Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 532

Chapter 530, Battle of Zhongbei River

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions echoed around Xiong Lei’s ears.

But he was already unmoved.

As long as it didn’t explode directly at his headquarters and didn’t kill him, it wasn’t a big deal.

He wasn’t physically very sensitive to the vibrations of explosions. It was partly due to habit, and partly because his right ear had been partially deafened by the explosions in previous battles.

He was a member of the Alliance Army’s 5th Army Group, also known as the “Korojan Legion.” This unit had a long history, having fought and distinguished itself during the Korojan Plague War.

Xiong Lei had participated in that war, too. That was twenty-three years ago, when he was only nineteen.

He still remembered the decisive battle outside Mingyan City.

He rose through the ranks incredibly quickly.

Starting as a private, he joined the troops in battle and became a squad leader half an hour later, and a company commander three hours later. His previous superiors were all dead, so as long as he was alive, he rose quickly.

Even after surviving the hellish battlefield, he still felt like he was in a dream.

So many had died that he had lost hope in his own survival, hoping only to drag a few more plague zombies down with him. He

survived by some unknown means, officially becoming a company commander and earning the rank of lieutenant. He then had the opportunity to attend military academy, and upon graduation, he was promoted to battalion commander and captain.

He later participated in numerous battles with his unit, earning numerous military achievements. He also led troops in training and garrison operations during peacetime…

All told, his military career within the Alliance spanned twenty-four years, and he had risen to the rank of division commander, holding the rank of colonel.

Then, he followed his army group to the northern Menghe star field.

Initially, they were on the offensive, and he led several offensive campaigns against various planets. Over the course of nearly a year, they had visited three planets. While the Alliance was on the offensive, they were certainly taking steady steps.

Xiong Lei felt the rebels on the other side were no match for him. The so-called “Imperial Legion,” said to be developed from the Ironclad’s mortal auxiliaries and designed to rival the Astra Militarum, was a formidable opponent. However, its numbers were too small, largely composed of officers from the Imperial Legion, recruited locally, and equipped with much of the equipment of locally produced traitor troops.

These indigenous forces might be superior to regular planetary defense forces, but they were definitely not up to par with the Astra Militarum.

His division could often sustain an offensive against an enemy force three to five times its size, crushing them and even achieving encirclement and annihilation.

The furthest it had reached was the “Front River Sector.”

Further north from the Front River, it would have reached the Proud Claw Sector, the southernmost region of the Spider Web.

During those days of favorable conditions, he even felt that the superiors’ strategy was a bit too conservative.

They could have advanced rapidly.

But now, after a victory, the enemy was already completely defeated before they could even begin to revel in it. Then, they had to begin local tasks like clearing out the defeated troops and suppressing local unrest.

The most important task was to assist the navy’s transport fleet in evacuating the population from the local area.

But the previous year, he’d felt the battle was going smoothly and was a bit boring, but the next two years, he was beaten and forced to flee everywhere.

He believed this was a strategic issue from above. They

were strategically retreating, and many planets began withdrawing forces as the enemy approached. He had participated in two such withdrawals, often leaving without even seeing the enemy.

With successful evacuations, there were also failures.

While a failed evacuation wasn’t a sure thing, it meant facing endless enemy attacks on an isolated planet, lacking food and medicine, and without reinforcements. That wouldn’t be a good outcome. Although

such a fate hadn’t befallen him, Xiong Lei couldn’t help but feel a sense of grief.

He figured, “Just hold on to each planet and fight the invading enemy head-on!”

What was there to be afraid of? “

Can’t we defeat them?”

Then, he knew it wasn’t that they couldn’t win, but at least it was going to be very difficult. He and his troops retreated to the Central North River Star Region, to Planet 3 ,

Yuehe VII. This was the southernmost planet in the Central North River Star Region, and had been part of the blockade defense line before the Alliance launched its offensive against rebel-held areas. It was a world that had undergone years of fortification.

A strong defense meant that when the enemy attacked, the defending side would have a greater home-field advantage,

especially when the navy was inferior.

Well-built anti-aircraft orbital fortresses and space stations could provide cover for the ground forces when naval forces were insufficient.

Xiong Lei knew that his own naval forces were indeed insufficient. Once the enemy forces entered this star region, his fragile fleet was forced to withdraw, or face annihilation.

However, it was precisely because of the ground and orbital defenses that the ground forces were protected from, or at least significantly reduced, the threat of orbital bombardment.

Xiong Lei himself was a beneficiary.

Otherwise, the fortress his division was stationed in would likely have been destroyed by orbital bombardment, even without the enemy needing to attack.

Then, the enemy’s ground offensive began.

Massive rebel forces were deployed from the relative safety of the airspace and began attacking stubborn defensive nodes on the ground.

During the ground battle, his division numbered a full 50,000 men, but the fortresses they were stationed in faced an enemy force many times their size.

The defense forces urgently summoned from local planets were completely defeated in the fierce fighting. These inferior makeshift forces were completely unreliable.

But Xiong Lei could also glimpse the enemy’s combat effectiveness.

These genuine “Imperial Legion” rebels, fighting the Alliance-recruited Allied forces, were comparable to the Alliance Army’s fight against the planetary defense forces trained by the Princess’s advisors.

And in the actual close combat, these rebel main forces clearly demonstrated the strength of their authentic Astra Militarum Army.

This, coupled with his numerical superiority, put the 311th Totenkopf Division, part of the 5th Army Group, under immense pressure.

However, the comprehensive defensive infrastructure once again proved a significant aid.

The fortification construction of the previous few years had considered not only anti-orbital defenses but also the possibility of a ground attack.

The entire fortress was well-designed, with ample space inside for the deployment of the 311th Division’s artillery.

Heavy artillery fiercely struck all incoming enemies.

Conversely, the enemy’s long-range firepower and air superiority were less effective.

The 311th Division, with its own aviation unit, was capable of resisting, and the fortress’s air defenses were also substantial. The rebel aircraft could not launch attacks with impunity, much less deliver precise bombs without distraction. Their precious missiles were easily intercepted.

The opposing artillery was no match.

While the rebel heavy artillery was equally impressive in specifications and quantity, the difference lay in the fact that the rebel artillery could only be deployed in the field, at best under field fortifications and with minimal cover. How could it compare to the artillery of the 311th Division, stationed within the permanently fortified fortress?

A falling shell could injure the artillery crew within forty or fifty meters of the field fortifications; any closer and the gun itself would be damaged.

At the same distance, a shell fired into the fortress would likely be blocked by the intricate, solid walls.

The Princess Legion’s strength was well-deserved. Despite these circumstances, they seized the opportunity, armed with siege weapons, and blasted open the fortress’s main gate, collapsing a portion of its walls.

However, this wasn’t a war fought in the cold-weapon era; victory wasn’t achieved simply by breaching a gate or demolishing a wall. The rebels who entered the fortress, facing the complex and unfamiliar terrain, engaged in brutal street fighting with the Alliance forces, who had the advantage of the terrain, inflicting heavy losses.

Furthermore, Xiong Lei seized the opportunity, holding out for two months before finally showing his prowess.

He deployed his armored units, often less effective in defensive battles, and took advantage of the fortress’s specially designed expressways to launch a proactive attack. Supported by concentrated artillery fire, they routed a portion of the enemy reinforcements, destroying not only their siege engines but also two artillery positions, while also temporarily cutting off the enemy’s incoming forces from the outside world.

The infantry regiments, acting as a defensive tactic, seized this opportunity to completely annihilate the enemy forces within the fortress.

This combined attack dealt a crushing blow to the rebels. The heavy loss of manpower and the destruction of their heavy equipment would significantly reduce their ability to subsequently siege the fortress.

After the initial battle, the defensive pressure faced by the 311th Division suddenly eased.

The army even sent him reinforcements. The 077th and 240th Infantry Divisions also joined his command, coming under his unified command.

While the battle situation on the entire planet was said to be extremely tense for the Alliance, at least in the fortress where Xiong Lei was stationed, the situation was relatively good. He patted his chest and assured the army general that his troops could hold the fortress forever, and that the enemy would not capture or destroy the fortress’s railgun array.

But he couldn’t keep his promise.

His promise was met with disaster right after he made it.

The enemy, contrary to his expectations, launched another fierce attack.

He was initially confused.

He hadn’t detected any reinforcements arriving. Lacking heavy vehicles like tanks for cover, and with artillery in the rear that hadn’t recovered, his firepower was limited. Wouldn’t attacking the newly reinforced fortress under these circumstances be a waste of lives?

However, he soon learned what the rebels relied on:

the Space Marines.

Reports indicated that a squadron of orange-and-yellow-painted Space Marines had infiltrated the fortress and were on a killing spree.

The super-soldiers of the Fury Chapter had an immediate impact on the situation.

Suddenly, Xiong Lei, who had thought his defenses were impeccable, felt the depth of his turmoil.

Only after the devastation and chaos had already occurred did he realize the enemy’s exact number: five.

Just five Space Marines had thrown him into a state of turmoil!

Typically, they would work in pairs, or even three, stealthy and stealthy. Once they located a high-value target or strategic point, they would strike decisively, rout or eliminate the stronghold, often allowing them to evacuate before any Allied reinforcements could arrive. If truly surrounded, they would break through without hesitation, fighting their way out.

In just a few days, at least a thousand soldiers had perished at the hands of these five Furys.

The loss of personnel was secondary, as Xiong Lei now commanded three divisions. His own 311th Division was still a skeleton force of over 50,000 men, while the two newly added infantry divisions each numbered over 40,000 men.

However, the locations of these deaths were crucial.

Several previously easy-to-defend, difficult-to-attack fire points were eliminated, allowing the enemy to more easily advance into the fortress. A regimental command post was destroyed, disrupting the command structure and forcing Xiong Lei to dispatch a staff officer to take over. A small artillery position was assaulted, and three Fury Blazes slaughtered half the battalion, destroying the artillery…

These losses triggered a chain reaction: even greater casualties and the loss of numerous defensive areas on the perimeter.

The advantage of defensive terrain was diminished, and the battle gradually became more evenly contested.

But this was not the outcome Xiong Lei had intended.

Casualties mounted rapidly, and positions fell one after another. His staff had already given the worst-case scenario: if the fighting continued at this rate, they would lose all their positions within two or three months, be driven out, and the railguns, which they absolutely could not afford to lose, would also be captured by the enemy.

That would be disastrous, even worse than being destroyed. Reversing the railguns could allow them to attack friendly space stations in the sky, collaborating with the enemy’s naval fleet, which would double the pressure.

So, he hatched a plan.

He would kill those Furies.

“The Furies are merely defeated enemies of our Alliance, driven from the Dragonhawk Star Region in disgrace. If we can drive them out once, we can do it again!”

He offered encouragement, but he knew the difficulty of the task.

He deployed a mobile force, gathering the Sentinels from Division Headquarters and preparing a few elite Regenerative Power Armor units.

These were all he could muster to fight the Space Marines.

Furthermore, they couldn’t engage in a particularly confined area, as the larger Sentinels wouldn’t be able to fit in, and their agility wouldn’t match theirs, forcing them to be slaughtered.

Finally, the right opportunity presented itself.

As the two Furies, after assaulting a firing point, prepared to retreat, they were surrounded. As they were breaking out, Xiong Lei’s mobile force arrived.

Over thirty Sentinels and ten elite Skeleton Division members clad in Regenerative Power Armor engaged the two Furies in a desperate battle.

————

Fell asleep after dinner…Woke up at 2 o’clock…

(End of this chapter)