Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 626

Chapter 624, Shadows of the Subspace

As the Varluk fleet emerged from the jump point, the previously lost small Mechanicus fleet also reappeared not far from the Alliance’s main fleet.

Without any prelude, these ships didn’t even attempt to open fire. They understood that with their limited firepower, an all-out bombardment wouldn’t be of much use. Destroying a few small vessels wouldn’t significantly impact the battle.

They had a more important mission.

These Mechanicus ships advanced frantically towards the Alliance’s main position, seemingly intent on ramming it.

Ramming… might be considered a tactic in some ancient, outrageous naval textbooks, but it’s so absurd that it’s rarely seen in actual combat, except in rare circumstances.

But these frantic ships seemed intent on doing just that.

They couldn’t be allowed to succeed.

Even facing the crucial situation of Varluk’s main fleet, which had preemptively arrived at the jump point, the Alliance fleet still allocated some firepower to deal with these frantic vessels.

Adhering to the principle of “no matter what they were up to, destroy them and the problem would always be solved,” the Alliance unleashed a fierce concentrated fire, shattering the ships’ void and energy shields in a short period of time. With only their armor remaining, it was clearly insufficient to withstand the Alliance’s fierce firepower.

Several more rounds of artillery fire, penetrating the armor, reduced nearly all of the ships to space junk.

At this stage, the Alliance fleet’s primary firepower was even focused on the main force of the Varuk fleet, which had just completed its jump and hadn’t yet deployed its shields.

A decisive battle between two fleets of similar size, perhaps even the Varuks’ superior, at a location like the jump point, meant that the advantage of the first strike must be fully exploited.

Opening fire first might not completely determine the outcome of the battle, but it clearly played a significant role in the balance of power. Destroying just one or two of the enemy’s main battleships at this stage would be a significant achievement; even if that didn’t work out, destroying a few frigates and cruisers would be a significant accomplishment.

The Varuk fleet used some unique technology to deceive the Alliance’s cosmic observation capabilities, arriving prematurely and leaving the Alliance somewhat unprepared. This already reduced the Alliance’s advantage. The smaller flotilla that attacked from the side also diverted some firepower, reducing the pressure on the main force of the Varuk fleet.

However, the Alliance fleet soon discovered that this was only a minor issue.

They had originally thought that once the flanking flotilla had been completely destroyed, the situation would be resolved. Although previous reports had mentioned that they possessed a strange spore-deploying technology that could directly threaten their own ships, if their ships were destroyed, wouldn’t that technology, no matter how powerful, be of any use?

Not really.

After the ships were shattered, they had just focused their attention on the battle at the jump point, unleashing fierce firepower, aiming to inflict as much damage as possible while the enemy ships hadn’t had time to deploy their shields, when over thirty Alliance ships suddenly reported to Fleet Command that their ships had been invaded.

Those ‘spores’ appeared again.

They resembled enormous insect eggs, larger than even a typical landing craft. These egg-like objects seemed to have floated from the wreckage of the small fleets. Their purple-black appearance was difficult to discern with the n*ked eye—on the scale of the universe, nothing is easily observable with the n*ked eye.

However, the multiple observation methods of the Auspicious Observation and the Astronomical Tower failed to detect the approach of this strange spacecraft.

By the time they did, it was already too late.

As it slowly passed through the void shield, the ships’ close-range firepower took down some of them, but not many. Generally speaking, whether it was against pirates, a human civil war, or monsters like the Greenskins, when encountering a boarding attack, the enemy usually chose suitable landing sites. The ship’s deck, gun ports, and lower compartments—these areas were relatively vulnerable, offering opportunities for entry, even if a forced breach was necessary.

Therefore, the ships’ close-range defensive firepower focused on these locations.

However, these insect eggs were not the target of their attack.

They simply found a random spot to stick to. The eggs had a certain stickiness, and once attached, their surface quickly melted, forming a slime that dissolved the ship’s armor.

The melting area was limited to a dozen or even a few meters. For a massive warship, this wasn’t considered serious damage. Even if enemy fire penetrated the void shield, reaching the melted area would be difficult given the distances of thousands or even tens of kilometers.

As for the “leakage” caused by the melting of armor and hull, there was no need to worry. Any ship of this size would have detailed contingency plans for such risks. Isolation was necessary, and the ship’s damage control department wasn’t idle.

However, the key point wasn’t the armor melting, but the massive number of Zerg soldiers that subsequently emerged from the eggs.

The term “soldier” stems from their roughly human appearance; the prefix “Zerg” stems from their heads, arms, and body structure, which displayed numerous Zerg characteristics, along with numerous mechanical modifications.

It must be some kind of swarming technology developed by the Mechanicum, a new breed of modified servitors. The combined use of mechanical and biological modification techniques yielded a creature with truly formidable individual combat capabilities.

From this perspective, the initial objective of the incoming small ships wasn’t simply to draw fire. Rather than being destroyed, they were more likely to commit suicide.

The insect eggs released after their self-destruction threw at least thirty Alliance ships into chaos,

including two flagships: the Hippogriff and the Golden Gate.

The former was an aircraft carrier, the latter a battleship.

Gu Hang himself was aboard the Golden Gate.

From these two massive vessels, handling the situation was straightforward.

Gu Hang didn’t need to intervene; the ships’ ample Marines, along with the Honor Guards, could handle the situation. Furthermore, the Space Marines of the Fury and the New World Torch Chapters were already deployed, more than enough to annihilate the invaders. The resulting inaction

didn’t affect the ships’ operations.

However, it is somewhat difficult to deal with some other invaded small and medium-sized ships.

The Alliance’s marines were generally upgraded to T4, their ships equipped with high-performance armored vehicles like Sentinels, individual exoskeletons, and Walkers, as well as a small number of elite troops in Commander-type power armor. However

, without the support of Space Marines, a large contingent of Honor Guards, or Sisters of Battle, completely suppressing these invading monsters remained challenging.

While the invaded ships weren’t doomed, internal chaos was inevitable, hampering their combat effectiveness.

Gu Hang didn’t dwell on these issues.

They were just minor tactics.

A series of small attacks had indeed eroded the Alliance’s initial advantage.

But it wasn’t significant.

While these tactics had some impact on the outcome, it wasn’t significant.

He always remembered that his most powerful weapon was his own psychic power.

As long as his psychic power could be fully utilized, victory in the war would always belong to the Alliance.

However, he also didn’t forget the inexplicable anxiety that had arisen earlier.

If this were a dangerous omen, then it was far from fulfilling its promise.

Varuk’s tricks were useful, but not enough to cause Gu Hang any anxiety.

They merely compromised the Alliance’s advantage. He watched as nearly all of Varuk’s fleet passed through the astral tunnel and appeared before the Alliance fleet, forming their positions. All the necessary void shields had been deployed, and the total cost was only four cruisers and less than twenty destroyers and frigates—not a significant amount.

But so what?

Gu Hang’s psychic powers were already mobilizing, and the Storm Mage Corps was fully deployed.

The targets had been chosen, starting with the largest-looking mechanical ark.

Gu Hang was attempting to rip open its void shield.

This wasn’t the first time the entire Alliance fleet had coordinated with their boss, shifting their firepower, waiting for the void shield to be breached, concentrating their fire, aiming to destroy it as quickly as possible.

But throughout this process, Gu Hang had made every possible preparation, holding back a few tricks.

If his anxious premonition came true, it would most likely happen right here.

Perhaps Varuk had some means to counter his psychic powers.

Gu Hang wanted to see what that might be.

And then, it arrived.

Just as Gu Hang tore through the veil separating the Storm Kingdom from the real universe, intending to unleash the Kingdom’s full power and rip through the mechanical Ark’s void shield, he suddenly felt his vision go dark.

It wasn’t dizziness, but actual darkness.

That was the perspective he saw through the Storm Kingdom. A thick shadow enveloped his entire Storm Kingdom.

Varuk’s methods actually emanated from the Warp!

This was what truly astonished Gu Hang!

Unexpectedly…

The Warp shadow enveloping the Storm Kingdom blocked the power from the Kingdom’s infiltration into the real universe.

In fact, Gu Hang’s own psychic powers were affected.

Then, the Warp shadow continued to cover the entire battlefield.

Not only Gu Hang, but all psychics felt the heavy pressure!

Simultaneously, Alfonzo’s fleet opened fire.

————

I’ll try to finish one more chapter before dawn!

(End of this chapter)