The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2786. The First Signs of the Dark Hand

On the planet Jobri, several of its moons have been completely engulfed in flames on the outer edge of this massive gas giant.

Ten Protoss warships stood before these satellites, unleashing a powerful beam of light directly from their bows. Under the blast of this terrifying beam, the satellite surfaces rapidly molten, turning everything into a sea of ​​fire.

The moons of Airy and Nogu, once used by Abathur as testing grounds for breeding the Torgate swarms, are now being utterly destroyed by the Protoss executive fleet in the name of purification. Thranduth stands before the flagship's observation deck, gazing at the burning celestial bodies, his eyes utterly unmoved.

The burning satellites demonstrate the Protoss's power and proclaim their resolve.

The swarm, no matter where it comes from, must be completely eradicated!
These 10 aircraft carriers constitute one-third of the Protoss fleet. Each carrier is 1333 meters long and is piloted by a High Templar whose mental power resonates with the core of the ship, controlling the ship's movements and the thousands of drones carried on board.

Aside from this one High Templar, the Protoss carrier only has a few "Engineers (Huragok)" responsible for routine maintenance.

Indeed, compared to humans, the Engineers in the Dawn Kingdom's organization prefer to stay with the Protoss, learning and researching Protoss warship technology. Unlike other places where it is very difficult to recruit Engineers, or where they must be directly assigned by the High Command, each Protoss aircraft carrier has several Engineers working on it.

The addition of these "engineers" has greatly alleviated the Protoss's current severe population shortage. Moreover, the "engineers'" extremely high adaptability allows them to adapt well to the environment of the Kelp Crystal Matrix filled with waste ions, thus ensuring that the Protoss aircraft carrier's power core remains in good working order at all times.

In this context, while both are drone carriers, the Protoss carriers are undoubtedly on a completely different level compared to the Adventist Sky Drone Carriers. For the Adventist Church to operate a Sky Drone Carrier, they would need a choir singing in the ship's chapel, and dedicated operators to remotely control the drones. In addition, damage control personnel and engineers are also indispensable.

In total, a team of 150 people is needed to control the 350-meter-long drone carrier for combat.

To control a 1333-meter Protoss carrier and thousands of unmanned interceptors, a high-ranking Templar is sufficient.

A high-ranking Templar can control thousands of drones with pure willpower, and the performance of these drone interceptors is far superior to that of the swarm drones used by the Dawn Kingdom's Archon-class drone mothership.

Even without using drones, the particle destructive cannons equipped on these aircraft carriers possess devastating destructive power. While these cannons are impractical for space warfare due to their short range, narrow firing angle, and long charging time, they are unparalleled in their effectiveness for orbital bombardment.

Abathur's painstakingly cultivated Zerg swarm was wiped out by the Protoss, leaving not a trace. He himself was sent to another part of the Chis' Territory, to the edge of the former Kingdom of Light, Kilgi's territory, to conduct his Zerg swarm experiments again.

He began searching for the next most suitable race, turning his attention to genetic samples that could still survive in extreme environments—but that's another story.

Meanwhile, on the planet Jobri, Archbishop Ronis of the Holy Advent Order continued to track the psionic link behind the Kilik swarm.

After two days of busy work, Ronis suddenly summoned Severance Tannen, Thranduil, and others to the church and showed them a star map.

This star map was unlike any other star map they had ever seen or any model of the universe they had ever encountered before; it was entirely composed of psionic light. And within it, a winding and complex hyperspace route was clearly marked.

“Where is this place?” Severance Tann asked.

“I have received guidance from the Path of Unity, and in the vision of the divine realm, I have seen them…” Ronis said slowly, “Their brilliant life force is almost comparable to any mechanical creation. They are connected by countless psionic energies, as if they were one. And what is blocking us on Fitz is only a small part of them.”

"You mean the hundreds of millions of insect swarms that held us back on Fitz Planet for a month were only a small fraction of it?" Severance Tann asked, somewhat surprised.

Protoss Executive Serandis said, "I've reviewed the previous battle reports, and judging from the timeline, it's completely impossible for the Kilik swarm to breed such a massive number. They simply can't find enough energy to reproduce. There must be some unknown force at work behind this."

Cardinal Adela said, "Then we need to break through Fitz as soon as possible, and then continue along the psionic link of the Kilik swarm."

“A direct confrontation is absolutely impossible; we don’t have enough time.” Severance Tann shook her head. “Admiral Ziara is already finding it difficult to hold the borders of the Chis territory. Recently, the invasions of the Kilik swarm have been increasing. In the past month, the number of people who have become participants due to the Kilik swarm’s invasion has reached more than 30,000.”

Adela said, "The Pope has mobilized the entire Church to defend the territory of Qis against the invasion of the Kirik swarm. Under the watchful eye of the Eye of True Sight, no participant can hide. We will also purify those who have been corrupted and assimilated."

“The Holy Advent Church is indeed working very hard, but this is not a long-term solution. Our current forces are insufficient to completely stop the infiltration of the Kilik swarm,” said Governor Sheen Morabito of the Kingdom of Chis.

“This place.” Severance Tann stepped forward and pointed heavily at a spot on the star map. “This is where a large number of psionic links converge. We’ll launch a direct assault here.”

Everyone looked in that direction, their brows furrowing involuntarily.

Everyone could see that this place was the convergence point of all psionic links, and behind it lay only darkness. That darkness was not nothingness, but a dead zone beyond the reach of psionic energy, which even Archbishop Ronis could not currently detect.

The problem is that the area surrounding this place is dotted with many psionic nodes, some of which are even brighter than Fitz, the planet blocking their fleet.

This suggests that the swarms of insects gathered in these places may be even larger than the hundreds of millions of insects on Fitz Planet!

Such a number is simply despair-inducing. If it weren't for Ronis's psionic detection, they wouldn't even have known that the Kilik swarm had multiplied to such a terrifying number!

If the Kilik swarm had so few species capable of hyperspace travel, their sudden outpouring would likely have shaken the entire galaxy!

But Severance Tann said with unwavering determination, "This is it! If we destroy it, the psionic links to the Kilik swarms elsewhere will be severed!"

“Attacking this place directly is practically suicide. Have you thought it through?” Sheen Morabito said.

“No! This is not a suicide mission,” Thranduil suddenly said. “My executive fleet will carry out this raid.”

Everyone present turned to look at her. Just days before, she had nearly torn the entire expeditionary force apart because of the Torgate swarm, yet now, she was resolutely determined to carry out this almost suicidal mission. "I will also select warships from the fleet capable of long-range raids to join the attack," Severance Tann said.

Cardinal Adela stated, "Aside from Archbishop Ronis's flagship, the Apocalypse, we have no other warships capable of long-range raids. Therefore, I will lead the remaining fleet in a full-scale attack on Fitz. For the sake of the One Path!"

At this moment, Sean Morabito, who was participating remotely via holographic projection, suddenly started clapping. He was back to his casual self, waving his hands and saying, "Seeing you all so ambitious is wonderful. I can't resist joining in too, hahaha!"

Severance Tann said seriously, "You shouldn't be at the front lines. Dealing with the affairs of Curiosity should be your primary task, Your Excellency."

"Haha, of course I won't get involved in your messy affairs," Sheehan Morabito laughed heartlessly. "However, I have secured reinforcements for you. If I'm not mistaken, they will arrive tomorrow."

"Any reinforcements?" Severance Tann's brow finally relaxed.

“Ah, a batch of new warships built by Terran Heavy Industries specifically to combat the Zerg swarm,” Sheen Morabito said, shaking his finger. “And then, since His Majesty the King is in seclusion and his two pets have been left unattended, they were also sent over.”

“A pet?” Severance Tann was taken aback.

"Take a day off. I'll prepare one of my favorite dishes for each of you on the reinforcements' warship." Sheen-Morapitto laughed and ended the communication.

After the projection faded, a brief silence fell over the command room.

Severance Tann turned to look at Thranduil and said, "I didn't expect you to support my strategy."

"My mission is to wipe out all the Kilik swarms. I haven't changed anything," Thranduil said calmly.

"Even if such a strategy might be suicidal?" Severance Tann retorted.

“The Protoss never fear death. Even in death, our souls return to the Khala. Although we have severed our connection with the Khala, the spirits of our ancestors still watch over us from the Void,” Thranduil said.

“You Protoss and those Adventists should get along quite well,” Sefrans-Tann said.

“I have not come alone,” Thranduth said suddenly. “The exalted elder, the high Templar Aldrion, has come to the territory of Chis with my fleet. He has already traveled to the Advent via the planet Hisla. I believe the Advent can obtain assistance from this elder.”

Archbishop Ronis bowed deeply to Thranduil and said, “I have learned of this from His Holiness the Pope. She and Aldrian had a very pleasant conversation and benefited greatly. Aldrian’s wisdom is like an ancient star, illuminating the path to unity for us.”

Thranduil did not speak, but conveyed a sense of comfort to everyone present before turning and leaving.

Severance Tann let out a sigh of relief. She felt like she'd been hanging out with these charlatans all day, and she didn't even have the energy to swear anymore. Now, the Holy Advent Church wasn't enough, and now an even more charlatan-like Protoss had arrived... She rubbed her temples and looked out at the dark universe. She seemed to have a guess as to who those two "pets" were.

……

A day later, the hyperspace probe sent out an alarm.

Before Severance Tann even reached the control panel, a pleasant but arrogant laugh could be heard.

"Hahahaha! I'm back again!"

Severance Tann looked at the gradually forming projection in front of her and said calmly, "It really is you, Darth Lilim."

A slender Tirek woman appeared in the holographic projection, dressed in a black bodysuit. She was stunningly beautiful, with a seductive posture and captivating eyes that shone with a mesmerizing light. The left side of her head, which was called a Leku (a Tirek tentacle), had been severed and replaced by a string of beautiful crystals.

It was Darth Lilim, the apprentice of Darth Malthael, the King of Dawn.

She had previously accompanied Darth Masair on his campaign in the North, but under her master's control, she had simply behaved herself and had not done anything out of line.

It seems that Darth Masair has come out of seclusion again.

What's even more striking is that she's holding a chain in her hand, and at the other end is a beautiful woman who's half-human and half-beast!

The woman was covered in fine, silvery-blue scales, with a long tail behind her. Her body was covered in a layer of ice crystal armor, with ice crystals forming a crown on her head. Such a unique and beautiful sight, coupled with her naked and fiery figure, truly possessed a forbidden charm.

Severance Tann frowned slightly. She recognized the half-human, half-beast woman as Hydra, the former Grand Inquisitor of the Galactic Empire, who later became Darth Malthael's pet and was given the name "Wheel of Fate".

"So, you brought this pet here to relax?" Severance Tann raised an eyebrow.

Darth Lilim looked at her curiously and asked, "This isn't like you at all. What happened? Did you go crazy after being locked up by your master for a while?"

“It’s alright. You’ve been here for a while, and you’ll be the same,” Severance Tann said calmly.

Darth Lilim glanced around—the little charlatan Adela, the middle-level charlatan Ronis, and the Protoss grand charlatan Thranduil—and gave a cold snort, shaking her head. The string of crystals jingled. "No, I just think...this is very interesting!" (End of Chapter)