The Ultimate Evolution

Instead of stopping after he punched the Zealot hard, Sheyan followed up with another fist to the Zealot’s chin!

The ‘Uppercut’ sent the Zealot floating nearly half a meter above the ground. Pale blue body fluids sprayed out like crazy from within his helmet. After landing, the Zealot spasmed a few times, then became perfectly still. When the power suit detected the complete absence of vital signs from its wearer, the spontaneous combustion device in the solid armour instantly activated, transforming the corpse and the broken armour into a plume of smoke which evaporated in the air.

( https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Power_suit )

That was the noble sentiment of the Zealots which outsiders would find hard to understand. They absolutely could not allow others to lay eyes on the unsightly appearance of the powerful sacred warrior upon death. Their remains could not be besmirched either. The proud soul would return directly to the kingdom of god amid the flame!

But this unexpected incident had inadvertently increased the pressure on Sheyan. His original intention was to use the Zealot’s corpse to block other attacks. The surprising development stunned him for a moment.

But on the battlefield, a momentary pause was tantamount to an error, a flaw that the enemy could make use of!

Sheyan’s sudden outburst which killed a Zealot in the blink of an eye no doubt left the Spectre, Snake, slack-jawed. But he then saw Sheyan’s smooth movement come to an abrupt halt. Before he could shout a warning, the other Zealot’s psi-blade and the Dragoon’s antimatter bolt had already reached Sheyan!

The wet soil burst open with a loud bang under the bombardment of the antimatter bolt. The scattered soil which drizzled down blurred the sights for a while, but the others there could still see the figure of a man standing within the dust and smoke.

The Zealot, cold like a fighting machine, stabbed with his blade without hesitation. The translucent purple psi-blade gave a trembling cry as it smoothly tore straight through the air.

Although the Zealot knew his previous attack had struck the target, his rich fighting experience told him that it was not an effective hit. He had used his full power, but the blade had slid to the side after it struck the target, as if it had struck a steel fortress!

A large hand suddenly extended out of the dust and gripped the Zealot’s wrist. The hand twisted, and the Zealot’s wrist, which was protected by his tough armour, broke with a crack!

The dark silhouette within the dust suddenly charged out like a mammoth and rammed into the Zealot’s chest! The power suit on his chest, not able to bear the force, immediately let out a groan. Cracks started spreading all over the suit, and the suit turned into countless fragments that fell off the Zealot’s body.

The dark silhouette suddenly shrank behind the Zealot who was staggering backwards, using him as a shield. Another antimatter bolt from the Dragoon swept over the silhouette’s head and hit the ground three meters behind him, making a big crater.

The heat and shockwave produced by the antimatter bolt could cause some splash damage, and this damage may be fatal to the weaker Marines, but to a monster like Sheyan who was built like a mammoth, it was no more than a drizzle.

Snake, the powerful elite Ghost, was not idle in the meantime. A veteran like him was an expert in seizing opportunities on the battlefield. He raised his custom-made C-10 canister rifle without any hesitation!

The red dot of the low-frequency laser sight on the rifle was imprinted on the back of the head of the Zealot who was beaten back by Sheyan!

No sooner had the Zealot regained his footing, his head exploded with a bang! Blue pulp splashed all around him.

Headshot!

This devastating blow instantly robbed the Zealot of his life. The self-exploding device in his armour was activated, and like his compatriot, he too turned into a wisp of smoke that dispersed into the air.

Sheyan was still holding on to the broken arm of the Zealot which had a psi-blade attached to it. He leaped up and stabbed the psi-blade deep into the main part of the Dragoon’s body. While Sheyan was hanging in mid air, he was struck by another antimatter bolt. He flew more than eight meters back, burning and smoking.

Pale blue liquid burst out of the Dragoon that was hit by the powerful weapon of his own race, spraying as far as three meters away.

The plasma shield on the surface of the Dragoon’s body that was originally barely holding on, instantly shattered upon impact. The Dragoon charged furiously towards the enemy it sent flying a moment ago. When it reached the enemy, it lifted one of its mechanical hydraulic foot and stomped down without mercy!

However,unbeknownst to it, the antimatter bolt had only caused superficial injuries to Sheyan. Sheyan easily blocked the metallic foot that was trampling down with both his hands. The Dragoon’s mechanical hydraulic foot was stuck in mid-air like it had been embedded in a rock. No matter how hard its energy system worked, it could not move its foot!

Even more shocking was that Sheyan could still slowly climb back up under such a disadvantageous situation!

The mechanical hydraulic foot broke with a loud crack. The gargantuan force then proceeded to overturn the Dragoon and threw it to the ground.

At such a shocking sight, let alone Kyrgyzna, even a veteran like Snake was dumbstruck. But they were still aware that they were on a battlefield, and they instantly supported Sheyan with firepower. Under Sheyan’s constant harassment, the overturned Dragoon failed to right itself up till the moment it died. It died a tragic death with the killing blow delivered by the welding torch of an SCV, a unit which the Dragoon normally looked down upon….

Next, they got rid of the locked down Dragoons one after another – a rather easy job. But after the fight concluded, the others stared at Sheyan like they were looking at a monster. Only the Spectre, Snake, could remain calm, but the shock in his eyes was still evident. To tell the truth, it was the first time he had seen such a terrifying guy – a human who dared to face a Zealot bare-handed!

Looking at Sheyan approaching him as if nothing had happened, Snake suddenly felt his mouth go dry. He did not know what to say.

“Snake?” Sheyan said as he patted Snake on the shoulder.

“Yes, sir.” The normally arrogant and egoistic Spectre lowered his head.

“I have a piece of advice for you,” said Sheyan seriously.

Snake immediately straightened up, showing that he was paying attention. Sheyan thus said, “I know you have your prejudices, but there are exceptions to everything. Sometimes, a person’s rank and fighting strength can be proportional.”

After saying that, Sheyan burst out laughing. Snake was a very serious and cold person, so he was not very used to Sheyan’s casual and enthusiastic attitude. But in front of this legendary figure whose name resounded like thunder, and having witnessed for himself the person’s strength, he was not really put off with Sheyan’s attitude. On the contrary, he liked that Sheyan did not act high and mighty despite his rank, and found him very charismatic.

But suddenly, Snake had an abrupt change in expression. As someone familiar with the place, he had noticed something wrong. He immediately told them, “The next Protoss patrol squad is coming! We have to leave!”

***

A warmth was transmitted from the synthetic plastic board. The energy in the crystals had been turned into heat, providing them with warmth. Compared to the minus 30 degrees outside, the temperature of 18 degrees inside could already be considered summer-like.

This place was a newly built supply depot.

( https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Supply_depot )

A while ago, thanks to Snake guiding the way, they easily found a branch crystal vein that had remained at a hidden spot on a hillside. The crystal deposit contained at least 9,000 units of crystals. It was not a low number. It was originally the Zerg that mined here, but because this spot could only let a single Drone in, and the Protoss offensive was too fierce, this crystal vein was deemed too inefficient to mine, so it was abandoned.

(TL: The Drone is the Zerg worker unit. )

After collecting enough crystal resources, the first thing the engineering SCVs did was to build this underground supply depot. That kind of solved their accommodation problem. At least, it was a safe, protected haven that could let them take a good rest to recuperate from their fatigue in this god-forsaken place. They could not ask for more.

Sheyan looked into the marching pot on the alcohol stove in front of him. The field rations inside slowly began to let out a nice aroma. The field ration contained one third meat, one third flour and one third dehydrated vegetables, pressed together. Cooked with a few handfuls of snow, it would fill the whole pot.

Most of the others were sleeping soundly, including Kyrgyzna, who had huddled into her sleeping bag. The landing was a huge test to their nerves, and they had also fought a bitter fight afterwards.

The food in the pot soon boiled, forming a sticky paste that, for the hungry, emitted a fragrant aroma. Sheyan scooped up a bowl, then grabbed a translucent brown bottle from the side. He first bit the cork off and drank two mouthfuls of whiskey, then tossed it to Snake.