Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 537

Chapter 535, Give Me an Explanation

After siding with Iron Fury Stone, the New World Torch remained very proactive.

During the battle of Tianyuan VI, they had become traitors.

This was never a glorious outcome. Not only were they denounced as despicable and honorless by the Imperial side, but even within their own ranks, there were likely many who complained and secretly mocked them.

No one likes traitors, even those who defected from the enemy.

Profits are profits, and moral stains are moral stains; the two are not mutually exclusive.

Even within the New World Torch Chapter, there were voices of dissent. Some warriors, unable to endure the mental torment, defected in small groups, hoping to return to the Imperial side.

Their fates… were tragic.

Some were intercepted by Wang Mengsong’s personal forces and secretly executed on the spot. Some who successfully escaped to the Imperial side were also arrested, imprisoned, and tried by the Inquisition.

The atmosphere within the entire Chapter was deeply tense.

Under these circumstances, Wang Mengsong would not, and dared not, stop the Chapter.

He began actively participating in the Iron Rage Stone’s various campaigns within the Spider Web Universe, leading his chapter to battle after battle at an alarming rate.

The fatigue of battle left the warriors in the chapter with no time to dwell on other matters; the undisputed victory silenced many rumors within their own ranks.

Victory can mask many problems,

provided the winning momentum remains unbroken.

But there’s actually not much to worry about.

For the past four years, the Iron Rage Stone family has been a constant stream of victories. Minor setbacks won’t alter the overall winning trend.

Even with the Phoenix to the west and the Black Crusaders, along with the Bat and Infinity Chapters, to the north, what would matter?

What needed to be stopped would be stopped; what needed to be pushed back would be pushed back.

Wang Mengsong imagined the situation in the south would be the same.

Even after the Fury Flame Chapter suffered a heavy loss in the southern Dragon Eagle Star Region. But Wang Mengsong believed that the main reason was that the Fury Flame Chapter hadn’t adequately gathered intelligence on the Phoenix Chapter, leading them to rashly walk into a trap.

He admitted that the Phoenix Chapter’s presence in the number of experts was unexpected. However, the Phoenix Chapter’s overall strength was clear: a total of one thousand men. As a loyal chapter, they lacked special permission to exceed their maximum size. They even lacked a fleet. Their naval strength depended on the so-called Alliance, and their army also relied on the Alliance’s army.

While intelligence reports indicated the Alliance’s army was highly skilled, even if one were to consider it on par with the Princess Legion, that was all.

The difference in size was significant.

Iron Fury Stone’s influence now spanned the entire Spider Web Universe. The power of an entire universe was at their disposal. The Alliance to the south was merely a single star region, so what was there to fear?

With this in mind, he felt confident when he received the order to join the Fury Flame Chapter and march south to confront the Alliance.

The Fury of Flame had almost unleashed a force. Although they had suffered heavy losses in the Dragonhawk Sector four years prior, including losses among senior officers, elites, and key personnel, their overall strength remained intact. With nearly three thousand Space Marines and the Fury of Flame fleet, they were a formidable force.

Add to that the New World Torch, numbering fifteen hundred, along with its own fleet and auxiliary forces.

Their combined southward advance, while not unstoppable, should have been relatively smooth.

However, reality dealt a heavy blow to Wang Mengsong.

In the northern Menghe Sector, the Alliance’s vanguard troops were stationed, fortifying the surrounding planets and creating a significant obstacle to their advance.

The Alliance had managed this area well, employing a shrewd and resilient strategy.

Their signature strategy of striking a decisive battle, quickly daunting the enemy across an entire sector and wiping out their will to resist, failed here.

The Alliance’s soldiers, like nails, were rooted in those heavily fortified worlds.

Advancement would require tackling them piece by piece.

Even though the Alliance fleets in some systems had long been driven away, leaving the remaining ground forces completely without orbital control and cut off from external supplies, they still managed to hold out stubbornly on the surface, their morale formidable.

Why bother?

We’re not aliens or Chaos cultists, so why would surrender?

Despite this, Wang Mengsong didn’t believe the situation would change significantly.

They possessed absolute strength. Even if the enemy’s will to resist was far more stubborn than expected, as long as they were willing and courageous enough to commit, they would ultimately prevail.

Therefore, Wang Mengsong had always advocated that the warriors of the Fury and New World Torch be concentrated and intensively deployed on the front lines. Even the toughest challenges had to be tackled with unwavering determination to ensure the rapid advancement of the war.

However, he wasn’t the overall commander of this southward campaign.

Adler Paulitos, Chapter Master of the Fury, was.

In terms of command structure, he was bound to follow Adler Paulitos’s orders.

However, obeying orders was one thing, but that didn’t mean Wang Mengsong, as a Chapter Master, couldn’t even offer his opinions.

He had argued many times with Adler Paulitus over specific tactics and strategies,

but he was unable to sway Paulitus’s decisions.

Iron Fury Stone had also reformed the military structure under his rule. The Empire’s original model of independent factions didn’t work in the Spider Web Universe. Humphrey Paul, using a combination of firm and flexible tactics, had established a complete, unified military structure.

Wang Mengsong could only suppress his dissatisfaction.

Then, he watched his legions while away the days on the fortress worlds of the northern Menghe Segmental Region.

Indeed, the Space Marines, as the core and most valuable force, had little investment and naturally few losses. Relying on the Princess Legion and even the drafted ordinary defense forces, they had achieved remarkable results.

They had clearly suppressed the Alliance Vanguard’s momentum and were removing those obstacles one by one.

Though slow, their momentum was steady.

If the situation continued like this, Wang Mengsong would have tolerated it.

However, when he and Paulitus, with two battleships, drove away the enemy’s newly arrived battlecruiser at Yuehe VII and regained control of the planet’s orbit, Paulitus actually ordered the troops to withdraw from Yuehe VII!

More importantly, Paulitus hadn’t even consulted him on such an important decision!

This was something he absolutely couldn’t tolerate!

It was precisely for this reason that he stormed onto the Fury’s flagship, the Triumphal Flame battle barge.

He needed an explanation.

“Why are you retreating?”

Wang Mengsong strode onto the bridge and began with a barrage of questions: “We’ve sacrificed so much on Yuehe VII, tens of millions of casualties over the past few months, and the navy’s losses. We’ve invested so much, why are you just giving up?”

He added emphatically, “At least fifteen of you, the Fury, have died there, and I’ve lost five soldiers, too!”

Adler Paulitus’s gaze shifted from the star map to Wang Mengsong.

“Just execute the decision.”

Wang Mengsong calmed down.

“Are you speaking to me as the Southern Commander-in-Chief?”

“Yes.”

“Ha,” Wang Mengsong sneered.

Silence fell between the two.

Wang Mengsong spoke again: “You’re the commander-in-chief, you have the final say, but that’s absolutely no reason to make mistakes! You certainly shouldn’t have made such a decision without consulting me!”

“Discuss? What’s the point of consulting with you?” Paulitus retorted. “I’ve explained my intentions to you countless times, but every time, I’ve only argued.”

“That’s because you’re a coward!” Wang Mengsong raised his voice. “Your Fury Chapter had its backbone broken in the Dragon Eagle Sector four years ago, right? Now it’s as soft as mud! If you had listened to me earlier, we would have flattened this quagmire long ago!”

Having been reminded of the most painful moment in the Chapter’s history, Adler Paulitus’s gaze immediately turned cold.

“And then sacrifice countless soldiers in this non-critical area, huh? I’m not like you, using the sacrifice of your own men to atone for the guilt of backstabbing an ally.”

This statement broke Wang Mengsong’s defenses.

The two of them, each exchanging bitter criticisms over the things the other least wanted to recall, exchanged bitter arguments.

Tensions weren’t limited to the two of them; they extended to the warriors on both sides.

The two Chapter Masters’ respective Honor Guards had already drawn their weapons.

Judging by the posture of both sides, it looked as if a disagreement would lead to an internal conflict within their own ships.

Fortunately, however, both leaders retained some common sense.

He didn’t apologize, but Adler Paulitus still gave Wang Mengsong an explanation:

“Our forces are insufficient to confront the main force of the Alliance. The strategy of seizing the northern defense line of Menghe has failed. We must now withdraw our defenses.”

“The failure to seize the northern defense line of Menghe is entirely due to your previous cowardly strategy!”

“If we sacrifice too many forces north of Menghe, we’ll have to spit out everything we’ve taken when the main force of the Alliance arrives. We won’t even be able to hold it if we try to retreat to Proud Claw!” “

If we take it sooner, we can use the defenses north of Menghe to hold off the main force of the Alliance!”

“We’re all on the defensive. Why sacrifice so many men to defend a shattered line? If we retreat to Proud Claw, we can use the defenses we’ve built over several years to hold it, and we’ll have more manpower!”

“Then how long will we hold it?”

“Until the Regent sends reinforcements.”

Both men spoke rapidly, the atmosphere still far from peaceful, still arguing.

But at least they tacitly agreed not to bring up their respective dark pasts and instead spoke to the point.

At this point, Paulitus finally gave up on arguing with Wang Mengsong.

Without waiting for the New World Torch’s Chapter Master to speak, he abruptly ended the conversation: “That’s it, Chapter Master Wang Mengsong. I don’t wish to rehearse these strategies, which I’ve already explained so many times. I’m in charge of the Southern Front. I’ve already made the decision. Please follow my orders. If you have any objections, keep them to yourself.”

“I’ll raise my objections with the Regent. Expect your dismissal!”

“We’ll see if you can do it.”

The ‘Regent’ they were referring to was Humphrey Paul. Two years ago, this Chapter Master of the Ironclad Chapter had given himself this title, claiming to be the one carrying out the Emperor’s orders to suppress the rebellious forces on Holy Terra.

This incident caused even greater unrest throughout the Empire.

This would obviously bring even greater external pressure on their rebellious group. But since they had already revolted, such a statement wouldn’t matter.

Furthermore, having this title would help them better consolidate their forces internally. In the ensuing war, it would also be easier to compel some planets and groups that had suffered defeat to join their side.

Humphrey Paul’s prestige among the rebellious forces within the Spider Web Universe rose to a new level.

The ‘Regent’ was the only one capable of completely resolving the disagreements between the two Space Marine Chapter Masters on the Southern Front.

However, since Adler Paulitus was currently in overall command of the Southern Front, the situation on this battlefield would continue to be determined by his will.

Following their unpleasant parting, Yuehe VII, and indeed the dozen or so planets involved in the conflict along the entire front, underwent a large-scale evacuation, in accordance with Paulitus’s demands.

…

“They’ve run away,”

exclaimed Gu Hang, who arrived at Menghebei a month later with the main Alliance fleet.

“The Governor’s reputation is known to everyone. As soon as you arrived, those traitors fled like dogs with their tails between their legs!” Perbov chuckled, unlike his usual manner towards his subordinates. “

Yan Fangxu coughed lightly at the side and reported the situation directly: “We also tried to pursue, but the effect was not very good. The enemy’s two battleship-class ships were closely escorting the evacuating ships. To be on the safe side, we did not risk launching a particularly strong pursuit.”

“A safe choice.” Gu Hang said in agreement.

Yan Fangxu continued: “Our troops have set out, and our goal is to recapture the entire northern part of the Menghe Star Region. The enemy has completely evacuated this area, and the remaining resistance forces are very sparse. However, according to detection, the enemy still has one last stronghold in the Menghe Star Region that has not been abandoned.”

“That is Shangdong Star. This planet is the key point guarding the Menghe Star Region and the Aozhua Star Region. From here, one jump can reach the Aozhua Star Region-Guangtai Star Region-Guangfeng Star.”

“They have set up a very strong defense system on Shangdong Star and Guangfeng Star.”

Gu Hang asked: “So now, it’s our turn to gnaw at the enemy’s defenses?”

Yan Fangxu’s face was solemn: “I’m afraid so. (

End of this chapter)