Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 515

Chapter 513, Prestige Strategy

Gu Hang personally arrived in the Menghe Star Region aboard an Alliance vessel.

His movements were, of course, sensed by the Iron Fury Stone.

Humphrey Paul’s reaction was quite dramatic.

He personally summoned the Alliance ambassador, the woman named Wu Yang.

As a Space Marine and Chapter Master of the Iron Armor, Paul’s stature was undoubtedly unmatched by mortals.

As she sat on her throne on the battleship’s bridge, Wu Yang looked up, feeling as if she were looking upon a god.

Space Marines are often referred to as demigods, and that’s not untrue.

“Gu Hang has personally led the fleet into the Menghe Star Region. You’ve already decided to become my enemy, right?”

Paul’s voice was neither loud nor harsh; certainly not frivolous, just ordinary and calm.

Despite this, Alliance Ambassador Wu Yang, standing below, though mentally prepared, still felt nervous under the overwhelming pressure.

She had been in the Imperial Star Region for several months.

In reality, even when the Fury Flame Chapter was driven out of the Dragonhawk Sector, the Alliance had already dispatched ambassadors to the Iron Armor Chapter.

“Upholding the principle that both sides represent local Imperial factions, we maintain mutual communication.”

The Iron Armor Chapter also had envoys on Wing Star. The handwritten letter from Humphrey Paul was actually delivered directly to Gu Hang by the Iron Armor ambassador.

And even after the Iron Armor Chapter officially raised the flag of rebellion, neither ambassador withdrew.

They argued with each other’s officials, were used as punching bags, and accused each other of being traitors to the Empire… that was the official job.

Of course, if that were the only reason, sending ambassadors to each other wouldn’t be worthwhile. It didn’t matter to the Iron Armor Chapter, but for the Alliance, it was politically risky.

If it served no purpose, the Alliance would certainly not do it.

In essence, the exchange of ambassadors between the two sides served to communicate and confirm each other’s positions and attitudes.

And Wu Yang, a highly experienced diplomat in the Alliance’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was assigned this important, but especially dangerous, mission.

Who knows if the two sides will even kill each other’s ambassadors to vent their anger?

Even so, Wu Yang had to project a resolute stance.

“The Alliance is a member of the Empire,” she said. “We have no tolerance for traitors to the Empire, and we will definitely take action. This is just the beginning.” She

had to show her stance.

But the point still needed to be made:

“In the future, the Alliance will enter the Spider Web Space to carry out the Empire’s orders, but not now. For now, and for a long time to come, the Alliance’s goals will remain within the Eastern Space, within the Menghe Star Region.”

At this point, Wu Yang added, “This is the Empire’s request.”

The subtext was clear: the Alliance didn’t want a major war just yet.

Entering the Menghe Star Region was, on the one hand, to push the Alliance’s defenses forward, preventing a future conflict from invading its core territory; on the other, it was to fulfill the Empire’s orders.

This was to prevent the Ironclad Chapter from misjudging the situation and thinking the Alliance was about to launch a full-scale attack, leading to drastic action.

Of course, if Iron Armor insisted on such a response, the Alliance would have no choice. So, let’s just fight it out in the Menghe Star Region.

The Alliance was indeed unprepared for war and didn’t want it.

But…

was Iron Armor ready for it?

Humphrey Paul had gotten the answer he wanted.

He had no interest in talking to Wu Yang, an “ambassador,” and dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

After Wu Yang left, Paul sat alone on his throne, speechless. It wasn’t

until much later that he let out a deep sigh.

…

Gu Hang also sighed.

His sigh, however, had nothing to do with the Iron Armor Legion.

The Alliance ambassador had relayed the details of Wu Yang’s meeting with Paul, including the aftermath, her constant verbal battles with Iron Armor officials, and their constant threats to move south and destroy the Alliance, just as Iron Armor had destroyed the imperial forces of countless worlds.

But in reality, Gu Hang didn’t believe Iron Armor would move south.

It wasn’t guaranteed, but it was highly likely.

Gu Hang roughly calculated the Iron Armor’s strength. If they wanted to maintain their current invincibility, they wouldn’t be able to open a third front. This

was especially true given that the Alliance was a formidable opponent.

If their myth of invincibility, established over the past year, were shattered, the situation would be dire. If many worlds ceased to believe the Iron Armor was completely invincible and began to resist, the Iron Armor would be in serious trouble. This

would significantly increase the cost of conquest, and fewer worlds would surrender without resistance.

To put it bluntly, was the Iron Armor’s base significantly stronger than the Alliance’s? The Alliance’s base was the Dragon Eagle Star Region, while the Iron Armor’s base was the Princess Star Region. The difference was simply that they had controlled the entire star region for a longer time than the Alliance.

To engulf an entire universe, to the point of turning the war into a tidal wave, they couldn’t fight world by world. Who could withstand that?

How did Solakem’s Solar Crusade conquer tens of thousands of worlds? It certainly wasn’t possible to conquer them one by one. The Solar Lord was also a crucial battle, building a reputation and then inciting dozens or even hundreds of surrounding worlds to surrender.

As this reputation grew, the campaign became increasingly successful. Often, fleets would arrive and the enemy would surrender. Sometimes, even without the need for an army, a single emissary could bring ten worlds in an entire sector to their knees.

This was the key to conquering three worlds in two days, or tens of thousands of worlds in a decades-long expedition.

Reputation.

If you possessed truly invincible power, sweeping everything would be a no-brainer.

But that wasn’t generally the case. Even in the early days of the Solar Crusade, before Sun Lord Solakem had fully established his reputation and secured the Empire’s unwavering support, his warfare tactics required a remarkable degree of cunning. He needed to achieve numerous victories before anything else could happen.

Now, Gu Hang could see that Tie Kai was going to copy this approach.

Of course, they were still in the early stages, still in the stage of building their reputation, and so far they had only achieved initial success, with several key hurdles to overcome.

(End of this chapter)