Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 924

Chapter 916, Disaster Fleet

After the Disaster Fleet arrived at the Southern Front, Martins, without a moment’s pause, immediately plunged into battle.

Less than three hours had passed since he handed over command to the former Southern Front commander.

He didn’t need a battle to establish his prestige; his reputation was already substantial.

The Alliance Army wasn’t an old-fashioned military; warlordism was hardly a given. While some factionalism was inevitable, it certainly wasn’t likely to cause resistance from the old troops when a new commander-in-chief was sent. The handover went quite smoothly. The former commander handed over the baton smoothly. He would remain at the Southern Front headquarters, assisting Martins for over a year, helping him better manage the troops. After that year, he would return to Wrathful Owl Star to report on his duties and await further appointments.

But Martins took the position anyway.

Two factors were at play.

First, his newfound strength, despite having been tested in the training grounds, was quite formidable. However, trials are ultimately just trials, not the same as actual combat.

Though he was already a mature and steady man, the new power surging within him made him feel the urge to unleash it.

Unleashing this power relentlessly upon humanity’s enemies was a particularly exhilarating experience.

On the other hand, there was a genuine need for him to engage in combat.

The world known as Papalil was suffering from a severe outbreak of Chaos corruption and was under close surveillance.

After initial orbital bombardment and ground intervention failed to resolve the issue, Southern Command initiated a review of its safe zone strategy.

Unfortunately, the world failed the assessment and was deemed unworthy of establishing a safe zone. Furthermore, since the world lacked particularly valuable materials and held no significant strategic value, an extermination order was issued.

After two weeks of evacuating as many residents as possible, the extermination order was implemented.

However, it was unsuccessful.

The extermination order was intercepted,

a common occurrence.

Command then activated its contingency plan, dispatching ground forces and launching an offensive. The plan was to dismantle and destroy any areas that could intercept the Extermination Order weapons under the cover of Orbital Fleet fire. After destruction, the troops would withdraw and bomb again.

If intercepted again, it would mean the ground was not sufficiently cleared. On the one hand, the Alliance military would intensify the cleanup. On the other hand, someone might be held responsible. Whether it was intelligence failure, insufficient Army reconnaissance, or missed targets, whatever needed to be dealt with would be dealt with accordingly.

However, at this moment, a formidable Chaos fleet suddenly entered the battlefield.

This was an old adversary.

Since over twenty years ago, the Alliance had encountered these enemies more frequently across all fronts.

They were different from the enemies that had emerged from the scarlet scar, and the difference was quite significant.

First and foremost, the composition of the forces differed.

The enemies emerging from the Scarlet Scar were primarily surreal Daemon armies. There were also some Cultists and Chaos Space Marines, but they were few and far between, not the main force. The leaders, if weak, would be Chaos Vanguards, while the stronger ones would be Greater Daemons or even Daemon Princes.

However, these enemies were primarily Chaos Cultists, with a large number of Chaos Space Marines among them. True Warp Daemons were few in number, mostly summoned by Chaos Sorcerers. Furthermore, among them were numerous Daemon Engines and Dark Mechanical creations. The

fleets were not the corrupted flesh and blood vessels of the past. Their appearance was more conventional, at least more resembling human vessels, constructed of steel.

However, there were also some distortions. Their flagships were enormous, and from the outside, they resembled countless space hulks spliced together. Their shapes varied, but their combat power was considerable. Not only do they possess immense firepower, their combat style resembles that of an aircraft carrier, deploying vast numbers of fighters, small, medium, and even large warships.

This thing is quite formidable, and the Alliance has suffered numerous losses.

Besides the composition of their forces, another significant difference lies in their combat methods.

Unlike the demons that burst forth from the Scarlet Scar, or perhaps due to the excessive Chaos corruption that has directly created numerous Warp fissures, causing the entire planet to slowly detach from the real universe and enter a semi-Warp state, allowing an endless stream of demons to burst forth, this group of Chaos enemies seems to require no specific origin, nor does they require any particular location to attract them.

They roam the universe like a human fleet .

Furthermore, they likely possess sophisticated Warp navigation technology, enabling faster-than-light travel without the need for astral tunnels. This makes their movements quite unpredictable for human forces.

Even more puzzling for the humans is the fact that their objectives are quite elusive.

They are often not limited to capturing or corrupting a single planet. In other words, these actions are more like supplementary actions in addition to their own objectives. If they can corrupt, capture, and plunder, that’s all that matters, but if they can’t, they don’t seem to care much. Furthermore, after conquering and corrupting a world, they quickly and mercilessly depart.

It’s like a natural disaster, appearing suddenly without warning and departing just as suddenly, leaving a world littered with wreckage.

Because of this characteristic, the Alliance dubbed them “Disaster Fleets.”

There are more than one Disaster Fleet, and the exact number is unknown.

As for their true objective, the Alliance General Staff, after analyzing the behavioral patterns of Disaster Fleets encountered across the expeditionary fronts, even in more remote areas, believes they appear to be “searching” for something. The staff

is diligently analyzing what they’re looking for and where they might appear next.

There’s some clues, but further investigation requires more information and intelligence.

All Dark Side Expedition fronts have been instructed to capture high-ranking individuals within the Disaster Fleet if they encounter one. This is crucial for further analysis.

And now, Martins encountered such a disaster fleet.

(End of this chapter)