Chapter 710: Khal Rift

Korhal IV is under attack, and the nature of this war is unconventional. The enemy did not come to Korhal through a long hyperspace voyage through the outer space of the Tyranid Empire, but came directly from "inside the planet."

In Korhal's largest city, Augustgrad, void fragments reaching into the sky rise from the majestic city buildings. These prismatic stone pillars composed of countless void fragments divide the wedge-shaped sky of the city, and their full scarlet void energy eclipses the grand squares, statues and monuments.

The supernatural power caused great changes in geology and meteorology. The roar of the storm and the roar of lightning and thunder dominated the entire Augustgrad. The violent void energy enveloped the red sky, and hail mixed with black dust fell from the sky. It was a nightmare. The scene really looks like the end of the world is coming.

Panic-stricken people walked out of their homes in terror, blocking roads with water. Spaceships and vehicles were everywhere on the ground and in the sky. All kinds of terrible rumors spread among the crowd, crushing their spirits little by little.

The air defense siren sounded loudly in the city, and Imperial Marines wearing red power armor drove into the city in armored vehicles, tanks and transport ships. Thousands of tanks rumbled through the wide north-south road in Augustgrad, and heavily armed Imperial soldiers and large walking mechas with rattling servo drives could be seen everywhere.

"Your Majesty the Queen, this is Faraday from the Korhal Defense Force, who is giving you a military intelligence report."

Before the unexpected incident, Kerrigan was preparing for an upcoming pep talk in the Throne Room of the Augustgrad Palace. She was obviously more familiar with this than palace affairs.

When the crisis came, Kerrigan was aware of it earlier than anyone else, and her super-sensitive perception of psychic powers gave her early warning. Therefore, while the people of Augustgrad were still panicking, the palace issued a series of firm orders to evacuate people and reduce losses.

Kerrigan once hated her innate talent because it brought her unimaginable suffering and setbacks, but it was undeniable that she also benefited from it.

Sarah Kerrigan is far more powerful than she has ever been. During the Ghost Academy period, Kerrigan was already the strongest among the students, and no one could compare with her.

Even if Kerrigan's potential and value have been fully estimated, the instructors at Ghost Academy still have a far insufficient understanding of what she can achieve in the future.

There is only one final step left before Kerrigan can fully absorb the energy from Zerus's primal schism pool. By then, even Kerrigan himself doesn't know what kind of existence he will become.

Dehaka is convinced that Kerrigan has completed human evolution, becoming like the original zerg, able to absorb the essence and strengthen herself.

Even the high-ranking templars of Tassadar have a hard time explaining how powerful Kerrigan is now. She is so powerful that she can defeat a proud Lord of the Swarm with just her mental strength. The Lord lowered his head and listened to the command.

Among the human race, Kerrigan is definitely an extremely rare case. Even though the psychic potential of humans is slowly improving with the evolution of this race, it will take countless years to reach the level of a protoss.

A telepath as powerful as Kerrigan may not appear again for thousands of years.

"Go on." Kerrigan nodded towards Faraday.

Faraday on the screen is wearing the black uniform of the Korhal Defense Force, with a gold wolf head badge on his chest. Compared to when Kerrigan first met Faraday many years ago, Faraday's appearance has hardly changed, but his expression and eyes are completely different.

There is no doubt that Corporal Faraday is now a determined and brave warrior and an excellent imperial commander.

These generals who have been following Augustus for more than ten years are also friends of the royal family. They are loyal ministers and friends of the emperor. People are loyal to Augustus not because he is the emperor of the Tyran Empire, but because the emperor is his emperor. Gustus Mengsk.

"Amon is summoning void fragments everywhere in the city. Most of them appear in densely populated areas." Behind Faraday is the headquarters of the Korhal Defense Force, which is crowded and busy: "Dr. Francos of the Royal Academy of Sciences told me that these Void fragments are actually gates to the void, and they themselves are constantly summoning void rifts, releasing terrifying void creations.”

"The situation is getting worse and worse. The void energy released by these void fragments is tearing our city apart, and the void creations are scattered in the city, attacking every living thing they see."

For a long period of time, from the time Augustus established the Royal Guard until recently, Faraday has been the leader of the Royal Guard, responsible for the protection of the palace and the emperor.

Obviously, this shows that Emperor Augustus had great trust in Faraday himself. As the chief steward of the Augustgrad Palace, Faraday held a very high status in the heart of the emperor, and the imperial dignitaries who came in and out of the palace did not dare to despise him at all.

Faraday himself was more of a trusted minister of the emperor than a general who conquered the stars for the emperor. When he served as the commander of the Korhal Defense Force, many people thought that the emperor was finally confused this time and relied solely on preference rather than ability. Come and appoint generals. Even in Augustgrad, there are many imperial generals who are more capable, more qualified and experienced than Farah, the first captain of the royal guard.

But those who really knew Faraday had no doubts about his abilities.

"I am still summoning more forces of the Korhal Defense Force to join the battle, and requesting support from the Marines and Navy to clear away the void debris and the void creations that are raging in Augustgrad." Faraday said.

"What are the casualties?" Kerrigan asked.

"Currently, the void fragments have not caused greater damage to the city, and most of the people have been evacuated." Faraday replied: "But scientists believe that the true role of these void fragments has not yet been revealed. The longer they exist, the more profound their implications will be." The strength will become stronger and the more unstable it will become.”

"They are time bombs that could destroy all of Augustgrad if activated."

"We can't let it go." Kerrigan understands the horror of the void fragments better than Faraday: "These void fragments must be destroyed. I have authorized you to mobilize the troops above Ursa to enter Augustgrad, and the anti-aircraft gun positions are also listening. You command.”

In Saguras, the home of Aiur, the capital of the Protoss Empire, and the Nerazim Protoss, Amon also used a similar method to corrupt the entire planet. Similarly, the terrazine surging beneath the surface of Tal'darinthren is also pulling the planet closer to the void.

As the leader of the Tyranid Empire, Korhal is also facing the same situation.

But Eamon apparently miscalculated one thing, that is, Augustus had been strengthening the defenses of Korhal and Augustgrad, as if he had known that a war might break out here. Nominally, this is to resist the attack of the Overlord swarm army, but in fact it is also prepared for Eamon.

When Amon consumed a huge amount of void power to open a series of void rifts in Kohal, preparing to destroy the planet, he was shocked to find that there was a large amount of sentry firepower hidden in Augustgrad, and the high-altitude orbit was covered with a large number of Space-based weapons platform.

He thought that when the Koprulu sector was undergoing a large-scale invasion, the hinterland of the Tyranid Empire must be empty, but this was not the case.

No matter how terrible the void corruption on the planet is, the Amon troops in other areas of the Koprulu sector are unable to cross the outer reaches of the Korhal system to the huge defense system in the outer space orbit of Korhal IV, and they are unable to cooperate with the outside to launch a larger attack A massive offensive.

In this troubled time, when life and death were at stake, the rebel forces and suppressed pirate forces within the Terran Empire also began to take advantage of the situation, but they still did not dare to confront the regular army of the empire.

Whether they are willing to admit it or not, the Tyranid Empire has the most powerful armed force in the entire Koprulu sector.

"But we can't fire on the city." Kerrigan said: "Mobilizing special operations forces into Augustgrad, we need to carry out more precise strikes against these void fragments."

Things are very tricky, because void fragments appear in the densely populated urban areas of Augustgrad, and some are even between residential buildings. Orbital weapons will inevitably affect civilians, and by the time all evacuations are completed, it will be too late.

Kerrigan knew that now was not the time to be merciful, but the people of Augustgrad didn't know exactly what was happening.

Panic among the people was inevitable, but it would be another matter if the Imperial troops opened fire on them.

If placed in the desert area outside the city of Augustgrad, the Delta Squadron fleet remaining behind Korhal can directly conduct orbital bombing. Humanity's current technology is not enough to count the numbers with scalpel-like accuracy like the protoss. Selected battlefield cuts from a hundred thousand feet. The weapons carried by the fleet are either too powerful, or they are not sure whether they can destroy the void rift. In this way, it is safer to directly send ground troops.

Kerrigan was convinced that even if Amon's power in the real universe was still reviving, he would not be able to use these powers as casually as he did in Sagulath and Korhal. This would require a huge price.

It is impossible for Amon to randomly summon void fragments in Korhal. As long as these fragments can be destroyed, precious time can be bought for the empire.

"The action of destroying the void fragments must be done with caution. The void fragments are surrounded by an energy field composed of void energy. These shadows are fatal to non-void creations. They will gradually erode and disintegrate our warriors." Faraday said :

"If we are to send troops to destroy these void shards, we must do so quickly—before the shadows of the void tear apart our armor and tanks."

"You know your duty, and you know how to do it." Kerrigan said, "Do it, do your duty, and be loyal to your people. This is for the sake of the Empire."

"Eamon will accomplish nothing," Faraday said. "Every fragment he throws will be destroyed by us."

As soon as he finished speaking, Faraday left the screen.

Kerrigan withdrew her gaze and glanced at the densely packed embedded surveillance screens that occupied an entire wall of the room. Through these surveillance devices, the entire palace could be monitored and everything within it could be seen.

At the same time, this safe room is considered the safest place in the palace. It is also arranged to be quiet and comfortable. The walls are decorated with mahogany, the floor is covered with thick silk carpets, and the precision instruments keep making subtle humming sounds.

Speaking of which, Kerrigan does not need to use these devices to see the interior of the palace, and can be safe without the protection of this high wall. Augustus is safer in her arms than in this palace.

And Kerrigan thinks that Arcturus may have some psychological problems. She can't understand why he has to monitor others. This suspicious character may be due to Arcturus's nature of not being able to trust others. He is essentially a selfish person who only gives everything to the people he loves deeply.

Well, Kerrigan always has nothing to say about Arcturus. The only thing that is confirmed is that he treats Augustus sincerely, and there is nothing to say about that.

When Augustus is not in Korhal, Angus and Arcturus will take care of everything, and even Kerrigan does not have to work hard to deal with complicated things. However, although Arcturus emphasized his power in the empire, he never wanted to take away even a little bit from his brother.

Similarly, Augustus also trusted his brother very much.

Augustus had set up a war room in the palace, which was under the jurisdiction of various imperial headquarters and the general staff, and gathered the most talented and brilliant military strategists of the Terran Empire. When Augustus was not in Korha, the owner there was Arcturus.

At this time, other pictures from the city of Augustgrad were connected to the monitoring screen of the safe secret room.

Along the straight central axis of Augustgrad, the majestic Augustgrad is extending to infinity, and countless intersecting roads divide this majestic city into magnificent streets. Panicked crowds can be seen on every street, and troops are advancing against the flow of people at every moment.

The void cracks around the void fragments are transforming the surrounding landforms, making it closer to the void, which is more conducive to the activities of void creatures here. It is conceivable that once the transformation is completed, even if Augustgrad has not been destroyed in this catastrophe, humans will no longer be able to survive on Korhal, which is filled with violent void energy. This is even more devastating than the damage caused by the Zerg corruption.

When all this happened, most of the city of Augustgrad was welcoming the dawn, and many people in the city had woken up and were ready to start a new day.

The city is a place of hope, rich and prosperous, but not perfect. Under the city, there are also dark desires and greedy ugliness, which are inevitable as long as the human race exists.

However, Augustgrad is still the hope of the Terran Empire, a glorious place that cannot be lost.

Amon knew this, so he launched an attack on Korhal, just like he did to Aiur and Shakuras. He may have thought that if Korhal was attacked, Augustus's imperial army would definitely return to Korhal.

The facts seem to be the case.

Kerrigan knew that Augustus's fleet began to return after learning that Korhal was attacked.

But Kerrigan also knew that although Augustus had been prepared to fight a defensive counterattack from the beginning, the grand strategy had always emphasized concentrating forces to attack unexpectedly.

Augustus wanted to make a false retreat to Korhal, making Amon think that he was only content with defense and staying in a corner, but this was only part of the tactical deception.

Everything was just to make Amon think that Augustus did not dare to launch an attack and only wanted to defend the existing imperial territory.