Neutral Protoss

"Angel, this is Protoss territory. State your purpose, or we will regard you as an enemy."

Protoss?

He Xi silently noted down this unfamiliar term. Everything about this planet was strange, and she could not judge the strength of the two creatures before her who called themselves Protoss.

"I am Angel He Xi, a Holy Right Wing Guard. I came here to trace the Trigonians. I have no intention of offending your civilization."

Angels followed Keisha's Justice Order. They would not forcibly interfere with other civilizations, so she felt apologetic for intruding. Moreover, the Protoss' innate affinity with nature made it easy for them to earn an angel's goodwill.

Of course, He Xi did not know that this planet had belonged to the Elephant Man civilization only a few months ago...

"Trigonians?"

Tassadar and Alarak exchanged a glance, then tacitly chose to say nothing about the matter.

"A massive Trigonian army is advancing toward your planet. I came here to warn you and help you repel their attack."

"Why should we believe you, Angel?"

Alarak said in his characteristic Gao JianGuo tone.

To be honest, He Xi felt insulted. She was not known for having a good temper.

"Fine. I never expected you to believe me anyway. I'm only here to deliver a message. When the Trigonians arrive, I'll just join the battle then. But there is one thing I need to ask you."

"Oh? What do you wish to know, Angel?"

"You Protoss... are you a Beast Body civilization?"

"Oh... that's what you wanted to know? Don't you have eyes? Can't you see for yourself? Fine, fine, let me make it clear. We Protoss are the most unique existence in the universe. We are neither the Beast Bodies you speak of nor any God River Bodies. Protoss are Protoss!"

He Xi suppressed the urge to beat Alarak senseless. She kept telling herself, I'm a lady. I can't act on impulse. Eventually, she managed to calm down.

"I can overlook your disrespect toward angels, Protoss. But now, I want to meet your king."

Tassadar replied bluntly, "I'm sorry, but the Protoss have no king!"

He Xi was astonished. In this era, Third Generation God Body technology had only just begun to develop, and the concept of gods remained relatively vague. Almost the entire universe followed monarchism—in simple terms, it was a feudal society.

A society without a king like the Protoss was exceedingly rare, and generally only appeared among pre-nuclear civilizations.

"Fine, then where is your leader? Don't tell me you two are the Protoss' highest leaders?"

"You wished to see me?"

A new voice suddenly came from behind He Xi. She turned around and saw a man who fit every aesthetic standard of God River Body life.

Angels possessed exceptionally superior genes, and every angel was extraordinarily beautiful. In He Xi's eyes, Shen Jun was more handsome than most Male Angels she had seen before, and his bearing was far more resolute.

"You... you're a Protoss too?"

He Xi was completely confused. From the newcomer's words, she could tell that he was the Protoss' leader, but he clearly looked like a God River Body lifeform.

"If I'm not a Protoss, are you?"

Shen Jun asked with a strange expression. He had recognized He Xi at first glance. Silver-haired angels were already rare, and the only one so beautiful was He Xi.

In his impression, He Xi was the technological helmsman of the angels and should have been highly intelligent. How could she ask such a... such a stupid question?

"Heh..."

The corner of He Xi's mouth twitched. You looked nothing like a Protoss, all right!

"Forget it. Let's not dwell on irrelevant matters. You're a Holy Right Wing Guard of the angels, correct? I heard you came to help us repel the Trigonian army? The Protoss appreciate the angels' goodwill."

Shen Jun said in an unquestionable tone, "The Protoss will defeat every enemy. There is no need for angels to trouble themselves over us."

He Xi was practically going mad. The Angel Civilization was one of the most powerful civilizations in the Known Universe. She had come with goodwill, yet she was being turned away by a civilization she had never even heard of?

And from what they were saying, they did not seem to take the Trigonians seriously at all. Did they know that the entire universe was currently fighting the Form War? The Trigonians were one of its main instigators. Even angels did not dare claim with certainty that they could win this war.

Where did their confidence come from?

"However..." Shen Jun abruptly changed his tone and put on an enthusiastic expression. "Angels are honored guests. Since you've come to Aiur, you should have a proper look around."

What... was this development?

He Xi was dumbfounded. Had he not just looked ready to send her away? Why was he now asking her to stay and tour the place? Was he playing with her?

Naturally, Shen Jun had no desire to let angels wade into Aiur's muddy waters. He only wanted to quietly develop beyond the notice of the major civilizations, then emerge to conquer everything once the Golden Armada had been assembled.

However, Aiur's coordinates had already been exposed. Given the angels' usual conduct, they were unlikely to become enemies of the Protoss, but that was only temporary. He knew very well that the angels would definitely win the Form War.

And it was precisely their complete victory in the Form War that established Keisha's position as the King of the Gods. By then, the Justice Order of Keisha would cover the Known Universe.

One of the most important tenets of the Justice Order was to suppress the military development of Aerospace Civilizations. Therefore, the Protoss had to reach the level of a god-making civilization within a short period, or their future development would be constrained by the Angel Civilization.

So how could they achieve the fastest possible development?

Simple. War.

The Form War would not end in a few centuries, and the Protoss could take part in it, follow the example of a certain very beautiful nation, and make a fortune from war.

The angels could confront the Trigonians head-on while Shen Jun led the Protoss in plundering resources on a grand scale. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

The Trigonians would one day become the Vanguard of Ultimate Fear and were the Protoss' absolute enemies. Shen Jun would only join the camp of all God River Body civilizations, including the angels and Lieyang.

But in He Xi's eyes, it was not like that at all. The Form War was a great war between God River Bodies, Trigonians, and Beast Bodies. It had absolutely nothing to do with the Protoss. The Protoss were an entirely neutral party.

Variegated Blue might covet Aiur, but the other Trigonian civilizations might not necessarily become enemies of the Protoss.

Once Variegated Blue was defeated by the Protoss, the major civilizations would learn that another powerful civilization had emerged in the Known Universe—a brand-new neutral civilization distinct from the three major forms.

Then, in order to increase their chances of winning the Form War, the three major forms would surely do everything possible to draw the Protoss into their respective camps.

That was why Shen Jun had decided to let He Xi tour the Protoss civilization. He believed that, with He Xi's discerning eye, she would certainly recognize the power of Psionic Technology. Moreover, he was not worried in the slightest that He Xi could steal Protoss technology.

If he showed He Xi just a little goodwill toward the angels, she would certainly not give up on such a powerful ally as the Protoss.

As for whether allying with angels would be somewhat humiliating, Shen Jun believed that anyone who could say such a thing had clearly not used their brain. The gene technology of the Super God Universe was extremely powerful, and Shen Jun was intensely covetous of the angels' Super Gene Code.

Compared to the civilizations of the Super God Universe, the Protoss' only weakness was their lifespan. Without Super Genes, the Protoss would always face aging and death. If enemies could not defeat them, they could simply outlive them, which was exceedingly unpleasant.

Moreover, the Super God Academy and the angels were currently in their honeymoon period. If he went one step further, it might not be impossible to obtain God River Super Genes. Those benefits were far more important than any so-called pride.