Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 990

Chapter 981: Gallardo hates liars the most

. In the orbit of Holy Terra, a different kind of madness permeated the orbital fortress of the Holy Grail Base.

Gallardo, Chancellor of the Military Affairs Department, gazed at the tactical star map. The dots of light represented ships, divided into two groups. The group that remained stationary represented the Solar Fleet stationed in Holy Terra’s orbit. On the other side, steadily approaching, lay Robert’s expeditionary fleet.

The tactical star map revealed a rather unspectacular scene. With both sides already so close, there were no beams from lances, missiles, or macrocannons, but rather some of them seemed to be merging.

He understood why.

Robert had leveraged his connections with the admirals he had won over during the previous lunar campaign to establish contact with many of the Solar Fleet’s commanders.

As Chancellor of the Military Affairs Department, Gallardo naturally had close ties with the military, especially the Solar Fleet, which he had prioritized. Through his established connections within the Solar Fleet, he possessed extensive information on the current engagements between the Solar Fleet and the expeditionary fleet.

In fact, many of the encounters between the two sides were orchestrated by Gallardo, the admirals and commanders within the navy who obeyed his orders.

And the target was today.

“How could I let you in so easily?”

he sneered.

Several people sat at his desk.

One asked, “Prophet, shall we launch now?”

“Yes, it’s time,”

someone nodded slightly and withdrew.

Gallardo returned his gaze to the tactical star map.

Changes were swift.

Suddenly, a wave of ships, under the guise of “friendly communication,” attacked the expeditionary fleet without warning.

And their numbers were considerable.

This sudden betrayal must have caught the Terran Expeditionary Fleet unprepared.

Even though they were well-trained and reacted quickly, counterattacking and disengaging, they still suffered significant losses.

While the direct losses were one thing, the greater impact lay in the fact that the expeditionary force was suddenly unable to determine how many of the enemy were present?

Was it a portion? Or even all of them?

Yet, at the very moment of launching a counterattack, it was particularly difficult to discern. Robert’s expeditionary force was unsure of who was enemy and who was friend.

Besides those who had been suddenly betrayed, some ships within the Sun Fleet were completely unaware of what was happening. They received conflicting and contradictory orders.

One declared that the so-called expeditionary ships were traitors, and that Robert’s identity as the Son of God was a fabrication. This was a carefully planned ambush, previously kept secret, but now a resounding success. They needed to seize the opportunity, pursue the victory, and eliminate as many of the enemy’s active forces as possible!

The order was highly credible, bearing the signatures of Li Li, the Imperial Navy’s Grand Marshal, two deputy commanders of the Sun Fleet, and several squadron commanders.

As a result, many ships, unwittingly following orders, opened fire on the expeditionary fleet.

Could they be blamed?

It’s hard to say.

They tried to verify the orders, but either they received no response, or the ever-changing situation in space left them no time for hesitation. They were forced to make a decision on their own—either to fight or not, with no third option.

Some received a clear order to fire.

Even with their bewilderment, they could only obey with skepticism.

The key to their compliance lay in the signature of the Grand Marshal, Li Li.

While he was technically the supreme commander of the Imperial Navy, that title was incredibly prestigious.

Was my superior’s superior my superior?

It was hard to say.

Furthermore, was it normal for someone as high-ranking as Li Li to directly pass down combat orders to frontline captains?

Furthermore, if it was truly a Grand Marshal’s order, why was the signature of Song Min, Commander-in-Chief of the Solar Fleet, missing? Yet

, all signatures on an order were inferior to those of the squadron commanders.

This was the direct superior of many captains.

There were ships that obeyed orders and opened fire, while others questioned them.

However, few were brave enough to immediately contact the expeditionary force, switch sides on the spot, and fire upon their former comrades. The most

they could do was to simultaneously question both sides, make their stance clear, and then, with full alert and full void shield activation, stay away from the battlefield and offer no assistance.

However, some ships pretended to be neutral, then suddenly turned against the expeditionary force and unleashed their firepower upon it.

Still others, without receiving any orders or even orders from superiors to remain in place, voluntarily shut down communication channels and launched a relentless assault on the expeditionary force.

For a moment, the situation was utterly chaotic.

The expeditionary force had no way of distinguishing enemy, neutral, and friendly.

In less extreme cases, they would simply treat every ship in sight as enemy.

Even if there were casualties, sacrifices were inevitable for ultimate victory.

However, even that wasn’t acceptable.

Those traitors chose this crucial moment, this way, to launch such a reckless betrayal. Wasn’t their goal to completely derail the negotiations between the expeditionary force and the Solar Fleet?

Now, mindlessly treating all the Solar Fleet’s ships as enemy and indiscriminately attacking them would likely play into the enemy’s hands.

Consequently, the Terran expeditionary force’s ships would have no choice but to prioritize self-preservation, maxing out all their defenses and engines, and withdrawing at full speed.

Disengage first, and then discuss further matters.

…

The confusion was only temporary, as Gallardo knew.

Even if the negotiations between the expeditionary force and the Solar Fleet were sabotaged, as long as the expeditionary force didn’t fall into the worst-case scenario of treating all ships as enemy, the misunderstanding could eventually be resolved.

Unfortunately, Robert arrived too early, too quickly.

If he were given more time, perhaps he could truly seize the entire Solar Fleet.

In that case, there would be no need for so many other things. In the Lunar War, he could use his superior naval forces to set a larger trap and completely bury Robert on the Moon.

Currently, Gallardo’s corrupted ships only account for a little over 20% of the Solar Fleet.

During the previous chaos, many ships were actually confused and even deceived due to miscommunication of orders.

By the time they’ve sorted things out, it’ll be difficult to repeat this.

Even the 20% of the Sun Fleet under his control will gradually be identified due to the previous incident. Once exposed, with the powerful external support of Robert’s fleet, they might be quickly eliminated.

But it doesn’t matter.

The goal of this tactic is simply to buy time.

With the Sun Fleet destined for Robert’s control, and the Imperial Guard clearly on the other side, Robert’s smooth transition to Holy Terra with his expeditionary force is inevitable.

What’s the point of the others making such a fuss?

But this is something Gallardo absolutely doesn’t want to see.

Robert is just Gu Hang’s lackey.

That liar is a master of deception. Gallardo absolutely won’t let him take control of Holy Terra so easily!

Speaking of this, we have to go back a hundred years to

when he first met Gu Hang.

Their first meeting was far from pleasant. He was a war apostle, soliciting bribes for the Sun Lord’s expedition; Gu Hang was a planetary governor who hadn’t yet fully taken control of his planet. He sought a small sum from Gu Hang to pay for additional taxes.

It was a small sum, but it was precisely this small sum that sparked such hatred in Gu Hang.

During the Chaos attack on the Hive World of Koroja, he fell into the Warp and nearly died.

He was saved by Gu Hang, and he felt immense gratitude. He had clearly oppressed Gu Hang at first, but Gu Hang had saved him in the end!

He wasn’t the type to repay a favor—he knew himself. But for Gu Hang, he made an exception.

Upon arriving on Holy Terra, he rose through the ranks, never forgetting to rope in his younger brother from the eastern borders of the Empire, securing countless benefits for him…

However, when he learned that Gu Hang had been behind his fall into the Warp, he felt a deep nausea at the thought of the help he had provided Gu Hang.

That impostor had lured him into the Warp; pretending to rescue him, they’d actually implanted a psychic seed in his unconscious mind, controlling and transforming his thoughts, turning him into the impostor’s slave!

How despicable!

Gallardo suddenly remembered all this after waking from a nap ten years after the Cataclysm.

Was this a personal revelation?

He guessed it wasn’t.

Objectively speaking, Gu Hang was a master of psychic powers, while his own proficiency in the field was practically nonexistent. Without external help, it would have been nearly impossible for him to recall the truth on his own.

There must have been some external influence,

but he didn’t care.

He was certain that what he recalled was the truth, not another fabricated memory.

Because… he knew himself; he wasn’t the type to repay a favor. Even if Gu Hang had truly saved him, given his character, he was more likely to be ungrateful and wouldn’t have spared no effort in helping Gu Hang in the years that followed.

He hated this deception, hated the past hundred years. His self-proclaimed glory had been nothing but manipulations by that liar, Gu Hang!

He refused to accept this reality. His single-minded goal was revenge.

He would sacrifice so much for it.

Moreover, the entire universe was in turmoil! This was a cosmic upheaval unlike anything seen in a millennium!

In this situation, riding the wave, turning the tide, and becoming a hero was his most pressing need!

And this goal was in no way inconsistent with his quest for revenge.

He looked in the mirror, his own face, repeatedly calling out the name of the great being who had awakened him and freed him from the deception.

Suddenly, he saw his reflection in the mirror: nine eyes opened in quick succession—on his forehead, face, neck, chest…

He heard a holy voice, imbued with supreme truth and boundless knowledge.

From that day on, Gallardo, now more “intelligent,” began to scheme his own plans.

For example, consider the case of Prime Minister Zilberdur.

He was practically the first person on Holy Terra to learn that Zilberdur had been corrupted by Nurgle.

But he certainly wouldn’t expose the corrupt Prime Minister, who sought immortality, so easily.

On the contrary, he secretly provided numerous assistance.

Without Gallardo’s backing, the Prime Minister’s concealment would have been far more difficult. He remained hidden for over a decade before he was finally exposed, and his expulsion from the palace might have occurred even earlier.

Gallardo knew that, under normal circumstances, it would have been difficult for him to rise to a higher position and wield greater power.

Despite his previous high position, much of his authority came from the external support of that impostor.

Now that he could no longer draw on that influence, his situation was precarious.

He needed to cause even greater chaos on Holy Terra.

The corrupt Prime Minister was a major part of this initiative.

He also knew that the Cult of Pleasure of Slaanesh was very active

on Holy Terra. Hedonism was something the powerful and wealthy on Holy Terra were unwilling to abandon.

He had helped, to some extent, to further develop the cult of Slaanesh, drawing considerable attention from the Inquisition.

He then lured a group of reckless Khorne followers to Holy Terra.

While they might be clueless, their brute force tactics—such as the Khorne Mind Plague—were highly effective.

The widespread spread of the Khorne Mind Plague within the Solar Legion was due to his assistance as Chancellor of the Military Affairs Department; otherwise, how could it have spread so rapidly?

He had also contributed to the previous Lunar Campaign.

He had sent the Solar Rebels there, and it was his idea to steal Khorne’s sacrificial rituals. He had hoped that Magnus’s arrival would stop Robert.

However, it had failed,

leaving him deeply frustrated. He had done a good job, but Magnus was a complete failure.

Now, he had only one last trick left to turn the tables.

Since Robert’s descent to the surface was inevitable, let him take over a worthless Holy Terra, utterly destroyed by a vast conspiracy!

(End of this chapter)