From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 661 "You will face the 'fair' judgment of the human empire."

In the torrential rain;
Nova's fingertips rested on the surface of the crystal window, and the sensor array of her nanosuit silently analyzed the molecular structure of the glass.

She then signaled to Stone, who nodded slightly on the mask screen to acknowledge it and popped a miniature oscillating device out of his arm armor.

Then, a barely audible buzzing sound rang out, and the crystal window collapsed under the precise frequency resonance, the entire floor-to-ceiling window shattering instantly like melting ice.

The four immediately rushed into the room.

Mengsk's private domain was shrouded in oppressive gloom, with a holographic star map slowly rotating on the ceiling and the projection of the family crest casting menacing shadows on the floor.

However, unusual energy fluctuations permeated the air—

It's too quiet, unnaturally quiet.

Nova's psychic senses spread out like a spider web, capturing several high-energy reactions hidden in the shadows.

"ambush."

Her voice rang out coldly in the neural link.

Buzz-buzz-!
In an instant, more than ten dark blue psionic blades pierced the darkness.

The Ghost Agents, who had been lying in wait, emerged from the darkness. Their hostile environment combat suits blended seamlessly with the shadows, leaving only the gleam of their blades as deadly as the fangs of a viper.

These elite assassins had already surrounded Nova and her companions, the oppressive feeling of their psionic lock pressing down on the air as if it were a tangible force.

"Surrender, you traitor."

The lead ghost agent spoke in a hoarse voice, his pupils beneath the mask glowing with a murky blue light, as if he had been brainwashed: "The Emperor's mercy will only be granted once."

"Ah!"

Stone gave a cold laugh, his muscles under the nanosuit tensing slightly.

Nova simply raised her palm slightly—

boom! ! !
A burst of brilliant golden psionic energy erupted from her palm like a supernova.

The shockwave, composed of pure psionic energy, exploded in a ring, and wherever it passed, the ghost agents were thrown around like kites with broken strings.

Their bodies slammed against the walls, display cases, and Mengsk's Zerg-shelled floor, the dull thuds of bones cracking echoing continuously.

But what's even more deadly is the disruption the brainwashing process causes by the psionic shock.

The fallen ghost agents suddenly clutched their heads and let out painful roars as the memories implanted in their minds began to shatter under the "washing" of golden psionic energy.

"The agreement is crumbling."

A ghostly agent ripped at his mask, a brief moment of clarity appearing in his cloudy eyes. "I remember the children of Tarsonis."

Konova had no time for pity.

Her tactical goggles suddenly flashed red, and the energy readings of the palace structure were skyrocketing.

"It's a self-destruct program!" Stone warned sharply.

Almost simultaneously, the roar of hydraulic systems starting up came from the ceiling and walls.

The heavy alloy gate crashed down like the guillotine blade, sealing the entire top floor into a steel tomb.

The scarlet emergency lights suddenly turned on, and amidst the piercing alarm, a mechanical female voice announced emotionlessly: "Purification process has been initiated, countdown: 15 seconds."

“Mengsk knew we’d come,” a former Ghost agent gritted his teeth, quickly scanning the confined space. “That bastard turned the top floor into a trap!”

Nova frowned slightly.

"14 seconds."

Stone has charged toward the nearest gate, his arm armor ejecting a plasma cutter.

But the energy readings on the alloy surface made his expression change drastically: "Damn it, it's composite armor with a special coating!"

"12 seconds."

The mechanical countdown sounded like a death knell.

Nova suddenly knelt down on one knee, pressing her palm onto the floor made of Zerg carapace, her psionic energy seeping into the cracks of the carapace like a golden stream.

"Give me five seconds." Her voice was calm.

Stone and the other two immediately formed a triangle to protect her in the center, their weapons aimed at the Ghost agents who were struggling to get up.

Although the latter's brainwashing program was disrupted, its fighting instinct remained deadly.

"8 seconds."

Nova's psychic energy spread wildly along the shell-like floor, like countless golden roots piercing into the palace's "neural network".

"3 seconds."

She clenched her fist tightly!
Boom——! ! !
The entire palace trembled violently, and all the psionic suppressors exploded due to overload.

Nova seized the opportunity to infuse pure psionic energy into the four people's nanosuits, and at the critical moment, activated a short-range group psionic "phase shift".

"1 seconds."

Ri————

The instant the countdown reached zero, plasma flames powerful enough to vaporize battleship armor poured out from the nozzles on the ceiling and walls.

Boom!

The top floor space was twisted and melted in a temperature of hundreds of millions of degrees, eventually turning into an expanding fireball that broke through the palace dome.

The shockwave from the explosion struck the earth like a hammer of God, and the entire palace trembled amidst orange-red flames.

The high-temperature plasma flames radiated outwards, turning the night sky a sickly orange-yellow. The shockwave created a ring of air that instantly evaporated rainwater within a 300-meter radius into white mist.

The lead alloy plating embedded in the palace walls melted like wax, turning into shimmering silver droplets that poured down with the fire rain, leaving countless charred holes in the garden floor.

The battlefield fell into an eerie stillness at that moment.

The Terran soldiers holding out in the distance peeked out from behind their cover, the CMC helmet visors reflecting the flickering firelight—

In the chaos of communication disruptions and surveillance failures, the fireball that engulfed the top floor became the most lethal psychological weapon.

It's unclear who was the first to throw down the Gauss rifle, but the crisp sound of metal hitting the ground was particularly jarring in the rain.

"The Emperor...has fallen?" a Marine Corps sergeant asked, his hands trembling.

This question spread like a plague across the defense lines.

The soldiers who had been de-brainwashed by the Jedi were the first to stop firing, and a long-overdue clarity gradually emerged in their bloodshot eyes.

Even more deadly was the unusual activity at the rear: three siege tanks that were supposed to provide support suddenly turned their guns around and aimed their 180mm cannons at the Royal Guards who were still putting up a stubborn resistance.

"We've been betrayed!"

The tank commander's voice boomed through the external loudspeakers, "The higher-ups have long known that the Human Empire possesses unparalleled strength, and even has the so-called Goddess of War assisting them! Those bastards, Mengsk, are just sending us to our deaths to buy him time to escape!"

Chaos spread like dominoes.

A certain "Marine Corps" unit, equipped with elite armor and painted in purple, suddenly activated their weapons' safety mechanisms, while their shoulder armor was engraved with the coat of arms of the Khar noble family.

These "private soldiers" had clearly received new politically opportunistic instructions from their masters. Even the air defense array in the east wing of the palace ceased operation, with operators silently watching the flashing red warnings on the control panels, leaving a huge gap in the orbital defenses.

At the same time, four golden streaks of light pierced through the fiery clouds.

Nova Terra was one of those "straight streams of light," and in the instant she appeared in the air and fell to the ground, she adjusted her body. The attitude adjuster of her nanosuit deployed micro-nozzles on her back, turning free fall into a controlled dive.

When the sole of her boot touched the damp ground, a ring of water vapor burst out from the point of impact, but without making a sound.

Stone and two former Ghost agents landed with the same precision.

The Royal Guard responded swiftly.

These shoulder armors, equipped with elite personnel capable of executing targets, immediately formed a crossfire network. The hydraulic systems of the CMC-660 armor emitted a synchronized hum, and the simultaneous hissing of dozens of modified Gauss rifles charging was chilling.

"For Emperor Mengsk!"

The captain of the guard's roar pierced the rain.

Seeing this, Nova didn't need to communicate with her companions; pure psychic energy had already woven an invisible resonance network between the four of them.

When the first supersonic spiked bullet was still thirty centimeters from her brow, the whole world suddenly fell into an eerie slow-motion state. Raindrops were suspended in the air, the muzzle flash of the electromagnetic rifle was like solidified lightning, and even the spittle spraying from under the captain's visor was clearly visible.

Nova also stepped out of the center of the siege.

Clearly, Nova, who had received the "blessing" of the human emperor, had already surpassed the original level 10 limit in psychic power, so ordinary attack methods were completely ineffective against her.

"Kneel down."

Then, Nova began to speak.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable air of authority.

Golden psionic energy flickered, erupting from her center and transforming into countless threads that pierced the helmets and brains of each guard.

These threads "dance" on the soldiers' cerebral cortex, as if "exploring" the primal neural clusters of fear and obedience.

Bang-!
One guard knelt down first, smashing the floor tiles, followed by a second and a third.
The sound of heavy armor hitting the ground was like a dull drumbeat.

Their fingers remained firmly on the triggers, but their muscles no longer responded to the brain's commands, and Nova's psychic powers, like a golden spiderweb, turned these steel shells into puppets.

Seeing this, Stone asked with slight concern, "To maintain this level of mind control, what about your psionic reserves?"

During the questioning, a drop of blood seeped from Nova's nose, spreading a faint red stain in the rain.

She could definitely feel the immense pressure in her mental state.

These Royal Guards were far more determined than the regular Marines; they were like tempered steel blades, trying every second to sever the psionic threads.

To make matters worse, the controlled guards were constantly trying to send warning signals to their comrades, forcing her to simultaneously distract herself from these data streams.

Nova gently brushed her fingertips across her temple, wiping away the trace of blood.

Golden psionic patterns flickered beneath her skin, like flowing molten gold.

“No problem.” Her voice was calm, almost mechanical. “More than enough to sustain us until the fleet arrives.”

Despite his calm tone, a hint of resentment flickered deep within his icy blue eyes—

Mengsk eventually slipped through her fingers.

Stone holstered his pulse pistol back into its holster on his leg, the real-time location of Bates' team flashing on his tactical visor.

“That’s just the first credit; there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.” He patted Nova’s shoulder armor, and a faint hum of electricity emanated from her nanosuit. “Now, let these tin cans go to the main gate and have some fun with Mr. Marbus.”

Nova nodded slightly.

As she focused her thoughts, the kneeling Royal Guards suddenly stiffened and rose to their feet, and the servo systems of the CMC-660 armor emitted discordant creaks.

Their movements were eerily synchronized, as they were being controlled by invisible threads, marching mechanically toward the palace's main gate.

At this moment, the alloy gate at the lowest level of the palace slowly opened after being authenticated with a biometric key, revealing the magnificent underground space behind it.

This chamber, which Mengsk calls the "Doomsday Ark," is hundreds of meters high. Its dome is supported by a crystal matrix of Protoss technology, and a blue psionic light flows between the prisms, making the entire space look like an underwater temple.

Mengsk strode into the secret room, his leather boots making a crisp echo on the floor.

His gaze swept over the Royal Guards stationed on both sides of the passageway—

These soldiers had a scarlet "Ω" symbol branded on their shoulder armor, signifying that they were absolute loyalists selected through dozens of psychological tests.

Each soldier's CMC-660 armor has been specially modified, giving them firepower comparable to that of an armored unit.

"Your Majesty, the escape shuttle has completed its warm-up." The technical director bowed and handed over a data panel. "The counter-reconnaissance fog has covered an area with a radius of five kilometers."

Mengsk's gaze swept past the crowd and landed on the streamlined "ship" in the center of the secret room.

The escape shuttle, named "Phoenix," is over 200 meters long. Its outer shell uses phase cloaking armor recovered from Protoss ships, and its engine core integrates cutting-edge technologies from both humans and Protoss.

The quantum warp arrays on both sides of the ship's hull were emitting a ghostly blue pulse, like the breath of a sleeping behemoth.

“Initiate the final protocol.” Mengsk retrieved the bio-key from his pocket, its pale blue DNA patterns shimmering in his palm. “If my son thinks…”

His words stopped abruptly.

The simultaneous charging sounds of dozens of modified Gauss rifles created a chilling resonance in the confined space.

Mengsk slowly turned his head and saw that the muzzles of the Omega Guards' guns were all pointed at him.

"you--"

Two guards suddenly stepped forward, their armored servo systems operating at overclock, emitting a piercing shriek.

One person grabbed Mengsk's right wrist, and the hydraulic clamps instantly locked his biometric key; another person directly tore open the collar of the emperor's robe, revealing the interface of a miniature detonator embedded in his collarbone.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.” The leader of the Ω team lifted his mask, revealing a face covered by a neural modifier. “You taught us to always stand on the side of the victor.”

The crystal matrix on the dome of the secret chamber suddenly flickered violently, projecting a real-time image of the palace's exterior.

The Imperial-class battleship of the Human Empire is breaking through the clouds, its missile launch bays on its belly resembling the open eyes of a demon.

Closer still, inside a secret chamber, a figure in black robes strolled through the automatically retreating Omega Guards, a faint smile on his blind face.

Mengsk's pupils contracted sharply.

Clearly, the Jedi Master from another universe was not part of the Emperor's calculations.

"You think you can win by controlling my guards?"

Mengsk suddenly chuckled, his restrained right index finger twitching almost imperceptibly. "Korhal's chain reaction program has already..."

However, Captain Omega directly severed the detonator wires on the Emperor's collarbone, and the blood turned an eerie purple in the blue light of the crystal.

“We know your plans, Your Majesty,” the manipulated captain’s voice whirred like rusty gears grinding together, “including the fission mines you’ve buried beneath the surface of Khar.”

The hatch of the escape shuttle slowly opened, but instead of engineers, two Jedi Knights dressed in black robes stepped out.

Their lightsabers were not yet activated, but the Force fluctuations already caused the air to ripple with distortion.

“The game is over, Tyrant.” Chiru Inveil’s voice echoed in the chamber, as if it came from a great distance. “You will face the ‘just’ judgment of the Empire of Man.”

(End of this chapter)