Your Revolutionary Army Grandpa is Here

"The main Zerg hives around the Overmind have been significantly weakened. If we—Earth, the Revolutionary Army, and the Protoss— form an alliance and work together to open a path to the main hive, our chances of killing this monster will greatly increase."

Gerard DuGalle was a model soldier in the United Earth Directorate, his lean features forming a serious and stern face. He wore a dark black brass double-breasted general's uniform, with a belt that held a pistol, the buckle of which was a golden human skull symbol.

DuGalle's words were as concise, powerful, and to the point as his commands. His demeanor and tone made it seem as if every word he uttered was unquestionable, and that every UED soldier had to do their utmost to fulfill the general's demands.

"A good suggestion." Raynor had seriously considered DuGalle's proposal and believed it was indeed the best option at present. In any case, Raynor's ultimate goal in bringing hundreds of thousands of the Revolutionary Army soldiers to Char was to kill the Overmind.

As for whether DuGalle has any other plans, Raynor and his men are currently surrounded by hundreds of billions of Zerg, and have no time for pretense or indirect communication.

One wrong move and these people would perish in the insect swarm. Raynor was no longer the naive farm boy he once was; even the once unruly Mar- Sara cowboy now bore the responsibility of bringing his warriors home.

"But I need to talk to the Protoss. You know, they might not be too happy with the kind of monsters you released." Raynor directly switched to Fenix's channel to relay DuGalle's words and pointed out his own opinion.

"I can't believe I have to fight alongside these freaks. Is there really no other choice?" Raynor expressed his impatience, but he knew he had to prioritize the bigger picture.

"It's all worth it if we can kill that newly born Overmind. It's for the survival of the Protoss, for the glory of Aiur." He told Raynor, "Executor Tassadar has issued new orders: we must not waste any opportunity to eliminate the Protoss's greatest enemy."

"There's an old Terrans saying: old scores can be settled later," Raynor said to Fenix. "Hopefully these Earthlings won't hold me back; a foolish friend is worse than a wise enemy."

"Commander Raynor, what are the Protoss saying?" DuGalle was clearly overwhelmed by the dire situation on the battlefield, with large numbers of UED soldiers dying every second.

Char is the most dangerous place in the Koprulu Sector, not only because of its hellish environment, but also because the Swarm is a deadly weapon.

"General Gerard, we can fight side by side." Raynor paused for a moment, then continued, "I must warn you, you'd better not stab me in the back."

"That would just be a waste of bullets." DuGalle showed no expression, but he was definitely relieved. "I will send you a scan of the Zerg hive area, marked with the locations of all hive sites and UED landing force firing positions."

"My men were once only a step away from the Overmind's lair, but the last few miles proved to be an insurmountable obstacle. The crimson Tiamat Brood faithfully guard their master, and only your Psi Disrupter can deal with these red demons."

"You're Mengsk's subordinate; you shouldn't need me to teach you how to do this."

"How arrogant." As DuGalle disconnected the communication link, Raynor shook his head and said, "Maybe that's how Earthlings talk. Doesn't that old man DuGalle even know how to use polite language when asking for help?"

"A cultural desert," Charles complained.

Generally speaking, in the eyes of Earthlings, the Terrans are more like free-spirited cowboys and outlaws roaming the desert. Coincidentally, aside from those sects that believe Earthlings will bring progress and salvation, the Terrans also have their share of prejudices against Earthlings.

As expected, DuGalle delivered on his promise and sent a satellite scan map of the Char Swarm's main hive area, marking the location of the Zerg defensive forces and indicating the main attack direction of the UED landing force with arrows.

"The main nest area is situated between a wide lava lake and an active volcano. The terrain is treacherous, with one-third of the area covered by lava. The rest of the area is full of hills and huge fissures made of cooled lava. Some of the spans are so large that even tracked tanks cannot pass through them." Raynor was already very familiar with the terrain of the main nest area. It was impossible for him to only learn about it now.

Similarly, Raynor was well aware of the difficulty of attacking the main hive. It would obviously be much easier if the Fleets could provide orbital bombardment and airborne support. But the Protoss Fleets was currently engaged in a massive Leviathan Swarm and was stretched thin.

From the surface to the stratosphere and into outer space, swarms of Mutalisk and Scourge occupy almost every altitude. Any human transport ship or Protoss shuttle will be pursued by the Mutalisk swarms, and there are not enough fighter jets to cover them.

The Zerg's combat methods are vastly different from those of humans and Protoss; their endless swarms are all hatched directly from eggs in Char's underground hives.

The size of Swarm can increase dramatically over a period of time by regulating the number of eggs, and there has never been any known rule about the birth, aging, illness, and death of Zerg —although human alien researchers have discovered that Zerg can also get sick.

Given enough resources, Swarm can be infinite.

"If we can launch an attack on the main nest from the acidic swamp, we can definitely catch the Zerg off guard," Charles said.

"We don't have time to take a detour now," Raynor shook his head. "The most important thing is to concentrate our forces and put our limited troops in the enemy's weakest point."

"If fighting were that easy, I would have been dominating real-time strategy Game by now." Charles knew the necessity of doing so, but how to deploy troops was the biggest problem.

"There's no need for further argument. Back in Aiur, I once single-handedly carved a bloody path through the Swarm," Fenix said to his two human allies. "Templar Knights have never been afraid to sacrifice themselves."

The most direct solution is to level the entire area and resolve everything with artillery fire.

"Not all acts of selflessness will work," Raynor said, adding that the lives of Templar Knights mattered too.

"Old friend, our goal is to kill the Overmind, not to destroy the entire Char Swarm. Think of all the methods available to us now."

"Only void energy can kill the Cerebrate, and even injure the Overmind." Fenix was incredibly wise; he immediately realized:

"This Overmind's power is far inferior to the original one. It is merely a fusion of several Cerebrate, and it is even just waiting to hatch from its cocoon. Thus, the power of my Dark Templar brothers alone is enough to kill it."

"In other words, we only need to send an elite squad to the Overmind's side," Charles said. "If it were Protoss Dark Templar, they could easily approach the Overmind on their own."

"That won't work. Ever since they learned their lesson from the Dark Templar, they've evolved more complex, Observer- like, insect-eye-like structures to guard against Dark Templar attacks," Fenix said.

"Someone has to create such opportunities for them."

"So, all we need to do is create an opening between the Zerg Overmind the Overmind to let the Dark Templar pass through," Raynor said.

"That's settled then," Fenix said. "The great Dark Prelate Azma will lead the Dark Templar to the front lines."

The Dark Templar is the personal guard of Archbishop Raszagal of the Daelaam. Her deployment of such an elite force to the Battle of Char demonstrates her determination to eliminate the Overmind.

"The Dark Templar, oh, Fenix, I've heard they're the best of the Dark Templar," Raynor said.

"In human terms," Fenix said seriously, "..."

"Let's teach those bugs a lesson."

"For Aiur!"

"For Korhal!"

Several hours later, around midnight.

A blast from Arclite Siege Tank tore through the air above the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet's Atlas Wing position, followed by the terrifying shriek of Valkyrie's cluster rocket salvo. A dense burst of bright rocket flashes illuminated the corpses and brownish-red Power Armor fragments in the trenches as they landed on the Zerg hive opposite the position.

From the helmets of the UED soldiers lying in pools of blood came the commander's order to launch another charge after the artillery fire ceased, but no one could get up again.

This place once belonged to an airborne division of the Atlas Wing, whose soldiers had served in the army for many years and had participated in many wars to suppress colonial rebellions. Usually, such a force would be enough to quell a colony that prohibited industrial and military development, but it lost 3,000 men in the first hour after arriving on the surface of Char.

In the scorching heat of Char, the corpses were rapidly decomposing, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.

Even so, when the order to attack was given, Atlas Wing Marines, covered in scratches, still rose from behind the corpse-strewn fortifications. The surroundings were dark, the wind carried the chilling screech of Zerg, and swarms of flying creatures occasionally swept overhead.

They are as terrifying as evil dragons, as numerous as swarms of mosquitoes in summer.

Beneath a tattered UED flag leaning precariously in a thick layer of ash, several Atlas Wing Marines knelt before their dying commander, a UED lieutenant colonel with distinctly Asian features, who was on the verge of death.

The lieutenant colonel's legs had been severed at the root, and the sharp spike that had pierced his chest remained there.

Around them lay the corpse of a Zerg Lurker rifles. It was even larger than a tank, shaped like a ferocious tarantula, its limbs covered in dark brown chitinous carapaces, the tips of which were sharp bone spikes capable of tearing through the frontal armor of Arclite Siege Tank, and its ugly head with red eyes had a sharp horn six or seven feet long on it.

This type of biological attack is incredibly insidious; they bury themselves deep underground and wait patiently for their prey to appear.

The surrounding area was littered with the corpses of UED soldiers and the charred remains of armored vehicles, but there were no Hybrid to be seen. In comparison, there were far more Zerg corpses, but the Swarm didn't seem to care.

The 6th Airborne Atlas Wing, lost 3,000 men in the first hour of landing at Char, and the rest were lost in the next 20 minutes.

As the elite force tasked with the main offensive, the 6th Airborne Division faced the Tiamat Brood of the Daggoth Cerebrate, one of the most powerful hives, teeming with Hunter Killer Hydralisk and Devourer Zergling.

Initially, despite heavy losses, the division's offensive went relatively smoothly. They miraculously opened a passage within the insect hive, and the division commander immediately ordered them to continue advancing.

But it turned out to be a trap.

While distracted by controlling the massive Tiamat Brood, the Cerebrate Daggoth still kept an eye on this battlefield. It ordered the Zerg here to retreat temporarily, luring the human army deeper into the fray.

Hundreds of insidious Swarm Lurker in wait on their path. As most of the 6th Division's main force entered, rows upon rows of Lurker spikes burst from the ground, tearing apart all the division's vehicles and heavy weaponry like a tidal wave. Then, a large number of Hunter Killer Hydralisk swarmed out of the Nydus Worm and quickly completed the encirclement, swallowing thousands upon thousands of soldiers.

"I was born on Earth, and I'm rooted in Char." These were the last words of the UED lieutenant colonel before he died.

"Live on, my friends."

As Mars rose, the last few Atlas Marines looked back. For some reason, the reserve forces that were expected to arrive never came.

Looking ahead, amidst the gushing lava and fiery glow of the lava lake from the volcanic eruption, Char's towering organic structures resembled dark shadows. The roars of the Zerg grew increasingly intense from all sides, seemingly inexhaustible and utterly fearless.

Several UED marines were filled with despair. They had come to protect the Earth, but their sacrifice now seemed meaningless.

Suddenly, a tank shell landed not far from the UED soldiers and caused a huge explosion. They immediately scrambled out of the trench, but fortunately, their well-made Power Armor plates were enough to withstand the shrapnel flying at that distance.

"Hey, you frail Earthlings, your Revolutionary Army grandpas are here!" A red-painted Arclite Siege Tank sped up from the side, followed by more tanks roaring with artillery fire.

These tanks are painted in gold and red, and bear the emblem of the Korhal Revolutionary Army —a kite-shaped shield with a golden five-pointed star on a clenched arm.

"Are you crazy?" one of the sergeants roared. He had just received a message from headquarters indicating that Char's Revolutionary Army was now their ally.

"If the shell had landed a few inches off, we would all be finished."

The red Siege Tank slowed down slightly beside them, and a young blonde woman with dark camouflage lines on her cheeks emerged from under the turret hatch. She had two braids and wore a breathable red T-shirt over her bulging chest.

"What does it matter?" she said. "I'm cheering you on. Who fights insects on their knees?"

"Get fired up! Let the steel torrent surge forward!"