Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 560

Chapter 558, Battle of Heyang

. The Mechanicus is very realistic.

When there is no benefit, they don’t want to care about anything; when there is benefit, they look greedy and rush to share it.

And for the Mechanicus, the biggest benefit is naturally technology.

Especially the technology of another sect.

The relationship between different sects of the Mechanicus is not necessarily that close.

Sometimes, heretics are more hateful than pagans.

However, the technology of heretics is still very attractive.

However, at this stage, the Mingyang Sect is mainly talking. If

they really want to fight, they are still a little timid and are only willing to send a small number of troops.

After all, they have not recovered from the greenskin disaster. The Titan Legion and the Crusaders may have good combat capabilities, but the most important thing is the Mechanicus Fleet, which is not in good condition now. The starship production capacity of Jindi Star has been allocated to the Alliance, and they haven’t accumulated many ships of their own.

Furthermore, their views on the Alliance had improved somewhat, becoming more cooperative. However, they still harbored doubts about whether the Alliance could truly defeat the Iron Armor’s army and the Skitarii of a powerful sect like Alfonzo head-on.

While the Alliance seemed unstoppable at the moment, who knew what would happen once the main force arrived?

Of course, Gu Hang also despised the Ming Yang Sect’s combat effectiveness.

The Ming Yang Sect’s navy was in tatters and had yet to recover. As for the army, the Skitarii and the Titan Legion were both capable, but the Alliance had no shortage of land forces.

Honestly focusing on production in the rear would be a significant achievement. If there were indeed any captured spoils, they would consider leaving some for them.

…

Paulson’s arrival was merely a minor incident and did not affect the Alliance’s march.

By the time the Fury Fleet, forced by the Blood Shark Fleet and three Alliance battlecruisers to move cautiously and in a group towards Heyang VIII, the Alliance’s main fleet had already arrived at Heyang VIII.

First, the Alliance’s ships immediately apprehended the industrial vessels mining in the surrounding asteroid belts. They

quickly seized any Alfonzo vessels operating outside the planet, and the fastest were forced into the orbit of Heyang VIII. Immediately afterwards,

the Alliance issued an ultimatum to Heyang VIII.

The conditions were the same as those previously discussed with Todd Paulson, the Sage of the Main Work:

complete surrender.

The Alliance would then open a passage for the so-called Knight Houses on the surface to leave Heyang VIII, taking their equipment and a certain number of servants aboard a limited number of ships.

The Alliance’s stance was clear.

The military action against Heyang VIII was not intended to target its active forces, and the Alliance could, as Alfonzo wished, temporarily refrain from treating them as enemies.

But you must cede this planet.

The Alliance gave a three-day deadline.

On the third day, Heyang VIII responded,

agreeing to the Alliance’s demands.

However, we hoped the Alliance would grant us more time.

After all, countless knights scattered across the planet needed to be assembled, and everyone had belongings to relocate. With an entire planet involved, so many people and so much material would have to be transported via a handful of space elevators or a handful of shuttle ships. This

would take a very long time.

We couldn’t just agree today and have us all leave tomorrow, right? That wouldn’t be realistic!

The Alliance fully understood this and agreed to a grace period.

“A month, is that okay?”

The surface team quickly replied: “Not really, could we take a little longer?”

The Alliance generously extended the timeframe by two times, and thoughtfully offered assistance if relocation proved inconvenient.

For example, the Alliance could immediately deploy a large number of troops to the surface to help the various knight families relocate, free of charge. The knights wouldn’t need to assemble; the Alliance could send transport ships into the planet’s atmosphere to assist with transportation.

Furthermore, Alliance engineers could immediately enter the starport of Heyang VIII to optimize the efficiency of the space elevators and help build one or two new, simple, temporary ones.

This statement was once again rejected by the ground.

They put forward a new statement: there was no need for help with relocation, and the starport could not be taken over. They asked the alliance to give them three months, and they would be able to solve the problem themselves, and then hand over such a clean Heyang VIII to the alliance!

It sounded good.

But…

after hearing the news, Ye Lixia immediately found Gu Hang:

“They are fooling fools.” The admiral pointed out the problem bluntly, “They have no sincerity and are just delaying time. Who knows, the main fleet of the Alfonzo sect may be almost at Vinci Star.”

The Vinci Star she mentioned is the planet close to Alfonzo in the star tunnel connecting the Alfonzo Star Field and the Proud Claw Star Field.

Gu Hang chuckled, “I agree with you.”

He gazed toward the beautiful planet in the distance and said, “So, it’s time we did something…”

…

“Sage! The Alliance attacked our starport without warning!”

“I see. I can see it.”

On the tower’s rooftop, Paulson, shrouded in a red and black robe, raised his head and gazed at the starry sky.

His frame resembled that of a hunched old man; however, compared to the guards reporting nearby, he towered like a mountain.

This was his true form. Beneath the red and black robes lay a mechanical body that had been modified beyond recognition.

His crimson eyes, now gazing at the stars, were also modified. He needed no equipment to directly observe the current battle situation in low-Earth orbit.

The Alliance’s attack had come too suddenly.

Just as the Alliance had suspected, they were indeed stalling for time. Agreeing to ‘move’ was purely a trick to deceive the Alliance.

Of course, they had also considered the possibility that the Alliance would not be fooled.

Whether on the planet or in orbit, the starports and space stations were all relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside, always prepared for a direct blow from the Alliance.

However, the speed of this “slap in the face” was a bit too fast.

A moment ago, the Alliance’s ships were still at the outermost perimeter, quietly remaining outside the orbital defense’s range, just as they had been for the past few days.

The next moment, all the ships suddenly activated at full power, charging towards the orbital system.

Heyang VIII’s orbital defenses were not insignificant, with a star fortress and a fortified starport. A decisive attack would have been costly.

However, the star fortress and starport were unable to immediately open fire to stop the Alliance ships.

They were boarded.

The Phoenix used teleportation technology to directly reach these two locations.

Paulson found the Alliance’s teleportation technology truly outrageous.

Normally, most teleportations require coordinates. Short distances of tens or hundreds of kilometers might not be a problem, and direct teleportation isn’t a problem; however, in interstellar combat, teleportations span thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometers.

Such ultra-long-distance teleportations typically require a ship to launch a torpedo carrying the teleportation coordinates to the target location.

Because the goal is simply to hit, not to inflict damage, teleportation torpedoes can be made extremely small and difficult to intercept.

But such a device is essential.

However, the Alliance’s teleportation, shamelessly, requires none.

A hole was torn open in the real world, and the red-armored Phoenix burst forth from within.

There are two ways to achieve this: either possess some advanced teleportation device that can bypass this stage. Certain rare, unmanufactured, archaeological finds can achieve this. It’s said that the Blood Shark possesses such a device.

Another method is to use a teleportation psychic, one with exceptional gifts and exceptionally powerful psychic powers.

Which type of alliance is this?

Paulson pondered carefully.

He didn’t dwell on the battle situation; that wasn’t his concern.

The starports and star forts were heavily guarded. Many of the elite knights of the Hesian Knights were stationed there. With the direct support of a powerful Mechanicus like Alfonzo, the Hesian Knights were more than just a bunch of Sentinel mechs filling the ranks.

Those piloting Sentinel mechs were merely squires, unworthy of the title of Knight. Above the Sentinels were the Squires, much smaller than regular Knight mechs, but only slightly smaller than a Space Marine’s Dreadnought. The Knight Rangers were the primary force, and their numbers were considerable. Above the Rangers were even higher-ranked Knights like the Nemesis and Overlord.

These massive units were serious heavy units, but their humanoid form meant they couldn’t navigate many difficult terrains, unlike heavily armored vehicles like tanks. For the Knight Mechs, unless the space is too small, they can still navigate even complex terrain.

The starports and star forts on Heyang VIII, designed to defend the Knight World’s home, are naturally specially designed. Many key areas are large enough to facilitate the Knight Mechs’ movement.

Even for the Space Marines, dealing with them would be a challenge.

Perhaps the Phoenixes, using the Alliance’s special teleportation methods, had temporarily thrown the star forts and starports into chaos.

But Paulson believed that the number of Space Marines that could be teleported there was limited. Could the Space Marines alone wipe out all the Knights deployed there?

He didn’t think so.

Furthermore, the surface forces had already reacted, and reinforcements were on the way.

As long as the Phoenixes couldn’t instantly overwhelm the Knights stationed in the star forts and starports, a steady stream of reinforcements would arrive.

Paulson continued to ponder how the Alliance’s teleportation methods worked,

and mentally calculated whether there were any suitable countermeasures.

In the future, there will likely be numerous encounters with the Alliance.

Without the right tactics, those Space Marines, who can easily and safely board ships, quickly and without warning, will prove a formidable formidable force.

The Mechanicus also possesses some powerful elite units that can counter them, such as the Knights and the Armed Priests, comprised of numerous Mechanicus rank and above. After all, if a Mechanicus is willing to invest the effort to extensively modify his body, his technical prowess and the resources at his disposal make him a formidable force.

Ideally, the technological source could be cut off…

“Hmm?”

His thoughts were interrupted by a scene before him.

In the sky, the sole star fortress of Heyang VIII exploded into a massive fireball.

The star fortress… destroyed?

This…

was truly beyond Paulson’s expectations.

His mechanical brain began rapidly calculating and deducing the possible consequences of the war.

A neural cord extended from beneath his robes, connecting to a machine in front of him. Command after command, without needing to be spoken, was transformed into electrical signals and transmitted everywhere.

Furthermore, he directly connected to multiple ground-based orbital artillery arrays. His immense computing power directly controlled at least a hundred artillery pieces, launching attacks into the sky.

With the support of this veteran master of the primary craft, the artillery fire seemed to come alive, its accuracy and coordination greatly increased.

The star fortress had been destroyed, so the remaining starports had to be saved.

Thanks to his efforts, the sudden increase in ground firepower inflicted even greater damage on the Alliance. Not to mention the loss of small ships, at least three cruisers had their void shields breached in just a short while, some even suffering significant damage, forcing them to leave the orbital system and withdraw from the battle.

However, the starport, which he had originally calculated would withstand the Alliance’s fierce attack for more than two days, lost its void shield protection in the third hour.

It had clearly been shut down from within.

Without protection, the starport would be destroyed in two hours at most.

Paulson’s mechanical brain paused again – what should he do?

If they could hold out for two days, combined with ground firepower, the cost to the Alliance would become significant, potentially costing two battlecruisers or even a battleship. If the Alliance didn’t want to incur such losses, they had to retreat, preserving Heyang VIII’s orbital defenses.

In a desperate fight, trading the orbital defenses for a battleship would be a win. Furthermore, the ensuing ground battle would drag the Alliance into a quagmire.

But now, there was no other way.

Of course, Paulson continued to operate the ground-based orbital guns, instead devoting even more computing power to optimizing trajectory calculations.

It wasn’t time to give up yet.

However, the Alliance retreated.

A few days later, the Alliance returned

, this time destroying all the space stations in orbit. Half of the ships in orbit that were unable to land or reach the surface were destroyed, while the remaining half were boarded, with control seized from within and becoming Alliance trophies.

After that, the Alliance stopped deploying troops to the surface.

Although Heyang VIII hadn’t been lost yet, after losing all its orbital systems and ships, the Alliance could easily leave with impunity. This planet no longer had any ability to launch an offensive.

Paulson remained silent.

He simply couldn’t understand how his starport and star fort had been lost.

Even if the Phoenix Regiment had marched out in full force, could a thousand Space Marines break through the defenses of the Heyang Knights stationed in the starport and star fort and disable the void shields in a few hours?

Why?

Even the Ironclad Regiment couldn’t do it, right?

It would take at least two thousand, or even three thousand Space Marines to accomplish this, right?

Paulson was bewildered.

(End of this chapter)