Imperial Stormtroopers
By midnight on the 13th, the Imperial Army had deployed three army groups, an armored group with two thousand Arclite Siege Tank, thousands of HALO cluster rocket launchers, and several tactical nuclear missile silos in the narrow east-west corridor of the Formica River Griffin Swarm's Formiga Laiwen Fortress hive area HALO Cluster Rocket Launcher, and the Formiga Levin Fortress.
The 7 million soldiers and civilians believed that an unprecedented battle was about to begin and were on high alert. However, the Imperial Army only carried out a four-hour saturation bombardment of the main base area in the south before beginning to consolidate its defenses and build fortifications, and did not launch an offensive as expected.
At 4 o'clock, Emperor Augustus Mengsk ascended the Leven Fortress on the Formica River, overlooking the seven-mile-long imperial defense line.
The Formica River traverses most of the Helmut Continent, with numerous tributaries that nourish the vibrant forests and thriving ecosystems on its banks. This gentle river, with its picturesque scenery and 95% of the colony's cities, settlements, and factories located along its banks, naturally became a major battleground.
Today, the cities on the north bank have been reduced to ruins, and the high-rises on the east bank have been reinforced as bunkers and artillery positions. A royal flag hangs diagonally on the Bunker, missile towers, and high-rises, and every few minutes, Imperial Marine Corps have just arrived on the surface rush to the front line. They are numerous, but their formations do not appear chaotic. They are solemn and orderly, like torrents of people wearing heavy red armor.
Behind the fortifications on the east bank lay a residential area dotted with tents, a cramped space crammed with countless people. The quality of life there had sunk to an unbearable level, but only the most foolish idiots would complain loudly.
Almost all Formica men joined the Imperial Shock Troopers or entered the logistics department to assist the Imperial Army. If the Empire had not prohibited the conscription of civilian women from war zones into the Stormtroopers and regular army, this number would have been even higher.
In addition to Imperial Marine Corps clad in kinetic armor and wielding Gauss Rifle, Formica also possesses over 1.5 million Imperial Shock Troopers. These are soldiers temporarily recruited by the Empire from Formica and have only undergone a relatively short period of training.
The Imperial Shock Troopers were equipped with the inexpensive CMC Light Combat Armor, featuring rolled-edge steel helmets with goggles and camouflage fabric.
Lightweight Power Armor is a type of armor with far less protective capabilities than CMC Armor. It is powered by batteries instead of miniature cold fusion reactors, and its limited servo system only allows it to have greater speed and agility than ordinary soldiers. It was mainly produced day and night by the military factories of Tarsonis, Brontes, and Vilityia, and 25 million sets were produced in just two months.
Of course, its shortcomings are also obvious: it is difficult to adapt to harsh combat environments, its battery life is pitiful, it is easily damaged and extremely unreliable, but its advantage lies in its amazing production volume.
The Imperial Shock Troopers are numerous, mainly composed of militia and conscripted soldiers. They are equipped with only limited armor and submachine guns. Only the more elite Imperial Armed Stormtroopers and Storm Stormtroopers are equipped with better weapons, such as Hail Rockets improved based on UED missile technology.
Nevertheless, such weapons are sufficient to deal with some Zerg and Protoss forces, as well as to combat separatist forces within the Imperium and the notorious pirates.
It must be emphasized that they were by no means cannon fodder used by the Empire to fill the front lines, but rather served as a reserve force to compensate for the severe manpower shortage when the limited Terran Empire forces were scattered throughout the Koprulu Sector.
By distributing weapons to people like Formica, whose homes and loved ones have been taken by the Zerg, their hatred will transform them into a powerful armed force. Once the war ends, the stormtrooper equipment will be recycled, the soldiers will return to their original lives, and the remainder will be used to equip the colonial state police, local law enforcement officers, and militia.
In the Empire, ordering the stormtroopers to sacrifice themselves to buy space for the main force to advance or retreat was considered a serious crime.
The Formica people, who had been urgently conscripted and issued armor and weapons, were ready for a final battle, but Augustus was not prepared to do so.
"Hold the existing positions and wait for the Psi Crusher to start operating before advancing." Augustus walked across the trenches along the Formica River, where Imperial soldiers stood at attention and saluted the Emperor.
It was just dawn, the moment when daybreak was approaching. If Augustus looked out over the rushing Formica River, he would have seen thousands of corpses floating downstream, the stench of death undiminished by the swift current.
The corpses were nauseating, reeking of disease and death.
On the opposite bank, the infected buildings and massive Zerg structures had been razed to the ground by artillery fire, but the infected still poured out like zombies. In the dawn, ghostly figures and countless red-glowing eyes flickered like red candles in the wind, and roars filled with pain echoed along the Formica River.
These infected humans possess higher intelligence than in the past, and even the ability to use Gauss Rifle. In some areas of Formica, infected tanks have even been sighted.
Although Infested Terran in the Griffin Swarm have overcome their fear of intense ultraviolet radiation to some extent, sunlight still makes them sluggish.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Army's Psi Disrupter were upgraded once again, taking a different approach. UED scientists discovered that concentrated doses of Sigma rays could reduce the Zerg's movement and reaction speed by half, and with Augustus's support, this discovery was quickly put into practice.
This has led the imperial army to favor defensive warfare over offensive warfare, a strategy that has been prevalent in the past.
"As long as the Psi Crusher works as expected, the Griffin Swarm's attack will crumble. At that point, it will be Carlos, not us, who will be eager to attack." Kerrigan rarely wears the Wraith Suit anymore; the equipment has become almost useless to her.
Under the guidance of the Dark Templar Master, Kerrigan can achieve invisibility even without equipment by distorting light and shadow with powerful Psionics. She has become more powerful than ever before, able to detonate an enemy's head with a single glance. Even another Level 10 Psionics in the Empire Sako, bluntly stated that the old PSI level is no longer applicable to the Empress of the Empire.
Rumor has it that the Queen's Psionics can even cover the entire palace, making her a true Psionics queen.
"By deploying Psi Crusher in a layered advance and gradually expanding the occupied area, Carlos will have to abandon his main nest and hatchery. This will also prevent the Defiler and infected lurking underground from bursting into the ranks and causing huge casualties as the troops advance." Lieutenant Colonel Mortier Ulbricht was traveling with the Emperor.
For his miraculous command of the troops in successfully defending Formica and protecting the civilians, Lieutenant Colonel Ulbricht has been promoted and given the opportunity to report to Emperor Augustus on the war.
His troops had withdrawn from the front lines and were given a chance to rest in the rear. Each of them was also given stewed lamb, a small glass of red champagne from Tarsonis, and a few pieces of dark chocolate.
When reinforcements arrived, Mortier's 375th Marine Brigade had almost run out of ammunition and food. They held their ground in the trenches with Formica's militia and volunteers, fighting off hordes of Infested Terran at night and resting in the Bunker wrapped in blankets during the day.
Countless bullets and explosives rained down on the front lines, with some soldiers even claiming they had used up all the bullets they would ever fire in their lifetime. In the end, soldiers who ran out of bullets had to resort to bayonets and homemade gas explosives, using flames to form a defensive line.
On the Formica front, your only duty is to fight zombies until you are the last one standing or they tear you to pieces.
"Your Majesty, Carlos will be in a panic, and that will be the perfect opportunity to seize and kill him." Upon hearing the value of the Psi Crusher, Mortier abandoned the idea of evacuating Formica.
"The new Overmind has awakened. Even if Carlos is killed, it may still be on the other side of the Milky Way Galaxy, bringing the message here to the Overmind." Augustus turned to Mortier and nodded, saying:
"Besides, don't underestimate Carlos; it might still be hiding somewhere hundreds of thousands of light-years away, while DuGalle leads the infected humans," he said.
"While Carlos may not be as cautious as the Cerebrate Sars of the Garm Brood, he's still a coward."
"Our opponent is the former Lieutenant General DuGalle?" Mortier seemed to remember this opponent, but had no recollection of his appearance.
"An old rival," Augustus.
"DuGalle is a respectable opponent, and we should give him a better ending."
"Gerard DuGalle is an extremely rare individual. Previously, the Zerg infection only created mindless monsters and mutated aliens; only high-level Psionics could retain a certain degree of intelligence." Dr. Narud also followed Augustus to the front lines.
Dr. Narud, wearing a reinforced CMC kinetic armor, trudged cautiously across the cratered battlefield. He appeared extremely panicked, trembling and shrinking back whenever he heard the sounds of artillery fire and the roars of the Infested Terran.
It seems that Narud was truly terrified. He had repeatedly told Augustus he was just a scientist who couldn't even kill a chicken. Once he arrived at the front, Narud lived in constant fear and anxiety.
"Your Majesty, if we can capture DuGalle alive, I can figure out how the Zerg virus works on DuGalle, which will benefit my further research," Narud said as he walked.
"The Protoss's nanoserum could even completely eradicate the virus from DuGalle —before he mutates into another form we cannot understand," he emphasized.
"If you decide to do that, you'd better do it quickly."
Several times Narud nearly tripped over the bricks, but he always managed to escape unscathed.
"There will be an opportunity." Augustus glanced at Narud, thinking of the inhuman experiments and torture Narud had inflicted on the infected Lieutenant General Alexei Stukov.
This half-human, half-insect form might give Narud more inspiration for his research on Hybrid, since the current Hybrid are still only a work in progress. Narud is just a mad scientist; he's not human, so don't expect him to have any morals.
At this moment, Formica and the Swarm on the opposite bank launched a new attack, far exceeding the intensity of the entire previous night.
Swarms of Defiler mingled among the staggering Infested Terran, their exhaled yellow smoke billowing like a sandstorm, carried by the wind across the Formica River. This severely hampered the Imperial forces' visibility and interfered with other detection equipment, but the artillery units didn't need to see where their shells were landing. The infected on the ground were so densely packed that even firing blindfolded would hit them.
A massive number of Overlord and Brood Queen floated in the sky, quickly becoming targets for Imperial warplanes and anti-aircraft fire.
The Imperial Army quickly opened fire in response, with gauss guns, rockets, and artillery firing incessantly, blasting large numbers of Infested Terran into pieces and throwing them into the air.
"Your Majesty, you should evacuate immediately; the Swarm is about to attack," Mortier Colonel Mortier said to Augustus.
Before the words were even finished, artillery shells from across the river whistled as they landed on the Imperial army's positions. They came from the infected Arclite Siege Tank. One of them landed not far away.
"I think Lieutenant Colonel Mortier makes a lot of sense." Dr. Narud nodded repeatedly, "You are the Emperor of the Terrans, but guns don't have eyes."
The accompanying imperial staff officers were also on high alert. They were all soldiers who had experienced real war, so they were not panicked. But if anything happened to the emperor here, it would be all over.
"What's there to be afraid of? With old Tychus standing here, even cannonballs have to detour." Tychus Finley, clad in deep red Power Armor, calmly smoked a cigarette.
It wasn't that he was incredibly brave, but if anyone had witnessed Queen Kerrigan's Psionics to stuff cannonballs back into the barrel, create a Psionics shield out of thin air, and bend bullets, they probably wouldn't be so panicked.
"How long until the Psi Crusher can be activated?" Augustus didn't overestimate his abilities and followed Mortier into the nearest trench.
"It will take at least half an hour. The Psi Crusher is not an easy-to-assemble device like Psi Disrupter. It is huge and requires a corresponding reactor and a series of equipment. Moreover, debugging also takes time," Narud said.
"Too slow," Augustus.
"This is already the fastest speed." Narud wasn't lying; if they were using Xel'Naga technology, it would undoubtedly be much faster. But the problem was that he couldn't reveal this, and human engineers couldn't understand such technology.
Narud dared not reveal too much, otherwise humanity would not regard him as a genius scientist, but would throw him at the stake—in fact, he believed he had revealed enough, for no scientist had ever possessed such a multitude of talents as himself.
"I will improve the existing design as much as possible," he quickly replied, fearing that this unpredictable monarch in his eyes might change his mind.
"Very good." Augustus was just asking anyway.
He discovered that whenever Narud was questioned, the guy always came up with something better.
"Your Majesty, the Aleksander has reappeared. A massive Griffin Swarm Fleets appeared on Formica's satellite, Kangarol, and is approaching our Fleets."