Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 547

Chapter 545: Whose side is time on?

Gu Hang certainly wasn’t kidding.

If, as he claimed, the Alliance truly conquered the Proud Claw Star Domain, or even pushed its forces further into the Thorny Jasmine Star Domain, then let’s not talk about the results; reports can be deceiving, after all.

But the battle lines weren’t.

They were the force pushing the front closest to the Princess Star Domain.

On the northern front, there were the Black Crusaders, the Infinite Warriors, and the Bats—all renowned Chapters, some even considered founding Chapters. There was also the newly joined Inquisition and the unique Argent Watch.

On the western front, there was the Phoenix, the elite of the Inquisition, the vast Sisters of Battle, and the renowned Death Legion, a unit of the Astra Militarum.

These two fronts were teeming with renowned generals and countless renowned Legions, yet what was the outcome?

They were all trapped in several star regions on the edge of the Spider Web Universe, with not a single one invading. Even now, the western front is being pushed back and can no longer stand in the Spider Web Universe, and has been pushed into the western Magre Universe.

Regardless of whether the southern front is the main battlefield, just ask whether the front is the closest to the enemy’s core area?

As long as it reaches this level, the alliance can stand up straight and deal with all political attacks on itself.

Talking about me?

Let’s see how those other big guys fight!

As for taking over the three key worlds, whether it can be regarded as conquering the Proud Claw Star Domain…

Even if the Proud Claw Star Domain is conquered, does the alliance have the spare energy to fight further…

That’s for another time.

We can’t really expect that we can settle things by relying on our alliance alone, right?

If there is no major change in the battle situation on the northern and western fronts, Gu Hang will not advance again after taking over the three key worlds and declaring the conquest of Proud Claw.

He is also afraid of irritating Tie Nushi too much.

If they were truly provoked, and they ignored their opponents on the western and northern fronts and concentrated their forces southward to attack them, they would be doomed.

In fact, that was why Gu Hang was determined to capture at least one of the two planets, Shangdong and Guangfeng.

If that were to happen, Gu Hang would have no choice but to abandon all gains and retreat to Shangdong with his main fleet.

With Shangdong’s comprehensive orbital defense system—the Alliance was already hauling in new ones to replace the destroyed star forts—and with its own eight main battleships, they could still hold their ground if the Iron Fury Stones truly launched an all-out attack.

…

The Alliance’s second phase of warfare lasted several more months.

This phase concluded after they had firmly secured twenty key worlds selected from the four occupied sectors.

During this period, the Fury Fleet continued to make repeated attempts to harass them.

But with the Alliance reduced to this point, they were finally unable to gain any advantage.

Recently, they had also quieted down.

While the Fury of Flame had been silenced, the Alliance had no intention of doing so.

Gu Hang’s planned third phase of the war officially began.

The Alliance’s main attacking fleet consisted of a 1+1+3 configuration:

one battleship, one aircraft carrier, and three battlecruisers.

Three additional battlecruisers were required to guard the rear. If the Fury of Flame launched a desperate counterattack towards Alliance-controlled territory, the three battlecruisers, combined with the established space defenses, would easily hold their own, even allowing them to leverage their mobility to pull the strings.

The main attacking force was poised to crush the Fury of Flame head-on.

They descended directly on Mentus II, a crucial hub world.

As a core hub world, Mentus II boasted excellent defenses.

While not as strong as Guangfeng Star, lacking a planet-wide void shield, it was not significantly inferior to Upper East Star. Its comprehensive defense system, combining ground artillery and orbital star fortresses, was simple yet effective.

Logically, the Fury of Flame fleet could leverage Mentus II’s comprehensive defenses to mount a powerful counterattack against the Alliance’s main fleet.

However, they still abandoned Mentus II, firmly implementing their strategy of not engaging in a head-on battle with the Alliance. They even abandoned Guangfeng, a planet with more complete defenses, let alone Mentus II, which was actually a little less capable.

Paulitus hadn’t been forced into a fight.

In fact, the Alliance’s current high-level military discussions were gradually coming to the realization that, let alone the loss of a single city or territory, even the loss of the entire Proud Claw Sector wouldn’t provoke the Fury Legion into a confrontation.

Adler Paulitus could be considered a coward, his spine broken after that bloody battle. However, it had to be admitted that his clumsy, sluggish, and tackling style of warfare was truly annoying. The

more pressing threat was that Gu Hang felt that time was on his side. With the extraction of battleship technology, coupled with the gradual expansion of existing Holy Grail-class and Zhuge-class production capacity, and the purchase of Dragon Serpent-class battlecruisers from the Mingyang Sect… the Alliance would grow stronger.

After all, even though the war had begun, the Alliance’s homeland had never ceased its development. War outside of the Alliance could have a certain dampening effect on the local economy, especially on the people’s living standards, which would inevitably decline due to the war and the rationing of supplies.

However, if military production capacity is also taken into account, then there’s no doubt that war will strongly stimulate production in this area.

The Alliance is diligently expanding its military production capacity, and it will become increasingly powerful.

But the key is that Paulitus doesn’t know this, or doesn’t know it clearly enough.

Just as many senior Alliance generals believe that time is on the Alliance’s side, Paulitus likely believes the same.

He’s trading space for time, willingly losing more territory in exchange for greater risks for the Alliance’s advance. This is also buying time for Humphrey Paul to allocate more warships.

Whether these warships are transferred from the battlefields on the western or northern fronts, or newly produced by the Iron Rage core region’s own shipbuilding industry, his fleet will ultimately become even stronger.

In this comparison, it’s hard to say whose understanding is correct, and it’s also impossible to determine who has time on their side.

Perhaps it’s both sides.

After all, the Alliance’s next batch of battlecruisers, aircraft carriers, and battleships generally take six to eight years to build. By then, the Alliance’s main fleet could almost double in size.

But could the war last that long?

It’s quite possible. After all, a war involving multiple universes and multiple major factions would rage on for decades, if not decades.

However, what the war situation would look like six to eight years from now is anyone’s guess.

Perhaps the Alliance would have suffered a major defeat by then? Or perhaps the war situation would have progressed so smoothly that additional ships wouldn’t be necessary?

For Paulitus, perhaps in a few months, a year or two, his fleet might be strengthened.

Perhaps then, Paulitus might consider finding a favorable location to engage the Alliance in a serious confrontation.

But clearly, he wouldn’t do that now.

For the Alliance fleet, Mentus II was a world they could no longer ignore.

Rather than leaving it alone, as they had done with Guangfeng and Shangdong, the Alliance launched a powerful assault on Mentus II.

The ‘Fire Nova’, the main force, launched a relentless assault on the star forts surrounding Mentus II. Protected by escorting frigates and leveraging its formidable defensive capabilities, it withstood the incoming orbital and ground fire, while also unleashing its own fierce firepower on the star forts. Simultaneously, it provided solid cover for the three battlecruisers and the ‘Hippogriff’ behind it. The

crucial role of battleships was undeniably evident at such moments: they were the hardiest and most reliable space fortresses, the core of both offense and defense.

In the initial engagement, the Alliance achieved the destruction of four space stations and some damage to the star forts.

This came at the cost of one small ship, while several escorting ships suffered shield damage, forcing them to retreat. Most significantly, the ‘Fire Nova’s shield also suffered damage, reaching the brink of overload.

At this point, the Alliance fleet withdrew.

Of course, the Alliance would not sacrifice cheap space stations and star forts in exchange for losses.

That would be uneconomical.

A star fortress has the same strength and firepower as a battleship, only slightly inferior at best; yet, its cost is probably less than one-twentieth of a battleship’s.

Anyone who attempts this exchange is a fool.

A battleship’s ability to move means it holds the initiative in the fight.

If my shield is red, I’ll retreat.

You’re blocked, and relying solely on the planet’s production capacity won’t repair the damage.

Once my shield is healed, recharged, and overloaded, I’ll continue the fight!

(End of Chapter)