Phase-smith

"Rohana, give us the route to the nearest mineral vein. We'll cut across this jungle."

"Yes, Commander."

After receiving the route map Rohana sent over, Shen Jun activated the communications system on the Psionic Concentrator and called the scattered Protoss squads back to camp. He planned to warp in several more batches of Protoss.

"Commander, what happened? Why did you urgently summon everyone?"

The moment Tassadar returned to camp, he came rushing over in a flurry. Shen Jun found it strange. Tassadar was no longer young; he had become a Protoss Executor at the age of 356 and commanded an entire army on his own. Now that he was already three hundred years old, how could he still be so impatient?

"There's a Crystal Mineral Vein on the other side of the lake. Our next objective is to seize that place. We need to prepare to welcome new brethren."

Shen Jun opened the panel again and selected Crystal Towers four times in one go. Now that he had money, he could afford to be reckless.

Then Shen Jun noticed that several new buildings had been unlocked: Warp Gates, Forges, and Photon Cannons.

Warp Gate: A device the Protoss used to warp troops across extreme distances. Every Warp Gate possessed an independent Time-Space Navigation Route and could reach the far side of a star system with virtually no delay. It was one of the most important war structures.

Forge: A fully automated factory used to mass-produce equipment. Nearly all individual combat equipment came from there, such as Psionic Concentrators and leg enhancement devices. A single Forge could produce over a thousand items per day.

Photon Cannon: The Protoss had few defensive structures, and the Photon Cannon was the most widely used. Its mounted miniature antimatter cannon could easily tear apart an enemy assault line. It was also equipped with cutting-edge detection technology capable of effortlessly exposing cloaked units.

Shen Jun's eyes burned with excitement. These three structures were far too useful. He immediately set up two Photon Cannons at the entrance to the camp, facing the northern jungle.

Then he built a Forge near the lakeshore, and the preparations were more or less complete.

His luck was good. Three Crystal Towers warped in warriors, including four hundred Nerazim, whom Shen Jun directly assigned to Zeratul. The two hundred Khalai Protoss went to Tassadar.

The final Crystal Tower brought two hundred engineers, including an elderly Phase-smith. Phase-smith was the highest title in Protoss scientific circles. Although their status was lower than that of Templar, most Templar treated them with great respect. The most famous Phase-smith was Karax of the Daelaam. Without him, the Spear of Adun could never have been activated.

"Tassadar, Zeratul, take your men and cut down some trees to make rafts. This lake isn't small, and there may be threats in the water. Make the rafts as large as possible."

Upon receiving the order, Tassadar and Zeratul immediately led their subordinates off to fell trees. Each had half their men chop wood while the other half built rafts, secretly competing to see who could finish first.

After arranging a Housing Cluster for the two hundred engineers, Shen Jun gathered them together. These two hundred were true treasures; all technological research and development depended on them. Rohana had said that she could only warp intact structures and Protoss. Other technological creations could not be warped.

Moreover, another universe was collapsing, and the number of available buildings there was rapidly dwindling. Once the StarCraft Universe was completely destroyed, it would no longer be possible to warp Protoss from there.

That was why these Protoss scholars were the only hope of restoring Protoss technology. They had to be properly settled.

"Phase-smith, tell me your name."

Shen Jun found the Phase-smith and asked.

"Oh, Commander, were you calling for me? My name is Kerasul."

Kerasul was exceptionally polite, even appearing somewhat flattered. His behavior told Shen Jun that this elderly Phase-smith came from the old Protoss society.

A class-based society where engineers held low status.

Even though Shen Jun was not Protoss, he was still the chosen Protoss Executor. Ordinarily, Kerasul would not even have been qualified to meet such an important figure.

Much less be personally singled out.

Shen Jun had no idea that his simple question had filled the heart of the future chief technological officer of the Protoss Empire with gratitude. He continued, "Kerasul, how long have you been an engineer? What field do you specialize in? Is there anything you need?"

"I am already five hundred years old, with more than four hundred and fifty years of research experience. I primarily study war machines. To be honest, the Mechanical Sentinel was my creation, though I have even better ideas..."

The moment research was mentioned, Kerasul's shyness vanished. He excitedly began explaining his genius concepts to Shen Jun.

Naturally, Shen Jun could not understand all the technical terms Kerasul used, but he knew Mechanical Sentinels all too well. The Guardian Shield that protected allies and the Force Field Barrier that blocked enemies were both infuriatingly powerful abilities.

The best partner for Zealots and an indispensable machine in the Protoss army—had it actually been created by the man before him?

Shen Jun was practically blooming with joy. He had truly found a treasure this time. Being able to invent Mechanical Sentinels was more than enough to prove Kerasul's technological prowess.

"Commander, the rafts are ready."

Just as Shen Jun and Kerasul were engrossed in conversation, Zeratul and Tassadar came running over to report. In the end, the two had completed their tasks at the same time.

After apologizing to the chattering Kerasul, Shen Jun went to the lake and saw that two hundred rafts had indeed appeared on its surface.

The rafts were large. By human standards, each could carry twenty people, but for Protoss, they could only seat four or five. Still, Shen Jun ordered that each raft carry only two Protoss. He intended to set out with only four hundred men.

Now that they knew the planet was occupied by Trigonians and Beast Bodies, the Protoss—whose forms lay somewhere between Beast Bodies and God River Bodies, or humanoids—would undoubtedly be regarded as heretics. The Protoss base could not be left without defensive forces, and two Photon Cannons alone were not enough.

Quite a few Alien Beasts had died over the past few days. Sooner or later, that would alert the Beast Body civilization.

Therefore, Shen Jun decided to leave Tassadar behind with the Templar to protect the engineers, because Zeratul's Dark Templar possessed a major advantage.

They could use Void Psionic Energy to achieve optical invisibility. This ability was terrifying. As far as Shen Jun knew, methods of detecting optical invisibility were scarce in the Super God Academy, generally concentrated among god-making civilizations. Aerospace Civilizations rarely possessed such technology.

Rohana had detected a large number of Beast Bodies gathered around the mineral vein. Their technological level was poor, and they mainly relied on physical strength in battle. They possessed no technological detection methods whatsoever, so the cloaked Dark Templar held a greater advantage over the Templar.

The lake was quite large. The rafts drifted for more than an hour before reaching the opposite shore. Along the way, they were attacked by more than a dozen water monsters, which then died beneath the Warp Blades of the Dark Zealots, contributing a sum of Biological Essence to Shen Jun.

The opposite shore was a mountain range, and the Crystal Mineral Vein lay within a mountain to the southwest. The slopes were lush with vegetation and jagged strange rocks, making the terrain perilous.

There were even more Alien Beasts than could be counted.

Shen Jun's armor was specially modified and included an optical invisibility system, but it could only be maintained for a limited time. Unlike the Dark Templar, invisibility had not become an instinct for him.

Including Zeratul, there were twelve Dark Templar in total. Without scout aircraft, they could only rely on themselves to investigate the mineral vein.