"An attack like that... it's a particle beam! The most infuriating kind of defense-ignoring assault, damn it!"

Fang Senyan was already calculating whether to use a Radiant Heal, but that meant if he encountered the Queen of Blades, he would have one less life-saving trump card!

However, the intense, searing pain he anticipated never arrived. The particle beam zipped past Fang Senyan's cheek, striking the air behind him accurately... oh wait, it struck a Dark Templar who was just about to materialize from the rear.

The look of shock on the Dark Templar's face instantly morphed into fury, but immediately, a second, even more violent stream of positive and negative particles slammed into his form, disintegrating his body into scattered motes that dispersed into the atmosphere!

Fang Senyan exhaled a long breath and couldn't help but smile:

"You bastard, you just missed the absolute best moment to take me out."

A massive sphere of white light drifted slowly out from the breach—it was Aldaris, currently in his transformed state. He scoffed:

"Killing you is the easiest thing in the world. I simply didn't want you to die without understanding why. Repaying the favor I owe you makes the kill feel much better."

Fang Senyan laughed heartily, grabbed a huge piece of metal debris nearby—easily weighing several hundred kilograms—and hurled it backward with force. Hearing the loud clang, followed by a roar of anger and a scream, he suddenly turned to Aldaris and asked:

"How are your stamina reserves?"

Aldaris looked startled:

"What?"

Fang Senyan merely smiled without answering, turning and sprinting toward the distance. Aldaris instantly understood and couldn't help but curse:

"Hey, aren't you the MT? Get up front and take the heat! Wipe out the pursuers behind us!"

Fang Senyan jogged easily ahead:

"Save some energy for later. If we get bogged down here, we’ll miss the most spectacular part, and that would be a huge waste."

"What spectacular part?" Aldaris immediately pressed.

He casually fired another particle stream, causing the path behind them to collapse and cave in, then floated in the air, setting his course to catch up with Fang Senyan.

Only then did Fang Senyan realize that Aldaris's main objective for this excursion was to earn enough merit points to exchange for an item crucially important to him: the Shield Enhancement Module.

As mentioned before, when Aldaris transformed into the Hierarch of Light, he gained an astonishing layer of energy shielding. The only drawback was that this shield was considered to have zero inherent defense.

The Shield Enhancement Module, however, would allow that energy shield to inherit the defense rating of Aldaris's true form! It was tantamount to a massive, indirect boost to his survivability. In previous major battles, Aldaris had capitalized on fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Fang Senyan, unleashing endless Psionic Storms, allowing him to quickly accumulate vast amounts of merit.

Before setting out this time, he had cashed in all his accumulated merit points. And due to the strange history of internal conflict and civil war among the Protoss, their existing relationships maintained a peculiar status. Even if Aldaris were to betray them now, it was only registered as a betrayal against the Ulrakki lineage; his previously established personal connections remained unaffected.

This carried a strange undertone, like "professional matters do not interfere with personal friendships." It was similar to the Zhuge brothers during the Three Kingdoms period: one a high official of Shu Han, the other a pillar of Eastern Wu. Superficially they were enemies, but their private bond was calculated separately, thus allowing for betrayal without much psychological burden.

With Aldaris's help now, and coupled with the fact that Duochege, who commanded the pursuit, was aware of Fang Senyan’s capabilities and had become somewhat lax, the pursuit from the Protoss side significantly lessened in intensity. Conversely, the Zerg pursuit remained unchanged. This inadvertently weakened the Zerg forces.

It must be remembered that the Zerg were simultaneously engaged in warfare against the Protoss. Their ongoing battle was already at a low-to-medium intensity, relying entirely on a continuous stream of newly produced reinforcements. When the Protoss eased up, the ebb and flow immediately became starkly evident.

Consequently, while the Queen of Blades cursed the Protoss for their treachery, she was forced to reduce the intensity of her assault as well. Otherwise, if the protective forces surrounding her weakened, the Protoss would certainly not pass up the opportunity to swarm and eliminate the esteemed Queen of Blades!

Fighting defensively as they retreated, Fang Senyan and his companions gradually approached the core area of the city. There stood a magnificent, towering structure. Structurally, three straight pillars were arranged in a triangular formation, and at the apex of each pillar was an open, massive hand.

These three hands simultaneously supported a colossal crystal over thirty meters high. The crystal possessed a breathtaking, deep sapphire blue reminiscent of the ocean, profoundly dark, and adorned with delicate, plant-like decorative patterns. The architectural style remained sharp and fluid, imbued with an indescribable brilliance that compelled reverence upon sight.

Based on information Fang Senyan gleaned from the lore within the Lost Temple, the three hands represented the three powers of the Protoss council leaders, analogous to human legislative, executive, and judicial powers—a form of separation of powers. The nobility closely associated with these branches resided in corresponding areas. The crystal held aloft by the three hands was believed to be the dwelling place of the Protoss deity, utterly sacred!

Seeing this sight, Fang Senyan and Aldaris couldn't help but feel a sense of yearning and aspiration, imagining themselves overlooking the entire city from within that giant crystal—commanding dominion!

Suddenly, Aldaris turned to Fang Senyan:

"Hey, what did you mean about missing the good show earlier?"

Fang Senyan smiled faintly:

"You know about the existence of the Lost Temple on this planet, right?"

Aldaris replied:

"Of course. That is a Protoss secret. I also know that the cosmos records seven Lost Temples, but only four have shown confirmed signs of life in the last three millennia."

Fang Senyan continued with a smile:

"Then do you also know that the strength of these remnant factions is utterly negligible compared to the mainstream Protoss forces? So, what allows these insignificant groups to negotiate with, or even stand on equal footing with, the dominant power?"

Aldaris's expression grew serious:

"I truly don't know that. I only heard that these remaining clans hide enormous secrets—rumored to be powerful, lost technology."

"Strictly speaking, that is accurate..." Fang Senyan stroked his chin. "Classifying it as a form of technology is acceptable; it’s simply technology that has advanced far beyond the current era."

Aldaris's face changed, and he said gravely:

"What is this thing you speak of?"

Fang Senyan looked at him and smiled faintly:

"Do you really have no idea what caused this vibrant planet to end up in its current state? And the source of that terrifying storm that swept the entire planet just a few days ago—are you ignorant of that too?"

"It seems you are aware of the existence of the God-Slaying Artifact," Aldaris conceded.

"Naturally," Fang Senyan replied nonchalantly. "This is likely the real reason the remnant clans can truly contend with the mainstream forces."

Aldaris pressed:

"But why bring this up now?"

Fang Senyan looked toward the massive blue crystal in the distance, his expression grave:

"This magnificent city was suddenly frozen in time, even solidified for tens of thousands of years, and all life within it was instantly vaporized, not even leaving behind corpses—do you not see a connection here?"

Aldaris froze. Many things are simple once a veil is pierced:

"All life suddenly vaporized... the terrifying power that abruptly froze everything in time—are you, are you suggesting that!?"

"This city also possesses a God-Slaying Artifact! And the power of this artifact is very likely related to time, at least to the extent that it can seal an entire city in time for tens or hundreds of thousands of years... of course, the price is that every living being inside the city is entirely evaporated!" Fang Senyan stated calmly.

Aldaris opened his mouth, appearing to want to refute Fang Senyan, but the words died on his lips, for even he realized that Fang Senyan's speculation, while audacious, was highly plausible upon deeper consideration.

"If I can deduce this, then the Queen of Blades and the current Protoss leadership surely can as well, and the location of the God-Slaying Artifact must be obvious: inside that blue crystal," Fang Senyan continued unhurriedly. "Therefore, I have no intention of wading into that muddy water, as I do not possess the necessary strength right now."

"However," Fang Senyan paused, changing his tone, "Have you noticed the symbols on the three massive hands aligned side-by-side? The triangle likely represents the Legislative Council, the circle the Executive Council, and the five-pointed star signifies the Judicial Council. The most powerful military force would be under the control of the Judicial Council, which is why I am extremely interested in that specific structure."

"Do you think there is power in there that you desire?" Aldaris asked.

Fang Senyan replied:

"I can only speculate, but I imagine if something as monstrous as a Colossus—a being on par with Carriers—truly exists, it would definitely be located in that place."