Another Victory

Seven hours after the Battle of Sigma Rys began, Augustus's flagship Hyperion, along with the Steel Justice, Norad III, and King's Wrath that arrived later, pressed their advantage and together destroyed the Sigma Squadron's flagship, the Thanatos, which refused to surrender, as well as another Confederacy warship Mortis.

This decisive decision brought to a close the most devastating battle in human history in the Koprulu Sector.

The number of wrecked ships and debris was countless, and hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in a truly horrific tragedy.

Only eleven lightly damaged Terran Confederacy battlecruisers managed to break through the encirclement; the rest were either completely destroyed, becoming huge pieces of scrap metal floating in space, or were surrounded and unable to use their secondary engines to create an emergency jump route, leaving them with no way to escape.

"It's all over," Arcturus Mengsk said in a single breath.

Directly beneath the Hyperion, the Confederacy warship USS Mortis was uncontrollably heading towards destruction. The focused and compressed Yamato Cannon of the Steel Justice struck the Mortis squarely, the explosion piercing through multiple decks and triggering an even more horrific disaster in the engine room.

Cracks and orange-yellow flames covered the surface of the Mortis. Its newly installed steel armor already looked outdated and old in the era of the Yamato Cannon. Since humanity in the Koprulu Sector re-entered space, no weapon had ever been able to completely disable a capital ship that had cost countless resources with a single shot.

In another direction, the Thanatos, the flagship of Sigma Squadron, sandwiched between the Norad II and the King's Wrath, was still trying to accelerate away, but a violent explosion was tearing it to pieces.

The Confederacy flagship carries at least four to six thousand crew members who are living in a true hell on earth. Every moment, soldiers and crew members are torn apart by explosions or burned alive. The Thanatos will become a true death tomb.

"The captain of the Mortis contacted us via public channel, saying he is willing to surrender if the Revolutionary Army sends lifeboats to rescue his crew," a Revolutionary Army communications sergeant sitting in the command chair reported to Augustus.

"Let Davis do this." Augustus turned to the main screen, which then displayed a photo of a Revolutionary Army, a young female officer with beautiful light blonde hair styled in a bun.

"This is the Marshal's order."

"The Thanatos is finished. It was a flagship; during wartime, building a ship like that would require hundreds of thousands of people working day and night." Arcturus turned and walked down the steps between the two ships' connecting bridge. "Let's see what we can do?"

"Stepping onto a warship that is heading for destruction is not a wise move," Augustus said, turning to Arcturus.

"If there were still a few thousand people on this warship, would they rather be burned to death, poisoned, crushed to pieces by the uncontrolled gravity, or live until tomorrow?" Arcturus did not turn around; his gray eyes remained unmoved, like hard Neo steel.

"After I kill all those who disobey, they will know at whose feet they should grovel."

"Bring my Guard Division." Augustus chuckled, almost forgetting that his Arcturus had once been a shining star in the army. He was a brilliant strategist, ruthless and decisive, possessing superb military skills and broad knowledge.

As Arcturus stepped out of the bridge gate, the guards saluted him.

Arcturus was now dressed in the standard uniform of the Revolutionary Army staff officer, a dark blue uniform with the Mengsk Family's wolf head insignia, and red stripes on his trousers that accentuated his straight posture.

Augustus commanded almost all of the most outstanding generals among the Terrans, including Edmond Duke, Horace Warfield, Jim Raynor, and Matt Horner Matt Horner, all of whom were great generals in different periods of the Terran Empire. This made him almost overlook Arcturus's military talent.

"A monster lurks in Arcturus's heart," said Sarah Kerrigan, who had been standing beside Augustus.

"Those Confederacy soldiers who resist him are doomed."

It wasn't out of interest in the Augustus family; Kerrigan had tried to use her powerful telepathic abilities to probe Arcturus's thoughts, but unexpectedly discovered that the man was quite honest with her.

Of course, Arcturus Mengsk's mind is like an endless labyrinth, and even the most powerful Ghost operative only have a vague understanding of his ambitions.

In Arcturus's heart, his mother, younger brother and sister were the most important, followed by Angus's family, and then his political ambitions.

Arcturus also felt he had nothing to hide from Kerrigan, even stating bluntly that the woman stood by Augustus's side only because of his brother's favoritism. Arcturus would never allow anyone to harm his brother; from childhood, he had always protected Augustus and his sister Dorothy, a love that was genuine even in Kerrigan's eyes.

Of course, Arcturus didn't like Kerrigan, that much was certain—the presence of a dangerous woman who seemed to appear out of nowhere constantly by Augustus's side made Arcturus uneasy.

He preferred Kerrigan to be a woman who was easily controlled, after all, she should be a noblewoman like her mother Katherine.

"He wouldn't actually tear those people to pieces," Augustus shook his head, showing no concern for his brother.

Arcturus is a clear-headed man who is always aware of what he is doing; he doesn't act solely out of hatred or passion. Few can see through Arcturus's true nature hidden beneath his kind and gentle exterior; he is a true monster.

Augustus still regarded Arcturus as a close relative, rather than distancing himself from him because he knew what Arcturus had originally done.

At least for now, Arcturus is much more mature and shrewd than the young man he once was, who was indifferent to politics and even embarrassed by his father's enthusiasm for the revolution.

Arcturus has not yet lost everything, lost his homeland, lost all his family members and the tens of millions of people in Korhal.

"Let me give you a preliminary report."

"The Fleets has completely destroyed fourteen Terran Confederacy warships, and the landing forces have captured seven of the damaged ships. Three are still fighting back, but their eventual defeat is only a matter of time," Kerrigan said.

"And what about us?" Augustus followed up.

"Four ships were severely damaged, and two were completely destroyed. They were all older Leviathan -class and the earliest built Behemoth-class Battlecruiser. They lacked Defensive Matrix and their engines were relatively outdated. They were powerless to escape the desperate counterattack of the Confederacy warships," Kerrigan said.

"Between eight and ten thousand Revolutionary Army soldiers were lost in this battle, while the Confederacy Army suffered more than ten times that number."

"I heard reports that two Confederacy warships rammed our ships to cover the retreat of friendly forces, almost destroying the Antigone and the Fist of Freedom." Augustus knew that if it weren't for the Hyperion's great prowess, the Revolutionary Army's casualties and losses would have been at least doubled.

Although the casualties suffered by the Revolutionary Army Augustus, they were still within acceptable limits. This was a large Confederacy Fleets, not those pirates who only dared to bully caravans and military outposts. Considering the worst-case scenario, it was very likely to be a Pyrrhic victory.

After losing most of their Fleets, even the size of the Terran Confederacy Navy would be severely weakened. Keep in mind that they are currently gathering forces to deal with the Earth UED Fleets, which may have already penetrated deep into the core world.

The lost warships are difficult to replenish in a short time. Both the Revolutionary Army and the UED have already overwhelmed ordinary Confederacy Navy squadrons. Unless the Confederacy Navy achieves a crucial victory in the near future, this situation of being attacked from both sides will only worsen.

Given the Terran Confederacy's popularity in the Koprulu Sector, the Kel-Morian Combine and the Umojan would only applaud and wish they could add fuel to the fire.

"These two Confederacy warships are likely filled with resocialized soldiers; they wouldn't hesitate to order their commander to crash into a satellite," Kerrigan replied.

"Where did they get so many criminals? Even the number of soldiers killed that the Confederacy has published over the years far exceeds the number of death row inmates," Augustus scoffed.

"We've known all along that they're experimenting on ordinary people, turning living people into mindless assassins. But if we can control the mainstream media of the Terran Confederacy and make this public, more people will surely respond to the call of revolution," he said.

"Unless we retake the UNN headquarters in Tarsonis, the Confederacy will always be able to conceal its crimes. But as long as the revolution achieves final victory, the reckoning with the Confederacy's crimes will win the people's praise, and a smooth transition of power will be a natural consequence."

"Anyone who has heard about the Confederacy's atrocities such as human modification, genetic programming, and the introduction of Terran Confederacy Zerg know how evil and untrustworthy their government is," Kerrigan thought of her tragic childhood.

"The Confederacy has so much dirt on it that these things aren't even the most frightening ones." Augustus turned his head to look at the Hyperion's main screen and opened the Fleets's communication channel.

"I am Marshal Augustus Mengsk. The entire Fleets is to clear the battlefield at top speed. Take out any enemy ships that are still putting up a last stand, rescue the wounded, salvage wrecked ships, and search for any remaining valuable spoils."

Each battlecruiser was incredibly valuable, and for the Revolutionary Army, accustomed to poverty, they could be repaired and reused. The large number of weapons and nuclear bombs they carried were enough to compensate for the Revolutionary Army's losses in this battle.

At the same time, tens of thousands of captured Confederacy soldiers could become a new force for the Revolutionary Army.

Outside the bridge windows of the Hyperion, a landing force led by Arcturus Mengsk was forcibly landing on the Sigma Squadron flagship Thanatos. This was an elite force mainly composed of the Sons of Korhal and the Old Guard, and Arcturus, who had been collecting money at the mines not long ago, had already charged in with a spiked rifle.

"I am Tychus. I have captured Delta Squadron's flagship." At this moment, Tychus's old face, which had become fleshy and bloated from eating too well recently, appeared on the screen.

"This is their commander, what's his name? Green? When I stormed onto the bridge, he was preparing to shoot himself. But it seems this guy isn't willing to give up his worthless life."

Tychus roughly lifted a Confederacy naval officer, whose face was bruised and swollen, in front of the screen. He was a middle-aged man with sunken eyes and a black mustache, and his once-smooth naval uniform was now stained with blood.

"Well done, Tychus!" Augustus exclaimed, rewarding him handsomely.

"You're Green? The hero who fought the Zerg during the First Total War, the one who saved hundreds of millions of Confederacy people because of your valiant fighting on the front lines at Atticus." He recognized the man.

"Greetings, I am Augustus Mengsk."

"Mengsk brat, while we were fighting the Zerg, you and your men were wreaking havoc on Confederacy territory, letting wolves into our house." Green spat at Augustus, immediately earning a large slap from Tychus.

Mr. Tychus didn't care about heroes or anything like that; it was none of his business. Admittedly, Tychus admired heroes, but in his eyes, the only heroes in the world were himself, Jim Raynor, and Augustus Mengsk, with Harnack Hank barely qualifying. The rest were truly nothing.

"Tychus, show some respect to the general." Augustus simply smiled at Green's accusations.

"Do you want me to tell you about how we faced billions of Swarm and Protoss Fleets in the Sara and Antiga systems, rescuing millions upon millions of people? My warriors and I have set foot in the Zerg hive world, as far as the Protoss homeworld of Aiur," he said.

"I have witnessed wars that stretched from the surface of a planet to geostationary orbit—months of fighting and countless deaths—and I have seen the destruction of the Zerg Overmind right before my eyes."

"General, if you believe what you want to believe, then there's nothing for us to talk about." Augustus stood with his hands behind his back, his black cloak casting a long shadow on the bridge of the Hyperion.

"I'm only giving you one chance. Will you surrender or not?"

The scene ended as Green lowered his proud head.

"Our victory in Sigma Rys must be proclaimed," Augustus after a while.

"The media's discourse is still firmly in the hands of the Confederacy. No regime determined to establish a strong control over the people will hand it over to anyone else. With control of the UNN, their slander against the Revolutionary Army will always be faster than our attempts to clarify things," Kerrigan said, shaking her head.

"Our achievements in the Edge World and our efforts to overthrow the Confederacy have been downplayed."

"Then let's find another way to spread this war, or rather, let's make it even more intense." A map of the Koprulu Sector flashed across the main screen in front of Augustus, with several planets appearing on it.

"Noris VI, one of the largest Resocialized Soldier manufacturing plants in the Terran Confederacy. Next, if we take that place, the Confederacy will be out of troops."