Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 612

Chapter 610: Yellow Spring Owl and the Dragon King’s Spear

Although Gu Hang had already led his main forces to the Alfonzo Sector, that didn’t mean he was completely unconcerned with the affairs of the Nepenthes.

He had previously analyzed that the Iron Armor forces likely lacked the necessary manpower to intervene in the Nepenthes campaign.

Their main force remained on the western front, the primary battlefield, both during the Phoenix era and the current Ortopis era.

Of course, the absence of their main forces didn’t mean the Iron Armor forces would ignore the southern front.

However, the southern front was also distinct. While the Nepenthes Sector was close to the Princess Sector, the situation within it had become a chaotic mess due to the Zerg’s corruption. The Alliance’s forces were thus trapped there.

While this was an Alliance initiative, objectively speaking, the forces led by Martins were barely capable of actively attacking the Princess Sector. They were already struggling to resolve and suppress issues within the Nepenthes Sector, with insufficient manpower and the need to travel extensively.

In comparison, the Alliance’s military operations against the Alfonzo Sector were clearly a far greater threat.

The Space Marines participating in the battle were the two defeated Penitent Chapters. Naturally, morale was low and staffing was insufficient. But they were still two Chapters, after all. Furthermore, they were the Alliance’s main fleet, with numerous, particularly large, ships, and led by Gu Hang himself, making the offensive more proactive.

The Alfonzo Segmentum itself was even more important. Even if the Forge World was of little significance to them after being completely fed to the worms, Gu Hang couldn’t let it fall into his hands, as this would significantly increase the Alliance’s war potential.

If anything, the Alfonzo Segmentum posed a direct threat to the Princess Segmentum.

Even if Ironclad were to intervene forcefully on the southern front, whether by strengthening defenses or launching an offensive, the more appropriate target would be the Alfonzo Segmentum. A major offensive against the Nepeta Segmentum was unnecessary.

For this reason, Gu Hang was initially more concerned about the prospect of a major battle in the Alfonzo Segmentum. To this end, in addition to the two thousand members of the two Redemption Chapters, Gu Hang also brought with him another thousand members of the “Shadow” Chapter, created using Phoenix genes. They could be considered another Phoenix Chapter, and their strength was extraordinary.

Of course, it would be best if they could be left alone. However, Gu Hang estimated that this would be difficult.

He had already found a Chapter called the “Yellow Spring Gulls” in historical texts.

He had originally thought that finding such a missing Chapter would be easy, but later discovered that it was actually quite difficult. The main problem was that there were relatively few Phoenix Chapters. While it wasn’t necessary to impersonate Phoenix descendants, sometimes Phoenixes could exhibit some Phoenix-like characteristics. To avoid complications, under the same circumstances, it was easier to find a lost Phoenix Chapter.

Secondly, the missing Chapter had to be “missing,” not a clearly documented extinction. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain their sudden resurrection, and it would be difficult to make a convincing case.

Furthermore, such disappearances were unlikely to return. Don’t expect to encounter something like the Blood Sharks, who wandered around for a while and then returned to the Empire. Then the two Chapters would be left with no clear explanation.

After a long search, they settled on the Yellow Spring Gull.

It had disappeared in a war seven hundred years earlier. That battle was a major one against the Chaos Daemons, and the Yellow Spring Gulls suffered heavy losses. The last three ships, perhaps carrying three hundred men, were devoured by the distorted Warp under the terrible spells of Chaos.

Theoretically, being engulfed by the Warp wasn’t necessarily fatal, especially for a fleet of three. With the astral protective field activated, the ships could navigate the Warp—and even navigating the Warp was a form of navigation. With luck, they could find a passage through the Warp that connected them to the real world and navigate their way out.

But in reality, escaping alive was incredibly difficult. Finding a passage through the Warp was difficult enough, let alone the fact that they were sent there by Chaos magic on the battlefield. It was likely that as soon as they entered the Warp, countless Chaos Daemons would violently attack their ships.

Even if they could fight their way out of the encirclement and find a way back to the real universe, by the time they emerged from the Warp, they wouldn’t know when, where, or where they would be.

The chances of them ever returning to the glory of the Empire were extremely low.

Seven hundred years of silence were proof of this.

Another problem with the “Yellow Springs Gull” disguise was the paint job. Without accurate blueprints, physical references, or even images, the design could only be based on the description, which described a gradient of dark red and dusky yellow. The breastplate was dusky yellow, gradually fading outward to dark red on the hands, feet, helmet, and pauldrons. The chest should have been the standard Imperial eagle, while the shoulders featured a seagull head crowned with red spider lilies.

The description seemed comprehensive, but the actual implementation revealed numerous problems. The degree of gradation, the detail of the iconography… all of these were issues.

Seven hundred years later, not many people had seen the Yellow Springs Gull, but some still existed. If one did encounter one, the product might not match the design, making it easily exposed.

But this is the least risky option.

Just do it. If a problem arises… solve it.

They’ve been lost for centuries, recently returning to the real world. After a long voyage through the Dark Outer Realms, they discovered the Yellow Spring Gulls, who had rebelled against the Iron Armor. Without hesitation, they accepted the call from Imperial Commander Gu Hang to join the fight.

As for why, after being lost for centuries, their force has shrunk from 300 to 1,000… it’s because during their time back in the real universe and voyaging through the Dark Outer Realms, they encountered human worlds, gained reinforcements, and their gene-seed bank is relatively well-preserved.

The Alliance’s clerks will fabricate a highly reliable story of the past. While it can’t be verified, no one can disprove it.

That’s enough.

Overall, Gu Hang’s Alfonzo combat power is more than sufficient.

However, before he even arrived in the Alfonzo Sector, he heard of a renegade Chapter in the Nepeta Sector. He was a little worried at first, but when he heard that this regiment was called the Spear of the Dragon King and that its bloodline came from the founding legion – the Dragon Legion.

As luck would have it, Alliance Intelligence had some analysis of this Chapter.

The Dragon King’s Spears, another Chapter originally stationed in the Spider Web, had a good relationship with the Iron Armor, often assisting each other. When the Iron Armor Rebellion first broke out, they were bewildered, even muddled, believing Iron Armor’s claims to be valid. Holy Terra was indeed acting recklessly, and that the Iron Armor Chapter was the persecuted party, hoping to use fighting to broker peace and help the Iron Armor redeem their grievances.

They weren’t even that anti-Holy Terra!

Unlike the New World Torch, they hadn’t engaged in backstabbing or battlefield massacres. On the contrary, this Chapter valued its relationships with civilians and had a good reputation.

After being drawn into the war, they fought with a rather muddled air. Later, they gradually lost control, with numerous instances of activity on the Western Front, engaging in fierce battles with the Battle Sisters of the Blood Rose.

But as the war progressed, the Dragon King’s Spears warriors gradually began to come to their senses.

No, this was… a deadly struggle, not at all the internal military conflict they’d initially assumed.

Under these circumstances, the Dragon King’s Spear began to waver. After

the insectoid corruption began to spread, and with the Alliance and the Empire hyping it up, the Dragon King’s Spear’s wavering became even greater.

They requested several operations to suppress the insectoid corruption, but were rejected by Humphrey Paul. Then they began to act on their own.

Humphrey Paul simply transferred them.

And this time, their trip to the Nepeta Star Region wasn’t ordered by anyone else, but their own initiative.

To surrender?

That wasn’t the case either.

They’d heard the Alliance was fighting fiercely in the south, and with nothing else to do, they’d come to defend the area.

And why did Gu Hang know so much about the Dragon King’s Spear’s motives and intentions?

It was because an Alliance Foreign Affairs agent named Amanda was operating alongside the Dragon King’s ships.

In fact, in the latest report, Ms. Amanda requested full negotiating authority, allowing her to promise something beyond her capabilities in exchange for the Dragon King’s Spear.

That’s right, she wanted to incite the Dragon King’s Spear to defect, to switch sides at the last minute!

The Foreign Intelligence Agency supported their agent’s idea, and Director Chen Shuyi delivered a letter to Gu Hang, stating that the probability of success was high and the value was extremely high.

Gu Hang didn’t think long before replying,

“Yes.”

The cost of this was minimal.

Winning meant not only avoiding a war but also gaining a new regiment—a truly joyous occasion.

Losing meant losing an agent planted deep within the enemy’s heart—a regrettable loss, but honestly, a manageable one.

So what was wrong with that?

…

Amanda herself felt her story was a bit too legendary.

Her initial mission was simply to sail a small boat, carefully navigating the vast universe, to the Western Front and gather intelligence there.

Numerous agents like her were deployed by the Alliance’s various intelligence agencies.

It’s nothing more than a miniaturized traveler with anti-detection features.

Such a vessel might be only eighty meters long, far smaller than the massive astral warships that span several, dozens, or even tens of kilometers. It’s even smaller

than some large aerospace fighters.

Within its small dimensions, virtually all the space and energy is devoted to the various equipment needed to navigate the astral tunnels, along with a powerful engine for its size and anti-detection equipment.

Only a vessel like this could facilitate the work of the agents.

(End of Chapter)