Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 942: Chapter 506, Watching and Helping Each Other? _2 Chapter 942: Chapter 506, Watching and Helping Each Other? _2 Who would even care about you then?

It can’t even be said that they are disloyal.

Some, more loyal to the Empire than their own hometowns, lead their planets in rebellion, only to be wiped out by teams of Iron Armor Interstellar Warriors, who clandestinely grouped together under the command of the Iron Armor Battle Group; while others, perhaps quite loyal to the Empire, chose to surrender ‘painfully’ considering the preservation of their hometowns.

The other seven trustworthy Battle Groups, the Battle Nuns of the Blood Rose, and the Protection Armies of the Sect of Mechanics, were originally seen as the backbone.

However, their situations varied.

One Battle Group faced a rebellion towards the Iron Armor on its Mother Planet. When the Battle Group was sent to suppress the rebellion, they were unexpectedly overwhelmed on the ground by three times their number of forces from an alliance of the Iron Armor and Fury Flame, which had slipped through the intelligence network of the Battle Group. Only a few managed to escape.

Two other Battle Groups, together with the Blood Roses, formed a combat unit to rescue a world called Tianyuan VI, which was struggling under the attack of the Iron Armor Battle Group.

However, upon arrival, they discovered it was a carefully laid trap to encircle and suppress reinforcements. During this pivotal war, one of their Battle Groups switched sides on the spot, leading to an internal uprising. Together with an overwhelming number of Ironclad Interstellar Soldiers, this elite unit was annihilated on Tianyuan VI.

The Blood Rose suffered heavy losses in this battle.

Meanwhile, from the other four Battle Groups, two sided with them after being persuaded by the ‘succubus’, Humphrey Paolo.

The last potential threat that could have caused significant trouble for the Iron Fury Stone was two Foundry Worlds from the Sect of Mechanics, both part of a system named the Alfonso Sect.

They, of course, also received orders from the Empire to contribute personnel, efforts, and resources to resist the Iron Fury Stone.

However, their performance was somewhat ambiguous.

The orders were followed. The Protection Armies were dispatched, and the equipment and arms were provided.

But the Protection Armies were not dispatched in sufficient numbers, and they operated independently without taking orders from anyone else. During the war, they hardly engaged in any critical battles but just tinkered around the edges.

Strangely enough, the Iron Fury Stone didn’t provoke them, mainly avoiding the locations defended by the Protection Armies during their offensives.

It was as if there was some kind of unspoken agreement between the two.

The Alfonso Sect declared, “This extent of jurisdiction is mine; the two Foundry Worlds, plus some core mineral worlds within my Cosmos Domain, provide me with resources. Don’t provoke me, and I’ll ignore you in return. Although I’ve deployed troops, I am protecting my own domain; and though I’ve also supplied equipment to the Imperial Side, you must understand, it’s a necessary compromise.”

The Iron Armor Battle Group also declared, “I respect your jurisdiction, you keep to yours, but don’t interfere with my plans. You can provide equipment and arms to the Empire, but keep the quantities limited; if I have needs and want to buy, you must also sell to me.”

Naturally, these statements were not evidenced, merely some alleged ‘suspicions’ voiced by the Heretic Tribunal when accusing the Alfonso Sect.

But, evidence or not, Gu Hang, as an observer and third party standing next to a Star Map discussing it, felt as if he heard the two parties converse exactly in that manner.

Gu Hang couldn’t help but marvel, this Humphrey Paolo truly is formidable.

‘Succubus’, that was Gu Hang’s jesting evaluation of Paolo privately.

But in fact, it contained a considerable amount of wariness from Gu Hang.

This man’s charisma is indeed off the charts. Most crucially, the Iron Armor Battle Group has been very powerful over the past centuries and has established its influence everywhere. Although there are examples like the Cercis Flower Rebellion, which opposed the Iron Fury Stone, many indeed have received their help and stood by their side.

Certainly, mere relationships and past interactions might not be enough. Beyond that, it came down to Paolo’s diplomatic skills and the exchange of interests.

Relationships are the foundation; diplomatic ability and leadership charisma are the means and methods; the essence lies in the exchange of interests.

What benefits, after all, could those who surrendered or defected expect to receive by siding with the Iron Fury Stone?

Simple benefits would surely be insufficient. No matter how eloquently Humphrey Paolo could speak, he couldn’t change the fact that the Iron Fury Stone was fomenting a rebellion, nor could he shift the increasingly stern warnings issued by the Holy Terra.

No matter how plentiful the immediate benefits, if the ultimate outcome was defeat, then it was all for naught.

Clearly, Paolo made many believe that he could ultimately succeed.

This success may not be about overthrowing the Empire.

That would be too dreamlike.

But at the very least, it could prevent Imperial interference within regional boundaries; then the Iron Armor would be considered ‘victorious’.

The Purple Gold Flower rebellion over one hundred and twenty years ago serves as a good example.

Although the scale of their current actions is much larger than before, making it harder for the Empire to compromise; the large scale also means the situation has become more frightening, and the ‘united front value’ achieved could be extremely high.

As long as there are a series of military victories, and an increasingly strong momentum, more and more people will believe that the Iron Armor Battle Group can ultimately win.

Moreover, sometimes when Iron Armor strikes right in the face, many factions are left with two choices: death, or believing that Iron Armor can win.

Which one to choose?

Naturally, it tends to be the latter.

Again, it must be emphasized that this is ultimately a ‘civil war’ among humans, not a total massacre after losing to the Green Skins; not full corruption into madness after losing to the Abyss Demons, which eventually leads to a total sacrifice; it’s not like losing to the Void Insect Species, where the entire planet turns into food…

External wars must be resisted till the end. In the end, not resisting would mean death as well, so you’d definitely bite back before dying.

In a civil war, if you surrender, the nobles remain nobles, perhaps even with more power; civilians can also survive, leading to a significant reduction in resistance.

…

Things have gone rotten in the Spiderweb Domain.

Gu Hang sees this and is truly shocked in his heart.

Sometimes he can’t help but wonder, if it were him, if it were the Alliance, making a move like this in the Eastern Cosmos Domain, could they create an impact like the ‘Iron Fury Stone’?

Probably not.

Firstly, there is still a gap in raw strength. The naval resources that the Alliance would take four years to accumulate, Iron Fury Stone has now, and even more robust. After gaining the fleet that Melandri led in a defection, it became even stronger, almost incomparable.

In terms of ground forces, the comparison might be possible. While Iron Armor might have tens of thousands of interstellar warriors, Furyflame and Bedrock Shield definitely have more, potentially each having upwards of two to three thousand, collectively amounting to over fifteen thousand interstellar warriors.

This is still a conservative estimate.

The Phoenix the Alliance can bring to bear strictly adheres to the regulations of the Star Warrior Codex, honestly not exceeding a thousand.

However, in terms of quality, after that deadly and bloody battle with the Fury Flame Battle Group, no one dares to underestimate it.

Moreover, Gu Hang is confident that the quality of the Alliance Army far surpasses that of the infamous Auxiliary Army of Iron Armor.

However, there is one thing, something in which Gu Hang and his Alliance can never surpass Iron Armor: centuries of accumulated reputation.

This is something that even with a master diplomat with full charisma attributes, Gu Hang cannot make up for.

Without reputation, Gu Hang would find it difficult to convince many to stand by his side, to believe he could achieve ultimate victory, and thus not resist the Empire to the end.

His Alliance, like Iron Fury Stone, if rebelling, cannot afford to be dragged into a quagmire of war in their own core regions.

From this perspective, the Alliance really might not opt to rebel and achieve an effect like Iron Fury Stone.

And the reason Gu Hang is starting to think about this issue stems from a recent personal letter he received from Humphrey Paolo.

In it, Paul invites the Alliance to start an uprising in the south.

Paul assures that he will absolutely not head southwards; both parties can engage in trade, and even provide mutual assistance!

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