The crackle of fire scorching the Zerg creatures and the beast-like roars made many of the soldiers present shudder. The blazing flames nearly lit up half the street, and before long, the stench of charred protein drifted through the wind.
This alien creature—barely larger than a big local dog—remained alert and excited under the surge of adrenaline. Yet the moment it enthusiastically crawled out from beneath the manhole cover, the well-prepared Hank and his elite Firebats immediately blasted a mass of searing plasma flame straight into its face.
Augustus and the Revolutionary Army soldiers protecting him watched the creature twist and struggle in the flames, desperately trying to shake off the fire clinging to its body, and felt not a shred of pity.
The first Zergling that suddenly burst out was merely the signal for this elite Zerg strike team to launch its attack. More Zerglings leapt out of the sewer opening right after.
The Zerglings erupting from the underground sewage system were about 1.5 times the length of an ordinary Zergling. They possessed an extremely rare atavistic trait—a colorful sail-like dorsal ridge extending all the way to the tail. These alien beasts had harder chitin armor and sharper pale claws, making them resemble miniature tanks.
They were likely being directly commanded through a psionic link by Araq, the cerebrate leader of the Jormungand Brood. This loyal offspring and servant of the Overmind had not perished in the destruction of Chau Sara. Araq was simultaneously directing the vast Jormungand Brood within the neural-and-soft-tissue-laced cerebrum chambers of every Deep-Space Behemoth.
The wall of fire before the Firebats failed to stop the Zerglings pouring forth one after another. They surged out of the sewer opening like rats bursting from a granary or like packs of hyenas. Only when these alien beasts used their own flesh and blood to smother the raging flames did more Zerglings leap from the bodies of their fallen kin and slam into the heavy powered armor of the Firebat unit.
The Revolutionary Army Firebats' improved CMC-250 power armor was far sturdier than standard Marine armor, so these small creatures could not cut through the thick plating in a short time. Even so, the two pairs of sharp, dense, bone scythes on the Zerglings' backs could easily slice into and pierce the Firebats' relatively vulnerable helmets, cracking open the soldiers' skulls.
Some of the Zerglings endured the scorching flames and drove the pair of long, blade-like claws on their chests into the Firebats' plasma feedback regulators. Doing so blocked the flamethrowers, forcing the searing fire to surge backward into the Firebats' power armor, turning the suits themselves into blistering ovens.
What awaited those Firebat flamethrowers was an extremely miserable fate. As though paying back the lives they had once burned alive, they ultimately died in the very flames they themselves had unleashed.
These Zerglings were remarkably intelligent. They had already found ways to deal with the Terrans instead of blindly charging forward. Localized battles were erupting throughout Mar Sara, and whenever the Zerg in a given region discovered a human weakness, that newfound technique would be synchronized through genetic material to every newly spawned Zerg.
The Zerg—this dangerous and deadly species—were constantly evolving. They pushed themselves to eliminate every flaw in their genetic code, striving relentlessly until they reached the pinnacle of biological evolution: absolute perfection.
Because Firebat power armor was generally two feet taller than standard CMC-200 or even CMC-300 suits, the Marshal's Elite Guard soldiers behind them—armed with Gauss rifles and single-soldier rockets—could only fire between the Firebats' shoulders to avoid hitting their own allies.
"Ah—ah—" Hearing the Firebats' agonized screams, the Elite Guard could only end their lives from behind with rifle rounds, sparing them the agony of being burned alive.
Many Firebats did not die at the hands of the enemy. The most excruciating death was to be trapped inside one's own power armor and burned alive. At the same time, very few people were willing to endure the extreme heat and wear Firebat armor, so Firebats in the Confederacy's army were almost always death-row inmates who had undergone resocialization. Only in the Revolutionary Army were Firebats the lunatics who volunteered for service.
Augustus could hear the Firebats' pain-filled screams. Watching those brave soldiers howl in agony pained him deeply. At such moments, having their comrades end their lives with a pistol was the best option, sparing them the suffering before death.
To this day, countless Revolutionary Army soldiers and intelligence officers had already given their young lives for the revolutionary cause.
"Find a way to seal the manhole," Augustus ordered. "Throw all our grenades and explosives down there."
The Marshal's Elite Guard members behind the Firebats immediately carried out the order. After purchasing large stockpiles of ammunition that had remained in Moria from the Kel-Morian Combine after the Guild Wars, each Revolutionary Army soldier now carried far more grenades and bullets than before.
With the support of powered armor, the soldiers did not need to worry about their load. That was something the officers of the ground and air transport units had to consider.
"Damn it, if only Zander were here right now—he'd definitely be able to pull a few crates of explosives out of his suit," Raynor shouted as he fired his C-14 Gauss rifle.
Max Zander of the Heaven's Devils had long since left Augustus's side. He now served as the commander of the Revolutionary Army's airborne forces. Under Zander's example, the Revolutionary Army paratroopers had become explosion fanatics who hurled electromagnetic grenades the moment they hit the ground. Wherever the Revolutionary Army's airborne division passed, it was as though the area had just undergone a large-scale carpet bombing.
"Throw every last one of them!" Tychus roared at Corporal Faraday and his Marshal's Elite Guard soldiers. "Even a grandma could move faster than you!"
A round of earth-shaking explosions answered Tychus's roar. The blue electromagnetic pulses and arcs unleashed by the grenades surged up from the blasted-open sewer opening, and the blinding light instantly engulfed the Zerglings within. For a brief moment, everything ahead of the soldiers fell silent.
But immediately after, a creature even larger than the previous Zerglings thrust its head out from the brilliant arcs of electricity. It had a massive skull and bright red, blood-like skin. Its bright orange eyes flickered with a glint of intelligence.
If the earlier Zerglings were akin to large dogs, then this one was a fully grown male lion. Its extremely tough, leather-like skin was covered in blood-red chitin, as though stained with dried blood.
Under Augustus's order, the remaining Firebats withdrew one after another. A platoon of the Marshal's Elite Guard aimed every weapon they had at the newly emerged monster and opened fire—only for everyone to be shocked to find that the bullets could not harm it at all.
"Well now, that's a big one," Tychus said. "I'd bet that's the mama of those bugs from earlier—and it's here for payback."
However, the massive red Zergling merely poked its head out before shrinking back underground, retreating into the subterranean tunnel. At that moment, two nearby Revolutionary Army camps rushed over to reinforce, leaving the Zerg no choice but to withdraw.
"A king among Zerglings," Raynor said. "It ignored the flames and the electromagnetic grenades. That layer of carapace is practically on par with those mammoth-like giant Zerg discovered on Turtle Island. Doesn't look simple at all."
"Even an idiot can tell it's not simple," Tychus said, chewing the cigarette in his mouth as he put away his heavy machine gun. "And I don't see what part of that thing looks like an elephant. Don't think we skipped elementary school."
"That was what Augustus said." Raynor looked toward Augustus behind him.
"Well, the Marshal's the boss here," Tychus said. "They've retreated."
"They know we're a tough bone to gnaw on."
"Get the wounded treated," Augustus instructed. "Tell the nearby units to send over a medic squad."
"Sara, can you sense anything?" He turned to Sarah Kerrigan beside him.
"The Swarm feels confused." Kerrigan pressed down the brim of her hat. "It doesn't understand why we discovered this ambush. It will try to find the reason. It will fall back into the shadows and wait—wait for the next opportunity."
"Sounds like you'll need to be even more careful these days, Augustus," Raynor said. "The bugs have read our thoughts. They know you're the soul of the Revolutionary Army."
"Araq… the leader of the Jormungand Brood." Augustus repeated the name aloud. "As long as we kill it, its brood will definitely fall into chaos."
"But how do we even kill it? It might not even be on Mar Sara," Raynor said
"There will be a way." Augustus looked at a Firebat wounded soldier being dragged out of his power armor. He knew that every Zerg brood possessed a cerebrate as its leader—and that a cerebrate was essentially the brain of tens of millions, even billions of Zerg. Once a cerebrate died, the brood under its command would fall into madness.
But cerebrates were actually immortal, because the Overmind could resurrect dead cerebrates. Only another branch of the Protoss—the Nerazim Protoss—could kill a cerebrate permanently, sealing away any chance of its revival.
As Augustus spoke, he walked toward the wounded soldier being placed on a stretcher, noticing that the man's entire chest had been torn open by a Zergling. The gruesome wound made it clear that his chances of survival were extremely slim.
This Firebat, unconscious, did not get the chance to hear Augustus's words. With his eyes tightly shut, he was carried onto an APOD dropship that had landed nearby.
Harnack, the soldier's direct superior, silently helped lift the stretcher and walked away.
The man was a soldier from the Hinterland region of Mar Sara. He fought not only for the revolution and his commander's orders, but also for his home.
Zerg were everywhere on Mar Sara's surface, and sacrifices like this occurred almost every minute. The Zerg were nothing like the Confederacy's troops—they were deadly, innumerable, and almost never retreated on their own.
And Augustus had long grown accustomed to seeing death. Soldiers falling in battle had become commonplace.
"Facing the Zerg, our casualties are devastating," Raynor said, looking at the charred corpse being pulled from the scalding Firebat power armor. He shut his eyes in pain. "We face the Zerg head-on, and evacuation still takes time."
"We've already evacuated more than five hundred thousand people, but we still need time to get the rest out. But the Zerg won't just stand there watching. They're endless, and all we can do is throw lives into the gap." He spoke.
"Yes. Our army has only a little over a hundred thousand troops," Augustus said. "We need reinforcements—from either the Confederacy or the Protoss."
"Anyone who trusts the Confederacy is the dumbest fool in this world. As for the Protoss…" Raynor shook his head. "We know almost nothing about them. I've heard people say the Protoss landed on Mar Sara not long ago. Some saw their ground forces clad in gold and silver armor."
"Is that true? I don't really believe it."
"I received reports from Lundstein, Nord, Zander, and Duke all at the same time. They all encountered Protoss ground forces," Augustus said. "And the Protoss always appeared right at the center of the Jormungand primary hive, surrounded by countless Zerg."
"Even though they haven't made any contact with our people, every time Protoss forces show up, the Zerg around our bases and refugee camps begin to retreat," he continued.
"It's obvious—the Protoss are helping us, buying time for our evacuation."
"There's something that good?" Tychus blurted out, stunned.
"Are you saying the commander of that Protoss force is some great benevolent soul? Is that even possible? He certainly showed no mercy when he blasted Chau Sara and all those ships in high orbit over Mar Sara."
"…This is honestly the best news I've heard in a while," Raynor said. "That said, why would the Protoss help us?"
"The Protoss? If it were really them, why not just blow up Mar Sara outright? Much simpler," Tychus said, unconvinced. "In their eyes, we might not be any different from the Zerg."
"No idea," Augustus said. "But this is good for us."
Just as Augustus said, the Protoss Expeditionary Force ground troops that landed on Mar Sara indeed helped the Revolutionary Army and the refugees tremendously.
But the situation on Mar Sara was also growing increasingly complex. The Jormungand Brood, the Confederacy, the Revolutionary Army, and the Protoss Expeditionary Force were all engaged in chaotic fighting, each for their own purposes.
"I hope we can meet the commander of the Protoss fleet. And if that's impossible, then at least I hope we can have some kind of formal dialogue," Augustus said.
"Maybe they could help us deal with the Confederacy?" Tychus suggested mischievously.
"That's unlikely," Augustus shook his head. "They won't interfere."
"Let's head to the governor's office in Mar Sara City," Augustus exhaled, feeling a wave of sorrow. He had been fighting continuously, waging war, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it.
"I've heard the new governor of Mar Sara wants to meet me."
"The new governor?" Raynor shrugged. "Which number is this now? I heard that after we left, the Confederacy sent a new governor, but he fled when the Zerg invaded. The current one should be the third."
"In just one year, Mar Sara has already gone through three governors. Gotta say, the Confederacy really has unmatched efficiency in this department," Tychus said sarcastically.
"I heard he's pretty unlucky. The Confederacy sent him here to deal with rebels and Zerg, but not long after he arrived on Mar Sara, our people took control of the governor's office," Augustus said. "Let's go meet that poor bastard. A Confederacy official at the governor level defecting to the Revolutionary Army is news worth making use of."
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