Chapter 733: Chapter 410, Don’t Be Too Honest_2 Chapter 733: Chapter 410, Don’t Be Too Honest_2 “`
Only if the numbers deviate greatly will the Empire intervene.
Now the question arises, how would the Empire know how many people are currently in the Phoenix?
The last time information was reported, the Phoenix only had seven members.
Logically, even years later, the Phoenix wouldn’t have grown much.
Under Gu Hang’s command, the common experience of the Mechanical God Cult and the Star Warrior Management Agency was of no use.
The Empire had scant information on the Phoenix.
As long as one kept their mouth shut, it would be hard for the Empire to know exactly how many people were in the Battle Group, how much tax was owed, and wasn’t it up to oneself to decide?
Now, with the ten-year period almost up, one could simply say they had a hundred people, exchange a Gene Seed as a token, and that would be it.
And you, Matins, really want to pay based on the actual situation?
That would be way too much to give, with four or five hundred new members in five years, requiring the exchange of forty to fifty Gene Seeds…
ƝονǤο.сօ
Isn’t that just making trouble for oneself?
You are indeed very disciplined, true loyal subjects of the great Empire, still thinking of paying the full Gene Seed tax honestly at this point?
No wonder you can’t beat the Iron Armor.
But Gu Hang didn’t say this outright to Matins.
He responded by indicating that all the new Gene Seeds produced by the Battle Group’s new blood should be used for developing new warriors, and that he would continue the usual practice of selecting young, T1-grade prospects through the Soldier Badge Training System for implant surgery.
The success rate of the Phoenix Gene Seed implant surgery was remarkably high, nearly 98% over the years with only 9 failures out of 500 operations.
The main reasons for this high success rate were twofold:
First, the Phoenix Seed wasn’t too selective.
Second, and most crucially, every candidate was trained to T1 grade at the appropriate age.
Their physical condition, experience, skills, and mental willpower all met the standards, and as long as the individual’s condition and compatibility with the Phoenix Seed weren’t exceptionally poor, failure was unlikely.
Using the Gene Seeds produced by the new blood and those exchanged by Gu Hang, the number of people in the Phoenix had risen to five hundred, which could be considered a revival.
From now on, Gu Hang would not even have to exchange more Gene Seeds for the Phoenix.
The unique structure of the Battle Group’s personnel, made entirely of new blood, meant that the amount of new Gene Seeds produced over five years was even greater than many full-strength Battle Groups.
Coupled with the high success rate of implant surgeries, Gu Hang wouldn’t have to spend extra on Gene Seeds anymore, as their numbers would quickly increase through internal growth.
By this stage, the Phoenix couldn’t be considered powerful, but at least it resembled a normal Battle Group.
Many Starfighter Battle Groups, long embroiled in war and not faring well, might only have this many members.
As for the missing elements like the Battle Group Fleet, Fleet servants, Mortal Auxiliary Army, and armed and aerial vehicles, Gu Hang could not provide all of those at once.
But undoubtedly, their next actions would not be as an independent Battle Group but would always include cooperation with the alliance army.
Requirements for war could be supplied and supplemented by the alliance army.
Though armored vehicles driven by mortals were not as effective as some exclusive ones that allowed special neural connections for the Interstellar Warriors, they at least temporarily solved the problem of not having any at all.
Even if Gu Hang now wanted to equip the Interstellar Warriors with exclusive armored vehicles, it would be quite tough.
While Rhino Troop Transporters could be manufactured, vehicles like the Raider Tanks were simply not producible, not to mention mechas like the Dreadnought or the Apocalypse.
To acquire them would rely solely on external procurement.
But external procurement…
that was too cost-ineffective.
If the alliance itself produced them, the actual cost would be materials, labor hours, food, and living supplies for the workers…
although the price listed in the alliance’s accounts would still be calculated using the Empire’s standard pricing, the budget would appear as so much, but in reality, it wouldn’t cost nearly that much.
In the case of external procurement, however, it would genuinely consume the alliance’s Tax Currency, without skimping a single cent, and with a good chance of a significant premium on such high-tech items.
They would have to make do for the time being.
…
Having invested 200,000 into the Phoenix, Gu Hang was no longer too worried about the problem of the Ashen Dead once their number reached five hundred.
“`
That Chaos Combat Group, at best, had a little over two hundred Interstellar Warriors.
With around 2.5 times that number prepared, even if the ashy remains of the dead immediately rushed to their faces causing mayhem, Gu Hang would have enough strength to cope with it.
If they took a bit longer to arrive, say a few more years, then they would have to face a standard, fully staffed Battle Group of a thousand soldiers.
By then, Gu Hang truly wanted to see what expression would appear on Zhong Jihua’s face.
Are you coveting the bloodline of the Phoenix?
A thousand bloodlines are laid out right here, come and take them if you can.
Of course, those 200,000 points of grace that landed on Phoenix brought nearly twenty thousand T4-T2 grade elite soldiers.
Although these people were by-products, they weren’t without value.
As usual, some were packed into the 10th Brigade; the rest were thrown into some specially numbered units, like the 1st Exhale Wind Brigade, the 2nd Beast-slaying Brigade, or into a few Skeleton Divisions.
The 10th Brigade had already grown to over ten thousand men, all elite, fully equipped with special gear, enough said; the other divisions and brigades siphoned off top soldiers and commanders, and even managed to assemble teams entirely of T4 grade, then fully equipped with Exoskeleton Armor and LR series, GHS series rifles, plus a higher ratio of armor and firepower.
Such a force, when pitted against ordinary Star Realm Army, could likely defeat an enemy twenty times their number.
But the key is that such forces aren’t there to exchange blows with the enemy on the battlefield, but to be deployed to critical battles where they can play a decisive role with their cutting-edge capabilities.
In short, this also greatly strengthened the alliance’s military construction capabilities.
As for the remaining two hundred thousand points of grace, Gu Hang thought about it and took out one hundred thousand to use for the technological lottery.
At the ten thousand grace points bracket, we’re far from being drained.
However, after the earlier round of withdrawals, the odds of drawing something now are certainly lower than at the start.
Nonetheless, throwing down one hundred thousand points of grace was bound to make some waves.
Things like some advanced-grade engineering machinery and the like—upgraded types of technology—and some less important tech, we’ll just pass over and not dwell on them too much.
Among these ten consecutive draws, one significant acquisition was the elite technology “Dynamic Weapons”.
The power sword in Matins’ hand belonged to this category of weapon.
This kind of thing, to put it a bit flamboyantly, can be called invincible.
In this universe, apart from a few materials that cannot be mass-produced, there’s hardly anything in conventional armor that can withstand the assault of dynamic weapons.
And it’s not just power swords; “Mjolnirs”, “Force Staffs”, and especially “Power Gauntlets” more commonly equipped on Terminator Armor…
these all fall within the category of dynamic weapons.
Dynamic weapons aren’t exclusively for Interstellar Warriors to use either.
Just like how the elite warriors of the 10th Brigade of the alliance also make use of chainswords, dynamic weapons can be adapted and modified for Mortals to use; they just have to be made smaller and lighter.
And to further enhance the weapons’ power, these dynamic weapons can also be crafted into fine-work versions.
Although the cost of production would greatly increase and mass production becomes difficult, it doesn’t really matter.
They are meant to be equipped by the leading combat forces; the objective is to make them more useful when facing off against some powerful individuals.
With that, Gu Hang had concentratedly spent a total of three hundred thousand points of grace.
With the remaining one hundred thousand, he wanted to keep them as reserves for any unexpected needs.
————
4k
Holy moly!
Grateful for the chief patron reward from [Just One and Six Left]!
What’s left is not just one and six, it’s twenty thousand words!
Just repaid a little yesterday, now the debt has skyrocketed to 54k!
Couldn’t finish paying off in February…
Will continue to work hard in March!