Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 584

Chapter 582: The Flame of Fury

. The two Chapters residing in the Phantom Moon System were in a state of constant fear.

They knew that no matter what the Alliance’s next move might be, they would be the first to be eliminated.

Whether they were strong or not, they could be quickly eliminated. Whether they were weak or not, including Alfonzo’s battlecruiser that had escaped, they possessed three massive warships and nearly two thousand Space Marines. Their fleet also contained perhaps millions of Mortal Auxiliaries and the Imperial Legion, a force comparable to the Astra Militarum.

In theory, this was a force capable of conquering an entire star system.

If they weren’t dealt with, their own backyard would erupt at any moment.

Fearing this, the former ruling class on Phantom Moon began to consider some issues.

They engaged individuals to conduct probing attempts with the two Chapters, hoping to “discuss” the possibility of surrender… no, “rectifying the chaos.”

We are all human, not aliens;

we all believe in the Emperor, not heretics.

It’s just that the ambitious Humphrey Paul has deceived everyone into believing that everyone on Holy Terra is a bad person, which is why they’ve joined the fight for independence.

Recognizing Humphrey Paul as a traitor, re-recognizing Holy Terra, and acknowledging the Alliance’s dominance…

would that mean we can return to the Empire?

Of course, there’s a price to pay.

The price of betrayal must be paid.

But no matter how high that price is, can it be greater than fighting a war with the Alliance with little chance of winning, suffering enormous sacrifices and casualties, and then being purged by the Alliance?

If that were the case, perhaps every member of the ruling class on Phantom Moon would be unable to remain in their current position. It’s even uncertain how many would survive.

They would surrender, even unconditionally, if they wanted to.

But they obviously couldn’t make the final decision on this matter; they had to consult with Adler Paulitus.

After the arrival of Fury and the New World Torch, they completely took over the planet’s military.

This was as it should be.

In other words, the military might of Phantom Moon itself, with its indigenous defense force numbering no more than a hundred million, could be spared. Phantom Moon’s value lay in its relatively comprehensive planetary defense system. While not particularly formidable, having everything it needed was already excellent.

By comparison, the most reliable assets lay in the two Chapters themselves, along with their armies and fleets.

If the local dignitaries wanted to surrender, he couldn’t decide. He

had to persuade the Space Marines.

And the result of this persuasion was that Paulitus slaughtered them all.

Realizing the unreliability of the Phantom Moonites, Paulitus launched a purge

, eliminating the upper echelons, promoting a number of mid-level officials, and filling key positions with trusted individuals from the Princess Legion and the Chapter’s auxiliary forces.

Backed by a formidable military force and the residual influence of the purge, they were able to firmly control the world.

After all, he didn’t need to worry about long-term governance; only short-term, forceful control was sufficient.

He then evacuated a large number of ground forces from starports, star forts, and ships to the surface.

After unloading the ground forces, the lightly equipped Fury Fleet left the Phantom Moon System’s orbit and sailed into deep space.

They wouldn’t leave the system, but the void of a system is immense. They would hide, supporting the Alliance attack on Phantom Moon from the outside. If the Alliance attempted to pursue, they would flee…

despite the significant risks involved. For example, the Retribution-class battleship lacked the maneuverability to execute such a maneuver.

It wouldn’t be deployed haphazardly.

Fast destroyers and cruisers would be tasked with harassing the Alliance attack fleet. If the Alliance ships showed any sign of turning to engage them, these smaller vessels would flee.

If they didn’t pursue, they would turn back and continue harassing. If they did, how could the scattered Fury Fleet pursue them? Once they were separated, they would constantly worry about a battlecruiser, a battle barge, or a battleship among the enemy. They could emerge from the void at any moment and strike at any Alliance ship that ventured alone.

Of course, all this was said with good intentions, but in reality, it was an act of desperation.

To put it bluntly, Paulitus had already grasped the situation.

He couldn’t escape, and normal defense was hopeless. While the Alliance couldn’t mobilize its full strength to deal with him right away, if they could wait a few months, allowing their ships to be repaired, combined with Gu Hang’s exaggerated and incredible psychic powers, and the formidable combat power displayed by the Phoenix and Blood Shark… even with a comprehensive orbital defense system, even Huanyue would be impossible to defend.

He had actually considered surrendering.

Just as the local dignitaries on Huanyue believed, the situation wasn’t a life-and-death struggle. They weren’t aliens, nor had they fallen into Chaos.

However, after careful consideration, Paulitus abandoned the idea.

It wasn’t for any other reason; if it meant saving the Chapter, he would give everything, do anything.

But he believed that surrender wouldn’t save his Chapter.

He could swear that if he surrendered, he would never again be an enemy of the Alliance.

However, he didn’t trust any of the Alliance’s promises.

The hatred between the two sides was immense and numerous, and it was mutual.

The Fury had previously slain the Phoenixes and fought against the Alliance at Dragonhawk; the Alliance and the Phoenixes had also brutally assaulted the Fury. The previous Chapter Master, Erso, beloved by his battle-brothers, had met his end at the hands of the Phoenixes…

Paulitus could only guarantee that he had the sanity to endure all the humiliation, but he couldn’t guarantee that everyone in the Chapter would share that sentiment. If they surrendered, and one Fury couldn’t swallow that humiliation and committed some act, it would easily give the Alliance cause for a massacre.

Putting themselves in their shoes, the Alliance wouldn’t trust the Fury simply because they surrendered. Sending them to fight a crucial battle? How could they dare? What if they turned against them at the last minute?

If Paulitus were in Gu Hang’s shoes, he felt he would accept all the Fury’s surrender terms, then imprison and secretly execute the entire Chapter.

For this very reason, he dared not surrender.

He was determined to persevere, both above ground and in the excavated bunkers and deep underground tunnels.

All he could see was darkness, a hopeless future.

But even so, he had to persevere in this darkness, even if the ultimate outcome would be the same.

…

As Paulitus had predicted, the Alliance’s attack on Huanyue quickly began.

The only vessels participating were the Zhuge-class aircraft carrier, three battlecruisers, and the Blood Shark Fleet.

All other ships were under repair.

While there weren’t many ships, the most crucial individual, Gu Hang, was already there.

All of Nuyan’s preparations and efforts were shattered in a short period of time.

First, the planet’s outer defenses came under attack. The Fury Fleet, which had fled first, deployed smaller vessels, as planned, to harass them.

The Alliance decisively pursued them.

As the Fury Fleet dispersed, the Alliance also dispersed in pursuit.

The three massive ships, hiding in the shadows, hoping the Alliance would be deterred, were now in a dilemma. “

You’re playing by the rules!”

If they didn’t show up, they’d be watching as the Alliance swept away all the attacking small and medium-sized vessels.

While these ships weren’t particularly valuable, two or three attacks would deplete the fleet.

But if they showed up… the Alliance knew they had large ships, yet they dared to disperse and pursue them. They must have been prepared, right?

After some deliberation, they finally emerged.

The three massive ships appeared simultaneously, blocking the path of the Alliance battlecruiser, the Rong Lin.

This presented a prime opportunity, but the three vessels remained cautious. Rather than rushing forward rashly due to the enemy’s small numbers, they opted to engage their own ships from a distance, intent on forcing the Rong Lin away.

But even with such caution, they encountered problems.

The Rong Lin showed no fear.

It didn’t continue to pursue the smaller vessels, but it didn’t flee either. Instead, it relied on the speed and agility of a battlecruiser to cruise at the edge of their range.

This was a clear intention: to follow, pursue, and pin them down until the other ships could converge and collectively eliminate this remaining traitorous naval force.

The Fury Fleet was cornered and forced to attack the Rong Lin with all its might, aiming to destroy or drive it off.

The Rong Lin began to flee, and

a tug-of-war ensued.

When the distance between the two sides reached a point where the battleship “Wings of Spark” could no longer quickly catch up, the Rong Lin suddenly attacked.

It turned and fiercely fired at the ship, formerly of the Cult of Alfonzo.

At the same time, the ship’s void shield suddenly vanished.

At the same moment, the other Fury flagship, the “Triumphal Flame,” went silent.

There was no doubt that Gu Hang and the Phoenixes had taken action.

The remaining two hundred Raging Flame Warriors within the Triumphal Flame were powerless to stop them. The Librarians, unable to stop Gu Hang from tearing through the void shield, were instead shot in the head by Gu Hang. The Space Marines were no match for the Phoenixes either. The Phoenixes that had teleported in numbered only three hundred. Although only 50% more in number, their individual combatants were far superior. The remaining Chapter Auxiliary Troops on the ship were few in number, and compared to the endless, fearless Heroic Spirits, they were no match…

By the time the battleship Spark Wings finally reached the battlefield, Alfonzo’s sole remaining battlecruiser was already engulfed in flames, clearly suffering heavy damage. The firepower of the Triumphal Flame battle barges had weakened, indicating that the Alliance had gained the upper hand in the battle within the ship.

Despite this, Spark Wings did not retreat. Knowing they were too short to escape, they had no choice but to attack with all their might.

Its attack was effective.

The Rong Lin, in the midst of its charge, was directly deflected.

Earlier, the Alfonzo battlecruiser’s counterattack and the Triumphant Flame’s attack, launched before its firepower was completely neutralized, had both hit targets. The Rong Lin’s void shields had already been battered to a crimson hue.

A delay of a moment, and by the time the battleships approached, the situation was truly perilous. Numerous massive cannon rounds pounded the Rong Lin. First, three Doomsday lances ripped the void shields from crimson to a deep crimson, a sign of overload. Then, a Class X ‘Heavenly Punishment’ lance array pierced the shields, melting a hole through the Rong Lin’s armor.

The disparity in direct combat capability between battlecruisers and battleships was immediately apparent.

Immediately thereafter, the Rong Lin, maneuvering swiftly, dodged and intercepted numerous incoming shells. However, a Class X macrocannon still managed to slam into the ship’s stern.

Even the armor couldn’t withstand the damage, and the hull suffered severe damage. The entire ship lurched, and for a moment, it struggled to maintain maneuverability.

However, just as the Spark Wing was about to make another push and destroy the Alliance vessel outright, it was suddenly struck by a shell

from the Triumphant Flame.

The Spark Wing’s captain was quite stunned.

He couldn’t understand why this had happened.

It was now common knowledge that the Phoenix was powerful and the Fury

couldn’t defeat it. Being quickly overtaken was a bit outrageous, but barely acceptable.

However, taking over the ship was no small feat, requiring a large crew.

Did you bring your technical staff with you when you boarded? And you were able to cross so many ships, taking over a warship while the battle wasn’t over?

I’ve never heard of such a thing!

However, the Spark Wing’s captain quickly remembered something else: the Triumphant Flame wasn’t just any warship, it was a battle barge designed specifically for Space Marines.

It had many roles that only Space Marines could fill. They connected their black armor to the ship through neural cords, allowing them to directly control many key components of the ship, much like the neural connection between Space Marines and their power armor.

This was one possible explanation.

Some details remained elusive, though. For example, if the connection were neural, wouldn’t there be some combination of locks and genetic identification?

Besides the critical Space Marines, the remaining non-critical components would also require a large number of crew members. Where would they come from?

These questions remained unanswered.

However, the Spark Wings had already lost their best opportunity to destroy the Rong Lin.

Numerous escort vessels had already arrived, and even a Lunar-class was charging the Spark Wings fiercely.

These small and medium-sized vessels not only intercepted the attacks launched by their own destroyers and cruisers against the Rong Lin, but also blocked the next two volleys of fire from the Spark Wings.

Despite the sacrifice of two Lunar-class and over ten Silver Shield and Silver Sword-class, the Rong Lin was saved.

Meanwhile, they were also invaded.

Heroic spirits, wielding lightning, emerged from all corners of the ships; hundreds of Phoenixes teleported into their vessels.

Soon, the Wings of Spark also fell into the hands of the Alliance.

With the outer fleet completely lost, the countdown to the destruction of Fury had begun.

(End of this chapter)