Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 579

Chapter 577, Blood Shark? Cute!

Silently retracting his axe, Armagh Ewing couldn’t help but glance to the side.

Fighting alongside him, besides the Blood Sharks’ grey-armored warriors, there were also some Space Marines in red helmets and red armor.

Honestly, this wasn’t their first encounter.

The Bauhinia Rebellion was the first battle in which the Blood Sharks returned to the Imperium.

This was precisely Ewing’s decision.

The Chapter had been engaged in battles in the Outlands for a very long time. Most of the Chapter, himself included, knew only from the Chapter’s sacred texts and the oral traditions of the elders that they belonged to the Imperium and fought for the Emperor.

But what was the Imperium?

They only had historical records. They only occasionally entered Imperial territory, collaborating with the Forge Worlds that had limited cooperation in exchange for resources, only to return to the Outlands immediately.

After so many long years, when Ewing had been a Blood Shark for four hundred years and Chapter Master for eighty, he made a decision that defied his ancestors: to force his way into the Empire and announce the Blood Sharks’ return.

He didn’t intend to overturn the Chapter’s established way of life; he simply wanted to lead his battle-brothers to see the true face of the Empire they had fought for. He wanted to bring the Chapter back into the public eye, to rediscover the Sharks who roamed beyond the Empire’s borders, silently fighting for it.

His chosen opportunity was the Bauhinia Rebellion one hundred and thirty years prior.

Hearing the Empire’s call to suppress the rebellion, he led the Blood Sharks into Imperial territory, answering the call and participating in the suppression.

It was during this war that they discovered the Phoenix.

Truth be told, Ewing and his Sharks didn’t care whether the Phoenix and the other two Chapters were truly traitors. If the Imperial Center said yes, then so be it; fight and be done with it.

But to be honest, he didn’t think the warbands he’d encountered within the Empire were particularly formidable.

They weren’t even as strong as the genuine traitors they’d occasionally encountered in the dark Outlands.

In the Blood Sharks’ eyes, these Space Marines, raised in a “hothouse,” were different. Whether it was the Iron Armor and Fury Flame who had fought alongside the Blood Sharks, or the Redbuds on the other side, each one looked more sleek and sophisticated than their own, embracing a variety of tactics. But in a real fight, how could they compare to the sharp teeth of the sharks? The

same was true of the Phoenixes.

That was their impression of the Phoenixes.

But now, he had to update his impression of these red-armored warriors.

The Blood Sharks were allies within the Alliance’s battle order. They recognized the Empire’s authority, and naturally recognized Gu Hang’s position as the Imperially appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Front, and were willing to cooperate in battle.

But they still adhered to the identity of “allies” rather than subordinates.

If there were combat orders, they would obey, secretly noting them for future rewards. If the orders weren’t sound, they would have the right to decide whether to proceed based on their own circumstances.

Helping the three Alliance battlecruisers escape danger and, incidentally, striking at the Fury of Flame, was something they were happy to do, so they did.

However, they opposed this fleet showdown.

Although their objections were unsuccessful, they joined the fray, remaining on the fringes of the battlefield, ready to withdraw immediately after the Alliance’s demise.

Furthermore, news that the Phoenix Chapter was planning to board the Mechanicus’s War Ark flagship made their plans even more unrealistic. Ewing

‘s understanding of the Phoenixes remained stuck in the past. Judging others by his own standards, even the Blood Sharks weren’t sure they could carry out Gu Hang’s orders. It was impossible for a few hundred men to board a highly elite Mechanicus flagship with tens of millions of sailors.

In Ewing’s view, it was suicidal.

If even the Blood Sharks couldn’t do it, wouldn’t the Phoenixes be even more incapable?

Wouldn’t boarding via teleportation be tantamount to suicide?

The battle then unfolded far beyond Ewing’s expectations.

He didn’t know exactly what had happened aboard the Alfonzo II, but the end result was clear: the war ark had been shattered from within, having lost most of its combat capabilities even before its destruction, effectively crippled. Ewing

was familiar with this state of affairs. In his past combat experience, every warship that had collapsed from within after being boarded by blood sharks had behaved in this manner.

This was precisely why Ewing was so astonished.

Had those phoenixes actually managed it?

What the blood sharks couldn’t do, how could the phoenixes? Ewing was skeptical   . His belief was in the fact that it was obvious, undeniable even with open-eyed lies

. His   suspicion was that there might be some hidden reason behind this, perhaps even among the oil men aboard the war ark, who were already engaged in internal strife.   He couldn’t figure it out, but he soon had the opportunity to verify it with his own eyes.   After the enemy fleet was routed and shattered, the Alliance fleet’s target, the battleship, was a matter of course.   The Phoenixes seemed to have suffered some losses in the previous boarding operation, and were shorthanded for this one.   Consequently, Gu Hang personally called, requesting the Blood Sharks to contribute.   Ewing agreed.   He personally led two hundred Blood Sharks, entering the Retribution-class battleship via a special psychic teleportation device minutes ahead of schedule.   Following his instructions, he began seizing key positions.   The Blood Sharks, like the Phoenixes, were primarily responsible for spearheading the attack.   They needed to establish a landing zone to facilitate the arrival of the larger landing force.   After all, they couldn’t realistically expect a few hundred Space Marines to completely wipe out the hundreds of thousands of Mechanicus crew members and Skitarii troops aboard.   Regardless of whether it was feasible, the more crucial question was whether it was necessary and worthwhile.   Important missions requiring a small but cutting-edge force were the perfect time to deploy Space Marines. Sending them into battle against an enemy hundreds or even thousands of times their size simply because they were stronger was a trait of insanity.   Sacrificing a large number of Space Marines for this was completely unnecessary.   Ewing would never accept such an irresponsible mission.

Their primary objective at this point was to secure a specific area and destroy a certain amount of enemy interception firepower, perhaps even directly disrupting the coordinated command capabilities of the interception system, thus creating conditions for the subsequent landing of a large force.

They performed their task effectively.

The Blood Sharks excelled at this type of assault. Their swift strikes swiftly dealt with the Skitarii, despite the presence of many elite units within the Skitarii, some even rivaling ordinary Space Marines. Despite their brutal slaughter, the Blood Sharks swiftly dispatched them.

Of course, if it were just the Blood Sharks’ two hundred warriors, the battle wouldn’t have unfolded so easily. After all, they were few in number and faced numerous targets. If they were spread too thin, they could easily find themselves unable to capture certain areas, or even face the loss of entire squads.

However, with the addition of over three hundred Phoenixes, things were different.

Not only did their numbers greatly compensate for the Blood Sharks’ lack of manpower, but they also gave Chapter Master Ewing the opportunity to observe the unique qualities of these Phoenix Space Marines.

Well… nothing special.

There were no unique tactics, no inexplicable weapons; everything was perfectly normal. They were simply

exceptionally skilled fighters.

In the 130 years since the Purple Flower Rebellion, while Ewing’s primary activity remained in the dark Outlands, his forays into the Empire had become far more frequent and prolonged. During this time, he had encountered many different Space Marine Chapters. Since then

, he had gained a firmer understanding of the strength of his own Blood Sharks Chapter: they were formidable, far superior to most.

Perhaps it was their gene-seed? Perhaps their years in the dark Outlands had given them more extensive and brutal combat experience than the more established Chapters within the Empire?

All of these factors could be contributing factors.

Ewing often felt proud of this, even harboring a subtle disdain for the Chapters within the Empire: “They’re nothing special!”

However, the Phoenixes he had witnessed today completely overturned his perception.

The average strength of these Phoenixes was exceptionally high.

The two hundred Blood Sharks he had selected were among the Chapter’s most elite veterans. Judging by the strength of the New World Torch Regiment, which they had previously thrashed, these two hundred Blood Sharks could easily defeat five hundred Torches.

However, even if they hated to admit it, the red-helmeted and red-armored warriors before Ewing were simply superior to the Blood Sharks.

On average, in a 200-on-200 match, their chances of winning might not exceed 20%—and this was his calculation, slightly weighting his own chapter.

This was observed not only by Ewing himself but by nearly every one of the two hundred Blood Shark warriors.

The Blood Sharks were not accustomed to coordinating with allies, preferring solitary combat. Furthermore, due to their long years of wandering in the Outlands, their limited contact with other factions within the Empire, coupled with their relatively strong strength, had gradually cultivated a sense of arrogance, making them indifferent to and even dismissive of others.

However, they were now forced to change their tune.

If they couldn’t defeat them, what was the point of being arrogant?

And there was more to their concerns.

Was the Alliance’s strength solely due to the Phoenix?

No.

After they completed the landing zone and significantly weakened the Retribution-class battleship’s firepower interception system, numerous Alliance landing craft arrived, carrying a massive Alliance force.

The Battle Sisters of the Holy Lily, the Alliance Marines, the Army’s Airborne Troops, the independent Glory Guards… a host of larger, more numerous, and more suited to large-scale combat forces arrived.

These were all mortal forces, to be sure.

Yet, even these mortal troops impressed the Blood Sharks.

Setting aside the Battle Sisters, these divinely blessed female warriors are often compared to Space Marines.

Even these other serious mortal armies were exceptionally powerful,

especially the Glory Guards. The fact

that they were all clad in Regenerative Power Armor wasn’t a big deal; the Blood Sharks had seen some wealthy mortal armies before. Even if

a scumbag wore power armor, it didn’t change his nature.

But the key point is that these Glory Guards are surprisingly not much inferior to ordinary Space Marines in certain traits, such as psychological fortitude and technical and tactical proficiency. At most, they lack exceptional physiques and the neural control of power armor that allows them to wield their arms and fingers.

A dozen or so of these Glory Guards would be enough to give a Blood Shark a hard time; with twenty or thirty, it’s hard to say whether the Blood Sharks or the Glory Guards

will prevail. However, the Blood Sharks’ current combat strength is barely seven hundred, and their Chapter is rarely at full strength.

Ewing alone saw over fifteen thousand Glory Guards landing on enemy ships.

Could this be the Alliance’s entire Glory Guard force?

Probably not.

Furthermore, while the Army’s Airborne Corps and the Navy’s elite Marines might not be as impressive, they are still inferior to the Blood Sharks’ auxiliary forces, culled through brutal trials and actual combat.

At this level, over 20% of the troops were equipped with feedback-type power armor, something the poor Blood Sharks couldn’t even begin to covet.

The Blood Sharks silently completed their duties and then silently joined the Alliance forces.

Silence was their motto. The Alliance troops boarding the ship, including the Phoenix, had been informed of this beforehand. Furthermore, the Alliance troops had been warned to stay away from these ferocious sharks. In the few instances the Blood Sharks engaged in battle, they displayed an extreme disregard for allies, especially mortals.

If a friendly stood in their way, they would fire without hesitation. If a friendly hindered their rapid advance, they would literally trample over them without a care for mortal life.

The Alliance soldiers who boarded the ship were somewhat frightened and diligently followed their superiors’ instructions.

But after all, they were fighting in the same area, fighting side by side.

After some interaction, the Alliance soldiers quickly relaxed their nervousness.

They felt that, aside from being quiet and fond of creating gory scenes, these blood sharks seemed… unremarkable.

Looking at the dark grey helmets and the smear of blood red on their foreheads, they somehow seemed a bit cute.

(End of this chapter)