From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 642 "Then there's only one left."

Tychus stared in disbelief at the battlefield before him.

A dozen or so man-eating sharks, along with over a hundred hell paratroopers, managed to hold off a Taldarim force that outnumbered them by more than ten times.

Even someone as arrogant as him found this battle situation unbelievable. If he were to lead dozens of Battlefield Boars against a hundred Protoss warriors, the outcome would surely be total annihilation.

"What kind of monsters are these guys?"

Tychus muttered to himself, his six-barreled machine gun spitting fire continuously.

He witnessed a man-eating shark grab a Zealot by the neck with one hand, the power armor's hydraulic system emitting a piercing hum as it ripped the Protoss warrior's cervical vertebrae out.

Another man-eating shark went even further, directly using the stolen psionic blade to cleave through the Immortal's shield, then stuffing the plasma rifle into the barrel, pulling the trigger, and blasting the entire war machine into scrap metal.

Ri~——咻——! !

At that moment, a piercing sound of energy charging suddenly echoed across the battlefield.

In the distance, the large laser drilling machine finally finished preheating, and a dazzling beam of light with a diameter of 20 meters shot out into the air, directly hitting the gate of the ruins three kilometers away.

The moment the high-energy laser came into contact with the ancient metal, it sparked dazzling sparks, and the runes on the surface of the ruins went out one by one.

!!!

This move was like stirring up a hornet's nest.

The entire desert suddenly trembled, and the Protoss forces that had been waiting on standby poured out.

Even more terrifying, more than a dozen Taldarim motherships emerged from the clouds, their hatches opened, and thousands of carrier-based aircraft poured out like swarms of bees.

"What the hell!"

Tychus cursed and quickly led the Battlefield Porcupines to find cover.

The sky was instantly covered by dense artillery fire. The Hell Paratroopers' heavy weapons squads were suppressed by beam cannons before they could even release their anti-aircraft missiles, and were forced to huddle behind a desert.

Upon seeing this, the man-eating sharks immediately changed their tactics.

Their titanium tank power armor shields were overloaded and shattered under continuous bombardment, leaving them only able to rely on their extraordinary reaction speed to maneuver through the hail of bullets.

A man-eating shark pushed two Hellscreamers behind rocks, but exposed itself to the firepower, directly taking the brunt of the carrier-based aircraft's concentrated fire. The shoulder armor, power backpacks, and other components immediately emitted billowing black smoke.

"Retract the formation!"

Captain Man-Eating Shark's hoarse voice roared over the communication channel.

The giants in their dark gray power armor began to draw fire, giving the Hellscreamers and Battlefield Porcupines a chance to catch their breath.

Tychus saw a man-eating shark deliberately standing in an open area, firing a 1.0-cal heavy bolter at the mothership to attract the attention of many carrier-based aircraft. Then, it rolled into a crater, and the carrier-based aircraft immediately turned their guns, which were originally aimed at the Hell Paratrooper positions, towards him.

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

Despite their fierce fighting prowess, the man-eating sharks began to suffer repeated defeats against overwhelming aerial superiority and a relentless stream of Protoss.

Tychus and the Battlefield Boars were forced to retreat with the Hell Paratroopers, and people began to fall along the way.

As soon as a Hellscream deployed its missile launch bay, it was cut in half by the mothership's main gun. Another Battlefield Boar attempted to retaliate but was pierced through the chest by a Zealot's psionic blade.

Just as Tychus and his men on the front lines were facing a critical moment of impending collapse—

Boom—boom—!
Suddenly, a deafening roar of engines came from above.

Tychus looked up and saw a formation of more than ten Thunderhawk gunboats break through the clouds. The bomb bays on both sides of the wings and fuselage opened and fired at the same time, and with the help of the bolt cannons, they created a net of fire in the sky.

Further away, a transport fleet led by the Hercules transport ship was landing, its hatches already open, revealing reinforcements ready to depart.

The hatches of the Thunderhawk gunboat burst open before it even touched the ground, and more than two hundred Astartes, man-eating sharks, surged out like a black torrent.

Their titanium tank power armor gleamed coldly in the sandstorm, and the safety mechanism of their bolters clicked repeatedly.

Following closely behind were 20,000 auxiliary soldiers—

These warriors, clad in power suits, advanced rapidly in a relatively dispersed formation, the charging and releasing sounds of their hard-light rifles like the buzzing of a swarm of bees.

The ground is shaking.

More than a dozen Achilles Raider tanks rolled over the sand dunes, their twin-mounted laser cannons or bolt cannons firing simultaneously, blasting the distant Protoss into pieces.

Even more impressive were the two knight mechs. These twenty-meter-tall war machines marched forward with heavy steps, each step creating a deep crater in the sand.

The molten cannons on their shoulders began to store energy, and the air around the muzzle distorted due to the high temperature.

"finally come!"

Tychus, having unfolded his helmet visor, spat out the sand from his mouth, and the six-barreled machine gun began to spin again.

The porcupines around him also rose to their feet and joined the advancing armored forces in a counterattack.

The battle in the sky also reversed in an instant.

Whoosh—whoosh—!

The precise railgun fire from the shark-like cruiser repeatedly struck the Taldarim mothership, its dark blue shield flickering under the relentless bombardment.

Dozens of carrier-based aircraft, along with an attack formation of nearly a thousand drones, used beyond-visual-range missiles and hard-fire cannons to concentrate fire on the engine area of ​​the mother ship.

Boom! Boom!
quickly,

The first, the second, and so on—more and more motherships' shields overloaded one after another, their hulls began to list, and burning debris fell like meteors.

With the air threat gone, the ground forces advanced with unstoppable momentum.

Tychus saw a man-eating shark leap directly onto the turret of an Achilles tank and install a stolen Protoss cannon on a makeshift support; this savage modification...
It actually works?!
Whoosh-whoosh-!
Several beams of dark blue light shot out, instantly vaporizing the three fanatics.

"These lunatics."

Tychus shook his head as he charged forward.

He then saw another shark smash open the Immortal's armor with a power punch, then tear out the psionic core with its bare hands, and stuff it into a tactical pouch on its waist.

Even more outrageous, there was a squad that specialized in collecting Protoss helmets and armor, hanging them on their waists like trophies.

At that moment, the auxiliary army's heavy weapons team began setting up artillery positions.

Twenty hard-light cannons fired simultaneously. The high-powered cannons, flashing red light, traced perfect parabolas and, just before reaching the ground, seemed to have a tracking function, landing straight behind the Protoss positions.

The shockwave from the explosion sent dozens of retreating fanatics flying, and the sand was littered with the smoldering remains of psionic weapons.

The two knight mechs have advanced to the outer perimeter of the ruins.

Their molten cannons were aimed at the last few psionic turrets, and beams of intense energy melted the Protoss technology into liquid metal.

A mech accidentally stepped on the corpse of a Tal'darim. The pilot, a shark-like creature inside the cruiser and controlling it with his mind, even clicked his tongue in disgust.

As for Tychus and his Battlefield Porcupine, they finally rushed to the forefront.

They worked with the man-eating sharks to clear out the remaining resistance, while the Gauss rifles provided precise bursts of fire against the Protoss warriors attempting to retaliate. Meanwhile, the Hellscreamers, who withdrew from the front lines, worked alongside clone soldiers and Terminators to incinerate the Protoss corpses that hadn't been warped away by their armor and remained in place, preventing possible psionic resurrection.

"The gate to the ruins has been breached!"

Suddenly, the engineers' shouts came through the communicator.

All eyes turned toward the ruins.

The large laser drilling machine finally melted through the last line of defense, and the ancient metal door slowly collapsed like melted butter. The space behind the door was pitch black, with only occasional flashes of psionic energy illuminating the passage.

The sharks immediately assembled into an assault formation, checked and loaded all their bolters, while the auxiliary forces established a defensive perimeter.

Tychus checked the ammunition reserves and grinned at the battlefield porcupines beside him:
"Ha! Guys, this time we're going to make a fortune!"

Soon after.

A medical submarine, its ion engine emitting a ghostly blue trail of flame, slowly landed on the platform at the entrance to the ruins.

The moment the hatch closed, Jim Reynolds was the first to step out, his CMC power armor boots making a crisp metallic echo as they slammed into the smooth, mirror-like floor.

Following them were ten Ranger Marines, Leon and Chris wearing nanosuits, and ten special operations team members.

After leaving the cabin, the special operations team immediately dispersed in tactical formation, the optical camouflage of their nano combat suits undulating slightly in the dim light.

Stepping through the breach created by the drilling rig and entering the interior of the ruins, the group discovered that the space here was far more expansive than it appeared from the outside.

The towering dome is made of countless faceted crystals, each as smooth as a mirror, refracting a deep blue light that seems to come from nowhere.

The walls are inlaid with flowing runes that light up and go out at times, as if they are breathing.

The ground was also made of some unknown alloy, and there was not a sound when you stepped on it, as if you were walking on the void.

"This place is really eerie."

Jim said in a low voice, the beam of his helmet's tactical flashlight sweeping around but unable to penetrate the darkness in the distance.

Chris examined the data stream scanned on the helmet screen and said, "Psionic readings are extremely high, but the structure is stable. No traps detected yet."

Lyon remained silent, his gaze fixed ahead—

At the end of a straight passage, a circular altar floats in the air.

The altar was surrounded by twelve crystal pillars, each of which was filled with liquid psychic energy, like a trapped galaxy.

At the center of the altar lay their target: the divine artifact radiating a ghostly blue light.

"keep alert."

Following Jim Reynolds' instructions, the ten Rangers immediately dispersed to both sides of the passage.

As for the special operations team members who had already activated stealth mode, they did not need Leon or Chris to give orders; they each found the best routes and positions to ensure that there were no threats around.

The group cautiously moved forward.

As the distance decreased, the details of the artifact gradually became clearer, and a levitation force field rippled around it, drawing psionic particles in the air toward it as if they were being attracted.

“The structure is similar to the last one,” Lyon analyzed calmly, “but the energy fluctuations are stronger.”

"."

Jim Reynolds felt as if the artifact was "whispering" something, which made his heart pound, but he was too lazy to investigate, so he looked at Leon and asked:
"Are you going to do it again this time?"

Leon nodded and stepped forward, while the two special operations team members took out a lead alloy container covered with suppression runes, and the sealing device on the edge was ready to be activated.

He walked slowly toward the altar, the silencing system of his nanosuit making him almost completely silent.

Two special operations team members followed closely behind, while Chris and the others pointed their weapons in all directions, on guard against any potential threats.

When Leon was three steps away from the artifact, the twelve crystal pillars around the altar suddenly lit up at the same time, and psionic energy flowed between the pillars as if they were alive.

The light inside the entire ruins suddenly intensified, making it impossible to open one's eyes.

"Leon! Watch out!" Chris immediately raised his gun.

But the expected attack did not occur.

The psionic energy simply circulated between the crystal pillars, as if some ancient ritual had been reactivated.

Leon didn't stop. He stretched out his hand, and the insulating layer on the surface of the nano-glove glowed slightly, blocking the energy radiation of the artifact.

The instant his fingertips touched the artifact—

Om-!
An invisible ripple of psionic energy spread out from the artifact.

Leon's arm was instantly enveloped in a ghostly blue energy, but he was prepared—

"Now!"

Two special operations team members immediately stepped forward to assist, and the three of them worked together to steadily place the artifact into the container.

The moment the lead alloy shell closed, the rune lock glowed red, completely isolating the internal psionic fluctuations.

The light within the ruins dimmed, and the crystal pillars went out one by one, seemingly having completed their final mission.

"Is it done?" Tychus's rough voice came through the communicator, with the roar of bomb guns and the screams of Protoss warriors in the background.

“Recovery successful,” Jim replied briefly, his right hand on his headset as he signaled for the team to begin their evacuation.

"Hey, that's one last one." Tychus's voice held a hint of excitement. "Guys, time to go!"

Without delay, the group immediately retreated from the ruins via the same route.

The special operations team led the way, while the rangers covered the rear. By the time they stepped out of the ruins' gates, the battle outside was completely over.

The man-eating sharks and auxiliary troops are retreating in an orderly manner, while the Thunder Eagle gunboats are circling at low altitudes to provide cover for the ground forces.

Tychus stood beside a shuttle boat, a six-barreled machine gun slung over his shoulder, his power armor covered in dust and burn marks from energy weapons.

Unexpectedly, Jim did not lead the team back to the Hyperion, but instead boarded the Shark Company's shuttle with Tychus, followed closely by Leon, Mike, and Chris.

The interior of the shuttle was simpler than expected, with only necessary tactical indicator lights on the dark gray armored walls, and several sharks sitting on benches on both sides, checking their equipment.

They glanced up at the newly boarded crew members, then continued their work, their breathing beneath their helmets steady and low.

"Go straight to the cruiser?" Jim looked at Tychus.

“That’s what Cass asked for,” Tychus shrugged. “He said he wanted to make sure the artifact was ‘delivered safely.’”

He deliberately emphasized the last few words, clearly aware of the tactics of the shark sergeant squad.

The hatch of the shuttle boat slowly closed, and the hum of the engine gradually increased.

Through the narrow observation window, Jim could see the Hyperion releasing landing craft in the distance to retrieve the remaining troops, while the Man-eating Shark cruiser lay dormant like a lurking beast, silently awaiting their arrival.

Leon sat in the corner, his fingers lightly tapping the outer shell of the artifact's container.
(End of this chapter)