Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 712

Chapter 710: Gu Hang Becomes Famous

. Gu Hang tried to contact Clement first.

The call was connected, but the person who answered the phone was a senior instructor of the Assassin’s Court.

His status must be high, and he could be regarded as Clement’s right-hand man, belonging to the upper echelons of the Assassin’s Court. He

was also very polite in his words, unlike the cold impression of assassins in people’s general impression.

After hearing the purpose of Gu Hang’s visit, he apologized and said that Grand Instructor Clement was presiding over a very important trial and could not talk to Gu Hang in person.

When asked when he would be free, the other party’s answer was a bit embarrassed, saying that it was hard to be sure and it would probably take a long time.

Gu Hang thought about it and simply got straight to the point and asked what the letter on his bedside was about.

The other party said he didn’t know in surprise.

But he didn’t explain much, just remained silent.

Gu Hang understood what he meant.

He politely ended the conversation:

“Okay, please give my regards to Grand Master Clement.”

“I’ll be sure to.”

After hanging up, Gu Hang paused, realizing the so-called ‘presiding over the trial’ was just a pretext.

At such a sensitive time, the assassin had delivered a letter. If Clement had something to say, he wouldn’t have ignored it.

There must be something else going on.

After a moment’s hesitation, he called Gallardo again.

Gallardo was shocked by Gu Hang’s news.

He said he knew nothing about the incident and believed someone had bypassed the Supreme Council and issued an order to the Assassin’s Court to assassinate Gu Hang.

However, unlike the previous one, this time, the person issuing the order wasn’t acting with ulterior motives, but rather was genuinely fulfilling the Order’s requirements, following the “sponsor” or some other cryptic request.

Otherwise, the situation wouldn’t have been as it was now.

However, the order was likely blocked by Clement, and the Order didn’t carry it out.

Otherwise, Gu Hang would have received more than just a letter.

The content was also worth pondering.

Clement, greetings?

That sounded more like a reminder.

Clement must have had good intentions. He didn’t carry out the assassination mission, but rather warned Gu Hang in this way: someone was out to overturn the table and was about to attack him.

But who did it?

Without evidence, there was no way to be sure.

But it didn’t matter, as some guesses could be made.

If the two of them had a good idea of the entire process, they could go through the process and instruct the Assassin’s Court to take action against Gu Hang. There were very few such people in the entire empire.

The Supreme Council had the highest authority. If the Council discussed and approved the order for the Assassin’s Court to take action, there would be no further action. The Assassin’s Court would do its utmost to carry out the operation, and there would be no such thing as “greetings to you.” Even if Clement was close to Gu Hang, he would not disobey the Supreme Council’s orders.

Furthermore, there was the presence of High Lord Gallardo, who was certain the matter had never been discussed at the Supreme Council.

This meant that someone, personally or through their position, could demand the Assassin’s Court act.

Only then would Clement, as Grand Master, have the leeway to veto the mission after the process had been approved.

However, the aforementioned “approval” aspect was also worth mentioning.

It meant that the person issuing the order truly had the power to order the Assassin’s Court to act.

Gu Hang’s position was considered high. Not counting the somewhat shady position of Alliance Leader, his official status included both the Head of the Dragon Eagle Star Region and the Imperial Grand Marshal.

Furthermore, his status as a “sponsor” of the Assassin’s Court provided an additional layer of security.

For another sponsor to push the Assassin’s Court to assassinate an Imperial Grand Marshal, how high would their status have to be? It

was almost certain to be one of the High Lords.

Only one High Lord’s order was blocked by Clement at the final stage, forcing the Grand Master to avoid direct communication with Gu Hang.

The implication was clear: I’d done my best by refraining from action, and I couldn’t afford to offend my enemies. You can fight, but the Assassin’s Court remains neutral and doesn’t drag me into this mess.

Who among the High Lords would do such a thing?

Executive Yuan Prime Minister Luo Fei was the prime suspect.

He had consistently opposed the Alliance, demanding its dismantling and criticizing Gu Hang for overstepping his authority and expanding the illegitimate political entity, the “Alliance.” Even after the “Alliance Plan” was delivered to Holy Terra, his stance remained unchanged.

If Prime Minister Qi Bodu were to resort to murdering Gu Hang, he could either directly approach the Supreme Council, where he had the power to enforce the assassination. He could also decisively pressure the Tax Department, forgoing immediate interests and pushing for the dismantling of the Alliance.

In any case, he wouldn’t resort to personal orders to assassinate Gu Hang.

Xu Fuzhen of the Tax Department wouldn’t do such a thing either, for similar reasons: simply not supporting the Alliance.

The other High Lords—the Martian representatives, the Ecclesiarchy representatives, the Supreme Commanders of the Astra Militarum, and the Navy—hadn’t clashed to this degree.

So, aside from Luo Fei, the others weren’t particularly suspicious.

At least, Gallardo had already basically determined it was Luo Fei.

Their relationship was fraught.

Luo Fei wasn’t just attacking the Alliance; he was also fiercely criticizing Gallardo himself. His criticism of the Alliance naturally included the very reason it was even possible: Gallardo, then a War Apostle, had used his privileged position to give the Alliance the green light. Back then, no one could have imagined that a “special alliance,” normally a group of planets united to support each other and overcome crises, could propel the Alliance to its current state in just a few decades.

Luo Fei, naturally, also criticized this, believing Gallardo had overstepped his authority and violated regulations to secure this special status for the Alliance.

Gallardo was furious.

He promised Gu Hang that he would hold the matter to account.

Gu Hang also offered a few words of comfort to the Minister of Military Affairs.

In fact, his words were sincere:

“Their actions reveal their weakness. They are politically helpless, so they resort to such meaningless calculations. This proves that we have gained the upper hand in the situation! This is also good news.”

Hearing Gu Hang’s slightly relaxed demeanor, Gallardo calmed down a bit.

He said coldly, “I’ll bring this up at the next High Lords’ Council. Ha, a secret operation? I won’t let him have his way. Let’s get this out in the open, let the light shine!”

Gu Hang thought for a moment and agreed with Gallardo, “Then let’s do it.”

Honestly, he was a little unsure.

Was it really Luo Fei who did it?

His actions were a bit crude. Was

Luo Fei really stupid enough to use the ‘patron’s order’ channel to have the Assassin

‘s Court attack Gu Hang? He couldn’t have been unaware that the Alliance, having no conflict of interest with them and having won the Iron Armor War, was at the heart of the current political turmoil on Holy Terra. The Assassin’s Court, with no conflict of interest and a good relationship with Gu Hang, would most likely be reluctant to get involved.

Even if he really wanted to do that, wouldn’t he first have to deal with Clement?

Before dealing with Clement, he used the “sponsor’s order” to carry out an operation that would most likely be aborted, in order to alert the enemy and even escalate the conflict, drawing all of Gu Hang’s hatred towards him…

No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

But within that thought, Gu Hang caught a flash of inspiration.

“Exaggerate the conflict…”

He sighed, “Someone doesn’t want things to remain peaceful.”

Even with that in mind, Gu Hang agreed with Gallardo’s idea of escalating the situation and bringing it to the Supreme Council for discussion.

Someone was secretly plotting, offering a knife, so why not use it?

Of course, using someone else’s knife carries risks.

But in this kind of situation, we can just fight it head-on. We

must investigate, but investigating whether there’s someone behind this, their motives, and how to respond are all separate matters.

Dealing with Luo Fei is another matter.

They don’t conflict; they can be pursued simultaneously.

…

On Holy Terra, a lengthy meeting of the High Lords was unfolding.

There were many topics on the table—for an empire this vast, there were countless matters requiring Holy Terra’s decision, and each one seemed quite important.

Ultimately, most of them would never make it to the Supreme Council’s table.

Matters that reached the Supreme Council for discussion were either of grave importance to the entire Empire or of vital interest to certain High Lords.

Gallardo, true to his word, brought up the matter of Gu Hang’s assassination at this meeting. Instead of confronting the Assassin’s Court, he fiercely criticized Executive Yuan Prime Minister Luo Fei, calling his use of assassination against an Imperial hero despicable.

Luo Fei steadfastly denied the accusation. He

absolutely had to deny it.

Whether or not he was responsible, he refused to acknowledge it. Ordering an assassination through the Assassin’s Court was legal, but a silent killing without proof of the perpetrator was fine. Now, the target wasn’t killed, and the target was a living hero who had recently gained immense fame for his undisputed victory in a major war. How could he claim responsibility?

Furthermore, Gu Hang wasn’t some lone war hero. Far from being a lone hero, he had a strong base under his command, numerous friends, and political allies within the Empire. Assassinating such a person defies the fundamental logic of political struggle.

If Luo Fei’s actions are confirmed, then not only will he not win the political struggle, but his position would be in jeopardy due to the massive whirlwind of public opinion.

The power of reputation cannot be underestimated.

Thanks to Gallardo’s constant outreach, Gu Hang had already gained some notoriety before the war. Some people knew of the emergence of a hero in the distant eastern territories of the Empire. Then

, the Iron Armor War ignited decades of accumulated reputation. The

Iron Armor War had already ignited widespread public attention on Holy Terra. From the common people to the lower middle classes and even the upper echelons, everyone was aware of and focused on the war.

The Empire was indeed constantly at war, but the number of troops from the Central Territory, or even the Solar Segmentum itself, mobilizing forces to form an expeditionary force was relatively rare.

Furthermore, the scale of the expeditionary force was significant, which naturally attracted the attention of all groups within the Central Territory.

Not to mention, they lost…

After the First Western Legion, led by Su Lie’s Phoenix Chapter, was defeated, rumors circulated that the Iron Armor might invade the Central Territory.

While the Central Territory forces comprised only 20% to 30% of the First Western Legion’s troop composition, the Second Western Legion, led by the Ortopis Chapter and commanded by Salilius, was overwhelmingly dominated by Central Territory forces.

This attracted even more attention.

The people of Holy Terra, closely watching the progress of the Iron Armor War, witnessed one man turn the tide.

Gu Hang.

He immediately became the talk of the town, from top to bottom.

Furthermore, his fame within Holy Terra, coupled with his connections with heroes, spread throughout the Empire.

The Alliance’s ambassador to the Holy Terra office had actually sent back a detailed report on this, which Gu Hang had personally reviewed. But he only had a passing understanding of the situation. Without personal experience, he had no real sense of his current popularity.

But Luo Fei, in charge of the Executive Council in Holy Terra, was right there.

He opposed the Alliance and didn’t dare oppose Gu Hang directly.

Regardless of his covert manipulations, publicly opposing a renowned war hero at the height of his popularity would be tantamount to making a fool of himself.

Naturally, Luo Fei vigorously defended himself,

even to the point of being somewhat aggressive.

Gallardo hadn’t even made a request, when Luo Fei himself strongly demanded that Clement reveal the identity of the assassination mission.

Clement remained silent, unresponsive.

Everyone knew the rules of the Assassin’s Court.

Gallardo seized the opportunity to mock Luo Fei, accusing him of playing it safe despite knowing the Assassin’s Court would never reveal such a secret.

Ultimately, it was Prime Minister Zibodu who put an end to the dispute.

In his name, he demanded that the Assassin’s Court be prohibited from undertaking any more assassination missions against Gu Hang.

His prestige was now high. Not only Luo Fei, his right-hand man, but even Gallardo was now effectively under his command. Gallardo had only been admitted to the High Lords’ Council after he had acted like a traitor, siding with Qi Bodu and eliminating the former Minister of Justice, Ou Juren.

He had to behave like a dog. As

soon as he spoke, the two most vocal people, including Xu Fuzhen, who occasionally supported Gallardo, fell silent.

Then, the speeches ended and the vote was called. It

passed with a high vote.

Gu Hang was safe. No matter who was secretly behind the scenes, at least he no longer had to worry about the Assassin’s Court’s actions.

The next topic, raised by Luo Fei, was

the selection of the Chairman of the Spider Web Universe.

With the war largely over, the next step naturally lay in reconstruction, and most importantly, restoring tax revenue.

A chairman was needed to oversee the situation.

With over fifty cosmic domains, each chairman was a highly influential official, and the appointment naturally required approval from Holy Terra.

The power of nomination has always been vested in the Executive Yuan.

Luo Fei proposed five names, including high-ranking central government officials and chairmen or vice-chairmen from other cosmic domains.

But there’s another special name.

It’s the central protagonist of the previous debate: Gu Hang.

(End of this chapter)