Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 498

Chapter 496: A bloody fight

“Is this our first meeting?”

As the two Chapter Masters stepped forward to engage in conversation before the bloody death battle, Erso appeared quite relaxed.

Martins, standing across from him, seemed less composed.

It was clear he was trying hard to remain calm, but the fury in his eyes was unconcealable.

Hearing Erso’s greeting, Martins let out a slow, cold smile. “Not really. I fired a bolt at you on Leo Shield 9.”

“Hahaha!” Martins’ words seemed to make Erso laugh. After a moment, Erso’s smile faded and he taunted, “I remember that battle. It was a great victory. I personally killed six Redbuds and four Phoenixes. But I don’t remember your bolt. It seems it had no effect at all.”

Martins remembered that battle vividly. His company, along with the Redbuds’ company, was ordered to garrison the planet called Leo Shield 9. They were fiercely attacked by the Fury Legion and suffered heavy losses. Many of his close battle brothers died in that battle.

“I hate that I couldn’t kill you that day.”

“Oh? Well, you have your chance today.” Erso continued to smile, dismissing Martins. “Why don’t we just fight the first battle, the two of us? See if that bomb you fired a hundred years ago can hit me today.”

He was trying to provoke Martins into making an irrational choice. A fight between two Chapter Masters would certainly escalate the battle to a climax, but the risks would also be enormous.

Erso was absolutely confident of victory. He simply wanted to slay Martins in this first battle, to seize the initiative.

Martins almost agreed,

but at the last moment, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Let our warriors compete first. You might be so mad you’ll want to quit, and then I’ll take your life.”

“Haha,” Erso glared at Martins. “Then I’m afraid my warriors won’t give me that chance and will quickly slaughter all one hundred of your new recruits. But even if that happens, I’ll mercifully grant you a 101st chance. If you dare quit, I’ll be there for you.”

“Just wait and see.”

Returning

to his own formation, Martins was still furious.

He felt he hadn’t performed well in the previous argument, having clearly lost to Erso in verbal combat.

This had left him feeling deeply upset.

However, the conversation was over, and he couldn’t possibly bring Erso back for another argument.

He could only hold his anger in his stomach.

But he quickly realized

what was the point of verbal battles?

Ultimately, the outcome would come down to gunfire and blades.

He asked Rizzo, “Are our warriors ready?”

“We’re always ready. The morale of the hundred men the Governor named is high.”

Martins sighed at this, “How did the Governor know these were our best hundred warriors? Furthermore, after a brief training session following the announcement, their already impressive strength has actually increased even further!” Rizzo

gave him a mysterious smile. “Perhaps this is the Governor’s gift.”

Martins was stunned, but didn’t reply.

He felt that old Rizzo was becoming increasingly mystical.

Ignoring him, Martins glanced at the man standing nearby.

“Brother Carduso, according to the plan, you’ll be the first to fight. Is that okay?”

Carduso was the captain of the Phoenix’s First Company and one of the survivors of the century-long expedition who had originally arrived on the Wrathful Owl Star with Martins. He was arguably the strongest man in the Phoenix, aside from Martins himself, and only slightly inferior to Martins.

He was the most suitable person to fight this battle.

“No problem,” Carduso replied absentmindedly, his gaze fixed on a figure in the opposing Fury’s formation.

“Are you looking at Cao Boyang?”

“Yeah,” Carduso nodded, coming to his senses. “I heard he’s now the First Captain of the Fury. I wonder if I’ll have a chance to run into him later.”

Martins knew why Carduso wanted to run into Cao Boyang.

It was for the same reason he hated Erso. Carduso also had a close brother who died at the hands of Cao Boyang.

Four of these old men, who had lived for over a century, who didn’t have a deep vendetta against the Fury?

Martins thought for a moment and said, “You could call out, maybe he’ll come down.”

“That makes sense.”

Carduso tucked the helmet he was about to put on back under his armpit.

He walked out of the battle formation, shouting to the other side:

“Cao Boyang! Get out here and die!”

…

“Old Cao, he told you to get out.”

“Then the other brothers, wait. I’ll go first. It won’t take long. I can kill him in a few minutes.” Encased in heavy Terminator Power Armor, Cao Boyang twisted his neck nonchalantly. “I let that guy escape a hundred years ago, and a hundred years later, he’ll still die at my hands.”

With that, he too walked off the scene.

The equipment gap between the two was still significant.

Cao Boyang was basically fully armed. Besides the ‘Indomitable’ Terminator Power Armor, he carried two rocket pods on his shoulders and a heavy bolter mounted under his left arm. In battle, his most commonly used weapon was Mjolnir. But today, upon seeing Carduso across from him, he put down Mjolnir and replaced it with a power sword.

This wasn’t a sign of letting up, deliberately avoiding his most convenient weapon, but rather a targeted equipment selection.

Because the opposing Carduso was not wearing a Terminator, but just an ordinary tactical power armor – it was just a rare model. The ‘Majestic’ power armor was a good thing that made many regiments jealous.

Against an opponent wearing conventional power armor, a melee weapon like Mjolnir, more than adequate for dealing heavy damage, is inadequate. A more maneuverable power sword would be far more suitable.

Honestly, Cao Boyang’s gear is vastly more expensive than Carduso’s. In a battle, Cao Boyang, wearing such gear, would be far more effective than Carduso’s. He could deliver suppression fire, charge into battle… he could do anything.

But a duel is a different matter.

The Terminator’s armor is thick and heavy, allowing it to be equipped with many gadgets that tactical power armor can’t. However, its bulk and inflexibility are insurmountable.

If both users are low-level, the Terminator will undoubtedly be able to crush the enemy with its superior equipment. However, if both are highly skilled, that’s not necessarily the case.

The Alliance isn’t poor, and Carduso isn’t too low-ranking within the Chapter to be deprived of good equipment. And since they’re facing a bitter enemy, there’s no room for letting them down or looking down on them. If Kalduso wanted to match Cao Boyang’s skills, he could certainly match them. The

reason he didn’t was, of course, to win.

Agility and skill were the keys to Kalduso’s victory today.

But from the very beginning of the battle, Kalduso faced a grave danger.

The duel took place on a vast expanse of ruined city walls, approximately two kilometers in diameter. However, for the Space Marines, even at full speed, even the complex terrain could be traversed in just a few minutes.

A close encounter would render Cao Boyang’s numerous long-range heavy weaponry useless.

Almost as soon as the announcement of the battle began, he dropped to a crouching stance. The built-in scanner had roughly locked onto Kalduso’s position, and the two rocket launchers on his shoulders began unleashing their salvos.

Rocket after rocket, trailing long flames, shot out, tracing a beautiful arc through the air, passing over the ruins, and accurately locking onto Kalduso’s area.

He didn’t fire all his rockets at once, but rather, he fired them one after another in a rhythmic sequence. He precisely calculated Carduso’s position and potential movements, blocking many of his routes. His primary goal was to prevent the Phoenix veteran from hiding in the rubble to avoid the explosion.

No way! He’d be blasted to pieces mid-stride!

Carduso, on the other hand, could only maneuver nimbly amidst the bombardment.

His speed certainly wasn’t enough to completely evade the blast, but tactical power armor was still power armor. As long as he avoided the core of the precision rocket blast, the threat posed by the aftermath of the surrounding areas was relatively low.

However, during this process, he could hardly close the distance between them, and he absolutely couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. Otherwise, a direct hit from the rockets would result in death or serious injury.

Carduso, having avoided the disadvantages of heavy equipment, arrived as expected.

Although he remained unscathed, the key was that Cao Boyang’s attack methods were almost risk-free, leaving Carduso passively vulnerable.

A mistake means defeat; no mistakes at all, and Cao Boyang’s rocket supply is simply wasted. He must still have over twenty rockets in his two rocket pods. How much energy would it take for Carduso to dodge them all?

Just as he was thinking this, all the spectators saw a blue beam pierce the entire duel arena, hitting the rocket pod on Cao Boyang’s left shoulder!

The elite Space Marines present recognized the shot as a plasma rifle, a charged shot.

But… when did Carduso draw his gun and charge it? Wasn’t he forced to flee in panic after being blasted by the rockets? How could he have the time to do that?

Furthermore, the distance between them was nearly two kilometers, with countless ruins blocking the way. How did Carduso manage to hit the target?

Casimir Erso, watching from afar, had a gloomy expression.

There was nothing magical about it; it was simply that he managed to distract himself with charging his plasma rifle while constantly analyzing and adjusting his position as he dodged, until he found an unobstructed opening between them.

The gap was incredibly narrow, and even more terrifying, Karduso was constantly under fire. Avoiding the bombardment and adjusting his position was already incredibly difficult, let alone seizing that split-second opportunity to fire an accurate shot at a range exceeding two kilometers.

Erso could only exclaim, “This is incredible skill.”

He asked himself, could anyone in the entire Fury of Flame Warband be capable of such a feat?

A few top fighters, after specialized training and practice, might be able to pull off this “performance.”

But alas, this wasn’t a performance, but a life-or-death struggle.

In fact, in this actual battle, the Phoenix was at a disadvantage. This was Fury of Flame’s territory, and they had chosen the duel location. They had the ability to observe and study the terrain in advance, but the Phoenix didn’t have that luxury.

Erso himself didn’t believe he could pull off such a close-quarters shot in actual combat.

Yet, this unknown figure from the war a century ago had actually pulled it off!

A mere veteran?

Impossible.

Even the team champion couldn’t pull it off!

Phoenix, the captain of the First Company, could actually display such prowess!

He couldn’t help but look at Cao Boyang with some concern.

From the start of the battle until now, Cao’s firepower suppression had demonstrated exceptional skill. However, Carduso’s divine spear had directly surpassed him in performance.

However, Cao’s actions were also quite decisive.

As the rocket pod was pierced by the plasma, he violently untied the connection between it and himself and flung it far away.

The rocket pod exploded in mid-air.

Had Cao’s decision been even a little slower, he would have suffered a severe blow from the rocket pod’s detonation.

Carduso also took advantage of this opportunity and began to advance rapidly, using the city ruins as cover.

He was clearly trying to close the distance between them, perhaps even engaging in close combat.

Cao was not afraid either.

The captain of the First Company of the Fury Regiment, with heavy steps, also advanced deeper into the city ruins.

Erso, watching the battle, could not help but breathe a tense sigh of relief.

Carduso’s performance was too frightening. He could only hope that this Phoenix veteran, a master of long-range shooting and not particularly skilled in close-quarters swordsmanship, would at least not be so brutal.

This was possible; otherwise, Carduso’s abilities would be far more than just a company commander.

But seeing how eager he was to engage in close combat, Erso didn’t dare to completely trust his own judgment.

He could only watch the distance between the two sides getting closer and closer…

————

The first day of May, brothers, please give me some monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)