The Third Xel'Naga Fragment

Of all the planets Augustus visited, the majestic mountains of Shil and the lost cities nestled within them were truly unique.

The mountains of Shil are exceptionally large and exceptionally high, often tens of miles high, and occupy an incredibly vast area. Hundreds of such mountains form an impregnable wall, reaching to the sky and penetrating into the clouds.

Nestled in the mountain plains are the ancient cities of the Shil civilization, filled with countless tall, densely packed tower-like buildings. Each complex is connected by surrounding ramps, towers, and bridges, converging in the distance to form a spiderweb-like intricate network.

These immense cities, so vast that their beginning and end seem endless, must have had an incredibly glorious history. The races that created these magnificent ruins long ago still roam this land. Back then, it was long before the first human to look up at the stars appeared.

Millions of years have passed since then. No matter how magnificent and prosperous these lost cities once were, all their colors have been erased by the world and the ceaseless sandstorms. The millions of gray and black buildings in the abandoned cities are like silent tombstones of this civilization.

Augustus gazed at this desolate world from the stone steps of the Xel'Naga Temple in the city center, imagining its former glory and the azure rivers and green and brown forests and grasslands that flowed through it.

Now, however, this place is incredibly desolate. Many centuries before the arrival of humankind, the gales of Shil had swept away the last vegetation that had taken root here, revealing ugly, dark brown rock formations. The huge bright spots on the ground once belonged to giant lakes or oceans.

The fierce winds swept across tens of thousands of miles of land, carrying away countless tons of sand and gravel.

No matter how magnificent and mysterious life this planet once nurtured, it has now become the graveyard of that species.

"This civilization has intricate connections with the Xel'Naga. According to preliminary investigations, they may have once worshipped the Xel'Naga with extreme fanaticism, regarding them as gods." Dr. Narud was no longer as full of praise as when he first arrived, but he was still immersed in awe.

"So, just like the Protoss, the intelligent beings of Shil also received guidance and instruction from the Xel'Naga?" Augustus thought to himself, "Shouldn't you be included in this Xel'Naga?"

"This requires further archaeological excavation and research into the social structure and culture of ancient civilizations. It's also possible that the Xel'Naga never appeared before this civilization. But those Xel'Naga Temple already existed before the species on this planet evolved intelligence and developed civilization." Dr. Narud pondered for a moment.

"Therefore, as this civilization develops and understands the irreproducibility of the Xel'Naga Temple, it grows in awe, eventually leading to religious worship."

"Among the excavated Xel'Naga ruins, the earliest architectural history can be traced back to the beginning of the universe, when the stars were just forming," the doctor said.

"The Xel'Naga, what a great and mysterious race."

"Do you think they are gods?" Augustus was silent for a moment.

"An omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent god." The emperor used an analogy. "For example, if I were to mutter a few words here, would they look over?"

"There's no way to prove it." Dr. Narud looked at Augustus, opened his mouth, but said nothing more. He knew the emperor was an atheist, but he was very interested in mysterious phenomena like these.

"Are all the prophecies of Xel'Naga true?" Augustus.

"So far, humanity has not been able to decipher the Xel'Naga prophecies." The Doctor sighed, emphasizing, "The difficulty is equivalent to an unintelligent ape solving equations—impossible. Even the Protoss cannot do it."

"If the Xel'Naga are truly a higher-dimensional being that humans cannot comprehend, then indeed, their every move is a miracle, and their prophecies are predetermined destinies." Augustus, his hands clasped behind his back.

"If the Xel'Naga return and become enemies of humanity, how can we defeat them?"

"Your Majesty..." Dr. Narud was clearly stumped by the emperor's question. He felt a wave of embarrassment, almost as if to say, "You humans dare to oppose Amon? I am, after all, just a Xel'Naga scholar of some achievement and a third-rate biologist."

"When I was young, I always loved these wild and unrestrained ideas. What if one day I had to fight against the gods?" Augustus gestured to his minister not to panic, saying that he was just speaking casually.

After saying this, Augustus walked up the huge steps into the interior of the Xel'Naga Temple, followed by Narud and the others.

The Xel'Naga Temple in Shil is not the same as those in Aiur and Shakuras, but its beautiful spiral dome and massive hexagonal columns are identical.

The Xel'Naga Temple is indeed the center of the city, or rather, all other buildings and layouts are built around it, and the style of each building complements the elegance and beauty of the Xel'Naga Temple.

Two stone staircases, seemingly crafted for Giant, ascended the trapezoidal altar and the sharply angled columns, converging at the temple's top and finally meeting at the temple gates in front of Augustus.

The temple's gates were two hundred feet high and forty feet wide, twice as thick as the walls of the Augustgrad Palace. The gates appeared to be pieced together from dozens of different but perfectly fitting geometric fragments, with dark green light flowing continuously along the grooves between them.

Augustus originally planned to use the Drakken Laser Drill to blast open the gate, but Dr. Narud unexpectedly found a way to open it. The emperor was overjoyed; if he could open the first one, he could open the second.

Beyond the gate lies the magnificent temple hall, larger than any known human structure, dwarfing them all. The wall opposite the gate resembles a distant cliff, appearing as both a wall and a ceiling. Flowing crystal chandeliers, like waterfalls of dark green light, cascade down the walls, making the whole world seem like a garden.

Dark green is the basic color of life, the color of lush forests, jungles, and grasslands. In the creations of Xel'Naga, everything is perfectly integrated with the beauty of nature and the vitality of all things.

The number and strength of the pillars supporting the dome in the hall were clearly insufficient to support such a massive building, yet the temple still stands remarkably well thanks to its miraculous structure and the strength of its materials. There are no windows inside, so it is not dark despite the lack of sunlight.

Before Augustus were many enormous creations, as if prepared for Giant of equal stature.

"The Xel'Naga once sat right here," Augustus remarked with a sigh. "I can hardly imagine how magnificent it must have been."

"Yes, it's a pity we'll never see each other again." Dr. Narud's regret didn't seem feigned, but it also seemed to be more than just regret.

Inside the temple hall, hundreds of imperial soldiers, including many archaeologists and scholars of writing, were carefully excavating the ruins.

In the Koprulu Sector, the archaeologists' main task is to excavate rare alien relics, since the Terran Confederacy is only two or three centuries old and there's not much to discover.

Augustus recruited a number of obscure and down-on-their-luck archaeologists from Tarsonis and hired them to excavate alien ruins for him. It is worth mentioning that Augustus's ten-year-old nephew Valerian Mengsk, also wanted to participate in the archaeological excavation work, but was scolded away by his father.

Given the preciousness of Shil's numerous ancient ruins and its important geographical location, Augustus also decided to establish several outposts and research stations there. Shil's natural resources are also considerable, and in the future, a colonization plan could perhaps be put on the agenda, establishing several smaller settlements to strengthen the empire's control over the region.

"That should be the Shil Xel'Naga Artifact Fragment." Dr. Narud pointed to the center of the temple hall, where a black polyhedron was prominently displayed on a rising hexagonal pillar, its smooth cut edges glowing with blue light.

According to the doctor, this is part of an extraordinary Xel'Naga creation.

"Is this what the Tal'darim is protecting?" Augustus toward the Xel'Naga Artifact Fragment, as Imperial soldiers and scholars along the way saluted him. "Even they themselves don't understand what its purpose is."

"Since the Tal'darim value it so much, it must have some merit," Dr. Narud said.

At this point, Narud didn't have the funds to hire Raynor 'Raynor's Raiders from the Game to find the artifact for him; he could only try his best to convince the Emperor that the item was absolutely extraordinary.

He could never have imagined that Augustus had already seen through his thoughts. It's just that the other party couldn't understand for the moment what Narud intended to do with the artifact.

The Xel'Naga Artifact are indeed crucial. They can be used to absorb energy to resurrect the Dark God Amon and pull him back into the real universe. They are also key to finding Ulnar, entering the Void, and even creating the next generation of Xel'Naga.

Under Augustus's instructions, the Xel'Naga Artifact was carefully placed in a black metal safe and transported back to the Fleets by special personnel and aircraft.

This is the third Xel'Naga Artifact Fragment that Augustus obtained, but he himself isn't particularly enthusiastic about collecting all the artifacts. However, since Narud is so interested, Augustus curious to see what he's up to.

"Since the Doctor says so, there must be a reason." Ever since Dr. Narud created the Spacetime Fracture Device and personal shield based on his research on Xel'Naga technology, the Emperor has increasingly valued and trusted him.

At this point, Augustus turned to Faraday, the captain of the Royal Guard beside him. "Any results from the interrogation of the Syldarim Protoss?"

With this, the Tal'darim forces entrenched in Shil have been completely wiped out by the Imperial army, with only a small remnant force still putting up a last-ditch resistance. Soon, news of Shil's victory will spread throughout the entire Terran Empire.

The Tal'darim of Shil were not the Taldarim who attacked the human world, nor were they aware of the destruction of Braxis. They belonged to the Taldarim Expeditionary Force led by Executor Naeon, and were fanatically devoted to the Xel'Naga, existing semi-independent of the mainstream Tal'darim world.

Now, being brutally beaten by the Terran Empire, they are completely bewildered. They're still standing there, and suddenly they've been inexplicably forced to take the blame.

However, whether it was Augustus knew the truth or the imperial citizens who couldn't tell the difference, these two groups of Taldarim were essentially no different; neither of them were good people. In any case, let's settle the score first.

Naeon's Tal'darim group and the Imperial Army are not without their grudges, which can be traced back to the bloody conflict between the two sides on the jungle planet Bhekar during the Revolutionary Army era.

The Tal'darim of Slayn are quite far from the Terran Empire, while the Taldarim of Naeon are located right on the Empire's borders. As the saying goes, "How can one allow others to sleep soundly under one's own bed?"

As long as Augustus's Terran Empire continues to expand, war between the two sides will inevitably break out again sooner or later. In that case, he might as well strike first.

Augustus wasn't worried that annihilating this Tal'darim would provoke an outburst from Slayn. Even among his own people, Naeon was considered a madman corrupted by Terrazine. Unless ordered by a high lord, no Taldarim lord would risk diminishing their own power to avenge Naeon.

There is only intrigue and power struggle among the Taldarim, and no kinship to speak of. The current High Lord of Taldarim Ma'lash, has a very poor relationship with Naeon, let alone helping him take revenge—unless it is used as an excuse for a power struggle.

However, fighting the Terran Empire would not bring any real benefits and could very well disrupt the plans of the Dark God Amon.

If the high lords of Taldarim were to cause trouble, Augustus would have his own ways of dealing with it. In any case, Augustus would never hesitate to act out of fear of harming others; he would never mince words when it was time to be ruthless.

"The Tal'darim are brave and incredibly tenacious in battle, but not unwavering in their loyalty," Faraday replied. "We now have the detailed coordinates of several more Taldarim planets, but their accuracy is uncertain."

The Tal'darim are known for their cunning; they despise humans but will submit to the strong. Humans, too, can be strong.

"Have you figured out where Naeon's stronghold is?" Augustus asked.

"In the Sigma quadrant," Faraday replied.

"Show these coordinates on the map," Augustus.

Immediately, a three-dimensional holographic map unfolded before Augustus. Several planets, each less than a few inches in size, appeared together with their orbiting stars in a dusty star map. The most important of these planets was named Typhon. According to the confessions of the Taldarim captives, Typhon also possessed a Xel'Naga Artifact Fragment that they had been treasuring.

The Sigma quadrant is Naeon's stronghold. Map records show that many human ships have disappeared while passing through this area.

"Arcturus ' exploration team also disappeared in the Sigma quadrant, but subsequent search and rescue teams also failed to find them. After the outbreak of war, the matter was simply dropped." Augustus recall something:

"Immediately dispatch multiple reconnaissance ships and infiltration units to these Taldarim worlds to prepare for the impending war."

Thinking of this, Augustus looked at the planet called Typhon. In Augustus's memory, Typhon was destroyed by a supernova explosion in the Wings of Liberty timeline in 2504, but now it was ten years ago.

"The next world we must conquer is Typhon."