StarCraft: Tyranid Empire.

Chapter 145 Pass it back, Duke wins
June 6, 9:7 shipboard time—about three standard hours since the Korhal Revolutionary Army fleet jumped here.

Norad II, this majestic giant steel ship was originally the flagship of Alpha Squadron, the ace force of the Tyrannian Federation, and the car of Colonel Edmund Duke.

Traces left by Alpha Squadron and Colonel Duke can be seen everywhere on this magnificent behemoth-class battlecruiser. This man is close to a silverback gorilla in appearance and fierce temper. More than 20 Alpha Squadron flags of different styles were hung on the bridge of No. Ⅱ, and all the signs and medals used to show its military achievements in hundreds of battles were painted on the walls and portholes of the battleship.

Compared with the Hyperion, the Norad II, the flagship of Alpha Squadron, is even bigger.In addition to the corridors inside the ship that still look shabby, both the bridge and the various cabins and activity areas are grand and even magnificent.

But now the ship has a new owner, Augustus Mengsk, who likes to call this a small change of ownership.

No matter from which angle you look at it, the behemoth-class battlecruiser Norad II is an unparalleled masterpiece of war, with rows and rows of laser guns and upgraded energy shield defense arrays, hangars The nearly [-] fighters inside are brand new wraith fighters.

These latest fighters can throw off the old jet fighters such as Avengers and Cerberus fighters by a large margin in terms of maneuverability and weapon power, and they can also better adapt to the combat environment in space.

The important thing is that the nuclear arsenal of Norad II also has [-] small tactical nuclear bombs equivalent to [-] tons of TNT and two apocalyptic nuclear bombs that are enough to level half of Tarsonis City.

—and all you need to do to use these cute but cranky gadgets is a harmless red button.

Even so, Augustus never felt any joy.In his opinion, the gains are far less than the losses. Accurate statistics show that the Korhal Revolutionary Army suffered heavy losses in the encounter in the Soyan Galaxy, leaving only four Giant-class frigates, two Reagan-class cruisers and five Destroyers, and the remaining combat airships are only 590 seven left.

Nearly [-] Revolutionary Army pilots and fleet soldiers died in this battle, and these pilots generally only received training for half a year or even less.Most of them were recruits, so many lives that had just blossomed like flowers could never return to Keha IV, their hometown.

After reporting the fleet’s losses and casualties, Augustus’ Umoyan Fleet Advisor told him that some of the dead were from Stilling College, which is the alma mater of the members of the Mengsk family for generations. He met in school.

Death is no longer a stranger to Augustus, and the deaths of Omo and Benjamin on the Turasis II were a heavy blow to everyone in Augustus's class.Although Augustus was still reluctant to admit it in his heart, Korha warriors like Omo kept dying all the time.

Their death is a severe blow to the parents, enough to destroy a fragile family.But on the reported list, it was just a series of names and numbers.

Augustus asked the names of these people in detail, but did not say a word.

"I want to know what kind of loss we have given Alpha Squadron." On the bridge of the Norad II, Augustus asked his expressionless Umoyan advisor.

"The sergeant in charge of the statistics got some exact numbers of shots down. In the battle named Soyan galaxy, we shot down a total of 120 six Avenger fighters, 38 Wraith fighters and three Sventaux-class Federation ships. Destroyer—a long, cuboid warship."

The losses of the Alpha Squadron cannot be accurately counted, but there is no doubt that their equipment and soldiers are much more than the Revolutionary Army.If Augustus hadn't seized the flagship of Alpha Squadron's flagship, Norad II, like a tiger's tooth was pulled out, then this would undoubtedly be a complete disastrous defeat.

The family background of the Keha Revolutionary Army is too weak, which is enough to make them hurt.

"And we paid ten times as much as they did." Augustus' tone was the same as usual, but Kerrigan beside him could feel the sadness and frustration in his heart even if he didn't use telepathy feel.

Augustus Mengsk is not invincible.A seasoned general can prove unstoppable with many exemplary battles, but one bitter and humiliating defeat is enough to erase all honor from him.

"You can't blame yourself for the deaths of those people. I heard the cries and the last words of those victims." Kerrigan said to Augustus: "They took death as home."

"I should have done better," Augustus said after Advisor Umoyan left.

"Mengsk, I can't think of a better way to deal with the situation just now. If Duke had doubled the number of ships, then I would have suggested that you raise your hands and surrender." Tychus said: "You What else can I do, whether to crash into it desperately or flee desperately, leaving a pile of wreckage, watching the morale of the Revolutionary Army fleet being severely damaged."

"You have to fight, and next time everyone will know that their commander does not lack the courage to attack." Warfield said to Augustus: "As Arcturus once said, if you command 100 People, you can remember all their names, past and present, but command 10 people, you must have ruthless indifference."

"Can you do it?" Augustus asked him.

"I can't do that," Warfield said. "I can't do that. Arcturus can't do that."

"Heh, anyway, more than half of the fleet has been damaged, and the Iron Justice is no longer able to participate in the next battle. We must find a new port to repair and repair the warship." Augustus shook his head, searching the distance from the fleet on the star map. The nearest supply port.

The Norad II is still using the federal star map database, so many federal ports marked green cannot dock.On the contrary, the Ke Morian and Umoyan interstellar ports and shipyards marked in red are much safer.

But what makes Augustus feel troublesome is that these ports are either too far away, or are within the strike range of the Tyrannian Federation Fleet.

"It will take a lot of time to return to Korha IV and Umoyan, and the first batch of fleets sailing to Korha is likely to be on the hyperspace passage."

"In this way, the only reliable place is here." Augustus retrieved a galaxy and a gray-green planet on the star chart table, just like Keha IV shrouded in gray mist.

Augustus drew a triangle in the galaxy where the Norad II is located, the planet and the Delarian shipyard: "It takes less than half a day from here to the Rock of the Dead, and from the Rock of the Dead It only takes four days for Yan to arrive at the Delarian Shipyard. As far as I know, there is currently the largest mercenary organization here—the mercenaries of Hill and Harris.”

Almost at the same time as the Kymerians announced that they would sign a peace treaty with the Tyrann Federation, although many older mercenaries believed that there would be no more wars in the future, the mercenary market would inevitably shrink sharply, but the two named The mercenaries of Graven Hill and Remy Harris formally established their own mercenary organization and recruited professional mercenaries from Umoyan, Kelmorian Federation and even the Tyrann Federation.

"The Umoyan Dominion closest to us will take much longer than that, and the Kel-Morians are likely to be behind the scenes," Warfield said.

"Dead Rock, this was a far from bad planet - many years ago. Now it's the garbage dump of the universe, nearly two-thirds of the land is covered with Cosmic garbage and industrial waste. It may only take a few years to destroy a vibrant ecosystem, but we have to spend double the time to restore it." Kerrigan searched for information about this planet in her memory .

"This planet lacks a strong government. The unrestrained mining of minerals and industrial pollution have destroyed the already fragile environment. In recent years, people of all religions and religions have come here to pursue their dreams of getting rich overnight or seek political asylum. Over time, here It gradually became a holy place for pirates, mercenaries and smugglers."

"Of course, and the Rebels." Tychus wanted to scratch his ass, but he quickly gave up amidst the power armor.

"It's the Revolutionary Army." Kerrigan corrected Tychus with a flick of her fiery red ponytail.

"Almost, little girl," Tychus yelled. "For freedom! You can't really be fooled by Mengsk, are you? No?"

"People like you don't understand the great ideals of Augustus. You only know how to eat, drink, whore and gamble." Kerrigan retorted at Tychus.

"Nobody knows Mengsk better than you!" Tychus taunted her.

"Enough, I am neither as great as you think, nor as humble." Augustus ended the topic, and then entered an encrypted communication code on the main screen.Just a few seconds later, a young man wearing dark glasses, even at night, appeared in the background of a dilapidated office with guns hanging on the walls under the lights.

"Good evening, Mr. Mengsk. I think you may need some new mercenary contracts. I heard that Korha IV is fighting with the federal central government of Tarsonis." Graven Hill said with a smile: "I dare you It took a great risk to get in touch with you, I heard that Keha IV needs a transport ship, and I immediately sent many people there.”

"Of course the price is three times higher than in peacetime." Augustus directly pierced him.

"This is about the inflation caused by the war. The Tyrann Federation and Kelmorian Federation squandered all their foreign exchange reserves in Umoyan and owed a large amount of foreign debt. It is normal for prices to rise. "I'm not just sitting on the floor," Hill said.

"You will pay for it sooner or later. I heard that you are doing business with Korha IV, Tyranid Federation and Kel-Morian Consortium at the same time." Augustus said: "You once sold for a sum of money. To be honest, Kel-Morians, I find it hard to believe you."

"That's different. The Kelmorians owed us money and violated the contract. This is a matter of principle. Mr. Angus Mengsk will never lose half of the mercenaries, and I will only betray them unless I am crazy. A long-term and trustworthy long-term customer." There was no expression on Hill's face.

"The mercenaries are always fed only when the Keha are at war with the federal government," he said.

"Okay, after talking for so long, you must have some big order to hand over to me." Hill lit a cigarette for himself.

"I need to occupy your mercenary port for a while." Augustus continued: "And, in the next two months, I will sign as many mercenary contracts as you have."

"I've heard that Keha IV is going to be in big trouble, but my mercenary brothers ain't going to do spider mines or bathe in nuke rain. You know, they're not doing death work for sure. Hill touched his chin, gradually unable to control his overflowing smile.

"Do I look so taken advantage of?" Augustus tapped his fingers on the tabletop of the bridge console.

"Okay, but the port of call is not cheap. How many ships do you have? Tell me so I can know." Hill said.

"Not much." Augustus sent a number using encrypted communication.

"It's impossible, three ships? Two of them are still flagships. You must be joking." Hill folded his arms around his chest: "Our little broken port is not that big, but the space station is quite large. Down."

"Speaking of which, where on earth did you get these big guys? I heard that the Kel-Morians are selling warships...but the prices are ridiculously high."

"From the hands of the Federation Fleet." Augustus said bluntly, "Then it's settled."

"Okay, it's settled." Hill originally thought that Augustus was just a young but talented officer of the Federal Marine Corps with a small fortune in his family, but he didn't expect that Augustus was a man who even surprised him. A ruthless character of the Tyrannian Federation Fleet.

Determined to reassess the power in Augustus Mengsk's hands, Hill shut down the comms link.

"He is not to be trusted," Tychus said.

"Well." Augustus nodded and said, "But when we reach the Rock of the Dead, we will have the final say there."

"Oh you bad thing." Tychus smiled evilly: "But I like you."

At this time, a secondary holographic projection screen lit up, which was a radar scanning image that lit up.

"An unknown warp signal and an unsigned communication request have been detected." The intelligent adjutant of the Norad II said in a cold mechanical voice.

"Access," Augustus said.

"Augustus Mengsk, we meet again, just wait 5 minutes and I'll catch you cunning kehal fox. Do you think you can escape? Alpha Squadron will chase you to the ends of the earth , to the end of the universe." When Duke wanted to say something, Augustus closed the communication link.So Duke's insolent face was frozen forever, but the still picture looked a little distorted.

"It sounds like Colonel Duke is on our way." Augustus pointed at Duke's thick nostrils on the main screen.

"Duke must be so angry that he could eat his boots by now." Tychus laughed.

"...He even told the time." Warfield was stunned and speechless.

"Where's Swann? How's he doing?" Augustus looked over at Kerrigan, needless to say the handsome and empathetic (literally) The terminal was handed over to him.

"Oh—come on, you made Thatcher! Little girl, you are about to tighten that screw!" A noisy voice came from the personal terminal.

"Good job!"

"it is good!"

"Lorry Swan, I wonder if you've got those signal trackers done, you said 'nearly over the hurdle' 10 minutes ago, I understand you're getting the job done." Augustus was careful with his words, and he had only recently found that he sometimes didn't understand Mrs. Meinho's local dialect.

"Oh, when I get that wrench back, it's still outside the airlock." Swan didn't seem to hear clearly.

"That's right, boss, these kids have done a great job, and they are worthy of your salary."

"Let's make a leap." Augustus looked at the communication links that Duke gave one after another, turned to the navigator and said, "Before that, let our old friend scream with anger."

Napoleon, bridge.

"Mengsk! Regardless of whether it's big or small, brothers and sisters are a bunch of uneducated country bumpkins!" Duke yelled very shamelessly on the bridge. When the technical sergeant reported to him, this kind of Anger rose to the top.

"We can no longer get updates on the positions of the Norad II and the Iron Justice." The technical sergeant said with some confidence.

"How could it be so fast!" Duke said decisively: "Impossible! You must have made a mistake somewhere!"

"Colonel, the Fleet Command would like to ask you about the latest battle situation in the Suoyan Galaxy." At this time, the Colonel's adjutant walked into the bridge and asked him.

"Just say it." Duke immediately calmed down: "We destroyed more than [-] rebel ships and severely damaged Augustus Mengsk's rebel army. I will submit a more detailed report later."

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(End of this chapter)