Another 700,000 soldiers of the Star Realm Army were “embarking” in the Fatches Star System, and the estimated arrival time was two weeks later.
Meanwhile, the 300,000 troops of the Star Realm Army that had already arrived at Rage Owl Star Port were disembarking in succession.
The starport on Rage Owl Star was still small-scale, and its capacity for personnel throughput wasn’t quite adequate.
Moreover, the journey from Skaaro City, part of the starport on the ground, to the frontline in the Western Desert by vehicle was a good few thousand kilometers.
Even though there were paved roads built during the previous Alliance’s major infrastructure constructions, and sufficient logistical supplies were available along the way, ensuring speed was not slow, it still took a relatively long time for the 300,000 troops to arrive and deploy sequentially.
Two weeks had passed, and they had just taken their positions.
During the wait for them to be in place, it was time for the seven divisions of the Rage Bear Legion to leave.
According to the orders from Dragon Hawk Command, it was time for them to depart.
The transport ships of the Gu Commercial Firm, which had brought the Dragonhawk 3rd Corps to Rage Owl Star, were still docked at the ports of the Rage Owl Star System.
In fact, on their way there, they had received a new order: to transport the seven divisions of the Rage Bear Legion, a total of 77,000 people, away from Rage Owl Star to Korolya III.
This was conveniently on the way.
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Gu Hang was also going.
The orders from Star Realm Army Command were not related to him, so naturally, he could choose not to go. However, after a conversation with his mother, he realized that the opportunity he was looking for had come even faster than he had expected.
After leaving Rage Owl Star, Galaraldo would make a brief stop at Flying Wing Star to meet some people, then he would proceed to Korolya No. 3 Planet under the pretense of “inspecting the spread of the Chaos Plague.”
Of course, he wasn’t so benevolent; in reality, dealing with the Chaos Plague and quelling the Chaos rebellion were not the responsibilities of this apostle of war.
He was going to make money.
Korolya III was suffering, and looking at the current situation, in a Nest Capital on Korolya covering a population of a billion, the plague had become unstoppable. It had nearly become a fallen area, with a large number of Planetary Defense Forces battling within. Rebels and plague-infected corpses were emerging there in endless numbers.
To say that the entire planet’s resources couldn’t suppress this would be impossible. Korolya was a huge planet with a population of 40 billion.
But they dared not pull too many personnel from other Nests to aid the areas infected with the Chaos Plague.
What if other Nests encountered problems too?
Actually, by then, there were already reports of sporadic infections in other Nests. And with Korolya III’s response capability, once an official report surfaced, in the underworld of the Nests, the number of infected might well be a hundred times the reported figures.
Even the Planetary Government of Korolya III was considering launching an extermination strike on the infected city.
This was only a proposal for the time being and still in the discussion phase, with many objections.
A billion people—could one simply decide to give them up? What a joke!
Even disregarding any humanity, just by looking at interests alone, this would be 5 billion Tax Currency!
From these perspectives, one could see that the dilemma Korolya III was facing was indeed no small matter.
For others, there were those who found humor in the situation, those who lamented and sympathized with the people, and those worried that the deteriorating situation there might trigger even bigger trouble…
But there were also those who would exploit the disaster as leverage, not only withholding aid but also taking advantage of it.
Like Galaraldo, for instance.
This guy came sniffing around where there was the scent of blood.
Under the guise of “inspecting the spread of the Chaos Plague,” he actually intended to have the leaders of the Star Sector and the Korolya Governor pay a hefty sum of “money.”
This money was for buying “safety.”
If they didn’t pay, he would then stir up trouble for these two officials by accusing them of allowing the Chaos to spread unchecked due to their inefficacy.
Chaos corruption within the Empire was considered to be a serious matter. Generally, if a Planetary Governor could handle it themselves without escalating it, then all was well; if it did escalate and caught the attention of superiors, there was a chance the Planetary Governor could be dismissed—especially after the arrival of high-ranking officials.
While Galaraldo did not have the authority to dismiss a Planetary Governor, he could use the leverage to blow the issue out of proportion.
Especially after Galaraldo heard that the Korolya government was considering an extermination approach to the Nest, willing to sacrifice a billion people, he saw it as a priceless opportunity and used it as his primary leverage, taking the moral high ground to berate the Korolya government for not valuing the lives of the Empire’s citizens.
Miss Wang Qi even repeated Galaraldo’s exact words to Gu Hang:
“That’s a billion lives! I don’t know how you can even utter such a suggestion!”
Gu Hang didn’t believe Galaraldo truly cared about human life, but without a doubt, it had become his most powerful weapon of criticism.
Following the current trajectory, from Pei Desi, the head of the Star Sector, to the Korolya Governor, if they didn’t provide a satisfactory response, they could very well be in deep trouble.
The “discussion meeting” that Galaraldo was planning to hold on Korolya III was merely a stage. He sent out widespread invitations, and prominent figures from the Tianma Star Sector all received one; they would serve as the audience for a show where Galaraldo played the leading role.
If Pei Desi and the Korolya Governor complied, then it would be a serious meeting for upper-echelon inspection and work guidance; if not, it would turn into a trial where a war apostle criticized derelict and corrupt local officials.