StarCraft: Tyranid Empire

Sagulath, Shrines of Lizul.

Most of the surface of this ever-twilight star is astonishingly barren. A few indigo oceans separate the continent of deserts and rugged hills. There are only a few miracle places with sparse vegetation growing on it.

The Temple of Rizul sits on a raised plateau, bathed in a hazy purple light. This is a spectacular ancient building complex. The symmetrical spiral patterns and rotating halo on the building echo the twilight sky. Thousands of purple crystal clusters like javelins are inserted diagonally into the magnificent walls of the temple. During this time, the harmonious hum of the matrix echoed between heaven and earth, and an unreal feeling of tranquility, remoteness, harmony and unity emerged spontaneously.

Standing under the Rizul Temple, even the most impetuous and anxious heart will find unprecedented tranquility. This is a temple of the Nerazim protoss, a meditation place for the Dark Templar warriors to practice conquering the void with their will.

This was not the first time Augustus had been to Sagulas, but he had always gone to Taimatros, the capital of the Nerazim protoss, to meet with Tassadar, and he had never been to such a far place.

The Dark Templars told Augustus that Sagulath was a place full of power. Their family had been wandering here for thousands of years, but from the Sea of ​​Sorrow to Katuul Province, from the vast Sagulas From the highlands of Gurath to the temples of Xel'Naga, there are still many mysterious places on this planet that have not been fully explored.

Those known and excavated offerings are considered sacred places that cannot be desecrated, such as the Temple of Rizul.

Augustus stood in the middle of the circular courtyard of the Rizul Temple that echoed light and rhythm. Under the hazy and dim twilight, the distant holy mountain of Naszar was condensed into an invisible blue-purple color. The spots of light are the dazzling light emitted by the crystal veins all over the foothills and mountain tops. In the gloomy twilight of Sagulath, this majestic sacred mountain shines like a beacon.

The Nerazim regard the holy mountain of Nazzar as a holy place, which also happens to contain the richest minerals in Sagulath. The Council of Bishops of Durham once proposed to mine the crystal veins on the holy mountain of Nazzar to build warships for the Golden Fleet, but it was Vorazun, the daughter of the matriarch Razagar, who argued hard and persuaded them to abandon this plan.

Under the invasion of the powerful culture of the El Protoss, the ancient traditions and customs of the Sagurath Nerazim Protoss are gradually disappearing. The radical faction headed by Vorazun in the Durham Light Council naturally does not want the Nerazim protoss to be assimilated by the El protoss and become their vassal.

This is a microcosm of the contradictions and conflicts between the El Protoss and the Nerazim Protoss within Duram. Different positions and even cultural differences have led to serious differences between them on many issues. Without leaders like Tassadar and the support of Rashagal, the protoss' true union of Dallam would have been difficult.

But since Kara has been completely controlled by Eamonn, the internal conflicts in Durham can be put aside for the time being.

"Your Majesty, hybrids and zerg are still coming here through the Xel'Naga portal leading to Aiur." Imperial Admiral David Jones is in Augustus Next to him, he is a middle-aged man with a calm demeanor, standing breathless and focused like an ancient swordsman.

Everyone, including Augustus, knew that David Jones was one of the best naval commanders of this era, an old-school general who pursued a duel-like deadly attack on the battlefield.

Augustus will sum it up in one sentence, that is, he is still using ancient tactics to fight against the front.

"The swarm has almost destroyed the entire Taimatros. This historic Dark Templar city is being destroyed, leaving only the southwest city that has not been destroyed." General Jones is tall and thin, with a square chin, a low forehead, and a complexion. Ruddy, a pair of sharp eyes that are not angry and intimidating. He wears a set of gold-red power armor, with gold Imperial emblems on his shoulder armor and greaves.

Sagurasi is dimly lit at all times of the day, so the moon and stars shine particularly brightly here. Upon hearing this, Augustus looked towards the south of the Rizul Temple. The city of Taimatros was under the low-hanging silver galaxy.

In Augustus's impression, Taimatros was a glorious city with extremely dark templar aesthetics. The entire city was shrouded in the fluorescent green flash of dark crystal, as if it were a black crystal city rising in green fire. . It was a dreamlike and charming city, full of imagination and creativity, and none of the Dark Templar cities Augustus had seen since could compare with Taimatros.

At the end of the horizon, Taimatros is burning.

Even the most glorious and majestic city could not escape the fate of being destroyed by Amon. The Dark Templar spent a thousand years building Taimatros, transforming it from a landing outpost into a magnificent city, and destroying the city. But it only takes a very short time.

Augustus had seen many destroyed cities and many ruins standing on the scorched earth. He had seen them melt like candles in the flames, and even the giant towers that reached into the sky were turned into a pool of molten iron.

At present, the Temple of Lizul is one of the few areas in Sagulath that has not been invaded by hybrids and zerg armies.

Across Sagulas, terrible earthquakes followed one after another as the continental plates fissured. Magma spewed tens of thousands of feet into the air, and rivers of magma that were clearly visible from high-altitude orbits continued to form.

Just as Augustus had seen on the planet Atrias before, a huge void rift with a diameter of thousands of miles is forming on the surface of Sagurath's planet, and it is constantly spitting out terrifying scarlet void energy, which is terrifying The shadow of the void erodes every inch of land at an incredible speed.

Sagurath is being pulled closer to the void at an astonishing speed. From a cosmic scale, this planet is just a speck of dust in the vast galaxy. It is insignificant in the void where countless celestial bodies are formed and destroyed, but it is The last home of the Dark Templar.

"It seems we are still too late." Artanis looked at the Twilight City of Taimatros, which was about to be destroyed by flames, and could not hide the sadness in his heart: "There is violent void energy surging under the surface of Sagurath. , I can feel Eamon’s overwhelming anger from it.”

After the fall of Aiur, Tassadar, Artanis, Fenix ​​and others led their people to Sagulath and established a new home on this dim planet. Even though their new home in Sagulas, the city of New Antioch, is equally majestic, they are nostalgic for the sun-drenched days of Ayr.

In that great escape that no El Protoss would want to remember, all precious things and artworks had to be temporarily abandoned, and all spaceships had to be vacated to transport people and important supplies. If the Tyranid humans of Augustus hadn't reached out to help them in time, more of the eldest sons of God might have died in that catastrophe.

Now, Thagurath is about to fall, and both his people and the Dark Templar are once again in dire straits.

The Protoss Empire has many colonies, and many of the El Protoss who fled to Sagulath were evacuated to these worlds. Even so, there are still tens of millions of El Protoss living in Sagulas, and most of them are Karai class civilians with no fighting ability.

Artanis cannot ignore that the number of Nerazim protoss is not large to begin with, and most of the population is in Sagulath. This catastrophe is even more devastating to them.

"I don't know what choice the Purifiers of Coralion will make." Augustus looked at Artanis and said: "But I think the Purifiers will be more inclined to use fire to cleanse all zerg infections. This is Their style.”

"The command center just received a message. It's looking for you, Your Majesty." At this time, a communications soldier carrying a holographic projector found Augustus.

When the holographic projection instrument was turned on, an unexpected dark templar appeared on the screen.

It is none other than Vorazun, the daughter of Rashagal, the current Nerazim matriarch.

Ever since Augustus met the Nerazim matriarch Rashagal, her health seemed to have been in poor health. She was getting older and weaker, really like a dying old man. A few years is just a short period of time for the protoss, but the impact it exerts on Rashagal is particularly obvious.

As time went by, Rashagar rarely appeared in public, and left the affairs of the clan completely to her daughter.

"Thank you for coming to support Sagulath at such a critical moment, Emperor Augustus Mengsk. Nerazim will never forget your kindness." As soon as Vorazun saw Augustus and Atta Then Ness said: "Praise be to the gods, Artanis, that you are still alive."

"Aamon corrupted Kara, and it was the Executor of Coralion and Emperor Augustus who saved me and my fleet." Artanis immediately said: "Vorazun, how is the situation now?"

"The hybrid army and the swarm destroyed our city, and the Shadow Guards were completely lost." Vorazun said sadly: "Everything happened so suddenly, the Templars fell into madness, and they were attacking in the blink of an eye. We launched an attack, and then the Xel'Naga portal leading to Aiur was opened. There are traces of the battle everywhere."

"We are trying to evacuate the remaining people, but there is no guarantee that we can support them until they can evacuate safely."

There were many Dark Templar warriors who followed Tassadar and joined the Golden Fleet to participate in the expedition to regain Aiur. This is also the reason why Sagulath's defensive strength is insufficient.

While their homeland of Sagulath was in flames of war, these warriors were unable to return.

Only one thing is certain, Amon has no need for warriors he cannot fully control, which is why the Tal'darim protoss eventually became an outcast. It can be expected that the Dark Templar in the Golden Fleet will be purged without hesitation, and the execution will be carried out by their fellow Templars.

"We must rescue the survivors on Sagulas as much as possible and move them to a safe place." Augustus said immediately: "My warriors and the Purifiers of the Corola Leon Executor will help you."

"Thank you for your support. Fortunately, most of the protoss are concentrated in the large cities of Taimatros and New Antioch, which makes large-scale rescue and evacuation possible." Vorazun continued: "The Council of Light and Shadow is also in chaos. Everything is in chaos."

"I don't know what happened in your New Antioch, but the Karai class were much less affected than the Templars, and many remained sane - which is puzzling, given their Their willpower is nowhere near that of the Templar class."

"Perhaps Eamon only needs strong men among the Templars to work for him, rather than incompetent and weak craftsmen." A discordant voice suddenly came out, and the first ascended person, Alarak, sneered coldly: " But even so, Eamonn’s madness and rage are enough to drive those poor guys crazy.”

"Tsk tsk tsk~"

"I advise you to give up. Even if not one of them is left alive, it doesn't matter." Alarak said, "I'm not here to save lives and heal the wounded."

"I don't understand what is worth wasting time on this dirty little planet? We should go to Slane immediately, defeat Marash, and regain my position as high lord."

"Zeratul and his Dark Templars have helped me a lot, and the Tyranid Empire will not ignore the fall of Sagulath." Augustus just said: "In the dark future, we can only do our best as much as possible. Only by uniting all the forces that resist Eamon can we turn defeat into victory."

"I thought you were smart enough to figure everything out."

"Hmph -" Alarak's snort was not aggressive at all, nor did he respond with sharp words as usual.

He knew this was a way to provoke the general and would not be fooled.

"Artanis, why is there a Tal'darin beside you?" Vorazun asked.

"I am Alarak, the first person to be promoted to Tal'darin." Alarak slightly narrowed his eyes shining with scarlet psychic flames, and said in a Tal'darin-style euphemism: "Dark Templar, you are the most important person." Well worth my time, I can't tolerate fools."

"I don't care who you are." Vorazun didn't have time to wait for Alarak to finish. The fact was just as she said, she didn't care about the identity of this Tal'darin protoss.

"Your stupidity is beyond my imagination!" Alarak yelled and immediately shot back.

"Ararak is our new ally." Artanis couldn't find anything good to say when introducing Alarak to Vorazun: "Ararak is determined to lead his people away from Amon's cruel rule. So he stood on our side.”

"With all due respect, it is not a wise choice to blindly trust a Tal'darin. They do not keep their promises, are extremely barbaric, and may betray at any time." Vorazun said: "The Tal'darim will stand behind you. A sharp blade was drawn from the shadow.”

"You are not worthy of my surprise attack from behind." Alarak sneered: "I can defeat you from the front! Dark Templar!"

"It depends on how you view this Tal'darin, Artanis." Vorazun ignored Alarak and looked at Artanis.

"." Artanis was speechless.

As for what Atanis thought of Alarak, it can only be said that he was confused.

Who is Alarak in his heart?

"Tsk" Alarak clicked his tongue again. He had known that he was not trusted by these fellow protoss, and he did not expect them to be so easy to deceive.

"There is no time to waste." Vorazun looked at Augustus again: "Emperor Augustus, I implore you to send additional reinforcements to Taimatros to help us evacuate the civilians."

"We will never forget what happened today."

"Well, we are marching towards Teimatros and New Antioch. We hope that the Dark Templars will have enough ships to transport the refugees." Augustus said, looking in the direction of Taimatros.

"Advance." General Jones ordered over the command channel.

Among the criss-crossing rivers and soft sandbanks outside the Rizul Temple, a group of Terran Empire legions were gathering in earnest, and various heavy-armored combat mechs were deployed to a more solid surface. When such a huge army spreads out on the ground, it is a very spectacular sight. You can see the advancing torrent of steel and the dark marines pressing on the ground.

In the hazy mist over Taimatros, a fierce air battle had already begun. The pirate ships of the Dark Templar never gave up the fight for a moment, and now they have been supported by Imperial Viking fighter planes.

"Dehaka." Augustus called softly, and amidst the vibrations that shook the entire Rizul Temple, a terrifying creature with a double row of sword-shaped bone plates on its back broke out of the ground.

This giant monster like Tyrannosaurus Rex broke out of the ground. It was incredibly huge and incredibly powerful, and its solid bone plates were filled with terrifying power like magma and flames.

"There are many powerful essences here." Dehaka said word by word, running towards the distant battle line: "And we will hunt them."

"Aranak, if you want to achieve cooperation, you must show corresponding sincerity." Augustus finally turned to Alarak: "This is the rule of the transaction."

"We will help you reach the top of the Chain of Ascension, and in our eyes, the life of every civilian is more important than your position as a high-ranking lord."

"Remember, this is just a deal." Alarak turned to Augustus and said that he was not sending troops to save talents.

Recently, I have a mental problem. I often can't sleep all night long... Damn it, it's been almost a month, and I can't go on like this...