Chapter 320, Queen of the Iron Curtain
On Black Arrow Star, the fortress-like palace of the Stefano Kingdom was in a state of chaos.
Today is the 42nd day since the invasion of Stefano's Kingdom.
Two months ago, the Alliance's army descended on this world, causing almost all the countries on Black Arrow to become nervous. Even though the Angry Owl people had no starport to use, they relied on orbital transport ships and landing ships to transport troops, equipment, and supplies to the surface one after another.
The spies deployed by various countries in the Kingdom of Luman have become noticeably active.
They were investigating the specific situation of the army that had landed on the planet, trying to find out their goals, their strength, and the specific conditions of their weapons and equipment...
However, before they could figure anything out, the Allied Forces' war operations had already begun.
On the morning of the first day, Ness Luman delivered a global speech with an audible signal. In his capacity as the governor of Black Arrow, he shamelessly rejected the legitimacy of the King's Council and produced the explanatory documents of the star district government. He declared all the "countries" that resisted taxes to be traitors to the Empire and claimed that a star army had arrived on Black Arrow to quell the rebellion.
At noon, urgent intelligence came from the Kingdom of Luman, saying that the army was being mobilized and was suspected to be heading towards the Kingdom of Stefano.
By the evening, the border defense line of the Stefano Kingdom had been crushed into rubble by the Alliance's Lion tanks.
This series of news came extremely quickly and frequently.
The last piece of news just said that the Kingdom's soldiers were fighting desperately at the border and were expected to be able to hold off the enemy for ten hours, hoping to get reinforcements as soon as possible. Then the military ministers began to discuss where to deploy troops and how to arrange the entire defense line to stop the enemy. But before they could discuss and come to a conclusion, the next piece of news said that the defense line had been breached.
This caused them great difficulties.
The whole day's planning seemed to be in vain. Often, before a discussion or a plan is completed, the reality on which it can take shape no longer exists.
This situation was repeated over and over again for forty-two days.
The alliance's military operations can be described as blitzkrieg.
The kingdom's defenses were easily penetrated like a hot knife through butter.
Behind the border, one line of defense after another had just been formed or was even in the process of being formed when they were overwhelmed by the armed forces of the Angry Owl people with artillery fire and armor.
As of today, the latest news shows that the enemy's vanguard has arrived 330 kilometers outside the fortress capital of the Kingdom of Stefano.
Before the capital, there were only two lines of defense left to rely on.
Within the palace, tension, confusion, and even a hint of despair were spreading everywhere.
Although those generals and ministers who were normally either graceful or resolute were still trying to maintain their decency and composure at this moment, Queen Ispsi, as the monarch, could sense that her ministers and generals were extremely panicked and could not even come up with a normal idea.
Honestly, she felt the same way.
But at the same time, she also felt deep anger.
The Kingdom of Stefano is the second largest kingdom on the Black Arrow Star, with a population of 70 million. It is one place higher than the third largest kingdom next door, the Kingdom of Luman, but it is almost twice as large as the Kingdom of Luman in terms of both population and land area.
Stefano is the most powerful of all the neighbors of the Luman Kingdom and the strongest man on the entire planet.
Moreover, Stefano has a strong military tradition. This country has always been a military-based country, with a strong martial spirit among the people. The bravery and fighting skills of the Stefano people are well-known throughout the world.
Even the capital of this country is a huge fortress; the palace inside is also like a castle with full defensive capabilities.
Although Queen Ispsi is a woman, she is always proud of the courage and fortitude of her ancestors. From the time she ascended the throne at the age of nineteen to now when she is thirty-five, in the past sixteen years, she has followed the will of her ancestors and transformed from a woman who was just regarded as a "transitional monarch" to a true queen.
Who in the whole kingdom did not submit to the rule of the Iron Curtain Queen? Who dared to ignore this queen who won the love of the Royal Guards in her early twenties, dared to launch a coup in the palace with a few dozen people, and personally shot and killed fifteen powerful ministers?
She ruled the country with iron and blood, and she would never want to see her most important ministers so panicked and at a loss.
She also knew that this was the time for her to step forward.
She tapped the table lightly, and the ministers and generals sitting in the military meeting shut their mouths one by one, raised their heads and looked at their queen.
Espsi's face, which was no longer young, looked even harder.
She made a decision: "Don't discuss those worthless things anymore. We have already withdrawn most of our forces. More than 200,000 soldiers are ready to defend the capital fortress. At the same time, more than 500,000 soldiers from all over the country are rushing to the capital. It will only take them a month to gather. In another month, there will be another 500,000 troops. Our allies have promised that within two months at most, a coalition force of no less than 500,000 people formed by the King's Council will come to our aid."
"We will prepare for the worst. We will fight a bloody battle with the enemy in our capital, in our heart! We have a 330-kilometer defense line, a capital fortress garrisoned by 200,000 people, and an upcoming million-strong army from our allies! I will make those alien enemies smash their heads and bleed in front of the fortress built of flesh and blood by the Stefanos!"
"No matter how powerful those alien enemies are, or how advanced their weapons and equipment are, we will let them see the bloodiness of the Stefano people!"
"I swear in the name of the Queen that I will fight together with my subjects to defend this country and will never retreat!"
"I believe that we will eventually achieve complete victory in the war!"
Under the Iron Curtain Queen's speech, the generals and ministers all cheered!
Their morale was boosted, they trusted their queen and were willing to shed the last drop of blood for Her Majesty!
However, at this moment, a muffled sound pierced through the shouts of the generals and ministers. It was not clear, but it was firmly heard by everyone.
The cheers and applause gradually died down, and then more and more frequent muffled sounds continued to be heard, and it sounded as if they were getting closer.
Many people thought that this sounded like the sound of gunfire. But they also thought that this idea was too incredible. Under the Queen's iron curtain, who would dare to fire a gun in Stefano Fortress?
As for the more terrifying possibility...
It’s not that no one has thought of it, but no one thinks it’s true.
Logically speaking, how could it be possible that the Allied forces, which were still 300 kilometers away this morning, would allow the sound of gunfire to reach their ears in the afternoon, across a defense line of 100,000 soldiers and a solid fortress guarded by 200,000 soldiers?
Divine troops descending from the sky?
Even if there really is some divine soldier falling from the sky, we will shoot him down for you!
Stefano Fortress has a complete orbital air defense system. No matter what kind of aircraft you use to drop, even if it is an orbital airdrop, it is impossible to break in so easily.
So what is going on?
The Iron Curtain Queen's face at this moment was as hard as iron.
Without her giving any orders, the military attaché beside her had already rushed out quickly to find out what had happened.
However, just one or two minutes later, the military attaché who had gone out came back.
These military attachés of Ispsi were all promising rising stars. In fact, they were born in military families and had excellent military qualities. The Iron Curtain Queen established the position of military attachés to recruit these young elites, cultivate their abilities and loyalty, and facilitate their deployment to various armies in the future to control the kingdom's military power on behalf of the Queen.
They should not show their emotions.
But when faced with a situation where the sky is really falling, how many people who claim to be calm can really remain calm?
The returning military officer looked flustered and walked in a hurry.
He said: "Your Majesty, the enemy has entered the fortress!"
The military attaché's father, a general of the kingdom, was at the scene. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he stood up and scolded, "Why are you so panicked?! It's just a small infiltration of some troops..."
The military attaché, however, was unusually firm in his response: "It is indeed a small force, but they are Space Marines!"
This time, there was real silence.
Space Marines? The Space Marines known as the Emperor's Angels of Death?
They remembered the intelligence.
During the turmoil launched by the Luman Kingdom against the Gu family nearly two years ago, there were indeed Space Marines among the troops that beat up the Luman Kingdom's army.
Although, many think tanks in the kingdom, based on their limited understanding of Space Marines, believed that this unexpectedly powerful force was only occasionally invited to handle the affairs of the Luman Kingdom. Given the rarity of Space Marines, it was unlikely that they would be repeatedly driven by a force.
However, adhering to the spirit of considering the worst possible scenario in all plans and making contingency plans as comprehensive as possible, they still took super-standard things like Space Marines into consideration when formulating corresponding defense plans.
The think tanks of the Kingdom Army racked their brains to calculate the combat capabilities of the Space Marines based on very limited information, and thought of many ways to deal with this kind of super soldier.
However, we haven't encountered the Emperor's angels on the front battlefield yet, and the capital, which should have been extremely safe, has suffered a blow first?
How is that possible? Even if they were Space Marines, how did they get in?
In the silence, the military officer could not help but speak again: "I saw the surveillance. When those red-armored giants killed the garrisoned knights, it was no different from the knights slaughtering unarmed civilians. The Royal Guards could not stop their advance at all! Your Majesty, the Queen, the generals, and the ministers, retreat quickly. It's still not too late to run now!"
"Shut up!" The general father of the military attaché spoke again.
He was very worried that his son would anger the Iron Curtain Queen.
Her Majesty the Queen has just declared in front of all the ministers that she will live and die with her subjects, fight the enemy to the death and never retreat. Why are you shouting at people to run away now?
You don't care about your life, but Her Majesty the Queen still has some dignity to save!
He looked up with some concern, only to see Her Majesty the Queen with a sullen face. She turned around and left without saying a word.
…
Anato put down the bolter in his hand, the muzzle of which was still smoking, and watched the last sentinel mech painted orange-red fall in front of him.
Although he had only been a Space Marine for two years, he was already accustomed to fighting.
He looked at a middle-aged woman in military uniform who was already trembling but holding a pistol and trying to remain calm, as well as the people following her. He said softly in his helmet in a voice that could not be heard, "Team A has cleared all enemies and intercepted the target, who has been confirmed to be the queen of the Kingdom of Stefano, Ispsi."
He didn't think he said anything wrong.
Although the queen was holding a gun, and the young military attachés beside her and the so-called generals and ministers behind her were also holding weapons for self-defense, in his opinion, there was indeed no danger anymore.
A new order came from the helmet's built-in communication system: "Take all targets with you and head to the rendezvous point. Try to ensure that they don't die."
"clear."
After responding, he raised his head, faced the local dignitaries in front of him, and said, "You have been captured. Next, please follow me and do not make any attempt to resist."
Behind him, the other five battle brothers slowly walked forward, pointing their guns in the direction they came from. Anatol himself walked straight towards the queen.
A young military officer bravely stood in front of him and opened his mouth to try to say something, but Anatole simply waved his hand, and the back of his iron hand hit him in the face, killing him.
Anato walked to the Queen without stopping: "Ispsi."
He said the name calmly without saying anything extra, but the muzzle of the gun already expressed his meaning.
The Iron Curtain Queen gritted her teeth, but was powerless and could only stagger in the direction of the gun.
They returned to the hall where the military council had first been held.
Six red-armored giants guarded all entrances and exits. Anyone who dared to enter or tried to slip out would be reduced to ashes by the grenade launchers.
There were more than twenty people inside, including the Iron Curtain Queen herself, and they were not even disarmed.
However, they had no intention of resisting.
Even afraid to speak.
After spending an hour and a half in this way amidst the occasional sound of gunfire, they saw two more teams of Space Marines walking in.
"All air defense systems have been shut down."
"In one hour, the 10th Brigade's elite special forces will airdrop here."
"Control the entire fortress area. We need to ensure that there are no obstacles in the city when the main army arrives in two days."
"Make sure the mission is accomplished."
(End of this chapter)
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