StarCraft: Tyranid Empire.

Chapter 289 The Death of a Cerebral Worm (6000-word chapter)
The Northern Hemisphere of Char, the landing point of the Revolutionary Army.

A golden-red shuttle lowered its landing gear on the vast land named the Plain of Mirrors by the early colonists and federal officials, and the cushioned thrusters kicked up a burst of dark gray debris.

This shuttle is the same as other spaceships that travel between the surface and space of the marginal colonies all the year round. Due to the long service life and wear and tear, it looks obsolete, and people always worry that it will suddenly fall apart.

Possibly two or thirty years ago, the people of the fringe worlds of the Tyranid Federation and the miners of the Kemorian mining families were using these flying machines, as long as the rise of certain colonies, and the shuttles of this type today The machine is still a very reliable flying vehicle.

The spaceships of the Revolutionary Army are either new-style ships built during the Korhal IV period, or outdated products that Angus and Augustus tried their best to buy from other sources, but their performance is completely worthy of refurbishment and remodeling price.

Amidst the creaking start of the hydraulic device, a gangway that looked old was lowered.The lights of the crew cabin where Augustus was located were turned on again, and the soldiers picked up the green rucksacks on the shelf above their heads under the order of the non-commissioned officer and prepared to leave the cabin.

The female voice's intelligent mechanical lieutenant is reporting the humidity, temperature, and content of radioactive substances at the landing site to the soldiers of the Revolutionary Army. It has to be said that these data are quite outrageous.

In Char, the hottest area can even reach 800 degrees Celsius during the day, and the scalding air can even burn the throat of a person who inhales the air without any protective measures.The areas that had been bombarded by nuclear weapons from the Tyranid Federation and Kelmorian Federation fleets were filled with deadly radiation that even power armor protective suits could not resist.

Corporal Faraday, who was walking on the left of Augustus, walked out of the shuttle first through the long and narrow passageway, followed by a group of fully armed elite guards, their crimson CMC-300 power armor and shining The golden wolf head badge is the reason why the soldiers feel extremely proud and proud.

Augustus got up from his seat after confirming their status through the communication channels of several landing troops, and followed several revolutionary Red Devil Firebats in huge armor to the gangway.

Since Tassadar's protoss expeditionary force contained a large number of zerg in the high-altitude orbit of Char, the human landing force did not suffer serious casualties when entering Char's almost non-existent atmosphere. All expected.

In the cargo compartment of the rear cabin of the shuttle, several squads of Revolutionary Army soldiers and mechanics were untying the fixed chains tied to the two Arc Light Siege Tanks and opening the spare exit hatches.

Once on Char's soil, Augustus's legs were sunk in a layer of ash so thick that it may have exceeded five feet at its deepest point.The air was distorted by the extremely high temperature. Just being exposed to the light of Charle’s super-radiant subwhite dwarf-like star system and irregular variable star binary star system, the landing gear of the shuttle was hot enough to boil an egg.

Mingjing Plain used to be a smooth, mirror-like lowland plain, but the current appearance is far from the past.The red lava rivers criss-crossing like spider webs separated the white plains that had been fragmented under the bombardment, like flowing orange-red flames.

Once a human soldier stumbles and falls into such a magma lake, there is absolutely no possibility of survival.

Farther away was a scorching world of huge black rocks, craters, volcanoes, and lava lakes, and some fiery red flashes rose from the ashes, like sparks in the embers.

In addition to the lava lakes, there are large and small holes on the ground. These holes emit gray smoke columns, and sometimes they spit out a burst of gray smoke like oysters spit out the fine sand in their shells, like smoke rings from a pipe.Most of the openings are quite dangerous, and the heat from them can burn people alive.

Fiery, desolate.

Augustus believed that some of these openings were dug by the zerg, because there were small mounds of ash and planed substrate soil in front of those holes, and the zerg's habit was like digging. The groundhog is no different.

Observe the surrounding scene in Augustus and use the built-in sensor scanning system inside the power armor to draw a three-dimensional map of the surrounding, and mark several pre-selected marching routes on the map.

He took a deep breath of air inside the armor, feeling himself sweating.The condensation device in the power armor is still working, and its cold fusion core can provide inexhaustible power for the armor life support system, so that the internal temperature and the quality of the internal circulation air can be maintained at a constant level for several weeks. steady state.

The ground is shaking, which indicates that a terrible volcanic eruption is coming.Flowing lava lakes will soon reoccupy the lowlands of the Mirror Plains, devouring everything there.

This is the planet with the worst environment that Augustus has ever been to in his life. Thinking about it, it will be difficult for any planet to surpass Charle.Char is the complete opposite of planets like Blasis and Sigma, which are covered with solid glacial plates all year round.

The air is safe to breathe in parts of Char, excluding the Plain of Der Spiegel.Augustus had to look directly at the world he was in under the protection of two layers of helmet visor, otherwise Char's extreme environment would be enough to kill him in a short time.

The landing site of the shuttle in Augustus was the spaceship of Raynor and Tychus, and about 40 APOD-33 transport ships and shuttles landed in nearby locations.

More high-spirited Revolutionary Army soldiers and Goliath armed robots with red background and gold badges, arc tanks, sidewinder magnetic levitation tanks, heavy tanks and rail guns were dropped on the ground in an orderly manner. Within hours, the number of troops landed reached 8000.

This elite division is enough to defeat any planetary defense force on the edge of the Tyranid Federation, but it is not enough to face Char's Zerg.Char has evolved into the stronghold of the zerg in the Koprulu sector, and the number of zerg here is far greater than any other planet invaded by the swarm before.

Half of the engineering soldiers of the Revolutionary Army Engineering Corps were driving T-280 space engineering vehicles to build bunkers, advance fortifications, and deploy spiritual energy disruptors at the landing site. A simple field hospital tent was quickly set up.Other dropships brought in plenty of supplies and water, far more valuable on Char than Ardian crystals.

Augustus looked into the gray sky of Charle just in time to see a sun so bright that it released enough light and heat to kill a man.A planet shining with golden light can be seen from the ground, and it should be the companion planet closest to Char.

"Corporal Faraday," Augustus called to his elite guard captain over the channel.This young man, who was quite ordinary in appearance and family background, followed him loyally and was the loyal guardian of the Mengsk family.

"Marshal." Corporal Faraday was ordering his guards to switch to shotguns and grenade guns. These equipment are magic weapons against the zerg's solid carapace.

"The detectors didn't find any signs of zerg life nearby. They might be underground or in the main hive area farther away," he said. "That's weird."

"It has only been a few months since the fall of Char, and the zerg should not have completely ruled the planet." Augustus was not surprised by this: "The environment of Char is also harmful to the current zerg. My guards, once the subterranean lair is discovered, we shall be on our way."

"Hey Augustus, guess what we found at the landing site? A few mushrooms are a wonder of nature, and it looks like we'll be able to drink mushroom soup tonight." Jim Raynor from another plane The direction of the shuttle came towards Augustus, holding a few off-white mushrooms in his hand.

"If we were stranded on Char with a supply line cut off, maybe we could live off these native fungus mushrooms."

"Good job, Jimmy, Elizabeth is really lucky to have a husband like you." Augustus smiled, without any meaning other than praise in his words: "But I hope your crow's mouth won't Get confirmed."

At that time, although Renault had lost his comrades-in-arms, his family was still happy and his parents were still alive. His optimism and happiness always kept him hopeful in everything at the most critical moment.

With Augustus' help, his wife wouldn't die in depression over his son's accident in the Tyranid Federation ghost project, and his parents wouldn't die from heavy work and diseased cheap food on the farm.

"Shiloh has an old saying, take precautions before they happen." Renault shrugged—even though this action was not easy for a person wearing alloy power armor.

"It's hard not to support." Tychus came from the other side: "If I was very hungry, I could eat tons of roasted bugs and drink their blood as strong wine."

"Forget it then. Take the different dragon as an example. Its blood after death is similar to sulfuric acid." Augustus shook his head.

"Well, Tychus, are you satisfied with Char?" Raynor asked Tychus.

"I can't be more satisfied." Tychus's voice almost leaked from between clenched teeth: "I have been to many places in my life, bare moon planets, metal and waste everywhere Iron outer space habitats, barren desert planets with only a few landmass ocean worlds, but I've never been to such a place."

"Char's magma is cooking my ass. I hope the harvest here will be worth the price of admission, and we will not do business at a loss."

"It's possible that the first planet that gave birth to a creature like the zerg was like Char from the beginning," Augustus said.

"If there's a hell, it's Char."

This world covered with orange-red magma rivers and thick volcanic ash can be called a forbidden zone for life. It is a truly lava world. Even the redstone star of the Kel-Morian Federation cannot compare to the extremely harsh nature of Char. environment.

Suddenly there was a deafening roar from the sky, and a magnificent super active volcano erupted.The volcanic ash was spewed thousands of feet into the air, blocking out the sun even from the sun, and casting the land below it in a complete shadow-this is a near erasure of Pompeii. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Fortunately, it was far away from where Augustus was located, but eruptions of this magnitude were always very common in Char.

"Send out scouts to find out all the main nests of the zerg, including those hidden underground." Augustus issued an order to his officers.

There is a third-level main nest and three second-level main nest hatches on the Mirror Plain. The large number of different dragon spiers shows that the main hatch in this main nest area is the air force of the swarm.This is also the main reason why Augustus chose to land here.

The purpose of Augustus' trip is simple and clear. Helping the protoss assault Char as much as possible can greatly relieve the pressure on the worlds on the fringes of the Federation, because he always regards those worlds as the basic disk for his rise.

In addition, Augustus is convinced that he is just a pendant on the Tassadar fleet. The powerful Protoss Empire expeditionary force actually does not expect much power from weak and backward humans.

However, the experience of fighting alongside the protoss exec Tassadar on Char will undoubtedly provide some kind of political capital for Augustus in the future.As long as Augustus is different from other humans in the eyes of Tassadar and other protoss, that's enough.

The Protoss Empire is a force worthy of Augustus' unity, but it is just an extravagant hope to form an alliance with the Aiur Protoss, who is in power in the Supreme Council, to fight against the Zerg.The protoss arbitrators in the Supreme Council are undoubtedly the most arrogant and stubborn people in this race.

For a long time, they have been leading the Protoss Empire, and the decadent and conservative ideas have also spread among the members of the Supreme Council, and the arbitrator is by no means ignorant of politics.Even with the Kara, political struggles and factional infighting exist among the deep-minded Arbiters, for concealing one's thoughts is something rulers must learn.

"Use those spider-type detection robots that the Umoyans sold us, now is the time to use them."

Augustus was not completely unprepared. After fighting the Zerg for more than half a year, various weapons mainly aimed at the Zerg were released one after another, including the Federation's biological and chemical virus weapons.

Considering the complex habits of the Zerg like to build nests underground, Augustus customized a spider-type robot with a certain artificial intelligence for Umoyan, without the need for remote control through other devices, reducing the chance of being noticed.

Just the foreign trade version of the AI ​​has surpassed several robot servants of the Terra family, the creation family of Tarsonis. Its unique algorithm and programming can keep it performing most reconnaissance tasks perfectly, even if it is damaged, it can borrow Reboot the system from the routing loop.

Measuring only 2 feet across, these spider-like detection machines use their nimble robotic limbs to web and weave easily through the zerg's labyrinthine underground wormways.

Under the redesign of Viktor Kaczynski, the spider booby trap designer of the Camerian Consortium, this spider-type detection mechanism is equipped with detonating devices and chemical explosives, and is equipped with alloy resonance digging claws.Once captured by the Zerg Sentinels, these new devices, made of several pieces of metal and titanium alloy blades, will instantly die with the enemy.

In other words, these spider-type AI mines no longer need soldiers or riders driving vulture vehicles to manually arrange them. They can sneak into the main lair of the Zerg or the military base of the Federal Army by themselves, giving the enemy a surprise.

At present, Victor has registered the copyright in the United States of Umoyan. Whether it is the National Defense Army military, black gold merchants or mercenaries, they are all very interested in this new weapon, but most of them want to use it against their own people. .

At this time, the camp of the Revolutionary Army has taken shape. The fortification wall built with alloy protective plates separates the landing point from one position, and the orbital satellite base station and anti-aircraft missile tower are erected to provide a defensive fulcrum for the landing troops and defenders.

"Marshal, I have received a signal from a protoss ground force." At this time, Corporal Faraday walked over with a portable projector.The projector is encased in a white protective insulation for extreme environments of this type

"Open it," said Augustus immediately.

When the holographic projection screen unfolded in front of Augustus, a protoss templar with a golden crown appeared on the screen.The templar looked much older than Tassadar, and the folds of his skin looked like the surface of a frozen sea.

The protoss templar's head was deeply immersed in the blue nutrient solution, and his shriveled limbs showed that he was a dragon knight hero thrown into the carapace after being seriously injured.

"En Taro Adun, human commander, I am Consul Tardarin, salute all warriors." Dragon Knight said: "My warriors report that your landing place is not far from one of my troops. If you In case of danger, you can seek help from my warriors."

"May Twilight guide you."

Before the words fell, Taldarin cut off the communication.

"That's cool, damn protoss aliens." Tychus cursed. "Whoever needs your help may ask us to save those idiots whose noses are about to stick to the sky."

"It's really attractive, maybe they think we are here to help and slow down." Raynor reminded Tychus: "But the Protoss has no nose."

"Come on, at least they are willing to help us." Augustus knew the reputation of the dragon knight Taldarin.

It is said that he is a templar who has survived since the time of Adun, and his name means the one who tempers thousands of things.Taldarin was also the first dragon knight ever built in the Protoss Empire.

This heroic warrior is said to have participated in countless battles with the great Protoss Executor Adun. He is the bravest of braves and the warrior of warriors.Seriously wounded after a battle, Taldarin's remnant body was placed in stasis for centuries, avoiding the Fall of Adun, and he didn't return to the battlefield until the advent of the Dragon Knight Mech.

This templar from the golden age of the Protoss Empire should be so proud. Even Adun respected him very much when he was still a fanatic fighting the enemy bravely.

"Marshal, Taldarin provided us with the coordinates of the protoss troops and the coordinates of several nearby zerg main lairs. They also marked the entrances of all the tunnel worms and the regularity of nearby volcanic eruptions." Corporal Faraday reported.

"It's so sweet," Reynolds said.

"Just like my mother," Tychus said.

The others had never met Tychus' mother, but it might as well have been that they thought Tychus was the kind of villain who would sell his mother for the booze.

"The protoss have always been like this," Augustus said to Tychus. "They are proud, but they always give you a hand behind your back. We usually call such people."

"There are bugs!" an exclamation interrupted Augustus' words.

It turned out that the initial calm was only a harbinger of an impending tsunami, with zerg pouring out of the holes that Augustus had noticed before.The huge Hydra Hydralisk used its forelimbs with sharp bony scythes to pierce the ashes covering the hole and roared out of the ground.

These zerg are also different from what humans have seen. They have dark brown carapace skin and light gold eyes. Whether this is a mutation brought about by Char's extreme environment is unknown.

"New hives," Raynor said, "who knows what they're good at, rolling happily in magma?"

"My favorite thing to do is grill bugs, and Barbatos Grill can't do without me." Tychus summoned his Stillling wolfhunter officers, armed with a heavy machine gun, and led the The soldiers of the White Wolf Badge walked away.

In the distance, the reconnaissance troops that Augustus had just sent out were retreating.Fortunately, they were driving a fast-moving Vulture car at an astonishing speed.But it looks like they won't be able to experiment with new weapons.

"Get ready to fight, lads, move out our 'cannons' and have a big fight with the bugs!" Renault said loudly.

Augustus has a stern look on his face. He is not without any negative emotions when facing the Zerg, but he never exposes these to the surface.A man should have the fear of terrible things, but Augustus must not.

Whether he was leading a squad of Marine Corps recruits on Turaxis II or now commanding a revolutionary army with a size of more than 20, Augustus must remain calm and act like he always has a plan in mind, otherwise as long as A little panic will be magnified a hundred times in his subordinates.

There are a large number of mines laid in front of the fortification walls at the landing site, and it has been proved that this weapon can always get good results when dealing with Zerg.

The frontline troops of the Revolutionary Army quickly engaged the Zerg. The sound of running was gradually covered by the sound of artillery fire, and the Zerg and Zerg appeared from the horizon.

However, a few minutes later, these angry zergs gave up on the humans in front of them, and suddenly turned around and ran in another direction.

At the same time, a psychic scream that resounded through Char passed over the magma and ashes, even Augustus and Renault, who did not have much psychic talent, clearly heard the scream and felt A bout of dizziness.

"What happened?" Reynolds said, who was next to Augustus. "It sounds painful. Like. Crying."

"Cerebral worm." Augustus looked towards the direction where the dark brown swarm left: "Jimmy, I guess it was attacked."

"Wow, they will all be resurrected anyway." Renault raised his eyebrows: "I guess the Protoss did it, but it's all a waste of effort anyway, and the cerebrates will be resurrected in Char soon."

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(End of this chapter)