The northern hemisphere of Char, the landing point of the revolutionary army.
A golden-red shuttle lowered its landing gear on the vast land known as Mirror Plains by early colonists and federal officials, and its buffer thrusters kicked up a cloud of dark gray debris and ash.
This shuttle is just like other spacecraft that travel between the surface and space of various fringe colonies all year round. It has become obsolete due to its long use life, and people are always worried that it will suddenly fall apart.
Perhaps twenty or thirty years ago, the people of the fringe worlds of the Tyranid Federation and the miners of the Kaimorian mining families were using these aircraft. Their history is as old as the rise of certain colonies. To this day, this model The shuttle is still a very reliable flying vehicle.
The spaceships of the Revolutionary Army are either new ships built during the Korhal IV period, or they are obsolete products that Angus and Augustus painstakingly bought from other sources, but their performance is fully worthy of renovation and reconstruction. price.
Amidst the squeaking sound of the hydraulic device starting up, a gangway that looked to be quite old was slowly lowered. The lights in the crew cabin where Augustus was located came back on, and under the orders of the noncommissioned officers, the soldiers picked up the backpacks on the overhead shelves and prepared to leave the cabin.
The female voice's intelligent mechanical adjutant is reporting the humidity, temperature and radioactive material content of the landing site to the Revolutionary Army soldiers. It must be said that these data are quite outrageous.
In Char, the hottest areas can even reach 800 degrees Celsius during the day, and the hot air can even burn a person alive if he inhales the air without any protective measures. The area that had been bombarded by the nuclear weapons of the Terran Federation and the Kaimorian Alliance fleet was filled with deadly radiation that even power armor protective suits could not protect against.
Corporal Faraday, who was walking on the left hand side of Augustus, took the lead in walking through the long and narrow passage in the shuttle and exiting the shuttle. A team of fully armed elite guard members followed closely behind. Their crimson CMC-300 powered armor and armor The shining golden wolf head badge is the reason why the soldiers feel extremely proud and proud.
After Augustus confirmed their status on the communication channels of multiple landing forces, he stood up and followed several Red Devil Firebats from the Revolutionary Army in huge armor to the gangway.
Because Tassadar's protoss expeditionary force contained a large number of zerg in the high-altitude orbit of Char, the human landing force did not suffer serious casualties when entering Char's almost non-existent atmosphere. This is also the case in August. All are expected.
In the cargo compartment at the rear of the shuttle, several squads of Revolutionary Army soldiers and mechanics were untying the fixed chains tied to two arc-light siege tanks and opening the spare hatch.
As soon as he set foot on Char's soil, Augustus' legs sank deep into the extremely thick volcanic ash, which may have been more than five feet deep at its deepest point. The air was distorted by the extremely high temperature. Just being exposed to the light of Char's sub-white dwarf and irregular variable star binary system with extremely strong radiation, the landing gear of the shuttle was hot enough to boil an egg.
The Mirror Plain was once a smooth, mirror-like lowland plain, but its current appearance is far removed from its past. Spider-web-like criss-crossing rivers of red magma separate the white plains that became fragmented under the bombardment. Opening up, orange-red flames flowed from the lava rivers flowing on the surface.
Once a human soldier falls into such a magma lake, there is no chance of survival.
Farther away is a scorching world composed of huge black rocks, craters, volcanoes and lava lakes. Some fiery red flashes rise from the ash layer, like sparks in the embers.
In addition to the magma lakes, there are also large and small holes on the ground. These holes emit gray smoke columns, and sometimes spit out a burst of gray smoke like oysters spitting out fine sand in their shells, like smoke rings from a pipe. Most of the cave entrances are quite dangerous, and the heat coming out of them can burn people to death.
Hot and desolate.
Augustus believed that some of the holes were dug by zerg, because in front of those holes there were small mounds of ashes and dug-out soil. To a certain extent, the zerg's habits were like digging in the soil. There is no difference between the prairie dogs.
Observe the surrounding scene in Augustus and use the built-in sensor scanning system inside the power armor to draw a three-dimensional map of the surroundings, marking several pre-selected marching routes on the map.
He breathed deeply into the air inside the armor and felt himself sweating. The condensation device in the power armor is still working, and its cold fusion core can provide inexhaustible power for the armor's life support system, so that the internal temperature and internal circulation air quality can be maintained at a constant level for up to several weeks. stable state.
The ground is shaking, signaling that a horrific volcanic eruption is coming. The flowing lava lake will reoccupy the low-lying areas of the Mirror Plain, swallowing everything there.
This is the planet with the harshest environment that Augustus has ever visited in his life. It will be difficult for any planet to surpass Char in the future. Char is completely the opposite extreme to planets like Brysis and Sigma, which are covered with solid glacial plates all year round.
The air in parts of Char is safe to breathe, but does not include the Plain of Mirrors. Augustus must be protected by two layers of helmet visors in order to look directly at the world he lives in, otherwise Char's extreme environment will be enough to kill him before long.
The landing site of Augustus's shuttle was the spacecraft of Renault, Tychus and others. About forty APOD-33 transport ships and shuttles landed nearby.
More high-spirited revolutionary soldiers and Goliath armed robots with red background and gold badges, arc light tanks, sidewinder magnetic levitation tanks, heavy tanks and rail gun heavy artillery were dropped on the ground in an orderly manner, only in a few Within hours, the number of troops landed reached 8,000.
This elite force is enough to challenge any planetary defense force on the edge world of the Tyranid Federation, but it is still not enough to face Char's zerg. Char has evolved into the Zerg stronghold in the Koprulu sector, and the Zerg population here is far greater than any other planet previously invaded by the Zerg.
Half of the engineers from the Revolutionary Army Engineering Corps were driving T-280 space engineering vehicles to build bunkers and forward fortifications at the landing site. A simple field hospital tent was quickly set up. Other transport ships brought sufficient supplies and water, which were much more precious on Char than the Adeen crystal.
Augustus looked up into the gray sky of Charles and saw a sun so brilliant that it emitted enough light and heat to kill a man. A planet shining with golden light can be seen from the ground. It should be the companion planet closest to Char.
"Corporal Faraday." Augustus called to the captain of his elite guard over the channel. This young man, who was quite ordinary in appearance and family background, followed him loyally and was the guardian of the Mengsk family.
"Marshal." Corporal Faraday was ordering his guards to switch to shotguns and grenade guns. These equipments are magic weapons for dealing with the Zerg's sturdy carapace.
"The detector did not find any zerg life signals nearby. They may be underground or further away in the main hive area." He said: "This is really strange."
"It has only been a few months since the fall of Char, and the zerg should not have completely ruled the planet yet." Augustus was not surprised by this: "The environment here is also harmful to the current zerg. Summon My guards, as soon as we discover the underground lair, we will set off."
"Hey, Augustus, guess what we found at the landing site? A few mushrooms... What a strange nature. It looks like we can have mushroom soup tonight." Jim ·Reno walked towards Augustus from the direction of another shuttle, holding several gray-white mushrooms in his hand.
"I'm thinking that if we were stranded on Char because our supply lines were cut off, we would be able to survive on these native fungal organisms."
"Well done, Jimmy, Elizabeth is really lucky to have a husband like you." Augustus smiled, and there was no other meaning in his words other than praise: "But I hope your crow's mouth doesn't It will be confirmed.”
At that time, although Renault had lost his comrades, his family was still very happy and his parents were still alive. His consistent optimistic spirit and happiness always allowed him to maintain hope for everything in the most critical moments.
With Augustus's help, his wife would not die of depression because of her son's accident in the Terran Federation's ghost project, and his parents would not die of the heavy work and diseased cheap food on the farm.
"There is an old saying in Shiloh, nip it before it happens." Renault shrugged - although this action was not easy for a man wearing alloy power armor.
"It's hard not to support it." Tychus came over from the other side: "If I'm very hungry, I can eat several tons of roasted bugs and use their blood as strong wine."
"Forget it then. Take the Allosaurus as an example. Its blood after death is about the same as sulfuric acid." Augustus shook his head.
"How is it, Tychus, are you satisfied with Char?" Raynor asked Tychus.
"I couldn't be more satisfied." Tychus's voice almost leaked from between clenched teeth: "I have been to many places in my life. The bare moon planet is full of metal and scraps. Iron outer space habitation stations, desolate desert planets and ocean worlds with only a few land patches left, but I have never been to such a place."
"Char's lava is almost scalding my ass... I hope the harvest here will be worth the price. We won't do a loss-making business."
Augustus no longer had any hope of finding the previous Dark Templar ship on the surface of Char.
"It's possible that the planet where Zerg was first born was like Char from the beginning..." Augustus said.
"If there is a hell, Char is it."
This world, whose surface is covered with orange-red magma rivers and thick volcanic ash, can be called a forbidden zone for life. It is a true lava world. Even the red stone star of the Camorion complex cannot compare to the extremely harsh nature of Char. environment.
At this time, a deafening roar suddenly came from the sky. A magnificent super active volcano erupted. The volcanic ash was spewed thousands of feet into the air. The volcanic ash covered the sky and even blocked the sun, and the land beneath it was destroyed. Under a whole shadow - this is an eruption close to that of Mount Vesuvius that once wiped out Pompeii.
Fortunately, it is still far away from where Augustus is, but volcanic eruptions of this scale are always very common in Char.
"Send out scouts to detect all Zerg main nests, including those hidden underground." Augustus issued an order to his officers.
There is a third-level main nest and three sub-level main nest hatcheries on the Mirror Plain. The large number of mutalisaurus spiers shows that this main nest area mainly hatches the air force of the insect swarm. This was also the main reason why Augustus chose to land here.
The purpose and positioning of Augustus's trip are simple. Helping the protoss attack Char as much as possible can greatly reduce the pressure on the edge worlds of the Federation, because he always regards those worlds as the basis for his rise.
In addition, Augustus was convinced that he was just a pendant on Tassadar's fleet. It was also true that the powerful Protoss Empire expeditionary force did not actually expect the weak and backward humans to contribute much.
However, the experience of fighting alongside Protoss Executor Tassadar on Char would undoubtedly serve as some political capital for Augustus in the future. As long as Augustus is different from other humans in the eyes of Tassadar and other protoss, this is enough.
The Protoss Empire is a force worthy of Augustus' unity, but currently it is just a luxury to form an alliance with the El Protoss who are in power in the Supreme Council to jointly fight against the Zerg. The protoss arbiters in the Supreme Council are undoubtedly the most arrogant and stubborn people in this race.
The corrupt and conservative ideas of the Protoss Empire they have been leading for a long time have also spread among the members of the Supreme Council, and the Arbitrators are by no means ignorant of politics. Even with Kara, political struggle exists among the Arbiter class who have deep and unknown thoughts, because hiding their thoughts is a skill that rulers must learn.
"Use those spider-type detection robots sold to us by the Yumoyan people. Now is the time to use them."
Augustus was not completely unprepared. After fighting the Zerg for more than half a year, a variety of weapons against the Zerg were introduced one after another, including the Federation's biochemical virus weapons.
Taking into account the complex habits of the zerg that like to nest underground, Augustus customized a spider-shaped robot with a certain amount of artificial intelligence from Umoyan, which can be remotely controlled through other devices invisibly to reduce the chance of being detected.
Just the foreign trade version of AI has surpassed several machine servants of the Terra family, the creation family of Tarsonis. Its unique algorithm and programming can keep it performing most reconnaissance tasks perfectly, even if it is damaged, it can still be used. Reboot the system from the routing loop.
Merely 2 feet wide, these spider-like detection machines use their flexible mechanical limbs to easily network through the zerg's intricate underground tunnels.
Redesigned by Viktor Kaczyński, the spider booby designer of the Kaimorian Federation, this spider-type detection machine is equipped with detonating devices and chemical explosives, and has an external alloy resonant digging claw. Once captured by a Zerg sentinel, these new devices, made from pieces of metal and titanium blades, are capable of destroying their foes.
In other words, these spider-shaped AI mines no longer need to be deployed by soldiers or riders driving vulture vehicles. They can sneak into the main nest of the Zerg or the military base of the Federation Army on their own, giving the enemy a surprise.
At present, Victor has registered a copyright in the United States of Yumoyang. Whether it is the National Guard military, black gold merchants or mercenaries, they are all very interested in this new weapon, but most of them want to use it against their own people. .
At this time, the revolutionary army's camp had begun to take shape. Fortification walls built with alloy protective plates separated the landing point into a square position. Orbital satellite base stations and air defense missile towers were erected to provide a defense for subsequent landing troops and defenders. fulcrum.
"Marshal, I received a signal from a protoss ground force." At this time, Corporal Faraday came over carrying a portable projector. The projector is encased in a layer of white protective insulation to withstand the extreme environmental conditions that would be expected of such a device.
"Open it," Augustus said immediately.
When the holographic projection screen opened in front of Augustus, a Celestial Templar wearing a golden crown appeared on the screen. The templar looked much older than Tassadar, and the folds on his skin looked like the surface of the frozen sea.
The protoss templar's head is immersed deeply in the blue nutrient solution, and his shrunken limbs show that he is a dragon knight hero who was thrown into the carapace after being seriously injured.
"EnTaroAdun, human commander, I am Taldarin, the leader of the dragon knights, salute all warriors." The dragon knight said: "My warriors reported that your landing location is not far from one of my troops... ....If you are in danger, you can always seek help from my warriors."
"May Twilight guide you."
Before he finished speaking, the dragon knight Taldarin cut off the communication.
"How cool, damn protoss aliens." Tychus cursed: "Who needs your help? Don't ask for perfection to save you idiots whose noses are about to rise to the sky."
"It's indeed quite dragging. Maybe they thought we were here to help and hinder them." Raynor reminded Tychus: "But the protoss doesn't have a nose."
"Come on, at least they are willing to provide us with assistance." Augustus knew the reputation of the dragon knight Taldarin.
It is said that he is a templar who has survived from the time of Adon to the present day, and his name means The One Who Forged in All Thousands. Taldarin was also the first dragon knight in the history of the Protoss Empire.
It is said that this heroic warrior once participated in countless battles with the great Protoss Empire executive Adon. He is the brave among the brave and the warrior among the warriors. After being seriously injured after a battle, the remains of Tal'darin were placed in stasis for centuries, escaping the Fall of Adun until the advent of the Dragon Knight mecha.
This templar from the golden age of the Protoss Empire should be so proud. During his time as a templar who fought bravely to kill enemies, even Arden respected him immensely.
"Marshal, Taldarin provided us with the coordinates of the Protoss troops and the coordinates of several nearby Zerg main nests... They also marked the entrances to all Nydus Worms and the patterns of nearby volcanic eruptions." Faraday The corporal reported.
"That's so sweet," Reno said.
"Just like my mother," Tychus said.
The others had never met Tychus's mother, but they might as well think that Tychus was the kind of villain who would sell his mother for wine.
"The Protoss have always been like this." Augustus said to Tychus: "They are arrogant, but they will always help you behind your back. We usually call such people..."
"There are bugs!" A cry interrupted Augustus.
It turned out that the initial calm was just a sign of an impending tsunami. A large number of zerg were pouring out of the holes that Augustus had noticed before. The huge Hydra Hydralisk used its forelimbs with sharp bone scythes at the front. After peeling away the ashes covering the entrance of the cave and roaring out of the ground, large-scale springtails appeared one after another.
These zerg are also different from those seen by humans. They have dark brown carapace skin and light golden eyes. It is unknown whether this is a mutation caused by Char's extreme environment.
"The new insect nest." Renault said: "Who knows what they are good at, rolling happily in the magma?"
"My favorite thing is to grill bugs. The Barbatos Grill can't do it without me." Tychus summoned his Stihlling Wolfhunter officers, carrying a heavy machine gun and carrying those with paint on their bodies. The soldiers with the white wolf badge walked away.
In the distance, the reconnaissance force Augustus had just sent out was retreating. Fortunately, they were driving a speeding Vulture car at an astonishing speed. It seems they can no longer experiment with new weapons.
"Get ready to fight, boys, bring out all our 'cannons' and shoot a big one with the bugs!" Renault said loudly.
Augustus had a serious expression, and he was not without any negative emotions when facing the zerg, but he never exposed them to the surface. A man should have the fear of terrible things, but not Augustus.
Whether he was leading a Marine recruit class on Turasis II or now commanding a revolutionary army of more than 200,000 people, Augustus must remain calm and act as if he is always confident, otherwise The slightest hint of strange emotion would cause panic among his subordinates.
There are a large number of mines laid in front of the fortification walls at the landing site, and it turns out that this weapon can always achieve good results when dealing with the zerg. After all, the zerg seems to have not yet evolved a unique species like the minesweeper.
The frontline troops of the Revolutionary Army soon exchanged fire with the zerg. The sound of running was gradually covered by the sound of artillery fire. Mutalisks and king worms appeared from the horizon.
However, a few minutes later, these angry insects suddenly turned around and ran in another direction. At the same time, a psychic scream that resounded through Char passed over the magma and ashes. Even people like Augustus and Renault who did not have much psychic talent clearly heard the scream and felt A moment of dizziness.
"What happened?" said Renaud, who was beside Augustus: "It sounds painful... like... crying..."
"Brainworm..." Augustus looked towards the direction where the dark brown worms left: "Jimmy, I guess it was attacked."
"Wow, they will all be resurrected anyway." Renault raised his eyebrows: "I guess it was the protoss who did it... Ah, but it's all in vain anyway, and the brainworms will be in Char soon. Resurrected.”
