Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 543

Chapter 541: Surrender, the ships outside are all ours

Carduso carried a dejected general from the command post.

Outside, the Alliance diplomat waited.

Looking down at this mortal, Carduso’s eyes flickered with admiration.

The young man was courageous. Protected by only a dozen guards, he remained calm and knew what to do.

But his tone was far from gentle: “I leave it to you. Complete your mission.”

The diplomat saluted and led the general to a nearby office to begin the conversation.

Carduso personally led his team and participated in the battle outside.

The Phoenix Chapter was originally aboard the Alliance’s main fleet, ready to confront the Fury and New World Torch Chapters.

However, with the enemy’s retreat, the Alliance’s strategic goal in the Pride Claw Sector shifted to localized absorption and defense, and the need for Space Marines diminished.

It was a good opportunity to return to East Star to resolve any remaining concerns.

After repeated diplomatic exchanges, with no results, and the negotiations slowly gaining momentum, the defending commanders became complacent.

Actually, they weren’t completely complacent.

The requirement for escorts to be no more than a hundred, and for ships docking to be only the smallest of travelers, was there anything else to do?

The sudden appearance of three hundred Space Marines was truly unexpected.

Carduso personally led three hundred of his battle brothers, instantly overwhelmed the defenders of the starport docking area.

Then, they rushed forward to reunite with their allies who had departed earlier.

The soldiers protecting the diplomats were all experts, elite members of the Alliance’s Honor Guard.

However, to avoid alerting the enemy, the Honor Guards opted for more discreet exoskeleton armor instead of full power armor.

When the Phoenix emerged, the hundred-man group, having also received the information, also launched their own operation.

Their goal was to rush directly to the designated negotiation location, ideally capturing the enemy’s highest commander, the one who had been negotiating with the Alliance.

If that failed, the secondary mission was to protect their diplomats and await rescue by the Space Marines.

The elite Glory Guards were already formidable. Unfortunately, their equipment was inadequate, their numbers were too small, and their opponent, a not-so-weak force after all—products of the Princess’s Legion—ultimately failed to capture them directly.

The Princess’s rebels, caught off guard, were initially disoriented by the elite Glory Guards. But they quickly reacted, mobilizing heavy forces to pursue and intercept them, and to escort their general away.

While the Glory Guards didn’t capture their target directly, they at least reached the door to the meeting hall where the meeting was scheduled, blocking the enemy general’s escape route and trapping them behind it.

Such a large conference hall, with windows and a back door, was impossible for the Glory Guards, now numbering less than a hundred, to completely blockade it.

Even if other areas were dangerous, there was a rooftop terrace where aircraft with internal port access could arrive and retrieve the enemy.

While there were certainly risks—who knew what anti-aircraft weapons the Alliance soldiers below might possess? Or if there were ambushes at the back entrance?

Overall, General Wang Ningyi, commanding the Upper East Star garrison, had a good chance of evacuating.

However, he made a grave mistake.

Perhaps it was the loss of face, the sudden cancellation of numerous discussions that left him feeling fooled and betrayed, or perhaps he simply assumed that the Alliance force, numbering less than a hundred, was no big deal…

In short, he missed his chance.

He personally led his personal guards, attempting to join forces with the besieging forces outside to directly defeat the hundred-man Glory Guards.

Wang Ningyi intended to personally capture the Alliance diplomat and question his regrets.

While it’s unclear whether he regretted it, he certainly did.

The Glory Guards’ combat effectiveness was undoubtedly inferior to that of Space Marines. Yet, they still managed to hold their ground despite the siege of an enemy force several times their size that had gathered in such a short period of time.

Furious, Wang Ningyi ordered the deployment of more heavy weaponry. Artillery, heavily armored vehicles capable of operating in the starport—they were all welcome; these enemies must be crushed.

However, another piece of news calmed him down.

Three hundred Phoenix Space Marines, emerging from the Alliance’s small boat, had quickly pierced the improvised defenses. The latest intelligence had reached him not far from where he was.

Should he… just take cover?

With this in mind, he ultimately decided that retreat was the best option.

With his closest guards, he reached the large terrace on the fourth floor of the conference hall. There, a hovercraft was already waiting.

Meanwhile, the ground forces launched a fierce offensive against the Alliance troops.

They didn’t aim to defeat the enemy immediately, but at least they could suppress them through a strong offensive, providing some cover and support for General Wang Ningyi’s evacuation.

The moment General Wang Ningyi stepped onto the terrace, a sense of foreboding suddenly washed over him.

He glanced around, only to see the hovercraft hovering silently in the air. The guards surrounding it watched nervously, weapons ready to fire.

However, just as he was about to step into the hovercraft, a sharp whistling sound rang out.

It was familiar—heavy bolters!

“Run!”

he heard someone shout.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he turned and ran.

This saved his life.

The heavy bolters tore through the hovercraft’s fragile armor, leaving a trail of craters. The guards who had boarded first, as well as the driver, were wounded.

Had he also boarded, he would have likely perished.

Fortunately, he ran fast, as the bolter also shattered the hovercraft’s engine and power tank, triggering an explosion.

Fire and smoke engulfed the hovercraft, ripping it into countless pieces.

Wang Ningyi and his guards were knocked about by the shockwave, barely able to stand.

Amidst the chaos, six Space Marines from the Phoenix Regiment were already moving across the battlefield like ghosts. Clad in bright red power armor and armed with high-energy weapons, they quickly approached Wang Ningyi’s position.

Wang Ningyi tried to organize a counterattack, but his guards were thrown into chaos by the sudden attack.

The Space Marines calmly and efficiently dealt with the resisting guards and quickly subdued the remaining ones.

Wang Ningyi was thus apprehended.

But he remained defiant.

In subsequent communications with the Alliance diplomat, Hucepe, he still stubbornly refused to surrender.

“Capturing me is useless. The Princess Legion will never surrender!”

he declared, his neck stiffening as he begged for death.

But Hucepe didn’t actually threaten his life, continuing his persuasion.

Even as they conversed, the fighting outside continued unabated.

Six Phoenix Space Marines, led by Carduso himself, arrived earlier. After helping to resolve the battle in the Senate Hall, they also helped the remaining Glory Guards reinforce the defenses.

Meanwhile, Carduso was in contact with the other units, keeping abreast of the progress of the mission.

Decapitating and capturing the enemy commander was crucial, but other objectives were also crucial.

The Space Marines, divided into tactical teams, would later focus on securing key areas: the weapons systems throughout the starport.

Upper East Star was undergoing a fortification drive, and as the largest space facility in the entire orbital space region, his Upper East Starport was a must-see.

In fact, Upper East Starport was the largest star fortress in the entire Upper East Star orbit. The other two heavy star fortresses were not as heavily guarded as this one.

Controlling this place would be of great significance.

The Glory Guards, who had previously infiltrated, launched a surprise attack at a crucial moment.

They had also divided into small teams and lurked in various locations. Once the Phoenix Space Marines launched their assault, they would attack from behind, catching the defenders off guard and guiding the Phoenixes to the truly crucial locations.

The Upper East Star starport was enormous, with a total population exceeding 600,000. Besides essential civilian personnel like engineers, logistics personnel, and building maintenance personnel, there were also 400,000 regular military personnel

stationed throughout the starport, and at this moment, they were all alerted.

It would be unrealistic for the Phoenixes to wipe out every enemy force within the starport.

However, nothing could stop them in their conquest of key areas.

The Space Marines’ individual combat capabilities were fully demonstrated in this environment.

The starport’s defenders were severely lacking any weapon capable of countering the Space Marines. Heavy tanks were unable to operate in many areas, and where they could, the Space Marines were not foolish enough to charge headfirst. The few Sentinels and elite Regenerative Power Armor units posed a threat, but that was all they were worth.

The Phoenix warriors were more than just Space Marines. Gu Hang, wary of being compared to the Ironclad in this sensitive environment, had remained disciplined in his development of the Phoenix Chapter.

He was fully capable of “rebirthing” the Phoenixes and expanding their presence.

However, that would make it difficult to explain the origin of the seeds, given the previous theory that Martins and his men had preserved the original gene-seed bank. This theory could only be debunked by the four veterans who survived the Centennial Atonement Crusade, but they clearly couldn’t disprove it themselves.

On the other hand, it also prevented Chaosheng from being labeled similarly to the Iron Armor.

Although, at this critical moment, the Empire still had to rely on Gu Hang to fight the Iron Armor, they would most likely not cause any trouble and turn a blind eye. But obviously, these incidents would be recorded and used as evidence for future reckoning.

Having fewer handles wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Since it wasn’t easy to focus on numbers, they could focus on quality.

The Phoenix Chapter might not be unanimously champions, but at least it was composed entirely of elite veterans.

Consider the Alliance Army’s experience on Yuehe VII. A few ordinary Space Marines could turn a fortress guarded by hundreds of thousands of men upside down, not to mention the three hundred elite veterans deployed directly into Upper East Starport.

In just six hours, the Space Marines had control of most of Upper East Starport’s firepower systems.

Ten-man tactical teams controlled over twenty firing points; the remainder guarded control systems, ammunition depots, and command centers.

The rebels, having lost their chief commander, were still very well organized. They launched wave after wave of fierce counterattacks, trying to recapture these key areas.

However, these seizures all failed in the hands of the Phoenixes.

At the same time, under the control of the Space Marines, the orbital guns of the Upper East Star Port slowly started up.

The muzzle was aimed at the rear of the outer star fortress.

Fired.

The star fortress collapsed. The

outer star fortress had received the message, but there was no way to dodge. The power system equipped on the star fortress was simply not capable of such a difficult action.

Compared to the thickness of the frontal armor, the back of the star fortress did not have such strong protection capabilities.

The firepower equipped on the star fortress could not be turned around to attack its own star port.

After attacking the star fortress, the firepower in the star port, still under the control of the Space Marines, turned to attack the remaining armed space stations.   ”Look, look,” Alliance diplomat Huseppe said bitterly, carrying the bound General Wang Ningyi to the terrace. “Every explosion represents the sacrifice of countless brave soldiers! This is all your fault!” Wang Ningyi glared at Huseppe fiercely, cursing profusely. But truly, he was filled with deep indignation. Why had he been so obsessed with communicating with Alliance diplomats? Why had he let Alliance ships in? Even if he was completely unaware of any outside news, what did he

do   ?   Had   n’t   he   been instructed upon parting with Chapter Captain Paulitos to hold out to the bitter end?   He had insisted on trying to gather intelligence from Alliance diplomats.   What was there to learn?   These people didn’t tell the truth!   And he had revealed a flaw, allowing himself to be attacked in the face!   From this perspective, what had happened was truly his fault!   ”I should have killed you the first time you came!” he told Huseppe.

“But you didn’t do that, did you?” Huseppe said, “Since you’ve already made a mistake, don’t keep making it. Surrender. Our ships are everywhere outside. We have already taken control of the starport’s firepower. Two star fortresses have been destroyed, and countless space stations have been damaged. Surrender, General, and you can save more lives. At this point, you can no longer resist.”

(End of this chapter)