Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 542

Chapter 540: Build a Stronghold and Fight a Stupid Battle

As the Alliance’s offensive expanded and the territory it occupied grew, the risks it had previously laid became increasingly important to ignore.

The resistance and non-cooperation of various planets; the difficulties of supplying troops after a prolonged battle; the two thorns in the side of Shangdong and Guangfeng; the threatening Fury Fleet…

Even putting these aside, Gu Hang had to admit: the Alliance’s current overall strength was still far inferior to that of the Iron Fury Stone, which controlled an entire universe.

Humphrey Paul’s main force was still tied up in multiple battles.

But that didn’t mean their strength was gone. They

could mobilize troops from the main battlefield or draw additional forces from existing garrisons across multiple star regions.

Even a naval fleet, with its lengthy construction period, could be reinforced at any moment.

Within the Spider Web Universe, there were three Forge Worlds, all affiliated with the Alfonzo Cult. None of these Forge Worlds was smaller than Jindi Star.

Logically, since the Iron Rage Stones had already been labeled Imperial traitors, the Mechanicum should have joined Imperial forces in combating them.

However, this was not the case.

The Alfonzon Cult’s stance was extremely ambiguous. They issued several accusations against Humphrey Paul, but the wording was bland and only released under pressure from various quarters.

Furthermore, they claimed to have ceased all cooperation with the Iron Rage Stones. However… now that the entire Arachnid System was in Humphrey Paul’s hands, information was murky. Who could say for sure whether the Alfonzon Cult had truly severed ties as they claimed?

In fact, most analysts believe this was just talk.

The Alfonzon Cult had a close relationship with Humphrey Paul long before, a partnership that spanned centuries.

This close partnership continued until the Iron Rage Stones officially began their rebellion.

This makes their stance quite unreliable.

Just to point out: if a rift truly existed, would the Iron Rage Stones leave three Forge Worlds with significant industrial production capacity untouched?

But the truth is, the Alfonzo Cult is completely unscathed, and Humphrey Paul has absolutely no intention of attacking them. The Iron Rage Stones’ military campaign across the Spider Web sphere has avoided the Alfonzo Cult’s sphere of influence.

Furthermore, on various battlefields, the Imperial forces are constantly seeing new equipment appearing on the battlefield. With the added power of these equipment, the Iron Rage Stones’ forces are no longer capable of being a regional power cut off by the Mechanicum.

Even the Ironclad’s fleet is constantly receiving new spaceships!

At this point, the truth is practically sealed. Far from severing ties with the Iron Rage Stones as they claim, the Alfonzo Cult is actively supporting these traitors.

Applying this to the Alliance’s current southern front, Humphrey Paul wouldn’t even need to divert troops from the main battlefield. Simply sending the next batch of warships from Alfonzo’s three Forge Worlds southward would significantly improve the Fury Fleet’s vastly inferior combat effectiveness to the Alliance fleet.

Gu Hang believed that the new Chapter Master of the Fury Chapter was waiting for this very

moment. By then, the Alliance’s front would be stretched, and the enemy, reinforced and ready for a fight, would likely provide an opportunity for a major attack.

He had to be on guard.

For this reason, after capturing two sectors, the Alliance had essentially halted its large-scale offensive.

But in reality, the Alliance had already secured what it sought in this war.

This war had become something of a political battle.

Now, with the battle officially underway, the many problems that had previously plagued the Alliance were resolved. Chairman Zuo Zhaofeng had stopped cursing, the inquiries and orders from Holy Terra had ceased, and the pressure from the Phoenix Chapter, the Phoenix’s parent group, on the western front had also dissipated.

Even the Eastern Cosmic Domain government, which had suspended war funding for over two years, had now recommenced.

When the Alliance launched its troops, supplies worth five billion tax coins were already on their way.

It wasn’t a large sum, but it was a signal. Zuo Zhaofeng had also said there was more to come.

After the Alliance entered the Proud Claw star field, fifty billion war supplies were shipped to the Alliance.

Praise also arrived from Holy Terra.

Gallardo lamented to Gu Hang that his life had become somewhat better since the Alliance’s deployment.

Furthermore, messages were received from other Imperial central departments, praising Gu Hang’s work and hoping the Alliance would continue its formidable advance.

All parties expressed jubilation at the Alliance’s significant momentum on the southern front in just a few months.

They all hoped the Alliance could maintain this momentum.

Conquering two star fields in four months wasn’t fast enough. At this rate, drawing a line across the star map, it would take six more to penetrate the Proud Claw star field.

Further northwest of Proud Claw lies the Nepenthe star field. From Nepenthe, nine more star fields would lead to the Princess star field.

That was the true home of the Iron Fury Stone.

According to the masters above, they were eager for the Alliance’s offensive to be even more intense.

Why occupy every sector? Why bother with those stubbornly defended, heavily fortified areas?

Hurry and find the enemy’s main force for a decisive battle! Hurry and attack all the way to the Princess Star Region! Hurry and give Humphrey Paul a stab!

Countless people urged this, their words varying, but the meaning roughly the same.

But Gu Hang ignored them all.

Did they really expect to crush the Iron Wrath Stone with the Alliance’s current strength alone?

No kidding.

They simply wanted Gu Hang to intensify the battle in the south, depleting Iron Wrath Stone’s manpower and drawing more of its forces in, thus reducing pressure from other directions.

And Gu Hang?

He wouldn’t risk the wealth he’d accumulated over the years to help others.

Regardless of whether it was a gamble or not, he wouldn’t throw everything he had into a gamble.

After capturing two sectors, which threatened to extend the battle line, Gu Hang stopped.

The results of the previous war had already eased the political pressure.

The main force of the alliance halted.

As they stopped advancing, it wouldn’t be long before the pressure would come back.

But Gu Hang wasn’t going to pay them any mind.

Did he really care that much about the little money the Eastern Space Region government was giving him?

Five billion? And then tens of billions more?

It was a lot in absolute terms, but it was mostly just ordinary equipment and small ships.

If those four or five billion were converted into one battleship a year, Gu Hang might consider a more aggressive approach.

But for now?

Forget it.

He’d just go with his own pace.

So what was the Alliance’s pace?

They turned their attention to digesting the twenty worlds they had conquered.

These twenty worlds ranged from the poor to the wealthy and developed.

Leaving aside the poor places, it was crucial to prioritize the wealthy and developed ones, especially those with industrial strength

. Putting aside the army, quelling the surface rebellion, and using political means to secure the entire planet for their own use, this was crucial.

Once this was achieved, they could draw directly from these twenty worlds, solving some of their regular supply needs.

Several of these worlds boasted impressive industrial production capacity. Not only did they manage ammunition and conventional weaponry, but they also managed to generate resources for starships, such as shells and fuel, or energy crystals.

One planet even had a large starport with a small shipyard.

While they didn’t expect this shipyard to produce any new ships, its presence signified a sophisticated and well-equipped shipbuilding industry. Many Alliance ships damaged in previous battles could be properly maintained there.

At the same time, Alliance engineering vessels, escorted by the navy, arrived in batches in the Proud Claw sector.

Accompanying transports carried numerous railguns, space station components, and even production lines. They even towed several light and heavy star fortresses.

The long-distance deployment of star fortresses required the towing of large transport vessels.

These star fortresses were placed at strategic astral tunnel jump points and in orbit around key planets.

Meanwhile, the railguns were assembled and deployed on-site using captured local worlds with significant industrial capacity.

Even the brought-in production lines were intended to bolster military production capacity directly on the front lines…

The Alliance seemed intent on thoroughly absorbing these twenty worlds and fortifying four key worlds.

Star fortresses were brought in, railgun arrays were constructed, and jump point defenses were erected…

The Alliance’s stance was clear: to fortify and fight a passive battle.

First, they would encircle the twenty worlds, then capture and consume them. Finally, they would fortify key areas, preparing for a potential enemy invasion.

If the enemy didn’t do this, they could wait until they had digested the enemy before advancing, devouring dozens more worlds, digesting them again, and fortifying them again…

gradually eroding them in the most stable way, with the least cost.

For this reason, the Alliance began to turn their attention to dealing with the two “tumors.”

They didn’t send their main forces there, as they had to guard against the Fury Fleet.

They only sent the two Grail-class battlecruisers, the Koroja and the Wing.

Their mission wasn’t to storm the enemy.

There was no need.

They could simply lead the bombardment from a distance.

Such an attack would undoubtedly fail. Attacks from such a long range would have a questionable accuracy rate, and the intensity wouldn’t be enough to quickly destroy the enemy star fortress. Even if a few hits were to occur, the star fortress could orbit the planet, then decelerate rapidly and maintain orbit on the far side. Repair engineers could use this opportunity to repair the damage.

It’s unclear whether fighting for tens or even hundreds of years would completely wear down the enemy.

But the Alliance fleet’s current actions were essentially putting pressure on Upper East Star.

A star fortress was difficult to capture, but with a bit of bad luck, a regular armed space station, hit by a battlecruiser’s X-class lance array, would be instantly destroyed.

Meanwhile, other measures were also being employed.

With the entire planet under blockade, Alliance ships continuously broadcast to Upper East Star. With Upper East Star’s external astropathic communications also blocked, and with no way of contacting the outside world, the Alliance was left with no choice but to say whatever it pleased.

After more than six months of siege, the Alliance proposed sending a diplomatic envoy, and surprisingly, they accepted.

A small boat carrying the envoy arrived at the starport and held talks with the defenders.

No consensus was reached,

but this was still a very good sign.

Two weeks later, the Alliance sent another envoy.

For the next period, the Alliance sent envoys to communicate with the local defenders almost weekly.

While no major agreements were reached, the Alliance at least sent some luxury goods and gifts, and the other side also agreed to send some civilians back, reducing unnecessary casualties and losses in the war.

In the later stages, the defenders even proposed some terms of surrender.

However, the terms were rather harsh, and the Alliance refused to accept them.

There was still room for negotiation, so there was no rush.

Besides, the Alliance had other options before that.

The ships escorting the diplomatic envoys, though small, were only relatively so. Even the smallest of them could carry hundreds of people at a time.

Diplomatic envoys naturally needed escorts, and that was perfectly reasonable.

It was perfectly normal for a hundred-man escort to disembark, with the defenders securing a location within the starport while the leaders of both sides negotiated.

Until then, no major conflict had broken out between the two sides.

However, what the defenders hadn’t noticed was that there were some unusual individuals among these escorts.

A few men were always missing on the way back and forth.

After five or six such trips, approximately thirty or forty of the Alliance’s special forces had infiltrated the Upper East Star’s starport.

When the last diplomatic envoy arrived at the starport, the hundred-man escort team still followed.

They headed all the way to the interior of the starport, where several talks had been held in the past.

The garrison on the starport, as usual, boarded the ship for inspection.

However, after the inspectors went in, no more sounds were heard.

This situation soon caused some anxiety.

The garrison soldier in charge of communication did not receive a response, and hesitated, not knowing whether to call a few more times or report it quickly.

But soon, he no longer needed to hesitate.

He saw at least three hundred space warriors in red armor rushing out from the small group of travelers!

(End of this chapter)