Fang Senyan was now almost certain that the Protoss had concealed their true strength, initially only luring the Zerg into attacking defensively to deplete their forces.

The irrefutable proof lay in Socada's introduction of the woman he had courted: "Deimena, our Chief Phoenix Pilot, a Psionic Councilor, and the most beautiful lady I have ever met." Chief Phoenix Pilot...

What did that imply? The Phoenix, the Protoss's latest advanced aerospace craft, was the MVP fighter designed to replace the Shuttle and the Probe (that expensive pointy little plane)! Since they possessed such cutting-edge Phoenix fighters, yet hadn't deployed them during the recent fierce battle, the intention of drawing the enemy deeper in to bleed them through defense was, therefore, obvious! Time flowed swiftly away; the entire base had been under siege for a full half hour.

The current sensation was as if the entire complex were enveloped by a tide of Zerg, with the cold eyes of the ocean of bugs watching every move from the surrounding darkness.

And this tide would occasionally rear up, crashing savagely against the Protoss base, tearing away a Photon Cannon or an Energy Tower as if by erosion before quickly receding, vanishing long before the main swarm could arrive.

Anyone foolish enough to pursue found it almost impossible to return alive.

Whenever a Protoss patrol spotted a suspicious anomaly and plunged into the darkness, they might initially burst forth hundreds of meters with unstoppable force, only to evaporate completely, like sugar dissolving in water! After this occurred several times, patrols dared only venture within the protective range of the Photon Cannons.

Faced with this situation, the Protoss leadership found themselves in a true dilemma.

The overall strength between the Protoss and Zerg was initially evenly matched, but after the day's attrition, the Protoss, being the entrenched defenders, now showed a disparity in combat power.

The current ratio was roughly 100:80.

However, half of the Protoss strength was tied up in their comprehensive defensive infrastructure! This meant that, stripped of their defensive fortifications, the ratio of mobile forces favored the Zerg at 70:50! This imbalance directly caused the Protoss's inability to engage head-on against the Zerg's bizarre tactics; they could only grit their teeth and endure passively.

Fang Senyan calculated that the Zerg's slow bleed strategy was highly effective.

The very essence of war by attrition is "injure one digit without harming ten," or "accumulate small victories into a grand triumph." Under the cover of darkness, the Zerg, being omnipresent and possessing hosts capable of counter-detection, seemingly held the advantage in reconnaissance.

Furthermore, the Protoss defensive perimeter was too broad, making targeted defense nearly impossible.

This resulted in one undeniable fact: the Protoss were completely helpless against this Zerg methodology! This directly implied that in just a few more hours, the advantage the Protoss had painstakingly gained through their planned war of attrition would be entirely eroded.

More critically, since half their power was dedicated to defense, the gap in mobile fighting capability between the two sides would only widen! Just then, however, a brilliant, dazzling flash of electric light erupted from a special Protoss structure.

Within the palm of that edifice, resembling a blood-red giant hand reaching into the sky, stood the Protoss leader, Ul'Aki.

His tendrils were whipping wildly in the gale, and his robes flapped frantically against his body, revealing the outline of a strong, corded physique! Suddenly, Ul'Aki waved his great hand, seemingly directing troops with mental power toward a specific location on the front line.

Immediately, a massive surge of Protoss troops rushed forward.

Just as the defensive lines were secured, a large contingent of Zerg burst forth from the darkness.

Although their appearance was sudden, they slammed headlong into an iron wall of entrenched Protoss and defensive measures! Ul'Aki himself was now serving as a beacon, and under his immense supernatural abilities, every Zerg movement was laid bare before him! After the Zerg assaults were thwarted three times in succession, a blinding red lightning bolt streaked across the sky, immediately followed by an intangible aura of majesty that seemed to press down as if the very heavens were collapsing.

It was the will of the Queen of Blades! The two mighty beings engaged in another savage, head-on confrontation.

Only they could comprehend the indescribable clash occurring at the mental plane, but the air itself was violently torn by the invisible psychic force, emitting a horrifying sound like ripping silk.

Even lesser Protoss creatures were affected, clutching their heads and screaming in agony on the ground! Moments later, Ul'Aki vanished from the pinnacle of the structure, and in the distance, the Queen let loose a furious, piercing shriek as her oppressive aura slowly receded.

Soon, a series of chimes echoed from the Protoss main base's Nexus.

These sounds initially propagated through the air as mere ripples, but when they reached Fang Senyan's ears, they instantly converted into telepathic commands: "All Hero-level combat units, assemble here immediately!" Though Fang Senyan had only encountered Ul'Aki once, he instantly recognized this telepathic transmission as coming from the legendary leader.

Immediately throughout the Protoss base came the sound of "swish-swish-swish"—the sound of all hero units rapidly converging.

Clearly, they treated Ul'Aki's directives as sacrosanct! By the time Fang Senyan entered the Nexus chamber, he perceived that the clear, bright, and pure atmosphere he had sensed before was gone, replaced by a stern, killing majesty.

Two rows of gigantic yellow steel pillars, radiating kingly authority, stretched down the center of the hall, adorned with sharp, streamlined carvings.

At the far end of these twin columns hovered a massive, deep-blue crystal.

Within it was Ul'Aki, who appeared as though he were an insect trapped eternally in amber, seemingly in a deep coma.

Yet, with every breath, a faint, vivid crimson mist seeped from his pores.

Despite Ul'Aki’s physical form appearing critically wounded, upon entering the chamber, one felt unequivocally watched by a deity, as if their very viscera were being dissected.

This suggested that Ul'Aki's soul had completely separated from his damaged body, still majestically controlling the sacred, solemn core of the Protoss territory.

Faced with this outrageous situation, Fang Senyan couldn't help but marvel at how monstrous this legendary figure was; the ability to separate his soul and abandon his body was as easy as discarding a wrecked vehicle! At this moment, Fang Senyan noticed Socada signaling to him furtively from ahead.

Nearby were several familiar faces: besides Aldaris and Dochet, there was the woman Socada had just charmed, Deimena.

Fang Senyan didn't know their intentions, but he quietly moved to stand with them.

The other Protoss hero warriors were nearly aghast to see a damned human slip into this sacred assembly.

Their shock deepened when they realized this human actually held authorization from Lord Ul'Aki...

an idea they found utterly unacceptable.

Fang Senyan looked around and noted that there were nearly forty various hero-level combat units gathered inside—this cemented the suspicion that the Protoss had deliberately feigned weakness and conserved their strength earlier that day.

Then, Ul'Aki’s telepathic message transmitted into the mind of every unit present: "Warrior Heroes, those vile insects believe they have grasped our weakness and repeatedly launch sneak attacks under the cover of darkness! What must we do?" "Tear them apart!" All the hero units roared in unison.

Ul'Aki's thought projection intensified; he roared back: "Yes! Tear them apart! The reason I risked grievous injury to repel the Queen was that only Morrigan possesses the power to hold you back! Now that she and I are mutually wounded, you are the greatest warriors.

What I require of you is to mingle among our regular soldiers and, with your immense power, tear these insects into fragments amidst their agony and shrieks!" Fang Senyan's mind raced.

Indeed, Ul'Aki's scheme was insidious, possessing the quality of hidden steel within velvet.

The Zerg, intending to devour what looked like an easily crushed soft persimmon, would suddenly find it concealing a sharp needle, causing them unimaginable pain! There is an adage: a lion leading a flock of sheep can defeat a sheep leading a pack of lions.

Under the command of these mighty hero units, the regular Protoss troops were surely capable of unleashing even more terrifying power.

More importantly, they were close enough to the Protoss base to receive immediate reinforcements and retreat at will for recovery.

Annihilating them completely would be almost impossible.

If the Zerg fell for this trap several times, they would become wary, and it would become difficult for them to maintain the current comprehensive upper hand against the Protoss probing forces.

Thus, the battlefield information asymmetry would slowly be corrected back in the Protoss favor.