The Overmind Will Return Like a King
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"General, the UED has launched an attack on us, and it's Hybrid leading them!"
Just as Ghost operative Magnus Torres' signal was interrupted, multiple radio reports from commanders of various Revolutionary Army units began to ring out.
The army was clearly in disarray due to the UED's sudden defection, but the commanders at all levels remained calm. Raynor had previously ordered them to be constantly vigilant against sniper fire from Earthlings and to maintain a state of alert.
"Their target is our Psi Disrupter." Raynor made this judgment while straightening the Holographic Projection projector he had kicked askew.
"Hold the line. If we can't hold it, destroy the Psi Disrupter. We absolutely cannot let it fall into the hands of Earthlings."
"DuGalle never intended to kill the Overmind from the beginning. He used the Psi Disrupter and the power of the Protoss to control the Overmind and the entire Char Swarm," Chief of Staff Charles Matt Horner said, his anger blazing.
"Damn it, he's been playing us all along."
The deceased Ghost operative was a respectable revolutionary fighter. Torres joined the Revolutionary Army to save more people and atone for the sins he committed as Ghost operative of the Terran Confederacy.
"DuGalle's plan was well-thought-out, but he didn't anticipate those Dark Templar." Raynor regained his composure; the more desperate the situation, the less likely it was to break him. The deaths of Torres and the other squad members only strengthened Raynor's resolve.
Despite being only 24 years old, Raynor has fought more battles than most generals in the Terran Confederacy during peacetime have fought in their entire lives.
"Does he think all Protoss are like Fenix? Tall, strong, always clad in magnificent golden armor, marching in the sunlight?" He scoffed. "The Dark Templar have always lurked in the shadows; they are the real trump card."
Compared to the Zerg, the mainstream human world knows very little about the Protoss.
Humanity's perception of the Protoss is largely that of a dangerous and evil advanced alien civilization. Typically, wherever the Zerg appear on a planet, the Protoss will inevitably follow and burn everything there.
Beyond that, humanity knew nothing about the Protoss culture and customs. At most, they had dissected a few corpses and recorded footage of the Protoss fighting in Mar- Sara, but that was all.
The Dark Templar are the most mysterious and low-profile of the Protoss. They have always been unknown to the public and have only appeared in Char so far. The Terran Confederacy is unaware that the Dark Templar ' power can completely kill the Cerebrate, and they don't even know that these creatures can be resurrected.
Augustus's Revolutionary Army was arguably the human force most familiar with the Protoss, maintaining close contact with Protoss throughout their history. The Revolutionary Army was also the main force fighting the Zerg, though their achievements are largely unknown.
UED's understanding of the Protoss and Zerg largely comes from the Terran Confederacy; they are completely unaware of the Dark Templar's existence. Therefore, just as DuGalle was preparing to shake off his allies and take control of the Overmind, the Dark Templar suddenly appeared and stopped them.
"That's it, the UED people still managed to poke the Overmind in the backside." Charles looked worriedly toward the main hive area.
There, hundreds upon hundreds of towering, Zerg organic structures guarded the enormous cocoon that enveloped the Overmind. The swarms of Mutalisk circling in the sky, like gannets or crows, rapidly folded their wings, descended, and then rose again, Swarm mournful cries intensifying the discomfort caused by Char's choking air.
At that moment, after a sharp roar from rockets, a Revolutionary Army heavy artillery position north of the command center was quickly engulfed by a violent explosion, followed by another salvo, with the intervals between them not even enough time for a single breath.
The Hybrid then appeared before the Revolutionary Army soldiers, and the only good news was that the Protoss were still their allies.
The Revolutionary Army's positions are all within the influence range of the Psi Disrupter, so the UED army doesn't need to worry about the surrounding Zerg. But if Raynor orders his soldiers to destroy all the Psi Disrupter, then everyone's doomed.
"The dosage must be insufficient, or rather, the amount of medicine carried by one soldier is simply not enough to control the Overmind, which is why they need four," Raynor said, shaking his head.
"Moreover, for a creature as large as the Overmind, it would take time for the potion to circulate throughout its entire body," he said, staring intently at Charles.
"Imagine what would happen if you needed four injections of anesthetic to anesthetize Tychus and throw him out from among twelve naked women, but you only actually gave him one?"
Before Charles could say anything, Raynor continued, "Then it's all over. A single injection of anesthetic did nothing but awaken and enrage Tychus, that powerful, unreasonable beast."
"Then Tychus will tie your testicles together and hang you up."
"Don't say that, it's still hard to say who will win." Charles sneered. None of Augustus's generals were easy to deal with.
"Pass on my orders: hold off the UED people as much as possible. None of them will have an easy time." As Raynor and Charles were speaking, the UED launched an attack on the Protoss positions, and the latter immediately retaliated.
In a very short time, the entire main hive area transformed from a coalition of various races attacking the Zerg into a three-way melee. The fighting became increasingly fierce, with corpses strewn everywhere, bleeding bodies of all races.
By this time, Raynor had lost contact with all his special operations teams. He tried to contact the Protoss, but they seemed to be in a state of chaos as well.
At this point, Raynor had absolutely no idea what was happening near the Overmind.
Dark Prelate Azma will do everything in his power to stop the UED from injecting the poison into the Overmind, but first they must deal with the Hybrid. Furthermore, the Zerg nearby won't wait for the Protoss and Hybrid to settle their differences; they will rampage and tear any enemies that approach their master to shreds.
At this moment, the Holographic Projection on the nearby table began to flicker, and the Adjutant spoke in his unique synthesized voice:
"Level 12 Psionics waveform detected--"
"What?" Charles exclaimed, "It must be a mistake!"
"This piece of scrap metal needs to be repaired." Raynor suddenly felt a hot wind coming from the direction of the main hive, mixed with the smell of blood, the rusty smell of the nutrient solution in the Dragoon's cockpit, and the stench of burnt protein.
The howling wind made the flags beside the base flutter, and tornadoes thousands of feet high, carrying volcanic ash, raged across the war-torn land. The effects of Char's active geological activity were even more intense, with hundreds of volcanoes erupting, lava rising and churning, creating an apocalyptic scene.
"Damn it." Raynor stared at the Overmind's writhing, enormous cocoon.
"If I were to get a needle prick in the butt while I'm sound asleep, I'd be furious too." He had a premonition of what was going on, and he also felt that he and his trusted subordinates were most likely not going to leave Char alive.
"DuGalle, you'll regret this."
The sudden storm was not formed naturally, but rather came from the unrestrained Psionics power of the Overmind. The surging Psionics stirred up gales around it, and the storm affected approximately 350 square kilometers of rocky land, causing the lava ocean to surge with terrifying waves.
The Adjutant must have been "terrified" by the data from the sensors, repeatedly stating that a level 12 Psionics waveform had been detected.
In reality, the PI index for humans doesn't even have such a level; it's completely inapplicable to humans and Protoss. This is enough to show that this level is far beyond what humans can achieve.
Raynor looked at the Overmind and saw the cocoon rapidly turning from green to a withered, grassy yellow, its skin quickly cracking and peeling off. The body, covered by a hard exoskeleton, expanded rapidly, like an inflated balloon.
Compared to the old Overmind's indestructible chitinous carapace and sharp spikes reaching towards the sky, this newborn Overmind clearly has more tender skin, and even its tentacles are much fewer.
At the center of the Overmind's body, which was covered in a viscous liquid, a gigantic insect eye connected to countless extremely thick nerve tendrils had opened. At that moment, a substantial Psionic Storm storm soared into the sky, stirring up the ash cloud above Char and forming a vortex that appeared in the dome.
Hundreds of millions of Zerg flying creatures took off from their lairs, heading towards the center of the Psionics vortex unleashed by the Overmind. All warships and aircraft along the way—whether human or Protoss —were torn to shreds.
The Swarm was engulfed in near-frenzied euphoria— the Zerg did not possess such rich emotions; those emotions all came from the Cerebrate that controlled them.
Now, the former master of the Swarm has been "reborn." It is the Overmind of the Zerg, the controller of all Cerebrate and all hives, as it always has been.
The Overmind has awakened. It will once again take control of the Swarm, leading all the Zerg to defeat and devour all the Protoss, and making the Zerg stronger, faster, and more perfect.
"It's all over. We're all going to die here today." Charles felt a wave of despair. "We will not be the last ones to die here. It's just a pity that I haven't seen the day when the revolution truly succeeds."
"Marshal Mengsk!"
Once the Overmind awakens, everything that follows is entirely predictable. Under its Overmind, the Swarm will be invincible, and they will soon devour all the Protoss and humans on Char.
Indeed, this was the case. Under the Overmind's powerful Psionics, the mind-link between Zerg became incredibly stable, rendering the repeatedly reinforced "Big Bill" Psi Disrupter ineffective.
The Swarm once again entered the territory of the Revolutionary Army, the UED, and the Protoss. All sides were attacked from both sides and surrounded, suffering countless casualties, with screams of agony filling the communication channels.
"Don't lose heart, old friend, we still have a chance." Raynor's heart was also gripped by a wave of despair, proving that he could still feel fear like any ordinary human being.
But Raynor wouldn't be easily defeated at this point, because he still had his family, his wife and children waiting for him to return.
"Raynor, my forces have suffered heavy losses. In the battle just now, my Templar Knights were badly wounded. The enemy is more difficult to deal with than I thought, and I must..." Fenix's image appeared on the malfunctioning Holographic Projection screen.
"Fenix, you finally responded." Raynor breathed a sigh of relief.
"You should know that the Overmind has awakened."
"Yes," Fenix's voice was low. "The Dark Prelate Azma had to deal with the UED Hybrid and the Earthling Ghost operative, thus missing the best opportunity to kill the Overmind."
"By the time he had dealt with all his enemies, Daggoth's tribe had already pounced," he said. "The humans of Earth have awakened this beast, and now it is basking in the joy of rebirth and its fury at the invaders—"
"Don't worry, it doesn't know what to do yet. The newborn Overmind is hesitant, just like a true newborn, full of curiosity but also fear."
"Just as I thought, it was a premature baby," Raynor said.
"Even though it hatched prematurely, the Overmind is still powerful," Fenix said. "But it is not the Overmind that died on Aiur. This newborn Swarm knows nothing of that; they are two different individuals."
"It can only control the Swarm by instinct; it's not the seasoned Overmind that has lived for countless eons," he said. "It's just a child among the Protoss, not even a hundred years old."
"As long as we regroup, we can kill it once again."
"You're still the same, you'll never give up easily no matter what." Raynor shrugged slightly. "Me neither."
"Lieutenant, contact DuGalle's flagship, the Aleksander, again. I believe there's still a possibility of us reuniting."
By this time, Gerard DuGalle's Fleets had lost more than half of its strength. At least 60 battlecruisers had crashed in the past two days, and the losses of frigates and other ship types were countless. Only the flagship Alexander and a small portion of the Fleets were left struggling to hold on.
"Why isn't that old bastard DuGalle answering my calls?" Just as Raynor was about to say something, he suddenly noticed that the sky had darkened abruptly, and the Hurricane that had been blowing in began to reverse.
An incomparably enormous black void appeared above the Overmind, the weather changed abruptly, and lightning gathered in the clouds. Amidst the thunder and lightning, a rare drizzle began to fall.
The extremely rare rain evaporated rapidly before it reached the ground, and a fleeting rainbow appeared on the land littered with corpses.
"What kind of sorcery is it going to use, Fenix?" Raynor cursed, while also hoping that the invincible Fenix might have some other way, since his understanding of Zerg and Psionics was definitely not as good as that of the Protoss.
"A wormhole. This nascent Overmind may be trying to summon his race from other hive worlds." Even Fenix said, "The situation is very unfavorable for us."
Both Raynor and Fenix realized they were about to face the most brutal battle of their lives.
The Overmind let out a chilling, psionic Psionics; Overmind was about to attack.
The Overmind vanished within the vortex of the wormhole.
At the same time, countless Swarm began moving toward the wormhole, and even the Swarm Fleets that was fighting Tassadar's Daelaam Fleets in high orbit returned to Char's atmosphere.
The screams and cries of Earthlings could be heard on every channel. The DuGalle UED Fleets, located on the inevitable Swarm, was swallowed up without any suspense.
Like a pebble dropped into the ocean, it didn't make a ripple.
I'll try to update more often; in short, let me make a schedule first.