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"Today, we will recapture Tarsonis, and the final victory of this revolution is imminent. I am Marshal Augustus Mengsk, and I wish you all the best in your valiant triumph."
The war began while the people of Tarsonis City were asleep.
Those living in high-rise buildings could witness a spectacular sight: a meteor shower falling from the sky, dozens of bright new stars appearing in the deep blue night sky, their brightness and size quickly surpassing the three moons of Tarsonis.
This wasn't the first time the people of Tarsonis City had witnessed such a scene; Tarsonis who had experienced that catastrophe would never forget the war that had taken place a month earlier.
Approximately two million innocent civilians perished in the invasion launched by the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet, and ten times that number were left with varying degrees of trauma. Some districts of Tarsonis remain covered to this day by reinforced concrete and thick layers of glass dust, with corpses buried beneath left to decompose.
The offensive of the Korhal Revolutionary Army was even more forceful and swift.
The battle between the Revolutionary Army Fleets and the UED Fleets in the synchronous orbit of Tarsonis lasted for several hours, with countless pieces of debris falling into the planet's atmosphere, creating a vast rain of fire.
With a major battle imminent, the UED's command and communication channels remained unusually silent, as if the vast command center had completely vanished from the communication channels. UED officers could not obtain any instructions from their Lieutenant General Alexei Stukov and could only rely on experience and their own decisions to command their troops.
With overwhelming force, the Revolutionary Army battlecruisers, occupying high-altitude orbits above Tarsonis, launched a massive orbital bombardment using Yamato Cannon.
A bright orange flame pierced through the clouds and descended from the sky, the converging plasma beams instantly engulfing the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet's military facilities on the surface of Tarsonis. With a series of earth-shattering roars, several flashes of light burst forth in the darkness.
Facilities near Tarsonis City, including armories, engineering stations, science stations, physics laboratories, and orbital satellite base stations, were heavily targeted, while air defenses were severely damaged, and orbital defenses were on the verge of collapse.
The firepower of the Yamato Cannon shook the surface of Tarsonis, while the electromagnetic railgun also aimed at its predetermined target. Amidst the deafening roar, the impact point was rapidly ignited by a nuclear explosion, instantly heating the air to terrifying temperatures. All the buildings were reduced to ashes in the roar of the plasma stream.
The shockwave shattered windows in buildings for miles around, killing countless people. Tarsonis burned in trembling fear, the bright spots from the explosion creating huge, burning craters and vast ruins.
Amidst the piercing sirens, a torrential downpour descended upon Tarsonis City, as tens of thousands of transport ships, landing craft, and airdrop pods plummeted into the Tarsonis, densely packed like a violent storm.
The United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet's Tarsonis garrison was thrown into chaos. The expeditionary force's Earthling troops were still holding the line, but the Terrans troops they had recruited locally were slow to react.
The huge gap in UED's command structure was also exposed at this time. Alexei Stukov, the core figure of the expeditionary force, and a large number of high-ranking officers suddenly disappeared. The remaining UED commanders had to accept the possibility that the command center had been completely destroyed by the Revolutionary Army.
Frontline UED officers were seeking orders from higher-ranking officers, but received nothing but to hold their ground, as they too were calling for their superiors. Admittedly, for division-level commanders, their responsibility lay primarily with their own units.
The chaos in command had the most direct consequence: each unit could only fight independently on its own ground.
In the dead of night, the bright orange beams of dozens of Yamato cannons from the Revolutionary Army Fleets, piercing the Yamato Cannon and earth, were clearly visible. They were surgically destroying military targets with precision, avoiding impact on residential areas and buildings as much as possible. Each Yamato Cannon was able to destroy an area of at least one city block.
The once magnificent skyscrapers were now shrouded in thick smoke, turning into piles of rubble like collapsed stone monuments, raising large clouds of dust in the sky above the city.
This horrific sight threw the UED defenders on the ground into disarray. Thousands of soldiers were burned to ashes, their charred corpses piling up like mountains. It had nothing to do with courage or experience; only luck determined whether they would die a tragic death like their comrades.
The UED defense forces in Tarsonis City consisted of approximately 300 divisions and over 7 million men, of whom only about 200,000 were original UED soldiers. These troops, mainly composed of Terrans, generally lacked fighting spirit and were thrown into chaos by the offensive, with many deserting in the confusion.
Alexei Stukov's forces were indeed an elite force, composed of well-trained soldiers of the Solar System Empire. Their defensive positions were among the few that launched a counterattack and attempted to shoot down the landing ships immediately after the Revolutionary Army Fleets's devastating orbital bombardment.
The greatest casualties inflicted on the Revolutionary Army landing forces came from a small number of UED railgun positions that managed to escape the rail bombardment. The terrifying electromagnetic pulse waves destroyed the electronic systems of hundreds of landing craft and shuttles, causing them to plummet in helpless, violent turbulence. These were the first Revolutionary Army to die in the Battle of Tarsonis.
The spaceship, trailing thick smoke, crashed into the Tarsonis City, inevitably causing a raging fire at the landing site. The city, under curfew, was ablaze with flames, and the roar of anti-aircraft guns, the whooshing of missiles, and the clattering of large mechs advancing had never ceased since the first landing craft landed in the city.
As more and more Revolutionary Army landing ships landed in Tarsonis City, clashes between the two forces spread throughout the city.
At this very moment, in the heart of Tarsonis, the city center, though long since deserted, still stands the magnificent Sky Tower of the Old Families, a silent tombstone testifying to the former power of its masters.
Surrounding the dozen or so Sky Tower were more skyscrapers and bustling neighborhoods, but now this place is eerily quiet.
Stationed here is the Atlas Wing of the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet, Lieutenant General Alexei Stukov's elite guard. They are equipped with a large number of giant Goliath Combat Robot and Armored Vehicle, carrying powerful individual cluster rocket launchers. This regiment has a long history; these Earth soldiers in gray Power Armor have fearlessly defended the security and stability of the Earth Federation.
In the early hours of the morning, the Atlas Wing in downtown Tarsonis encountered the Sons of Korhal, Revolutionary Guard of the Korhal Revolutionary Army. The Sons of Korhal had previously been considered an extremely evil terrorist organization by the Terran Confederacy. Now, however, the Sons of Korhal comprised the most fanatical warriors in the Revolutionary Army, whose fearlessness in battle rivaled that of the Resocialized Soldier of the Omega Squadron.
Amidst the roar of heavy anti-aircraft guns and Goliath Combat Robot cannons from the 17th Marine Brigade of the Atlas Wing, Grizzly Strategic Bomber swept across the skies above the Tarsonis City, launching a relentless bombardment of enemy positions below while maintaining complete air superiority.
Huge craters appeared in the lawn of what was once the city's central park, kicking up large swaths of dirt. Amidst the flickering flashes of gunfire, the glass of skyscrapers shattered with a deafening roar.
A major from the Atlas Wing, piloting Goliath Combat Robot, traverses a highway through the long night, with the towering Terra Sky Tower and Bennett Sky Tower standing beside him.
He was a soldier from the Tau Ceti System (also known as Tau Ceti, a single star system in the constellation Cetus), born on a comet farm on the planet Typhon, and grew up in harsh conditions. His parents, who raised him, disappeared during an interstellar voyage, supposedly losing their way near a pulsar.
Major Valias was only sixteen when he joined the army, lying about his age to leave his homeland. Now, he has been sent to this incredibly distant and chaotic star system under the orders of the newly formed United Earth Directorate.
The major has served for 14 years, during which time he has piloted this Goliath Combat Robot against the Centaur rebels, dangerous intelligent alien races, and other absurd and bizarre alien monsters. The medals on his body represent the honors he has earned.
Like many UED soldiers, Valias also has his own family. He has had two wives, but neither marriage lasted long. His only remaining attachment is the daughter he had with his first wife.
Valias remembered that today was the day his daughter was about to enter high school, but he had a deep-seated feeling that he would never be able to return to her side again.
The reliable Goliath Combat Robot stood on the ravaged land, truly like a Giant walking on the earth, while the Goliath of the Koprulu Sector was only a dwarf in comparison.
The battle here was more treacherous than any battlefield Major Valias had ever experienced; his men and comrades had all perished in this foreign land. The 2.3-kilometer-wide road was littered with the wreckage of mechs and the corpses of soldiers, the gray and gold-red Power Armor flickering in and out of view in the flashes of gunfire.
The Sons of Korhal destroyed this elite Atlas force. These warriors, clad in gold and red Power Armor, proudly adorned their armor with a golden wolf emblem and varying numbers of gold stars, the number of which likely corresponded to their rank or length of service.
The warriors who died here were born in lands tens of thousands of light-years apart. They were not bitter enemies, and even indifferent to each other's thoughts and opinions. They simply fought to the death for their different stances.
After passing through an obstacle consisting of Bunker and alloy steel walls, Major Valias continued forward in his Goliath.
This is the very center of the battle zone, and the numerous electromagnetic interference weapons have also affected Valias's communication system while piloting his mech. He has no idea how many of his original unit members are still alive.
They were routed and utterly defeated by the Sons of Korhal. The UED soldiers were no strangers to fanatical rebels driven by superstition or religion, but warriors who firmly believed in their inevitable victory were what their enemies feared most.
Those fanatical Revolutionary Army fighters died on the eve of dawn, but it seems that was exactly what they were looking for.
Valias didn't really care how many Revolutionary Army he killed; he didn't have any deep-seated hatred for these natives of the Koprulu Sector.
Suddenly, a gigantic bipedal mech appeared in front. Compared to the Goliath Combat Robot, it looked more like a Tarsonis space engineering construction vehicle with railguns and giant alloy steel shields mounted on both mechanical arms.
However, while SCV are commonplace in places like Tarsonis, such steel Giant are a rare sight.
Without any hesitation, Major Valias activated the heavy machine guns on the Goliath's arms. The bullets that were fired were enough to turn a person wearing modern bulletproof vest into a pile of minced meat, but when they hit the mech, they only produced a clanging sound of metal striking metal.
The Terrans ' weaponry advanced rapidly in their wars against the Zerg and Protoss, surpassing the achievements of the previous century of peacetime.
Bipedal mechs are undoubtedly better suited for urban warfare in cities like Tarsonis, easily traversing anti-tank trenches and reaping the lives of any enemy soldier like the Grim Reaper.
Amidst the hum of the servo system and the roar of the engine, the mech opposite accelerated rapidly towards Valias ' Goliath. It was a true Giant, standing over twenty feet tall, and its momentum was unstoppable when it ran.
As Goliath's computer continued its calculations, a long string of data appeared before Valias —reinforced steel armor, electromagnetic railgun, ramming shield. This was a true war machine; the generators powering the electromagnetic railgun made its bulging, towering back resemble a mechanical monster brimming with violent aesthetics.
"This is a madman." Valias's Goliath was already battered and bruised, its alarm flashing incessantly. Even so, Goliath was no match for this monster in close combat, yet the monster's pilot still chose to ram it at close range.
Goliath's 35mm cannon was completely ineffective against this heavy mech, and its missile bay was already empty. Goliath's servo system was insufficient to support it in fighting like a nimble human, and turning to run away was just another pathetic way to die.
In that instant, the word "Warhound" on the mech, the sexy pink-haired woman, and the golden wolf symbol between her legs were the last things Valias saw as he was knocked down. "Can I ever go back to Earth?"
Wow~ Wow~ The main character always makes a grand entrance last.
Tychus Finley used the Warhound's mechanical claws to smash the cockpit of the Goliath opposite him, having no time to worry about the pilot's life or death—unless old Tychus made a mistake, no one could stand still after taking a heavy blow from a Warhound.
"Occupy the former Confederate Congress building immediately, and be quick about it." General Arcturus appeared from behind the Warhound. He waved his hand, and warriors of the Sons of Korhal, wearing gold and red Power Armor helmets with wolf head insignia, stepped out from both sides.
"Fire indiscriminately, leave no survivors."
The fighting in this area is not over yet; a large number of UED Atlas Wing soldiers are still approaching and preparing to retake the lost Port Aleksander, and it doesn't seem like there's no high-ranking commander directing operations.
"Didn't they say that Alexei Stukov had been caught? So, who's in charge of the Kronos Wing and Atlas Wing now?" Tychus shouted at Arcturus over the comms channel.
"It's definitely not Alexei Stukov, but someone else," Arcturus said.
"This man is very likely the UED general who once captured Braxis, the Dylarian Shipyards, and Tarsonis. It was he who regrouped the remaining Tarsonis defense forces, inflicting far more casualties on us than anticipated," he ordered.
"But the Sons of Korhal will defeat him."
Turns out the air conditioner drain pipe was clogged, emmmm