Translator: Sean88888 Editor: Elka.s.sar1
Sheyan was now almost certain that the Protoss were indeed hiding their true strength. Besides the fact that they had lured the Zerg to attack them for the purpose of depleting the opponent's numbers, there was now another piece of irrefutable proof presented before Sheyan's eyes – Sokada's introduction of the woman who hooked up with him.
“Divina, our chief Phoenix pilot and a member of the Psionic Council.”
Chief Phoenix pilot… What did that mean? The Phoenix wars.h.i.+p was said to be the most-advanced Protoss aircraft. They were MVP-calibre wars.h.i.+ps meant to replace the Corsairs and the Scouts!
(The Scout is a very expensive type of small aircraft usually used for reconnaissance.)
They had advanced wars.h.i.+ps like the Phoenixes, but did not put them to use in the previous battle. That was proof that they were baiting the enemies!
The base had now been under attack for half an hour.
The whole base felt like it was being surrounded by a tide of Zerg. The cold eyes of the bugs seemed to be staring back at them from all directions within the darkness, monitoring their every move.
And waves would occasionally rise from the tide, slamming fiercely onto the Protoss base. They would destroy a Photon Cannon here or a Pylon there, then immediately retreat before the Protoss main force could arrive. If the Protoss force dared to pursue the Zerg, they would find it very difficult to come back alive.
Whenever a Protoss patrol squad saw something suspicious and rushed into the darkness, they would first cut through the darkness with unstoppable momentum like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter, then vanish in the darkness like sugar dissolving in water! After a few of such occurrences, the patrol squads could now only move within the range of the Photon Cannons.
Faced with this situation, the leaders of the Protoss base fell into a dilemma.
In the beginning, the Protoss and Zerg forces were evenly matched, but after the battle during the day, because the Protoss were the defensive side who occupied the more advantageous terrain, a disparity in strength started appearing. At the moment, the power ratio between both sides were approximately 100:80.
However, about half of the strength of the Protoss came from their defensive facilities!
That was to say, if they moved outside the range of the defensive facilities, the power ratio would become 70:50 in favour of the Zerg! So against this guerrilla tactic employed by the Zerg, the Protoss side could not move outside to confront them. They could only grit their teeth and endure!
Sheyan made some quick calculations and came to the conclusion that this tactic of the Zerg to slowly grind down the Protoss' strength was actually quite effective. The essence in a battle of attrition was to “hurt ten fingers instead of cutting off one”, and to “acc.u.mulate small wins until they become a huge victory”. Presently, under the cover of darkness, the Zerg appeared to have the advantage in terms of espionage thanks to the Overlords who had natural anti-stealth capabilities and could move into every opening. In addition, the Protoss' area of defence was simply too broad, so it was very difficult for their troops to come up with an effective defensive measure. This directly led to one consequence – the Protoss was helpless against the Zerg's guerrilla tactic!!
This also means that in but a few more hours, the advantage so painstakingly gained by the Protoss with the depletion tactic during the day would be gnawed away. More importantly, because half the Protoss's strength was invested in defensive facilities, the strength gap between the mobile forces of both sides would only keep widening!
However, at that moment, the special building of the Protoss suddenly glowed with extremely dazzling electricity. On top of the building which looked like a blood-red giant palm stood the leaders.h.i.+p figure of the Protoss, Uraki. The tentacles on his face swayed, blown by the strong wind, and so did his robe, which clung to his body and showed off its strong and muscular outline!
Uraki suddenly gestured with his hand, seemingly directing his psionic energy at a certain spot in the base. A large group of Protoss troops immediately rushed to the location. The moment the defensive forces reached the place, a huge swarm of Zerglings sprinted out of the darkness. Their appearance was very abrupt, but against the prepared Protoss forces aided by defensive facilities, they might as well be running into a steel wall!
Uraki had actually come out in person to act as a beacon, and under his powerful supernatural ability, the Zerg's every move might as well be transparent!
After three successive setbacks in the Zerg's offence, a red bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. Then, an invisible pressure crushed down on the base as if the whole sky had collapsed.
That was the consciousness of the Queen of Blades!
Those two powerful creatures once again engaged in a fierce direct confrontation. Only the both of them knew how terrible that collision on a spiritual level was. The air itself seemed to be torn apart by the invisible spiritual powers. More than a few of the weaker Protoss were affected by it, holding their heads and screaming in pain on the ground!
Soon, Uraki disappeared from the top of the building. The Queen of Blades in the distance also let out a fierce and furious scream, and the oppressive feeling gradually faded away.
Not long after, the sound of bells came from the Nexus. The sound transmitted through the air in the form of waves, but when it fell on Sheyan's ears, it was automatically converted into a telepathic message.
“All heroic combat units, a.s.semble here at once!”
Although Sheyan had only one previous contact with Uraki, he immediately recognised the voice of the telepathic message as the one belonging to the legendary Protoss leader. Sheyan immediately heard the sounds of various heroic units das.h.i.+ng towards the gathering place. Evidently, Uraki's words carried great authority among the Protoss heroes, as if his words were the words of a G.o.d!
By the time Sheyan stepped into the interior of the Nexus, he found that the clear, fresh atmosphere inside that he felt from before had disappeared. Instead, it was now filled with killing intent. Two rows of yellow metal pillars with sharp, streamlined decorations on them, exuding a kingly majesty, lined up in the center of the hall.
At the end of the two rows of pillars was a huge dark blue crystal suspended in the air. Inside the crystal was Uraki, like an insect wrapped in amber. He seemed completely unconscious, but as he breathed, bright red mist would be discharged from the pores on his entire body.
Uraki's physical body seemed to have been badly damaged, but the moment Sheyan stepped inside the Nexus, he clearly had a feeling of being watched by the G.o.ds, as if even his internal organs were being seen through. It was probably because Uraki's soul had completely separated itself from the badly damaged body, and he still majestically controlled this sacred and dignified core Protoss building.
Facing such an extraordinary situation, Sheyan could not help sighing at how insanely powerful the legendary figure was. His soul could actually leave his body at will, as easily as one abandon a car that had broken down!
Sheyan saw Sokada secretly beckoning at him from the front of the crowd. Familiar faces were around him. Besides Aldaris and Tochego, there was also the woman Sokada had just hooked up with, Divina. Although Sheyan did not know what they were planning to do, he still silently moved over.
When the rest of the Protoss heroes saw a d.a.m.n human slip into this sacred venue, their eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. And when they realised that the human had actually been authorised by Lord Uraki himself…they found that even harder to accept.
Sheyan looked around and saw that there were more than forty heroic figures in this place, further proving that the Protoss were hiding their true strength during the day.
Uraki's thoughts transmitted telepathically to everyone's mind.
“Heroic warriors, those puny insects think they've caught on to our weakness and have repeatedly attacked us under the cover of darkness! What shall we do about it?
“Crush them!” All the heroic warriors roared at the same time.
Uraki's thoughts in their minds became stronger as he roared, “Yes, crush them! I risked serious injuries to myself in order to repel the Queen of Blades because only Kerrigan has the power to stop you! Now, she and I are both heavily wounded. You are our greatest fighters. What I want you to do is to blend in with our ordinary soldiers and use your formidable power to crush those insects! Make them scream in pain!”
Sheyan's heart jolted. Indeed, Uraki's ploy was very insidious, like needles hidden in a wool blanket. When the Zerg see a troop of Protoss soldiers which they thought were a ripe tomato waiting to be picked, they would surely chomp down on it without any hesitation, only to discover that the soft tomato contained a sharp needle inside! They would receive a painful p.r.i.c.king!
There is a saying that a flock of sheep led by a lion can defeat a pride of lions led by a sheep. Ordinary Protoss troops under the leaders.h.i.+p of these powerful heroic units could surely erupt with a more terrifying force. More importantly, they would be fighting very close to the Protoss base, so they could be reinforced at any time. They could also retreat to the main base to rest any time they wished. It was almost impossible to completely wipe them out.
This way, when the Zerg were defeated several times in succession, they would become wary, and it would be hard for their guerilla squads to maintain their overall advantage like in the present situation. The Protoss would then slowly gain back their advantage.
