Q: How Do You Piss Off a Bunch of Protoss?

"Now is not the time to show mercy, but it seems that Earthlings won't be able to hold out for much longer. Should we help them?"

Charles Matt Horner, Chief of Staff of the Char Expeditionary Force, also stood before the Holographic Projection in front of Fenix, which was a picture transmitted from the main hive of the Char Swarm by multiple Protoss Observer in an invisible force field.

The battlefield was so vast that even hundreds of Protoss Observer could only glimpse a fraction of its scale. The United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet Fleets was so numerous that their silver-gray steel behemoths and rain-like transport ships could be seen from Char's orbit to the surface.

In addition to laser cannons and plasma cannons, this massive Fleets was also equipped with incredibly powerful Earth-technology cluster rocket launchers. Even at the edge of the main hive area, the fury of the UED Valkyrie could be seen, with the cluster rockets raining down like fireballs from the sky.

Prior to this, only the Protoss would attack a Zerg hive guarded by a massive number of ferocious Zerg from the front.

UED plans to launch a surprise blitzkrieg attack on the main nest of the Char Swarm, and all their warships and soldiers are deployed there for this purpose.

Prior to this, the United Earth Directorate did not know much about the Zerg, but the great figures at the highest levels of this Solar System Empire were unprecedentedly in agreement on this point: since war had begun, the war should be waged directly on the homeworlds of the Protoss and the Zerg.

However, even with the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet committing its main force, the number of Zerg was still hundreds of times greater. The highly evolved hive guardians were tearing huge windows filled with plasma and flames through the UED warships' impregnable steel hulls, spewing deadly acid that could corrode steel with specialized acid glands.

Even if these humans were brave and tenacious enough, it was only a matter of time before they were destroyed by the terrifying and ferocious Char Swarm.

The oldest and most powerful Cerebrate in the Char Swarm, Daggoth, is known for its calm demeanor and experienced military tactics. It is more like the Overmind of the Overlord, while the other Cerebrate are nothing more than children who only know how to Game compared to it.

But today, Daggoth is also enraged, with the organs within the Char Swarm secreting large amounts of dopamine, norepinephrine, cortisol, and all the hormones that can sustain their fiery rage and bloodlust.

"To be fair, if the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet hadn't come to rule and enslave the Terrans, I would never have ignored a group of brave people." Raynor shook his head as he looked at the footage captured by the Protoss Observer. He even thought how much better it would be if these Earthlings weren't the enemy.

However, the possibility of a union between Earthlings and Terrans is extremely slim. The Council, which Overmind humanity for centuries, desires an iron-fisted rule over rebellious colonies, and would never be willing to stand on equal footing with the colonies of Koprulu. Once humanity gains power, they will never relinquish it until their death.

"But you can't single-handedly rescue a bleeding man from a pack of hyenas in Sath, Charles. Damn it, we can't even make a ripple in the main hive." He yelled at Charles, "Or should we get Tychus to find some girls to cheer on the Earthlings?"

Damn it, why isn't Tychus here? I need him right now.

"What valiant humans," Fenix said after a moment, offering his assessment of the Earthlings. "If they have come here to kill the Overmind, then the Templar Knights would not mind lending them a hand."

"If only that were what Earthlings really thought, but clearly their ambitions go far beyond that," Raynor said.

The United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet did indeed march into the Koprulu Sector to eliminate the threat to Earth and all of humanity, and Overmind was one of their objectives. In that respect, the pathetic Terran Confederacy is not even worthy of carrying the shoes of Earthlings.

But the domineering Earthlings preferred to annihilate both the Protoss and the Zerg, a point Augustus had clearly pointed out. He even spent a whole week or more speculating on the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet's intentions and plans, and some of his speculations were later proven to be completely accurate.

Augustus even stated bluntly that after the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet dismantles the Terrans regime, it will likely target Aiur and Char. If Gerard DuGalle is determined to attack Char, then the newly Overmind will certainly be his primary objective; once this monster is killed or imprisoned, the Swarm will disintegrate.

"However, I think this is an excellent opportunity to kill the Overmind. The United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet is clearing all obstacles on our path to the Overmind." After a moment, Raynor looked at Charles and Fenix.

Then, Raynor took a paper map from one of his guards—the UED's powerful electromagnetic interference attack had rendered the command center's electronic equipment inoperable, but fortunately Raynor always had the habit of carrying a map with him.

"By deploying all the Psi Disrupter, we can open a path to the Overmind between Death Valley and the main hive," Raynor quickly stated his idea.

"Back in Aiur, we killed that old Overmind. We can kill it again using the same method!"

"A simple and easy plan. That's what I learned at the Templar Knights Academy. The more complex the plan, the more likely it is to have flaws, while a Psionics blade can cut through everything." Fenix looked at Raynor.

"My father used to say, 'Strength can overcome any technique.'" Raynor smiled.

"The wisdom of elders can benefit future generations immeasurably." Fenix also conveyed a similar emotional fluctuation to Raynor.

Fenix is one of the few Protoss who can take Raynor's bizarre jokes in stride, even though the differences in thinking and culture between humans and Protoss always make it difficult for them to understand each other.

"That's right, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We must kill the Overmind, otherwise, once the Zerg recover, our homeland will be ravaged again." Major General Charles drew a line on the map with his gloved fingers.

The Zerg have inflicted far greater loss of life and property on the human world of Koprulu than any previous civil war. In the First Total War, planet after planet was destroyed by the Swarm, transformed into a desolate, swamp-like wasteland.

Charles's hometown is also among them.

"Accurate judgment: to win this victory, we must deploy more Templar Knights and Dark Templar in Char." Fenix's long, slender Dragoon legs were crossed, as if he were standing with his hands on his hips.

"Tassadar has agreed to the plan and is prepared to support us with all his might. The original plan must be changed; a battle of equal importance to the Battle of Aiur is about to begin."

Tassadar's Daelaam Fleets was massive, composed of reunited Aiur and Shakuras Protoss warships. Although the Protoss Empire's Fleets was reduced to a fraction of its former size, their strength was still enough to dominate the galaxy.

"Your efficiency is truly astonishing." Raynor didn't even know when Fenix had reported the plan to Tassadar, who was in the Fleets, and Tassadar's decisiveness lived up to his reputation.

The Protoss's thoughts are connected through the Khala, which ensures that the Protoss commander's decisions are always executed as quickly as possible.

"Notify the Fleets on the Char orbital platform that we need more reinforcements. Immediately list all available divisions; a major battle is imminent!" Raynor said.

"Wait, what's that?" Charles suddenly leaned closer to the Holographic Projection screen and pointed at it.

"Some kind of missile?" Raynor looked over.

On the screen, United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet transport ships were continuously dropping black alloy pods onto the surface of Char. These were landing pods designed for landing using rocket-propelled detonation technology. These pods came in different sizes, but even the smallest was large enough to accommodate a Goliath Combat Robot.

"I've never seen a missile like this before," Charles said.

"You'll find out soon," Raynor said.

One after another, the landing pods landed in Char's main lair, the impact kicking up huge clouds of red dust. Then the landing pods began to disintegrate rapidly, and enormous monsters emerged from the collapsed steel plates.

They had the bodies of Zerg and the eyes of Protoss; their grotesque, twisted, and malevolent forms sent chills down Raynor's spine. He had only seen such things once before, on a Luria IV.

Hybrid!

Monsters that are a blend of Protoss and Zerg genes, possessing both the Zerg's ferocious terror and the Protoss's bizarre elegance. They are beings that should only exist in fantasy, and only the most insane painters could depict their abhorrent forms.

"That is..." A surge of anger, which startled Raynor, erupted from Fenix, a furious outburst like a storm.

"Gods, what is that? What have the Earthlings done to our people?"

Fenix's anger was so palpable that it affected everyone around him.

"Hybrid, whoever created them must be a madman." Raynor had discussed these monsters with Augustus, and unsurprisingly, humans had almost no ability to resist the Hybrid. Soldiers had to make many times the sacrifice, like breaching an impregnable fortress, to have any chance of killing Hybrid.

"Nobody knows where that shameless coward found the Protoss and Zerg genes from."

While Fenix and Raynor were furious and surprised, the Hybrid that landed in the main hive area took over the entire battlefield almost at the same time they appeared.

Among them, a Hybrid standing 20 feet tall appeared in the very center of the Holographic Projection. Its form was closer to that of Zerg than Protoss, and its entire body was covered with a carapace even denser and harder than that of Ultralisk skull, with its tentacles swaying in a grotesque manner.

He landed amidst a swarm of gigantic Hydralisk Hunter Killer blood-red skin and carapaces, surrounded by thousands of Zerg signals, yet far from the nearest United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet Force landing site.

If this were a landing module carrying human soldiers, the spaceship pilot responsible for the deployment would undoubtedly be disregarding human life; such a mistake could mean the needless deaths of an entire company of soldiers.

Such incidents have occurred in both the Revolutionary Army and the Confederacy Army, with transport ships causing horrific tragedies by mistakenly sending Marines into Swarm. Therefore, the Marines' lack of trust in pilots and commanders is not entirely unfounded.

But it was a Hybrid.

When Raynor looked up at the screen, this grotesque Hybrid stood among at least 30 enormous Hydralisk, and the usually ferocious and brutal Zerg did not attack him.

Raynor concluded that this was not due to fear; the Zerg never felt fear, they simply—were showing submission.

At the same time, Raynor also noticed that this Hybrid was different from the one that appeared in Tarsonis; in terms of form, it was clearly a more perfect being.

The Hybrid that appeared before were almost never exactly alike; they seemed to have been directly modified by the Protoss, with remnants of past memories still lingering in their consciousness. But the ones that appeared today were like clones, strikingly similar.

As the blue-skinned Hybrid roared to the sky, a portion of the Zerg immediately prostrated themselves on the ground in submission. A memory from an incredibly distant past, a mutation originating from the mind of the main hive, compelled them to obey.

This Hybrid controlled them like Cerebrate.

Soon, the Zerg controlled by the Hybrid began fighting amongst themselves with those still subservient to the Cerebrate. In the vast, dark sea of Zerg, these landing pods carrying the Hybrid stood out like ink spots on a white cloth.

"Unforgivable!" Fenix's anger was palpable. "Humans stole the genes of the Firstborn! I can hear the cries of my people trapped in the prison of their minds!"

"They are Earthlings, not Terrans." Raynor quickly distanced himself from the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet.

Based on his limited knowledge of Zerg and Protoss physiology, Raynor guessed that these Hybrid appeared to be modified by the Aiur Protoss, or rather, using their genes.

It seems that the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet used Hybrid after the Psi Disrupter took effect. This was certainly a clever move. Of course, Earthlings could never have foreseen that there was a massive Fleets within the Zerg's broodworld.

Char's Protoss Fleets was even larger than the Fleets at the Daelaam.

The Terrans have very little experience fighting the Protoss Fleets head-on, so they have even less understanding of how the Protoss Fleets fights: generally speaking, most of the Protoss Fleets's warships are shrouded in the cloaking force field of the Mothership and the Arbiter, which often makes an incomparably Great Fleet look like only a few small boats.

This is extremely deceptive; if a Wraith pilot rashly attacks a seemingly isolated Protoss Arbiter, he will soon find himself among hundreds of magnificent Protoss warships.

"What should we do now?" Charles asked.

"Whatever the reason, the Hybrid monsters are able to effectively restrain the Swarm. This means that Earthlings can now hold back more Zerg, and we can kill the Overmind in one fell swoop with less cost," Raynor said.

"Fenix, use your anger wisely."

"Warriors, ignite your blades and crush our enemy!" After a moment of silence, Fenix commanded, "I will fight alongside you!"

"Anon por-ghal! (Prepare for battle!)"

Thank you Aronsama for being the patron!