Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 870

Chapter 863: The Universe is Burning (10)

The ground army is losing troops at a rapid rate.

An entire regiment is lost in just over three minutes. Assuming a regiment of 3,000 men, that translates to nearly a million casualties per day, or nearly 1.5 million.

The Alliance has six ground offensive fronts.

But it’s not just these six that are consuming manpower. The now-connected landing sites form a ring around the Bone-Broken Throne. But outside this ring, the Greenskins are constantly pressing in from all over the planet.

The intensity of the fighting outside is no less intense than in the six main offensive fronts.

Despite this loss of manpower, the human combat forces on the ground are still increasing.

Millions of troops are killed or wounded daily, but at least two million, and sometimes tens of millions, are deployed daily.

With this influx of troops, the number of human troops on the ground is naturally increasing!

Gu Hang’s planned offensive is expected to take approximately one month. This means a total of 200 million troops will be deployed to the surface. Adding to this the six army groups that launched relentless attacks upon the establishment of the six landing sites, as well as various other forces, the total number of ground troops involved in the battle is estimated to exceed 350 million.

Based on daily losses, an estimated 40 to 50 million human casualties were expected.

Of course, “casualties” doesn’t mean total destruction.

For example, the White Bridge Regiment, according to battle reports, was annihilated; in reality, 600 men survived, all evacuated with injuries.

While there’s no way to deal with those killed in action, even with such intense fighting, the various units’ field hospitals were collecting bodies.

For one thing, they couldn’t leave the bodies to the Orks. For them, the corpses of human soldiers were a valuable strategic resource. They served as a means of boasting about victory, made into high-quality fertilizer, and even consuming their brains could further strengthen them. The benefits were numerous.

On the other hand, it’s a matter of respect for the remains of their comrades. Collecting and storing them is essential. If the war is won, the situation on Ankach VIII stabilizes, and transport capacity becomes available, these remains can be handled. Whether it’s burial on the planet, establishing a martyrs’ cemetery or war memorial, or transporting the remains back to their home planets, as the war progresses, if there are empty ships returning from the front lines, they can see if they can transport the bodies back to their home planets.

While the estimated number of soldiers killed on Ankach is in the tens of millions, the Alliance now encompasses tens of thousands of worlds. Tens of millions of casualties translates to only a few thousand casualties per world, on average.

Of course, even with the Alliance now implementing universal conscription across all controlled worlds, it’s impossible to enlist uniformly everywhere. But compared to the total population size, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people are not unacceptable for a world of this size.

Joining the Alliance Army is a truly honorable feat. However, it’s difficult to achieve, often requiring only one in ten thousand from the defense forces.

Joining the Alliance Army and participating in the Dark Side Expedition, dying outside would be fine—indeed, families would receive generous subsidies, but the planet wouldn’t offer any significant benefits.

But surviving and returning home with honor would be a truly remarkable achievement. The Alliance treats retired expedition soldiers well, and whether they return home or not, they’re always well-off. Demobilized soldiers often achieve high positions, not just officers; even ordinary soldiers can secure prestigious positions—even returning to the Defense Forces as instructors. They

‘re highly respected.

Good treatment has always been a key factor in the high morale of Alliance soldiers.

And it goes beyond retirement. After all, while soldiers have aspirations for the future, the fear of injury and death is equally profound.

The handling of the remains of fallen soldiers is a crucial element.

The remains of comrades are properly handled, either returning home to be honored and perhaps even adorned with statues, or the place where they died becomes a martyrs’ cemetery or memorial, where they are venerated. These are all desirable destinations for the dead.

Another issue concerns the attitude towards the wounded.

From a purely battlefield perspective, a wounded soldier, unless they are lightly wounded and remain in the line of fire, can continue to fight. Otherwise, those forced to retreat and lie in bed are actually worth less than a dead person—a death in action is effectively worthless. Seriously wounded soldiers are not only unable to fight, but also require additional manpower to care for them.

Yet, even in this situation, the Allied forces on Ankach VIII did their utmost to care for the wounded.

Except when absolutely necessary, as long as conditions are relatively normal, the frontline combat units will not easily abandon their comrades. After the battle, regiments would allocate personnel specifically to transport the wounded to field hospitals. Divisional and even army headquarters field hospitals would also have personnel dedicated to transporting the wounded to the front lines. Some medics would even risk their lives to the very front lines, where the fighting was fiercest, to transport the seriously wounded.

Lightly wounded soldiers could receive rapid treatment in field hospitals, and after a few days of recovery, they would be reorganized and sent back to their original units. If the original unit could not be found, its organization was disrupted, or it had moved too far, they would likely be assigned to various units as replacements.

If they were wounded or killed again, they would be counted as casualties a second time.

Therefore, the estimated 50 million total casualties of human forces during the ground offensive could ultimately be significantly higher than the actual number of deaths and serious injuries.

Some soldiers who could not recover quickly from injuries were confined to field hospitals if they could not afford it. Those who could afford it, if lucky enough, could catch a return transport and join the group.

The remnants of the White Bridge Regiment fell into this latter category.

Death in action was treated as death, injury as injury, and returning alive was considered a significant achievement.

This was a conscious effort to prioritize “profit.”

Military law, military police, and other disciplinary measures were employed to maintain morale.

The political commissars were responsible for ideological awareness and discipline, using motivational management measures to bolster morale.

This three-pronged approach was the result of the Alliance’s soldiers possessing exceptional mental fortitude.

And all of this was fully realized in the present moment:

despite heavy casualties and the high probability of never returning from the front lines, the human warriors marched bravely into battle, engaging the orcs in a bloody battle.

The greenskins formed a ring around the Throne Fortress, refusing to retreat.

Each point served as a key defensive area, simultaneously a key offensive zone.

The traditional strategy of “surrounding three sides and leaving one behind” was meaningless in this situation. The humans had ample manpower to launch an offensive, and the orcs would not withdraw simply because a gap in the siege had been left, leaving the humans vulnerable.

Instead, they launched a comprehensive siege, applying sustained pressure from multiple fronts to see if they could force the orcs to make mismanagement mistakes under immense pressure while deploying their support. Seizing this opportunity could yield an advantage.

Despite paying a daily price in blood, Gu Hang achieved his goal: the human forces were steadily advancing.

The greenskin army’s defenses were being squeezed.

If the battle continued at this rate, it was estimated that in about twenty days, the humans would be able to eliminate the orc forces outside the Throne Citadel and reach the city. However,

as time went on, the number of human ground forces grew, and the orcs began to fall behind.

The orcs defending the outer fortress of the Throne Citadel relied entirely on the bio-incubators within. However, while the greenskin technology within the Bone-Broken Throne was impressive, it wasn’t truly groundbreaking.

Human casualties were exceeding one million, nearly one and a half million, and the greenskins weren’t feeling any better.

As the number of defenders around the Throne Citadel drastically decreased, the pressure on the Alliance offensive naturally eased. The Alliance General Staff’s previous estimate of a twenty-day arrival date for the siege was brought forward by four days.

However, in order to achieve this early attack, the total casualties did not decrease, but rather increased.

This was achieved only after Gu Hang materialized a Heroic Spirit onto the ground and joined the battle.

To buy a little more strategic time, the price was worth it.

Without the Heroic Spirit’s participation, the casualty rate would have been much higher.

Speaking of Heroic Spirits, Gu Hang broke with convention this time.

Previously, he’d kept his use of Heroic Spirits secret.

But not anymore.

Just like with black boxes, the Alliance no longer had to worry about exposure and could use them with confidence.

The same went for Heroic Spirits.

Putting everything else aside, barring any unexpected events, the Alliance was now the single most powerful force in the entire Empire’s underbelly. And Gu Hang, the founder and leader of the Alliance, arguably also the most powerful individual within it… who could possibly trouble the Alliance now?

The Empire?

Explain clearly, which Empire?

The Empire on the other side of the Scarlet Scar, from which no one had heard from them yet, whose situation remained unknown?

Or is it that on the side of the Scarlet Scar, the Dark Side Expedition is booming, and they are determined to complete the unified empire again after the Age of Cataclysm?

Is there a possibility that I, Gu Hang, can represent the empire?

There is nothing to be afraid of anymore, just do it!

On the ground, after the human troops from six directions were at the gates of the city, they simultaneously launched an attack on the Throne Fortress!

When the soldiers’ combat boots and steel tracks stepped over the energy shield circle defending the Throne Fortress, the final stage of the battle began.

Quietly, the green tide in the subspace also paused slightly.

However, looking out from the Kingdom of Storm God, Gu Hang could still see the looming faces of the two twin gods.

It’s just… why aren’t they smiling?

————   There is one more

chapter to make up for it   (end of this chapter)