Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 1214: Chapter 658, If You’re Unhappy, Hold It In

With the arrival of the Alliance, Salius’s primary concern was not about the troop strength, but the issue of supplies.

The ammunition and military reserves of the larger Western Front forces, especially the stockpiles of high-end weaponry, could only sustain a month of high-intensity combat at most.

This was the overall situation.

Due to uneven distribution of materials and disrupted logistics caused by the war, some planets were already facing severe ammunition shortages. Reports indicated that, when faced with the Insect Swarm attacks, some lines had to resort to bayonets after their ammunition ran out. Courage was abundant, but in the end, they were completely submerged by the endless tide of the swarm.

Ironically, in this situation of such tight transport capacity, to ensure the operational priority of warships, the fuel supply for transport ships was substantially cut.

There was no other way.

Warships had to be prioritized; otherwise, when enemy forces pressed in, their own warships not being able to move due to fuel issues would be catastrophic.

Moreover, the insects coming from the east were still manageable, held back by the constructed defenses, but the ironclads from the west were a true menace. They not only engaged in fierce combat with Salius’s troops at several key battlegrounds, overwhelmingly gaining the upper hand, making conquest only a matter of time. Furthermore, they had enough capacity to dispatch numerous small fleets and units into the interior of the Western Front Army’s controlled territory to harass.

Without warship cover, relying solely on transport ships, they would just become prey for the enemy fleets to surround and kill.

The arrival of Matins directly resolved Salius’s two most pressing issues.

Before setting out, he was reminded by Gu Hang and became aware that after Salius’s retreat cut off, the greatest problem and risk was logistics.

Therefore, he brought an abundance of transport ships with him on his way.

The ample supplies were enough to resolve Salius’s predicament.

Additionally, the power Matins had under his command was sufficient to tip the scales of victory in critical battles, not to mention that the most immediate request was for the Alliance to deliver the pertinent logistics resources in place.

After a brief discussion, Matins readily agreed to Salius’s request.

Subsequently, the most critical battlefields most in jeopardy due to lack of supplies received the first round of Alliance assistance.

These locations were mainly concentrated on the Western Front of the battlefield.

Once the logistics were supplemented, they were already able to stabilize the front lines with their own strength, not to mention that with the arrival of supplies, the Alliance elite forces were also in place, paving the way for a straightforward counterattack!

Repeatedly thwarted several attacks, even with one place being considered a key battleground, Ironclad forces faced small setbacks in each battle, which collectively resulted in not insignificant losses.

At least five hundred interstellar warriors of Ironclad casualties were recorded in this phase of the battle.

A number which, compared to Ironclad’s potential ten-thousand-strong army, might seem negligible. But in perspective, five hundred troops were equivalent to half a fully manned battle group.

Most critically, after multiple thwarted offensives and accumulated losses, Ironclad’s assault tempo had to slow down. They no longer dared to unscrupulously dispatch troops into the interior Western Front to conduct comprehensive harassment operations.

The threats encountered by the main force of the Sun Legion were significantly reduced as a result.

Using this opportunity, a fleet under Matins split off to escort a large number of transport ships, delivering the essential supplies needed by Salius in place.

Among these, the most crucial were the ship-exclusive fuels, those compressed energy crystal blocks, which directly revitalized Salius’s fleet that was on the brink of collapse.

Warships could fully mobilize now, transport ships could run and there were sufficient ammunition supplies sent by the Alliance for their usage.

It was not as if they couldn’t even operate their fleets before the Alliance’s arrival. However, with cut logistics, even temporary reserves, while usable, would cause significant psychological pressure. In warfare, one has to consider the future as well as the present; to persevere longer meant conservatively preserving materials which hindered fleet efficiency.

Now that these concerns were resolved, efficiency naturally improved.

Additionally, the Alliance’s assistance was evident. Not only did their ships deliver vast amounts of supplies to Salius’s headquarters, but they also earnestly helped transport those resources to the frontline battlefields upon coordination.

There was no doubt; the Alliance provided immense help.

Thus, in his latest report to Holy Terra, Salius expressed:

“By the Emperor, without the Alliance’s assistance, we might have faced countless casualties, even the potential of total annihilation. I must say this: In this war, the Alliance led by Gu Hang played the most significant role on the Southern Line.”

“Without them destroying the Alfonso Fleet, the Western and Northern lines would have faced powerful attacks from the dark Sect of Mechanics, making survival incredibly arduous; without them conquering the Thistle Muster Star Domain and forcing the surrender of Spear of the Dragon King, the pressure during our offensive operations would have been far greater; without them conquering the entire Alfonso Star Domain, facing the combined forces of the Mechanical Sect would mean combating the Ironclad infected, the Insect Swarm, and the rebellious Mechanical Sect – a trifecta of threats. In such a case, perhaps the war might have been lost.”

His remarks stirred dissatisfaction among many in Holy Terra.

The reason was simple, among the warfronts, only the Western Line represented the authority of the Terra Government. Everyone counted on the Western Line to win significant victories and secure the most crucial accolades in regular warfare. In due course, the Otaubis Battle Group being the High Lords’ loyal force, the fleet as the Solar Fleet, the Star Realm Army as the Sun Legion… securing victory and noteworthy achievements would allow generals and officers to receive deserved accolades, while the directors who mobilized corps, provided logistics, made decisions, and resolutely executed them from the rear expect to reap political benefits and immense prestige.

Yet here was Salius, the Western Line Commander, attributing the greatest merit to the Alliance?

And to think, you were the Battle Group Leader of the loyalist forces!

However, regardless of the displeasure, it had to be stifled for now.

The survival of the entire Western Front Army was now in the hands of the Alliance.

Political gains and prestige could only be achieved post-war victory.

If they were defeated, or even if the Western Front Army was wiped out, all would be in vain.

It would not only be a significant blow to the prestige of the Holy Terra Government, but also a severe depletion of strength: even for rich, powerful Holy Terra, representing the Imperial Central Government, forming a force of this current Western Line Army’s size was quite challenging again.

The discontented had no choice but to keep their discontent inward, and outwardly praise the Alliance, meanwhile hoping for new developments in the war.

The opinions on Holy Terra had no impact on Salius.

He had already started convening with Matins.

The two highest commanders had begun discussing the matters of a counteroffensive.

Currently, their situation had improved, their forces were now ample, and maintaining the status quo was definitely not their goal.

They undoubtedly sought further advancements to achieve victory in the war.

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