725 Watch Big Brother's Micro-Operations

The vast marching column came to an abrupt halt like a snake with its throat stepped on. Zerg shrieks and the thunder of gunfire filled the air, and cries of agony were swallowed by explosions in an instant.

A low-flying squadron of Banshee bombers was preparing to provide fire support when a flock of Protoss Phoenixes descended from the clouds.

The Viking fighters escorting the bombers had vanished without a trace, leaving the Banshees as living targets for the Phoenixes. The Phoenixes were far faster than the Banshees and easily herded the bombers into range of their ion cannons.

A Banshee was hit. A thick plume of black smoke billowed from its vertical stabilizer, then its right wing lost balance. Spinning out of control, it plunged from a thousand feet in the air and crashed down like a large bird with broken wings, landing not far from Ister.

What truly caught the Empire off guard was the Protoss. They had once been loyal allies of the Terran Empire, but now Amon was using them against the surviving Protoss and the humans of the Koprulu Sector.

Ister still had some time to figure out what was happening. The train traveling eastward along the tracks had come to a complete stop. It was still unclear what force could bring such a massive machine to a halt.

They disembarked from the train's right side. A swarm of Zerg pouring out of a Nydus Worm was charging at them from the north. There were quite a lot of them—perhaps hundreds. The clatter of their carapaces and their deep roars came in dense waves, and more would arrive soon.

A wormhole usually meant the beginning of an even larger assault.

Having escaped death on the battlefield several times, Ister remained calm. The train stood between