From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 654 "Kid, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

The world suddenly fell into an eerie stillness.

The churning volcanic ash froze in mid-air, the tail flames of the explosive projectiles solidified into golden threads, and even the plasma torrent spewed by the Titan mechs turned into a still waterfall of light.

In that moment of utter silence, the sky was suddenly torn apart—

The purplish-black lightning spread like a spider web, each bolt striking the corpses of the alien insects on the battlefield, melting the remains into twisted psionic totems.

boom--!
Amidst the deafening explosion, the earth seemed to be violently lifted up.

Millions of tons of rocks rose into the air, swirled and reorganized in the psionic storm, and finally formed a throne that was hundreds of meters high.

The figure seated atop it made even the bravest Terran Marines tremble at the knees; that was Sarah Kerrigan, the Zerg Queen of Blades.

The Queen of Blades's bone wings were fully extended, each thorn crackling with psionic arcs. The skin beneath her exoskeleton shimmered with a bluish-purple glow, and her eyes, now completely transformed into vortexes of psionic energy, reflected the creatures on the battlefield who trembled in fear of her.

"Crush them."

The Queen of Blades's casual command materialized into tangible psionic ripples.

All Zerg units instantly went berserk, and psionic patterns identical to those of the Queen appeared on their carapaces.

The speed of the front-line Thunder Beasts increased dramatically, their skeletal plates, comparable to those of a warship's armor, collided with the oncoming barrage of explosive projectiles, creating dazzling sparks. The density of the Hydralisks' acid increased threefold, forming deadly acid rain in the air.

"Hold the line!"

Sigismund leaped forward, wielding his signature power greatsword to cleave the Thunder Beast's head in two; the blood was evaporated by the shield of his armor before it could even splatter.

The warriors of the Black Templar formed an iron wall, and the roar of their bolters became a symphony of death.

The man-eating sharks roared as they activated their jump packs, their lightning claws shredding the mutated swarm into a bloody pulp.

But the Zerg's offensive was too ferocious—

Every second, nearly a million insects surged forward, trampling over the corpses of their own kind, causing the energy shields of the four Astartes to overload and face collapse.

The "collapse" of the Terran Empire was even more devastating.

"Medic! Medic!"

"Help! Help me!!"

Screams erupted from the communications channel of a Marine Corps squad.

The CMC armor of the twelve soldiers burst open from the inside at the same time, and nerve cords emerged like venomous snakes, turning the original owners into flesh puppets.

Lieutenant General Warfield watched as a platoon of siege tanks was overturned by psionic lightning, and the twin-barreled 180mm main guns bent into ridiculous angles in the high temperature.

"Contract the defenses! Concentrate firepower!" The old general's voice was hoarse. "All units, be alert for psionic contamination!"

As for the center of the battlefield
The Queen of Blades is gracefully strolling forward.

Wherever it goes, the earth automatically splits open, and any stray bullets are deflected by the invisible barrier.

The three Terminators attempting to intercept the Weeping Ones had just raised their right arms, preparing to use the attached 1.0cal caliber heavy explosive bolts to launch a suppressive attack, when they were interrupted by bone spikes protruding from the ground.

clap----!
At the same time, the Queen of Blades casually waved her left hand, releasing a psionic storm that sent three several-ton Weeping Terminators flying.

"Jimmy."

The Queen's voice was mocking, and the psychic transmission made Reno's eardrums bleed. "What do you think these toys and so-called reinforcements can change?"

Ri~da da——Bang! !
Tychus's rotary machine gun suddenly exploded, and flying metal fragments scratched his helmet, while a fragment stuck in the crack nearly pierced his left eye.

Lyon's helmet screen flashed a warning frantically. A bio-scan showed that Sarah Kerrigan's psionic readings were still climbing, far exceeding the records from Mara's time. It seemed that this Queen of Blades was still growing stronger even after being threatened to retreat by the Goddess of War.

"The game is over."

The Queen raised her right hand, and a black hole-like sphere of psionic energy condensed at her fingertips.

However, at this very moment—

boom--! !

A crimson afterimage shrieked as it tore through the air.

Tiberius unleashed an incredible speed disproportionate to his size as he sprinted forward, and the Terminator's thrusters also emitted plasma tail flames to provide continuous acceleration, leaving a scorching afterimage in the eyes of ordinary people.

Buzz—Crackling—!

The moment the chainsaw's power claws' decomposition force field and the extremely high-energy, extremely high-temperature red plasma force field collided with the Queen of Blades' psionic barrier, the surrounding creep instantly carbonized, and the shockwave blew more than a dozen Hydralisks into the air.

boom--!
The first strike caused Sarah Kerrigan's psionic barrier to fluctuate violently.

The shark-tooth mask of the platoon leader was almost touching the queen's face, and the white mist spewed from the breathing grille almost completely enveloped the opponent's head. In addition, the serrated teeth of the power claws were gnawing at the barrier at a speed of tens of thousands of revolutions per minute, and plasma arcs and psionic sparks were flying like rain.

"The Queen of the Swarm?" Tiberius's electronic voice was filled with excitement, even pleasure. "Let me see what color your entrails are—!"

? !
The Queen of Blades' pupils contracted sharply, and her bone wings snapped shut forward.

But even faster than her was a bolt of "black lightning"—

Sigismund's signature titanium armor materializes like lightning, and his signature power greatsword cuts out perfect arcs of light.

Boom——! ! !
The Chinese characters engraved on the blade shone with a dazzling golden light, and the strike precisely hit the crack created by Tiberius, instantly shattering the psionic barrier into countless specks of light.

The Queen of Blades took several steps back for the first time.

However, it quickly reacted and hurriedly raised its left hand, causing a psionic spike to condense at the tip of its index finger.

But suddenly, a sacred, feathery shadow fell from the sky—

The Malakin Forros above launched a vertical dive attack, and the Weeping Company Commander's pair of mechanical wings, embedded in his exclusive titanium armor, were fully extended, with high-frequency vibrating particles flowing along the edges of the wing blades.

The twelve winged blades, like the swords of judgment of angels, wove a net of death light around the queen, severing all the psionic threads that were about to rebuild the barrier.

"For our fallen brethren!" Frost's voice was like a church organ.

As he roared in battle, he gripped his exclusive power spear tightly in his right hand and thrust it forcefully towards the Blade Queen's shoulder blade.

*Pfft—Sizzle—!*

The spearhead, crackling with blue lightning, successfully pierced the bone spike.

"what!!"

This also prompted the Queen of Blades to finally utter her first cry of pain since the start of the war.

But as it quickly dodged and attempted to retaliate, it was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a giant bronze shadow—

Boom——! !

The Terminator-equipped Gaozan crashed to the ground like a mobile fortress, the earthquake-like shockwave shattering all the Zerg that wanted to support their queen.

The Flame Lizard Company Commander's power gauntlets glowed with an overloaded red light, and this uppercut struck the Queen's jaw directly, sending her flying.

Immediately afterwards, the highly praised shoulder-mounted missile pods activated—

Swish!Swish!
Twelve molten metal bombs, trailing white flames, hurtled toward the Queen, their trajectory marked with predetermined explosion coordinates.

boom! boom! boom! !

The intense flames from the explosion engulfed the Queen of Blades, who hadn't yet unleashed her psionic attack. Surrounded by four company commanders, especially four legendary ones within the legion, even a Chaos Archmage from the warp would find it difficult to gain the upper hand.

Although Tiberius was once defeated by Nurgle's Great Unclean One, and his company of guards suffered heavy casualties, at that time Tiberius was not accompanied by Sigismund, Frost, or Gozan.

The teamwork of the four legendary company commanders was nothing short of an art.

Tiberius's ferocious offensive was like a tsunami, forcing the Queen to deplete her psionic defenses with every strike. Sigismund's swordsmanship was as precise as surgery, specifically designed to destroy the nodes of the psionic energy network. Fros's Wing Blade Storm blocked all evasive angles. As for Gao Zan, he was like a sophisticated killing machine, each strike precisely at the moment the Queen was about to launch a counterattack.

Battlefield data streams were refreshing rapidly on the helmet screens of the four players—

"The target's psionic output is predicted to decrease by 37%."

"Regeneration rate reduced to 45% of baseline value"

"The resonant frequency of the surrounding Kedarin crystals is disrupted," and so on.

At that moment, Kerrigan's bone wings suddenly grew three times longer, and spikes rained down in all directions.

However, this deadly move was countered by Sigismund, who had anticipated it.

The Black Templar commander suddenly activated a force field generator hidden in his gauntlet, which had been personally granted by the Emperor. A semi-transparent golden force field then enveloped the four of them.

Buzz-buzz-!
The queen's bone spikes created countless ripples on the force field, yet they could not penetrate the "protection" emanating from the human emperor.

"Heh, so you want a second round?"

Tiberius's chainsaw claws overloaded again, the plasma arcs on the teeth resembling a crimson thunder dragon. "Let's see where the bug's limits are—"

Meanwhile, on the periphery of the battle, the Zerg swarm sensed that the Queen was being suppressed and charged towards the center like madmen.

But the ironclad defenses built by the Astartes were now proving terrifyingly effective.

The Black Templar's Blademaster squad formed a circular sword formation, tearing apart any Zerg that broke through the fire net with their power swords. The Weeping Snipers precisely targeted and killed Hydralisks attempting to spray acid from a distance. The Man-Eating Sharks even engaged in a death race, competing to see who could harvest more Zerg heads with melee weapons. As for the Flame Lizards, they served as the backbone of the force, covering everything with firepower.

Lieutenant General Warfield seized this fleeting opportunity, directing the remaining siege tanks to concentrate fire on the area where the Zerg were gathered, finally giving the previously suppressed Terran Marines a brief respite.

"You bunch of scum, how dare you hurt me!"

Sarah Kerrigan, still being assimilated by the Zerg, let out an uncontrollable roar.

Its alluring features were twisted with rage, and bluish-purple psionic blood seeped from its seven orifices.

Unfortunately, the four company commanders had no intention of giving the enemy a chance to breathe. Whenever the Queen of Blades had a moment to spare and release her psionic energy, they would be suppressed by her.

Tiberius's power claws tore through its armor-like exoskeleton, Sigismund's greatsword severed its right bony wing, Fros's wing blade pierced the spinal ganglion, and Gao Zan's power gauntlets slammed directly into its back.

This siege was a textbook example of carnage.

Each company commander brought their own style and combat skills to the extreme, and the exquisite coordination between them seemed to be the result of decades of practice.

Data provided by Smart AI shows that the Queen of Blades' psionic reserves are plummeting, and her regeneration ability has been suppressed to a dangerous threshold.

Just as the scales of victory tipped, a sudden change occurred—

The severed bone wings suddenly liquefied, transforming into thousands of psionic serpents that coiled around the four company commanders.

Kerrigan's battered body levitated, her core pulsating unnaturally, as if an aura far more ancient than the Zerg swarm was awakening.
"Watch out!" Gao Zan immediately warned upon seeing the latest data from Dr. Hansen: "Xel'Naga energy signature detected!"

While the warning of "Xel'Naga energy signature" was still echoing in the tactical channel, the other three company commanders remained calm.

A low laugh came from beneath Tiberius's shark-tooth mask, and the disintegration field of his power claws suddenly switched frequencies, attempting to sever the entangled psionic tentacles.

The scriptures on Sigismund's greatsword shone with a blinding golden light, and the psionic serpents that touched the blade curled up and retreated as if they had been branded with a hot iron. But the next second, countless "tentacles" still swept over, making it impossible for the company commander to move freely.

Forros's mechanical wings vibrated at a high frequency, and the stream of particles bursting from the edges of the wing blades attempted to cut the restraints into fragments.

Gao Zan then activated the armor overload program, and the blue-white fire rings emitted from the plasma nozzles on his back incinerated some of the psionic tentacles.

However, just as they were about to break free of their restraints—

The Blade Queen's suspended remains suddenly froze eerily.

Her shattered bone wings ceased to twitch, her flowing psionic blood solidified into a crystal-like state, and most chillingly, her eyes—

The originally dark purple vortex of psionic energy has now transformed into two brownish-yellow "stars".

"You bunch of little devils"

The voice came from the Queen's mouth, but it carried a completely unfamiliar rhythm.

Each syllable is like a superposition of millions of sounds, containing the vicissitudes of the Protoss elders, the buzzing of the Zerg hive, and at its deepest depths, a sense of something even more ancient and cold.

This is no longer Sarah Kerrigan's voice, but an ancient will speaking through her body.

"A puppet that is worth controlling."

As the brown-yellow eyes swept over the four company commanders, their powered equipment suddenly sounded an alarm simultaneously.

All vital signs monitors detected a foreign object attempting to invade the neural interface.

Strange geometric light spots appeared on the surface of Sigismund's black titanium armor, as if an unseen hand was rewriting runes on the armor. Forros's custom spear bent uncontrollably, its tip pointing at his own throat. The data stream on Gao Zan's helmet screen was all distorted into undecipherable alien characters.

As for Tiberius
It seemed like there wasn't much of a reaction.

"Hehe. Not bad, not bad."

At this critical moment, a golden light suddenly pierced through the sky.

Rou——！！

The sonic boom came more than ten seconds later.

The golden light that severed all the psychic energy bindings caused the solidified psychic tentacles to dissipate like mist in the face of a blazing sun, and even the pulsating energy core in the Queen of Blades' chest momentarily stopped.

As the light faded, a figure clad in golden armor stood in the center of the battlefield.

Wherever her toes touched the ground, the cracked earth healed itself, and the drifting volcanic ash turned into dazzling crystal dust a hundred meters away. Even the polluted atmosphere of Charles formed a pure halo around her.

The golden armor of Athena, the goddess of war, is not merely an adornment—it is an outward manifestation perfectly integrated with her divinity. Each armor plate flows with liquid sunlight, and the reliefs of the goddess of victory engraved on the shoulder armor are so lifelike that they seem ready to take flight at any moment.

What suffocated the Zerg the most was the Spear of Victory. When she turned the spear shaft, the gravity field of the entire battlefield was distorted. All the Zerg that tried to launch a sneak attack during this opening were mysteriously thrown into the air and disappeared without a trace.

Athena's face was so perfect it was almost "cruel".

That's not beauty in the conventional sense, but the golden ratio, as precise as a mathematical formula.

Her long, golden hair moved without wind, and tiny lightning bolts danced among the strands, seemingly forming ever-changing constellation patterns.

When she looked at the Queen of Blades, her eyes, burning with divine fire, reflected not the alien queen before her, but a deeper, more ancient shadow hidden within her.

"Boy."

When the goddess spoke, the very core of Char trembled. Her voice was like the superimposed hymns of millions of races, each syllable carrying the weight of creation.

"I've been waiting for so long."

Suddenly, the Spear of Victory burst forth with a supernova-like flare, its tip pointing directly at the ever-brightening core in the Queen of Blades' chest.

Before absolute divine power, even the rampaging swarm of insects fell into an eerie silence.

The most primal survival instincts told these killing machines that the standoff in the center of the battlefield was far beyond their comprehension.
(End of this chapter)