Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 691

Chapter 689, Please Authorize, Battle of Rheaduches (IV)

Leroy’s survival, and the interconnectedness, coordination, and command system he established for the remnants of the northern front, were originally intended to ensure the entire force’s better and longer-term survival on Rheaduches.

After all, sometimes a single remnant, caught by the Zerg, could be doomed. But now, while still dangerous, at least there were friendly forces to help. If anyone was short of ammunition, they could secretly transport some supplies from their comrades. If they discovered supplies left behind before a planet fell to the Zerg, or supplies transported to the surface during the first battle, they could join forces to seize them.

In any case, Leroy’s efforts over the past year and a half have preserved the remnants of the northern front to the greatest extent possible, maintaining a certain level of combat effectiveness.

And all of these things have now unleashed their power.

Lin Xiaodong’s division was saved because of this. Otherwise, how could the roughly 10,000 soldiers of the Firstborn Regiment appear on the battlefield at such a perfect time and play such a crucial role?

But rescuing some airborne army troops was secondary.

Their core mission remained to destroy those anti-aircraft nests.

Although he had followed Qin Zhiping, Lin Xiaodong still had some doubts in his heart: With our current strength, can we win? It

was natural for him to have doubts.

His men, plus the Firstborn’s army, totaled less than 15,000. The Firstborn’s army was quite “poor,” and he needed some ammunition from his troops to restore some of their combat effectiveness. While they had enough artillery, they were short of the armored forces that were most important for assaulting the Zerg nest. His two armored companies were already half-crippled, and the Firstborn’s army didn’t even have a single tank.

In such a dire situation, could they possibly take down an intact anti-aircraft nest?

Even with Qin Zhiping, the seemingly formidable Inquisitor, leading the team, and ten Argent Watch Space Marines, he still found the prospect difficult.

He had no choice, but faced with a higher-level combat mission, he would not hesitate. But that didn’t stop him from being pessimistic about the success rate in his heart.

Of course, he didn’t show any of it on his face. He didn’t ask Qin Zhiping about his battle plan, and

he always remained calm and confident in his victory to his subordinates. He was ready for the entire division, including himself, to be sacrificed in the battle.

However, when the troops arrived at the attack position and made final preparations for the battle, he saw a troop that made him quite excited.

It was a group of Space Marines painted black with a striking white cross logo.

There were hundreds of them!

With the addition of these hundreds of Black Crusaders, it would be much more stable!

At the same time, Lin Xiaodong also paid attention to the Black Crusaders in the lead. Not only did he have a majestic Terminator power armor, but it was also covered with various medals and commander logos.

That should be a big shot in the Black Crusaders, right?

That’s what he suspected. However, when Qin Zhiping later invited him to the final pre-battle meeting, he learned the identity of the Black Crusaders’ commander was even more significant than he’d anticipated:

this was none other than Marshal Leroy, the Northern Front’s Commander-in-Chief, previously declared missing and likely deceased.

This gave him even greater confidence in the upcoming battle!

…

Leroy sat amidst the bloody ruins, his black power armor with white trimmings stained with the green, red, and purple blood of the dying Zerg, making him look somewhat disheveled.

But regardless, the battle was won.

The Alliance Army’s artillery laid down a relentless barrage, providing powerful cover for the assault team. The Firstborn Army and an Alliance infantry regiment, accompanied by the Space Marines, charged forward, at considerable cost, drawing the attention of the vast Zerg swarm and providing a valuable forewarning.

Under the guidance of Qin Zhiping, an expert in combating the aliens, the Black Crusaders, led by Leroy, avoided any diversions and plunged directly into the core of the semi-underground, semi-surface Zerg lair, eliminating all living anti-aircraft guns.

They then engaged the hastily arrived “Screaming Killers,” also known as Executioner Tyrants, a high-level unit of the Zerg hive, just one level below the Hive Tyrant.

Initially, they were distracted by the Alliance infantry regiment. The Alliance warriors, at great cost, held them off for a while, allowing the Black Crusaders’ assault to proceed smoothly.

Of course, it couldn’t last much longer.

But now, there was no need.

Having secured their primary target, Leroy, free to confront the enemy head-on, personally decapitated the powerful Zerg node creature, securing a decisive victory.

The battle wasn’t entirely over; a considerable number of mindless Zerg creatures, having lost their node creatures, still needed a final cleanup.

But overall, the outcome was undetermined.

Leroy, sitting amidst the ruins of the battlefield, wasn’t resting either.

A technical sergeant and a librarian from the Chapter were beside him, assisting him in communicating with the various forces on the ground through the erected astropathic tower, confirming their current movements and issuing new orders.

The simple astropathic tower, over a hundred kilometers away, was a device the remnants of the Northern Front possessed. Once erected, it would significantly strengthen communication between the various units. No longer was everyone like mice in the night, whispering only to each other, their communication sporadically interrupted.

That was because they were truly mice. A louder noise would have them apprehended by a pack of ‘cats.’

But now, the tables have turned.

While the Zerg still hold an absolute advantage on the ground, the human forces have already entered the stage of a major counterattack!

For the remnants of the Northern Front, this is their last chance after a year and a half of waiting.

There’s no need to hide; the more important thing is to rebuild the dismantled and hidden astropathic towers and strengthen command.

Judging from the information received so far, their effectiveness is quite good.

Fourteen anti-aircraft nests were destroyed; over 150,000 landed coalition forces, including the Alliance Army and the Solar Legion, were gathered and supported. A preliminary base was established, using airborne anti-aircraft firepower and the remaining northern forces to prevent easy bombing by the Zerg. In the event of a large-scale bombing, these air defenses would certainly not be able to intercept them, and they would still have to rely on the starships in the sky for support.

Overall, however, there were gains, a foothold, troops were assembled, and a base was established… So far, the battle situation was improving.

This was a victory achieved by the remaining northern forces at the cost of their own lives. They had abandoned hiding and utilized the precious supplies they had long stored, which was why the battle on the ground was so successful.

Without them, relying solely on the Allied forces, only 150,000 would have been left behind. What good would that have been? Even if the 400 Space Marines transported down earlier were included, such a victory would have been impossible in such a short period of time.

After all, the remnants of the northern front that had been gradually gathering over the past period already numbered over 500,000, and the number of Space Marines exceeded 1,000.

To achieve the same effect, the Human Coalition would have had to deploy twenty times that number of forces to the ground, resulting in staggering losses.

However, after they had destroyed fourteen anti-aircraft hives, airdrops in this area had become much safer.

The success rate of transport dropships would have risen dramatically from less than 5% to 20%.

While this may still seem like a low number, the key is the ability of the Zerg fleet to intercept them. Low-Earth orbit can be targeted by anti-aircraft fire from other directions at higher angles. Only landing at a relatively close altitude to the ground would be considered relatively safe.

Still, it’s a pretty good number. This meant that there would be no need for the previous situation where four armies were airdropped to the ground, but only 200,000 men landed, and then had to fight against the massive Zerg swarm in a precarious position, resulting in 50,000 deaths.

With another four armies airdropped, at least 800,000 men could land.

As long as he continued to provide ground support and Leroy was in command, he was fully confident he could fulfill Gu Hang’s requirements!

But… there was a problem: Would Gu Hang be willing to let him be the ground commander?

Did Gu Hang trust him?

Whether it was his ability or his position.

It was normal for Gu Hang to doubt the former; after all, he was a loser.

And doubting the latter was even more reasonable. Before, the two sides could almost be considered “political enemies,” attacking each other and engaging in verbal battles.

Now, Leroy felt sorry for what had happened.

After entering the Princess Star Domain, he knew something was wrong. He knew that all of Gu Hang’s warnings were true. They were not “credit-seeking” or “holding back” as he had used to motivate his subordinates, nor were they a sign of “cowardice.”

However, at the time, he had no way to turn back.

After another year and a half of life-and-death hardships, his thoughts had changed further.

Perhaps he could have turned back then. Perhaps he and his northern army would be bogged down by the infestation of the Lefu and Jianmen star regions, but wouldn’t the southern and western fronts be in the same predicament? If they were trapped, they were trapped. Be patient, take your time, and resolve the situation. They could even seek the help of Gu Hang in the south, working together to resolve the problem. Then, they could unite the three fronts and fight the Battle of Readuches together.

If that were the case, the human coalition would be far more powerful than it is now.

At the very least, he and his battle brothers, the countless human warriors who once trusted him and fought alongside him, wouldn’t have endured the arduous journey of a full year and a half.

Nor would so many battle brothers and mortal soldiers have perished in the naval battles of the First Battle of Readuches, or been killed in the grueling ground fighting of that same year and a half.

This devastating defeat has given him even more cause for reflection.

But does Gu Hang know of his reflections and his apologies?

Even if he does, will he accept them?

Will he put aside past grudges and trust him with commanding the ground battles?

He didn’t know.

But he decided to ask in person.

Before, it had been impossible to contact the heavens from the ground; the conditions weren’t there.

But now, with the help of the simple astropathic tower, it was possible. After all, Gu Hang in the sky was a true psychic master, unleashing his psychic powers freely within the shadows of the Warp. As long as his astropathic tower could send even a tiny signal upward, even a very weak one, Gu Hang would be able to pick it up, stabilizing the communication and establishing a conversation.

It all depended on whether Gu Hang was willing to do it.

After all, if Gu Hang didn’t want to talk to him, the easiest solution was to simply not answer the phone. He could then claim the signal was bad. Shrouded in the shadows of the Warp, no one could say anything.

But the communication went through smoothly.

“Commander-in-Chief Gu Hang?”

“It’s me, hello, Marshal Leroy.”

Leroy wasn’t surprised that Gu Hang knew it was him on the other end of the line.

He’d wanted to start with an apology, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.

That damn pride.

Finally, he could only speak forcefully: “Commander-in-Chief Gu, I request your authorization to command the surface operations on Rheaduches. I promise you I will achieve victory for the Empire.”

“Okay, I authorize you.”

Hearing Gu Hang’s decisiveness, Leroy was stunned for a moment.

But then he replied, “I will not betray your trust. In fact, we can begin attempting to deliver the Extermination Order weapon to the surface now. The safety of the near-surface area is now guaranteed.”

His words were clear, completely disregarding his own life and the lives of the remaining soldiers on the northern front.

One of his regrets from the past year and a half was not taking a gamble and attempting to deliver the Extermination Order weapon to the surface. Although they already had many soldiers deployed on the surface at that time, and the success rate was not high, it was still worth a gamble. Even if it failed, the result would be the same as now. But if it succeeded, it would turn the tide.

Now, they had to learn from their mistakes and not be soft-hearted. There were indeed millions of Space Marines, thousands of them, still on the surface, but so what? If the war is not resolved quickly, more people will be sacrificed in the future.

And the reply given by Gu Hang was also very clear: “It’s not the time yet, wait a little longer, and do your own task.”

Le Luwa did not say any more nonsense, but simply responded with a sentence: “Yes.”

…

The conversation between Le Luwa and Gu Hang was very brief.

In fact, there are still many things to say.

Combat plans, material allocation…

However, Gu Hang did not have the time to discuss these things with Le Luwa in person.

The staff is maintained for this purpose.

And the main reason why Gu Hang agreed to Le Luwa so easily was because of the first sentence he said:

“Please authorize me.”

That’s it.

(End of this chapter)