Naturally, in the face of this all-consuming destruction, the Protoss, who had pressed forward with their entire army, suffered the most grievous losses; it could be said that nearly half of their strength was reduced to ashes in the explosion. To make matters worse, a small contingent of Zerg forces, led by the Queen of Blades, pierced the rear of the shattered Protoss remnants like a sharp dagger, tearing their defensive formation to shreds!

At this moment of chaos, Fang Senyan slammed his palm onto the table before him, causing cups and other items to clatter and jump, with one fork still smeared with curry and grease spinning wildly before embedding itself directly into Ronnie beside him...

Fang Senyan, however, had already lowered his voice, letting out an excited, low growl:

“That terrifying sense of threat is gone! Ascend immediately and rush into that goddamn base!!! This is our golden opportunity... Hey, why are you all staring at me? Is something wrong?”

Behind Fang Senyan, Ronnie wailed, tears streaming down his face:

“Before we ascend, can someone please pull the fork out of my face first... Orange-red exhaust plumes jetted from the tail engines of the Terran transport ships, caused by the engines operating at maximum capacity, leading to incomplete combustion due to an overly rich fuel mixture and insufficient air intake.

Then, that orange-red plume quickly shifted to a pale blue, emitting powerful thrust as they charged toward the Protoss city that seemed to have been frozen in time for millennia!

The personnel loaded onto the Terran transport were all violently thrown backward by the sudden surge in acceleration. They gripped the nearby handrails tightly, their bodies pressed hard against the steel walls of the fuselage by the sheer force, experiencing an unprecedented contact. One could even feel the fatigue and tremor of the airframe’s metal deep within their bones, creating the illusion that the entire transport was violently shaking itself apart from overexertion.

It was clear that this sudden maneuver by the Terrans immediately drew the intense focus—and the sudden fury—of both the battling Protoss and Zerg! Thus, both sides tacitly split off units within an instant to pursue.

The Zerg air power was pitifully scarce at this point, consisting of only six Banelings. Trailing behind them were about ten Overlords, undoubtedly carrying some Zerg ground units. The Protoss air strength, however, remained formidable: rushing in were not only a Hero-class Carrier but also three Dropships and two Phoenixes!

Although Fang Senyan and his group had the initial advantage, their greatest weakness boiled down to one thing: speed!

The Protoss utilized anti-gravity technology even on their standard Dropships, making them nearly the fastest units once upgraded. Zerg transport relied on Overlords, which also served the dual purpose of providing supply and detection against cloaked units. While the Terran Dropships were designed and built with survivability as the priority, their speed was decidedly mediocre.

So, despite Fang Senyan’s group gaining a head start, the pursuing enemies were simply too monstrous:

The Zerg Banelings were small and fast, while that Protoss Carrier was a damn Hero unit, its flight speed nearly matching that of the anti-gravity-upgraded Dropships. Consequently, even with the few remaining escort Ghosts fighting desperately, they were all shot down, trailing black smoke.

At this juncture, the Protoss showed absolutely no mercy. In their eyes, Fang Senyan’s choice to appear here at this moment meant he should have been prepared for their inevitable attack...

Just as they were about to enter the abandoned Protoss city, the small craft launched from the Hero Carrier dove upon them like a terrifying swarm of black bees. Their sharp dual Light Photon Cannons immediately plowed two trails of fire across the hull of the Terran Dropship.

The entire fuselage, already vibrating violently from operating above its limits, now bucked and pitched like a small boat in a squall due to the damaged engines. If they hadn't secured all loose items again, the unlucky Ronnie would have surely suffered severe injuries!

Fortunately, at this critical moment, Pontan donned his SCV gear once more, pulled down his face mask, and raised his welding torch! With sizzling sparks flying everywhere, he returned to his old trade. Pontan, however, was no longer the simple mechanic he once was; as a Hero, he displayed immense skill in repairs. The Terran Dropship looked as if it could explode at any second under the barrage, yet it miraculously held together, sputtering black smoke as it maintained high speed for a solid five or six minutes, finally penetrating into the interior zone of the Protoss city.

Suddenly, a Zerg Baneling veered in and slammed obliquely against them. Thanks to the pilot’s swift reaction in yanking the control stick hard, the Dropship swerved sideways in a maneuver that looked agonizingly difficult. As a result, the Baneling slipped cleanly underneath the aircraft's belly and, by a stroke of terrible luck, slammed into a nearby drone launched from the Protoss Carrier!

The Baneling’s potent acidic fluid immediately exploded outwards, spreading in all directions. The Protoss drone was instantly corroded into a mangled pile of stinking metallic slag, which slapped onto the surface of an ancient, magnificent city structure with a splat—looking from afar as if a brand-new piece of art had been smeared with fresh cow dung!

Simultaneously, an urgent alarm blared inside the Dropship carrying Fang Senyan and the others. The captain’s panicked voice crackled over the intercom:

“We’ve been grazed by the acid from that Baneling; two engines are on fire, only three are operational!”

“Give me one hundred seconds, I can fix it!” Pontan roared.

But the captain cried out in despair:

“Sir, I can only give you forty seconds, and that’s if Lady Luck is on our side!”

Fang Senyan suddenly spoke up:

“Captain, do you see that structure to the right? That tower-like building—yes, that’s it. I need you to aim directly for that blade-like protrusion at the base of the tower! I guarantee the space beneath that tower is hollow. Once you breach that thin protective layer, you will find a safe landing zone.”

“But, but Sir!! If it’s solid underneath, we’ll be squeezed into fleshy pancakes over four feet thick by the massive impact, and then incinerated by the rapidly burning hydrogen-oxygen fuel! That process takes less than three seconds.”

Fang Senyan smiled:

“This is not a request; it is an order!”

“I will tell you that this structure is called Barbavera, and I already saw its 3D blueprint in the Lost Temple,” Fang Senyan added silently to himself.

The captain fell silent. As the entire Dropship endured the assault and hurtled toward the blade-shaped protrusion, a heart-wrenching scream echoed from the cockpit. However, when the protrusion, which resembled a glass curtain wall, shattered into pieces under the violent impact instead of proving as hard as expected, the captain’s scream abruptly cut off, followed by what sounded like him wiping sweat from his brow.

Finally, the Terran Dropship, trailing thick black smoke, plunged into a mass of incredibly soft material! But because everything was pitch dark, they couldn’t discern what these things were.

The captain’s warning immediately followed:

“Everyone evacuate this aircraft immediately! Hydraulic balance system failure, oil pressure balance system failure! Estimated explosion in seventy seconds!”

Hearing this, Fang Senyan immediately kicked out at the adjacent bulkhead. Already weakened by acid exposure and photon blast impacts, the metal was now extremely brittle; with one solid kick, he created an opening about the height of a man!

Then, Fang Senyan, dragging Ronnie, stepped out directly into the mass of soft, unknown material. Led by him, the group scrambled out of the now-igniting Dropship and frantically found cover nearby.

Once everyone was positioned, a deafening explosion ripped through the air, the wave of heat washing over them, carrying a strange, sweet scent. The Dropship that had carried them through life and death disintegrated in this spectacular farewell.

Using the flash from the explosion, Fang Senyan clearly saw what those soft, unknown objects were.

It was Hassock, a type of food highly favored by the ancient Protoss.

This substance held the same significance for the Protoss as shark fin and bird’s nest soup do for the Chinese. These soft masses had swollen in the air like single-celled organisms, lingering silently. It was hard to imagine that they were organs harvested from interstellar leviathans—the smallest of which would exceed the size of the solar system!

However, due to the excessive hunting by the ancient Protoss, these peculiar giant beasts had gradually dwindled, eventually becoming extinct.

Treading over mountains of Hassock, Fang Senyan followed the symbols etched in his memory, quickly navigating down toward the lower levels. In a short time, they reached the vicinity of the building's B1 level. After a brief search, the group located a large steel door and easily moved inside first.

After closing the steel door tightly, Fang Senyan finally announced:

“Welcome, everyone, to Kordak, a vital Protoss stronghold established one hundred and seventy-four thousand years ago. You may now treat your wounds, rest, and prepare to depart in fifteen minutes... Two announcements, actually.

First, I experienced severe writer’s block today, so I am only posting one chapter for now. I will make up for it after a good sleep.

Second, I recommend a book to everyone: Human Emperor.

Human Emperor Synopsis: This is a long-forgotten ancient era, ancestors even more remote than Yan and Huang; the vast earth was covered in blood mist.

This is a tragic period for the Human race, facing hundreds of tribes more ferocious than vengeful spirits—cities engulfed in fire, battle-blood flowing freely.

This is the soul of a powerhouse that slept for eons—a passion hotter than the sun—fighting across the eight desolate wastes, dyeing the nine heavens red with blood.

...

Here, the Human race trusts only itself; they seek no immortality, worship no gods, and pay homage to no Buddhas, because they are all the enemy!”