"Had the Form War... already begun?"
Zeratul's report plunged Shen Jun into thought, but his next words shattered his contemplation.
"From the Trigonians that sent the signal, we learned that the incoming Trigonian army is called Variegated Blue..."
Variegated Blue!
Shen Jun had thought that nothing could surprise him anymore, but he discovered that he had been wrong.
In the original story, the Trigonian threat faced by Ge Xiaolun and the other protagonists twenty thousand years later came from the Variegated Blue Empire!
And Variegated Blue was also the largest surviving Trigonian force after this Form War ended.
In that instant, countless possibilities flashed through Shen Jun's mind. In the end, he decided to place the Protoss on full wartime footing. If the Trigonian army was coming, then the Angel army would likely arrive soon as well. Once the two sides clashed, the Protoss could easily be caught in the crossfire.
He did not know that the main Angel forces and the main Trigonian forces were already locked in fierce battle, and that Variegated Blue was actually a group of deserters who had inexplicably fled in the middle of battle...
Early the next morning, eighty thousand Protoss stood in orderly ranks on the grand plaza before the Twilight Council. Tassadar, Zeratul, Alarak, Selandis, Vorazun, Kerasul, and Talandar stood at the front in a single line.
Shen Jun stood atop the Twilight Council building, looking down at all the Protoss.
"My brethren, today I can finally truly call you my brethren. Protoss blood flows through my veins as well—the blood of Adun, the most legendary hero of old! I am the same as you. I too lost my former home, but I led you to rebuild our home here on Giant Elephant Star."
"I know many of you dream of one day returning to your homeland and defeating Amon once more. But I must tell you that the universe which gave birth to the Protoss no longer exists. You can no longer return to the world you once knew best!"
As soon as those words were spoken, a stir ran through the Protoss below. Many Protoss from the old era who had never seen Amon did not even take him seriously. They believed that coming to the Super God Universe had merely been for rest and recuperation, and that revenge was their ultimate goal. Yet now they were suddenly being told, "You are nothing but a pack of Homeless Dogs." No one could accept that.
The commotion quickly subsided, and they turned their eyes toward Shen Jun, awaiting his words.
Adun's blood flowed through Shen Jun's veins, and Adun was the greatest hero in the heart of every Protoss. Without realizing it, the Protoss had already begun to regard Shen Jun as Adun's incarnation.
"My brethren, it is time for us to forget the past and establish a new nation here. We will restore the glory of the Protoss in this universe. Even in an unfamiliar universe, we will make every race witness the revival of a great civilization—the Protoss!"
Shen Jun's magnetic voice carried with impassioned force to the ears of every Protoss.
"Today, I will rebuild the Daelaam here and lead you as the second Hierarch. I will uphold Artanis's legacy and ensure that the world forever remembers the brilliance of the Protoss. En Taro Artanis!"
"Furthermore, the land beneath our feet will no longer be called Giant Elephant Star. It will be our Aiur!"
Shen Jun paused, and the entire plaza erupted.
"En Taro Artanis!"
"Hierarch, we pledge our loyalty to you!"
Today, the Protoss had found a new direction: to follow Shen Jun's path, not merely to restore what they once had, but to make the Protoss stronger than they had been in their Golden Age!
"Hmph. Using Artanis's prestige to elevate your standing among the Protoss... our new Hierarch is truly cunning."
Alarak spoke in a flippant tone.
"Enough, Gao JianGuo. Do you think everyone is like you?"
Vorazun, standing beside him, cut him off sharply. Shen Jun could never resist calling Alarak Gao JianGuo whenever he saw him, and as a result, Vorazun and the others had begun using the name from time to time as well.
"W-what? Gao... Gao JianGuo? Who gave you permission to call me that?"
Alarak was so furious that he could barely speak. Vorazun merely rolled her eyes at him and ignored him, secretly delighted. Back when she traded insults with Alarak, she had never once won. Now, however, one simple form of address had rendered him incoherent.
Alarak trembled all over, but he could not lash out in such a setting. He could only suppress his anger and continue listening to Shen Jun's speech, grumbling inwardly, When it comes to brainwashing, no one understands it better than I do!
"But!" Shen Jun suddenly shouted, cutting through the Protoss' fervent cheers. In an even more impassioned tone, he said, "This universe is far more dangerous than you imagine. We are no longer the strongest race in the universe. There is the eighty-thousand-year-old Angel Civilization, the forty-thousand-year-old Lieyang Civilization, the Deno Civilization that has devoted all its efforts to creating gods, as well as the Trigonians and Beast Bodies... We have many competitors!"
"In just half a year, a massive Trigonian army will come to seize our new home. And I say this responsibly: with our current strength, we cannot win this war. Therefore, over the next six months, every warrior must fully cooperate with the researchers. We must build a fleet with preliminary combat capability as soon as possible and meet the enemy beyond our homeland!"
"We cannot suffer the humiliation of having our homeworld invaded a second time!"
"Therefore, I hope the Templar can set aside their arrogance and obey the instructions of the Phase-smiths. All of this is for Aiur!"
When Shen Jun finished speaking, an eerie silence fell over the plaza.
"For Aiur!"
After a pause, someone unknown took the lead and shouted. Then all the Protoss roared as one.
"For Aiur!"
Shen Jun knew that from this day onward, nothing could ever shake his authority over the Protoss.
Three months later, Shen Jun arrived at the Fleet Beacon. A group of highly skilled Phase-smiths led by Kerasul were hard at work there. Although Rohana's preserved records were detailed enough, they still required extensive verification and organization. At present, only Phoenix Fighters, Scouts, Warp Prisms, and Arbiters could be perfectly reproduced. The data for Void Rays had nearly been sorted out as well. For the time being, the only mainline warship whose production could be restored was the Void Ray.
Just as the Protoss were working at full tilt to build their fleet, Aiur received an unexpected visitor.
She was a perfect God River Body Being, with exquisite features, blue eyes, a height of one meter seventy-eight, long fair legs, and flowing silver hair. A pair of pure white wings grew from her back. She seemed to possess every beautiful trait in the universe, enough to drive any being mad.
She was Angel He Xi, one of the former Three Angel Kings, the Heavenly Based King, and the Holy Right Wing of the current Angel Queen Keisha.
Before the Form War began, Variegated Blue's retreat caught Keisha's attention. She ordered He Xi, who had originally remained in the rear, to investigate. In the end, He Xi obtained the coordinates of an unknown planet—present-day Aiur.
The Trigonians had only discovered what was once Giant Elephant Star recently and had no time to construct a Great Wormhole Bridge. Furthermore, Trigonian flight speed was far slower than the Angels' Wings of Time and Space. Thus, He Xi arrived on Aiur a full three months before Variegated Blue's army.
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