Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 679

Chapter 677: Besiege and attack reinforcements

The Emperor-class battleship ‘Golden Gate’ is the flagship of the Alliance fleet currently led by Gu Hang.

At this moment, Gu Hang was enjoying a pleasant conversation with Marshal Xi Rui of the Black Crusade.

“… Responsible for resolving those minor issues are Inquisitor Qin Zhiping and his Silver Watch and Stormtroopers. Please trust him; he will give you, Commander Gu, a satisfactory explanation.”

Gu Hang smiled and nodded. “I trust him. Qin Zhiping is a reliable Inquisitor. While the Inquisition for the Exorcism of Alien Rebellion targets the alien enemy, that is their specialty. They are still Inquisitors, and they will certainly do their job well. These are just some clowns, not a big deal.”

Xi Rui felt a slight chill in his heart as he listened to Gu Hang’s seemingly nonchalant tone regarding the potential internal conflict. It didn’t

seem fake.

But wasn’t it natural?

It aligned with his and Qin Zhiping’s earlier judgment.

When various parties colluded, subtly trying to push him forward to rebuild the Northern Front Legion, Xi Rui realized that this was a huge trap.

He also deeply resented their performance during the First Battle of Rhaetochus.

Two fully staffed Black Crusaders fleets could have easily prevailed, barring extreme circumstances. Yet, it was in this intense war, spanning several galaxies, that the situation unfolded.

Undeniably, the primary culprit was the misjudgment of his friend, Marshal Leroy. However, now that they had already entered the Imperial Star Region, there was no point in dwelling on the decision-making process. The direct cause of humanity’s defeat in the naval battle lay in the wavering of those lesser-established forces.

Now, they were trying to instigate internal strife for personal gain… Xi Rui had never considered agreeing to this.

Those people wanted merit, an independent Northern Front Legion as leverage, and the opportunity to secure greater post-war benefits, but Xi Rui sought none of these.

Those mortals who assumed his priorities were based on “status,” “merit,” and “command,” were gravely mistaken.

His primary goal was victory, for the Empire, to defeat this formidable enemy. Everything else could be put aside.

Did he really think everyone was living for such petty gains?

Even if it came down to personal gain, his primary goal was to fight alongside the Alliance, reach Readuches, and avenge the Chapter’s defeat. It would be even better if he could see how many of the over a thousand Black Crusaders previously deployed to fight on the surface of Readuches survived, and if he could rescue as many as possible.

In every way, Xi Rui’s goals and interests didn’t align with those of the remaining northern troops. On the contrary, they were closely aligned with Gu Hang.

Given the circumstances, why would he associate with them?

Coincidentally, Qin Zhiping’s attitude during the meeting was relatively reliable.

After the meeting with the remaining northern troops, he immediately discussed the next steps with Qin Zhiping.

Qin Zhiping’s slight misunderstanding was a minor incident, insignificant.

They quickly worked out how to lure the enemy out of their hole, how to strike at their weakest point, and how to deal with the aftermath and regain control of the military… In short, a series of plans were already relatively well-planned.

Of course, relying solely on their own strength would still be a bit difficult. After all, the remaining troops on the northern front outnumbered them. Their elite strength was certainly far inferior, which meant they could deal with the “traitors.” However, if they wanted to control the troops, prevent chaos, and ensure they could be used in future battles, Xi Rui and Qin Zhiping would lack the manpower.

But that didn’t matter.

If they didn’t have enough men, they had more nearby.

During their time with the Alliance Army, Xi Rui and Qin Zhiping had closely monitored its operations. Besides the Alliance’s combat prowess, strong discipline, and excellent organization, with no signs of corruption, they also observed something else that struck them as particularly remarkable, and even surprising: the exceptionally high quality of the Alliance’s mid- and lower-level officers, as well as their high number and density.

The Alliance’s military system differed from that of the average Star Realm Army. They didn’t organize large regiments of several thousand or even tens of thousands of men, nor did they have large companies of a thousand men. A company might have a hundred men, a regiment might have a few thousand at most. Some large divisions might have thirty or forty thousand, but there were also smaller, more capable brigade-level units…

Smaller organizations, more layers, more officers, and crucially, each officer was highly qualified.

The Alliance was fully capable of taking control of the remnants of the northern legions, purging all unreliable officers and personnel from the middle and upper echelons, and then, with the help of Xi Rui and Qin Zhiping, replacing them with their own officer corps.

While there might be some long-term operational issues, and perhaps some command flaws where soldiers didn’t understand their commanders, and vice versa, the entire unit was at least operational for the duration of this war.

This not only mitigated the risk of internal strife, but also provided a boost to the military’s strength.

But Gu Hang wasn’t particularly concerned.

Or rather, it seemed as if nothing had gone as he had expected.

This also matched Xi Rui’s expectations.

Gu Hang likely had a plan for any outcome. Not to mention that he and Qin Zhiping had defected, even if they had sided with the remaining northern troops, Gu Hang would have found a way to suppress them at the lowest cost.

This was all the more reason why internal strife was a no-go: there was no chance of winning.

Those dreamers hadn’t really observed the Alliance.

After discussing the Northern Front Legion, Xi Rui was about to leave.

But Gu Hang stopped him.

“There’s something else, much more important than that.”

“Huh?” Xi Rui sat back down, somewhat puzzled.

He thought it was some kind of mission, and something serious, otherwise there wouldn’t be any need to tell him about it at this time.

Sitting there with a serious expression, he had mentally prepared himself in that short moment.

It was normal for Space Marines to shoulder important missions.

He only hoped that the number of casualties would be lower in the end.

However, the matter Gu Hang raised was so devastating that no amount of mental preparation was necessary, and he froze.

“I hope you will take over the entire frontal offensive from now on. I will take the alliance’s main fleet away for a while…”

Seeing Xi Rui dumbfounded and wanting to speak, Gu Hang waved his hand first: “Please be patient, please listen to me finish my words first.”

Next, Gu Hang explained to Xi Rui in detail a piece of intelligence that the alliance had recently confirmed, as well as Gu Hang’s thoughts on it.

When the Western Front Legion entered the Princess Star Region with great momentum, the Zerg sent a large army to resist. After much difficulty, they barely blocked the offensive of Salisius and Martins, but immediately, Gu Hang did not hesitate to attack from the east.

The Zerg similarly mobilized a vast army to stop them, but unfortunately, they were unable to hold them back.

By this stage, the Zerg Queen in Rheaduches had already revealed the shortage of troops at her disposal.

Could the Void Zerg also be undermanned?

It sounds absurd, but it’s actually possible.

Considering the Void Zerg as a whole, such a problem would certainly be impossible. The Human Empire, while already enormous in population, is still a drop in the bucket compared to the Zerg, according to relevant scholars.

Even if the main force of the Void Zerg never truly reached the borders of the Human Empire, and only a “tentacle” or even a fleet within that tentacle arrived, they would always be able to demonstrate a vastly superior number to Humanity on a local battlefield.

Past wars have shown that Humanity’s method of defeating the Zerg swarm is to decapitate node organisms, destroy their command system, and then annihilate the Zerg in large numbers with minimal losses.

Alternatively, they could employ scorched earth strategies, creating sector- or even region-scale isolation zones to deprive the Zerg of food and supplies, effectively winning the battle.

Even though they killed a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of their own, there was no other way. Otherwise, they would have been forced to watch the Zerg swarm snowball, becoming even more impossible to defeat.

However, these are summarized data and case studies. Each battle requires a specific analysis.

Does the Zerg Queen in Rheaduches possess such a vast Zerg force?

No.

Its situation is unique. It was captured as a larva by the Ironclads, then raised in a laboratory and controlled. Throughout its long lifespan, it had to conceal itself, gradually controlling the situation, quietly spreading the infection, and finally erupting at the final moment.

However, before it could fully prepare for its outbreak, the Ironclad Wars broke out.

This was a combination of Imperial political dynamics and the ambitions of Humphrey Paul, who hadn’t yet been fully contained.

This forced the Zerg Queen to deploy her unprepared outbreak phase. Otherwise, she would have suffered a decisive defeat.

After years of latent infection, the Zerg swarm had established a strong foundation. A sudden outbreak at a critical moment, combined with the Iron Armor and Alfonzo factions, would logically have put the Empire in a difficult position, giving the Zerg Queen more time to develop.

Its strategy was indeed successful on the northern and western fronts. However, the southern front, which had been expected to be the least problematic, presented the greatest challenge. The

infestation was contained, Alfonzo was eliminated… and the Alliance’s outbreak, which the Zerg Queen had not foreseen, ultimately saved the western front. The Alfonzo faction and the Iron Armor Chapter, which had played crucial roles in its development and outbreak, were now annihilated by the Alliance’s direct involvement.

When the western and southern fronts entered the Empress Sector, the Zerg Queen had not even completed the collection and incubation of biomass throughout the entire Sector.

Vast quantities of biomass remained on various planets, causing the Queen to suffer the most damage from the extermination weapons dropped on particularly concentrated Zerg worlds during the human offensive.

Under these circumstances, the manpower required to resist these two fronts was naturally insufficient.

If the war continued at this rate, humanity would have invaded Readuches, threatening its very existence.

Fortunately, among all the previous plans, at least one northern front had been successful.

Mobilizing forces from the northern front to defend the Queen became her only option.

Along with the assembled Hive Army heading south to defend the Queen, a vast amount of biomass gathered from the northern star regions of Lefu and Jianmen was also carried.

While the collection wasn’t as complete as it was in the Imperial Star Region, the combined amount was still substantial.

With this Hive Army, and the added biomass, it was enough for the Queen to sustain the war and achieve victory.

Unfortunately, the Hive Fleet heading south from the northern front had been detected by the Alliance.

Hearing this, Xi Rui felt a sense of loss.

Did the Alliance’s intelligence organization even have arrangements for the dilapidated northern front?

Gu Hang could see what he was thinking—he made no attempt to hide it—but he didn’t elaborate.

On the one hand, the Alliance had indeed deployed numerous personnel to the western and northern fronts early in the war to relay intelligence. On the other hand, Gu Hang had also considered the Zerg’s strategy and constantly monitored movements in the north using astropathic systems. Despite the vast distance, he could still vaguely sense the movements of a large Zerg army transiting through the astral tunnels so well-used by humans.

Combining these various factors, he arrived at a relatively accurate assessment.

Having reached this conclusion, Gu Hang immediately decided not to allow this Zerg force to reunite with the Queen. Especially not to allow the biomass of the two northern sectors to fall into the Queen’s hands.

If that happened, who knows how many powerful Zerg ships and extremely powerful individual creatures would spawn.

Encircling a point and attacking reinforcements was an option to consider.

While they certainly wouldn’t technically have surrounded and slain the Queen, the current situation was somewhat like that.

However, Gu Hang wasn’t keen on simply taking his troops north to attack the Zerg reinforcements.

The Queen wasn’t stupid. If she noticed, she might dispatch a large force north to reinforce them. Or, she might have the bulk of the Hive reinforcements heading south change their route and circle around Gu Hang’s main force.

Who knows how the battle would drag on.

Gu Hang hoped Xi Rui would take on the heavy responsibility: lead the remaining troops on the northern front, along with the small number of troops Gu Hang had left him, to maintain the current offensive and keep the Hive’s attention focused there.

He would then lead the main force of the Alliance to annihilate the incoming reinforcements.

Xi Rui remained silent for a long time after hearing this.

He could see that Gu Hang’s strategy was sound. Eliminating the reinforcements and preventing the Queen from reuniting with them was indeed crucial.

The Hive’s forces heading south were indeed formidable, and the Alliance’s main force had to confront them to have any hope of achieving a decisive victory.

However… for him to stay here and maintain the offensive was too daunting a task.

How many would die?

Even with so many casualties, could the offensive be sustained?

What if the offensive faltered and the Queen discovered him?

One by one, difficult questions popped up in his mind, making it impossible for him to agree to Gu Hang’s request all at once.

(End of this chapter)