Chapter 725: Chapter 407, Ashen Dead Squad_2
The company commander, Blaywins, was also familiar with him, whose name was Zhong Jihua.
As for the specific content of their communication, those who were observing from a distance, like Blaywins, of course did not know.
But they could see the outcome.
The group of battle brothers led by Zhong Jihua no longer fought, even relinquishing their defensive lines, allowing the Cult traitors to pass through their defense zone. Meanwhile, they held their ground in their camp, not firing a single shot, offering no further resistance, nor making any more contact with the outside world.
Subsequently, scattered sounds of combat could still be heard within their camp.
That, of course, was not due to any external invasion, but rather an internal purge occurring among the Interstellar Warriors.
…
Clearly, not everyone was willing to accept Zhong Jihua’s actions. Within the community of Interstellar Warriors, the majority were those willing to die for honor, for their beliefs, for the Empire.
In the end, after the cleansing was complete, the Phoenixes who walked out of that camp numbered only around sixty to seventy people.
Following that, Zhong Jihua led the remaining survivors deep into the territory occupied by the Cult traitors, disappearing there.
Ultimately, the issue of the Cult rebellion on that planet was resolved, but on the Empire’s side, neither the planet’s defending army nor the Phoenix Battle Group had any idea that Zhong Jihua’s group had betrayed the Empire. From beginning to end, they all believed that Zhong Jihua’s company had perished in the war.
And by the time the Cult rebellion had been quelled, Zhong Jihua’s people had never reappeared.
The Phoenix lost a company, and in the Star Sea, a new Battle Squad called the ‘Ashen Dead’ emerged. They worshiped the tyrant, mutations appeared on their bodies, with most members growing a single horn, and their powered armor was painted in dark red with gray stripes.
Although the Ashen Dead were few in number and recently established, in these past twenty or so years, they had made quite a name for themselves.
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They pirated Imperial ships, slaughtering entire crews, and afterward, in the found derelicts, blood smeared every hallway, every room, every wall; in the bridges, assemblies, and ship chapels, there were blood-red eight-pointed stars, along with small mountains of skulls. This was a typical sign of a sacrificial ritual to terror;
They had also assisted Cultists in massacring worlds of the Human Empire, with at least four such incidents of worlds being destroyed or Nest Capitals slaughtered, involving their presence in twenty-five years;
They even joined with several other squads and attacked an Imperial Fleet that was transporting Gene Seed tithes of the Starfighter Battle Group, seizing a batch of Gene Seeds for the purpose of corrupting and strengthening their own numbers.
They even merged with another squad, gaining dominance over it…
Blaywins and others had once run into their ‘old comrade’ Zhong Jihua at a Pirate Alliance base. Zhong Jihua had ‘graciously’ invited them to join, but they had painfully declined.
The only loss of a battle brother among them occurred while they were breaking out and making their escape.
They indeed had defected, even shamefully turning into deserters, not dying alongside their Battle Group. However, they might bear the name ‘traitors,’ but they certainly did not want to be associated with the likes of Zhong Jihua.
Turning to chaos, worshiping the tyrant of terror, purging their own battle brothers… those were acts Blaywins and his people simply could not commit, and they also felt dishonored to affiliate with them.
But sometimes they wondered, when their mother unit perished in the penitent crusade, perhaps only they and the Ashen Dead would remain in this universe.
No.
Zhong Jihua’s group had changed their names, beliefs, paints, and symbols; how could they still be called Phoenixes? The Phoenix is a symbol of the indomitable, a phoenix reborn from fire. The new name they had chosen, bearing the words ‘Ashen’ and ‘Dead,’ clearly signified a complete abandonment of the Battle Group’s traditions.
The Phoenix had finally fallen.
However, as they aimlessly wandered through the cosmos, uncertain of where to go, or even what meaning the future held for their lives, they heard that their mother group had actually ended their atonement expedition!
But with only seven battle brothers left, what was the point? Now the mother group’s numbers were even smaller than those of the defectors!
However, by the time they received news about the Phoenix, they were already deeply integrated with a multi-star political entity known as ‘the Alliance.’
The mother group now seemed to be fighting for a star sector leader named ‘Gu Hang.’
They didn’t know what had happened in the interim, but according to the latest intelligence, the situation of the battle group appeared to be unexpectedly good.
Far from being on its last legs, the entire battle group had recovered quite robustly. Especially since the news of the Korolya battle spread, under the leadership of Mr. Gu, they had eliminated a Great Demon, ending the invasion war it had personally orchestrated!
Despite that in that war, it was this person named Gu Hang who had seized the greatest degree of fame. Those who knew of the conflict extolled the wisdom and valor of this commander and governor, praising his powerful spiritual energy.
Yet beneath the reputation of Gu Hang, those who paid attention could still see the contributions of the Phoenix. This group of Interstellar Warriors, who should have perished, greatly aided Gu Hang and displayed a combat force of roughly a hundred or so during the fight.
Those who didn’t understand the Phoenix or didn’t pay attention might not think there was anything to this. But to people like Blaywins, who had been following the mother group for decades, this was nothing short of a miracle.
They knew that the battle group had lost their entire armory and gene seed banks in the final battle of the atonement expedition. Under such circumstances, how was it possible to grow from a size of seven individuals to over a hundred in less than ten years?
Not to mention the success rate of the gene seed implantation surgery, it was simply impossible to have so many seeds!
Could it be that Holy Terra or the Mars Cultivation Association had allocated some of the gene seed tax previously turned over by the Phoenix to support the battle group?
That would indeed be a curious thing!
Interstellar Warriors of battle groups are also subject to taxation, but they pay no Imperial Tax and don’t provide material tax contributions. They can even ask the empire or some Foundry Worlds for equipment. However, they must submit one-tenth of all gene seeds produced during a certain cycle.
Officially, this is to allow the empire to inspect and monitor the purity of the battle group’s gene seeds, ensuring they are not contaminated; it also serves as a kind of ‘savings’ for the battle group so that in the future, if the group suffers losses, the empire can provide the genes seeds previously given to help the group recover.
But in reality… the former might be a legitimate reason, however, the latter is almost akin to a farce. If a group is not facing the risk of annihilation, then why would they need gene seeds? If they are facing extinction, why would I use gene seeds to support an old group with a deep history that might not be obedient when I could create a new, compliant battle group instead?
The idea that the empire would regurgitate consumed gene seeds is a fool’s dream. Perhaps, with certain battle groups of special status, this might happen, but the Phoenix clearly wasn’t one of them.
Yet, did this unlikely event actually occur with the Phoenix?
No matter how incredulous the matter seemed, after all considerations, this was the only possibility.
Could Matins have pulled gene seeds out of thin air?
It was also because there were signs of revival within the mother group that these eight ‘lost souls’ began to entertain the idea of seeking out their mother group.
They said it was to warn the mother group of the existence of the ‘Ashen Dead.’
As for whether they harbored any unrealistic expectations,
that was something only they themselves would know.