Chapter 1323: The Palace of Flesh

Sheyan, who was familiar with the Zerg, knew that destroying a Hatchery was a time-consuming task even with his strength. After all, the tenacity of a Hatchery was beyond human imagination. Furthermore, a Hatchery chosen by the Queen of Blades must possess extraordinary capabilities.

Therefore, the crystal bomb would no doubt save him a lot of time.

The second item he got was a communicator which required a certain amount of utility points to use. When the communicator was activated, a holographic 3D image of Ol’ Kido would appear from it. This way, Sheyan would not have to run back to the bar to hand in his mission.

This mission was no doubt perfect for Sheyan because he was already planning to go to the Queen’s lair for a visit anyway, and he would have help from the human forces. This mission was just something he could do along the way.

It was already four o’clock in the morning. According to the information Sheyan obtained, daybreak would normally occur between six and six-thirty in the morning. Sheyan instantly rushed out of the Protoss base. He peeked at the radar and saw that the remnants of the forces the Protoss deployed were still nearly two kilometers away from the base. The Zerg were still viciously chasing after them, looking to do as much damage as they could. Sheyan did not wish to waste any time. He sprinted to the appointed place at full speed.

The environment was currently still pitch black, only illuminated by the faint starlight and the floating phosphorescent dots. The prussian blue land seemed endless, extending far into the horizon.

Sheyan looked back at the Protoss base and saw that it was actually enshrouded in a sphere of darkness, like a black hole which swallowed all lights. Sheyan could basically confirm by now that the dense darkness outside the Protoss base must be a trick of Kerrigan’s. Only under the cover of this strange darkness could the Zerg hide themselves and carry out the harassment tactic from all sides.

He soon found a clear mark on the ground ahead. It was likely the traces left behind by a Vulture hoverbike. These hoverbikes could travel at a speed of 200 to 300 mph. Their standard armament was an AGP-2 grenade launcher.

There were also traces of caterpillar treads, which were probably left behind by the heavy-duty AAV-5 Arclite Siege Tanks that could transform between two modes. Their formidable firepower had almost become synonymous with the Terran. The 120mm Mjolnir Artillery Cannon they were equipped with was so powerful that the tank had to remain immobile to stabilise itself before firing a projectile. Each tank was operated by a crew of three: a gunner, a driver, and a commander or navigator.

( https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Siege_tank )

“Not bad, Pontin,” Sheyan could not help muttering to himself, “I thought I’d only get a few squads of Marines for reinforcement, but it seems like he sent me a whole mechanical squad.”

Sheyan soon came across a Vulture that was on patrol duty. After Sheyan identified himself, he succeeded in hitching a ride on the Vulture. The Vulture brought him to the temporary human camp, where be saw both Pontin and Old Charlie.

Sheyan only found out from Old Charlie’s explanation that Pontin was actually a real genius. Although the Siege Tanks and Vultures produced by the Factory he built could not be upgraded with the Armory due to a lack of resources, Pontin’s skill enabled the Factory to obtain the “Excellent” prefix. The war machinery manufactured by the Factory had higher attack and defence than usual.

This time, Pontin had come out full force, bringing with him a total of 37 Vultures, 26 Goliaths, 11 Siege Tanks, 130 Marines, 18 Medics, and 30 SCVs. This level of reinforcement was already the best he could do.

Sheyan naturally had to repay the favour. During the previous battle, he had obtained a lot of Zerg Spirit Crystals. The first thing he did was strengthen Pontin to the limit. However, Pontin was already a heroic unit by now, so even a large amount of Spirit Crystals could only make him stronger instead of helping him break through to the rank of a leader like Noos and the Redliner Overmind. To break through this bottleneck, he must rely on his own comprehension and understanding. External help could no longer play a major role.

But even so, any building constructed by the newly-strengthened Pontin would have a “Fine” prefix. Not only were the buildings more resistant to attacks, the troops produced by these buildings would also be close to the level of an elite the moment they were produced. Of course, their Pandora crystal consumption was also higher.

Next, Sheyan raised Kyrgyzna and a female Medic to elite level with the remaining Zerg Spirit Crystals. This fully mechanized steel corps advanced forward at full speed. They soon arrived at the Queen of Blades’ Hive Cluster.

( A Hive Cluster is a Zerg colony or base. )

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Under Sheyan’s order, the Goliaths that had extremely powerful anti-air capabilities started to roam the periphery in two groups, with the aim of cleaning up the Overlords that the Zerg had a habit of scattering around their base.

( The Goliath combat walker is a Terran one-man all-terrain combat walker used to support Marine forces. )

These jellyfish-like Overlords floated in the air with excellent mobility and anti-stealth capabilities. The Goliaths sniped at them and killed them one by one. Although this might alert the Zerg base, it was worth it because the leaderless Zerg base now had its eyes pried away as well.

The warning this might give the Zerg was inconsequential to the Terran army Sheyan brought. After the Siege Tanks moved into place, they started spewing thick white steam and making a loud ruckus while they transformed into the static but more powerful “siege mode”. Their mechanical legs dug into the ground as they adjusted the aim of their powerful shock cannons. Then, the cannons angrily bombarded the Zerg base!

Under the bombardment of the powerful Terran Siege Tanks, the Zerg base was immediately covered in high-powered and high-range cannon fire. A Sunken Colony (Zerg structure that protects the base against ground-based attacks) was instantly blasted into a pool of bloody pulp. Not only that, even the adjacent organ building was affected. Thick brown liquid immediately sprayed out of it, accompanied by a cry of grief.

The moment the Siege Tanks fired the first shell, the SCVs next to them had quickly slid forward to build a hexagonal Bunker which could act as a supply station and a place for the soldiers to rest. It could also launch anti-air and anti-stealth missiles.

This was the fortress assault tactic which the humans were best at. With the Siege Tanks at the core, the humans could derive many different methods of attacking enemy bases.

The Siege Tanks had astonishing range in siege mode, far larger than the Sunken Colonies, so it did not matter how many Sunken Colonies there were in the base, they were all relegated to mere decorations. The Zerg could only deploy ground troops to attack the humans or use aerial forces to help out. As a result, the Zerg, who should have been the defending side, had to use the flesh and blood of their tribe to break through the iron defensive line of the humans!

But was the human defence so easy to break through? The Bunkers built by SCVs alone were enough to give the Zerg a headache. To defeat a defending human army, one would either need at least 1.5 to 2 times their military strength or possess specific forces which targeted their weaknesses.

Therefore, the Zerg base soon fell without any suspense. After the first wave of counter-attack organised by the Zerg struck the human fortifications like an ocean wave beating against a sturdy reef, ending in failure, the fall of the Zerg base was inevitable. The only resistance forces left after that were those newly hatched from eggs.

Seizing this opportunity, Sheyan stepped forward. He was wearing a suit of armour with the highest defence he could find, which was the armour of the Firebats (Terran infantry specialising in close-quarters combat). Following behind him were hundreds of Marines led by Kyrgyzna and 20 Medics.

Sheyan did not have the time to wait for the Siege Tanks to slowly advance while bombarding the Zerg buildings. After cleaning up the few remaining mobile forces in the base, he led the human troops straight to the Hatchery. From a distance away, under the illumination of the searchlights, he could already see the gigantic, sinister-looking Hatchery which stood like a giant red mountain. At the same time, he also saw a huge red column shaped like a fang next to the Hatchery which exuded a strong, wild aura.

Sheyan took a deep breath to suppress his nervousness.

Because that giant fang column, named the Palace of Flesh, was the residence of the Queen of Blades! Eight or so Zerg creatures were roaring angrily under the palace. They were all Zerglings, Hydralisks and Ultralisks that had the strong potential to evolve into elites or heroes. They were trying to advance with the help of the Palace of Flesh’s power.

(TL: I don’t think this palace is something that exists in Starcraft lore. The only residence of the Queen of Blades that I can find is Kerrigan’s Leviathan, but that’s a ship. It’s probably something the author made up. Also, the full name of this palace should’ve been the Summer Palace of Flesh and Blood, but I shortened it to the Palace of Flesh, which is a nice juxtaposition with the Queen of Blades.)

These Zerg creatures showed a strong desire to duel Sheyan 1v1, but unfortunately, the latter did not possess any gentlemanly demeanour at all. With a wave of his hand, over a hundred Marines doped with Stim Packs rushed forward and drowned the Zerg in their numbers.

Sheyan did not waste any time to head straight towards the giant fang column. A steep, fleshy-red trail circled around the column like a snake. The trail obviously led to the top of the building, where Kerrigan’s boudoir and all the riches and mysteries inside awaited.

***

Sheyan only spent about five minutes to climb the fleshy trail, because after all, the fang column was only less than 200 meters tall. It was normal for a monster like Sheyan to sprint to the top without stopping.

Sheyan stopped in front of the entrance to the Palace of Flesh.