Chapter 185: Protoss Warp-In
At this moment, the artisans of Kholor were preparing their tools. The stagnation of their research had finally led them to prepare for the disassembly of the Probe to investigate its structure and principles.
"Saram, let's begin!"
But just as the Craftworld Eldar researchers were about to begin their work, the Probe, which they had been unable to activate, suddenly began to move on its own. A flow of blue psychic energy filled its body.
"Lord Saram! The creation is starting to operate!"
"How was it activated? What did you all do?"
"We didn't do anything at all!"
But the Probe, like a pet, observed the surrounding terrain, seeming to pose no threat. A Craftworld Eldar boldly approached it, even reaching out to stroke the Probe.
"Sir! This thing doesn't seem to have any aggression. Incredible! Is this creation driven by pure psychic energy? What kind of race could utilize psychic power to such a degree?"
But just as he turned his head to speak joyfully to Saram, the head of the Probe shot out an arc-like ray of electricity. In a game, its power might be insignificant, but in reality, this particle beam attack, capable of cutting through solid crystal minerals, was more than enough to deal with flesh and blood.
Saram's eyes widened as he watched his friend of several decades be effortlessly pierced through the chest by the ray. Even the soul stone hanging on his chest to protect his soul was shattered.
"No!!!"
The shattering of a soul stone meant that the moment this Eldar's soul returned to the Empyrean, it would be taken by Slaanesh. It was a true and final death.
Before Saram could grieve, at the other end of the laboratory, in a sealed space separated by a layer of crystal glass, the Pylon that they regarded as a great treasure now also began to continuously release psychic energy and slowly rotate.
The actions of the Probe had not yet allowed the Eldar to recover, but the surviving Eldar all realized that what was about to happen was definitely not something they wanted to see. The surrounding Eldar instinctively picked up the tools at hand, attempting to destroy or control the Probe, but the particle beams it occasionally shot out kept them busy dodging.
At this time on Aiur, rows of Templar stood neatly beside a series of Gateways. Artanis stood proudly before all the Protoss. Their fighting spirit was exceptionally high, not only because of Lucan's command but also because the upcoming battle would determine whether the Protoss could once again grow strong in this strange new world.
The huge crystal on top of the Nexus began to rotate at high speed. The gathered psychic energy even caused visible ripples in the air above it, a phenomenon that only occurred when the concentration of psionic energy reached a certain level. If this were in a conventional Imperial world, this level of psychic energy would have been enough for a daemon to temporarily exist in the physical world without a host. Fortunately, the psychic energy consumed by the Protoss all came from Lucan, so such a terrible situation would not occur.
The psionic matrix began to link. Even across a vast distance, the matrix on Aiur still established a connection with the psychic energy on Kholor. The coordinates of the Pylon on Kholor were successfully locked.
The Gateways, the basic unit-producing buildings, also began to operate. Each Gateway could warp in one Templar at a time, and at this moment, the Protoss camp already had 20 fully functional Gateways.
To save Lucan's Psy-crystals and based on the consumption that the current energy supply could support, Artanis had not built any structures that produced flying units. Instead, he had only built production and technology buildings for ground units. But the expensive consumption still made Lucan feel the pain. He always kept enough crystals in reserve to summon the DOOM Slayer once, as that was a true life-saving measure.
Artanis, along with the first batch of Templar, also began to dissolve into a stream of psionic energy signals, disappearing from Aiur. Beams of light shot toward the sky.
At this time, by the Pylon on Kholor, beams of light appeared as if descending from the heavens, gathering around the crystal structure. Feeling this abnormal psychic fluctuation, the Eldar present were extremely nervous.
Within the beams of light, the figures of the Protoss were being formed. The Eldar who saw this immediately reacted. This was clearly some enemy using an unknown technology to bypass Kholor's stealth and defense systems to enter the Craftworld directly. This Pylon was not Kholor's opportunity at all; this crystal was a psychic beacon!
Drawing on the knowledge accumulated over hundreds of years, Saram understood in an instant. This was not an opportunity for Kholor, but a conspiracy against it!!!
"There's something wrong with this creation! That crystal is teleporting some kind of creature here! Quick, stop it! Notify the Guardians!"
Because of the importance the Farseer Council had placed on the Pylon and the Probe, two elite squads of Craftworld Guardians had been stationed outside. Hearing the commotion from within the laboratory, these Eldar warriors immediately rushed in.
Before the teleportation was complete, the Protoss were not yet fully corporeal. Attacks from physical means could not cause them any harm. Shuriken fire struck the Pylon, sending countless fragments flying, but they could not dismantle it in time.
As they tried to destroy the crystal, the first wave of Protoss warp-ins was complete. Twenty Templar, plus Artanis himself, had successfully arrived on Kholor.
"Ignore the crystal! Kill these enemies who have invaded Kholor!"
The Guardians began to switch targets, but the attacks they fired were all blocked by the Protoss's personal shields. The psi-focuses on the arms of the Templar condensed the vast psychic energy of the Protoss into indestructible psi-blades.
At this moment, Artanis looked at the Eldar before him, his eyes filled with desire. He looked at the soul stones that each of these Eldar wore. He knew that as long as he killed these Eldar, their souls would enter the soul stones. Only by killing these Eldar could he bring back more of his own people.
"For the Protoss! For Aiur! Templar, reveal your psi-blades! Do not destroy the soul stones on their chests!"
Before the Guardians of Kholor could even fire a second volley, Artanis led the Templar in a charge into their lines. The enhancement systems in their legs allowed the Protoss to burst forth with incredible speed. The Protoss, who had been some distance away, instantly rushed up to the faces of this squad of Guardians.
Saram stood frozen on the spot. He and the other artisans could only watch as the Guardians were slaughtered.
"Is every one of these creatures a Warlock?"
The psychic energy released by the Protoss was maintained for a long time in the form of psi-blades. In Saram's eyes, this was something that could only be done by reaching a certain level of mastery over psionics. The Path system meant that every Eldar focused on their own field, but there were some Eldar who, after walking a certain distance on one Path, for various reasons, would switch to another. For example, some Eldar who were on the Path of the Seer would later switch to the Path of the Warrior. They possessed outstanding psychic talent while also being proficient in the ways of combat. They did not use their psychic powers for divination and other purposes like Farseers, but instead turned their psionics into a more direct weapon. Such Eldar were known as Warlocks; they were masters of both magic and martial arts.
And in Saram's eyes, the psychic reaction from every Templar was exceptionally strong. Especially Artanis. The psychic energy released by Artanis at this moment made him feel fear. He had never seen the great Farseers in action, but perhaps they were not much more than this.
Not only was their psychic power strong, but their physical speed was also incredibly fast. The Guardians were slaughtered without much of a chance to resist. And the Protoss had only lost one person.
The advantage brought by the Eldar's long lifespan and honed skills was completely erased in front of these Templar. Everyone had lived long enough.
And the social system of the Protoss, before Artanis's reforms, was even a caste-like system. Social status was completely determined by an individual's psychic level. The Templar represented the elite class of the original Protoss society, and every Templar was recognized by Protoss society as a Protoss with sufficient psionic control and combat skill.
It could be said that the Protoss Lucan had summoned into this world had no civilians; they were all elites.
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