Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 810

Chapter 804, Battle of the Alliance Star

As the brainwave memories carrying intelligence on the Chaos Demon Army were analyzed, Admiral Raoul Deliu, the commander of the Blazing Light Star Region’s defense, was sipping his thirteenth cup of espresso.

This was his fifty-fourth hour of overtime, a period in which he hadn’t slept a wink. Coffee alone wasn’t enough; fortified nutrient solutions and potions were crucial.

Deliu was already a seasoned veteran. During the Angry Owl Star Unification War, he had served under Gu Hang and, by its conclusion, had risen to senior status.

He participated in numerous subsequent battles, surviving near-death experiences. In his old age, he achieved the rank of Lieutenant General and was eligible for rejuvenation surgery, extending his life by decades.

Now, he was already quite old, over ninety years old, yet he didn’t look as youthful and vigorous as many who had undergone rejuvenation surgery. Instead, he looked like an elderly man.

He had the surgery too late, and the procedure hadn’t fully reversed his condition. He would spend the next few decades of his life in this old-looking state. Even if he had the chance to undergo a second or third surgery, his appearance wouldn’t change much.

But he didn’t mind.

Having more time to serve the Alliance was already satisfying.

In his current era, he had moved beyond the ranks of the Army and become the commander-in-chief of global defense, presiding over a region.

He was responsible for half of the Alliance’s northern defense. The other half lay in the Gucheng Star Region.

At this moment, Deliu stared at the message’s parsed content, constantly calculating his plans.

“Connect me to Mr. Gu’s line.” Deliu ripped open his collarbone button, revealing a hideous mechanical interface at his collarbone, which still emitted a faint puff of smoke. His intense thinking made him feel a little hot.

When the signal was connected, the holographic image of Gu Hang was reviewing documents.

The Alliance leader, without even looking up, asked, “What do you want?”

Without a single polite word, Deliu made his demands bluntly.

From starships to the Army, from Honor Guards to Space Marines… In short, he wanted it all.

This was the war plan he had his staff devise.

After making his demands, he added,

“I assure you that the war will be contained outside the Alliance’s borders. The Oath of Alliance is the last line of defense. If this Chaos demon army breaks through, I will bear full responsibility!”

The veteran, having issued the military order, had staked everything on his life.

Gu Hang pondered.

Appointing Deleuw as the overall commander of the northern defense had not been his original plan.

The current commander-in-chief of the Dark Side Expedition was Marshal Yan Fangxu. He was arguably Gu Hang’s oldest follower, having been with him since before the Alliance was even formed. While he might not be the strongest or most powerful in the Alliance military, his loyalty and experience were undeniable.

Furthermore, people grow, and Gu Hang never forgot him during his enlightenment session on the Hero screen. Not only did he enlighten him early on, but he also promoted him whenever he saw the potential. Even now, he was a level 8 hero.

Although due to its low rarity, it has only reached the level of an SR by self-improvement. Gu Hang has already obtained quite a few SS and SSS-level items, all of which are top players in the military.

However, Gu Hang is not superstitious about this thing.

Moreover, a commander like Yan Fangxu is not really needed to command and be responsible for specific frontline battles. He is responsible for the overall direction of the entire Dark Side Expedition. Developing expedition goals and routes, formulating supply plans for each expedition fleet, and proposing campaign objectives…

These are of course very important tasks, but they cannot be done by him alone. He has an entire command headquarters under his command, including various high-ranking officers, a staff team led by the Chief of Staff, senior political commissars from the Military and Political Department, and senior quartermasters from the Logistics and Equipment Department… In the military alone, there are a lot of people working together on this matter.

Furthermore, there are multiple Space Marine Chapters serving in the Dark Side Crusade, and their officers, even Chapter Masters, will participate in military meetings. The Alliance’s state religion, the Protestant sect, centered around the Holy Lily of Mercy, also includes a large number of Sisters of Battle. Several Forge Worlds’ Archbishops…

these various factions united under the Alliance banner will also contribute.

Overall, this is a collective effort and mission. As the Commander-in-Chief, your job is to make decisions. As long as the situation is generally sound, there won’t be any major problems.

Even if a problem does arise, the Commander-in-Chief has a large staff under his command who will surely recognize it and offer advice.

Another responsibility of the Commander-in-Chief is to ensure balance among all parties and prevent internal conflict. This, in turn, requires the Commander-in-Chief to have sufficient prestige and experience to maintain control.

From this perspective, Yan Fangxu’s appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Dark Side Crusade makes perfect sense.

For this reason, Gu Hang originally planned to select a senior general from the Dark Side Crusade to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

The likes of Perbov and Likosi were both important military commanders who could be entrusted with important tasks.

Furthermore, Gu Hang had several experienced Space Marine Chapter Captains he could trust.

In comparison, Roel Deliu wasn’t his first choice.

However, on second thought, Deliu had the advantage of being close to the front lines. He was quite familiar with the defense of the Northern Frontier.

Furthermore, the veteran’s resolute demeanor was one of the factors that impressed him.

Entrusting the task to him wasn’t a bad idea.

Thinking of this, Gu Hang finally looked up. “In seventy-two hours, you will receive a list of reinforcements. This includes two Zhuge-class aircraft carriers, five battleships, including one Emperor-class, and twelve Holy Grail-class battlecruisers. In addition, there are over one hundred light aircraft carriers and cruisers, plus supporting strike groups.”

“This force was originally intended for the third Dark Side Expeditionary Force, but now it’s all yours. Remember, I want the Devouring Star Triangle to be a monument of honor, not a hotbed for Chaos cultists to attack the Alliance.”

“I will obey your orders.”

…

47 standard Terran days later, on the Oath of Alliance.

Deleu stood on the observation deck of the battleship ‘Liao Guang’, gazing out the window at the 3,000-kilometer-long array of arrows. This task force of 1,470 warships was carving its attack route into the void with its engine flames.

Their timing was quite good.

The Oath of Alliance had not been lost.

According to intelligence, the enemy’s main force was still three star sectors away.

The problem that the Alliance Star is facing now is that due to the strong power of chaos, a large-scale internal rebellion has broken out.

If this situation isn’t properly addressed, then when the Chaos enemy arrives, combined with internal and external forces, it will become a major problem.

But now, those enemies are no longer a problem.

The Alliance has complete control of the Oath of Alliance’s orbital system, and the main fleet has arrived. With so many fleets in orbit supporting them, and the first batch of landing troops already on board, the planet’s problems will surely be quickly resolved.

This was a must.

For Deliu, since he had already signed a military order before Gu Hang, Oath of Alliance was his last line of defense. He was determined to make it the location of his headquarters, to live and die with this planet.

Of course, he had more to defend than just Oath of Alliance.

His fleet, with its numerous Thunder Torches,

had not intended to recapture this area personally so soon, but now there was no other choice. They had to quickly establish a solid defense here to keep the enemy out.

The staff officer, holding a data tablet, reported the contents of the rescue. The several systems north of Oath of Alliance presented far greater challenges than Oath of Alliance, requiring a heavy deployment:

“…The first landing force has been loaded, including 300,000 Storm Troopers, 700 Titans and Knight Mechs…”

“In addition to the City Incinerators,” Deliu interrupted. “Bring sufficient molten fuel and virus bombs.”

The staff officer’s pupils constricted—the City Incinerators were an extermination force specialized for dealing with heavily contaminated planets.

But when he saw the front-line reconnaissance footage Deleuw had called up: a hive world with a population exceeding ten billion before the catastrophe was mutating into a hive of flesh and blood, its pipes no longer gushing sewage but thick, foul-smelling plasma.

“Tell the boys,” Deleuw whispered, caressing the bridge railing, “no need to worry about post-war reconstruction this time.”

…

The recapture of the Covenant and its surrounding areas went relatively smoothly. Before the Chaos army arrived, this defensive line, encompassing over thirty worlds, had already been established.

Although with only thirty days to spare, resolving every surface challenge was impossible, it didn’t matter; a preliminary defense line could be established, and a decisive battle would be enough.

And from the first day the Chaos demons arrived, battle reports poured into Roel Deleu’s headquarters on the Covenant:

During the Battle of the Emperor Demonic Sector, a swarm of fighters released by a Zhuge-class aircraft carrier successfully led the Chaos fleet into a minefield despite an 89% loss rate. Two thousand space mines filled with holy water detonated simultaneously, purifying an area 0.3 light-seconds in diameter.

Although the aircraft carrier was ultimately destroyed by countless beams of corruption, the price paid was still acceptable compared to the enemy’s losses.

…

On the planet Emperor Yaoqi VII, the Third City Burner Regiment, while defending a fortress, melted through the earth with melta-cannons, perishing alongside Chaos traitors who outnumbered them a hundred to one.

…

During a raid in a cavernous corridor, a strike group of the Alliance’s Honor Guards parachuted into a Chaos supply depot and discovered that the so-called “ammunition” was actually infant embryos soaked in pus. Lieutenant Lin Mo injected his own arteries with overload before splitting the main control console with his chainsword—the only way to resist the mental contamination. The last image he transmitted showed the embryos humming a sickening demonic song.

Deliu chewed a psychotropic pill and wrote, “Award Lin Mo the Double Eagle posthumously. Send his genetic sample to the research center.”

…

“Commander! The Oasis system’s defenses have collapsed!”

The communications officer’s scream made Deliu frown. On the holographic sand table, a crimson tide, representing the Chaos fleet, was engulfing the last three green blocks. That was the last pure land in the Emperor Demon Qi Star Sector.

“Send the Fourth Fleet to take over.”

“But that’s the last reserve force protecting the homeland!”

“That’s the homeland now.”

Deliu had already activated his backup electronic brain, the pain causing sparks to flash across the back of his head.

As forty-eight frigates rushed toward the crimson tide, he thought of his son—an army commander currently fighting on Oasis.

The next morning, he received a video from an encrypted channel: Oasis had completely fallen, transformed into a throne of flesh and blood. The Chaos enemy seemed to know his son’s identity. He was pinned to the wall by proliferating tentacles, and the Chaos spawn emerging from his chest was calling “Dad” with his vocal cords.

Deliu silently backed up this data and casually sent it to the General Staff, labeling it “Operation Reference Material No. 177.”

He then pulled out another battle plan and scribbled a note of approval underneath.

Twenty-four hours later, the pre-prepared ambush fleet suddenly burst through the astral tunnel and swiftly attacked Oasis.

Caught off guard, the outlying Chaos fleet was routed. Half were annihilated in the battle, while the other half fled in panic.

The human ships chose not to pursue, but instead quickly launched three Extermination Order weapons onto Oasis’s surface.

The incinerator torpedoes quickly set the entire planet ablaze.

Oasis wasn’t meant to be a decoy, but it was undoubtedly the most difficult planet to defend. While it wouldn’t be lost, it was best to avoid it. But if it was, there was a backup plan.

This was the backup plan.

Countless Chaos traitors and Daemons burned along with the planet.

…

The brutal war raged for six months.

Six months later, when Gu Hang’s holographic image stepped into the headquarters with stardust, Deliu was injecting the 1,370th nutrient solution.

Six months of intense fighting had left his body covered with all kinds of scars, like an old military uniform full of patches.

“Battle damage statistics.”

Deliu knew it well: “The fleet lost 63%, the ground forces were reduced by 82%, and the City Burners were completely destroyed.”

“What in return?” Gu Hang asked again.

A smile appeared on Deliu’s old face.

He did not speak in words, but unfolded a star map to Gu Hang.

The scarlet scars of the Star Devouring Three-Star Domain are fading, replaced by a defense network woven with blue-silver veins. At the intersection of those lights, hundreds of broken worlds are using the wreckage of Chaos ships to cast monuments – the names of the fallen are engraved on the base.

(End of this chapter)