Chapter 371: Wings of Liberty! Keystone Fragments! Zerg Invasion!
[Ding! Massive unidentified objects are entering the atmosphere!]
The main Universal Megacorp expeditionary force had just landed on a planet, preparing to rest and select a location for constructing a forward base, when a warning from their orbital monitoring team came through.
The urgency in the monitors' voices instantly put Paul on high alert. Though he had mentally prepared for conflict, he hadn't expected the danger to arrive so swiftly.
David was the first to respond, asking, "Are these just meteors? Why didn't your scanners detect them earlier?"
Under normal circumstances, the monitoring team's detection systems should have flagged this in advance. The lack of warning left their ground forces vulnerable.
[Our scanners didn't react at all. It's possible they've malfunctioned. Right now, we can only confirm the objects' presence through AI drones.]
Hearing this, Paul rushed to the display. He saw countless fiery trails streaking down from the sky—initially mistaken for ordinary meteorites.
But as the AI drones fed back clearer images, they realized the objects resembled grotesque organic masses—fleshly growths with malformed tentacles. At first glance, they looked like spacefaring octopuses.
Even worse, their bulbous heads were covered in bloated, festering sacs, suggesting highly infectious qualities.
"These things… they look just like the Flood from the Halo universe!"
David Martinez suddenly recalled the terrifying parasitic creatures from his frontline combat experience in the Halo dimension. He knew these things were likely contagious—and that was very bad news.
"Declare a Level 1 alert! All engineering personnel return to the flagship immediately! Deploy the Astartes and Spartan elite units—suit up in full power armor. Not a single seam exposed."
"I don't care what these things are—we contain them immediately!"
David gave the order without hesitation. It was the perfect chance to capture and study a few alien specimens.
[Yes, sir!]
Following the flagship's emergency command, Paul and the others donned their powered armor and mobilized with the elite units.
Paul, the Master Chief, and Luke all stepped outside the flagship and looked up at the thousands of grotesque meat-meteorites plummeting toward the ground.
What the hell are these things? Paul frowned, tense. How are they physically strong enough to survive atmospheric reentry?
Moments later, one of the "meteorites" smashed into the fleet's formation, carving a massive crater into the earth. Thick black fog billowed upward, radiating ominous energy.
"Captain, that thing's density must be insane. It gouged out a crater that deep—it might be some kind of semi-metallic organism," Panam Wells said cautiously, gripping his hardlight rifle tightly. He suspected it was a genetically modified biomechanical weapon.
It was likely that these alien weapons, drifting in space, were drawn to Universal Megacorp 's landing fleet and decided to strike.
"Stay sharp. Don't let your guard down," Paul warned.
No sooner had he spoken than a monstrous alien burst from the dark fog, lunging at Panam with terrifying speed.
It was over two meters long and resembled a mutated hellhound. Its forelimbs were blade-sharp, and its body was covered in sinewy, reddish-purple muscles. Jagged white spines lined its back, and two mantis-like scythe claws protruded from its shoulders.
While sprinting, the creature even used those back claws to rip apart enemies.
Everything about it screamed engineered bioweapon—not something born through natural evolution.
Though Panam had been cautious and opened fire in time, the creature still tackled him to the ground.
Fortunately, his Mark X power armor held strong. The monster's claws only sparked off the armor's plating—unable to tear through it.
Panam quickly retaliated, drawing his chainsword and severing the beast's head in one brutal swing. He scrambled up, winded but alive.
But the threat was far from over. More creatures began crawling out from the crater. A full-scale battle was inevitable.
Despite the alien swarm being larger than Paul anticipated, the team coordinated with practiced efficiency, eliminating threats with disciplined firepower.
These were Universal Megacorp's elite troops—seasoned veterans. Sudden engagements like this were nothing new.
Beams from hardlight rifles and bursts of kinetic firepower shredded the aliens, sending limbs and gore flying in every direction. Explosions rocked the battlefield, tearing holes in the charging enemy ranks.
Putrid blood and alien flesh rained from the sky like a grotesque downpour.
Yet even amid this carnage, the creatures surged forward fearlessly. Some kept charging despite missing limbs, crawling with their last ounce of strength.
Clearly, these were bioengineered monsters—designed for relentless warfare.
Then, from the crater, a new creature emerged—larger, deadlier.
It had a serpentine lower body, but its upper torso was covered in thick, triangular carapace. Towering over two meters tall, its head was lined with sharp, venomous spines, while a gaping, sawtoothed maw yawned beneath. Its arms were bone-bladed scythes.
Unlike the frenzied beasts before it, this one was tactical.
Using its muscle strength, it launched its venomous spines at supersonic speed. When the Astartes and Spartans were struck, they felt the impact through their power armor.
The poison spines didn't pierce through, but the sheer force behind them proved this was no ordinary threat.
"Raise bubble shields! Master Chief, flank from the side!" Paul ordered, and the troops responded in perfect sync. Crisscrossing lines of fire lit up the battlefield again.
As the front-line troops raised hexagonal force fields, the alien spines lost all momentum, rippling harmlessly on the shield surfaces.
High above, gunships opened fire, strafing the crater below. The battle was starting to turn in Universal Megacorp's favor.
With fewer enemies on the ground, the end of the engagement drew near.
Watching the battle unfold, Li Ang quickly pieced together the origins of these creatures.
The swift, wolf-like monsters? Zerglings.
The venom-spine beasts? Hydralisks.
Both were unmistakable Zerg bioforms—pure living weapons. Their presence meant only one thing:
The Zerg had invaded this star system.
Soon after, intel from the Xeelee Nightfighter confirmed their coordinates.
[Universal Megacorp Expeditionary Fleet Location: Koprulu Sector, Milky Way Galaxy — Timeframe: 26th Century CE.]
With the Nightfighter's faster-than-light capabilities, Li Ang could gather local time and positional data in seconds.
26th century… this puts us right around the time of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Let's hope the Queen of Blades hasn't become a Xel'naga yet… or things are going to get messy.
Li Ang speculated that Kerrigan—at this point—likely hadn't ascended to godhood. The final war between humanity and Amon probably hadn't concluded either. Otherwise, the Zerg wouldn't be launching random attacks like this.
Most likely, the Zerg were lying in ambush for the Terran Dominion's fleet and accidentally struck Universal Megacorp instead.
To the Zerg, any human-looking fleet was fair game.
That mistake could work in Li Ang 's favor—giving him a shot to intercept and co-opt the Terran forces.
But there was a downside: the appearance of the Zerg implied that the Koprulu Sector was already in chaos, with ongoing wars among Terrans, Protoss, and Zerg.
The central prize in these conflicts? The Keystone Fragments.
These artifacts, created by the Xel'naga, were among the few divine relics in the StarCraft universe. Each faction wanted them for different reasons:
Amon sought them to infuse his avatar with void energy and descend as a god, destroying reality itself.
The Zerg Overmind saw them as its key to transcendence—proof it could become a Xel'naga.
The Terrans viewed them as both a powerful weapon and the only way to stop the apocalypse.
The Protoss considered them holy relics—tools to complete their failed path to ascension.
In short, everyone wanted the keystone fragments—including Li Ang .
But seizing them in the middle of a three-way war would require flawless precision.
Universal Megacorp had the power to steamroll every faction—but that risked triggering catastrophic resistance.
To the universe of StarCraft, Universal Megacorp wasn't just powerful—it was sanity-breaking.
Even Amon might panic if he caught sight of Li Ang 's "main universe" through a network line.
After weighing the risks, Li Ang made a decision:
Play it safe—for now. Secure the keystone fragments first.
Just as he had done in the Star Wars universe with the star killer base, Li Ang would establish a foothold before declaring war.
…
Back on the surface, more and more Zerg drop pods were descending—massive, tentacled meat sacs smashing into the ground.
These were the Zerg's standard planetary deployment method.
Normally, such pods were deployed alongside a fleet. But here, they seemed more like orbiting biological mines.
If they did damage—great. If not, the Zerg didn't care. After all, they had an endless supply of organic war machines.
As the pods struck the ground, more Zerglings and Hydralisks poured out, forming an unstoppable wave.
The swarm spread across the planet, tearing through every living thing in its path.
Besides the rampaging Zerglings and Hydralisks, the massive, bloated Zerg Queen was dragging its enormous egg sac as it slowly crept forward, spreading Creep and laying eggs, rapidly expanding the swarm's forces.
This purplish-red, viscous, flesh-like Creep was saturated with spores and the Queen's nutrient secretions, allowing for the rapid incubation of new Zerg units.
Moreover, the Creep enhanced the Zerg's movement speed and regeneration. Any terrain covered in it essentially became a never-ending production hub for the swarm!
Under orders from the flagship command, the Universal Megacorp's ground forces launched an immediate counterattack, coordinating with heavy fire support units to suppress the surging Zerg tide with overwhelming force.
Countless hardlight beams, plasma shells, and grenade blasts rained down into the swarm, turning scores of Zerglings into ashes under the relentless barrage.
Veteran Universal Megacorp soldiers showed no signs of panic as they efficiently coordinated with aerial units, stopping the Zerg advance before it could gain momentum.
However, while the Zerglings were drawing fire at the front lines, the Hydralisks in the rear unleashed salvo after salvo of venomous spines—thick barrages of toxic quills rained down like a storm.
Each impact on Universal Megacorp soldiers' power armor produced a crackling detonation. Although the armor was highly durable, the kinetic force from the spines still transmitted jarring impacts through the exoskeleton.
The Astartes warriors, clad in Mark X heavy power armor, immediately deployed bubble shields, using their energy barriers to help teammates maintain firing positions.
Despite the Hydralisks' piercing strength, their spines couldn't break through the shields and could only wait for the shield's energy duration to expire. This gave the Universal Megacorp troops the critical window they needed to eliminate the insect threat.
At the same time, a squad of anti-Hulk armored aerial troops descended from their respective motherships and joined the ground battle.
From above, they hurled miniature metallic hydrogen bombs, creating horrifying vacuum shock zones among the swarm to shield ground forces from the Zerg onslaught.
When Zerglings got too close to the defense lines, these troops launched rocket salvos to scorch wide kill zones and hold back the relentless suicide rush.
Yet just as Universal Megacorp forces were about to deliver a final blow to the Zerg assault, a disturbing change occurred—countless Zerglings suddenly collapsed onto the Creep and began to mutate.
Bulging egg sacs rapidly formed on their backs, swelling ominously with unknown horrors inside.
Moments later, Banelings burst from the eggs—bloated, waddling creatures filled with highly concentrated acid sacs, unable to move properly but rolling along the Creep in clusters.
With the Zerglings clearing the way, these Banelings surged toward Universal Megacorp's defense lines in a renewed suicide charge.
When they reached the bubble shields protecting the Astartes and other soldiers, the Banelings detonated their acid sacs, unleashing waves of corrosive fluid that drenched the energy barriers.
The result was devastating. Several shields quickly deteriorated under the extreme chemical reaction, opening up vulnerable gaps.
The Hydralisks immediately coordinated, aiming their next barrage of venomous spines right into those cracks.
This was the true terror of the Zerg—they had no upper limit to their arsenal. So long as they assimilated enough lifeforms, they could develop virtually any biological tactic.
Fortunately, Universal Megacorp had faced the Zerg before and quickly adjusted their strategy.
It became a clash of experts, each side unleashing specialized techniques in an attempt to find the other's weakness.
Watching the front lines, Morgan Blackhand, freshly rotated out of the Transformers universe, expressed concern and asked Li Ang :
"Boss, the Zerg are multiplying way too fast out there. Should we consider unleashing the Flood to fight fire with fire?"
Thanks to breakthroughs in their think tanks and Primordial research, Universal Megacorp could now weaponize the Flood, turning them into controllable biological war machines.
Against overwhelming Zerg forces, Universal Megacorp had a standard protocol: fight plague with plague, unleashing the Flood to battle the Zerg head-on.
The Flood's greatest strength lay in their hyper-contagious nature, making them one of the most feared threats across the multiverse.
Morgan was confident that it wouldn't take long for the Flood to assimilate the Zerg, seize control of their forces, and then be recycled into nutrient packs.
But Li Ang shook his head.
"No need. This is a good warm-up for our troops—let them stretch their legs. If they can't handle this level of Zerg activity, they're too soft."
Besides, Universal Megacorp currently held overwhelming fire superiority—there was no need to panic.
This was just an early encounter, a chance to gain practical experience before facing more brutal engagements later.
Meanwhile, after clearing a batch of Zerg from the impact craters, Paul noticed new Creep spreading rapidly across the outskirts.
These living mats of meat and mucus, mixing nameless slime and internal organs, were already carpeting rocks, hills, and rivers—transforming the land into a Zerg breeding ground.
In mere moments, Hatcheries, Spawning Pools, and Evolution Chambers had risen like cancerous growths, forming a complete production line to create endless reinforcements.
Their energy came from consuming the vital essence of all living things. Any corpses, animals, or plants touched by the Creep were instantly broken down and recycled into biomass.
Even the remains of fallen Zerg weren't spared—the swarm reabsorbed its own dead to birth new warriors.
Zerg efficiency and ruthlessness in mass production made them a near-perfect war machine.
However, Universal Megacorp soon activated its full-scale orbital fire systems.
AI-guided battleships swiftly locked onto the incoming drop pods, destroying swarms of Zerg reinforcements with point-defense cannons and long-range artillery.
As long as they could cut off reinforcements, the remaining Zerg on the ground would eventually be wiped out.
But the swarm was crafty. Zerg began harvesting everything in sight, building a giant meat grinder of war by converting all biomass into more units.
They lived and died in endless cycles—war begets war, their ultimate doctrine.
Even a single Larva, given enough biomass, could evolve into a Broodmother and produce an entire Zerg army.
That's why the swarm had positioned drop pods in orbit. Even a few breaching a warship's interior could trigger a catastrophic infestation.
At Universal Megacorp's Multiverse Base HQ, Dr. Halsey watched the front-line footage, visibly disturbed.
If the Flood were the apex of infection and assimilation, the Zerg were the masters of relentless production. If the two ever clashed, she couldn't predict the outcome.
"I fear David and the others may struggle to finish off the Zerg. That planet's teeming with wildlife—plenty of resources for the swarm to feast on."
V, stoic on the surface, still felt a twinge of anxiety for the front-line troops.
Even though most drop pods were intercepted mid-air, the Zerg on the ground were multiplying faster than expected, showing signs of being unstoppable.
Such aggressive swarms—V had only seen anything like it in the Halo universe.
Li Ang remained silent, calmly monitoring the hardlight screens and observing the troops' responses.
He wasn't worried. The fleet was loaded with anti-Zerg measures: Scorpion-tail viruses, neutron purges, nano-plagues—they had options.
…
Back on the battlefield, Paul radioed through the comms:
"Target the Creep! We need to destroy their bio-infrastructure—otherwise, we'll never eliminate the infestation!"
From his combat observations, Paul had quickly grasped the Zerg's mechanics and identified their core weakness.
But the swarm was multiplying faster than expected, and their current Astartes squads were being stretched thin.
Thankfully, David Martinez had also taken notice.
As the Banelings and Zerglings surged forward in tandem—
A massive steel battalion dropped from orbit. Optimus Prime and the Decepticons descended with their forces, crashing into the heart of the swarm.
"Heard there's a nasty bug problem down here. Let's try some fire!"
With that, Optimus, Megatron, and the others deployed heavy fuel cannons, incinerating the incoming Zerg and their Creep in blazing infernos.
The smell of burning protein filled the air as Banelings, Zerglings, and Creep alike went up in flames.
"Here, try some of this!"
Shockwave, using his superior flight capability, hovered over the battlefield and unleashed streams of napalm on the Queen and her Creep.
Columns of fire roared across the ground, burning Zerg to a crisp. Banelings exploded like firecrackers under the heat, unable to withstand the temperature.
The Zerg couldn't even retaliate—acid sacs were useless against flying machines like the Decepticons.
The Transformers' arrival severely crippled the Zerg's assault. Their flamethrowers were devastating, and the Hydralisks' venom had no effect on mechanical life.
Desperate, the Zerg deployed Spore Crawlers—living biological AA guns to counter the AI drones and aerial Decepticons.
These Spore Crawlers resembled grotesque meat mortars—fleshy barrels sculpted from purple muscle, almost cartoonishly chunky in appearance.
But their function was no joke—they launched spore projectiles thousands of meters into the air.
When AI drones attempted bombing runs, these crawlers fired yellow corrosive clouds that dismantled machines mid-air, bringing them down in flames.
Even metallic hydrogen bombs couldn't reach the target area—disintegrated before impact by dense biochemical barrages.
With the skies contested and the ground in flames, the battlefield had truly become a three-dimensional war zone.
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