Chapter 1112: 608: Advancing on Alfonso

Chapter 1112: Chapter 608: Advancing on Alfonso

Gu Hang, who was currently en route to the Alfonso Star Domain, had also received the news.

The Alliance’s ultimate strategy was still to engage on both fronts.

The situation in the Thistle Muster Star Field was simply too shocking, and Gu Hang was deeply concerned.

What would the state of the Alfonso Space Domain be? Although it was never part of the Ironclad’s occupation zones and had always been the territory of the Sect of Mechanics, the problem lay in the fact that the Alfonso Sect had been allies of the Ironclad for over a century.

Due to the unique nature of the Sect of Mechanics, they were relatively independent. Moreover, although the members of the Sect of Mechanics could still be considered human, the higher their rank, the less human their physical form appeared. Additionally, regardless of these traits, they were, after all, a religious organization, worshipping the God of All Machines—a being considered one with the Divine Emperor…

For a variety of reasons, objectively speaking, the corruption within the Alfonso Star Domain might be relatively limited.

But that didn’t mean there weren’t problems.

The Great Sage Waluk, the highest leader of the Alfonso Sect, was, unfortunately, the very individual who first came into contact with the Queen’s larvae and personally conducted experiments on them.

At a time when the Dove Faction within Alfonso seemed on the verge of gaining the upper hand, he suddenly declared his stance with brutal decisiveness, even going so far as to take down the high-ranking Sage Sebastian Moro. This left no doubt about where he stood.

He was the greatest traitor.

Under his influence, even though the Sect of Mechanics had objective conditions to better resist corruption, the problem of having a leader actively causing trouble could not be overlooked.

The dire state of the Thistle Muster Star Field struck fear into Gu Hang. He did not want the Alfonso Star Domain to suffer the same fate, especially since it still hosted three Founding Worlds. Such invaluable assets—if they were destroyed by the insectoids, it would be a devastating loss.

What? Those are the Alfonso Sect’s assets?

That’s irrelevant. Governor Gu is a benevolent man and cannot stand to see major imperial properties destroyed.

Thus, he acted quickly. Once the general situation in the Thistle Muster Star Field was mostly stabilized, he immediately led the Alliance Main Fleet back to the Proudclaw Cosmos and then moved directly toward the Alfonso Star Domain, all to preserve those three Founding Worlds of Alfonso as much as possible.

He also brought along Sebastian Moro. As a Founding General, Moro held considerable prestige within Alfonso, even considered the leader of the Dove Faction. If he reappeared to reveal Waluk’s experiments—betraying the God of All Machines and seeking to turn the sect members from machine-men into insectoid abominations—it was likely to draw a significant number of people to the Alliance’s side.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the machine-men themselves didn’t care much whether they had mechanical bodies or insectoid ones. After all, genetic and biological technologies were widely accepted. But the problem was that turning into insectoids would also cost them their minds.

Without the ability to conduct research or worship the God of All Machines, such a transformation was unthinkable.

Beyond the differences between life and death, following the Alliance’s “Return to Loyalty” movement offered the Dove Faction a clear advantage: they could legally seize the Hawk Faction’s wealth and technologies.

Granted, when faced with overwhelming disparities in power, that might not be feasible. However, with the Alliance providing strong external support, their courage—and ambitions—could grow substantially.

The Dove Faction within the Alfonso Sect already had countless reasons to go head-to-head with the Hawk Faction. Once Gu Hang’s Alliance Main Fleet entered the Alfonso Star Domain and Sage Moro rallied the Doves with his call to arms, there was a significant chance of seeing the Doves rise in rebellion.

Gu Hang wasn’t fantasizing. This strategy had the backing of Moro’s guarantees and the Alliance’s intelligence analysis and assessments.

So, there was no reason to delay.

Of course, the Thistle Muster Star Field couldn’t be ignored either.

Nearly the entire Phoenix Battle Group was left behind, with Matins appointed as the commander for the battles in the Thistle Muster Star Field. The Blood Shark forces, acting as allied troops, were tasked with full cooperation.

Additionally, in terms of warships, the “Firebath Nova” battleship, along with the “Furious Owl” and “Winged Flight” battlecruisers, were also left behind, placed under Matins’ command.

Combined with the Blood Shark flagship “Ghost Evil Shark” and the Phoenix flagship “Burn Feather,” two combat freighters, they now had a formidable fleet of five capital ships.

This fleet was already quite substantial. Except for the “Firebath Nova” battleship, which might show some sluggishness in action, the other four ships were capable of swift and flexible maneuvers critical for special combat missions.

Incidentally, the Phoenix flagship, the so-called “Burn Feather,” was originally the Fury Flame Battle Group’s flagship—”Triumphant Flame.” During the war, the Alliance seized this combat freighter, and after repairs, it was now fully operational.

Conventional human navies could never fully harness the unique capabilities of an interstellar warrior’s combat freighter, barely managing to operate it. Thus, Gu Hang had simply reassigned it to the Phoenix Group as their flagship.

Five capital ships, along with over 180 additional vessels of various sizes, composed a fleet of considerable strength.

The presence of two fully-manned battle groups ensured that their elite forces would not lag behind.

Even if an Ironclad main fleet emerged from the Princess Star Domain, it was expected that Matins’ forces could at least retreat and ensure their own survival, if not claim a victory.

The remaining ships, however, accompanied Gu Hang.

As for the interstellar warriors by Gu Hang’s side, he didn’t lack for them.

The “New Torch” and “Fury Flame” chapters, for instance, were now following him.

Both battle groups had surrendered to the Alliance on the Phantom Moon and were sentenced to Atonement Expeditions of 100 and 200 years, respectively. The verdict bore the joint signatures of the Flash Judgement Court and Gu Hang, and after being reported to Holy Terra, it became official.

Indeed, some in Holy Terra argued that these traitors deserved execution and demanded that Gu Hang eliminate them all.

But Gu Hang couldn’t care less.

Reporting to them was out of courtesy; if they wanted to make it difficult, Gu Hang would simply ignore them.

Thus, the two Atonement Battle Groups joined Gu Hang’s operations.

And they were both fully staffed.

Though created from seeds of “subpar infinite warriors,” whose main flaw lay in limited potential—the proportion of Sergeant-level Warriors they could produce was minimal, to say nothing of elite champions whose numbers in these groups rarely exceeded twenty per chapter. In comparison, the Phoenix fielded 100 to 200 champions per chapter, making any comparison absurd.

Even when ostensibly placed on the same level, these new warriors couldn’t match the combat prowess of the Phoenix or Blood Shark forces.

But that didn’t matter—they weren’t leagues apart.

Against non-interstellar warrior enemies, the difference was negligible.

The only downside was that achieving the same battle results would cause higher casualties.

But Gu Hang didn’t mind that.