Starting from the Planetary Governor-Chapter 1617 - 915: Calamity Fleet

After arriving at the Southern Front Expeditionary Force, Martins did not rest for a moment and immediately plunged into a battle.

At this time, it had been less than three hours since he completed the command transition with the original Southern Line commander.

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

The Alliance Army is not like the old-style military, with almost no warlordism. Although factionalism is somewhat unavoidable, a new commander sent by the top wouldn’t face resistance from existing troops, and the handover proceeded quite smoothly. The original commander smoothly handed over the baton. He would remain at the Southern Command, assisting Martins for more than a year to better take over the entire force. After a year, he would return to Rage Owl Star to report and await further assignments.

But Martins still went on.

Two considerations.

On one hand, it was his newly acquired power. Although it had been tested on the training grounds and was quite powerful, trials are ultimately just trials and not the same as real combat.

Despite being a mature and steady person, the new power surging within his body was an urge even he found hard to resist releasing.

Especially when releasing this power recklessly onto the human enemy, it was particularly satisfying.

On the other hand, there was a practical need for him to engage in battle.

On this world called ’Papalier’, a very serious Chaos corruption had erupted, making it a focus of surveillance.

After an initial orbital bombardment and intervention by ground forces failed to resolve the issue, the Southern Command began assessing the safe zone strategy.

Unfortunately, this world did not pass the safe zone assessment and was deemed unworthy of establishing a safe area. Simultaneously, as it neither possessed particularly rare materials nor significant strategic value, it was sentenced to an Extinction Order.

After a half-month effort to evacuate as many residents as possible, the Extinction Order was set to be executed.

However, it could not be successfully executed.

The Extinction Order deployment was intercepted.

This is not unheard of.

The Command Center then launched a contingency plan, dispatching ground troops to commence an attack. The expectation was to dismantle or destroy areas that could intercept the Extinction Order under the cover of orbital fleet firepower. Once destroyed, troops would withdraw and bombard again.

If once again intercepted, it would mean insufficient ground clearance. On one hand, the Alliance Military would intensify efforts to clear the area. On the other, some might need to be held accountable. Whether it was the intelligence department’s oversight, insufficient army reconnaissance, or missed targets, appropriate actions would follow.

However, at this moment, a rather formidable Chaos Fleet suddenly invaded the battlefield.

These were old adversaries.

Since over twenty years ago, the Alliance has encountered these enemies quite frequently across various fronts.

They differ significantly from those who burst out from the Scarlet Scar.

Firstly, in troop composition.

Enemies emerging from the Scarlet Scar primarily consist of surreal Demon Armies. Some Cultists and Chaos Starfield Warriors are present but not in large numbers and not as the main force. The leading figures could be Chaotic Vanguards if weak, Great Demons, or even Demon Princes if stronger.

But these enemies mainly consist of Chaos Cultists, with a large number of Chaos Starfield Warriors, while the genuine Subspace Demons are few, mostly summoned by Chaos Sorcerers among them. Furthermore, there are many Demon Engines, dark mechanical creations among them.

On their fleet, they are not those corrupted flesh ships. Their ships appear more ’conventional’, at least looking more like human ships, made of steel.

However, they do have their distortions. Their flagship is enormous and looks like an unknown number of space wrecks patched together. Varied in shape but formidable in combat. It not only possesses powerful firepower, but its combat style is more like an aircraft carrier, launching numerous fighters, medium and small, even large warships.

This thing is quite terrifying, and the Alliance has suffered many losses from it.

Besides the structure of their forces, another huge difference lies in their combat approach.

Compared to demons bursting out from the Scarlet Scar or due to severe Chaos corruption directly creating numerous Subspace rifts, and entire planets gradually detaching from the real universe in a semi-Subspace state, allowing endless demons to pour out, these Chaos enemies don’t seem to need any place of departure or Chaos corruption drawing them in.

They wander the universe like a human fleet.

Moreover, they seem to have mastered very mature Subspace navigation technology, allowing them to travel faster than light without passing through any Star Realm Tunnel. This makes their actions quite ghostly and unpredictable for human forces.

What leaves the human side even more perplexed is that their objectives are quite mysterious.

They often are not limited to occupying or corrupting a planet. Or rather, such actions seem to be merely an adjunct to their other goals. If they can corrupt, occupy, or plunder, that is best, but if not, they don’t seem to mind too much. More so, after occupying or corrupting a world, they leave without hesitation.

It’s like a ’calamity’, arriving unexpectedly without warning, then suddenly departing, leaving behind a world of wreckage.

Because of this trait, the Alliance calls them the ’Calamity Fleet’.

There is more than one Calamity Fleet, the exact number unknown.

As for their true objectives, according to the Alliance General Staff Department, summarizing the Calamity Fleet’s operational logic encountered across various Dark Side Expedition lines and even in some interior regions, the General Staff Department believes the Calamity Fleet seems to be ’searching’ for something.

Staff are working hard to analyze what exactly they are searching for and where they might appear next.

There is already a bit of a clue, but further insight requires more information and intelligence.

All Dark Side Expedition lines have received orders: if they encounter a Calamity Fleet, try to capture their high-ranking figures. This is crucial for future assessments.

And now, what Martins is facing is such a Calamity Fleet.