The Zerg forces were always known for being cheap and numerous, sweeping in like an overwhelming tide, their terrifying numbers and majestic momentum chilling the blood.

As the torrent of Zerg troops directly crashed against the Protoss lines, a brutal war of attrition began, with military strength on both sides being depleted at an alarming rate. The frontline quickly became a gruesome grinder of flesh and blood!

Finally, the astonishing happened: the last Photon Cannon shattered, but the Zerg forces were also completely exhausted—truly, a spent arrow cannot pierce silk—and they unhesitatingly flung themselves dead against the defensive bulwark erected by the Protoss.

Although the Protoss were left with only two or three Zealots and one crippled Zealot, the final outcome was that they had successfully defended their base.

Looking at the utter devastation of the position now, one couldn't help but recall ancient battlefields: the setting sun staining the earth crimson, corpses strewn everywhere, broken arrows and blades cast about, blackened war banners flapping in the smoke, and a general, undefeated after a hundred battles, leaning on his weapon, supporting his shattered body to greet a grim victory.

"The Protoss must have found a hidden mineral vein! Otherwise, they wouldn't have enough crystal resources to sustain this positional battle," SNAKE muttered.

He and Fang Senyan slowly moved to the right flank of the battlefield and noticed that the Protoss Probes were swarming out across the terrain.

The Probe is a unit equivalent to the Zerg Drone, the Terran SCV—a unit that integrates both mining and construction. These units, hovering in the air, diligently scoured the battlefield, hauling away corpses that obstructed the way, or depositing spheres of light in various locations.

This was the Protoss building advantage: merely setting the location and summoning the required structure allowed them to step back; the energy would, as if alive, automatically expand, slowly perfecting the form until a complete building materialized.

Of course, the foundation for these summoned structures had to be within the radius of a powered Nexus, as the Nexus would then slowly supply the necessary energy for construction.

The reason SNAKE concluded the Protoss had made a major haul in mineral resources was clear from the layout of the buildings they were erecting: it was unmistakably a posture of defense while awaiting reinforcements.

Yet, this was not a favorable area for defense. Although situated on a slope, Zerg forces could deploy from all four sides, fully exploiting their advantage in sheer numbers. Add to that the potential for drop-pods and Overlord-supported aerial attacks, and with such a large, three-dimensional battlefield opened up, the complexity of the situation would be pushed to the extreme, making the defender’s task increasingly difficult.

Therefore, the Protoss's sole purpose for holding fast must be to guard something absolutely vital—either a rich mineral vein, or perhaps... the location of a Dark Templar Sanctuary?

In a short span of time, the Protoss base before them expanded to an astonishing degree. What were originally just two Photon Cannons now spread out like dense tiles, covering almost the entire hillside.

However, these Photon Cannons were constructed with tactical skill; specific pathways were deliberately left open for the advance of Zealots and Dragoons, allowing for smooth charges during attacks or rapid retreats under the cover of the cannons when heavily wounded.

Then, something truly bizarre occurred: three Probes converged and began simultaneously summoning a single structure! Moreover, during the summoning of this structure, it seemed to demand an intense drain on energy, requiring the construction of no fewer than twelve Nexus Towers around it!

Immediately after, a large number of Zealots began marching resolutely into the sphere of light surrounding the summoned structure. Their expressions were solemn, their demeanor marked by an unprecedented piety. Upon touching the central light mass, they dissolved into it, resembling crowds of ants queuing to enter a high-speed juicer—it looked precisely like an act of self-sacrifice!

As the Zealots willingly perished one after another, the sphere of light gradually began to be stained with color—first pale red, then scarlet, then deep crimson, and finally, it took on a breathtaking, dark ruby hue, like a heart violently ripped from a body, yet stubbornly twitching and pulsing externally.

Finally, after sacrificing approximately one hundred Zealots, the building gradually began to reveal its specific form. From its exterior, it was a colossal, ten-meter-high giant hand, seemingly rooted to the ground, connecting earth and sky. Though local details were still refining, an overwhelming, suffocating pressure was already beginning to emanate from it!

Witnessing this, Fang Senyan couldn't help but ask SNAKE:

"What structure is this Protoss building? Why have I never seen it before?" SNAKE said gravely,

"This thing is likely a Protoss strategic-level unconventional structure, one that only powerful heroes have the authority to construct. Neither the Zerg nor the Protoss are strictly bound by rigid convention; while striving to develop their inherent racial potential, they are all tentatively seeking breakthroughs by drawing from other races. Among them, the Zerg are leading the charge; the Queen of Blades is the most successful example of a Cerebrate seeking evolution through fusion with humanity."

"Furthermore, the secrets of our Terran Command Centers have been deciphered by the Zerg, allowing the Overlords to discard their bodies and seize control of command centers to produce monstrously powerful SCV suicide bombers. These are ironclad facts already confirmed and presented before us—examples of the Zerg evolving through the exploitation of other races. It is even rumored that their strategic-level unconventional structure capable of mass-producing the Queen of Blades is already under testing..." (Hmm, one can see that thing by playing the StarCraft campaign maps, or that very famous RPG, 7VS1.)"

As Fang Senyan listened to SNAKE’s words, a tempest raged in his heart. Although this old fellow was rather cunning and treacherous, he could not deny his vast knowledge. Thus, he continued to listen intently. SNAKE went on:

"In the battle where my son fell, the casualties were catastrophic; even Lang. West, the so-called King of Ghosts, died in that engagement. In his dying moments, that fellow mentioned one thing: the Protoss, too, had gained inspiration from a certain piece of Zerg high technology and were developing brand new unconventional structures. What inspired them was the Zerg's monstrously effective spatial Zerg-gate portal technology, built upon massed flesh and blood!!"

"General, you must have witnessed how perverse that technology is. An apparently undefended, empty Zerg mining base can, within minutes, deploy an astonishing number of troops from thousands of kilometers away through a spatial portal!!"

Fang Senyan smiled without answering, but how could he forget that Zerg high technology? It was precisely because of that technology that he could so deftly manipulate events, guiding the Black Spine Cerebrate across space, dimensions, and countless star systems to arrive on Pandora!

SNAKE leaned out, looking down below with a contemplative expression:

"If my guess is correct, to complete this terrifying, unconventional structure, one crucial element is still missing."

Just as Fang Senyan was about to speak, his nose caught another whiff of a strong, familiar, fetid odor. Though faint, it struck his senses with the distinctness of a knife cut. He couldn't help but voice it:

"The Zerg are attacking again..." He immediately listened closely and glanced at Fang Senyan with surprise:

"That's right, I hear the hideous sound of Hydralisks swallowing acid!"

On the distant horizon, a line of black tide surged forth, set against the vast, iron-grey land. The wind howled mournfully, carrying a terrifying sense of impending global engulfment!

Then the great Zerg tide slammed headlong into the seemingly fragile dam the Protoss had just constructed!!!

In that instant, even Fang Senyan, watching from afar, held his breath, his heart pounding with excitement! Such fearless courage, such sheer, tragic brutality, inevitably brought to mind an eternal line of poetry:

"Crashing stones pierce the sky, raging waves beat the shore, rolling up piles of snow."

The Protoss defense line was the dense, crisscrossing array of stones, and the Zerg forces, pushing forward relentlessly, were the maddened, furious waves. Where the two collided, the resulting spray was flesh and blood soaring twenty to thirty meters into the air... This old veteran, accustomed to grand spectacles, watched for a few moments before declaring decisively:

"The Protoss cannot hold."

Indeed, although the casualties within that frenzied surge instantly reached a staggering peak—it could be said that the Zerglings and Hydralisks at the very front suffered a 100% death rate—in the face of the endless, mad assault, the Protoss position instantly fell by a third!

Lacking the replenishment of Photon Cannons and Photon Shield Batteries, and holding an absolute disadvantage in numbers, the Protoss were doomed to be utterly annihilated and turned into Zerg sustenance; even the strategic-level unconventional structure under construction was fated to fall!

However, at that very moment, the Protoss strategic-level troops made their entrance.

This was a unit so weak it possessed almost no direct offensive capability, yet it was also a decisive unit capable of instantly determining the outcome of a localized battle! Yes, these were the powerful beings who commanded the free-flowing energy of the universe—the High Templar! (The 'Lightning Unit')!

A sprawling storm of Psi Storms began to blanket the entire position. Under such immense power, only structures and the biological entities within them were exempt from damage! RQ