Augustgrad

Korhal IV, Radiated Wastes.

Desolate and lifeless. Desert upon desert, not a blade of grass grows, and as far as the eye can see, there is gray dust filled with radioactive material, which flutters in the wind, and a gray haze fills the sky. The sunlight is dim, and everything is gray and hazy, like a purgatory.

This place is not only desolate and lonely, but also an absolute forbidden zone for humans. Even after more than four years, the soil and atmosphere of Korhal IV are still filled with deadly radioactive dust.

"In the past, this was a small town far from the city, nestled beside a ribbon-like river, where aquatic plants grew abundantly. On cool summer nights, with just a small lamp, the Sterling fireflies would dance around you, like long dresses and ribbons emitting a soft, fluorescent green glow."

Wearing a radiation protection suit, Arcturus Mengsk stood beside a deep ditch filled with rainwater, pointing to the piece of land he had measured with his feet. "Our grandfather said: What is life? It is the tiny glow left by a firefly when the sun is about to set and night is coming."

"Fortunately, he won't see what Korhal IV looks like now."

The deep ditch, now filled with rainwater, once held the town center of a small town with a primary school. When the nuclear explosion occurred, everyone had been forcibly evacuated by the Revolutionary Army, but the beautiful town, worthy of being featured on a postcard, was reduced to ashes.

Arcturus, a strong man with a gray beard, made no attempt to hide his sorrow and loss. He loved his family and homeland, which is why he was enraged for the first time in his life when the Terran Confederacy destroyed the Korhal IV with Apocalypse-class Nuclear Missile.

No wonder Arcturus went mad. The old Korhal IV was a beautiful planet, with silver cities crisscrossed by rivers, and dense forests stretching into the distance along the rolling mountains. The forests of Korhal were colorful, mostly red, orange, and purple, and he would never forget the dreamlike scene when the vast clouds merged with the forest.

Therefore, Arcturus and the Korhal people sought revenge. The Terran Confederacy wanted to burn down their homes and kill them all; it was a blood feud.

"Even he would shed tears." In Augustus's memory, his grandfather had become a blurry shadow, and he could only find that lost memory in past images.

"Korhal, our mother, we're back."

A vast shadow loomed over Augustus from afar, enveloping him. It was a constellation of airborne command centers, starports, and heavy factories, while transport planes roared past from the other side of the sky, the air vibrating with a deafening sound.

Radiation-resistant Armored Vehicle transport vehicles, space construction vehicles, and planetary cranes were also landing in the depression several miles away, and thousands of workers and soldiers in yellow and blue protective suits were disembarking from the Zeus-class Lander (another type of Hercules lander, catapult-launched).

In the desert, considered a forbidden zone for humans, hundreds of construction camps stand amidst the Korhal radiation winds that people avoid at all costs. The first things built were fortified living quarters, supply stations, and automatic cannons for guarding against mutated beasts, followed by nuclear radiation detection and removal equipment.

On the thick, lead-reinforced concrete foundation, countless bronze-colored alloy steel frames are rising from the ground, and modular building panels, thrown onto the surface of Korhal, are piled high, waiting to be welded and erected.

As the signal lights flash, the train tracks expand every night, traversing rivers, mountains, and deserts, with global power plants, space plantations, food processing plants, and crystal smelting and manufacturing industrial bases spanning a blue ocean covered in radioactive dust.

On the very ruins of Korhal, a magnificent megacity is about to rise into the world.

"How many people want to sign up to build Korhal?" Augustus a deep breath and pulled out a control panel from his thick radiation protection suit. It displayed a blueprint for the construction of a city.

"There are twenty million people. This is data from the Imperial Statistics Department and the Immigration Department. One-third of them are Korhal people who have settled in Umojan, and then there are people from other planets, with Antiga having the largest number." Although Augustus has not yet announced that he will establish a new government to replace the former Terran Confederacy, Revolutionary Army members like Arcturus have already begun to refer to this new Koprulu Human Regime as the Terran Empire and their homeland.

Of course, the words "Terran Empire" have no direct relation to an empire. Their more accurate meaning should be: the territory of the Terrans, the Terran Dominion, the place dominated and ruled by the Terrans.

However, this did not prevent the fanatics among the Sons of Korhal from beginning to call their homeland an empire and Augustus an emperor. With the deliberate encouragement of generals such as Arcturus, this ideology quickly became mainstream within the Revolutionary Army.

If someone told them that a Secular emperor was about to descend upon them to rule and bind them, the fierce Terrans wouldn't recognize him, but if that person was Augustus Mengsk, it would only be a title of respect for him.

Augustus Mengsk pointed to a location on the Korhal IV map and didn't move, and the architects, bankers, and representatives of construction group shareholders from the Tarsonis Terran Confederacy, who had gathered there, rushed to say, "We want to build a city for you."

When Augustus silent, they changed their tune and said they were building the city for all the Terrans.

"I can't believe it, we actually did it." Augustus felt a surge of pride, proud of his warriors and those who were determined to rebuild Korhal.

"In Korhal, we will achieve the revival of the Terrans, so that the people of the Empire will no longer suffer the threat of the Zerg and Protoss."

"Yes, yes, Augustus, without you, we absolutely could not have done it." His excitement dispelled Arcturus's sadness. Besides overthrowing the Terran Confederacy and making the Tarsonis Old Families pay for their crimes, his greatest wish was to restore Korhal IV to its former state.

Even if it's impossible, this beautiful planet that gave birth to the Korhal must still be inhabited.

The reconstruction of Korhal as the new capital of the Terran Empire faces numerous obstacles in the world of Terrans's throne. Not everyone loves Korhal as much as Arcturus does, but fortunately, his brother is a man of his word. He promised to rebuild Korhal, and he meant it.

This brought comfort to Arcturus, after all, he was his own brother, and Korhal was their birthplace.

According to the blueprints, this will be a city far larger than the former Korhal capital, Sterling. The foundation will be dug a mile deep, and the entire city will be built on steel and concrete. All the soil used for cultivation in the city will come from another Earth-like planet eight light-years away to remove and isolate nuclear contamination, ensuring that children born in Korhal IV will not suffer from deformities and premature death.

The city's planning is truly grand and imposing. The designers started by constructing the government administration building in the center, followed by rows of skyscrapers, a solar-powered trolleybus system that encircles the city, and parks and green spaces scattered throughout.

A miraculous city built of alloy steel and glass, the human hub in a barren land. It will be a super city no less impressive than Tarsonis City, and all human achievements will pale in comparison.

As early as when Korhal was first destroyed, Augustus had summoned all the architects of Korhal IV and some of the Umojan to work on a plan to rebuild Korhal, but it remained stalled. After reclaiming Tarsonis from Alexei Stukov, Augustus planned to form a new government while restarting the reconstruction plan for Korhal.

According to the plan of a master architect, Augustus intended to build a brand new city 1,200 miles north of the ruins of Sterling City, the former capital city of Korhal IV and his birthplace, as the political, economic and cultural center of the future Terran Empire.

This decision certainly put immense pressure on Augustus, as he had other options besides Korhal. Although Tarsonis had suffered enormous damage in the war, losing over several hundred billion Confederacy Credits in just one night, it remained the absolute center.

Why must we build our homes on ruins? This question is all too common. However, it is absolutely necessary to move the center of the Terran Empire from Tarsonis, the former Terran Confederacy, to Korhal.

But Augustus defied all opposition; he was determined to forge the dignity and honor of the Terrans in Korhal, and to reshape the soul of this race. The planets Augustus determined to build were Antiga Prime and Korhal IV, so that the people of the Terran Empire would feel proud when they spoke of these places.

"In just four to five years, by 2498 or 2499, this new city will be completed, and then it will be able to accept immigrants from other worlds," Augustus.

"We must formulate a proactive policy to encourage immigration. In addition to rebuilding the cutting-edge technology industries that Korhal IV relied on for its development, we must also transfer economic and industrial sectors from Tarsonis. All the industries left behind by the Tarsonis Old Families should be accepted by the Empire."

Conquering an empire and governing it are two very different things, and Augustus had little experience in this regard.

"Taking over the Old Families's business has made other entrepreneurs and intergalactic corporations tremble with fear. Even those once high and mighty financial giants have bowed their heads to you," Arcturus chuckled.

"If those Tarsonis nobles who fled still have any objections to this matter, they are welcome to come to me in Korhal." Augustus paused for a moment:

"I'd love to!"

Augustus left Arcturus amidst hearty laughter, heading to a nearby research station used to monitor radiation levels, primarily built by scientists aboard the Alpha Squadron's research vessel Amerigo.

The Revolutionary Army had more than twenty former Confederacy science ships, and later the Revolutionary Army's Antiga Starport also built some. Science ships were originally research and exploration vessels used by the Terran Confederacy to explore other star systems. Compared to their military role, traditional science ships undoubtedly played a greater role in civilian development.

Of course, only four science ships were on the Korhal IV; the rest of the science ships left with the Revolutionary Army Fleets that was sent to other parts of the Koprulu Sector.

"Marshal Augustus, when we last met—" At this moment, Dr. Narud, who was leading several researchers, walked towards Augustus.

Dr. Narud has now been hired by Augustus as the Terran Empire's chief alien biologist. He has been given heavy guard and even stationed at the Protoss national laboratory, ensuring his absolute safety and eliminating any potential threats. This will prevent any former United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet soldiers who harbor resentment towards Narud from having the opportunity to harm him.

Dr. Narud is already a leading figure in the field, but recently told Augustus he also has some knowledge of architecture and that he has an experiment using biodegradation technology to remove nuclear contamination, but he lacks funding.

Augustus happy to keep this person in his sight, so he had Narud come along. Even if Narud hadn't said so, Augustus would have found a way to get him to come.

Currently, the Narud poses no threat; on the contrary, it greatly assists in the technological advancement of the Terrans.

This guy was happily playing the role of an anthropologist, hoping that Augustus give him an important position so that he could further implement his plans, but he didn't expect that the other party would treat him like a monkey.

Even without Psionics shielding devices, Augustus honed his ability to fabricate and conceal his thoughts from Psionics. Coupled with Narud's inherent contempt for humans, he never imagined that Augustus already know his entire plan. He still believed that he could manipulate this human as he had in the past.

"It was the last time." Augustus's words left Narud speechless. When dealing with someone like Narud, one must never fall into his traps or snares.

"Hehe, you're so funny." Dr. Narud gave an awkward smile, behaving like a embarrassed old man.

"I heard you're somewhat unhappy about my decision to destroy all the UED labs, is that true?" Augustus asked him.

"No, no, what I mean is, if these Hybrid can be used to fight the enemies invading the Koprulu Sector, it's better for them to die on the battlefield than to be destroyed in vain." Narud knew Augustus's tough stance on Hybrid, but from the few words the other party revealed, he did not completely disagree with the value of Hybrid.

In other words, Narud was being kept in suspense by Augustus, believing that there was still a good chance of things turning around.

"Yes, but the Hybrid is uncontrollable, as you said." The worry on Augustus's face was genuine.

Now, within the Koprulu Sector, taking over those former Confederacy planets and eliminating any potential remnants of the old Confederacy is Augustus's first problem. This means Augustus cannot stay in Korhal for long.

This new government, which had not yet announced its existence to the world, must have faced many difficulties in its turbulent early days, not to mention the sudden large-scale invasion by foreign enemies not long ago.

Based solely on information relayed from the Edge World, the re-emerging hostile Protoss forces are likely larger than those of the Contact War or even the Total War. Augustus can confirm that they are Taldarim, and likely not a branch, but rather the legitimate Tal'darim from Slayn (Tal'darim for slaughter).

Because Augustus too familiar with the face of our Highlord Alarak in that image. Of course, this future Highlord of Taldarim might only be an Ascended One, perhaps holding the first or fourth seat in the Taldarim Chain of Ascension, or even further down, and might very well be caught up in an internal power struggle, being used as a pawn.

Alexei Stukov's Fleets inexplicably provoked them.

As for the Zerg, although their numbers are not as large as before, the Swarm has clearly changed its strategy for dealing with humans. The newly emerging and terrifying virus is becoming increasingly infectious and difficult to defend against, causing far more deaths than in the past.

Beset by internal and external troubles.

The people of the former Terran Confederacy desperately need their savior and a leader to turn the tide.

"Okay, okay, but" Narud was met with another setback:

"I don't mind warning you that I have nothing to say."

"Augustus, the Minister of Imperial Construction has asked me to confirm with you the name of the Terran Dominion capital— Augustgrad," Arcturus Augustus at this moment.

"That sounds like your name."

"Not in my name, but in our grandfather's," Augustus said, shaking his head.

It is the future center of military, political, technological research, trade and production of the Terran Empire, and the undisputed birthplace of humankind.

Korhal.

Augustgrad.

There was a flower bed in front of us, built inside a radiation shield, with tender buds and lush green leaves.

The soil in the flowerbeds was collected from a cup of soil that the Korhal took from their homeland before they left, including Augustus's share. It is soaked with the tears of this long-suffering people.

That concludes the discussion on the merits and demerits of different political systems; I intend to continue writing for several more years.