Translator: Sean88888 Editor: Elkassar1
Seeing the horrifying war machines in front of him, a strong sense of awe and impulsiveness rose in Sheyan’s heart, despite knowing full well that they were only semi-finished products. They were still far away, but he could already feel the formidable power of these machines even though such a long time had passed!
The power was so vast that it felt like it was able to cross mountains and rivers, as well as the boundaries of time!!
But suddenly, he heard Pontin mutter to himself, “No, that can’t be right. How can this be?”
At first, his voice was quite low, but it then grew louder and louder until it became so loud that the echoes buzzed in their ears. The people next to him turned to stare at him, but he seemed unaware.
Pontin suddenly dashed towards a nearby corridor like he had gone insane. Sheyan immediately grabbed him. Pontin struggled wildly and screamed, “Let me go take a look! Please, let me go take a look. Their design concept completely contradicts the ideology contained in the Thor Project! There’s no way it could work! Please, Brigadier General, I must examine how it works! I beg you!”
“The Thor Project?” That startled Sheyan, making him release his grip on Pontin. Pontin dashed straight into the corridor, apparently in search of the design office. Loud crashing noises came from the corridor, sounding as if a bull had crashed into the room within.
Annie appeared very concerned for Pontin and wished to follow after him, but Ronnie stopped her.
“Pontin’s fine. Can you tell us what the Thor Project is?”
Annie glanced at them and was visibly hesitating. Sheyan’s eyes narrowed at that.
“You don’t trust me?”
“I do, but even you, Brigadier General, don’t have enough clearance to know about the Thor Project,” answered Annie in a soft voice.
Sheyan’s mouth curled into a vague smile. “Oh, really? Then why do you and Pontin know about it?”
“Because Lord Pontin’s brother is involved in the Thor Project. That’s why he knows,” Annie summoned her courage and replied.
Sheyan nodded thoughtfully. “Okay. Well, since you think that I have no right to know, then I have no reason to help you. When it comes to things involving this matter, I’ll just stand aside and watch.”
“Please, no!” blurted Annie anxiously. After a moment of silence, she finally said, “All right, I’ll tell you.”
She took out a worn-out, messy notebook.
“I found this when I was treating Lord Pontin’s wounds. This is the reason I know about the secret… Please, you must help Lord Pontin!”
Sheyan immediately took the messy, worn-out notebook from her hand and eagerly inspected it. The first thing he saw was the line written on the title page:
“Steel is a man’s best friend.”
“We use it in place of our skin to protect our fragile bodies. We use it in place of wood to build magnificent skyscrapers. We use it in place of our teeth and nails to attack powerful enemies that were initially invincible to us!”
(TL: The Thor is a huge and powerful Terran mechanical siege walker. It is known to be one of the most heavy and powerful mechanical units in the Dominion Armed Forces. The Thor stemmed from the Terran Dominion’s Thor Project. The Terran Dominion is the Terran empire.)
(https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Thor)
(https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Terran_Dominion)
…
“On January 5th, I received a transfer order from the Simonson Munitions Factory. The transfer order was firm, and I couldn’t say no to the conditions. I couldn’t say no, because I still cherish my life.”
“The plan went smoothly. To protect the secret, we were all moved to planet Korhal IV. Security of the surrounding area was very tight. Any spies who dared to try and snoop around were bombarded into pieces in no time at all.”
(TL: The Simonson Munitions Factory is located on the planet of Korhal IV and is the secret site of the development of Odin, the prototype for the smaller Thor – https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Simonson_Munitions_Factory)
“One of the spies who tried to lift the veil of mystery off the Thor Project was captured alive.”
“The spy confessed to being an intelligence agent of the Umojan Protectorate. After the Umojan found out from a reliable source that the Terran Dominion were developing a new weapon of mass destruction, they immediately started to pay attention to this place.”
(The Umojan Protectorate is the nationalised militia and united interstellar political entity of the Terrans of Umoja and other nearby independent colonies. https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Umojan_Protectorate)
“Three hackers have tried to infiltrate the system, but they were instantly repulsed. However, they have likely obtained a list of items, which included Battlecruiser-grade heavy alloy steel. The secret of the Thor Project could hardly be concealed any longer.”
“The detectors I made found 383 invisible sensors around the factory. They were obviously left by spies. We can already confirm that these sensors can detect the strong electromagnetic waves and the regular seismic waves emitted by the Thor during the experiments.”
“Many disorderly pieces of such information has been collected, but although the Umojan Protectorate is eager to solve the mystery, I’ll wager that they still can’t figure out what the Dominion is doing.”
“Damn it, those bastards have overthrown my idea! What they proposed is definitely not the Thor I have in mind! The Thor should be a huge biped war machine armed with two giant particle beam cannons and and an artillery crew at the back. Its firepower should be no inferior to a Battlecruiser. Most importantly, this large monster should be able to be built by ordinary construction robots in a very short amount of time!!”
“I’m right! I know I’m right!”
***
“I see. So the Terrans are also trying to develop the ultimate ground combat weapon,” After reading the information, the contestants could not help but have such a thought.
Suddenly, a loud bang came from somewhere nearby, followed by billows of black smoke. After that, Pontin ran out of the corridor waving his welding torch around and laughing wildly, despite his face being burned black.
“I’ve found it. I’ve found the design master plan and the activation switch!”
Sheyan and Ronnie rushed to the corridor and instantly saw a large hole in the wall. After they stepped through the hole, they saw a large hidden chamber which was at least thousands of square meters in size. Countless tiny, fist-sized crystals glittered faintly on the floor and walls.
This was the Protoss’ control room, similar to the core control room of a human factory.
“I think I’ve seen something like this before,” muttered Ronnie.
Sheyan thought about it for a moment before he said, “You’re right. In the Lost Temple, I found a drawing among the books which depicted something similar. Fortunately, I think I remember the activation procedure. Ronnie, call Tochego over. The operation can only be performed by a Protoss.”
Tochego came obediently and, at their command, laid his two forelimbs on one of the outermost crystals.
Then, Ronnie instructed Tochego to press down on certain crystals with his forelimbs like he was hitting a keyboard. The weak electric currents generated by the action slowly accumulated. Like starlights that illuminated a vast prairie, they lit up the dead and silent crystals one by one. In the end, the sparkle of the crystals illuminated the human’s faces, coating them in a layer of blue. It was truly a spectacular sight!
The whole giant “workshop” started coming to life. All kinds of machines began to roar, and the production pipeline started moving at a high speed, returning the prosperity and vitality from tens of thousands of years ago back to the present. Pontin, who was watching all this in a daze, laughed all of a sudden.
“I’ve figured it out! I’ve figured it out!”
Following that, his body surged with a flash of light which was only visible to the contestants! Sheyan instantly checked his attributes. Pontin had actually broken through the shackles of a hero and succeeded in becoming a leader-rank SCV!
Pontin marched up to Tochego and yelled excitedly, “Yes, that’s it. I’ll use the latest idea I’ve perfected and the Protoss materials to make the most powerful war machine ever! I can definitely do it!”
As he spoke, the light on his body seemed to be bursting out. Sheyan noticed that he had acquired a new aura ability which could affect all mechanical operations within a kilometer of him, increasing their efficiency by 25%. Moreover, the units personally produced by Pontin would be promoted directly to elite units!
At that moment, Ronnie, Aldaris and Sheyan all received a mission at the same time.
[ You have triggered an emergency protection mission: “The Birth of the Strongest Ground Weapon!” Mission code: A90YT ]
[ Mission Briefing: Protect the newly-promoted leader-rank SCV Pontin until he produces the powerful new war machine. Mission duration: 60 minutes.” ]
[ Mission Hint: Pontin is trying to manufacture a war machine with the human’s Thor design concept and using Protoss materials in order to prove that he and his brother were right. Please help him fulfill his wish. When the maintenance workshop was activated, it had alarmed some undesirable visitors hiding in the dark. Please be careful of them. PS: They have most likely received a mission from other Realms too, but to destroy instead of protect. ]
[ Mission Reward: 10 achievement points ]
[ Would you like to accept the mission? ]
***
Considering that the Zerg and the Protoss were locked in a bitter fight at the moment and would probably not find a resolution anytime soon, the contestants gritted their teeth and decided to take the risk. They accepted the mission.
Sheyan had considered things even further than that. Only if Pontin could really build the strongest ground war machine in history would they have the qualification to intervene in the current dispute between the other two races! Otherwise, with their current power and assets, a sneeze from the Queen of Blades would be enough to take care of all of them.
Sheyan suddenly realised something. “The Protoss and Zerg will most probably not send any more troops to interfere with our operation here because their main target is still the Keystone. If one of the sides split even a small part of their forces to deal with us, it’ll be as good as gifting the Keystone to the other side…. Which means, the ones who will come attack us will likely be contestants from other Realms!”
Ronnie eyes suddenly lit up. He pulled out his Blood Weapon and licked it with his tongue. His eyes narrowed with bloodthirst.
“I really hope they’ll accept the mission.”
