, it can recreate the user's past memories.

These numerous and precious artifacts are of astonishing value. Not to mention that they were all crafted by the most famous Khalai master craftsmen in the Protoss Empire, their artistic value alone is enough to make any human who sees them fall in love at first sight.

"The d'Arbanville Family's wealth is truly astonishing." Augustus leaned back in his chair, lined with Aiur Bangalas, his hands clasped together in front of his chest.

"This is a mysterious Old Families, always keeping a low profile, and the public knows very little about their businesses. What did I do that makes them hate me so much?"

"Perhaps some of your and your father's political views have touched upon the interests of the d'Arbanville Family, or perhaps they are staunch supporters of Confederacy sovereignty and aristocratic politics." Kerrigan placed the information on the d'Arbanville Family, one of the Old Families of the Terran Confederacy, on the table in front of Augustus.

"Reese Dabanville, a rising star in the business world." Augustus picked up a photograph of an intellectual woman with long, auburn braids.

"Is it beautiful?" Kerrigan asked.

"It's not very good-looking yet," Augustus mused.

"Are you talking about Redhead?" Kerrigan pulled another stack of documents from her briefcase.

"I think red hair is the best hair color," Augustus, sitting up.

"Nonsense, you clearly prefer blondes." Kerrigan crossed her arms.

"What's wrong with liking blondes as a Mengsk?" Augustus argued. "Angus Mengsk's genes should be held responsible."

"Okay, it's all your father's fault. In that case, your ancestors should also bear some responsibility," Kerrigan her hips.

"Mengsk has always had gray and brown hair, but my nephew Valerian is completely ruined." Augustus liked Valerian very much, but that didn't stop him from teasing his good-for-nothing nephew.

"This shows that the bloodline of the Umojan Pasteur Family is just as excellent as that of the Mengsk family," Kerrigan Augustus.

"Bloodline should be honored by the achievements of nobles, but nothing more." Augustus shrugged, changing the subject. "Any news from the Terran Confederacy? The world has finally become much more peaceful since the end of the First Total War."

"I am already aware of the Confederacy's recent major policies, including the usual refrain of emphasizing that we are traitors, dissidents, subversives, and terrorists. The Confederate High Command has announced that their Fleets will soon be sailing again on the Edge World of the Terran Confederacy, and any traitors, pirates, or opportunists seeking to take advantage of the chaos will be punished immediately—"

"Why were they never this assertive when the Zerg were launching their massive invasion? Now that both the Protoss and the Zerg are weakened and have retreated to their own worlds, the Confederacy is jumping out again, as if afraid people will forget about them," Augustus.

"Tell me about recent events; I'd love to hear about the scandals of the Confederacy nobility."

"Assassinations targeting high-ranking Confederacy officials, political leaders, and especially military leaders have increased dramatically. Major General Frederick Duke, a member of the Duke Family, was also found dead in his own bathtub. His charming fiancée announced that she would join the Federal Marine Corps to carry out her revenge." Kerrigan handed over a photo of Frederick Duke.

He was a young, handsome, and dashing Chief of Staff of the Confederacy Navy. He didn't have any outstanding military achievements, but he was credited with the merits of every battle.

"It wasn't our people, nor the Sons of Korhal," Augustus said after a few seconds of observation.

"We don't have enough manpower to assassinate these people, and," he examined the documents closely, "Some of them are supporters of the Revolutionary Party, and others, as far as I know, are among the few good people who uphold justice in the corrupt Confederacy system."

"So who did this?"

"The timing of the assassinations suddenly increased over a period of time, and the methods were all very sophisticated. The assassins were even elderly people who had lived in the victims' families for decades and were treated as family members," Kerrigan said.

"This must have come from a tightly organized and powerful organization; as far as we know, only the Umojan intelligence and espionage network could have accomplished this."

"Umojan would have to be insane to think of using their spy network, which they built at great cost, at a time like this," Augustus, shaking his head. "Look at the people they've assassinated—prestigious political and military leaders."

"It looks like another Confederacy resistance organization we don't know about," Augustus thought to himself. "Is it Duran?"

But Duran had no need to do that, or perhaps weakening the Terran Confederacy was also part of his plan to revive Amon? Destroying the Confederacy would not benefit Duran, and he would likely still have to rely on the financial support of the financial giants within the Confederacy to build the Hybrid factory.

"It's not just assassinations; attacks on Confederacy military facilities and factories have been ongoing," Kerrigan continued. "Adding to those that the Confederacy military has deliberately concealed, the scope and intensity of this attack far exceed our expectations."

Have you seen the UNN news?

"I rarely watch clown performances or con artists' stand-up comedy anymore," Augustus shrugged.

"The Tarsonis Police Force has arrested several people accused of being assassins and terrorists who claim to have been instructed and funded by the Mengsk Family and the Sons of Korhal," Kerrigan, shrugging.

"They really think of me," Augustus.

"In reality, our agents and Umojan allies must have received accurate information, or rather, the Terra Family and Holt Family must know something."

"Eva Holt and Constantine Terra were also assassinated. They received some information—the assassins claimed that the rightful heirs of humanity were about to return to Koprulu," Kerrigan said.

"Earth?" Augustus said after a moment of silence.

"I don't know. Ha, these people belong to an ancient organization called the Earth Return Faction. They believe that Earthlings will one day reclaim their colonies on the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy. But everyone thinks they're crazy. Earth is 60,000 light-years away from us. Earthlings probably don't even know that four colony ships have crashed in some remote corner," Kerrigan said.

"In short, these organizations, which may have existed for a century or more, are doing everything they can to wreak havoc on the territory of the Terran Confederacy," she said.

"Who knows if Earth's government has even survived to this day and maintained control over its colonies in the Solar System? It may have already fallen apart long ago."

"Yes, if the Earthlings are determined to take over the Koprulu Sector, then the Terran Confederacy is indeed one of their biggest obstacles right now," Augustus.

"You really believe the idea that Earthlings are about to return?" Kerrigan clearly didn't believe the rumor. "In the entire Terran Confederacy, apart from those lunatics, no one would believe such nonsense."

"There's always a reason for all of this," Augustus. "You can't say that the people in this organization have suddenly gone mad."

"However, if the Earthlings' army really marches into the Koprulu Sector, the Terran Confederacy will be the first to suffer," he instructed.

"I am closely monitoring the organization's movements, and if possible, I hope to make contact with its leaders."

"The Confederacy wants to know even more than we do," Kerrigan nodded.

"Tell all my agents, tell the Sons of Korhal of Arcturus. This is of utmost importance, it cannot be taken lightly." Augustus filled with a myriad of thoughts in that instant. He gradually realized that this could very well be an opportunity to completely overthrow the Terran Confederacy. But what would follow was another, even more powerful enemy.

Augustus realized that only he knew the UED was coming. If these terrorist attacks were just a small, easily overlooked prelude to an Earth military expedition, then given the time it would take for the United Earth Directorate Fleets to depart and arrive in the Koprulu Sector, it would be at least a few months, and at most a year and a half, before they reached Koprulu.

Augustus had no idea whether the UED Expeditionary Fleet was preparing to depart or had already set sail.

If the UED Expeditionary Fleet is indeed preparing to intervene in the war in the Koprulu Sector ahead of schedule, it will be very difficult for them to transport supplies from Earth, which is millions of light-years away.

This was Augustus's advantage, and he was thinking about how to use it, calculating how to emerge victorious when the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet crushed the Terran Confederacy.

Augustus knew what was happening in the world and what might happen in the future. He only needed to figure out the specific time, because some things had already changed fundamentally.

It's only 2493; they've arrived far too early. The entire timeline began to accelerate from the moment the Overmind Swarm invaded the Koprulu Sector ahead of schedule.

However, the major events will not change.

"I understand." Kerrigan realized this was something worth noting.

"Is there anything else you'd like to mention?"

"This is the biggest challenge our intelligence service has faced since its inception," Augustus.

"That might not be any harder than some idiot trying to get Protoss to speak." Kerrigan turned the page.

"There's one more thing. The Umojan want you to make a trip to Umojan Main Planet. It's related to strengthening military and economic cooperation. You know, it's hard to refuse these kinds of requests. They've always been helping us absorb the output of our colonies— the Confederacy territories are afraid to contact the rebels, and the Kel-Morian Combine is too poor."

"Okay, I think I understand." Augustus knew that some things couldn't be solved by having his father and brother sell their bodies. As the leader of the Revolutionary Army, he had to step in on this kind of situation.

The true purpose of the Umojan Republic was merely to weaken the rule of the Terran Confederacy in order to preserve itself. Their tireless assistance to Korhal and the Revolutionary Army was only for their own benefit. -- Predictably, as Augustus's Revolutionary Army grew stronger and the Confederacy gradually weakened, the Umojan achieved its goals.

If the new regime established by Augustus after overthrowing the Confederacy also poses a significant threat to Umojan, then Umojan will certainly turn its back on them.

"There's also news about the Umojan Tribunal. They've relaxed their policy on restricting the entry of refugees from the Terran Confederacy, provided they swear allegiance to the United States. At the same time, the Council has increased funding for the Umojan Protectorate to build their 'unrivaled' high-tech Fleets to counter the Zerg threat." Kerrigan went on to discuss events within Umojan.

"--On the 14th, Minister Jorgensen, under the protection of the Umojan Shadow Guard, delivered a speech at Umojan University, denouncing the Terran Confederacy as a sham regime controlled by tycoons and oligarchs."

"Minister Jorgensen is a capable man," Augustus. "I've seen some of the new ship types in the Umojan Protectorate Fleets, and you can even see the shadow of Protoss warships on them."

"It seems I'll have to make a trip to Umojan; I haven't seen my mother and sister in a long time," he said.

"How's it going with the Kel-Morian Combine?"

"Nothing much has happened. The Kel-Morian Combine's board of directors is still embroiled in infighting. Today, either the CEO got into a car accident, or a company president somehow slipped and fell into the Warp Drive of a warship," Kerrigan replied.

"Compared to the Kel-Morian Combine, the Zerg's Hive world is much more active. According to reports from the Fleets monitoring the Char system, a terrible civil war broke out among the Zerg in Char. However, this civil war has now subsided, most likely because Daggoth, the most powerful Cerebrate in the Swarm, has returned to Char," she said.

"The Zerg's desire to expand in the universe has clearly waned; now they only attack ships that rashly invade their territory."

"This is good news for those suffering from the Zerg's ravages, but I believe the Swarm will eventually regroup. As long as a new Overmind emerges, the Cerebrate will unite once again," Augustus commented.

"Order our science vessel to keep a close watch on Char and monitor the Swarm's every move," he said. "Be vigilant for another Swarm counterattack."

"We must never allow the enemy to destroy the homeland we built with our own hands."

"As you said." Kerrigan blinked her green eyes.

"As for the Protoss, you also need to go to Shakuras. The Protoss Enforcer Tassadar of Aiur and the Protoss Shakuras Raszagal of Sagulus have decided to form a new government called Daelaam (Protoss word for unity), and you are the only human invited to witness that moment."

"Perhaps the Protoss will invite me to be an official," Augustus joked.

"But I'm more concerned about who really calls the shots in this government— Tassadar or Raszagal? Their positions among their respective peoples are unshakeable." He asked Kerrigan.

"Where's Zeratul? I haven't seen him in a while. The last time I saw him, he swore to hunt down the fallen Dark Templar Oregau and bring him back to Sargeras for trial."

"No one has seen Zeratul again." Kerrigan brushed a strand of red hair from her cheek, as if recalling something.

"The Aiur Protoss say Zeratul has lost himself in the Void, while the Shakuras Protoss say their High Priest is chasing after the phantom of Orega and fragments of Xel'Naga prophecy."

"No need to worry about Zeratul," Augustus smiled.

"Zeratul always appears when we need him most. He is a learned and wise elder who would never abandon his people and friends."

Thank you for voting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to disappear for a day during the May Day holiday to relax.

Mwah~