StarCraft: Tyranid Empire

Augustus stared at the protoss high-ranking templar who was suspended in mid-air by spiritual energy. His simple golden armor was engraved with beautiful patterns and sickle-shaped lightning emblems, and the dark blue tabard on the armor. The symbol with the scorpion's tail identifies him as a warrior from the Sagas tribe.

This is a branch of the Aiur Protoss tribe with a long history, descendants of hunters and assassins from the Age of Strife. Their ancestors are as graceful and deadly as those big striped cats in the Aiur rainforests.

The Templars of Sargas have always been ruthless killers. They are good at the art of killing. Their duty to kill and their freedom-advocating nature make them incompatible with the protoss empire that adheres to Kara's doctrine. It is said that most of the rebellious Protoss Dark Templar Nerazim came from this tribe.

Many people in Tassadar's Protoss Empire Koprulu Sector Expeditionary Force are from the Sagas tribe. After all, ruthless killing is what the Sagas Templars are best at.

The protoss of this tribe still retain the custom of hunters harvesting trophies of prey. They occasionally use the tusks of wild beasts to decorate their long chins that look too round, making themselves look more threatening.

"Perhaps I can be of help in your search."

Augustus said: "Sass, the brainworm of the Gamu swarm, is a cautious guy by nature, suspicious and cunning. It will definitely hide in the deepest part of the insect nest."

His knowledge of the zerg tunnel network came from the research results of Cha Sara's Federation Alien Laboratory.

"Each underground worm nest is a huge underground city. The underground worm tunnel network of the zerg extends in all directions and consists of a large main nest area, a secondary nest area and an incubation area. The worm tunnel network connecting these giant underground caves is like It is an intricate urban transportation network, and the insect tunnel network will eventually lead to the deepest main nest area," he said.

"As long as we follow a worm path, we can find the zerg brain worm hiding in the main nest area."

"It's simple but gets to the crux of the problem." The high-ranking templar said: "There are many extremely deep insect tunnel networks that have escaped the attack of our fleet. If that brainworm is still alive, it must be hiding in what it thinks is the deepest place in the world. safe place."

So far, both humans and protoss only know that there is a character like the mastermind of the zerg swarm in the zerg group, and they have never seen a cerebrate that is closely guarded by the swarm.

"Line up and move forward." Augustus gave the order to the more than two hundred soldiers following him without any hesitation.

Tychus Finley led the team at the front. He was still smoking a cigar at this time, and his helmet was filled with condensation mist.

"My templars will follow you." The high-ranking templar said to Augustus: "There are still a lot of dangerous monsters lurking in the underground zerg hives."

More Templars appeared in the dark night, their shining golden armor and blue robes emitting light like the sun in the darkness.

"You guys are really helpful." Augustus smiled.

"As it should be," the High Templar said, his voice in Augustus' mind sounding earnest and solemn. Protoss are always serious to the point of rigidity, and behave very restrainedly. They only unleash their fury during battle.

At this time, Augustus and others were on a flat red platform, surrounded by burning Zerg nest buildings. The layer of fungi covering the ground was swept across by the protoss' beam weapons, and looked curled and dry as if it had been burned by flames.

Walking down this mesa is a ravine plowed by the Protoss main cannon. In the light of the power armor's front searchlight, Augustus can still vaguely see the charred zerg welded to death on the ground by the hot plasma. corpse.

The thermal imaging system on Augustus's HUD showed very few images of the zerg inside, either burning in the protoss' scorching blue rays or being sliced ​​apart by the protoss templar's psychic blades.

The landform at the landing site is mostly flat hills and sandy land. Tens of billions of years ago, this area was the mouth of a long river. Most areas are conducive to the zerg using their claws and teeth to dig deep tunnels and build lairs.

There are also large crystal veins exposed in the air and continuous high-energy gas springs in this area. These precious minerals are equally important to the zerg. They can strengthen the zerg's carapace and claws and serve as catalysts to allow the zerg swarm to operate. more efficient.

From the perspective of the leader of the Gamu swarm, this is indeed an excellent place to build a nest. At the same time, the brain worms of the Gamu swarm obviously did not expect the arrival of the Protoss Expeditionary Force, otherwise they would have stayed on the swarm Behemoth, which could escape through time and space at any time.

"So we really have to go underground to look for bugs? I would say the risk is much greater than fighting against Duke's Alpha Squadron in Mar Sara." Tychus ran quickly from behind in Augustus. Said as I followed him.

"Our tanks and Goliath armed robots can't operate in the narrow worm passages, but the worms are like fish in water, because they are hatched from those filthy nests, just like transforming into flies in rotten grass roots. maggots," he said.

"This is exactly why I chose to lead an elite army instead of a division, Tychus." Augustus said and looked at Kerrigan who was running next to him.

"Sarah, can you sense anything?" he asked.

Not only is Kerrigan the most powerful and possibly the most unique psyker known to date, her special ability to sense the zerg is not found in any other psyker.

She can easily sense the presence of the zerg and learn their location, but Kerrigan must be careful not to use her psychic powers within five yards of any zerg, otherwise the swarm will be destroyed. Its presence will be sensed.

"The zerg have retreated into the underground protoss and are penetrating deep into the zerg's nest." Kerrigan replied: "It seems that the zerg are still trying every means to defend their nest."

"The Gamu swarm did not choose to escape, either because the brain worms did not think it was necessary to do so, or there was something here that they must protect." Augustus said.

"We can feel that there is a powerful psychic creature lurking underground. It should be a brainworm." The high-ranking templar walked to Augustus. He was floating in the air, using the power of psychic energy. Move quickly on the ground.

There are about forty or fifty protoss templars holding blue psychic blades standing next to humans. Their psychic blades are not handle-type, but are inspired by some kind of wrist-shaped transmitter on the back of the wrist. A cluster of dense light blades.

The protoss warriors also have sophisticated equipment on their armor, and perhaps their radiant eyes can see things in the dark like cats, but the protoss templars seem to be just using their glowing psychic blades Lighting - looks like a flashlight.

"See if there is any entrance to a cave nearby. It is best if the entrance is large enough to look like a big snake swimming through it." Augustus said.

"Okay boss." Harnak Harker fired several flares from the extra launchers on his Firebat powered armor arms, and the other soldiers followed suit.

"There." The high-ranking templar discovered the entrance to a cave before everyone else, and the dark cave entrance was now filled with dead Hydra Hydralisks.

"Templars, attack!" he ordered: "May Arden guide our way forward."

The protoss were the first to enter the dark cave. The cave dug by the zerg was obviously prepared for the largest zerg. The tall protoss could easily walk in.

"Follow them," said Augustus.

Augustus stepped forward to keep up with the athletic protoss, while Kerrigan and Tychus followed closely behind.

In the light of the powered armor searchlight, the entrance to the cave looked unusually smooth, covered with a layer of white sandy soil. Even the jagged rocks were covered by the rough armor of the Hydra Hydralisks that guarded the place every day. Smooth.

The cave seems to be naturally formed, and the work done by the zerg here is only to widen and deepen it.

"Stay back and let me explore the way." Tychus stopped Augustus before he wanted to take the lead into the cave, and walked in first: "Don't get in the way of me beating the bugs, do you understand?"

"Let the knowledgeable people stand in front, boss." Hanak put on his helmet and threw a lit laser lighter into it.

The young man, who had worked in the Shiloh underground mine for several weeks, knew something about underground pits. For example, if a narrow pit was filled with toxic gases or leaked high-energy gas, a lighter could Send people to heaven.

"The zerg are more tidy than we thought." Tychus didn't notice what Harnak was doing at all. He just noticed that the zerg's cave was much better than he thought, without mucus and Those slimy creeps and disgusting acid.

In fact, the entrance to the cave is more like a reptile's nest, and this should be related to the habits of certain species of zerg.

"Stop talking nonsense, Tychus, and watch your step." Augustus shouted on the communication channel.

When they actually walked into the dark and narrow cave, an underground passage with a gentle slope appeared in front of everyone. Augustus felt a moment of depression and tension. He quickly focused his attention on the rock walls and sand on both sides.

"Enable the oxygen concentrator and air circulation system inside the armor. Do not breathe the air inside. It is likely to be poisonous." Augustus gave the order on the channel.

Even Kerrigan wears a helmet, and her advanced combat suit, with its many circuits buried inside, functions akin to power armor.

At first, the passage was quite wide, enough for the Revolutionary Army soldiers wearing power armor to pass. However, after walking a straight line distance of more than two hundred yards, it gradually became narrower and shorter, and the slope became steeper and steeper.

The troops led by the high-ranking templar of Sargas were already far away, and their nimble footsteps were already hard to detect, and now they were even less audible.

With these protoss warriors opening the way for Augustus, they would not have to worry about whether one or two crazy zerg would suddenly appear ahead.

After walking for a few more minutes, the underground worm tunnel became narrower and narrower, and finally it could barely accommodate two soldiers wearing power armor to pass side by side.

Just when Augustus hesitated to move forward, they gradually reached a fork in the road. The insect path that we walked through before was divided into three, leading to different directions.

"It's windy. These insect passages are connected to each other. At least one passage is used as a ventilation duct. What we need to find is the hub insect passage that leads directly to the main nest area." Kerrigan said.

"The Protoss must know the exact direction." Augustus said: "They are much more sensitive to the psychic energy of the Zerg than we are, and they are able to confirm the direction with the help of more sophisticated equipment."

"Stop."

Augustus stopped and searched the ground for the protoss's wide, giant-toed footprints.

"Follow me," said Augustus.

What follows is another tense advance in the underground worm tunnel. It must be said that walking in the dark underground is not a pleasant thing. When the thrilling fun of exploring the unknown turns into horror and death, even Even the most desperate Kaimorian adventurer will be heartbroken.

Gradually, scattered insect corpses and clusters of dark purple carpet clusters began to appear on the ground. The originally clean holes immediately became moist, and strange, flesh-colored food tissues appeared. It sticks to the rock wall and the ground like fat or organs on the intestines.

Almost all of the dead zerg were killed with one blow, whether they were springtails or Hydra Hydralisks, their heads were cut off or they were stabbed into the heart with one blow. During this period, Augustus did not even hear the screams that should have echoed in the insect tunnel, which shows that the attacks of these Templars were as fast as lightning and thunder.

"I take back what I just said, bugs are a group of 'bad boys who don't like to be clean.'" Tychus said.

"Oh my god, that's disgusting," Harnak screamed.

"Hank, light up the fire," Augustus shouted.

When Harnak heard what Augustus said, he immediately lit the flamethrower on his arm excitedly, and together with several other fire bats in the team, burned those weird tissues to ashes.

The road ahead was even more difficult to walk. There were corpses of zerg everywhere and tumors that exuded a peculiar smell. There were also some spider-like monsters among them. They must have been specially hatched to guard the nest.

"Keep moving forward." After dealing with these tumors, Augustus waved his hand and ordered the troops behind him.

Augustus walked for nearly ten minutes without encountering any trace of the Templars. Only more and more Zerg corpses revealed what kind of enemies they had encountered.

Until an earth-shaking roar made humans realize that they were in an underground tunnel filled with alien monsters. When the roar came, it was accompanied by the vibration of the sand and gravel underfoot. One can imagine what kind of incredible giant monster the owner of this roar is.

The passage ended abruptly after a pile of Hydra Hydralisk corpses. What appeared in front of Augustus was a huge cave, which was tall enough to accommodate a huge insect hatchery, mutalisks spire and dense insect curtain. Chambers and green eggs, some even larger than tanks.

The Sargas Templars are fighting a monster that is much larger than an ordinary Ultralisk. It has bright red skin and more than one pair of giant scythes. It is a walking behemoth covered with sturdy carapace and spikes. , even the Protoss Templar appears small in front of it.

"Oh my God, what the hell is going on?" Tychus cursed.

"It was not crushed by its own weight. How did the monster's organs work? It should have been slow and had to eat constantly to replenish its consumption," Kerrigan said.

"An elite individual among thunder beasts." Augustus said: "Without the help of the protoss, it is enough to wipe out all of us."

"The good news is, I'm pretty sure the brainworm is around here."

The Chinese version is translated as Tyrannosaurus.