Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 864

Chapter 858: The Universe is Burning (V)

The greatest threat to the landing site has been eliminated, and the area’s air defense and anti-orbital firepower has been drastically reduced. Human forces can finally conduct large-scale landing operations, projecting greater and more powerful forces onto the surface.

The first wave arrived were fighters launched from aircraft carriers.

Previously, due to concerns about losses, the fighters’ survival conditions were rather precarious. Although some were released into the atmosphere of Ankachi VIII and played a role when Wang Jun led his team to capture the anti-aircraft position,

the fighters were not numerous in number and did not play a major role in the battle.

However, the swarm of fighters now became a force to be reckoned with.

Fighter firepower is certainly not as powerful as artillery, and the human ground forces are currently lacking artillery.

However, fighters can make up for it.

Those missile-carrying fighters can deliver firepower precisely where the ground forces need it.

Of course, they lack the endurance of artillery units, nor are they like ground-based tanks, armored vehicles, or even mechas that can accompany an attack, but their short-term firepower is certainly formidable. Furthermore, they respond quickly to calls. Once their fighters have exhausted their missiles, they can switch to machine guns to bombard the ground.

Crucially, with their crucial anti-aircraft defenses gone, the enemy becomes unbridled. Even though the Greenskins still have some anti-aircraft trucks and individual anti-aircraft missiles, their threat is significantly reduced.

The fighters’ greatest role is to counter the Ork air force.

Previously, the Ork air force posed no challenge to the Humans. While orbital control was largely in the hands of the Humans, surface air supremacy lay with the Orks.

Now, the situation is reversed.

The skies are clashing fiercely with the Ork fighters and airships.

Perhaps, humanity hasn’t yet achieved complete control of the skies, but at least the Greenskins’ days of dominance are over.

When fighters were busy engaging the opposing Ork air force and had no time to respond to requests for fire support from ground forces, they could call for orbital strikes.

Without the ability to intercept them from anti-orbital positions, the success rate of orbital strikes increased significantly.

In orbit, several cruiser-and-destroyer battle groups were dedicated to supporting Wang Jun’s surface forces. The weaponry on these ships differed from that of ordinary warships. Weapons like light lances, particularly useful in naval battles, were virtually absent. Only a third of the macrocannons were available, with the remainder equipped entirely with missiles.

Both types of support were highly effective for ground forces.

Macrocannons were fast, accurate, and powerful; missiles had a wide range.

A single scalpel shot often resolved any difficulty facing ground forces. Even if a giant Ork was encountered, decapitating and destroying it would cost Space Marines countless casualties, but a single heat hammer macrocannon shot could solve the problem.

Small matters were dealt with by fighters, while major ones were dealt with by warships.

The Ork counterattack was ferocious and effective.

Before the air defenses were destroyed, the Greenskins had already rushed in to defend them. Even after the destruction, the Greenskins didn’t weaken their support, but instead intensified it, attempting to completely wipe out the landing human forces.

Now, the entire area had become a three-dimensional battlefield.

Fighting continued not only on the ground but also in the skies, with the Greenskins in outer orbit resisting as well, and even underground, a new battlefield had been opened up.

The tunnels of the former Void Zerg hives were transformed into ambush tunnels; the underground digesters were converted into storage bases for troops, weapons, ammunition, and armor.

Crossfire networks were set up above the bases to prevent human ground forces from descending.

This type of underground facility and tunnel warfare was extremely disadvantageous for the attackers. More importantly, air and orbital firepower proved difficult to assist.

Before the enemy’s ambush was launched and the underground tunnels and bases were definitively discovered, relying solely on orbital observation and aerial reconnaissance was extremely difficult.

Even if discovered, destroying them was difficult. Even the heavy Chusui’s Wrath macrocannons struggled to penetrate the thick earth and destroy deep underground bases.

Human forces were often forced to deploy soldiers at great expense to clear each bunker and underground base one by one.

While the humans might have been a bit short on manpower and generals at first, this strategy proved difficult to execute, but soon they were.

Three hundred transports overran the Ork anti-aircraft firepower remaining, dropping two fully-formed Alliance Army Groups onto the planet’s surface. Multiple Chapters, including the Phoenixes and the Iron-Fisted Ambassadors, were fully deployed. The Alliance Knights, the Titan Legions of the Order of Alfonzo, and the heavily armored spearheads of the Order began to unleash their might, advancing deeper into the Greenskin core.

In the event of a true underground battle, the Space Marines, combined with the Honor Guard, could achieve a breakthrough.

The battle between the two sides, far from becoming one-sided due to the destruction of the anti-aircraft positions, intensified.

As a Reaver-class Titan from the Mechanicum crushed the third Greenskin turret, an Ork demolition team lurking underground suddenly detonated its explosives, causing a twisting fissure to instantly devour the Titan’s right leg joint.

The surging Greenskin Death Squads scaled the Titan’s armor. The chainsaw axes, reinforced by the waaagh force field, tore furiously at the reactor’s armor. The problem was finally resolved when several Space Marines arrived and smashed the invaders into a pulp. However, the Titan was essentially incapacitated.

Similar scenes played out throughout the assault route, each kilometer of human progress coming at a heavy price in blood.

But this wasn’t the end of it.

On the surface of Ankachi VIII, similar battles were taking place beyond the ground zone led by Wang Jun.

In fact, Gu Hang had six airborne targets targeted on the ground.

These six locations formed a hexagon. The encircled center was where the Bone Crusher King himself lay.

Gu Hang’s goal was clear. Some

of these six zones were successful, like Wang Jun’s, while others failed.

But that didn’t matter; if they failed, they could continue.

Especially after achieving success on the ground, they could attack the target zone from the ground.

Ultimately, Gu Hang’s goal was to encircle the war fortress throne where the Bone Crusher King resided.

(End of Chapter)