“`
Yassago accepted Gu Hang’s terms by default, followed immediately by Janviers’s acceptance.
When the news that both marquesses had been stabilized reached Gu Hang’s ears, he couldn’t help but reveal a slight smile.
This was good news.
If the troops under those two marquesses had really come charging in from the south regardless of the consequences, it would indeed have been a bit troublesome. At that time, the pressure on the 2nd Division would have been rather great.
Now it was much better.
He relayed the relevant information to Perbov, who quickly ordered his troops to begin the attack.
Knowing that the two marquesses had been stabilized, Perbov also removed a weight from his mind.
The reason the attack order was delayed for a while wasn’t solely due to waiting for news from the south, but also awaiting more ammunition to be unloaded.
Shuttles flying from starships to the ground hadn’t stopped for a moment.
In pursuit of rapid unloading of troops, the troops’ reserves of ammunition and supplies were insufficient. It was fortunate that they hadn’t encountered a high-intensity battle, or the Expeditionary Force’s ammunition might actually have run out.
As for now, that problem no longer existed, and Perbov could finally begin his fierce attack with peace of mind.
There were two main objectives for this battle.
One, naturally, was the key figures Nes Luman and Gu Ming.
Two, were the orbital anti-air defense systems scattered throughout Pincer City.
The attack was relatively smooth.
The troops from the east and west sides almost simultaneously breached Pincer City’s first line of defense, entered the city, and engaged the enemy in urban street fighting.
In theory, street fighting in a city is very difficult. Once armored troops entered the city, they certainly still had a role, but it wasn’t as significant as outdoor combat.
However, in reality, Luman People’s first line of defense, relying on city walls and gates, had managed to barely hold for a day and a night. But once the street fighting started, their defense collapsed disastrously.
The anticipated scene where each building had to be fought over repeatedly at the cost of blood didn’t happen; the Alliance Army’s progress was rapid.
And it was at this time that two more events took place.
First, what many people could see, a number of space ships descended from the sky toward the palace complex in Pincer City.
Needless to say, that was undoubtedly the fleet controlled by Gu Ming, probably to rescue Gu Ming into space.
However, just as Perbov was about to order his troops’ air defense firepower to intercept, Pincer City’s orbital anti-air firepower fired first.
Those few ships were directly shot down! Explore stories at empire
Then, not long after, the front-line troops reported hearing gunfire from within the palace complex in Pincer’s city center; the enemy might have turned on one another.
Hearing this news, and recalling the earlier interception of Gu Ming’s ships by anti-air firepower, Perbov, no matter how slow to react, could roughly understand what was happening.
This war was likely coming to an end.
He didn’t know exactly how to feel.
Should he be happy that his troops wouldn’t have to continue fighting, sparing more lives, or frustrated that the surefire military honors now had to cease?
But whatever his feelings might be, what to do about it wasn’t a decision for a soldier like him to make. He simply ordered his troops to continue with the original plan on one hand, albeit fighting more conservatively and reducing casualties, and on the other hand, he immediately passed the news to the governor.
And he indeed received further instructions from the governor to hold his forces and watch the developments.
About half a day later, an unarmed troop emerged from the palace complex and surrendered to the Alliance.
Leading them was a burly middle-aged man, shirtless and bound up by his own hands.
Perbov had seen his portraits and photographs; this was the monarch of the Luman Kingdom, Nes Luman.
And beside him was a person not so calm, with his mouth gagged.
“`
That was Gu Ming.
…
Merely half a day later, Gu Hang, inside the military camp outside of the city, met both Gu Ming and Nes Luman.
Regardless of his bound and beaten uncle, who writhed on the ground with his mouth sealed, Gu Hang’s gaze mainly rested on Nes Luman.
Bare-chested, in self-imposed bondage, even carrying a whip on his back…
Well, look at that, another Guttara legend? Submitting to punishment as an apology?
This monarch of the Luman Kingdom really knows how to bend and stretch.
As things had reached this point, he finally made up his mind without hesitation, even discarding the last wisp of wishful thinking, and made a decision.
He couldn’t let Gu Ming escape on his own.
If Gu Ming escaped, there might still be a way out for him. He still had four fleets in space, and he still had plenty of connections and pathways. No matter how difficult it was to turn the tables, he could still try his luck in various ways.
But Nes Luman had nothing left. The power he had painstakingly accumulated over the years, the Royal Knights he had built, crumbled overnight;
His capital was about to be conquered by the towering fury of another faction of the Gu Clan;
If Gu Ming escaped, he would have nothing left, facing death and the extinction of his clan.
At the critical moment, he ordered his remaining anti-air defenses, which were still under his control, to shoot down the spacecraft coming to Gu Ming’s aid, and urged his troops to kill the few security personnel protecting Gu Ming, capturing him alive.
This was the sincerity of his surrender.
He knew that once he came out, he was giving his and his country’s fate into someone else’s hands, to be manipulated.
But what else could he do?
It was a situation bound for defeat.
He could only grab the last chip before complete destruction to secure the slightest possibility for himself.
It was humiliating, but a true man needs to know when to bend and when to stand tall.
Upon meeting, he knelt down in front of Gu Hang.
“I, the King of the Luman Kingdom, apologize to the Gu Clan Head!”
“Half a year ago, Gu Ming secretly visited, conspiring with me…”
Nes Luman confessed everything from start to end without Gu Hang even asking, very sincerely.
Of course, even without his admission, Gu Hang already knew the whole story.
It was just that in the normal family council procedure, Gu Ming was no longer likely to win, so he took the opportunity to cause trouble, overturning the table.
The designated location for the family council has always been Heijian Star, because no matter which country governs it and holds the gubernatorial authority, its main foreign trade relies on the merchant fleets of the Gu Family. Both sides have had a good relationship over their long-term cooperation.
They are not part of the Gu Clan’s forces, but they can be considered an important market for the Gu Clan, one of the foundational elements where the Gu Clan started.
Wang Qi was wary of Gu Ming, but she didn’t guard against Nes Luman’s betrayal. Even in Wang Qi’s view, the many kingdoms of Heijian Star should have better relations with her.
It would have been good enough had she not used Nes Luman against Gu Ming, so why would the other party use the native forces of Heijian Star against her?
Furthermore, she had sent people to monitor the situation.
But she missed one move and was deceived by Nes Luman.
He was swayed by the notion Gu Ming presented to him of ‘eternal control of Heijian Star’.
————
There will be another chapter tonight