StarCraft: Tyranid Empire.

All at once, everything around Valerian began to explode.

Humans, Protoss, the Moebius hybrid and the void phantom he created were all fighting in a group. The smoke and dust rising from the explosion rose into the sky like dry fingers. The traces and remains of war were scattered throughout the temple.

The flames washed over the temple walls again and again. The boiling hissing sound of the energy weapons melting the metal sounded like a giant snake wailing in the flames. The air was heated countless times, becoming hot and rough like sandpaper being rubbed. The originally indestructible walls also groaned under the erosion of the void energy, turning black and bubbling like a piece of plastic baked by fire, and finally collapsed uncontrollably.

Now, as long as Valerian raised his head, he could see the sky through the broken dome of the temple. The beam weapons of the Protoss fleet across the sky were as dazzling as approaching stars, rotating and falling around the top of the celestial sphere, constantly scorching the atmosphere, and finally falling on the other side of the planet.

The teachings of Dawu have become a thing of the past, and all weapons have been thrown into the battlefield by the Protoss without reservation, used to create the most terrible killing and destruction in the history of this planet.

Many Protoss still believe that the only way to rid the world of Void corruption is to glass a planet, as they did with the Zerg. If they are convinced that all is lost, then the best outcome for her is to be utterly destroyed like Shakuras, rather than being a vehicle for Amon's invasion of the real world.

Rather than engage in a terrible, quagmire-like war of attrition, the Protoss would prefer to simply wipe the battlefield off the map.

In the past ten years, the Protoss had lost more people than in the past thousand years combined. When the Doomsday War came, this ancient and proud race had to use banned restricted weapons. As the number of warriors was decreasing, the Protoss had to rely on machines for combat.

In the fifth year of this century, the Daram Protoss reached an agreement with the Purifiers.

If a Durram Protoss is disabled by injury and can no longer fight, he will choose to become a dragon rider according to his own wishes and continue to fight against Amon.

When a dragon rider dies in battle, that is, when "glory" comes, he will get another chance.

His broken remains will be buried in the Immortal's cold mobile coffin, and his will will be integrated into Cybros's Purifier data network, becoming the Purifier's heroic personality, joining the immortality program and the revenge protocol.

So, they joined the battlefield again until the mechanical host was destroyed, and waited to be reborn again and again.

Phoenix is ​​such a vivid example, except that no one has been able to kill him so far. Some people joked that the heroic Phoenix was so unbeatable on the battlefield that his mechanical clone had to be transformed.

If he blew it himself, it would be very rude.

"Human Commander, I am Executor Phoenix, and I salute Emperor Augustus. Daram is on the march."

At this time, Phoenix's voice came from Valerian's command channel. Based on the Protoss' advanced communication technology, it was very easy to simulate human signals.

"En taro adun, Phoenix Executor," Valerian learned the Protoss language, though that was barely enough. "I am Valerian Mengsk, the Imperial commander here."

"It's an honor to see you here."

Phoenix, loyal, proud, defender of the Protoss ideals, and the greatest warrior of the Protoss Empire.

"En taro adun, it feels great to meet another Mengsk here." It was obvious from Phoenix's voice that he was indeed very happy.

This is a man who can be on good terms with Augustus Reno, and is definitely not a rigid person.

  "Forward, soldiers, the enemy is attacking," he said:

"Kill them all!"

At this time, the temple's shield had been completely paralyzed. More Protoss and human spaceships were landing every moment, and a large number of warriors and combat machines were deployed to the battlefield.

The once-mighty Moebius hybrid that swept through Valerian's army was now being defeated by the Protoss' offensive. He was locked on by hundreds of weapon systems and was under heavy bombardment from all directions.

Two fists are no match for four hands.

The Moebius hybrid is extremely large, but it is also an extremely conspicuous target. Once the Protoss and humans begin to take the initiative, they can launch attacks from all directions, front, back, left, right, up and down.

Those beautiful Protoss Phoenix fighters were diving at high speed like red falcons along the tractor beams they released, sharp and ferocious. From a distance they looked like a series of rapidly falling bright spots.

Any Imperial pilot would rather fight ten Alien Dragons than face a Phoenix, because this fighter that can maneuver at high speed in the atmosphere and outer space has unparalleled maneuverability, can easily shake off or catch up with most of their enemies, and can choose any place to fight the enemy.

This batch of Phoenix fighters are even equipped with phase technology, which can avoid the enemy's deadly attacks.

Valerian swore that the Imperial Navy and Marine Air Force dreamed of such a fighter, but even if the Protoss were willing to sell their technology, it would not be replicable. Even so, Imperial scientists could still draw experience and inspiration from Protoss weapons and apply similar technologies to various aspects.

At the same time, Stukov's reinforcements also arrived, and the fleet command even sent an Archangel to support the battlefield.

This giant machine was enough to compete with the Moebius hybrid to a certain extent. As soon as he arrived on the spot, he used his extremely terrifying firepower to sweep it, and the intensive missile strikes immediately cleared most of the battlefield.

Nowadays, almost no imperial boy can refuse to drive such a cool mecha into the battlefield. The Archangel is the king among Viking fighters. Each Archangel has its own name or special number, and each is deployed on the most dangerous battlefield to deal with the most terrible enemies.

Now, the image of the Moebius hybrid and the archangel facing each other is enough to be featured on the Empire's recruitment posters throughout the Koprulu Sector, and the filmmakers of Tarsonis will rack their brains to produce dozens or even hundreds of holographic films such as "Archangel vs. Hybrid".

Under Valerian's orders, the imperial army quickly evacuated the wounded and began to reorganize, then launched an attack on the enemy again.

At this time, the Moebius Hybrid had almost been forced into a desperate situation by Phoenix's Protoss army, and the Imperial army, which had turned the tide, immediately began to beat the downed dog.

Valerian's men were smart and down-to-earth, and they used small fusion weapons to poke at the hybrid's toes like they did with the Colossus, and it worked every time. If they were too tall, they wouldn't necessarily be able to see their feet.

Gradually, the shield of the Moebius hybrid was finally penetrated by this terrible bombardment, and those huge siege tank shells directly hit its void shell, which was harder than battleship armor, and exploded after making a sound of metal colliding.

The Moebius hybrid must have panicked, as it opened many void rifts in one go, summoning more and more abominations.

However, these void creatures were just huddled together in the force field of the Protoss Mechanical Sentinels, and were blown to pieces by the disruptors in the chaos. Groups of colossi also appeared, and the ground melted under the firepower of the heat guns. Countless void creatures turned into a wisp of green smoke in an instant.

They destroyed as many void creatures as the monster summoned.

The Empire's Archangel dealt the Moebius hybrid the most fatal blow. When the hybrid was burned to pieces by the Void Glow Fleet, the Archangel "grabbed" him and fired at his ugly face with his Gatling machine gun, which had a barrel as thick as a cannon, until it was smashed to pieces.

Only then did Valerian seem to remember how to breathe.

After dealing with this Moebius hybrid, all they had to do now was to clean up the remaining void rifts and void creatures in the temple, or even more simply evacuate all ground personnel and burn everything in the high-altitude orbit of Baysher.

But there are also dark technologies in this temple that they want to learn about, such as the technology of rebuilding the Protoss neural bundles, which will definitely cause a sensation among the Daram Protoss.

To make an inappropriate analogy, the Protoss who lost Kara is like a heavy addict who lost his drugs. Augustus called the withdrawal reaction of the Protoss after losing Kara like quitting Internet addiction.

Valerian was more concerned about the forbidden technology that transformed Protoss and humans into hybrids. He believed that his uncle would not have any interest in such evil ways, and Arcturus would not use it unless he had no choice, but he had to make sure that it was the Empire and not anyone else that owned it.

It is better to be a wolf than a sheep. This is Arcturus' philosophy of life.

But before that, Valerian must find Phoenix.

Valerian discovered that the other two Moebius hybrids had disappeared, completely vanishing from all of the Empire's sophisticated detection instruments.

This was not normal, Augustus had told him, and when things were not normal there must be something fishy.

But before that, Phoenix found Valerian first.

A Warp Prism carrying the Phoenix landed next to an Imperial force evacuating the temple, with many wounded Imperial soldiers leaving on transport ships.

Apparently, the Empire thought it had won the battle and decided to leave the rest to the Protoss. But the Protoss obviously didn't think so.

At this moment, more Protoss Phoenix fighters and Prophets warped in, followed by a large number of shuttles and warp prisms.

These purple-gold Protoss fighters were the most gorgeous Valerian had ever seen, even gorgeous.

Even the Ihanli Protoss would not leave such gorgeous and intricate decorations on their warships. The patterns and styles on their warships were more for worship of gods and ritual purposes, while those in front of them were obviously extremely gorgeous.

Valerian had seen these fighters and ships of the same design during a diplomatic visit by the Protoss Darram to Korhal, and his uncle had asked him to remember the emblem of the Protoss' old arbitrator tribe, the Sirak.

To a certain extent, they are the product of the power game and political compromise between the old and new forces after the remnants of the Supreme Council broke away from the control of Kara and joined Daram. They are the third force among the Daram Protoss.

After Khala was corrupted, the order that was established on this basis in the past lost its foundation. The Supreme Council, which had once broken with Tassadar, and their followers finally put aside their prejudices and shook hands in peace.

The old forces represented by the Arbitrator are still a very powerful force. They have brought at least more than 50 million precious people, an Ark ship and half of the technological wealth of the Protoss Empire to the current Daram Protoss.

Especially at this moment when the Purifiers and the Ihanli Protoss refused to join Daram, and the Tal'darim ignored Aiur, this force was something Tassadar could not ignore.

Returning with the Conclave is the Ark-Shipoul Pride of Otalis, with its ancient warriors and engineers from the Golden Age, and its staffing is identical to the Spear of Adun. Like the latter, the Templars of the Ark have now become the model for the new Templar class of Durram, and even the Engineers have gained incredible respect from them.

At the same time, with the return of the Arbitrator class, based on the huge contrast between the ancient glorious era of the Protoss and the doomsday era, and based on the fear of reality, at a certain point in time, the idea of ​​following the ancient path began to become popular among the middle and lower classes of the Darram Protoss, and traditionalism prevailed.

Some Protoss began to wear ancient ceremonial armor from the Golden Age, and their humanities and arts imitated the ancients. They used ancient technology to arm warships and mechas with high-gloss armor in an attempt to regain the pride of the Protoss.

The ultimate dream of this faction is revival, the revival of the golden age of the Protoss Empire.

In sharp contrast to this cold reality is the heights that the ancestors of the Protoss once reached. After all, they still had Kas and Kara at that time, and that era was so beautiful that it seemed like it came from another non-existent world.

As far as the Terran Empire knows, the Light and Shadow Council has a reserved attitude towards this movement, neither recognizing it nor explicitly prohibiting it.

Today they can imitate the ancients in wearing gorgeous clothes, and maybe tomorrow they can learn from the ancient Protoss Council to massacre the Nerazim Protoss.

There is no doubt that Tassadar is not a narrow-minded traditionalist or nationalist, otherwise he would not refuse to compromise with the Supreme Council. For the fragmented Protoss Empire, Daram, built on the ruins, is a new force like the rising sun.

Tassadar also does not believe that they can return to the golden age of the Protoss Empire. Instead, the Protoss should look forward.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this revival movement is undoubtedly fueled by the Supreme Council, and they have made no effort to hide this fact.

Gathering the Arbiters, Templars, Khalai and Nerazim Protoss at the same time is simply the second reorganization of the Protoss Empire.

During a meeting between the Empire and the head of the Dalam Protoss, Arcturus advised Tassadar to do things to the extreme, kill all the remaining leaders of the Supreme Council directly, shut up every mouth that would harm you, and don't let them stand in your way.

Augustus suggested that before things get worse, don't push these people to your political enemies - of course, at least before we completely kill Amon, they dare not openly resist your authority. But if they do so in the end, we will help you kill them.

In fact, long before the Supreme Council was ready to merge with Durham again, there had been a fierce dispute over this issue in the court of Emperor Augustus.

Putting aside those civil and military officials, among the emperor's true confidants, Arcturus believed that Tassadar would not be a match for those political machines. If he could not ensure Darram's position on the Terran Empire, Augustgrad should intervene and preferably influence the political election.

Tassadar was too upright and too kind, possessing all the great qualities of a leader, but he was not selfish enough, which was fatal. Those who ruled an empire were often completely selfish. In the battle to reclaim Aiur, Tassadar almost destroyed the combined fleet of Khalai and Nerazim. Even from today's perspective, this was definitely not Tassadar's fault, but it also affected his prestige.

In contrast, Artanis's reputation grew day by day, and he did not need to bear the blame for the Battle of Aiur. At the most critical moment, it was Artanis who led the last Protoss to turn the tide. He drove the Ark of Salvation and was almost the last ray of hope for the Protoss.

Now that Artanis has truly achieved the glory of Durram, people have begun to call him the Commander of the Ark to praise his legendary story with the Spear of Adun.

If someone were to write a biography or heroic epic about Artanis a thousand years from now, this great moment would be unavoidable.

However, the tasteless Tychus has always looked down on Artanis, jokingly calling him the Ark Tramp, implying that the Protoss who lost their homes are a group of refugees, and Artanis is the ragged leader of the refugees.

Valerian was thankful that Artanis himself did not know about this.

Now no one doubts Artanis's status as successor.

After the return of the Supreme Council, just as the unspoken rule that Tassadar's guards must be half Khalai Protoss and half Nerazim Protoss, the leaders of Daram must ensure that people from all ethnic groups and factions

After the return of the Arbitrator class, they also demanded a status in the Light and Shadow Council that was equal to the power they represented in exchange for recognizing the legitimacy of Durham and the Archbishop.

——Even the former arbitrators in the Council of Light and Shadow felt that this was a bit shameless. After all, it was you who lost the ancestral foundation, and it was Tassadar and his disciples who took back Aiur. They gave you the face and asked you to acknowledge it.

But judging from the results, Tassadar still chose to accept rather than be confined by prejudice. He did not accept Arcturus's advice because that was "what the high-ranking lords of the Tal'darim would do", which is almost equivalent to a swear word in the current Khalai Protoss.

Now, Arbiters fight for Durham in the latest warships and can be found in nearly every fleet in Durham.

In any case, now in Baysher, Phoenix is ​​still deploying troops to the ground, which is enough to deal with even ten Moebius hybrids.

It seems that Bayshell has an enemy far more terrifying than the Moebius hybrid.

Valerian originally only knew that Phoenix brought a huge fleet, but the configuration of this fleet was enough to rule the sky of Korhal, and it was obviously not used to deal with just a few Moebius hybrids.

  "We still don't know what Amon wants to do on Baishel, but it must be a plan that is no less evil than the evil god's host." As soon as Phoenix came down, he immediately said to Valerian:

"A solar cycle ago, my protector had warned that Amon was preparing to deploy an Ark of Destruction in Baishel to implement his terrible plan."

"So, I ordered the fleet to come here at all costs, and had to temporarily abandon some warships for this purpose."

For other reasons or more noble purposes, such as the three protectors of Zakuul, some Protoss protectors refused to cut off their connection with Khala, just to get close to Amon, see through his evil conspiracy, and make prophecies.

After all, Aamon never bothered to hide his thoughts.

When Amon decides to destroy a world, the Protectors will be able to detect it in advance and warn any Protoss worlds and allies.

This means that these great protectors gave their souls to Amon, and most of them are now mad or have sold their souls to Amon.

This also caused the already scarce Protoss protectors to almost disappear.

"The Ark of Destruction?" Valerian raised his eyebrows.

This is not the first time that the Ark of Destruction has appeared, but the Empire still knows very little about it.

It is said that Amon imprisoned Olanna, the supreme protector of the Memory of Nesin, in this Ark of Doom, and pointed the direction of destruction with the Spear of Amon. An entire Ark of Protoss Empire warriors turned into vengeful ghosts and resurrected. They are all truly immortal ghosts, and every death will usher in a stronger and more perfect rebirth.

This sounds so beyond common sense that it sounds like a fantasy novel, but Valerian thinks that Aemon may not be without such ability.

"Where is she?" Valerian instinctively looked up at the sky, and then regretted his own stupidity. The Protoss and human fleets had blocked Baysher's high-altitude orbit, and it was impossible for them to fail to discover a super battleship that was dozens of miles long.

Phoenix had read Valerian's thoughts and immediately laughed humorously: "Every time the Spear of Doom appears, it comes from the core of the planet. She comes from underground."

"Then she is right under our feet." Valerian was surprised. (End of this chapter)