Ode to Humanity

"Haha, you better be joking~"

This fourth Ascended of the Taldarim sat upon the Commander's Iron Throne, a forest of blood-soaked thorns and swords, his gleaming crimson eyes casting a cold, disdainful gaze across the land.

"Use your incessantly moving primitive mouth—to tell your emperor how I won the victory."

Extremely pragmatic, ruthless and cunning, intelligent, confident, cold-blooded, merciless, and deadly. No matter what words Alarak subordinates used to describe him, none of them were an exaggeration.

The Fourth Ascended, Alarak, viewed the Chain of Ascension as a power Game intertwined with loyalty and betrayal, and used all his cunning to weave conspiracies until he became the ultimate winner. Throughout the entire Chain of Ascension Game, only Alarak was known for cultivating and controlling allies, while other Ascended who were skilled at manipulating people's hearts all fell to the current Fourth Ascended.

Alarak may not be the strongest in the Chain of Ascension, but he certainly possesses the most outstanding, cunning, selfish, and vicious mind among them.

"My only response is artillery fire." Warfield had seen many Protoss, and this wasn't his first time fighting against the Tal'darim. Many people thought the Protoss were invincible, but that didn't mean he was one of them.

The Emperor of the Terran Empire placed great trust in Warfield, appointing him as the head of the Empire's three generals. Warfield was determined to prove to everyone that he was worthy of the Emperor's trust.

A scholar will die for one who understands him.

"The entire Terran Empire stands behind us, and our borders are right beneath our feet. There is no turning back." Warfield sounded the clarion call for the Terran Empire's Fleets to attack.

"Activate all reserve forces, concentrate artillery fire forward, today we are going all in."

The standoff and tense situation between the Terran Empire Fleets and the Taldarim Fleets soon escalated into a direct, frontal military conflict. By this time, sixty battlecruisers had entered the Gebus System system alone, equivalent to more than half of the entire Empire's warships.

On paper, Gohbus ' Imperial Fleets was not at a disadvantage against this Taldarim Fleets.

Although the Tal'darim themselves claim that their Death Fleet is extremely powerful and invincible, Gohbus's Fleets is by no means the main force of the Death Fleet, and is even only a small part of it.

In fact, although the arrival was impressive, the Fleets consisted of only one Taldarim Our Mothership, along with more than twenty aircraft carriers, hundreds of Scout, shuttles, and many more razor-sharp ships.

Even so, such a Fleets would undoubtedly be more than enough to destroy several human colonies; it would be overkill.

But the arrogant Taldarim Protoss finally met their match in the Gebbs system, hitting a brick wall. These Imperial humans were different from the humans of the Federation planets destroyed by the Taldarim; they were highly motivated and fearless, stemming from their sense of belonging and confidence in their identity.

Having overcome countless hardships and fought numerous battles, the battle-hardened Korhal Revolutionary Army has become the largest human armed force in the Koprulu Sector. Thanks to the well-established officer promotion system and military discipline established at its inception, they have completed their transformation from the Revolutionary Army to the Imperial regular army at an astonishing pace.

At that moment, rows of Imperial battlecruisers opened fire at Marshal Warfield's command, their laser cannons and electromagnetic cannons igniting the entire sky.

To those on the ground, this was perhaps the largest Fleets battle they had ever seen; vast expanses of orange-red barrage stretched from one end of the sky to the other, dazzling and illuminating the entire world.

Located within the atmosphere, the roar of dozens of Yamato Cannon and firing simultaneously was truly awe-inspiring, as if mountains were collapsing and the sky was about to fall. Anyone who has heard this sound will never forget the classic hum of the Yamato Cannon.

Dozens of smaller suns suddenly appeared in the sky, followed by bursts of dazzling flames. The Tal'darim Mothership at the forefront bore the brunt of the attack, the compressed nuclear explosions splashing across its wide plasma shield, the aftershocks falling as flowing flames.

The Yamato Cannon rained down one shell after another on the shields of the Taldarim Mothership, the resulting nuclear explosions enough to destroy thirty New Columbia City.

The crimson Mothership initially withstood all the attacks with an air of nonchalance, as if mocking the weakness of human weaponry. However, its shields quickly reached their limit. Then, a focused nuclear explosion shattered the energy barrier, causing its hull to burst into flames and leaving behind charred black scars.

The damaged Taldarim Mothership quickly retreated to below its own Fleets via a short warp jump. By then, the Taldarim Fleets had already opened fire in response to the Imperial Fleets's offensive. Crimson particle beams shattered the sky into multiple fragments, bombarding the green shield matrix raised by the battlecruiser.

Hundreds of Protoss and human warships opened fire simultaneously, with ten times that number of small and medium-sized warships and aircraft weaving through the barrage. Warships were constantly being destroyed in concentrated fire, molten metal raining down from the sky. The light from the artillery fire and explosions illuminated the entire world as if it were daytime. Wraith and transport ships continued to take off from the battlecruiser's dock. This largest Fleets battle in human history against the Protoss reached its climax as soon as it broke out.

It was an apocalyptic scene, with countless flames raining down from the sky, and the falling warships releasing boundless light and heat in the instant they crashed.

Through the still-connected communication screen, Warfield and Artanis could see the body of the Fourth Ascended Alarak, on the Taldarim Mothership tremble slightly, but the light shining on his purplish-grey face was immediately stretched and receded.

"The famous human fusion weapon... Ha, what an ancient weapon. You humans love playing with fire and burning yourselves, but in the end, you don't even understand how to burn yourselves." The Fourth Ascended still maintained a calm and composed demeanor, as if victory was in his grasp.

However, the situation on the main battlefield was different. The Taldarim warships were superior to human warships in both shields and weapons, but they were not without losses.

After completing a series of upgrades, including the Titan Reactor, capacitors, and energy transmission pipelines, the Terran Empire's warships now have enough energy to equip themselves with Yamato Cannon and energy shields. Their firepower and armor levels are now vastly different from what they were four years ago.

Besides this, their strongest weapon is their unwavering resolve to risk their lives. The Protoss can even sense this united belief through their powerful telepathic abilities, something rarely seen in the human race.

"You butcher! Just because one outpost was attacked, you want to kill the people of three planets!" The imperial insignia on Warfield's blue-black wide-brimmed military cap gleamed in the firelight. The whip ring and the golden five-pointed star on the shield had become the symbol of the Terran Empire.

As Warfield spoke, the Altera, on the port side of the Fleets flagship Steel Justice, was being hit head-on by the phase guns of the Tal'darim Mothership. Like a hot knife cutting through butter, its bow was almost completely sliced open, and massive explosions covered its surface.

This is a Behemoth-class Battlecruiser, built in 2492 and launched the following year, constructed by the Aurora Shipyard on the Antiga Prime. Strictly speaking, the Altera and her sister ship Martel, are transitional ships between the Behemoth-class and the new Minotaur-class. They are larger than the previous Behemoth-class ships, and their Yamato Cannon have been upgraded.

But this magnificent warship, built on the emperor's orders, didn't even last two minutes; it unfortunately became the first target of the Taldarim Fleets's concentrated fire.

Immediately afterward, the remaining Imperial warships avenged the Altera. They surrounded the battered Taldarim carrier, and a single enhanced Yamato Cannon shot tore through its already crumbling shields. A subsequent salvo completely destroyed it.

In the brutal battle, even the science ships tasked with escorting and providing repair support joined the fray, with warships crashing every minute and thousands dying.

Meanwhile, a refugee relief operation was underway on the surface of the planet Gohbus, where large-scale battles were also taking place. The ground forces of the Terran Empire and the Taldarim alone had deployed tens of thousands of mechs and fighters across the vast deserts of Gohbus.

Gohbus was originally an obscure colony, but the Battle of Gohbus would become a milestone in humanity's fight against alien invaders. From then on, any historian who wrote extensively about this period could not avoid this battle, writing about how the Terran Empire Emperor ordered Marshal Horace Field to fight the Protoss at Gohbus.

Whether officers or soldiers, the sacrifices of countless people will ultimately leave only words and writings.

Four years ago, no human Fleets had ever faced the Protoss head-on.

"From your human perspective, that is indeed the case," Alarak said.

"Why should I have pity on humans? If any other Taldarim angers me, they will suffer the same fate. This is the Taldarim, this is our rule."

The Terran Empire's Fleets roused Alarak's spirits, and he began to devote himself entirely to command. Even the proud Alarak had to admit that humanity's scrap metal was not entirely without its share of power.

The Fleets in Alarak was only a small part of the Death Fleet. In fact, at this moment, Tal'darim from all over the world were gathering in Slayn to attend the Rak'Shir Ritual of the First Ascended and High Lord Ma'lash.

Those Ascendant supported the First Ascendant were sent by Highlord Ma'lash to other battlefields far from Slayn, and because Ma'lash suspected that the Fourth Ascendant, Alarak, had secretly joined the First Ascendant's side, he ordered him to deal with the humans.

Nevertheless, even if he disobeys the so-called orders, Alarak will certainly return to Slayn in time for the Rak'Shir Ritual to join the final struggle for power. Dealing with humans is merely a way for Alarak to pass the time and hone his subordinates.

Alarak had no intention of engaging in a longer and more protracted war with humanity, as that would cause him to miss the largest Rak'Shir Ritual in nearly a century, Slayn. If he could eliminate the first three Ascended Ones, or even Ma'lash, Alarak could rise to become Taldarim Highlord, second only to Amon.

Fighting to the death with humans would not only do Alarak no good, but would also deprive him of his potential power to contend for authority.

"Alarak, it was the humans of Earth, not the humans of the Terran Empire, who attacked your outpost." Executor Artanis attempted to reason with them in a different way.

"Humanity's goal is to weaken both the Taldarim and the Terran Empire, allowing them to seize the opportunity to attack! Your struggle here, resulting in mutual destruction, only benefits a third party."

"Oh ho~ dear Artanis ~ you've caught my attention." The Fourth Ascended's tone was filled with his condescending smugness and a sharp, dark humor.

While withdrawing now would preserve considerable strength, it would also severely damage Alarak's reputation within the Fleets. What face would an Ascended who had suffered a crushing defeat in the war against humanity have to contend for the position of First Ascended or even Highlord? This was exactly what the current Highlord Ma'lash, wanted.

But if the enemy gives him a way out, that would be even better.

"I think that besides suffering defeats, what you Templar Knights are best at most is endless lecturing. Do you think you can talk your way to death, Artanis?" Alarak said.

"Your naiveté makes me laugh. Artanis, you just happened to guess right—no one can exploit the Taldarim."

"So, you're willing to retreat?" Shakuras was still in the midst of war, and Artanis hadn't brought a Fleets with him. Otherwise, according to Emperor Augustus Mengsk of the Terran Empire, he would have preferred to defeat the enemy first and then reason with them.

"Retreat? Taldarim will pay the price!" Warfield played the stern face without batting an eye.

Even if Alarak's Fleets retreats, Warfield will not stop there. Warfield has received the Emperor's personal order to eliminate the Tal'darim entrenched in Monlyth and Sigma quadrants, driving them out permanently as an eye for an eye, to give the people of the Empire an explanation.

"Only when I feel there's no need to waste any more time here!" Alarak snorted.

"I think that's now—" Artanis retorted.

"You're angry? Artanis. This piques my interest." Alarak clicked his tongue. "Supplicant, concentrate the Shatter Cannon fire and burn them all to ashes!"

"Our mission is simply to burn this planet to the ground—and here's a piece of advice: don't stand under the Mothership. Of course, you're the one going to die, not me, Artanis."

As soon as he finished speaking, the arrogant Taldarim Ascendant coldly snorted and cut off the communication.

"Oh, that wicked fellow. What is he implying?" Artanis looked at Warfield: "That arrogant Taldarim is even more—"

"They're even more arrogant than you," Warfield sighed.

"It sounds like he's going to burn Gohbus to make up for it. Unless I double my number of warships, there's no way to stop him before the planet burns, but evacuating all the civilians shouldn't be a problem before then."

"Excuse my bluntness, but this looks very similar to the weapons of your Protoss Empire," Warfield said thoughtfully.

"You said the Taldarim parted ways with you thousands of years ago and you never saw them again, back when the Protoss Empire was still in the tribal era. Then why are your warships and weapons so similar—"

"I can't deny that, General Warfield." Artanis also fell into thought, "In fact, I am also completely baffled; it's just too strange."

"The Taldarim Mothership is charging its main guns, and after that they will destroy the entire Burgess." Artanis's eyes lit up as he pointed to the Taldarim Mothership on the Steel Justice's screen.

"We must stop him!"

Warfield grunted in agreement. "General Medici, send a few more Valkyrie."