Starting from the Planetary Governor-Chapter 740 - 414, Jump Point Naval Battle

The Alliance’s forces, no matter how much they needed to gather and prepare in advance, could not afford to delay for too long.

If too much time passed and the Eagle Horse Star Sector fell into disrepair, the Alliance would have to fight to the death against those Green Skins on its own turf.

It would be better to strike at Steel Wing Star instead.

The departure date was set for forty-five standard Terra days after Gu Hang agreed to join the battle with Yelisia.

This timeline made General Tilermungs and Admiral Yuan Chengchuan break out in sweat.

The former goes without saying, but the latter, as the commander-in-chief of the united Defense Force of the Eagle Horse Star Sector, had just been awarded the military rank of Marshal of the Star Sector.

This Marshal rank was an honorary title, or you could say, akin to a Planetary Defense Army Marshal, different from a Star Realm Army Marshal. Planetary military ranks, although recognized by the Empire, were only valid within the Planetary Defense Force and were unrecognized outside of the planet.

Originally, Yuan Chengchuan was merely the military commander aboard Eagle Horse II at the Star Sector Capital. However, in these particular times, Ren Wanxia, the head of the Eagle Horse Star Sector, created the title of ’Marshal of the Star Sector’ in order to consolidate the military power of the Star Sector to resist the invasion of the Green Skin Orcs, granting him the marshal rank for all planets within the Star Sector, to facilitate the integration of the entire Star Sector’s Defense Forces.

At present, on Steel Wing Star, General Tilermungs was the commander of the naval forces and generally regarded as the leader of the entire war zone; Yuan Chengchuan was his adjunct, primarily responsible for the overall command of the ground troops composed of the Planetary Defense Forces.

Both men were under tremendous pressure, especially with the news from the Golden Pass Star Sector— one bad report after another, with no good news and a bunch of calls for help and reinforcement.

But how could they help?

They were simply incapable of providing assistance.

At this moment, the entire Golden Pass Star Sector had fallen into the fires of war. It goes without saying that the space regions were a lost cause. With the Yunluo Fleet’s retreat to the Curse Bone Star District, Tianma Fleet withdrawing to the Eagle Horse, and the fate of the Northern Fleet hanging by a thread, likely more misfortune than fortune, the Golden Pass Star Sector could essentially be considered abandoned.

Of course, losing the space segments did not mean the war was over. The Orc fleets indeed deployed a significant number of troops for ground invasions on thirteen worlds of the Golden Pass Star Sector, but the Planetary Defense Forces on these planets were still resisting.

Additionally, as the Golden Pass Star Sector had been on the front lines against the Green Skins for decades, its economic development surely had been hampered by the war. However, the persistent population transfer, military deployment, and conscription by the Star Domain Government meant that the Planetary Defense Forces’ combat effectiveness on each world of the Golden Pass Star Sector was fiercer than most places.

The Green Skins would find it no easy feat to conquer every single world so quickly.

In fact, their chances of success might not even be that high.

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While the number of Iron Tooth Orc Tribes was terrifyingly vast, they also needed a huge number of troops to conduct simultaneous operations on thirteen worlds. The forces allocated to each planet might not be that substantial.

Moreover, there might still be human military resistance on the surface of the four planets in the Silver Pass Sector. After all, the Dragonhawk Legion’s first, second, sixth, and eighth Army Groups, totaling over two hundred million soldiers, were present on those four worlds. These were legitimate Star Realm forces, not so easily wiped out.

Of course, orbital control is crucial in ground warfare. If one side completely loses the ability to control orbits, the threat from above becomes terrifying. Naval guns’ strikes are unstoppable and devastatingly precise when aimed at ground targets.

However, there are not entirely without countermeasures.

Digging extensive defense works, particularly underground fortifications, can effectively guard against heavy artillery bombardment.

If people take cover and are struck directly by naval guns, their fate is sealed, and even twenty meters underground might not suffice. But if they’re not at the center of the detonation, the effectiveness of shelters and bunkers can be tremendous, and on the edge of the blast, what would be certain death above ground might result in no harm whatsoever.

Furthermore, by deploying forces separately and avoiding overly congested defensive lines...

... the damage caused by orbital bombardments can be significantly reduced.

However, adopting such a defensive posture essentially rules out any offensive operations.

To attack, you need to gather forces; once you gather, it’s easy to be spotted; being spotted means one blast from above, and it’s all over.

But with defense alone, the pressure becomes much less.

Admittedly, with the cover of orbital fire, the enemy’s offensives are often overwhelmingly successful, but if the defenders grit their teeth and hold firm, they can still drag out the conflict.

Although they may not avoid a defeat in the end, prolonging the battle for a few months, a year or two, even five or six years, is not uncommon.

The most critical point is, this is not a civil war. When fighting against a hostile species like the Green Skins, no matter how low the morale of the soldiers, no matter how desolate they feel, there may be desertions or a reluctance to fight, but there will never be surrender.

Orcs don’t accept surrenders, they only wish to fight and kill. Surrendering means death, the only difference being whether it’s a mass slaughter or being tortured to death within a month as a slave; better to fight with all one’s might and take a bite out of the enemy when death comes.