Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 555

Chapter 553, Blood Shark Slaughtering Torch

. The Shura-like scene before him made Wang Mengsong feel uneasy.

He personally gathered two hundred Space Marines, divided into two teams, to specifically encircle and suppress the blood sharks approaching the Torchlight’s core engine area.

Current reports estimated the number of blood sharks in this area at between fifty and one hundred.

His own force of two hundred should be able to create a clear numerical advantage.

One hundred warriors, led by Wang Mengsong himself, would follow behind the enemy, while another hundred would station themselves along the route to the core engine compartment to block the enemy.

Once the blood sharks were blocked by the hundred Torch Marines, Wang Mengsong’s team would follow. With a two-pronged attack, wouldn’t it be certain to annihilate the enemy?

Wang Mengsong didn’t see this as a problem, especially since the blood sharks were charging directly towards their target, showing no sign of turning back. They would surely be ignited and consumed by the torches.

His thoughts were already on how to mobilize his forces after defeating this group of Blood Sharks and concentrate on extinguishing the other infestations.

However, upon his actual arrival, his thoughts were quickly drawn back by the stench of blood and the brutal scene.

Although the Space Marines of the New World Torch had just launched, the battle had already begun. The mortal auxiliaries stationed throughout the ship were the first to engage the Blood Sharks.

The Chapter’s mortal auxiliaries were not weak, at least at the level of the Astra Militarum. Those directly trained by the Space Marines were likely even stronger, reaching the level of renowned Astra Militarum units. Some were even more elite, for example, as the Space Marines’ training process had a very high elimination rate.

Those eliminated, once Space Marine candidates, even if they didn’t meet the requirements, were still among the best of the mortal world, one in a million.

Furthermore, many of these were eliminated not for lack of talent, but simply because their gene-seed compatibility was insufficient after testing, or because they were over the age limit when waiting in the seed queue.

They wouldn’t be wasted; they would be added to the ranks of the Mortal Auxiliary Corps. Richer regiments would even equip them with Regenerative Power Armor.

While not as formidable as Space Marines, they were still considered top-tier among conventional forces.

The New World Torch naturally had this kind of personnel reserve. With the support of Ironclad, they weren’t exactly wealthy, but they weren’t poor either. These elite members of the auxiliary corps were also well-equipped.

These troops were particularly well-stocked aboard the flagship, the Torchlight.

Even if these elite troops couldn’t withstand the onslaught of the Blood Sharks, they should be able to cause some disruption and delay the enemy.

But it seemed their effectiveness was limited.

Worse still, the pile of shattered corpses, mixed with armor and gushing blood, was a terrifying sight.

Wang Mengsong’s mind immediately recalled the characteristics of the Blood Sharks mentioned in the documents.   Seeing

is believing.   He couldn’t help but wonder, could his own Chapter achieve the same feat as the Blood Sharks?   Perhaps… perhaps it could, right?   That is, his own Chapter wouldn’t mess things up so terribly like the Blood Sharks.   The New World Torches, descended from the Infinite Chapter, were a straight-laced, unassuming Chapter, a fact they prided themselves on—even though their parent Chapter was already on its way to defeat them.   The horrific scene he witnessed firsthand had roiled his mind. These thoughts were brought back to reality by the distant roar of intense gunfire, explosions, and even the resounding, agonizing cries of dying Space Marines.   The battle had already begun.   The hundred-man company blocking the Blood Sharks ahead should have already engaged them.   Initially, Wang Mengsong was confident. Even without his own men, relying solely on the blocking force ahead, they should be able to defeat the enemy, or at least withstand the Blood Sharks’ attack.   Even though the Blood Sharks had previously revealed themselves to the world, achieving impressive results, Wang Mengsong had to admit that their individual combat capabilities might indeed be slightly superior to those of the New World Torches.   But after all, this group of Blood Sharks only numbered around 50 to 100. The New World Torches blocking their way also numbered a hundred, likely outnumbering them. Even if they couldn’t defeat them, they could still hold them off for a while, right? But   right now… he felt quite confident. As for his call for a quicker pace, it wasn’t out of guilt!   The New World Torches, advancing at a faster pace, were also feeling a certain degree of anxiety.   From the sounds of it, it was hard to tell who had the upper hand, but the fighting was certainly intense. They were eager to reach the battlefield and support their brothers.   However, haste makes waste.   Their overly eager mentality had caused their formation to become somewhat disorganized,   which sowed the seeds of trouble.   As they passed through a narrow passage close to the battlefield, the walls separating them suddenly blew apart.   The New World Torches, anxious, failed to detect the situation in advance.   Of course, as Space Marines, their reactions were remarkably quick. A simple bomb trap, lacking in power, wouldn’t have seriously decimated them.   However, just as their formation became further scattered by the explosion, over a dozen Blood Sharks silently charged into their midst, following the blast!   These silent warriors, clad in silver-gray breastplates, leg armor, and helmets, with dark gray shoulders and helmets painted with a blood-red shark motif, wielded twin axes, others great axes; some with power weapons, others with chainsaws.   They seemed to have a particular preference for axes, with the majority of the dozen or so men wielding them. Only a few were armed with power swords or long-handled halberds.   They were undeniably masters of close combat, brutal butchers.   In an instant, they unleashed a horrific toll, unleashing a bloody hail of blood among the New World Torch’s ranks.   Wang Mengsong witnessed the chaos of his own troops, where severed limbs flew everywhere. He even saw three heads go flying.   The sight filled him with pain and anger!   A blood shark severed a New World Torch’s arm and then unleashed a torrent of blows, inflicting heavy blows on the opponent’s breastplate, leg armor, and helmet in a matter of moments, practically guaranteeing his opponent’s resistance was gone. If not dead, he would be severely wounded.   However, the blood shark showed no sign of stopping, as if it would not stop until it had chopped off a few more pieces of flesh.   ”Enough!” shouted Wang Mengsong, charging at the blood shark’s back.

The Blood Shark turned its head, its crimson eyes fixed on the Torch Chapter Master, its twin axes slashing down upon him without pause.

As Chapter Master, Wang Mengsong was naturally a formidable force. He wielded a flaming long-handled warhammer—a sacred relic of the New World Torch, a weapon wielded only by the Chapter Master.

The heavy force of the two weapons clashed, overwhelming the Blood Shark warrior, knocking him off balance. Flames suddenly swelled, enveloping the Blood Shark in the next instant.

After a resounding explosion, the flames gradually dissipated.

The Blood Shark lay on the ground, the flaming long-handled warhammer rising from his sunken chest.

Furious, Wang Mengsong didn’t hesitate, charging towards the next Blood Shark. Within three or four strikes, he had also crushed the second, and

then the third.

The remaining Blood Sharks were quickly annihilated.

Twenty-nine bodies lay on the ground, twelve of them Blood Sharks, and the remaining seventeen, incomplete, were the brass and orange-painted New World Torch warriors.

Judging by the ratio, the difference between the two sides seemed minimal; the New World Torch had been the victim of the bombing and the surprise attack.

However, the manpower disparity between the two sides was a full tenfold!

The attacking Blood Sharks numbered only twelve. Though none survived, before their deaths, despite facing ten times their number and the presence of a Chapter Champion like Wang Mengsong, they still managed to cut down a greater number of New World Torches!

This was a testament to their formidable combat prowess.

Furthermore, the Blood Sharks had achieved their goal.

They held up Wang Mengsong’s troops for quite a while.

Wang Mengsong understood this.

Without time to lament, he left a few men behind to tend to the wounded while leading the remaining seventy men to the now-not-too-distant battlefield.

Upon his arrival, he found the situation already quite dire.

The Blood Sharks weren’t outnumbered by more than he’d expected. Wang Mengsong, taking a quick glance, estimated that there were around sixty of them, with forty still alive. Worse still, the New World Torches, tasked with blocking the way, originally numbering a hundred, now only had sixty left.

Despite superior numbers, they were still outnumbered two to one.

Wang Mengsong couldn’t tell whether he should be enraged by the enemy’s strength or resentful of his own men’s incompetence.

The disparity in strength between the two sides was indeed stark.

But his frustrations went beyond that.

He also spotted a Blood Shark squad leaving the blockade.

They had already disrupted the Torch Company’s blocking line. While the main force was holding back the New World Torch troops, they still had time to send a small team out to work.

What were they doing?

Kou’an, rest assured, was undoubtedly going to blow up the core engine compartment.

Wang Mengsong immediately gave orders, sending his men in pursuit. But two Blood Sharks attempted to block the pursuit.

The Torch leader roared in rage and charged forward, taking the cost of a blow with his axe, but he bludgeoned the two blocking Blood Sharks to death.

Three Blood Sharks were going to blow up the engine compartment, while the New World Torch pursuit team consisted of ten men, one of whom was a company commander, and two company champions. Should… should they be able to stop them? He

didn’t have time to think; he was already in the thick of the action.

With him and the sixty men he led, the advantage in numbers was even greater.

Ultimately, they prevailed, killing nearly thirty Blood Sharks at the cost of around twenty casualties.

After the battle, Wang Mengsong removed his helmet.

He gasped for air, his head drenched in blood.

Throughout the entire battle, he had slain nine blood sharks.

But he had paid a heavy price.

His helmet was shattered, two deep wounds visible across his skull, and blood flowed continuously. His left hand was limp, where a forced elbow to block a blow had severed the bone. Only a layer of skin and armor held it together, and it drooped to the side.

If Wang Mengsong hadn’t personally charged into the blood shark swarm, he wouldn’t have been in this state.

Each blood shark was a formidable individual fighter, and among the two he had killed were two company champions, even those at the level of company commanders. If

he hadn’t led the charge, he might still have won, but his side’s losses would likely have been more than twenty, perhaps even ten.

But for now, he couldn’t focus on his own injuries or the casualties of his team.

He frantically called out into the communicator, calling for the squadron that was heading to stop the enemy from blowing up the power compartment.

He hoped for good news.

However, there was no sound from the other end of the communicator.

He already had a bad feeling.

But since there hadn’t been an explosion yet, was it possible they were just busy fighting and hadn’t had time to connect…

“Boom!”

A violent explosion interrupted Wang Mengsong’s thoughts.

He and the New World Torches around him were thrown out.

The core engine compartment had exploded.

He fell hard to the ground, and after more than ten seconds, Wang Mengsong struggled to his feet.

What came into view was a sea of fire.

…

The explosion in the core engine compartment didn’t directly destroy the Torchlight, nor did it kill Wang Mengsong and the more than one hundred soldiers he led.

However, this didn’t mean the Torchlight would survive.

With the core engine destroyed, the power of the entire warship instantly dropped to a terrifying level, almost to the point of being unable to move.

At the same time, the sudden drop in energy output affected the ship’s void shield, which also suddenly disappeared.

Granted, the Torchlight still had multiple secondary energy engines. If it weren’t under combat pressure, it could have used a slower speed, or simply been towed away by other ships for repairs, and perhaps survived.

But now, how could it be given that chance?

The Blood Shark fleet, which had been attacking the Triumphant Flame, suddenly turned its guns and blasted the Torchlight. “

Strike while it’s weak!

Destroy it!”

The Alliance ships also shifted their targets and opened fire.

Ultimately, the Torchlight battle barge, a battleship-sized flagship belonging to a chapter, was reduced to a pile of space junk.

Meanwhile, the Triumphant Flame retreated.

This battle was no match for the enemy.

The sudden appearance of the Blood Sharks was simply too overwhelming.

Not to mention being boarded, even in a naval engagement, without a battle barge, the balance of power was already tilted against them.

Paulitus decisively chose to flee.

Retreating and fighting his way through, he managed to hold on until he reunited with his own battleships, which had recently completed their warp and arrived in this system.

The Alliance Fleet and the Blood Shark Fleet stopped pursuing him.

However, Paulitus could sense a strong scent of blood surrounding his fleet. The man-eating sharks, having sensed the scent, showed no sign of leaving.

The threat facing the Fury Fleet was not yet resolved.

(End of Chapter)