The Snipe and the Clam

Crusader III, New Babylon.

Augustus Mengsk's breakfast today consisted of a few perfectly toasted slices of bread, accompanied by sliced butter and jam. Also on the Marshal's table were some eggs, smoked pork, cheese, and a cup of hot coffee.

These all came from Besgarden Farm, less than two miles outside of New Babylon City, where the owner personally drove them over, hoping that the esteemed Revolutionary Army Marshal would accept his products.

As usual, all of this was prepared by the family chef brought from Korhal IV by Augustus's elder brother, Arcturus Mengsk, who had some reservations about Augustus's minimalist style of food pairings.

However, no one knew that Augustus still missed the simple pleasures of soy milk and fried dough sticks.

Good morning, is it to your liking?

Sarah Kerrigan walked in through the airlock that had been opened in the command center. She was dressed in a blue-grey military uniform, with her red hair flowing down her shoulders, and she looked dashing.

Since Augustus first met Kerrigan, the haughty young girl has completely transformed into a sexy and mature woman, as sweet and fragrant as a ripe peach.

Kerrigan's studies and training at Tarsonis Ghost Academy shaped her strong and calm character, and the trials of war made this quality even more attractive.

By now, Sarah Kerrigan has become an exceptionally skilled Revolutionary Army soldier, capable of completing a difficult mission alone or taking over a war in place of her commander.

"It's fine." For Augustus, what lay before him was nothing more than a mediocre breakfast, of little value other than filling his stomach to continue his work. Augustus did not complain about the food, clothing, and shelter during the war; over time, he had long since adapted to the tattered clothes and the terrible food.

Augustus didn't care whether his life was as austere and monotonous as that of an ascetic, because now was not the time to demand more of that. He believed he had to set an example for the officers in the Revolutionary Army, reminding those who were promoted from commoners rather than nobles to be strict with themselves.

In Arcturus Mengsk's view, his brother always forgot his noble status and placed himself on the same level as commoners. This was precisely one of Augustus's excellent qualities and a noble character of a rebel leader.

But to be fair, Arcturus did not want Augustus truly forget this matter, to forget that he had once been a great nobleman of the Korhal.

"You're just saying that." Kerrigan rolled her eyes at Augustus and cleared the plates and dishes off the table.

As Kerrigan turned and walked past Augustus, he noticed how increasingly attractive the woman had become. Kerrigan had blossomed, become more feminine, and much more confident.

Augustus had to admit that standing next to Kerrigan made him feel quite safe.

"Well then, let's get to work. Taking over the administration of Crusader III is just the beginning, and you also need an immediate report on the latest developments of the UED." Kerrigan took Augustus's empty plate away.

"I'm going to take inventory of the new supplies that have arrived in the command center warehouse, including some spare parts for repairing equipment. See you later."

"Reliable, my dear Sarah." Augustus shook his head, stretched his arms, and the Holographic Projection projector beside him slowly turned on. Before that, he opened the sunshade on the huge window of the command center, and the gentle sunlight made Augustus feel comfortable and warm.

Even at this altitude, deep blue flowers still bloom on the mountain peaks; this plant lineage is almost ubiquitous in Krusas.

"Of course, I can't imagine what I would do if you left me?"

This command center, built on a ridge three thousand feet high, originally belonged to the Confederacy garrison of Crusader III, but now serves as the marshal's headquarters of the Revolutionary Army.

Compared to the flat, old command center from the Guild Wars era, the one where Augustus located had more components and a more robust reinforced frame and steel plate armor, so its overall shape was more square, looking like a bulging apple.

The large boosters and support arms are firmly anchored on the precipitous mountainside. Their ablation-plated outer shells gleam in the sunlight, and the lower support frame alone is as tall as a three-story building. Meanwhile, the command center also houses a complete production line for the T-280 SCV, capable of automatically smelting crystal ore to construct machinery.

To the north of the command center lies a steep mountain range, and to the other side, a pristine blue lake. The New Babylon City sits at the foot of the mountains, its dense cluster of buildings as imposing as the nearby Gasos Mountains.

Even in this small patch of sky in the Koprulu Sector, the sky is crystal clear and pristine.

A company of the Revolutionary Army recruits undergoing climbing training is traversing a steep, rocky path outside the command center. They are panting heavily as they march in a single file, carrying green canvas backpacks filled with weapons and ammunition. The sergeant at the front of the column holds a flag and constantly encourages the exhausted recruits.

"When was I like them, full of enthusiasm even though I knew nothing about my future?" Augustus said, his gaze seemingly passing through the rugged mountains and landing on the vast and desolate New Babylon Plain. It was a barren and dangerous land, ruled by a terrifying swarm of insects called Carrion Worms.

Crusader III is not a particularly unique planet within the territory of the Terran Confederacy. Early settlers had to contend with the ferocious wild animal populations on its surface in order to survive.

By now, the inhabitants of Crusader III have established a self-sufficient society, with magnificent cities and surrounding residential areas taking shape. The planet's technology and overall level remain extremely high, making it a thriving planet under the Confederacy's rule.

The people of Krusas have also forged a tenacious and resilient character in their struggle for survival. Strangely, their nature also seems to carry a certain Tyrannical nationalism and a desire for unification, believing that they have a mission to unify and unite the people of the Koprulu Sector. This has enabled Crusader III to provide the Confederacy with a considerable number of soldiers during the Guild Wars.

In this massive war that engulfed the entire territory of the Terran Confederacy, Crusader III almost without hesitation sided with the Revolutionary Army.

Just as the Revolutionary Army was about to arrive in Krusas, local Confederacy officers staged a military coup, overthrowing the planet's Confederacy. Its governor, Alex Stantu, was strapped to Arclite Siege Tank to meet Augustus Mengsk.

This was something Augustus had not anticipated. Crusader III had not been a planet keen on rebellion in the past. In other words, the Terran Confederacy had always been quite at ease with this planet because many high-ranking officers of the Confederacy army came from here.

Augustus captured the Crusader III with minimal effort, avoiding excessive losses and casualties, and acquiring tanks produced by the Krusas factory, as well as over 200,000 armored infantry, mountain infantry, and excellent pilots.

Moreover, the Revolutionary Army's recruitment department easily recruited 100,000 new soldiers in just a few weeks.

The soldiers Augustus was now watching were young men from the Crusader III, determined to help the Korhal Revolutionary Army defeat the brutal and corrupt Terran Confederacy and the ruthless Earth invaders. The Krusas were descendants of the Tarsonis, and the iron-fisted side of their ancestors was vividly displayed in this people living in a corner of Koprulu.

Given Augustus's style of doing things, he would certainly not allow these planets that had supported him in crucial moments to regret this act of kindness.

As the new recruits gradually disappeared into the distance, Augustus finally turned his gaze to the deep green star map interface and the information compiled and uploaded by the intelligence department on the holographic screen.

Augustus had already handed over the internal administration of the Crusader III to Arcturus, but he did not actually arrest or dismiss many key Confederacy officials. He merely eliminated the overly bloated administrative system and the departments that were drawing salaries without working, as if he were pruning withered branches to keep the essentials.

Given that the governor's government of Krusas was relatively incorruptible, the assets that needed to be seized and recovered were not enough to cause Arcturus's subordinates to panic. Moreover, Arcturus's tough political tactics were quite different from his mild-mannered father, and Augustus admired his talent in this regard.

As for the ongoing war on the main planet Tarsonis, that is what Augustus most concerned about right now. Centered on Tarsonis, the capital planet of the Confederacy, the core world has descended into chaos.

The reason why the Krusas sided with Augustus so quickly was mainly due to the invasion of the United Earth Directorate, who regarded the humans as even more cruel perpetrators and tyrants.

Centuries later, Earthlings wanted to easily rule their long-lost colonies again, but it wasn't that easy.

Augustus first read the intelligence that his subordinates considered most urgent, among which the latest battle situation in Tarsonis was undoubtedly of paramount importance.

Tarsonis has become the main battlefield between the Confederacy Forces and the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet. In contrast, the other core worlds of the Confederacy have not suffered large-scale military invasions because the commander of the Expeditionary Force Gerard DuGalle, has obviously focused his main military forces on Tarsonis and has no time to worry about other planets.

In Augustus's view, this was an obvious gamble. If DuGalle were to be defeated at Tarsonis, or fail to quickly crush the Confederacy Fleets and take the planet, reinforcements from other Confederacy colonies would surround them.

In fact, Augustus did help DuGalle quite a bit; the chaos brought about by the Revolutionary Army in the Confederacy world was very advantageous to the UED's offensive tactics.

However, if the UED invasion hadn't put immense pressure on the Confederacy, Augustus wouldn't have had the opportunity to bypass the Confederacy's main forces and seize so many Confederacy worlds. It's hard to say who benefited more in this process.

Not counting the worlds conquered by Augustus's army, the Revolutionary Army controlled a total of 23 planets, most of which were economically strong. This rapid pace of conquest brought many problems, and even maintaining control of these planets left Augustus was short-handed, exhausted.

With the support of these planets, Augustus's army is expanding rapidly. Arcturus Mengsk truly deserves his reputation as the man who overthrew the Terran Confederacy and established the Terran Empire; at least his powerful recruitment ability is unmatched under Augustus's command.

Augustus read the information on the holographic screen over and over again, his brow furrowing and relaxing at different times.

Forty-eight hours after the UED launched its attack on Tarsonis, the war was still raging in the planet's outer space orbit and on its surface. Tarsonis was unsurprisingly the most powerful of the Terran Confederacy in terms of overall strength, with a population larger than one-tenth of the Confederacy's immigrant territories combined, and an unparalleled economy.

According to the latest intelligence, United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet agents infiltrated the Tarsannis before the start of the Battle of Tarsonis. They not only passed through sentries and checkpoints, but also failed to arouse the vigilance of the Tarsonis Confederacy.

UED infiltrated the Confederacy's secure data network and completely destroyed the Confederacy's communication equipment, causing the sentry emplacements and orbital defense artillery on the defense platforms to point their own troops at the enemy forces.

The code and functions used by the Terran Confederacy's computers come from the supercomputer Atlas) that was carried on the colony Mothership Naglfar 250 years ago, and have been almost stagnant for many years.

That is why, in the eyes of Earthlings, the Confederacy's computer system is an ancient relic from two centuries ago, riddled with vulnerabilities and easily destroyed.

So, the UED's previous military operations were merely a delaying tactic to buy time to break through the Confederacy's security network. If the Confederacy Fleets hadn't been unexpectedly powerful, the Earthlings could have easily taken Fleets directly after seizing the battlecruisers from the Dylarian Shipyards Tarsonis.

That being said, it was merely Augustus's speculation; he still couldn't figure out UED's strategy.

Lieutenant General Alexei Stukov was clearly the mastermind behind these plans, since Augustus believed Gerard might not have the brains for them. If so, Narud might also be advising Earthlings.

"Hybrid!" But what Augustus least expected was the Hybrid monster that appeared in Tarsonis.

Augustus never forget the incredibly evil image on the holographic screen. They were monsters that humans could not easily deal with; a powerful Hybrid could easily wipe out an entire Terrans company.

They appeared way too early, ten years too early. It's illogical that Narud would allow these things to appear on the front lines so quickly.

Could it be that Narud is trying to market the Hybrid, this terrifying weapon, or perhaps he wants to force the Protoss to take action against the UED?

"Report from the asteroid outpost within the L220 System: they have discovered the Terra Family vessel mentioned in the mission briefing on Crusader VIII." The Holographic Projection then switched to a view of the control center staff.

"It's them." Augustus thought for a moment and remembered this.

A few days earlier, a man named Zebediah Terra contacted Augustus using his father Constantine's private communications channel. He said he had just escaped Tarsonis and was preparing to join the Revolutionary Army.

Even disregarding the power of the Terra Family and the importance of their support to the Revolutionary Army, Augustus would have no choice but to accept Zebediah. After all, Augustus and Constantine were so close that they could address each other as uncle and nephew.

Constantine originally wanted Augustus to "respect him as his elder brother," but the latter refused to agree under any circumstances.

"Lieutenant, contact the Sons of Korhal Bravo Wraith Squadron stationed at Central Starport in Krusas, and have them escort our distinguished guests from afar."

After a few days of rest, I've finally adjusted my update schedule back to normal.

All the comments that replied to me were deleted by the system. It's not that I didn't want to reply, I just couldn't see them.

I can't see the comments, so I can only post a bonus chapter...