In essence, the risk of infiltrating a dragon's den and the risk of infiltrating the Queen's lair were almost similar. Kerrigan's strength was not that much lower than a dragon's, and if she had her minions with her, she would eat the dragons for breakfast.
But there was one major difference. Everyone knows dragons like to collect s.h.i.+ny things like treasures and coins but never spend them, so their wealth would grow over time at a rate that is faster than any kind of financial plans offered by any banks....
On the other hand, the Queen of Blades may or may not have a hobby of collecting treasures, but she was undeniably a woman -- as we all know, even ordinary women have very strong spending power. Even if Kerrigan did have a hobby of collecting treasures, her spending power most likely outpaced her collecting speed. Therefore, Sheyan's likelihood of coming back empty-handed was quite high.
While Sheyan hesitated, he caught sight of Old Charlie who was sitting respectfully behind him. He could not help asking, "What do you think, Watson – I mean, Old Charlie?"
"I know what you're worried about, master, but according to the principles of the Realms, if there's no profit to be gained in the Queen's lair, then we wouldn't face any great danger either," Old Charlie replied calmly.
Sheyan was starting to be moved. "But no matter how empty the Zerg base is, there must be some defensive forces left. If I get careless for just a moment, I might be trapped inside."
"Based on my a.n.a.lysis, the Protoss and the Zerg will remain in a stalemate for some time and will not engage in any more large-scale fights. There's little chance of Kerrigan withdrawing with her troops back to the base. On the contrary, the Zerg are likely to take advantage of the remaining night time to carry out the hara.s.sment tactic from before to nibble away at the Protoss' number again. You can just return to the Protoss base to report on your mission and get the rewards, then rest for a while before you meet up with the human forces to rush at the Zerg base. That's the safest way," explained Old Charlie.
"The human forces?" inquired Sheyan dubiously.
"After you left, Snake didn't come back either, but Pontin gave us another surprise. He actually promoted again. After that, he improved many of the Terran technologies and the base's mining efficiency. The human base has started to take shape," explained Old Charlie.
"He promoted again?" asked Sheyan in surprise.
"Yes. Pontin has great potential. Before you strengthened him, he was actually already about to break through into an elite unit, so after he promoted, he was only a step away from a heroic unit. After some intensive work and experiencing a difficult environment under great pressure, it makes sense that he would break through. Of course, this also has to do with the fact that he's only an SCV, a basic worker unit type, so promotion is easier."
"If you're right in your a.n.a.lysis, it really is impossible for the Queen of Blades to return to base before dawn. The reason she was able to arrive so quickly to the scene earlier must be because she has a mental link with the Redliner Overmind. Now, the Protoss army should be able to win some time for us, so even if I take advantage of the chaos to flee back to the Protoss base to report back on the mission and then come out again, I should still have enough time."
"Should I return to the human base to ask Pontin to deploy the troops while you go back to hand in your mission?"
"Yes, do that. Your combat power is still too weak, so I'll send Ramtas with you. We'll meet up at coordinates x.x.x, x.x.x."
***
Sheyan soon arrived back at the Protoss base. By this time, at a position five kilometers southeast of the base, the Protoss main force had already recovered from the chaos. They had formed a solid formation and were retreating as they fought.
Uraki had already taken command of the troops. The price of being routed was too great; it was not something Uraki could afford. Therefore, he could only use this slow but effective method to withdraw the troops.
The Zerg army, led by the Queen of Blades, chased after them like a pack of hungry wolves. Whenever they find an opening, they would not hesitate to rush in and tear off a large piece of meat.
Sheyan tidied up his appearance and tried to make himself look less messy before he entered the Furnace Laboratory. The atmosphere inside was still as elegant as before - beige floor, symmetrical and slender lines, and nature-like music which made one feel free and dreamlike.
But besides that, there was also a faint b.l.o.o.d.y smell in the air. The smell was not unfamiliar to Sheyan. It was the smell of the Zerg's body fluids mingled with the smell of the Protoss' body fluids; a smell that was present everywhere on the battlefield.
Upon entering the bar, Sheyan immediately detected the source of the smell. It came from a few worn-out and wounded Protoss. They had been treated, as were evident from the bandages on their bodies, and were now slowly recovering.
One of them, a Zealot, had actually been rescued by Sheyan before, so as soon as he saw Sheyan, he immediately stood up and offered to buy Sheyan a drink. Of course Sheyan would not refuse his kindness, but he still chose the non-mainstream drink of fresh water. Under the amazed gazes of the other Protoss, he quickly grabbed Ol' Kido and pulled him to the back.
It was worth mentioning that, in some aspects, the Protoss were rather similar to horses. They liked to sleep standing up. Some would sleep sitting down, but they would not lie down unless they really have to. Therefore, there was no bed in Ol' Kido's room.
They also had a habit of placing a small piece of Pandora crystal on their forehead when they slept, so a pillar inlaid with Pandora crystal was indispensable in every Protoss bedroom.
This was the first time Sheyan had entered the private bedroom of a Protoss, so he was rather curious, but he did not waste any time to take out the mission items that the powerful Zerg heroes or elites dropped when he killed them, and put them on the table one by one. They were all things like inner cores or hearts. Ol' Kido carefully inspected each of them, and at the same time, exclaimed in admiration.
"Wow, what a huge Zergling joint. This guy must have been an elite."
"A Hydralisk lymph gland as big as my fist! Now this is surprising! The Hydralisk must have been a hero."
"The incisor of a common Ultralisk. Well, okay, it's pa.s.sable."
"A Predator's wing? Did you jump into the air to kill it? Oh, the Graviton Beam of a Phoenix made it fall down. Hha, that's lucky."
"...…"
"*sniff sniff sniff*...My children, do you see these? These are all my gifts to you. Let those d.a.m.n Zerg rot in h.e.l.l! You're indeed strong, human. You did a great job!"
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Following Ol' Kido's words, Sheyan instantly received some notifications.
[ Hidden Chain Mission I: Ol' Kido's Wrath completed. ]
[ Ol' Kido's Evaluation: ]
[ Mission Content: Most of the Zerg you killed are sufficiently powerful units. The result is not perfect, but Ol' Kido is more than satisfied. ]
[ Mission Description: Do you want to receive a reward now (a random silver storyline equipment) or do you want the reward to acc.u.mulate into the next round of the Hidden Chain Mission? ]
[ Warning: The next round of the Hidden Chain Mission is likely to be more difficult. You need to be prepared to fail. ]
Sheyan was mentally prepared for the evaluation. On that horrible battlefield, his personal strength was simply too insignificant. If his party was here, he believed he would have gotten an 'S' evaluation. Sheyan chose to acc.u.mulate the reward because a random silver storyline equipment was no longer that attractive to him.
After Sheyan chose to continue with the mission, Ol' Kido sat down in his chair, wiped away his tears and said, "I knew you're an ambitious man and you won't be interested in a reward of this level. Not a problem, even the Devil would be green with envy at the wealth I've acc.u.mulated over the years. As long as you can keep satisfying my wishes, you'll certainly get what you want!"
Sheyan shrugged. "So, what do you want? More insect corpses?"
"No, no, no, I'm tired of seeing these dirty and b.l.o.o.d.y flesh. But more importantly, the terrifying fertility of the Zerg is a real nightmare. For every one of them you kill, two more will hatch in that far-away lair of theirs. I'd like you to solve this problem from the source!" said Ol' Kido with gnas.h.i.+ng teeth.
The follow-up mission quickly popped up.
[ You have triggered Hidden Chain Mission II: Ol' Kido's Wish. ]
[ Mission Briefing: Eliminate a Zerg Hatchery and at least five incubation buildings within 48 hours. Report back upon completion. ]
(TL: The Hatchery is the heart of any Zerg colony. It is a Zerg foundational structure which produces Zerg larvae. https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Hatchery )
[ Mission Note: Destroy as many Zerg buildings as possible. ]
[ Warning: This is a very difficult mission, so if your evaluation in the previous round is high, you can try negotiating with Ol' Kido. ]
Following the advice of the warning, Sheyan continued to talk with Ol' Kido for a while, mentioning his difficulties multiple times. In the end, he obtained two things. The first was a crystal bomb. It was a mission item which could only be placed inside the Hatchery. Upon detonation, it would eliminate three quarters of the Hatchery's HP.
