Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 663

Chapter 661, Wanzhou Star Battle

The Battle of Wanzhou Star was a defensive battle, with the Iron Armors taking the offensive.

During their westward counterattack, Salilius and Martins discovered a weakness in the Iron Armors—their supply chain was also inadequate.

Although the Iron Armors were completely infested and transformed, even after the armor was stripped from the bodies of Iron Armors killed on the battlefield, even without dissection, the flesh beneath revealed a hybrid of insect and human. Deformed skulls, chitinous growths… Further dissection revealed changes to the superhuman organs within.

These changes, in fact, enhanced the Iron Armors’ physical strength, combining the superhuman physique of a Space Marine with the advantages of the Zerg as a biological weapon.

Their average strength after transformation was even greater than that of some ordinary Chapter warriors.

However, precisely because they were not fully transformed, they could not rely on supplies like regular Zerg.

Void Zerg units will naturally tire, get injured, become hungry, and run out of ammunition. However, when they’re hungry, they can eat their own kind to replenish their energy, and their fellows won’t resist. Everything is ordered by the node organisms, and since the lower-level Zerg lack their own will, they naturally won’t object.

Their so-called ammunition consists of super-hard chitin bullets that are differentiated from their bodies and fired by their symbiotic “guns,” which are essentially biological organs. All of this is biologically produced and can be self-produced. When they run out of ammunition and food, they can even self-digest unnecessary organs. For example, if they are sure they can’t eat and are destined to die as cannon fodder, their digestive system will break them down and transform them into “bullets.” Alternatively, they can evolve by cannibalizing their own kind, consuming the corpses of their enemies, and consuming usable parts of nature.

Things like soldier bugs and gun bugs aren’t yet obvious. The same logic applies to units like biological cannons and biotanks.

The Zerg also has specialized “corpse-collecting teams,” small insects with only digestive organs. At night and during breaks in battle, they stealthily stalk battlefields and surrounding areas, specifically tasked with devouring corpses, both their own and those of the enemy, to recycle biomass for use in their hatchery centers.

This ensures that even in extreme logistical shortages, the Zerg’s combat effectiveness is not significantly impacted. While the Zerg theoretically require biomass during warfare, in reality, they are rarely challenged to the point of being completely depleted of their resources.

Human armies and Zerg armies face logistical challenges on a different level.

However, the Ironclad’s transformation into Zerg isn’t quite so complete.

Their combat style remains human.

This is generally true for all Infested. After all, they’ve simply been infected by the parasite, their brains replaced, and their bodies remodeled. They weren’t designed from the outset as biological weapons by the Queen, spawned from a hatchery.

Ironclad warriors still needed power armor to deliver Space Marine-level combat effectiveness; their bolters still required bolt rounds to fire; and their ships were still constructed of steel and required fuel, unlike the Zerg’s bio-ships, which were self-propelled.

This necessitated similar logistical support requirements to those of human armies.

It’s unclear what Humphrey Paul’s current condition was, but he likely had a clear mind when it came to military matters. Before launching the offensive, he not only concealed his forces but also undoubtedly stockpiled a considerable amount of war supplies.

However, after so long, much of what was necessary had already been expended.

The intensity of the war had increased significantly, especially after Martins and Salilius launched a fierce counterattack westward.

With this increase in intensity, the Ironclad’s consumption of various war supplies had skyrocketed.

By now, the Ironclad Chapter was in a difficult position.

The Zerg surge from the Imperial Sector fell short of expectations and failed to put sufficient pressure on the Imperial forces.

This was caused by Gu Hang’s advance from the Alfonzo Sector into the Princess Sector.

The Western Legion’s offensive, originally intended to crush the Empire from both east and west, was also disrupted by the Alliance’s Martins’ advance northward.

Now, they faced their most awkward situation.

Their previously stockpiled war supplies had been decimated by six months of intense warfare.

Crucially, there was nowhere to replenish them.

To sustain such a massive war, where did the Iron Armor rely on massive logistical support?

Firstly, they relied on the Alfonzo Cult. This ally was a powerful Mechanicus, possessing not only an entire sector for resource extraction but also three Forge Worlds. With their productive forces fully operational, they could easily field a large army. Secondly,

they relied on core regions like the Princess Sector to provide a vast supply of war supplies. After all, before the Princess Sector fell into ruin, it had been their core stronghold, and the resources provided by hundreds of worlds were still plentiful. As the war expanded, at its peak, the Iron Armor occupied nearly the entire Spider Web Sector, with resources everywhere mobilized to supply the army’s needs.

Now, these two most crucial sources of war resources were gone.

The war supplies they had accumulated during their previous hibernation were their last.

Even if they regrouped and reappeared, and even conquered many worlds in their attack on Salilius’s Western Front, the supplies they could obtain from them would be insufficient.

There were some resources, but not much.

The repeated spread of the Zerg infestation over the past few years had severely damaged productivity. Furthermore, Salilius’s troops also needed supplies, having exploited local resources during previous wars.

After several rounds of this, there was no longer enough to exploit.

They did have one option: to continue their westward retreat, retreating to the Magre Realm and foraging for resources there.

But how could they then exert pressure on the Imperial forces from the west? Then, the Western Front would abandon their pursuit and, in conjunction with Martins’s forces, would charge into the Imperial Realm, and Gu Hang would fight the main Zerg forces to the east and west. Humphrey Paul would be left dumbfounded.

Furthermore, was retreating westward truly that easy?

Not necessarily.

When they emerged more than half a year ago, plunging the Western Front into crisis, Holy Terra reacted with urgency.

New forces were already being assembled.

Imperial Central must be prepared for further deterioration in the Eastern Front.

Later, when the Alliance intervened and stabilized the situation, these assembled forces were not disbanded but instead sent to the Magre Realm, both to bolster the defenses of the Imperial Central Front and to provide support to the Western Front.

While this army wasn’t particularly large or powerful, it was inevitable that the Iron Armor would become entangled with them as they retreated westward.

It’s hard to choose any one of them.

It’s like a noose that has been put around Iron Armor’s neck. The only thing left now is to slowly tighten the rope and finally strangle this powerful army of infected people at the junction of the Spider Web Realm and the Magre Realm.

This will be a long process, but it is also the strategy with the highest winning rate and the most stable.

Although Gu Hang is still waiting for the Western Front to be liberated and to attack the Princess Star Realm with him, Martins and Salisbury decided to take it slow after discussion.

They also fully communicated this idea with Gu Hang, and Gu Hang also said that there was no problem.

Victory is the most critical. If you insist on pursuing both winning and winning quickly, then if you don’t do it well, you will lose everything.

At worst, Gu Hang could slow down his movements in the Princess Star Region.

He needed time to steadily and steadily clear his path during the advance, ensuring a stable route.

The two sides reached a consensus, and the overall situation was trending in this direction—the noose around Iron Armor’s neck was tightening.

Meanwhile, Humphrey Paul made a surprising move: he assembled a massive force and launched a sudden and fierce attack on Wanzhou Star. Wanzhou

Star served as the logistics hub for the Salilius and Martins coalition forces during their attack on Iron Armor, boasting a vast stockpile of supplies.

He fought this battle brilliantly. His

pre-battle troop movements were exceptionally sophisticated, leaving the Imperial forces virtually unnoticed. The attack was even more powerful, a single-point breakthrough. By the time they reached their target, the Imperial forces had barely had time to mobilize.

This immediately plunged Wanzhou Star into a precarious situation.

If Iron Armor were to capture Wanzhou, not only would they receive a precious wave of supplies, but the Empire would also face a temporary shortage. While the Alliance would steadily replenish its supplies from the rear, resources cost money, and the Alliance wasn’t so abundant. Furthermore, operations took time. At that point, the army

wouldn’t face total defeat, but at the very least, they would have to restrain their attack and temporarily hold back on large-scale attacks.

The war, already expected to take a long time to win, would likely drag on even longer.

With one side gaining ground while the other weakened, the situation would reverse, something Salilius and Martins would surely find unacceptable.

Meanwhile, the latest news arrived:

Wanzhou hadn’t been captured.

Although Iron Armor’s main force had completely encircled the entire system, a single Ortopis company stationed on Wanzhou, along with half a Dragon King’s Spear Chapter, put up a desperate resistance.

Combined with the heroic mortal soldiers of the Solar Legion on the ground, they maintained control of many key locations on the planet.

Under these circumstances, the coalition forces, already assembling their forces and bracing for the worst in their quest to retake Wanzhou, needed to intensify their efforts.

The first wave of reinforcements arrived quickly,

but they were defeated in the naval battle, suffering heavy losses.

No problem; the second, third, and even larger armies would soon follow.

The fleets of both sides clashed in the starry sea; the troops already deployed on the ground engaged in an all-out attack on each other; and reinforcements from the Empire were also being sent to the ground.

The Iron Armor offensive against Wanzhou was, frankly, on its last legs.

Refusing to accept defeat, they steadily increased their forces.

Within a short period of time, the forces deployed by both sides swelled.

This Iron Armor raid on Wanzhou’s logistics hub was developing into a decisive battle between the two armies.

It’s understandable that the Empire didn’t want to surrender its logistics hub. Meanwhile, despite the apparent failure of their surprise attack, Iron Armor showed no sign of retreating.

The Imperial General Staff analyzed the situation as a desperate gamble.

They knew that continuing this way would lead to a decisive battle on Wanzhou Star. However, given the increasing difficulty of the battle, Iron Armor didn’t mind fighting a decisive battle while their combat effectiveness remained at its peak and their war supplies were still sufficient.

The Empire wouldn’t back down.

Having already deployed significant reinforcements, they couldn’t retreat.

Unless they were willing to surrender not only a significant amount of their logistical resources but also the numerous troops already deployed on the surface of Wanzhou Star,

that was unacceptable.

While the Empire wasn’t prepared for this before the Wanzhou Star campaign began, they were now united in their thinking.

In Martins’s words, “We will inflict the most crushing defeat on the traitors on behalf of the Emperor at Wanzhou!”

…

The Battle of Wanzhou reached its climax when the two supreme commanders, Martins and Salilius, arrived with their most trusted troops.

The fleets of both sides were still locked in a tangle of battles in space, and it seemed neither side could achieve a quick victory.

The battle on the surface was even more brutal.

Over seven thousand Ironclad warriors had already landed on the surface.

Many orbital artillery systems had been captured, and the starport had fallen into enemy hands. This prevented Imperial ships from easily entering the planet’s orbital system. Much strategic material had been transported out and given to the Ironclad as supplies.

Under these circumstances, Martins and Salilius personally led their troops to the surface.

The fleet, braving the limited orbital artillery fire, circled around the captured starport and released the main ground forces.

Since then, the number of Imperial Space Marines on the ground has exceeded 3,500.

On a vast plain, the two sides engaged in a fierce battle.

Along a battlefront approximately 300 kilometers long, tens of millions of troops from both sides gathered, forming a vast and deep confrontation battlefield.

The Imperial side proactively launched a single-point assault.

As the spearhead of the assault, the most eye-catching unit was not a Space Marine, but the Alliance’s “Alliance National Knights”!

This army, with a large number of Titans, coordinated by a large number of infantry and armored units, launched a fierce attack on a defensive position of the Iron Armor.

(End of this chapter)