Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 1022

Chapter 1013, Lionheart

now sends Gu Hang numerous matters daily.

Gu Hang generally just examines these specific matters. Even when they are particularly important, he mostly pays attention and rarely expresses his opinions.

Unless a matter has already been handled, but the manner or outcome displeases him, contradicting his overall strategy. Then he’ll intervene, offering instructions and opinions.

Often, at these times, a major tug-of-war is necessary. Not only is it a matter of concern to Prime Minister Gu Hang, but it’s also about correcting strategic errors. A major effort is necessary, even if it means going too far.

However, this matter is different.

The appearance of a new Son of God is significant enough in itself.

It was discovered by Dante’s forces, Chapter Master of the Blood Angels and Commander-in-Chief of the Angel Expedition.

Upon discovering this, he immediately made contact and reported the information to Martins, Warmaster of the Alliance and Commander-in-Chief of the Dark Side Expedition.

The report then reached Gu Hang’s desk.

Under his close scrutiny, reports were issued almost every time progress was made.

Through these reports, he had a rough grasp of the entire situation.

The entire situation stemmed from the Dawn Realm, where the Angelic Expeditionary Force was currently focusing its efforts to recapture it. Their offensive there had run into some difficulties.

Over a hundred years had passed since the Cataclysm, and conditions in many areas had deteriorated to such an extent that enemies had even established Chaos realms.

These were often warbands or powerful cults, spanning dozens or even hundreds of worlds. These worlds fell under their evil rule, and humanity suffered brutal treatment. Not only were they oppressed, forced to provide supplies and serve, but their populations were also used as consumable material for the Chaos warbands and cultists.

Under this oppression, their achievements and the blood sacrifices they endured strengthened these Chaos forces, allowing them to corrupt more cultists and soldiers from the local area, further opening up Warp portals and summoning more Daemon troops to feed and recruit even more Chaos traitors.

The difficulty of wiping out such a Chaos realm is immense.

It can only be said that after the New Empire has conquered nearly half of the Old Empire’s territory, the remaining half has entered the “deep waters” of the expedition.

The difficulty has increased, and the previous instances of local flag changes upon the arrival of the fleet are becoming less common.

Local sense of belonging to the Empire has weakened with prolonged isolation; Chaos and rebel forces have taken deeper roots; and the xenos are becoming increasingly rampant…

A variety of factors have simultaneously led to the current situation.

However, all this is to be expected.

For the New Empire, the path has simply become more difficult. The ultimate goal remains within reach; it’s simply a matter of steady progress.

Recently, the Angel Expedition has encountered a major challenge: a warband called the Blood Eyes.

They occupy over a hundred worlds, possess a sizeable fleet, and each world is deeply corrupted, with a mix of human rebels and daemonic forces. They are led by over 1,500 Chaos Space Marines, with a Scourge Fleet operating nearby.

A detachment of the Angel Expeditionary Force suffered heavy losses here. After six months of fighting, they not only failed to capture the city but also suffered heavy casualties. Forced to retreat, they rested and regrouped while appealing to Dante for assistance, hoping for the dispatch of multiple detachments.

At this juncture, the once aggressive Chaos enemy suddenly slowed its offensive,

and many units even retreated.

Puzzled, the human forces continued to call for support while dispatching reconnaissance ships deep into the Blood Eye Wargang’s territory. They finally grasped the cause:

an uprising had broken out in the Blood Eye Wargang’s territory!

At first, the expeditionary fleet found it somewhat unbelievable.

Uprisings were common, after all, who would want to live under the rule of Chaos? Living in constant fear, facing imminent death, being slaughtered and tortured at will? Since death

was inevitable, they might as well rebel.

However, it was easier said than done.

For ordinary civilians, a successful uprising in this era was simply impossible.

Not to mention the lack of guns and ammunition, even if they did, what good would they do?

A group of untrained mortal soldiers armed with light weapons couldn’t possibly face the might of Chaos.

Only on a few worlds did the original planetary defense forces still exist, providing a foundation for a resistance force to fight guerrilla warfare against the Chaos forces in the wilderness, jungles, and mountains.

However, guerrilla warfare was difficult.

The enemy had the advantage of “low human rights.”

They weren’t like the Alliance, who would be wary of the rebels.

The Alliance would be somewhat limited in dealing with the rebels hiding in the lower levels of the hives, protected by the residents. The Alliance was reluctant to engage in massacres when suppressing the rebels, and even in alien strongholds like the Comoros, they didn’t do so on a large scale.

After all, the Alliance’s ultimate goal was to control the region and then develop it. Destroying the land and killing everyone would be pointless.

However, the Chaos forces clearly didn’t care.

Massacre without hesitation. Suspecting any remnants of resistance in a particular area, they would unleash brutal force, even resorting to annihilating orbital bombardment.

It was truly difficult to launch an uprising under Chaos.

This was precisely why the Alliance Expeditionary Force was astonished—what kind of rebel army could actually drive back the main force of the Blood Eye War Gang?

But this was good news, nonetheless.

The expeditionary force finally had a moment to breathe.

They seized the opportunity to rest, maintain their equipment, and reorganize their forces, aiming to rebuild their forces while also awaiting reinforcements.

Throughout this process, they did not abandon their actions.

Since the rebels deep within the Blood Eye War Gang’s control had managed to create such a powerful force, they must be fully supported. At the very least, they could not stand by and watch them be annihilated.

The expeditionary force assembled a fleet and risked their lives to break through.

These were small, fast-moving assault boats, their primary mission to further investigate the intelligence and, incidentally, to provide support to the rebels.

Small but elite weapons and equipment, such as feedback-type power armor, plasma guns, and bolters…

There were also some reinforcements. A twenty-man Space Marine squad, plus a thousand elite Army special forces, were the backbone.

For the pre-detachment fleet, which had already suffered defeat in the previous war, providing this kind of support was already the best they could do.

Their analysis was actually correct.

Given limited resources, when only a dozen small ships could break through the siege and transporting no particularly large or extensive supplies was possible, then bringing as many small weapons as possible and deploying primarily elite troops was undoubtedly a good option.

But in reality… it wasn’t wrong, it was just surprising: the rebels thanked them for their assistance, but the Alliance commanders on the scene realized they didn’t really need it.

After immense effort and risk, having broken through the Chaos enemy’s outer defenses, the Alliance discovered that within the Blood Eye Warband’s heartland, over a dozen planets had raised the banner of rebellion, united in a powerful and impressive display!

The Blood Eye Warband’s main force had returned. The rebel fleet was valiant, their tactics exceptional. Although outnumbered and outclassed by the enemy, they fought recklessly, maneuvering between multiple planets, leveraging planetary defenses to engage the enemy.

While they couldn’t quite claim to have gained the upper hand in the battle, they were at least able to maintain it.

This was truly remarkable!

Originally, it was thought that the mere survival of this rebel army, their ability to stir up trouble in the Blood Eyes’ heartland and force them back, would have been a remarkable achievement. However, in reality, they had simply conquered 15 percent of the planets within the Blood Eyes’ heartland, establishing an organization and a fleet.

Weapons and equipment?

They had them.

Some were manufactured by resuming production lines after attacking Chaos-occupied military factories; some were captured from enemy arsenals.

Their ships were also captured from Chaos-held vessels, purified, and used for their own purposes.

The little equipment brought by the Alliance commandos was merely useful—after all, something was better than nothing. But to say how effective it would be was a stretch. At this scale, the bulk of the fighting was essentially frontal combat. The Alliance task force’s weapons and equipment, originally intended for guerrilla warfare and special operations, were ultimately of little use.

It was the Alliance’s thousand-plus soldiers who were truly useful.

After all, four special operations battalions from the Alliance Army, comprising 1,200 specialists, all clad in regenerative power armor and at least T3 rank. Twenty Space Marines, all veterans, from a Blood Angels successor chapter called the Hundred Wings. The

Hundred Wings’ flag bearer, as the overall commander, had helped repel a Chaos counterattack when he met the leader of the Rebellion.

It truly was the Son of God!

They had heard of this before.

As the assault ships entered the Rebellion-controlled area, they intercepted several Rebellion broadcasts via astropathic communication, hearing about the Son of God, the Lionheart, Leon Charles.

These Rebellions claimed to be led by the Lionheart… How could that be possible?

That’s what the Alliance officers thought.

The Son of God, those figures lived ten thousand years ago, during the founding of the Imperium, practically mythical beings.

Granted, there was Robert’s resurrection, but that was unique. Strictly speaking, Robert wasn’t dead. He was merely severely injured and placed in a perpetual stasis field. With the means to revive him and release him from the stasis field, wouldn’t that mean he’s alive? It

wouldn’t even be considered a resurrection.

But Lion?

He was different.

The Lionheart, the genetic father of the former First Legion and the Death Angels, had clearly disappeared during the Imperial Civil War, in a highly classified battle that ultimately resulted in the complete destruction and rupture of the Death Angels’ homeworld.

While there were no definitive reports of his death, missing for ten thousand years… wasn’t much different from being dead, right?

After all, it wasn’t something that could be casually revealed.

Rather than believing the real Lionheart had appeared, the Alliance preferred to believe it was some ambitious individual in disguise, or perhaps some Chaos traitor using sorcery to manipulate the world.

Such speculations, for a time, made them hesitant to descend to the surface and fight alongside the Rebellion, fearing they would step into a trap and never return.

However, after carefully examining the clash between the rebels and the Blood Eyes War Gang, which didn’t seem like a show, and the rebels’ apparent condition showing no signs of Chaos corruption, they decided to take the risk.

Landing, they joined the battle, aiding the rebels in repelling the attack. In the name of the Alliance, the New Empire, and their own demonstrated combat prowess, they then requested a meeting with the so-called ‘Lionheart King.’

Everything went smoothly.

They met the rebel leader.

At first glance, the Hundred Wings standard-bearer was convinced this was indeed a Son of God.

Though somewhat aged, his imposing presence, his black and dark green armor, and the lion’s head emblazoned on his shoulder were identical to the Son of God depicted in the murals and statues the standard-bearer had studied and seen.

Appearance alone was certainly not enough; more importantly, the Hundred Wings standard-bearer had met ‘Lord Regent’ Robert.

Although Martins wasn’t the Son of God, the standard-bearer felt that the aura and presence emanating from him was remarkably similar to that of the Regent!

Was this the scent of the Son of God?

He could only think so.

Meanwhile, he felt a sense of unease.

Legend had it that the Lionheart was a commander of great brilliance, yet also of harshness and cruelty. He always won, but he showed no mercy to his subordinates, never showing any favors.

Would such a commander be difficult to get along with?

What would his attitude be towards the Alliance and the New Empire?

However, after actually meeting and conversing with him, he was surprised to find that Leon wasn’t exactly gentle, but at least he could be described as gentle. While his words were unquestionable and his orders were firm, he wasn’t completely insensitive to any advice or suggestions.

Wasn’t that a good thing?

Leon valued their presence.

On the one hand, they were a source of strength, and on the other, they provided reinforcements.

He also readily agreed to the Alliance’s request to spread the news of his appearance.

Or rather, he never considered hiding it. After he first understood the era he was living in, he realized the immense morale boost his return as the Son of God could bring.

If this benefited the Empire and humanity, and could be leveraged as a weapon, then he had no problem using his reputation.

As for the so-called alliance and the new empire… he had no idea who Gu Hang was, nor what that guy Robert was up to.

He will figure it out later, but for now, he has to finish the current task first. He is not like Robert who always has many ideas in his head. He will only focus on one thing at a time and do it to the extreme.

(End of this chapter)