StarCraft: Tyranid Empire

"Finished?"

Augustus raised his head from the throne, put down the draft submitted by the Imperial Parliament, and looked at the panting Marshal Jim Reno and General Jaco Bennett with his cold gray eyes. In this farce caused by the competition for military funds, the two of them are their respective leaders.

The man representing the Imperial Marines was of course Marshal Jim Raynor, and the Navy introduced Jako Bennett who was on Korhal. These two imperial generals who had a deep friendship during the days of the Demon Squad in Heaven were said to have worn a pair of pants with Emperor Augustus more than ten years ago, and their friendship was such that they would fight each other when they competed for military expenses.

Renault and Bennett are both the kind of ruthless characters who are decisive and resolute in identifying opportunities without hesitation. They even use the ruthless work of picking out their crotches without thinking about the old relationship at all.

Competing for military expenditures is very common among the military services. After all, the total budget is only so large. If the other party has more, you will have less. Translated into weapons and equipment, stronger military strength can also gain more say. The meeting between the commanders of the two armies was even more lively than the quarrel between the two factions of the parliament.

During the Revolutionary Army period, the opposition between the military services was not as tit-for-tat as it is now. But now that the entrepreneurial era of making do with life has passed, the former rebel leader has become the emperor, and the Navy Department and the Army Department, which were originally run by a few people, have been transformed into managing millions of people. Same.

In the Tyran Empire, Augustus's nod and signature was required for financial matters, so he often ended up having to make noises to him.

"It's over." When Renault got up from the ground, blood was still coming out of his nose and one of his eyes was blue. Of course, with the current advanced level of nano-medical technology, such minor injuries are insignificant.

"You're really ruthless, Jim. In the past, I have never been the one responsible for taking action." Jaco Bennett looked even more miserable than Renault. At least when he returned to the Imperial Navy, the corpses of those who had nothing to eat were The bastard can't say he didn't contribute.

When they traveled around with Augustus, they were just younger brothers following their elder brother to show off their power. If Augustus winked, Tychus and Harnak would usually be the first to rush out as thugs.

"So who is the winner?" Augustus sat here quietly for more than half an hour, silently watching them finish. But now it seemed that the emperor was really angry, so the two generals shrank their heads and did not dare to speak loudly.

"I got this carpet from the Sky Tower of the Calabasas family. It will cost money to get a new one."

These luxurious items that Augustus decorated the palace were the inheritance left by the nobles of the old federation, and the others were obtained from the prostitutes of Duram.

"." Mike Liberty also stood on the side of the throne and enjoyed the show with the emperor, shaking his head as he watched.

Jim Raynor was the most upright guy he had ever met, and he never wanted to harm anyone. He is like a cowboy from the wilderness, the kind who spends all day in the pub talking nonsense and drinking, but is essentially a real man.

Renault is a very charismatic leader. He can always trust those who follow him and lead them to overcome all difficulties. He has a group of pretty good young men under his command.

Even though Jacques Bennett is an old aristocrat, he has nothing to do with the calculating and cold-blooded style of his father. He does not have the same sense of justice as Renault, but he turns out to be kind-hearted and sincere towards others. With such a reliable general, the soldiers under him are also willing to sacrifice their lives.

These imperial generals are worthy of being heroes for a while, but in the final analysis they were just farmers and aristocratic princes who had no inheritance rights. Fighting was not very good, they were like two crabs rolling in the mud. .

But in the empire, only the emperor can suppress these meritorious generals and train them to be obedient.

It must be said that Augustus Mengsk's personal charisma and leadership skills played a key role in convincing these outstanding generals.

"So who is the winner?" Seeing that the two of them were silent, Augustus repeated it again.

"Of course it's me," Jaco whispered.

"You have never defeated me, and this time is no different." Renault argued.

"Jim, even if you win the battle." Augustus pointed at Renault: "What are you going to do next?"

"I" To be honest, Renault almost forgot why he was doing this fight.

Although the Marine Corps is much more pragmatic than the Navy, which can build a large fleet at the outset, it still adds up to a lot of miscellaneous things.

Some people in the Navy will be short-sighted and think that as long as the Marines are given a set of power armor and an electromagnetic rifle, they will not even need to prepare a toilet. This is really ridiculous.

At present, the Terran Empire Marines mainly use CMC-300/400 power armor, but the research and development work of new power armor has not fallen behind. Special operations forces also need finely crafted special armor. Moreover, fighter planes, vehicles and mechas are updated. The progress must not be left behind. As the war progressed, the zerg continued to evolve, and the Empire could not stand still.

The navy also has some arrogance and prejudice that it is a waste to continue to develop the army at present, but no one except them will think that there is no need for a military service that descends to the surface of the planet to win victory.

On the contrary, although looking at any period in human history in the Koprulu sector, the imperial fleet is also the largest and most powerful. The naval generals will always emphasize to the imperial parliament that the fleet is weak and has insufficient room for maneuver, making it difficult to maintain the vast territory. rule.

From the Navy's perspective, the outcome of a galaxy battle is decided above the stars, and the Marines are of little use. They firmly believe that times have changed, and now is the era of giant ships and cannons expanding their territories. But if you talk to the Marines, it's a chicken-and-duck situation.

But from the perspective of the Marine Corps, these bombarded guys in the Navy Department are all thinking about bombing, and it makes no sense to reason with them.

Looking back at the early days of the Guild War, the fleets of both the Terran Federation and the Kaimorian Federation were far smaller than the current empire. And since seeing the magnificent fleet of the Protoss Empire, any imperial naval general will feel that the existing fleet is not enough.

"Okay, you don't need to say anything." Augustus stood up and interrupted Renault, walking along the red carpeted steps under the throne: "The navy's disposable military expenditure has increased by 56%, and the Marine Corps's is 39%. Taking into account the basic figures, this has also reached the limit of what the empire's finances can bear. If it increases further, I am afraid that our people will starve. In order to pull out this huge army, we have sacrificed too much."

The empire is not rich now, and sometimes it even has to make extra money by tricking Umoyang people into selling obsolete military products. The imperial parliament's proposals to continue to increase taxes have been pushed back by Augustus time and time again.

With the empire's finances, it is already difficult to support the current size of the army. There is no way. The most important way for Augustus to increase his income now is to open up new territories - to open more mines.

"I have read your proposal." He said: "The Navy's cost plan must be halved. This is a matter of course. Even if we can afford it, it will take time to train qualified naval officers, sailors and engineers."

"The Navy needs Gorgons, but we cannot spend all our resources on them. Even if the newly built orbital shipyard can be put into production in the near future, the production of an additional twelve Gorgons within a year is already the limit. Currently, The manufacturing process of new battleships is not yet mature enough.”

Compared with the Gorgon, the cost of the Thor Mecha is only a drop. Building warships has always been the most expensive, and maintenance is also a big cost. The larger the number of fleets maintained, the more colonies needed to support them.

Regarding the Imperial Navy, Marshal Horace Warfield's proposition is simple and clear, that is, on the basis of upgrading existing armaments, he will do everything possible to enhance the Empire's naval power and continuously provide more warships to the fleet.

Augustus agreed very much with this, but this matter is not about how many ships you want to build, the construction list, and building warships has always been an extremely time-consuming, resource- and manpower-consuming matter. If it weren't for the solid talent base left behind by the old federation, the empire wouldn't have recovered in just four years.

"But..." Of course Yaco understands this truth, but the Navy Headquarters doesn't care about this. Anyway, they are not jumping around in front of the emperor.

"You can question my decision?" Augustus turned and sat back on the throne, his eyes like a lion with thunder in his chest.

"Say less, Rick. Don't be greedy." Although Augustus didn't mention the Marines at all, Renault was still cheerful. After all, they don't ask for much here, at least they can add trouble to the navy. The Navy's military expenditures are low, so if you round them off, you've got more.

"Don't laugh either." At this time, Augustus glared at Renault again: Forget about a thousand Thors. Are the five hundred Odins at the end just because I can't tell which one is more expensive? "

Odin is a prototype-level super mecha. The entire empire is only over a hundred years old now. It is not as expensive as Gorgon, but it is still an astronomical sum.

"Hey, is there such a thing?" Renault was also cheeky, so he just smiled and it was over.

"Come here." Augustus waved to Jaco and asked him to bring a few words to Warfield. The general idea was this: Be careful, dear Warfield, don't let my precious Gorgon fall. Here you go, you loser.

After saying that, Augustus directly kicked the two people out, out of sight and out of mind, wondering if he should quickly kick them out of Korhal's leadership.

"Your Majesty, the army's request is not unreasonable." Liberty still said a kind word to his two friends at this time: "Although the swarms have not pushed any further, the pressure they bring to the empire continues. Increase."

Even with the deterrent of the Xel'Naga artifact, the threat of the insect swarm is still close at hand. The Xel'Naga artifact that can kill Zerg on a large scale through Nova Impact has prevented the cautious Overlord from launching a full-scale attack, and is currently only encroaching on the borders of the empire bit by bit.

The current war is no longer as brutal as when it first started, but the empire still needs a large number of professional soldiers to guard the border world. Fortunately, the current number of troops is sufficient, and there is even room to clear out the pirates inside and escort the colonial fleet that opens up the Sigma sector.

But this also comes at a price. Only Augustus knows that this is actually a double-edged sword. Every time it is used, it is one day closer to bringing Eamon's consciousness back to the real world.

And to be honest, Augustus was a little confused about the purpose of the current master's attack on mankind. If the overlord in the past was to absorb some spiritual talents from humans in the process of devouring protoss, then why did it come all the way from Zerus to the Koprulu sector now? But it would make sense if the new Overlord was already controlled by Eamon.

If the zerg want to start a war, they don't have to worry about people's livelihood and morale. As long as the Overlord and the Cerebrate give an order, the main nest hatcheries on the surface and underground of each brood world will continuously produce terrifying warriors, and they He has perfected the skill of killing since he was born.

"Master, it has plenty of time and patience." Augustus paused: "It's not as eager as the previous master."

"It understands us better and understands human weaknesses better - therefore, a protracted war will inevitably lead to the collapse of the order of human society."

"But maybe it was miscalculated. On the contrary, the invasion of the zerg made us more united." Liberty said: "The victory in the war also increased the prestige of the emperor and the government."

Tyranid humans are a tough and tenacious race. They can be extremely fragile, but they can also be extremely brave.

"Look, this war will probably last for several years or even longer." There were dark clouds on Augustus's face, but he showed a confident side in front of everyone: "And every year, we Thousands of brave warriors were lost. To the zerg, it was just consumed minerals. If they had been better equipped, maybe they wouldn't have to die."

From the beginning Augustus did not share the overly optimistic views of those in the empire who believed that the total war would be over quickly within one or two years.

The empire does not have the ability to end this war quickly. In fact, even if it is to avoid being eaten by the insect swarm, it has already tried its best, and this is not the biggest enemy.

"Sadly, we don't have a better option." Liberty fell silent.

"Mike, go and do your work." Augustus said, sitting on the throne, "I'm tired."

Liberty nodded and left silently.

Since the war began, only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been more relaxed among the departments in the empire. After all, no one thinks that it is possible to negotiate peace with the Zerg through diplomatic means - although this is not really impossible.

After Liberty left, Queen Sarah Kerrigan walked in with Princess Louise in her arms, and she had obviously been waiting for a long time.

In his mother's arms, Louis was sleeping quietly.

"She is tired and sleepy." Kerrigan stroked Louis' forehead: "Just like you, her brows are frowned when she sleeps."

A natural telepath is far more precocious than an ordinary child, and Louis may also understand the situation between his father and the empire.

"She was born in this ill-fated era." Kerrigan walked up to Augustus and handed Louise to her father: "Since she is a member of the Mengsk family, she is destined to be extraordinary."

"Oh, the Mengsk family are born to accomplish great things."

"This is a family tradition, adults just use it to coax children." Augustus smiled and shook his head, looking at Louis' little nose that sniffed lightly.

Even if it is just for the sake of his daughter, he must kill the master and kill Eamonn.

Thank you for your concern. I have basically recovered, my relatives have left, and I finally have time to calm down and do my own thing.