The Bizarre Adventure of the Warhammer Guard

Arcturus Mengsk lay lazily on his throne in the capital city of Sinkhar, quite pleased with it, for he deserved it.

He successfully destroyed the rule of the Terran Federation, and more importantly, he successfully convinced people that he was the hope of all humanity, the hero who would save mankind.

An assistant in uniform entered Mengsk's magnificent palace, bowed with a fist, handed Mengsk a document wrapped in gold leaf, and then waited to the side.

Mengsk took the document and read it carefully; it was the document he was to review today.

He still has much to do. All the planets destroyed by the Zerg and Protoss need to be rebuilt, and more areas of Korhal, which is filled with nuclear radiation, need to be cleared to build his ideal kingdom.

Mengsk ran his fingers through his thick beard, frowning as he struggled with the documents in his hand. The documents indicated that a remote planet was requesting funding to rebuild its home.

He needed to consolidate his power and had long ago marked all the important planets, but this remote planet was not among them.

Why would he actually care about a farmer covered in mud in a desolate colonial world that no one had ever known before?

We'll talk about these unimportant things later. Mengsk poured himself a glass of wine, drank it all in one gulp, and then poured himself a second glass.

His first priority now is to find ways to collect more taxes from the common people in order to replenish his private coffers, revive his Mengsk family, and incidentally have more money to rebuild the empire.

Mengsk was processing document after document, finding it somewhat tedious, but this was exactly the work of a great ruler, and he secretly felt that he had been slacking off lately.

He recalled the murmurs that had suddenly appeared in his dream not long ago. The voice in the dream told him that Kerrigan was not dead, and that the ghost he had abandoned was now trapped somewhere.

"Kill her." The thought suddenly popped into Mengsk's mind.

He never intended to hunt down Kerrigan. Although that ghost deserved to die, he abandoned her on Tarzan's, leaving her to fend for herself. That was when they were even.

But for some reason, he had a different thought today, and he instinctively felt that this was not what he wanted to do.

But he glanced up at the object on the table—the seal symbolizing Arcturus I. "I am the Emperor of the Terran Empire! The Great Arcturus I! The All-Conquering Emperor Mengsk!"

Mengsk put down the documents, picked up the wine on the table, and went to the window of his palace. Seeing the laborers working hard around the palace, a sense of pride welled up in his heart.

"That's right, I am the Emperor, I can do whatever I want!"

Mengsk turned and walked to the command console, bringing up the star map, which showed the current positions of the warships in his area, the missions of other fleets, and some information he was particularly interested in.

The location of the Noral II is marked above. It is Renault's flagship. The Emperor never considered Renault a threat, just a soldier with some fighting ability.

However, the mysterious forces that appeared around him made the emperor somewhat wary. He didn't know the origins of those tall warriors, but their powerful equipment proved that they possessed terrifying technological strength.

Char, an abandoned planet, is also the current location of Noral II. It seems that Raynor also knows about Kerrigan, and knows more than Mengsk.

Mengsk smiled slightly. He decided to send General Duke there; after all, they needed to be given something to do.

Although General Duke also swore allegiance to the Terran Empire, he had fought for the Federation for many years.

Mengsk felt uneasy about having such a commander with a powerful army obey his orders and stay by his side.

The hot-tempered general is nearby and ready to be dispatched at any time; this task will keep him and all his soldiers busy.

"Pass on my orders," Mengsk said to his aide standing beside him, "that General Duke immediately lead Alpha Squadron to Char, find Kerrigan, and then eliminate her for me."

"Your Majesty, Renault's flagship is there. If we encounter..."

"Duke knows what to do," Mengsk's voice was icy. "Tell him this is my personal order: end Kerrigan at all costs."

Mengsk paused, his fingers rubbing together lightly, as if reconsidering how to deal with Renault.

"Kill him."

Another thought popped into the Emperor's mind, but this time he felt it was unnecessary. Renault didn't have strong logistical support, and a single warship was not a threat.

"If Raynor is ungrateful and dares to stop us from eliminating Kerrigan," Mengsk rearranged his words, "then let him become part of the Char volcanic ash."

-

Meanwhile, Renault had already led a squad of warriors to Char's lands.

From any perspective, Char is not a planet suitable for human habitation; its harsh environment is even worse than that of Khar, which has been repeatedly ravaged by nuclear bombs.

Reno jumped off the transport plane, his boots sinking into the thick volcanic ash, kicking up clouds of dust. As far as the eye could see, there was only bare rock.

It seems that his army is the only living thing on the entire planet, let alone plants and animals.

He was very glad that he had worn a breathing mask and combat goggles, so that he wouldn't inhale too much dust.

He originally planned to wear power armor, but in the end he chose to wear some simple combat clothing, which could only provide him with basic environmental isolation and stab protection.

Although the power armor can enhance his strength and resist some damage, it is not suitable for moving in confined spaces.

Moreover, he was someone who had personally fought against the Zerg, and he knew exactly how those Zerg could cut power armor like it was nothing.

Therefore, he still pinned his hopes on his agility and reaction speed, since dodging attacks was much better than taking damage head-on. At the same time, he also tried his best to eliminate the Zerg before they attacked him.

Reno weighed the C-10 rifle in his hand; its heavy weight brought him a sense of security. He also carried his ever-present revolver, and his tactical vest was covered with fragmentation grenades.

He touched the shield device in his arms, a gift from Elpis, hoping it would be enough for them to safely complete the rescue operation.

They had all disembarked and split into several small teams, gathering in various locations. Renault didn't want to expose himself too much, so splitting into small teams to search around was relatively safer.

If they're lucky, a squad might even discover the Zerg swarm and find Kerrigan without anyone noticing.

Seeing the vast, desolate landscape all around, Renault couldn't help but reminisce about the Vulture Chariot that had been left on the flagship.