StarCraft: Tyranid Empire.

Chapter 774: Valerian's Letter
A Great Lord, Conqueror, The Great One, Friend of the Stars are all derogatory titles that are ten times more serious than these. Pronouncing the title of Emperor Augustus is like reading the name of a dish. However, few people can see him smiling, which shows that he is really showing off now.

However, considering that this is a person who can privately joke about himself as "the wise and powerful Emperor Tailun Mingdeng, who is both talented in civil and military affairs", I guess he is not a serious person at heart.

Hearing this, Arcturus couldn't help but look speechless and just drank the glass of wine in one gulp.

When he was young, Arcturus often exchanged letters with his brothers and sisters in the military camp, and Augustus was influenced by him in this regard. But there was one thing in common: they never wrote to their father.

Arcturus' relationship with Valerian was neither good nor bad. He tried his best to give his son the best education and the best resources, but he didn't care much about other aspects.

This is Arcturus Mengsk, who should be the kind of person who is accustomed to imposing his will on others, so he hated the weakness shown by Valerian in his childhood.

Arcturus told his brother Augustus that he had to teach a deer to hunt and eat meat the same way he taught a lion. The Mengsk family was a wolf and could not be a sissy.

Augustus said that there was nothing wrong with being a little gray boy in the wolf family. Eating grass is good, and you won't starve to death. But his brother really didn't understand this old joke.

Augustus played a very important role in Valerian's growth. Although the emperor was busy with affairs and spent the first half of his life either fighting or on the way to a fight, he was very concerned about his nephew.

For example, Valerian always receives gifts on his birthday, sometimes it is an out-of-print digital book left on the super colonial mothership, which may contain poems by Keats, Byron and Shelley, or Sun Tzu's Art of War and Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, and sometimes it is an ornate Protoss axe or an electromagnetic rifle with the Mengsk family emblem.

Augustus obviously had a lot of private information in him, as he could even produce something like the "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital".

When young Valerian cried about his father's disgust, Augustus told him that he was almost exactly like himself as a child, just as weak and looked like a girl.

But his family would not educate him as a girl, and no one would dare to tell him that he was actually a girl and should learn poetry, sketching and harp, which were considered suitable for noble women by the old federal elders. Your father might have gone too far, but he was a fool.

However, what Augustus didn't say was that when he was a child, he was a will-o'-the-wisp boy. He was handsome and playful, but his fighting power was as strong as a Saiyan. He jumped up and down, was never afraid of trouble, and never lost a fight. The trouble he caused was enough to make his nemesis father follow him with boxes of toilet paper to clean his butt.

Such a person, somehow, suddenly attained enlightenment in Longchang at the age of eighteen, and became a hero against the Old Federation almost overnight.

Based on the tragic tone of heroism, many people, including those who make a living by studying the anecdotes of Emperor Augustus' life, believe that it was his experience in the Confederation Marines and the destruction of Korhal that changed the former Augustus Mengsk and led him to the path of revolution.

A few people claim that the real Augustus has long been dead, and he was replaced by a clone with transplanted memories. This clone is a member of a secret ancient Earth organization, whose real name is the Priory of Sion, which is closely related to the fate of mankind and secretly manipulates a series of events including the collapse of the Earth order, genetic purification, and the crash of the colony mothership.

Someone even published a series of books about this, which were so convincing that they seemed to really happen, which made the Dog Emperor very happy.

But no matter how the current imperial historians whitewash the dark history before Emperor Augustus started his rebellion, even if they want to use the tune of "Emperor Gaozu killed the white snake and rose to power", these things cannot be erased.

In the writings of some shameless inventors of the Empire's history, the Emperor had clearly demonstrated his great qualities of not fearing power and not caring about worldly views when he was young. In the 26th century, these people still believed in the theory of bloodline, believing that Augustus' ascension to the throne was destined, and the Mengsk family ruled others because others deserved to be ruled.

The details of this period of history cannot be investigated in detail. Some unofficial histories created by the people have retained the part about Augustus wearing skirts when he was a child, claiming that no one forced him to do so. He wore skirts just because he was weird and wanted to be cool, and his crotch would leak air quickly.

As for Valerian, he undoubtedly respected his uncle very much and regarded him as a person to confide in. When he was still studying at Stilling College, he often told Augustus about his experiences. When Valerian really started to fight on the front line and became a soldier, he still sent letters to his uncle to relieve the dual torture of war on his body and mind.

Valerian's mother must have found it hard to accept that her son was in such danger and that he had never thought of sending a letter to his father.

Augustus rarely replied to letters, but he would read every one of them. It was only recently that he learned that Arcturus had never received any letters. This slightly satisfied a certain inexplicable desire to win in his heart.

At this moment, while Augustus was secretly proud of himself, Arcturus had surprisingly finished half a bottle of brandy.

"I didn't know he had been writing to you," Akturus confessed. "I was too careless about Valerian."

Augustus believed that Arcturus loved his family in his own way. If Arcturus' family members were killed, don't expect this cruel man to shed a tear. He would only be more angry and devoted to revenge.

Arcturus did not think he was wrong in this matter, and he did not know how to continue the topic, so he could only ask bluntly: "What did he write?"

"What he saw and heard, some complaints, sometimes long complaints." Augustus said seriously, "Well, he would also share good news. After all, we also won many small-scale victories in the early stage of the Doomsday War, and Valerian was lucky not to appear on the death list from other battlefields."

He said: "Valerian didn't know that the reason he was so lucky was entirely because his father bypassed the Emperor's Cabinet, the Imperial High Command and the regular procedures and transferred his troops to those star regions where fierce fighting was less likely to occur."

“I’m lucky because he’s my son,” Arcturus said. “You knew I would do that, but I wouldn’t send him to a battlefield like Aiur or Antica just for that, because that would surely cost him his life.”

Arcturus would never do this for the reason of "not wanting to make his mother sad", but because he had no other heir besides Valerian, and he did not plan to have a second child.

In contrast, Raynor and Elizabeth just gave birth to their second boy this year and are planning to have a third child. The eldest, John, is also quite sensible. When he grows up, he will probably work in a department like the Psionic Department of the Imperial Security Bureau, and his future is bright.

They have a very happy marriage.

"But the initial battle almost cost him his life." When Augustus said this, Arcturus couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

Valerian was not a bad person, except for being a little conceited, and he did not have any bad habits, nor was he a spoiled nobleman. He was able to do very well in politics, social occasions, and studies.

Valerian is not a rigid and upright person like Matt Horner. There is something evil in his heart, but anyone who is not a saint will have emotions and desires, and desires are also a step towards progress.

Compared to his father Arcturus, Valerian undoubtedly has a kind heart, and some of his characteristics almost certainly come from his mother and have nothing to do with his father.

Augustus preferred to call these qualities virtues.

"You and I have both experienced battles of one kind or another. We have both crawled out of the dead." Arcturus said, "I didn't support him going to the front, but since he has gone, he should accept that the killer will also be killed."

"I was prepared for him to flee in disgrace after the first battle, but the fact that he is still alive and well today shows that he is lucky and also proves his ability."

"This boy looks like me," said Augustus.

Augustus' life could really be described as one of complacency, although he attributed all this to his foresight and extraordinary good luck, and one even had to ask himself why.

Although the Mengsk family was not in love with each other, at least everyone was still there. The only problem was that the younger sister Dorothy could not get married, but since she was not in a hurry, Augustus had no reason to urge her.

"He really looks like you." Arcturus did not deny it.

"Well, I think you should really read these letters, just like I wrote to you in the past." Augustus said this as he pushed the holo-imager on his desk towards Arcturus.

Augustus is a nostalgic person, and this holographic imager is the one given to him by Arcturus.

While Arcturus was hesitating whether to take a look, an imperial official knocked on the door of the war room and brought his bill on new labor laws and civil rights, which would help ease the labor shortage problem within the empire.

The official's political party mainly represents the interests of the blue-collar workers in the Empire in the Imperial Parliament, and he himself is by no means a boastful speculator. He was not even an Imperial before, but a native of Red Stone Star, and was forced to become an Imperial citizen when the Empire incorporated this planet into its territory.

Augustus's Tyranid Empire tried as much as possible to give everyone the opportunity to display their talents, regardless of their noble or humble background.

While Augustus was busy with official business, Arcturus opened the mailbox in the holographic projector.

Arcturus was surprised to find that the letters amounted to hundreds, meaning that Valerian wrote to Augustus almost every two days, and he realized that his son must be spending a lot of his free time on this matter.

October 10, Dominion Day, is a day worth remembering.

I noted this because I thought I was bound to die in the next battle I encountered, and if I died, please pick up the Imperial who picked up this personal terminal - if not, I hoped it would be our other comrades in the fight against Amon and the Zerg, my uncle called them comrades.

Whoever you are, please download these and send them to my family. The Khamensk family will reward you handsomely, as always:

This was my first time participating in a battle, and it was different from any knowledge taught in textbooks, and different from any scene in the holographic simulation. Holographic projection can simulate a living creature 100%, but it cannot simulate the hot and humid breath of the Zerg.

I estimated that the enemy was ten times our size, and that turned out to be true.

The Zerg are such creatures. They are not the Korhal dogs that can only muster the courage to attack humans when they are in groups. But when they begin to attack, both the Protoss and humans find themselves at an absolute disadvantage in numbers without exception.

General Duke told me that the Zerg never fight a battle without preparation. These damn beasts have more eyes than humans and they look ten steps ahead before they take one.

He may be a lot smarter than he lets on.

The field manual issued by the Marine Corps Command states that the Zerg wins by numbers, and this is indeed the case.

I think the Zerg are simply using the most proven way to win, and in every case, the Zerg are used to winning by numbers, but sometimes they resort to decapitation, or contaminating an entire city's water supply, to win without a fight.

This depends on the personality and on-the-spot judgment of each brain worm, but in most cases these swarm masters are extremely rational creatures and they hardly make mistakes.

I don't care about this, but by the way, I gave the same answer in Professor Adam's Zerg Strategy and Tactics course, and he only gave me a B+, and I have never received less than an A.

I don't know what's wrong with him.

They may have never even seen a brain worm, but there is one in the palace. Its existence fully proves that the gap between brain worms can be as big as the gap between species.

It is appropriate to say that Alpha is a wolf raised by dogs, and our brain worms really know how to bark.

Well, I've said so much about things that have nothing to do with this battle, but I'm ashamed to admit to you, my uncle, that I was indeed frightened. Although it was only for a short period of time, I estimate that it would not exceed ten seconds. But usually, one second is enough to be fatal, and if the enemy is a Protoss, their reaction will be faster than this.

We encountered the zerg in the Rhine Valley, a small, obscure place so small that our commander only named it two hours ago because it resembled his hometown.

Usually, our adjutant AI will just randomly extract the names of heroes from its database to piece together place names. If you're lucky, it would be Deadpool Policewoman or Matt's Battle Flag. The worst one I've ever seen is Tychus's Nipple.

As my teacher Adam taught me, I have to write the situation concisely.

The 101st Marine Battalion landed in the Rhine Valley and was immediately ambushed by seven Ultralisks, several hundred Destroyers, and three thousand other Zerg species.

We know that there was once a secondary main nest here, but it had been destroyed by Delta Squadron long ago, and the 101st Marines' mission was just to finish it off and clean up the few possible escapees. Because the Empire will rebuild a colony here sooner or later, and any news about the Zerg will deter the colonists.

As long as a single brain worm or queen worm is left behind, the swarm will quickly revive on this planet.

Infant level tasks.

Our boss must have thought so, and it was obvious that he was either as stupid as a donkey or a pig.

We were stunned.

The commander was killed instantly, followed by his adjutant, and then a host of screaming soldiers, to whom the nauseating bile of the saboteur clung like fire.

According to combat regulations, the transfer of front-line military command should be completed instantly. If the battalion commander dies, his deputy battalion commander will take over next. If the deputy battalion commander dies, the next level will take over, and so on.

Unfortunately, that was me.

You must have learned about this later, because it caused a big stir, probably not just because there were royal family members in the army.

I handled it pretty well. I did panic at first, but other people were more panicked than me.

Most of these people are new recruits. You would say that new recruits perform newbie tasks, and babies have baby buses.

So I became the calmest one.

I soon discovered that we were not defeated in an instant as we thought. At least no matter how terrible the enemy was, it was impossible for them to wipe out hundreds of fully armed marines and powerful imperial mechas in an instant.

Because we have siege tanks and war wolves, and those driving them are not rookies - although most of these bulky machines were destroyed by a round of acidic bile salvos from the destroyers at the beginning of the battle.

I knew I had to use this heavy firepower. In this damn place, we must have a place that can at least be called a position to hold until the reinforcements arrive. If not, I have to let my men think in the communication channel that we have a position in the Rhine Valley, and use the mecha as a temporary cover if necessary.

Anywhere will do.

So I ordered everyone to gather around me. Surprisingly, those soldiers who were originally panicked immediately regained their fighting power after receiving the order - at least they got a direction to move forward.

Because the commander died at the very beginning, no one gave them any decent orders. Everyone was affected by the shouting and crying in the channel, thinking that we had been defeated and had no idea what to do.

I was lucky enough that more than half the battalion had made it through the initial slaughter to my hastily set up rally point, and I was lucky enough that the battlecruiser we had landed on was right above our fucking heads, and that battlecruiser didn't even have to move its main guns before it used its ground-to-ground laser batteries to incinerate all those Zerg.

Just like you said.

The lone wolf dies, the pack lives.

11 month 2 day.

The journey was extremely difficult, and no one ever told me that the winter rain on the Tulasis II was so unpleasant.

While we were resting here, Korhal sent over two thousand new recruits, so from that point on we were all veterans. I became the commander of this Marine Corps, because those older than me had either died or were transferred to other devastated units as the backbone of the reconstruction.

This is the Marine Corps.

I was actually secretly happy about getting promoted because of this. I am really not a human being.

11 month 3 day.

In my battalion, everyone was very happy about my exceptional promotion and thought it was well deserved.

My father told me, you were born to do great things.

I later learned that this phrase was originally used to describe Caesar, the founder of the ancient Roman Empire on Earth and the dictator of the former Republic, while his successor Octavian Augustus was the first emperor of this empire.

This sentence has now become almost the family motto of the Mengsk family, which is an amazing coincidence. But it can also be explained in this way, humans like to name their offspring after great men.

Perhaps the evolution of our world really follows mechanically precise laws. Zeratul's Dark Templar believed firmly in fate, and now I dare not say that they were so wrong.

But we are human beings after all, and man can conquer nature.

11 month 7 day.

D-44 rations, they called those whole peeled canned peaches the emperor's ass, and the disrespectful name lingers in my mind.

I must confess to you.