Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 599

Chapter 597: Give Me a Happy Ending

. Grit was the one who felt the New World Torch’s weakness more clearly.

After all, she and her sisters had been battling the New World Torch and the Fury Flame on this planet for over six months. Honestly, there was a difference in the abilities of the two Chapters. Fighting the New World Torch was clearly easier than fighting the Fury Flame.

But that was an indirect comparison. To truly determine the outcome, they had to clash.

The New World Torch shattered in one blow.

Even with orbital fire support, they were still in such a state…

And after she led the attack, she wasn’t impressed by the performance of these Space Marines.

Strength aside, she clearly felt their fighting spirit was quite weak.

They didn’t resemble the image of the ‘Angels of Death’ they’d imagined.

No wonder they’d betrayed her twice and were servile to three masters.

She truly despised these Space Marines, painted orange and red on the upper body and brass on the lower body.

Fortunately, they weren’t expected to be a significant contributor in this battle.

This wave of troops numbered a full 1,200. The Holy Lilies had all arrived, along with two hundred Glory Guards.

With this number of troops, coupled with the New World Torch’s lack of fighting spirit and limited strength, the Raging Flames were still not capable of confronting them head-on.

Furthermore, in close combat, especially when the two sides engaged in close combat, the support provided by orbital bombardment would be minimal. Without ground guidance, orbital firepower could hardly achieve precision, making it less effective against the enemy’s long-range firepower. As for close-range engagements, they couldn’t bomb their own troops.

However, the air force was more effective in this regard, as machine guns could aim and fire.

Fifty Wind Falcons and Kirins in the air would provide significant support.

Furthermore, Grit didn’t simply expect to destroy the Raging Flames with the limited forces at hand.

Her priority remained the same as the New World Torch had previously: to contain the Raging Flames.

Having finally gathered the majority of their forces and captured them, they must seize this opportunity to eliminate the remaining threat.

If they could be contained and eliminated head-on, the cost would surely be less than engaging in an asymmetric war and being constantly harassed.

But Paulitus, it seemed, was a clear-headed man. He realized that continuing the fight would be doomed. The entire Fury Legion looked as if it were about to disperse.

How could Grit give him that chance?

Ten more minutes, and approximately two thousand more Glory Guards would arrive by fighter plane;

in twenty minutes, that number would reach four thousand.

In thirty minutes, airborne troops would drop from orbit. The Rear Admiral promised that the first wave would be no fewer than ten thousand, all elite soldiers equipped with exoskeleton armor.

In an hour, four Alliance Army divisions and two special forces brigades, totaling seventeen thousand men, would be able to complete the encirclement of the mountainous area. Armored and infantry divisions would be stationed at various locations, digging trenches to ensure the area was locked down. Artillery would be established, ready to respond to requests for fire support from within the mountains, unleashing a fierce barrage of artillery shells. Light infantry and special brigades from each division would enter the mountains to participate in the annihilation of the Space Marines…

By then, the encirclement would be complete.

Further in, in the vast mountainous region surrounding this area, the Alliance’s forces were already moving. From cities to fortresses to military camps… millions of troops were deployed here.

The Fury Legion was trapped.

Now was the final window of opportunity; Paulitus could not escape!

Even though many Fury Legions were still alive, Grit gritted her teeth and personally led the pursuit, determined to capture them all!

It was working.

She significantly slowed the Fury Legion’s retreat.

However, this also triggered a frenzied counterattack.

But this also prompted a fierce and intense counterattack from the Fury Legion.

Individual anti-aircraft missiles were launched from behind several boulders. These Fury Warriors were calm and precise.

Operating at low altitude for ground support, they now resembled attack helicopters. Caught off guard, over a dozen were instantly brought down.

Aerial cover was suddenly reduced.

The remaining fighters, startled, increased their altitude and speed, momentarily hesitating.

Meanwhile, Grit faced at least a hundred Furies, swooping down from every direction and corner.

At such close range, the accuracy of their fire, whether from the Space Marines, Battle Sisters, or Honor Guards, was incredibly high.

Explosive shells flew wildly, interspersed with plasma beams, and in an instant, many men felled.

The next moment, the two sides engaged in close combat.

The chainswords and combat blades wielded by the Fury Warriors collided with those of the Battle Sisters, instantly gaining a significant advantage.

The physical disparity between the two sides was stark. Though the Sisters of Battle were hand-picked mortal elites, their average height reached over 1.8 meters. This was impressive for a mortal woman,

but every Fury Warrior standing before them resembled a miniature giant.

This was merely a physical disparity; in the flesh, a Space Marine with superhuman organs would be an unstoppable force for the Sisters of Battle.

Their power armor was also different.

The Sisters of Battle’s sole advantage was their faith.

This faith was not illusory. As they chanted hymns of praise to the Emperor, the Emperor’s power truly imbued them, making them fearless and powerful.

Their luck even improved, and occasionally, a blade that once threatened to decapitate them would merely grazed their ears.

However, the blessings only narrowed the gap slightly, not fundamentally.

In the ferocious collision, even though the Sisters of Battle and the Honor Guards held an absolute numerical advantage, the number of casualties was still far greater than their opponents. For

every ten Furys fallen, 100, or even 200, of the Alliance’s elite warriors might have paid the price.

Grit had anticipated this.

Pushed to the limit, the Furys would inevitably turn against them.

This head-on collision was actually disadvantageous to the Alliance’s elite.

She immediately ordered the troops to shrink and focus on defense, forcing the Sisters and Guards to gather together as closely as possible, ensuring mutual support and simultaneous attacks, rather than engaging the enemy alone.

This made it difficult for the Sisters of Battle and the Honor Guards to pursue. The Furies, after stunning their opponents with their blows, drifted away, attempting to retreat.

However, this delayed them.

Furthermore, after regrouping, Grit was still able to lead her men in pursuit.

Chasing and fleeing, counterattacks and defenses, retreat and pursuit…

at the cost of the lives of approximately four hundred elite soldiers, Grit held her ground.

This was especially true after Grit’s repeated calls, and Wang Mengsong arrived with his New World Torch.

While their morale was low and they were hesitant, they still numbered over two hundred Space Marines.

And the first backup plan she had been waiting for soon arrived.

Two thousand Glory Guards followed.

Clad in regenerative power armor, these warriors, considered the absolute elite among mortals, were no match for the Space Marines, but when they parachuted from their fighters into the Fury’s escape route, their impact was still deadly.

To defeat these Glory Guards, the Fury needed to concentrate their forces, not disperse and flee as they had done.

Furthermore, no matter what they did, defeating or even completely annihilating such a large number of Glory Guards would take a long time.

And if they didn’t kill them all, the next wave of Glory Guards would arrive soon.

Paulitus’s face remained expressionless, but cold sweat covered his forehead.

He continued to command his troops with all his might. Under his command, the surviving Fury Warriors would sometimes completely separate and disappear, and sometimes gather in small groups of dozens to launch targeted attacks against the pursuit of the Battle Sisters or the blockade of the Glory Guards, breaking through any gaps and then fleeing…

But the more they fought, the more desperate they became.

The entire chapter seemed to be stuck in a quagmire. They fought tooth and nail, but the accumulated mud grew thicker and thicker.

They struggled to escape.

The previous bombardment had cost them hundreds of lives, disrupting their plans to annihilate the New World Torch, and many of the remaining men were wounded. Now, facing the growing numbers of Sisters of Battle and Honor Guards, they had slain many, but their numbers were dwindling.

The more they fought, the more doomed they became.

What was to be done?

Paulitos considered numerous solutions and decisively instructed his team to implement them.

Each of his methods was sound and could improve the situation; however, overall, it still meant the entire chapter was sinking deeper and deeper.

This was especially true with the influx of ordinary mortal troops into the mountains.

The Furies were struggling to find even a place to hide.

As his breathing grew heavier, Paulitos’s eyes began to fill with blood.

After kicking down another silver-haired Battle Sister, his power sword smashed through her helmet, turning that beautiful, now terrified face into a mass of bloody rotten flesh, much of it scattering across her armor, Paulitus was completely unwilling to think.

He roared to the heavens, turned, and charged.

Inside his helmet, the tactical panel marked a single person’s location.

It was Sister Grit.

Paulitus knew she was the supreme commander of the Alliance’s strategy to eliminate the Fury in Phantom Moon.

He was going to kill her!

Would killing Grit solve the Fury’s current problems?

Probably not. While she was supreme commander, the Alliance wasn’t Greenskin! The death of a leader wouldn’t cause the entire Legion to lose its organization.

Killing Grit would immediately result in the next level of command taking over, and according to the established strategy, they would continue the encirclement and suppression of the Fury in this mountainous area.

The Alliance would not rest until the Fury was defeated.

But Paulitus had completely stopped thinking about such things.

He even gave up command of the entire team.

At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to tear the Battle Sister’s head off!

As he roared and charged, the dozen or so guardsmen who had been following him roared and followed.

Grit immediately spotted a force charging upstream towards her.

They were advancing so swiftly that any elite Alliance squadrons they encountered were cut down like paper. Two of the three Wind Falcons that had flown in to provide support and to see what was happening were shot down, leaving the remaining one, tail between its legs, topping out at Mach 2 before fleeing.

But it still relayed the news to Grit, telling the Sister that it appeared to be the Chapter Master of the Fury.

A decapitation tactic? They were going to kill me?

Grit immediately concluded.

She was eager to

try. Ordinary Battle Sisters couldn’t defeat a Space Marine, but she felt she could fight, even against the so-called Chapter Champion.

But then, she suppressed the thought.

If she were simply a warrior, she wouldn’t mind a life-or-death duel with a Chapter Master. Death is death, but victory is a great honor.

But she was also a commander.

She shouldered the entire battle. A warrior’s glory was less important than a more secure victory.

So, she relayed her coordinates to the constantly connected Sky Marines, calling for a single Sky-Splitting Axe and three Scalpels.

Then, instead of demanding a retreat for all Alliance soldiers near those coordinates, she instructed them to engage and block the attack.

The Sky-Splitting Axe’s power and range were undeniable. With precise coordinates and obstructions, Paulitus’s reckless charge would undoubtedly be hit.

Even if he missed, the three subsequent Scalpels would likely rip through the surrounding area.

As for the Alliance soldiers who stood against Paulitus and his guards… they were doomed.

But this was war.

Grit wasn’t usually known for her cold-blooded nature. She still maintained her nun’s habits, participating in the Sisters’ missionary work, aiding the needy, and participating in free medical services.

It wasn’t that she didn’t value the lives of others.

Not to mention, among the Alliance elite killed in the bombing were her battle sisters.

However, her position as commander was far more important to her at this moment. Eliminating a Chapter Master and his personal guards at the cost of over a hundred casualties was clearly far more important.

Had the bombing not been carried out, perhaps Paulitus and his guards could have killed thousands and escaped.

Now, with Paulitus’s madness exposed, it presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for precision bombing, which must be exploited.

However, this tactic couldn’t be used constantly.

Even from a utilitarian perspective, occasional attempts could be excused with various excuses, but repeated use, the constant sacrifice of one’s own soldiers, often used as human bombing targets, would shake the surviving. A

glorious death in battle and being used as bait and killed by one’s own people were two different things.

Grit had to consider the morale of the troops.

But even this one use was sufficient; it had already been worth more than the price.

Afterwards, she personally led a team to inspect the bombing site

and was surprised to find that Paulitos was still alive!

Only a head, a chest, and an arm remained of his body, yet he could still move, his eyes still fixed on him fiercely.

Judging by his position, he had likely avoided the center of the explosion when the Sky-Splitting Axe landed, then been blown away by the shockwave. The scalpel that followed landed close by, blowing off his hand and the entire lower body.

Grit didn’t attempt on-site medical treatment or capture him, instead killing him.

(End of Chapter)