StarCraft: Tyranid Empire

When Augustus returned to Renault's flagship Backwater Marshal, there were huge moving black shadows up and down, and many warships were moving forward at a very close distance. Several belatedly arriving Imperial warships dragged miles-long fusion flames past them, and the suddenly accelerating Viking fighter formation made a terrifying sonic boom, flashing past like a giant steel bird lifted by flames. .

More than 1,600 Imperial capital ships participated in this battle, as well as tens of thousands of other types of ships, and countless large and small spaceships. The current fleets coming from all over the Aiur system are no longer as grand as they were back then. .

However, despite most of them being in poor condition, there were still many more battlecruisers preserved than the "two to three hundred" that Augustus expected.

At present, there are more than 620 capital ships that have arrived at the assembly point. Counting Umoyan and Kemorian warships, this number reaches 800. And at this moment, there are still many battleships reporting that they are coming or that they are temporarily unable to escape from the fierce battle.

According to feedback from the fleet communication channel, it is estimated that the number of the Light Empire's own warships that can continue to fight is between 750 and 850.

This actually made Augustus feel a little lucky.

Augustus wished they could pack up and leave now, but the battle was not over yet.

The golden fleet has withdrawn from Amon's army, but the insect swarm has not yet.

"Jimmy, you are too slow. Is there a traffic jam on the road?"

While Tychus rushed into the Backwater Marshal, Augustus nodded to the officers on the bridge who were saluting him.

This battleship was named in honor of the backwater base of Mar Sara and was later used as Renault's flagship, replacing the Hyperion which was undergoing an overhaul.

"Shut up, Tychus, you don't know a thing." Raynor immediately turned around and said back.

Although Renault was still wearing a relatively neat uniform of a navy admiral, Augustus still looked like he hadn't showered for at least three days and three nights, and he smelled the trademark decadent smell of an unemployed middle-aged man.

This Mar Sara cowboy doesn't like to wear formal clothes. If he is allowed, he will wear a canvas quilted combat vest and buckskin trousers, drink beer and drive a Vulture into the battlefield.

Renault was a commander from a wild background, but perhaps precisely because of this, he was not as rigid as many imperial officers who had received formal training and education.

In fact, Jim Raynor is a talented commander who grew up in practice. He is resourceful and often does not play his cards according to routines. Renault relied on No. 8 whiskey, sense of humor and his "charming" personality to win over people's hearts, and dominated the battlefield with a sparkling command talent. This is why Augustus would always trust and boldly entrust the army to him.

When Augustus was on the ground, it was up to commanders like Reno and Horner to command the fleet and control the situation.

"Augustus, I didn't expect that the Xel'Naga artifact actually worked." Renault blocked Tychus' mouth with a good cigar, and handed Augustus a cup of hot and bitter strong coffee. .

"If even you don't believe that the artifact can really work, then these people who followed me to Ayr must think they are crazy." Augustus smiled.

"But we never doubted you," Reno said to Augustus.

"You make me feel numb again." Augustus took the coffee from Renault's hand, took a sip, and asked: "What is the situation now? Reports from various battleships are flying in like snowflakes, and I Always listen to your opinion.”

"The situation is much better than at the beginning." Renault shrugged: "At the worst time, we almost had to fight against the golden fleet and the swarm on our own."

He joked: "It took me two pairs of pants to get all the troops I had on hand to prevent them from finishing the game."

"Not a bad job." Tychus leaned aside and smoked a cigar leisurely and commented: "At that time, the protoss and bugs almost captured the temple."

"Your Majesty, you have to give me a raise." Renault said.

"Okay, I'll give you medals." Augustus said, "One hundred."

"You miser." Renault shook his head and continued what he had just said: "In the end, everything got out of control."

"The fleet was defeated and routed. The golden fleet drove our people everywhere." He said: "Since the golden fleet is willing to chase us everywhere, as long as it can delay time, let's take them in circles."

"In short, the defeat was already determined by then, and there was no need for us to confront them head-on."

"Very wise." Augustus was very satisfied with Renault's judgment. He did not want the empire to lose all its wealth here. The negative impact it would bring was not just a sharp reduction in strength.

Time and time again, the Empire fought such battles, seemingly winning, but actually losing more troops than the enemy. More often than not, victory is always strategic, used to obtain resources and gain time for development.

If you don't fight like this, you often don't see any hope of victory when facing the protoss and zerg. The disadvantages in technology and quantity always need to be compensated with other things, and such things are usually blood and lives.

On a local battlefield on a certain planet, the human army may not necessarily be at a disadvantage, and sometimes even achieve an overwhelming victory. But when it comes to a full-scale war at the racial level, the situation is very unfavorable to mankind.

"You saved thousands of families that were on the verge of being broken up." Tychus can sometimes say very emotional words, which can make people realize that this guy is still a human being.

"There were far more people who didn't survive," Reno said.

Before he became the Imperial Marshal, Renault told Augustus that he could not even manage a Hyperion, let alone an Imperial fleet. But Augustus told Renault, you are just escaping from reality. It's not that you can't manage it well, but that you don't want to.

Well, this dog emperor.

"Aemon deserves to go to hell," Tychus cursed.

"He's coming soon," Raynor said. "There's no mention in the Old Testament that Amon would be victorious, so God is on our side."

"I like to hear that," said Augustus. "This is entirely Eamon's fault."

Outside the window, the azure sky was dotted with white clouds. The spectacular Imperial fleet was chopping through the waves in a sea of ​​clouds, heading upward into Aiur's orbit around the Earth. The scorching propeller wake rose into the sky, like a huge torch connecting heaven and earth.

And looking up, the sky was completely black, with twinkling stars. The battleship soars upward, reminiscent of an inverted meteor shower.

Ayr's horizon turned into a beautiful blue halo, like a thin band of light. The planet is now like a marble with a blue edge, and its white satellite is on the other side.

Taking advantage of this rare quiet moment, the engineers on each battleship were doing their best to restore their ships to their best condition. Scaffolding, cranes, and spare parts boxes were piled on every deck. Even people who shouldn't be in this position were mobilized, as if they were rushing to plug all the leaking holes before the ship sank.

Some warships were in such bad condition that they could no longer follow the fleet for the next jump. Not only were they riddled with holes, but most of their armor was severely deformed, like a crushed can.

This kind of loss is shocking, and it makes people feel pity for those tall and majestic warships. Whenever this happens, human beings will remember how small and vulnerable they originally were.

Iron Fist was ultimately abandoned as her losses were much more severe than expected.

Finally, after evacuating all personnel and saving as much of the remaining supplies as possible, the Iron Fist finally crashed to the earth like a big black bird, leaving behind a huge mushroom cloud.

The steel groaned as it twisted, and they all heard the roar of the giants built by men.

As the fleet drew closer to high orbit, the war closed in on them again.

Tens of billions of warship fragments and more Zerg limbs are scattered on Aiur's synchronous orbit, which are the indelible traces left by terrible battles. Some of the remains of the Imperial warships still look quite complete. If they are dragged back and repaired, they can be used. At the worst, they can be thrown to the Imperial garrisons in the marginal colonies to let them deal with pirates and small groups scattered in the Koprulu sector. Swarm.

The first thing Augustus saw was the golden and blue shadows of the Golden Fleet. Countless gorgeous warships were moving forward in the sails held up by the plasma shields. Among them were Tal'darin's Death Fleet, blue and red. The color tone can be described as distinct and very vivid.

Among these protoss warships, the most eye-catching one is of course the incomparable Ark ship.

From this perspective, the Pride of Altaris is much larger than the moon.

The Pride of Otalis, the sister ship of the Spear of Adun, due to the corrosion of the void, she looks like a brilliant blue spear that condenses the power of death, with an almost cruel aesthetic of violence.

Now the Pride of Otalis has escaped Eamon's control, and the red that represents madness has faded away, replaced by a cold-toned ice blue.

Just as Augustus expected, the Pride of Otalis also turned to them. Perhaps the end of Kara also represents the end of an era.

"Let's hope they beat the zerg as hard as they beat us," Tychus said.

"It's better that way," Renault said.

The protoss fleet is at war with the swarm.

This is a grand fireworks display. The universe is filled with dense death rays. The burning golden-blue debris falls like large clumps of catkins in the wind. Every protoss warship that is about to be destroyed has a There are countless zerg.

Many people standing on the bridge had seen the swarm spread across an entire planet.

The swarms of insects swarmed towards everything that was glowing and hot. Millions of insects screamed at the same time, and the sound was more terrifying than rolling thunder. No storm or wave on the vast ocean of Aiur is as terrifying as the huge waves of the vast sea of ​​​​insects.

But that pales into insignificance compared to the swarms sweeping across the galaxy.

The Purifier Protoss once blocked the main force of the zerg war, and for a long time they were even indistinguishable from the enemy. However, due to a flanking attack by the golden fleet, they eventually suffered heavy losses.

As for the Ihanri Protoss fleet, they are still fighting alone. In Renault's words, those protoss won't even answer the phone. They always contact you, but you can never call them.

"I heard that you restarted the Xel'Naga artifact and adjusted it to Nova Impact mode." Renault suddenly said to Augustus.

"Yes." Augustus replied: "Before Nova Impact is activated, I asked Tassadar to lead people to guard it."

"I dare say that Eamon must be so angry that he wants to raze this temple to the ground, but if he wants to replenish energy as soon as possible and make a comeback, he doesn't dare to let the artifact be damaged."

"The nova impact of the artifact can cover the Aiur galaxy, and the insect swarm is very familiar with this." Renault said: "And as soon as there is any disturbance, they will immediately flee far away."

The Tyranid Empire has used Nova Blast to deal with the swarms many times, and the frequency of its use can even be called frequent. Therefore, the insect swarm is very familiar with the energy fluctuations in the charging phase of Nova Impact.

Generally speaking, once the swarm realizes that the Empire is preparing to activate the artifact, they will flee.

However, there are hundreds of planets in the Empire under the threat of zerg, but there is only one artifact, and it must not accidentally fall into the hands of zerg or other enemies.

On the other hand, there are many restrictions on the conditions for the use of artifacts. The most important thing is the supply of energy. Not every planet has a Xel'Naga temple, and not every temple has never been abandoned and still has a full void. energy.

Egon Stetman and Rory Swann once worked together on a device that could simulate and broadcast the Xel'Naga artifact signal. The former called it Ai's Fright, and the latter called it Off-Tune George to express his own feelings. A good friend.

In any case, neither name was of any use.

This worked at first, but later the zerg stopped falling for the trick, and instead used it to their advantage, causing the Empire to suffer a huge loss.

"But this time they didn't escape," said Augustus.

"I think it's Eamonn who won't let me," Renault said.

"If Amon hadn't still ruled the main hive mind and stood at the top of the insect swarm pyramid, the master would have disappeared long ago." Augustus was well aware of the nature of his old rival.

Augustus knew that the master definitely wanted to leave. He never fought a battle that was not profitable. When in danger, he would grease the soles of his feet and slip away faster than anyone else.

Compared with his predecessors, the little master is obviously more willing to patiently open up mines and hoard troops. It just wants to play it safe, and there's nothing wrong with that.

The young master refused Ten Thousands of Eamon's orders, but he couldn't help it.

Does it want to fight again?

It doesn't want to!

Speaking of which, Nova Impact was the work of Dr. Narud, and it turned out to be just his crude modification of the Xel'Naga artifact. To put it simply, Amon knew about the existence of Nova Impact, but looking at it now, it didn't care about the loss of the swarm.

Eamon probably wants to decide the winner in Aiur. For him, no matter what happens, humans, protoss and zerg will all lose in the future, and it will be difficult to make waves.

His xel'naga body is still in the void and only needs a new incarnation to make a comeback.

The God of Darkness has plenty of time and patience. He only needs to succeed once to end this corrupt universe cycle, while Augustus only has one chance to fail.

Moreover, humans don’t live long. (End of chapter)