Chapter 1323: The Ruthless Move
Translator: Sean88888 Editor: Elkassar1
[ Phoenix (Light Precision Machinery) ] ( https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Phoenix )
[ Type: Aerospace Superiority Starfighter ]
[ Attributes: Durability 8000 / Plasma Shield 5000 ]
[ Basic Attributes: Unknown ]
[ Description: The Phoenix fighter jet is a small but lethal aircraft, replacing the role of the Scouts and the Corsair in the Protoss army. The Phoenix is often used to patrol the borders of Protoss territories and eliminate all external threats. The jet’s dual ion cannons are very effective in aerial combat, and can also be used to clean up ground forces. ]
[ Ability: Graviton Beam – Mark a ground unit from a distance, calculate its data, and lift it into the air, preventing it from moving, attacking, or using abilities for 10 seconds. Cooldown of 30 minutes. After modification, and coupled with Divina’s formidable strength, the precedence of this ability is very high. ]
[ Ability: Ion Tide – At the cost of instantaneously consuming all plasma shield points (plasma shield points must be no less than 3000), trigger a wide-area Ion Tide that will cause damage to all enemy units in the surrounding airspace. The Phoenix will be out of energy for a relatively short period afterwards. ]
[ An alert enemy would usually distance itself when the Phoenix goes into overload to perform the Ion Tide, and return afterwards to inflict lethal damage on the momentarily defenceless aircraft. Therefore, Phoenix pilots would often stagger the release of Ion Tides to ensure a continuous network of aerial destruction. ]
[ Under Divina’s control, this powerful Phoenix fighter jet would immediately fly into a small wormhole after releasing an Ion Tide, teleporting to a random spot within five kilometers. This greatly improves its survivability. ]
***
The Redliner Overmind showed no abnormalities and there was no indication that the Overmind had or would suffer any damage from the Phoenix’s strike, but every Zerg knew that being marked by a Phoenix fighter jet was never a good sign.
But no matter how hard the Redliner Overmind struggled, it could not break free of the blue ray which connected it to the Phoenix. The other Zerg rushed madly at the culprit, Divina, but they were all beaten back by the Protoss troops who were prepared for them.
Finally, Divina’s Phoenix finished its calculation. As the fighter jet emitted a dazzling light, the bulky Overmind was lifted upwards, floating to a height of 10 meters and out of the impenetrable protection of his escorts.
Not far away, in the midst of the Protoss army, the patiently waiting Noos inhaled deeply. The sound he produced was as loud as a storm sweeping through the clouds!
As Noos inhaled, the red glow all around his body was sucked into him, leaving behind only a black humanoid figure. Then, Noos’ arm lashed out like a long black whip and fiercely struck the body of the Redliner Overmind!
The moment the black whip and the Redliner Overmind came into contact, everyone clearly sensed something, as if something of vital importance had been forcibly squeezed out of the Redliner Overmind, dispersing into thin air.
Feedback!!
Another powerful ability of Noos’ which instantly drained all the target’s MP and deal an equal amount of damage to the target at the same time!
Noos himself seemed to be badly hurt after unleashing Feedback. Despite the red glow reappearing around his body, he swayed unsteadily, looking very weak.
But the Redliner Overmind was in an even worse condition. A large amount of emerald green liquid gushed madly out of the cracks in the shell of his beetle-like body, dripping to the ground!
At the same time, all the Protoss soldiers that had long-range attacks and all the aerial units started bombarding the powerful Overmind with their full power.
Unfortunately for the Zerg, Noos’ previous Mind Control had eliminated close to 70% of the Zerg’s aerial forces, and after such a bitter fight, the Zerg had close to zero aerial troops currently remaining. That is to say, unless the Zerg ground units could jump 10 meters high, they could not even use their bodies to absorb damage for the Redliner Overmind.
Even someone built as tough as Sheyan felt powerless in such a large-scale battle, and that was also true for the Redliner Overmind. No matter how tough his shell and his HP were, there was absolutely no way he could withstand the focus fire from such a shockingly large amount of enemies, even if they were only ordinary units!
The fat bug did not even last the whole 10 seconds of the Graviton Beam before he burst into pieces in the air. More than a dozen brown, fleshy pieces rained down together with a large amount of shell fragments and emerald green body fluid, making for an unbelievably tragic spectacle.
And after that…the infuriated Zerg troops charged madly at the Protoss! A bloody fight broke out again!
Sheyan took the chance to stealthily sneak away. To his surprise, he discovered several contestants that had appeared among the Protoss army, trying to profit from the chaotic situation, but Sheyan himself chose to run as far away as possible. To him, it did not look like the Protoss strategy had worked at all. Instead of the Zerg, the Protoss side was the one that seemed like it was about to collapse.
“What a bunch of fearless and ignorant people,” sighed Sheyan as he fled. “Fortunately, Noos is too weak after unleashing Feedback to pay any attention to me, or I’d never be able to escape from his surveillance. Huh… This feeling!!! She’s here already????”
Divina’s Phoenix was crashing down amid thick black smoke. A blood-red bolt of lightning had accurately struck the Phoenix’s cockpit, raising the temperature inside to more than 3,000 degrees.
Divina was instantly killed!
At the same time, a bone blade had cut Noos into two halves from top to bottom!
As a creature of living psionic energy, Noos’ death did not look tragic nor frightening. He only turned from a black globe of light wrapped in red light into two black globes of light wrapped in red light, and then slowly dispersed into the air. However, his death also meant that the Protoss army was now leaderless….
The Queen of Blades, Kerrigan, had once again stepped onto the battlefield!
The moment Sheyan sensed the terrifying pressure, he immediately abandoned all disguise and ran away with all his might. Fortunately, Sheyan was the first to flee, and at the moment, he had already reached the outer periphery of the battlefield, so it was not long before he completely escaped from the battle.
Only after he made sure that he had fled to safety did Sheyan turn back. He found that the endless darkness from before had completely disappeared, replaced by the faint starlight in the sky and the faint phosphorescence of the steel-blue earth. Although the illumination was not dazzling, the air had a very low dust content, so visibility was still high. A biting chill seeped through the clothes into his skin, drilling right into the bones.
Soon, Old Charlie came to join Sheyan. As Sheyan’s servant, Old Charlie could sense his position. Old Charlie had close to zero combat power on the front line, so Sheyan had left him behind in the human base.
Old Charlie had arrived in a Vulture, a Terran magnetic hovering war vehicle that looked like a motorcycle, known for its speed. The emergence of the Vulture showed that the human base back there was developing quite well.
Sheyan jumped onto the Vulture. The heat inside immediately eased his stiff body.
Old Charlie looked at the battlefield and asked, “You seem to have anticipated the arrival of the Queen of Blades, master?”
Sheyan smiled and replied, “Of course. The last time I was in the Starship Troopers world, I already witnessed the situation when the Overmind of a Zerg tribe is killed. The remaining Zerg troops would go completely out of control and fight only for themselves, like a heap of loose sand! Another Overmind can instantly and effortlessly assimilate these troops into its own tribe.”
“But after the Redliner Overmind was killed, although the strength of those bugs dropped from losing the bonus provided by the Overmind, their attack actually became more frenzied instead! This could only mean one thing – they could still sense the presence of a leader among them. Who else could it be besides the Queen of Blades?”
Old Charlie sat at the back, the wrinkles on his face so deep they seemed to be carved with a knife. He lightly coughed and said, “I smell a conspiracy here. There are too many obvious signs that this is a scheme, like these were all planned chess moves. Obviously, in terms of the highest combat force of both sides, Uraki is no match for Kerrigan, but on a lower level, the demigod-level Noos is a little stronger than the Redliner Overmind – but the result now is, although the Queen of Blades did successfully kill Noos, the Redliner Overmind is also dead, so she must return to the battlefield to lead the Zerg army despite her injuries. Her strength will undoubtedly decline again, while the quietly resting Uraki will recover some strength. The highest combat power of both sides will unknowingly return to a balanced state!”
A flash of light streaked across Sheyan’s eyes. “Now that you mention it, it really does seem like an exchange of chess moves. Noos beat the Redliner Overmind, and the difference in strength between Noos and the Redliner Overmind is transferred to Kerrigan, reducing her strength. If Noos, who had reached the level of a demigod, actually had a bad relationship with Uraki, then the current situation really does smell like a conspiracy.”
Old Charlie lightly coughed. “This is actually an opportunity, master, though it may be dangerous.”
Sheyan’s eyes narrowed. “I understand what you mean. Kerrigan can’t leave the front line at the moment, so the defensive strength of the Zerg base is now at its lowest. If we’re willing to take the risk…”