Fang Senyan’s final punch slammed heavily into the earth, making the very ground tremble. The subterranean Lurkers let out mournful shrieks and died instantly, dark-red blood seeping from the soil.

Having landed his blow, Fang Senyan whipped around, blocking his face with his right hand as thick, viscous acid sprayed out like continuous streams of water arrows. At that moment, the Hero Hydralisk fifty meters away had already attacked, its repulsive mouthparts writhing violently as it continuously spat acid directly at him!

In order to masquerade as a Zealot, Fang Senyan was currently clad in the standard-issue Zealot armor. Struck by the acid, this exquisitely crafted armor immediately blackened, smoked with acrid fumes, and twisted out of shape, turning into a grotesque mockery resembling burnt plastic. The acid then seeped through to his muscle and bone. Fang Senyan felt sharp pinpricks of pain and saw his health bar plummeting at an unbelievable rate!

At this juncture, Fang Senyan knew hesitation was fatal. Losing too much health here would make the days ahead brutal. He instantly activated his ultimate move: the ring’s teleportation ability combined with the Rage of the Horns.

The fifty-meter distance vanished in a flash. Fang Senyan, who moments before was taking a beating, slammed into the Hero Hydralisk’s soft underbelly in under a second!

Fang Senyan’s fist hammered into the side of the Hydralisk’s head. He put so much force into it that he could clearly feel his metal gauntlet grinding against the creature’s bone structure. The bone structure on the side of its head snapped like a matchstick. Then, the tough outer hide stretched to its absolute limit under the immense power. The entire massive body of the Hydralisk was flung two or three meters into the air by that single punch. Before it hit the ground, it even executed a high-difficulty gymnastic move—a 480-degree backward somersault—before crashing heavily onto the earth.

The Hydralisk’s reaction upon landing was quite clumsy, completely unlike its previous dominance in coordinated ranged attacks! It immediately turned and fled in panic, while large numbers of Zerglings converged from all directions to offer aid. Simultaneously, from the distant darkness, a Queen unleashed a Parasitic Bomb directly at Fang Senyan!

This terrifying ability, capable of instant kills, was clearly only effective against standard units. Fang Senyan had studied the threat of such things while among the Blackthorn Tribe, so he made no move to dodge. He stepped forward and stomped squarely on the Hero Hydralisk’s tail. The disgusting cluster of eggs flew directly at him, striking his back with a loud "BIU," and instantly, countless milky-white, thread-like parasites began burrowing into his armor.

However, all this effort proved futile; the parasites quickly perished. Fang Senyan then charged forward again, continuing his ferocious assault on the enemy before him. The ordinary Zerg swarming around him attacked him madly, but he showed no intention of stopping.

Realizing the egg attack was ineffective, the Queen immediately spewed out a massive net of green viscous fluid. Fang Senyan was familiar with this—the Queen’s Entangling Goo, clearly intended to slow him down and facilitate the Hero Hydralisk’s escape.

Seeing this ability, Fang Senyan decisively lunged straight for the Hero Hydralisk, adopting the stance of Wu Song fighting the tiger as he practically vaulted onto it! His left hand gripped the thick skin around the Hydralisk’s neck with ferocious tenacity, while his fists rained down relentlessly.

The Hero Hydralisk’s attack power and speed were monstrous, but its defense and survivability were comparatively low. Once Fang Senyan closed the distance, it truly had no power left to retaliate. With Fang Senyan’s current terrifying strength augmented by the power of his mutated +10 gauntlets, it was a brutal exchange of heavy, grounded blows. He beat the Hero Hydralisk until it let out agonizing screams, akin to a chicken whose neck has been half-severed, flapping and screeching desperately.

Because Fang Senyan possessed the powerful innate ability, Bodyguard, the surrounding common Zerg, though seemingly engulfing him in a tide of enemies, inflicted far less damage than anticipated.

Fang Senyan squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth, smashing blow after relentless blow into the enemy’s body. Finally, the Hero Hydralisk let out a horrifying shriek and its body began to inflate violently, as if being pumped up like a balloon!

Sensing this development, Fang Senyan felt immense danger and immediately released his hold, rolling away. But the surrounding Zerg certainly wouldn't allow him to leave! They swarmed him frantically. Fang Senyan was forced to physically drag seven or eight Zerglings with him as he retreated slowly, resembling a giant rolling ball.

Suddenly, the Hero Hydralisk detonated!

Even with two or three Zerglings still clinging to his back, tearing and biting, Fang Senyan distinctly felt as if a massive force had violently shoved him from behind, driving him uncontrollably forward for over ten meters!

His back instantly went numb, and his limbs felt weak, incapable of exerting force. Though no sound registered in his ears, his head buzzed deafeningly, drowning out all surrounding noise, and a wave of nausea rose in his throat.

After several agonizing seconds, Fang Senyan realized he was sprawled face down on the ground, slowly regaining sensation. He looked back: centered on the spot where the Hydralisk had exploded, there was a horrifying expanse of gore spanning at least four to five hundred square meters. The scene was utterly hellish, a nightmare landscape of blood, severed limbs, and shredded flesh.

It was then Fang Senyan noticed the numbness on his back had turned into a searing, burning pain. He reached behind him and felt that his armor and the layer of skin beneath had fused together, as if he had been scalded by boiling water. Gritting his teeth, he sprinted forward, first rescuing the besieged Ramtas, and then successfully regrouping with Sokada, immediately lightening the pressure.

Even with Fang Senyan’s infusion of strength, the Protoss could only gain local advantages. However, the entire expeditionary force was mired in a full-scale, brutal fight because the Zerg had also deployed Hero units with uncanny foresight. Though the quantity of Hero units was less than that of the Protoss, they served effectively to check and contain the advance.

In the original Protoss strategy, they intended to use the overwhelming elite combat power of grouped Hero units to forcefully crush the common Zerg formations. This was analogous to the Cold Weapon era tactic of using thousands of elite cavalry to break lines, charge, and pierce through the deployment of tens of thousands of enemy infantry, causing total confusion and collapse.

Time and speed formed the primary element for the attacking force.

But once the Zerg Hero units entered the fray, the Protoss force struggled to maintain that initial strategic momentum. Despite the Zerg having significantly fewer Hero units, their function was to stall and delay. Once the Protoss forces lost their maneuverability and crushing superiority, they became bogged down as if stuck in a mire.

Fang Senyan grabbed Sokada and hurled him forward!

Sokada, who had donned his dashing red cloak again and wielded his signature twin warhammers, executed a nimble mid-air roll as he was thrown, gracefully soaring over a battle line of several hundred Zerglings. He landed in the center of a large group of Hydralisks. With a fierce, whirling impact, his warhammers ignited with crimson fire. That single strike instantly felled at least a dozen common Zerglings.

But just then, a colossal Ultralisk charged straight at Sokada, slamming him backward! Fortunately, Sokada managed a timely block, or he would have been impaled through the abdomen by the Ultralisk’s scythe-like tusks!

Even so, Sokada tumbled violently upon landing, sprawled out and temporarily incapacitated. As the Ultralisk bore down to deliver a crippling blow, Fang Senyan charged in. He first hurled a vial of Curse potion onto the ground where Sokada had fallen, temporarily preventing regular units from approaching, then slammed a fist directly into the Ultralisk’s head!!!!

Fang Senyan was instantly sent flying back. He rolled backward, got up, and rubbed his fist while grimacing. The Ultralisk was also far from unscathed; it shook its massive head, staggered back several steps, and let out a deep, mournful bellow, spewing copious amounts of white foam from its mouth. Dochego, observing from a distance, seized the opportunity, unleashing a barrage of rapid Photon Cannons that blasted the already heavily injured Ultralisk into a cloud of meaty chunks!

At the same time, Aldaris fired a Particle Beam, slaughtering the Zerglings surrounding Sokada. Sokada finally caught his breath. In typical engagements, he rarely had time for a moment of rest or recovery, meaning frontline troops often had to withdraw early. But now, supported by Fang Senyan’s mutual cover, he could frequently take breaks to tend to wounds even in the fiercest melee combat, significantly extending his endurance.

This quartet, along with a contingent of Zealots and Dragoons, had slowly carved their way away from the main body of troops. Following the direction guided by Ramtas's senses, they were gradually disengaging from the battlefield.

Finally, as Fang Senyan and Sokada, who had been fighting ferociously at the forefront, felt the pressure ease, they realized the area ahead was clear. The ferocious Zerg horde had been left behind. They had finally broken free from what seemed like the endless sea of bugs! Furthermore, the regular Zealots and Dragoons felt an almost sublime sense of relief, as if they had narrowly cheated death.

But at that very moment, Fang Senyan’s face paled dramatically, because he clearly heard a sound overhead.

That deep, resonant sound... The rhythmic beating of tens of thousands of membranous wings slicing through the air!!! A staggering number of Mutalisk spores were sweeping in at terrifying speed! RQ