Chapter 412: Golden Pass Changes
Hippogriff sector, Hippogriff II system, the main force of the Pegasus fleet is sailing here.
Ye Lisia looked at the planet outside the bridge with a hint of impatience between her brows.
It had been more than six years since she left the Pegasus Star Region to participate in the war against the Irontooth Clan. This was a much longer time than she had expected, and the years of fighting had also left some marks on her body.
Although, like many dignitaries in the empire, she had undergone a rejuvenation surgery. This surgery can greatly reduce the speed of aging, and people will only age rapidly and die at the end of their lifespan. Combined with the life extension surgery, the dignitaries of the empire can still obtain a long and high-quality life.
A combination of a rejuvenation surgery and a life extension surgery can extend a person's lifespan from a normal 70 to 80 years to about 150 years. Two times can make a person live to 200 years old. Some people are even physically able to do it three or four times. However, the later the surgery, the more difficult it is to do the two surgeries, and the lower the success rate. Currently, the highest record of a mortal is that he had six life extension surgeries and lived to 450 years old.
Compared with the true immortals and the Space Marines who have never died of aging as long as they did not die in battle, there is still a big gap, but this is also a remarkable technology.
Although it can only be applied to a very small number of people.
But even so, the surgery can only keep her body in a youthful state as much as possible, but it cannot give her unlimited energy.
Several years of war and long-term tremendous pressure have made her skin dull and unable to hide her fatigue.
Now, she just wants to return home early so that she can relax and have a good rest.
But it doesn't work.
When the fleet reached the Hippogriff sector, it began to slow down. Upon inquiry, it was said that the leader of the Hippogriff sector and many dignitaries in the sector cordially invited the Pegasus fleet, which had made outstanding contributions, to stop at the sector capital, Hippogriff II, and attend the banquet.
Ye Licia was a little unhappy.
During interstellar travel, if the fleet can really fly continuously without stopping, the speed will be faster and faster, and the time spent on high-speed flight will not be particularly long; the time spent on jumps in the star tunnel will not be particularly long. But it is the process of accelerating and decelerating the fleet that takes time.
After this stop, it would take a week or two to return to the Tianma star region.
This is what Ye Licia hates the most.
But she also knew that this was inevitable.
They fought first in the Golden Pass Star Region, and then in the Silver Pass Star Region. Behind these two star regions, the closest place that was not caught in the war was the Eagle Horse.
This could be considered the base camp for this military operation. A large amount of supplies were transferred from all over the star field through imperial taxes or other means, and were distributed from the Eagle Horse Star Region.
The local district government was given the task of distributing these supplies to the front battlefield.
Of course it is necessary to establish good relations with them.
On the one hand, they have helped a lot in the past six years of war, and even gave priority to distributing some supplies needed by the fleet. We need to express our gratitude now.
On the other hand, the war is not completely over yet. It has only completed the goals of the first phase. There will be more fighting to do, and the Pegasus fleet will definitely come at that time. It is important to continue to maintain good relations.
Given these two reasons, and the fact that they took the initiative to invite us in the name of rewarding loyal imperial warriors, it would be difficult not to come.
There is nothing I can do even if it means delaying my trip.
Although this was the decision made by Fleet Commander General Tillemans, in reality, if Yelicia were in the same position, he would have to make the same decision.
Although Ye Licia was irritable and unhappy, and couldn't wait to go home, she was still able to be patient and do what she should do.
The time was almost up. She changed her clothes, put on the uniform of a rear admiral, and wore all kinds of medals. She boarded the spaceship and headed to the starport of the planet in front of her to attend the dinner.
During the dinner, she put on a smiling mask and communicated with local star district officials in a decent, elegant but enthusiastic manner.
She enjoyed the praise from local officials, but also humbly responded that this was what she should do and that it was inseparable from the support of local officials.
No matter how much hypocrisy there was, at least it seemed that the atmosphere of the entire dinner was very harmonious, and both the guests and the hosts enjoyed themselves.
The dinner soon reached its climax.
Vice Admiral Tillemans, as the fleet commander, was invited to the front and give a speech.
The general also integrated well into the current environment. He told a few humorous jokes and the guests in the audience laughed in unison.
People listened to him talk about the fleet's exploits and the previous victory. At the same time, they also listened to him looking forward to the future, declaring that the Pegasus Fleet was not only the star sea defense force of the Pegasus Star Region, but the actions of the Pegasus Fleet would also maintain the security of the surrounding star regions, especially the Hippogriff Star Region.
Just when the atmosphere was good, a naval adjutant, regardless of the general's speech, hurriedly came to the stage and whispered something in Lieutenant General Tillemans' ear.
This is of course very rude. Even if it is something very important, can't we wait until he finishes speaking and steps down?
But on second thought, the fact that he would rather do this than waste another twenty minutes also indirectly proves how important this matter is.
Ye Lisia could see that Lieutenant General Tillemans's expression had a very dramatic change on the stage. From the high spirits just now, it turned ashen in an instant.
What exactly happened?
Ye Lixia's doubts did not last long.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her own adjutant hurrying over.
The adjutant came to her side and whispered in her ear: "General, something big has happened! A new chieftain is suspected to have appeared among the Iron-toothed Greenskins. From the depths of the occupied area, the Greenskin fleet suddenly swarmed out, and the number is much larger than we previously estimated! Shuiwu Star and Yinguan II have been lost. After being defeated, the Northern Fleet regrouped at Yinguan III and is now under siege. The Star Region Naval Command has ordered us to return immediately, go to the Jinguan Star Region to deploy defenses, and meet the Yunluo Fleet. The Yunluo Fleet has already gone to rescue the Northern Fleet before us."
Ye Lixia's face also darkened.
The coalition forces of the Dragon Eagle Star Region actually achieved two major results: First, they pacified the Golden Pass, which was a conflict zone. Second, they conquered four star systems in the Silver Pass, which was a occupied zone, namely Water Mist Star, White Mist Star, Silver Pass II, and Silver Pass III.
It took six years to achieve such results, but in the blink of an eye, two of the four planets were lost.
However, what worries people the most is not the loss of the fruits of battle, but the emergence of a "great chief" among the Iron Tooth Clan, which gives the Iron Tooth Clan a unified leader again after decades.
After experiencing many years of war with the orcs, Ye Licia fully understood that the orcs' performance in war would be completely different if they had a strong leader or not.
However, this also depends on the level of the so-called "Great Chief". The last Great Chief of Iron Tooth caused a huge waaagh, which led to the fall of three or four star regions, laying the foundation for the power of the current Iron Tooth Empire. His troops were aimed directly at the heart of the Dragon Eagle Star Region. It was not until he died unexpectedly in the war that the expansion of the Iron Tooth Clan was stopped.
The previous great chief was rather mediocre, and could only barely restrain the fragmented Irontooth Clan. His prestige was far from enough. But even so, he ended humanity's ability to retake the four occupied star zones, and caused the six star zones surrounding the occupied zones to fall into years of war.
A few years ago, the Dragonhawk Star Region was about to start a war to retake the occupied areas because the Iron Tooth Chieftain was challenged and killed in the brutal internal struggle of the greenskin orcs. However, the challenger also lacked prestige and soon died. Then the Iron Tooth Clan, which had only barely maintained its unity, fell into civil strife again.
Isn't this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
But unexpectedly, the green-skinned orcs decided on a new chieftain so quickly.
Ye Licia even suspected that the war operations in the Dragon Eagle Star Region acted as a catalyst for this.
As for the current situation, we can only hope that the new Iron-Tooth Chieftain, like his predecessor, is a reluctant leader who cannot gain true loyalty and submission from all the military leaders of the Iron-Tooth clan.
But in any case, Ye Licia and others' plan to return for rest has been ruined.
Even though the entire fleet was in a not very good condition, many ships had been damaged in previous wars and needed repairs, there was nothing they could do now. They could only turn around and head back to the front battlefield despite their injuries.
A banquet that originally had a good atmosphere ended just like that.
The Pegasus fleet hurried back in the direction they came from.
On the way, Ye Lixia took the opportunity to contact Gu Hang using the Star Language Tower on the ship. She told Gu Hang the latest situation on the front line and reminded him to pay attention to this matter.
Gu Hang asked: "Will they attack the Tianma Star Region?"
Ye Lixia smiled and said, "That probably won't happen."
Gu Hang understood what she meant. After all, there were two star regions in between. From Yinguan in the occupied area to Tianma, there was a Jinguan star region and a Yingma star region in between.
However, we can expect the best, but we should also prepare for the worst.
"I understand. I will make some preparations."
"Yes. Although the probability of attacking the Tianma star region is low, the war in the star region is tense. They may find the leaders and governors of various places to discuss what to do. There may be levies and loans. You really have to make some preparations in advance."
Gu Hang frowned instinctively.
Apportionment, borrowing... they don't sound like good things.
However, if the war really deteriorates to that extent, this seems inevitable.
What else to do? Watch the situation in the two neighboring star regions deteriorate?
Impossible.
The lips and teeth are interdependent.
There is almost no possibility of negotiation with the green-skinned orcs. If the situation really deteriorates, there is no reason to let go of the Pegasus star region and not attack.
However, compared to handing over the alliance's hard-earned wealth to the Star Region government or even to the troops, Gu Hang was still unwilling to accept it. If it really came to that, the situation was inevitable, and he would rather lead the alliance to directly participate in the war.
At least the command and autonomy of action are in our hands.
Gu Hang instinctively distrusted any other commanders from outside.
When he had nothing to do, he would read some of the empire's war examples, data, and reports. He always felt that the empire's generals and judges would spare no manpower in fighting. As long as the goal could be achieved, the death of many people seemed to be an acceptable price.
Objectively speaking, this may be true.
There are millions of people in the empire and its population is incalculable. No matter what is lacking, there is no shortage of people.
Your green-skinned orcs will be one less each time they die, but my 50 good brothers will be endless.
However, Gu Hang himself really doesn't like that.
Human resources are always the most important resource in his mind. The wealth that a living person can generate in his lifetime is far greater than sending them to the battlefield to die easily.
He certainly understood that sacrifice, even large-scale sacrifice, was often unavoidable. But that was also why such sacrifice had to be respected.
A merciful army cannot be commanded. When it is time to be cold-hearted and ignore the cost in casualties, of course we should do so; but when it is not so necessary, we will not be happy even if one more person dies.
Because of this, Gu Hang didn't like to hand over his subordinates to other imperial forces for command. They didn't have the same mentality as him and wouldn't feel sorry for his soldiers.
"I understand. Perhaps next time, we may meet on the battlefield against the Iron Tooth Clan."
Ye Lixia smiled and said seriously: "Then I really don't want this to happen. You'd better wish me to win the battle and return triumphantly..."
Gu Hang followed up the conversation and said, "Come back in triumph and marry me?"
"...Tsk." Ye Lixia turned her face away slightly, then turned back, "If that's the case, wouldn't it be the best?"
"That's true. But... you still have to be careful and take care of yourself."
"I will."
…
After talking with her fiancé, although they didn't talk about much, Ye Licia felt much better.
She felt that she had the strength again to deal with the ups and downs in the future.
But at this time, she did not realize the seriousness of the problem.
The order they received was to deploy defenses in the Jinguan star area to support the Yunluo Fleet and the Northern Fleet.
The latter were blocked at Yinguan III, while the former were trying to rescue them, which required a support force.
At the same time, it is also a precautionary measure.
If the war situation in the front changes, and the results of the battle in the Yinguan Star Region are all lost, then the defense line established by their Pegasus Fleet will pull the green-skinned orc fleet to the Jinguan Star Region. The situation between the two sides is likely to return to the situation before the war started six years ago.
This is almost the worst-case scenario.
However, when they really entered the Jinguan Star Region, they found that the situation was even worse than that.
(End of this chapter)
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