From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 641 "Brutal and Efficient Combat Methods"

The belly armor plates of the Hyperion and the Maneater cruiser slowly opened, revealing neatly arranged drop pod slides.

The "click" sound of the hydraulic lock on the slide unlocking mechanism was transmitted via vibration to the Ranger Marines, the Special Operations Team of the Investigation Department, and the Man-Eating Sharks and Hellscreams inside the drop pod.

"Airdrop countdown: 30 seconds."

The electronic voices of the ship's adjutant and the intelligent AI echoed in each airdrop bay.

With a series of muffled explosions, a large number of airdrop pods were launched outside the ship by electromagnetic catapults.

The cabin's braking thrusters immediately ignited, drawing blue trails in the dark space.

Following closely behind were the heavy airdrop pods deployed by the Man-eating Shark cruiser. These massive, black and gray-painted vehicles were specifically designed to transport armored vehicles and combat mechs.

Atmospheric friction caused the airdrop capsule's outer shell to glow a dark red, like a shower of steel meteors.

Inside the cabin, the Ranger Marines gripped the handrails tightly, the CMC power armor's shock absorption system was running at full power, while the Hellscreamers checked the fuel readings on their jetpacks, their Hardlight and Gauss rifles already loaded.

As for the man-eating sharks
He remained remarkably calm.

After all, for these Astartes, such airborne missions are probably as unchallenging as a person's daily meals.

Even detached from the airdrop pod and wearing only the Titan armor, Astartes can still achieve the feat of "breaking through the atmosphere alone".

At the same time, various support aircraft began to depart from the ship.

The medical ships slid out of the hangar in a triangular formation, their ion engines spewing out eerie blue tail flames. The Hercules transport aircraft unfolded its folding wings, and heavy vehicles, including siege tanks and Rangers, were fixed in the cargo hold.

Meanwhile, the Man-eating Shark cruiser released more transport ships and carrier-based aircraft to carry the main force to the surface.

On the other hand, consider the airborne troops who have already broken through the atmosphere;

"Prepare for impact!"

Alarms suddenly sounded in each of the airdrop pods.

Boom—Boom—!!

With a deafening crash, the first batch of airdrop pods plummeted into the desert of Syr in a "meteorite-like" manner.

The activation of the buffer procedure allowed the airdrop pods to land successfully one after another, while the dust and sand kicked up formed small "mushroom clouds" several meters high.

Thud—Thud—!
The moment the drop pod doors popped open, Marines, special forces, Man-eating Sharks, and Hellscreamers rushed out, followed by several Achilles assault tanks and several Cyclops mechs.

When Jim Reynolds left the drop pod, he saw that the paratroopers had already established a circular defensive position.

Tychus was adjusting his six-barreled machine gun, the barrel gleaming coldly in the starlight. The special operations team from the investigation department spread out in a fan shape, their nano-combat suits' optical camouflage automatically adapting to the ambient color.

Dozens of man-eating sharks and more than 300 Hellscreamers wearing power suits left their tanks and mechs behind to assist in the defense, and then left the defensive positions built by the Ranger Marines, and split into several combat groups to advance into the desert and Gobi to the left and right.

But the base belonging to the Mobius Foundation task force was deathly silent.

The semi-circular inflatable dome had collapsed most of its length, and many buildings had been burned to ruins, billowing black smoke. However, on the northern edge of the base, a giant laser drilling machine stood, its emission array having a diameter of more than 20 meters, facing the gate of the ruins three kilometers away.

"Check the surrounding area."

Jim gave orders to the Rangers.

The Marines advanced in standard tactical formation, their metal boots clattering against the floor.

At that moment, Mike was crouching beside a corpse wearing an orange protective suit, his helmet scanning mode emitting a regular "beep" sound, and he said calmly:
"The time of death was approximately 48 hours. There were no signs of external injury, and the nerve tissue showed signs of crystallization."

Chris, leading a special operations team, inspected the control terminal of the drilling machine and said:

"The equipment is in good condition, and the energy core still retains 78% of its reserves."

As he spoke, his fingers flew across the keyboard. “The logs show they completed the aiming calibration, but didn’t have time to fire.”

Tychus kicked the corpse on the ground: "So these idiots knew there were those Taldarim here, but they weren't prepared at all."

At this moment, Chris suggested to everyone, "This device can still be used; it's powerful enough to blast open the gate to the ruins."

Jim nodded: "The engineering team will handle the controls, and the rest of you will set up defensive positions."

He looked at the ancient ruins that were faintly visible in the distance. "No matter how the Taldarim react, we must get that artifact."

The Rangers' engineers sprang into action, heavy welding torches spewing blinding blue-white flames, the base of the drilling machine was reinforced, and the energy conduits were rearranged.

The entire base was instantly filled with the sounds of metal cutting and occasional tactical communications. A tense atmosphere permeated the air, as once the drilling machine was started, it would surely provoke a fierce counterattack from the Protoss.

As for the man-eating sharks and hell paratroopers that had previously broken away from their defensive positions, they have now quietly advanced to the outer perimeter of the base.

At the edge of the desert, sand and dust swirl in the breeze, vaguely outlining the Tadalin camp two kilometers away.

The scouts of the man-eating sharks lay in ambush behind a weathered rock, the remote imaging system on their helmet screens constantly adjusting the focus, projecting the camp's scenery clearly onto the screens.

It was a large, temporary Protoss outpost.

Dozens of suspended energy towers are arranged in a ring, their dark blue psionic shields gleaming coldly in the starlight.

Tal'darim warriors moved among them, and zealots wielded psionic blades, carving obscure runes into the sand.

The high-ranking Templar stood silently in the center of the camp, his body wreathed in unstable arcs of psionic energy.

Further away, several heavy particle shattering cannons of the Immortals were being tested, their muzzles slightly adjusted, seemingly already locked onto the direction of the human base.

Roughly estimated, this elite Taldarim force consists of at least four hundred Zealots, forty High Templars, six Immortals, and numerous large airships, vehicles, and so on.

Beyond the distant sand dunes, the massive outlines of several colossi can be vaguely seen; once their fiery wire cannons fire, they would be enough to incinerate the entire desert into glass.

"These lunatics are really willing to spend money."

The captain of the Hell Paratroopers cursed under his breath, his finger rubbing against the trigger of the Hardlight Rifle.

The scouts from the man-eating sharks did not respond, but calmly transmitted the data back to the cruiser and also shared it with the Rangers.

Soon, the Rangers and the Man-eating Sharks learned that numerous Taldarim were eyeing the base from both the east and west sides.

“The situation is not good.” Jim stared at the tactical hologram displayed on his helmet screen, his brow furrowed. “The Taldarim forces are far stronger than expected. We need to tighten our defenses and hold our ground until the drilling rig starts and breaches the ruins.”

"Hold your ground?" Cas Lowry's hoarse voice immediately came through the communication channel: "No, the best defense is offense."

Jim was taken aback: "Are you serious? On paper, we have less than half their numbers, and they also have numerous motherships!"

When the mothership was mentioned, Jim Raynor showed an expression of great apprehension, seemingly quite disgusted by this type of Protoss vehicle.

“Data is just data.” Cass’s tone remained unchanged. “The Taldarim haven’t made a move yet simply because they are wary of the artifact, but once we start the drilling machine, they will definitely not stand idly by.”

"hey-hey."

Upon hearing this, Tychus grinned, flicking the ash from his cigar into his helmet, and chimed in:

“I agree with this big guy. Instead of waiting for them to make the first move, let’s beat them up first!” After saying that, he slapped the shoulder of one of the battlefield porcupines next to him. “Guys, it’s time to stretch our muscles!”

These dozens of battlefield porcupines were an elite mercenary force hired by Tychus using the Rangers' "public funds" during the Hyperion's maintenance period. They possessed greater combat power, equipment, and experience than ordinary Marines.

Before Jim could stop him, Tychus had already led his newly hired elite mercenaries away, heading east to join the Man-eating Sharks and Hellscreams.

"."

Seeing this, Jim unfolded his helmet visor, freed his left hand to gently rub his temples, and remained silent for a moment.

Lyon stood aside and calmly advised, "The Man-Eating Shark Company has always been like this. They don't play by the rules, but they are indeed one of the human empire's best units at fighting outnumbered and launching frontal assaults, even though this is not in line with their legion's usual style."

Jim took a deep breath and finally had to compromise: "Fine, let them cause trouble. We'll focus on guarding the drilling machine and blasting open the gate to the ruins as soon as possible."

He turned to look at the ancient ruins in the distance, his eyes grave. The real trouble was probably yet to come.

On the eastern battlefield, sand and dust twisted and rose amidst the heatwave.

When Tychus arrived at the location with dozens of Battlefield Porcupines, more than a dozen Man-eating Shark Astartes were behind a sand dune. These giants, clad in black and gray power armor and over two and a half meters tall, were kneeling on the ground, holding bolt guns firmly in their hands, while more than a hundred Hellscreamers equipped with power suits were scattered around to keep watch.

"What the hell."

Upon reaching the dunes, Tychus whistled, and the data displayed on his helmet screen made his brow furrow.

The Taldarim camp in the distance was much larger than expected, with numerous psionic spikes surrounding the main position, and the figures of zealots appearing and disappearing among them.

What surprised him even more were the man-eating shark warriors beside him. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that these giants were even taller than they appeared in the video communication. Even when they were kneeling, their shoulder armor was almost level with that of the standing battlefield porcupines.

At this moment, the shrunken radar in the upper left corner of the screen suddenly flashed, indicating that the transport formation would arrive in five minutes.

"Guys," Tychus said, patting the machine gun, "let's wait until the main force arrives."

"Cruiser, this is Squad Nine."

The shark squad leader standing beside Tychus immediately opened the communication, completely ignoring Tychus's suggestion, and said, "Execute the marked target strike. Coordinates have been uploaded."

Not long after the words were spoken—

Several beams of dark blue light descended from the sky, striking the psionic spire at the Tal'darim camp with pincers, the shockwave of the explosion sending up a cloud of dust.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—!
Immediately following was a piercing, ear-piercing shriek that tore through the sky.

Meanwhile, a dense barrage of missiles also covered the Tadarin camp on the west side.

"."

The shockwave from the orbital bombardment caused Tychus to instinctively squint, his tactical goggles constantly capturing images of the blast's epicenter.

After the smoke cleared, his brows furrowed even more.

The seemingly fierce bombing only destroyed the outer buildings; the main force of the Taldarim was unharmed. The psionic shield flickered during the bombing but quickly stabilized.

"What the hell is this bombing?" Tychus spat.

The shark squad leader beside him slowly stood up, the joints of his power armor humming as they operated hydraulically.

“That way,” a hoarse voice came from beneath the visor, “will allow for better killing and plundering.”

Before Tychus could react, more than a dozen man-eating sharks had already rushed out of their hiding place.

Their charge was incredibly fast, their dark gray power armor leaving blurry afterimages in the sand.

More than a hundred Hell Paratroopers immediately followed, and the miniature missile launchers mounted on the heavy equipment team immediately "spewed white smoke" and released a large number of missiles.

Boom! Boom!

Dense explosions erupted at the front lines of the Tadarin position, providing cover for the charging sharks.

"Dry!"

Tychus cursed and waved his hand sharply: "Guys! Follow those lunatics!"

His six-barreled machine gun began to spin and warm up, and the battlefield porcupines advanced rapidly in skirmish lines.

Meanwhile, the man-eating sharks had already charged into the enemy ranks.

The captain's power gauntlet slammed down, smashing a fanatic, shield and all, into the sand.

Another shark's chainsaw sword tore through the psionic shield, the serrated edges rubbing against the Protoss armor and creating blinding sparks.

At this moment, Tychus finally understood the meaning of "plunder"—these madmen didn't care about annihilating the enemy; their target was the intact psionic weapons and technological devices.

One shark was dismantling a Tal'darim turret with its bare hands, while another roughly ripped off the energy core of a High Templar.

"They're a bunch of fucking robbers!"

Tychus grinned and cursed, while his rotating machine gun spewed out scorching flames.

Battlefield porcupines spread out on either side of him, the blue trajectories of Gauss rifles weaving a web of death.

Tadarin's counterattack was equally swift.

Several psionic attacks were launched at the charging team, but were blocked by the energy shields of the Titanium Tank Armor used by the man-eating sharks.

The entire battlefield instantly descended into chaos, with the roar of explosive bombs and the buzzing of psionic blades echoing across the desert.

The Tal'darim zealots also charged, their psionic blades tracing eerie blue paths through the air.

Clang—Clang—!
However, they were met with a precise barrage of explosive shells from the man-eating sharks, and the first volley of shots tore apart the shields of five attackers.

A fanatic leaped high into the air, his psionic blade slashing down.

Captain Shark neither dodged nor evaded, but instead unleashed a powerful punch straight at the opponent.

The moment the psionic energy collided with the plasma field, the Protoss warrior's shield shattered, and his entire chest cavity was pierced by the gauntlet. At the same time, the captain raised his bolter with his left hand and fired at close range, blasting the second Zealot's head into pieces, causing his corpse to passively "warp" and "disappear".

The high-ranking Templar attempted to unleash a psionic storm, but three man-eating sharks had already formed a triangular formation to surround it.

The first man used a stolen psionic shield to neutralize the lightning, the second man's chainsaw sword cleaved through the Templar's shield, and the third man simply swung his right fist and smashed the opponent's head.

The whole process took less than two seconds.

On the other side of the battlefield, two man-eating sharks fight back to back.

One man used a heavy flamethrower to suppress the charging fanatics, while the other used precise shots to kill enemies trying to flank.

"My goodness!"

Having witnessed all of this, Tychus couldn't help but sigh once again.

The main reason was that these giants' fighting style was brutal and efficient, completely overwhelming the Protoss, who were known for their agility.
(End of this chapter)