Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 623

Chapter 621, Loyalty or destruction!

Wang Mengsong’s offensive instantly caused Delaroche considerable trouble.

This sage, whose body had been modified to be exceptionally skilled in combat, had personally slaughtered over a dozen Space Marines during previous hunting operations. In his opinion, the Space Marines’ strength was merely average, not as exaggerated as the legends boasted.

He knew it was perfectly normal.

No matter how powerful a Space Marine was, just look at their power armor. A mere fifty thousand tax coins? A hundred thousand?

The real power lay within them.

But no matter how valuable that person was, how much of a boost could they achieve?

Meanwhile, the complete set of equipment he wore, crafted from new technology developed from the Zerg aliens, cost thirty million tax coins alone.

And that was just the cost, not including the R&D process.

R&D was even more expensive than manufacturing.

Furthermore, even after production, these modifications weren’t available to everyone. Only a sage like him possessed the skill and ability to master such transformation technology.

With such a huge disparity, wasn’t it natural for him to crush ordinary Space Marines?

The term “demigod” was merely a religious concept bestowing upon Space Marines certain special qualities. Their superhuman bodies were indeed formidable, capable of maximizing the value of their power armor, but they could never compete with a Sage-level full-body modification worth a hundred times more.

Except for the most elite Space Marines.

Draroche felt immense pressure.

He even suffered a disadvantage at the outset.

Wang Mengsong considered using a sneak attack to instantly kill him. Therefore, he went all out from the moment he struck. His weapon had been replaced with a phased sword.

Originally, he was unqualified to wield this cutting-edge weapon, which the Alliance had yet to mass-produce. The entire Chapter possessed only a handful. He was now using the sword Erich had given him, to increase his chances of victory.

The phased sword was certainly powerful enough. Without the support of such a top-tier weapon, even a champion swordsman would have struggled to sever Draroche’s limbs with a single blow.

After suffering a setback in the initial blow, the flurry of slashing attacks followed, leaving Draroche feeling overwhelmed.

He prided himself on being a sage specialized in combat. When transforming himself, he hadn’t gone for size, sturdiness, or firepower like other sages. Instead, he prioritized agility, skill, and strength, maintaining a roughly humanoid form.

But in reality,

he was still a sage of the Mechanicum, a civilian and scientific researcher. His so-called training was just that, training; he lacked the experience of frontline combat.

Relying on powerful and expensive equipment, he had seemed invincible in his few previous battles. He even believed himself a master of combat.

But when he faced the previous Space Marine champion swordsman in a life-or-death struggle for the first time, he felt the true power of his strength.

Objectively speaking, Wang Mengsong’s physical attributes were inferior to Draroche’s.

A champion-level Space Marine, even with the same equipment, possessed physical strength far exceeding that of an average Space Marine.

However, he still couldn’t compare to Delaroche in terms of hard indicators.

Whether it was strength, speed, or agility, he was theoretically a level above Wang Mengsong.

However, champion swordsmen were champions because their experience, technical and tactical swordsmanship were overwhelmingly superior.

Delaroche’s actual combat skills and experience were far inferior to even an average Space Marine.

Against a champion like Wang Mengsong, his abilities and hard-core physical abilities were barely 30% effective.

He fought with frustration, and even several impotent, furious attempts at sacrificing his life were easily countered by Wang Mengsong.

After taking several blows, and when the self-healing Void Electronic Tendons began to fail, he finally calmed down.

He began trying to escape,

but each time, he was intercepted by Wang Mengsong.

He glanced anxiously around, hoping his powerful retinue could offer some assistance.

But it couldn’t.

Logically, the retinue, equally powerful, should have been able to crush the remaining nine Space Marines. While they certainly had an advantage, they were far from being able to completely defeat their opponents and aid him.

The New World Torch warriors participating in this operation were carefully selected.

While the percentage of them producing Company Champions was over five times lower than that of the Phoenix, they could still muster ten Company Champions out of five hundred.

While they weren’t on Wang Mengsong’s level, they were certainly no pushovers. Did

Delaroche still expect others to help him? Impossible. One Torch warrior, so skilled and daring, even shot him in the middle of the fight, unfazed by the risk of accidentally injuring Wang Mengsong in the hyper-speed of battle.

He had indeed not accidentally injured anyone. Instead, he precisely coordinated his strike with Wang Mengsong’s, causing Delaroche to pause, creating a perfect opportunity for the champion swordsman to stab Delaroche’s chest with his phaser.

Delaroche quickly retreated, the sword detaching from his body.

This wasn’t a fatal injury for him. The biological tissues he had developed from the Void Zerg rapidly repaired the damage within his body.

He would be fully recovered in a moment.

However, at that moment, another attack suddenly struck him from behind.

It was Erich’s arrival!

More Space Marines were closing in from behind. But the Second Captain of the Chapter couldn’t wait any longer, rushing to the scene the moment he received the news.

He possessed considerable strength, even among the company’s champions, and was more than capable of playing a significant role in this battle!

He was struck several more times. Although the power sword wasn’t as powerful as the phaser, he managed to force Erich back slightly, but Wang Mengsong arrived immediately.

Under siege, Delaroche seemed increasingly powerless.

In the end, his body, which could quickly repair itself, could no longer be put together after being cut into countless pieces and then burned again by the melta flamethrower.

…

After the death of Delaroche, the war did not subside immediately, but at least the intensity dropped sharply.

By this point, most of the hawkish officials had died, and the localists and fence-sitters, who had an absolute advantage in numbers, had a clearer understanding of the situation.

Under their efforts, the Crusaders no longer came to die.

The sages were all dead, so what were they still doing here?

Even on Aramita, many of the ruling bishops of the Mechanicus had organized a temporary council and contacted Gu Hang, hoping that the Alliance could send an ambassador so that the two sides could have a good talk.

This was a very clear attitude. Everything could be discussed, and the war could be postponed for the time being.

But unexpectedly, Gu Hang rejected this proposal.

Moreover, the entire main fleet of the Alliance suddenly pressed forward fiercely.

His voice, transmitted through various channels of Alliance agents and public broadcasts, spread throughout Aramita:

“Unconditionally restore order. I welcome everyone who rises in battle. You have demonstrated your loyalty to the Empire.”

“And to those who still stubbornly refuse to repent, I will, on behalf of the Emperor and the God of All Things, bring down the most severe punishment!”

“Loyalty, or destruction! Your choice.”

(End of this chapter)