Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 538

Chapter 536, The Real Fortress World

In November of the 235th year of the 10th Millennium, the Alliance had essentially recaptured the entire northern part of the Menghe Sector and launched an offensive against the last world, Upper East Star, a crucial planet connecting the northern Menghe Sector and the Aozhua Sector.

No one likes to tackle the tough nut of fortification,

but sometimes it’s simply necessary.

The Upper East System is the only passage from the Menghe Sector to the Aozhua Sector—there’s no other way.

Meanwhile, the fortification of this planet has reached an extraordinary level.

In orbit, eight massive star fortresses float. Each one boasts armor thicker than a battleship—after all, they only need to orbit the planet, requiring minimal power, at most for adjusting angles and speed. The only requirement for these star fortresses is that they be sufficiently sturdy and packed with cannons.

These eight star fortresses orbit the planet, along with a large fortified starport and thousands of armed space stations… Any attack on the planet’s surface or the starport would require a breakthrough through this dense orbital defense.

The defensive system of these space stations and star fortresses is like a motionless fleet stuck in orbit.

To say it’s motionless is a bit of an exaggeration; they orbit, and possess minimal power, allowing them to adjust their orbital speed and angle.

Crucially, while their mobility is essentially zero, their firepower is substantial, and their durability surpasses even that of conventional fleets.

On the surface, there are over six thousand fortress clusters scattered across the planet.

The mobility of surface artillery isn’t just zero, it’s even negative. After all, orbiting star fortresses can vary their orbital speed, shift their orbital trajectory, and adjust the angle of their artillery fire to create a sense of movement and concentration. Surface artillery clusters lack even this capability, and their coverage of space is limited.

However, the durability of surface artillery clusters is a far superior proposition compared to star fortresses and armed space stations.

On sea, on land, amidst mountains, in valleys… Human military architects have cleverly designed one fortress cluster after another, adapting to the planetary topography. Multiple railguns hidden within it could easily launch their shells into outer space. However, in case of a bombardment, the fortress could utilize terrain cover, visual camouflage, and jamming devices to prevent direct hits from starship fire.

Even if a hit were to occur, the incredibly thick reinforced concrete structures would be an insurmountable defense.

If a starship’s heavy artillery managed to directly hit the railgun’s location despite numerous interceptions and the threat it would itself pose, it would undoubtedly be considered a formidable achievement.

However, even the slightest deviation and the fortress’s defensive capabilities would minimize the threat to both the railgun and its operator.

This was the comprehensive defensive capabilities of a true fortified planet.

A thorny tortoise shell that looked unapproachable.

However, this wasn’t even the ultimate form.

Upper East Star had been controlled by the Iron Fury Stone for only twenty years. While its defenses were already strong as a vital transportation hub, it wasn’t part of the Iron Fury Stone’s original core territory.

Guangfeng Star, across from Upper East Star, was a far more formidable location. In addition to the greater number of ground artillery batteries and orbital star fortresses with three-dimensional defensive firepower points, Guangfeng Star also possesses another cutting-edge defensive device: the planetary-scale void shield.

As the name suggests, this device is essentially the same as the void shields equipped on starships, only on a much larger scale.

Multiple void shield generators are located across the globe, each as large as a city. Once activated, while the energy consumption is exorbitant, the effect is undeniable.

From a space combat perspective, a fortress world equipped with a void shield and three-dimensional defenses is like an immobile planet-class battleship. Its firepower is unmatched, no man-made fleet can match it; its defense is so formidable that even extermination weapons are useless. Not to mention the risk of interception, the void shield is impenetrable.

Furthermore, the defenders are not completely depleted of naval power. Two battleships can also remain hidden in orbit, enjoying the cover of fire while still being able to flexibly launch attacks.

Compared to the two heavily armed, true fortress worlds of Upper East and Guangfeng, the defensive ring that Perbov had previously overseen in the northern Menghe Sector was vastly inferior in terms of defensive strength.

Even the latter could provide significant assistance to the defenders in a war, let alone the former.

The cost of taking down these two heavily armed fortress worlds would be daunting.

Given these circumstances, the Alliance, after a few tentative assaults on Upper East, did not commit further troops.

Clearly, the Alliance did not want to incur such a cost simply to attack these two planets,

regardless of their strategic importance.

Gu Hang told his generals,

“Don’t forcefully attack these two places. I know you can take them. I have great faith in my generals and my soldiers. You can conquer even hell for the Alliance.”

“But we must be rational. Even Adler Paulitus knows that when things are impossible, we should retreat. Don’t we know that?”

“We have to make huge sacrifices to conquer these two planets. What then? This process is too protracted. If we delay, our enemies will also increase their troops. In the end, this will become a protracted war. Do we have to fight with them on the battlefield predetermined by the enemy to see who can bleed more?”

At this point, Gu Hang shook his head and continued to express his opinion:

“No, we shouldn’t do this. The precious blood of Alliance soldiers and the starships built with great difficulty by Alliance workers and engineers should not be wasted like this.”

“Use our stronger navy to destroy the rebel blockade of the two star system jump points and continue the war into the enemy’s interior. Don’t fight them on their pre-determined battlefields.”

Gu Hang’s words clarified the strategic direction – ignore the two fortress worlds of Shangdong and Guangfeng and attack directly into the Aozhua star field.

This, of course, involves risks.

If the two fortress worlds are left alone, the army, orbital artillery, and star fort systems on them will naturally pose no threat to the Alliance’s ships that are circling and directly traveling between the two jump points. However, the Alliance’s army will also be unable to use these two worlds. The Alliance’s supply lines will be stretched even further.

To avoid the threat of the star fortress systems of the two fortress worlds, they will have to take a significant detour through space.

More importantly, the enemy’s naval forces still exist. If they cannot overcome the orbital defense systems of these two planets, the enemy navy will also seek opportunities to attack.

While the main force of the alliance is still there, their two battleships and a bunch of small boats should not dare to show up and make trouble; however, when the alliance’s troops point to the Proud Claw star field and penetrate deep into it, the supply lines behind will be threatened.

Even if the Alliance attempted to hunt down and siege the enemy navy, they had two fortress worlds as fulcrums, allowing them to retreat at any time, rendering the Alliance unable to pursue them.

Current intelligence suggests the enemy’s main fleet is likely to be patrolling the Upper East System.

Regardless, since the Governor has established a strategy, execution is imperative.

A short but fierce naval battle erupted at the jump point in the Upper East System.

The Alliance’s main fleet deployed its full strength: three hundred warships of all classes, supported by eight major battleships, engaged two star fortresses, hundreds of armed space stations, and two enemy battleships near the jump point.

Gu Hang personally participated in the battle, attempting to capture and rip the battleships’ void shields.

It would have been wonderful to directly destroy a single enemy battleship in this engagement.

Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful.

The Fury Fleet maintained a cautious approach. They remained within the jump point’s defenses, firing from a distance under the protection of the star fortresses and space stations.

It would be difficult for the Alliance to charge forward under fire.

The enemy’s firepower was still intense, and losing a large ship during the charge would be quite devastating.

Gu Hang’s attempted psychic powers were too far away, and due to the fierce defenses of the Raging Flame Warband’s think tanks, coupled with the battleships’ large and powerful void shields, Gu Hang’s psychic abilities were ineffective.

Ultimately, however, the battle ended in victory for the Alliance.

After losing three cruisers and over twenty warships of all classes, the Raging Flame Fleet opted to initiate a warp retreat.

During this process, the Alliance also suffered losses, even slightly greater than the enemy’s. Three Lunar-class warships were destroyed, and losses of other warships exceeded thirty.

Furthermore, the Alliance fleet was unable to stop the enemy’s warp.

After all, they weren’t fleeing in vain; they still had the remaining warp point defenses to protect them.

However, while the Raging Flame Fleet fled, the remaining warp point defenses couldn’t.

These star fortresses and armed space stations floating in the void were immobilized. Unlike their orbital counterparts, orbital stations at least have access to the planet’s surface. Star forts and stations floating near the jump point, however, are completely isolated and helpless without external ships for transport and supplies.

Of course, the Alliance didn’t rely solely on siege to defeat the enemy here.

It wasn’t impossible, but it would be too time-consuming.

After nearly a week of negotiations, heavy fire, the destruction of several armed stations, and further negotiations, the defenders of the jump point were finally defeated.

During this process, one star fortress was destroyed, along with over a hundred stations.

The remaining star fortress, along with hundreds of other stations, ultimately surrendered.

The Alliance took full control of these space defense facilities, and the defenders within were captured and sent to prisoner-of-war camps on worlds beyond.

However, this didn’t mean the Alliance had secured access to the Pride Claw sector.

Beyond the jump point, the enemy was likely well-positioned. The Alliance would undoubtedly face continued resistance from ships, star fortresses, and a cluster of stations.

Moreover, this battle would be even more difficult.

Ships that had just completed a jump were vulnerable. Speed took time to build, and the void shields needed time to deploy.

While this timeframe wouldn’t be excessive, it was enough to inflict significant damage.

But what could be done? There was only

one way out.

Charge.

In times like these, there was no room for timidity.

Of course, even with a charge, there was always a strategy.

In some battles, faced with this situation, some naval commanders would choose to push their entire forces forward, simultaneously jumping and arriving, shoving their entire fleet into the fray. From the other side’s perspective, the moment the jump point flashed, a massive fleet appeared before them.

While all ships would be in immediate danger, the enemy’s firepower was limited during this period. Once the jump fleet had gathered speed and deployed its void shields, the combined forces that arrived simultaneously would naturally unleash their full might.

However, there are also battle examples that show that a reckless jump could result in the enemy’s strength exceeding initial estimates, or the enemy suffering heavy losses in the initial stages could lead to insufficient combat power and a disadvantage in the subsequent battle.

This could have disastrous consequences.

After all, they were only jumping to the other side. If they were at a disadvantage, there would be nowhere to escape, and they would have to fight to the bitter end, which could easily lead to annihilation.

The Alliance fleet decided to adopt a more conventional strategy.

The fleet would jump in batches.

The first wave arrived consisted of a number of small patrol vessels.

Six days later, over twenty Blackfish-class fast patrol vessels passed through the astral tunnel and arrived at the jump point in the Proud Claw Sector – Guangfeng System.

During an astral jump, concealment is difficult. Even if the enemy could not determine the exact number and types of ships transiting the astral tunnel, they could still detect the approaching of a large number of ships based on the turbulence in the tunnel. A skilled astropath could even accurately calculate the landing time.

Upon their arrival, the twenty Alliance Blackfish were completely targeted.

The most dangerous moment has arrived!

They themselves are well aware of this.

As soon as they exited the astral tunnel, they did their utmost to squeeze out the performance of the ship’s engines, trying to escape as much as possible during the brief window when the enemy locked onto them and opened fire.

Even opening the energy shield was secondary.

Given the size of the Blackfish, they would explode if hit by a cannon, so opening the shield or not would not matter much.

Their mission is to provoke the enemy’s ambush, scout the situation, attract firepower, and survive as much as possible by relying on their small size and agility.

This is of course the most dangerous job.

However, this is how it is in the navy.

Small boats serve the big ships. They

have to take the lead when it is time to block the attack, not to mention this mine detection operation.

Fifteen minutes later, there were only six surviving Blackfish.

At this time, the second batch of alliance warships also arrived.

This wave includes big ships.

The ‘Burning Star’ is among them.

(End of this chapter)