Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 670

Chapter 668, Recorded in War History

It was several weeks later that Gu Hang received the report on the battle on Wanzhou Star.

There was no other way; communication was difficult within the vast shadow of the Warp, within the Princess Star Region.

After reading the contents, he was deeply moved by the Battle of Wanzhou Star.

Later statistics showed that over ten thousand Space Marines participated on both sides.

The Imperial side had 700 Ortopis, 900 Phoenix, 600 Blood Sharks, and 600 Dragon King Spears, totaling 2,800.

The remaining warriors were scattered across other battlefields and did not all come.

In addition, there were several hundred Space Marines left behind from the original Western Front Legion led by Phoenix. When the new Western Front Legion was formed, seven Chapters also sent over a thousand.

For this battle, these “miscellaneous groups” also gathered 800 men.

In total, at least 3,600 Space Marines from the Imperial side were present on this single battlefield.

The Iron Armor’s forces, however, were far more numerous. Six thousand Iron Armor warriors had assembled, along with two thousand Stone Shield warriors.

As the “Stone” of the Iron Rage Stone, their bond with the Iron Armor was even stronger than that of the Fury Flame. Since the Iron Armor Rebellion broke out, they had fought alongside the Iron Armor. Naturally, their entire Chapter was not immune to the Infection. Their Chapter Master was also present on the battlefield, though he did not participate in the battle between Salilius and Humphrey Paul.

Had Humphrey Paul known he was in mortal danger, he would have undoubtedly called for Stone Master. While his strength might have been inferior to Martins, he was still a significant aid.

However, perhaps believing victory against Salilius was certain, Humphrey Paul left Stone Master to eliminate the Alliance’s knights and Titans. When Martins suddenly arrived to reinforce him, he immediately called for Stone Master and even several other Chapter Champion-level warriors, but it was too late. Upon Martins’ arrival, the tide of battle turned so swiftly that Humphrey Paul perished before he could even await reinforcements.

With Paul gone, the remaining experts, no matter how numerous or powerful, were meaningless.

The epic battle came to an abrupt end with Humphrey Paul’s death, as if a story had suddenly been cut short at its climax.

However, it’s undeniable that this battle, involving over ten thousand Space Marines and hundreds of Titans on each side, nearly a thousand in total, will undoubtedly leave a lasting mark in the history of the Empire.

Furthermore, the fragmentation of Space Marine factions, the most severe Chapter civil war in the last ten thousand years, the infection of a Space Marine Captain by the Zerg, which led to Chapter rebellion, and the attempt to cultivate and control the Zerg Queen… these events will undoubtedly be recorded in the history of the Empire and have profound implications for many future events.

For example, Gu Hang’s greatest concern was the Ironclad rebellion, which had aroused the central government’s vigilance against local separatist forces.

To put it bluntly, that was him.

However, that was something to consider in the future.

For now, they had to fight the battle well.

The forces that followed Gu Hang into the Princess Star Region, venturing into the shadows of the Warp, were, in terms of Space Marines, even smaller than those

on the Western Front. The Empire on the Western Front had over 3,000 men under Salilius, plus the 3,000 brought by Martins, totaling 6,000.

Without this much force, it would have been difficult to sustain such a prolonged battle against the Iron Armor.

And Gu Hang had fewer than 3,000 men.

New Fury, New New World Torch, plus a Shadow Legion.

The full complement should have been three thousand, but many had been sacrificed in the previous battle with the Alfonzo Cult. Even though Gu Hang immediately recruited new recruits and used all the required acceleration and training options, growth still took time, and not all was complete.

The war was pressing, and there was no time to wait.

At this stage, Gu Hang clearly understood that the Western Front was the primary battlefield, and his own side was secondary. His core mission was to attract the Zerg’s attention and prevent them from sending more forces to harass the Western Front during the decisive battle, forcing the Imperials to divert too much manpower to defend the Western Front.

Gu Hang accomplished this task quite well.

To ensure the safety of his own troops, his legion almost completely halted its advance, using a planet designated as one of the forward bases as an anchor point to attract the majority of the Zerg’s forces for the attack.

A defensive stance ultimately saved energy,

and this defensive position would likely last much longer.

Although victory had been declared on the Western Front, the main force needed to stockpile resources and rest before regrouping for another offensive. They also had to defeat the enemy forces surging westward from the Imperial Star Region into the White Curtain Star Region before they could rejoin their forces within the Imperial Star Region.

Until then, Gu Hang wasn’t considering any major solo moves.

There was no need; the risks were too high.

Having confirmed that the entire Imperial Star Region, and even the Lefu and Jianmen star regions to the north, were beyond saving, Gu Hang relaxed his urgency. He treated the situation as if he were dealing with a formidable enemy force encompassing three star regions, nearly two thousand worlds.

Based on this, Gu Hang even considered abandoning some of the previously captured forward base worlds to the Zerg. If the Zerg deployed significant forces on a planet and their retreat was proceeding smoothly, he would launch a “Sky-Burning Torpedo.”

While reserves were low, they still needed to be deployed at a critical moment, as long as the killing efficiency remained satisfactory.

Besides, Gu Hang did not forget that he had a secondary goal – to find traces of the Northern Front Legion.

Gu Hang felt that it would not be so easy for them to all die, as that was a force no less powerful than the Western Front Legion. Even if they were in the most desperate situation, they would not all be wiped out in less than a year.

Even if it was the worst situation, at least some traces would be left, right? It would be

better to die with a clear mind.

For this reason, Gu Hang sent out many detachments, driving small fast shuttles, to explore, search, and scan areas outside the battlefield.

And there was actually a result.

Four star systems away from the world where he was currently located that attracted the Zerg attack, an Alliance exploration team discovered an abnormal gathering of Zerg. A battle broke out on the planet, and there were signals from human warships. They

failed to connect successfully, but it was exciting news.

Gu Hang quickly conveyed a new order to them: make another trip to confirm whether it was the remnants of the Northern Front Legion, try to get in touch with the other party, and tell them to hold on, because the Alliance has arrived.

(End of this chapter)