Chapter 972, Things About the Moon
The moon is the home planet of mankind and the only satellite of Holy Terra, and of course it also plays a very important role.
It is a natural transit port and the location of some high-tech factories. It is also the largest natural external fortress and warship port of Holy Terra.
Robert went to the moon first for a reason.
If possible, he didn't want to challenge the nerves of the people on Holy Terra too much, especially when Holy Terra was in chaos.
When his reconnaissance team approached, they were fired warning shots.
The reconnaissance ships were also tactful and did not get too close.
On the one hand, it was dangerous. If we got too close, the orbital defenses on Holy Terra would be too powerful, and we would be easily shot down. Close reconnaissance was meaningless.
On the other hand, it was also Robert's order - don't provoke the nerves of Holy Terra.
Terra was in turmoil. Even from distant observation by reconnaissance ships, one could see the constant fighting between the various factions. At this moment, it was impossible to distinguish the exact number of factions, their respective stances, who were loyalists and who were corrupted traitors. It would be easy to make mistakes if one rashly entered the chaos of Holy Terra.
On the contrary, the moon is a good target.
Attacking the moon was certainly a provocative act against Holy Terra, but there was also a war going on there. Even though the images sent back were blurry due to the distance of the reconnaissance fleet, Robert could keenly perceive and deduce that the war on the moon seemed inconsistent with that on Terra.
To be more precise, Robert believed that the waves of people fighting on the moon were not completely subordinate to those fighting on Earth. The chaotic Holy Terra currently lacked control over the lunar war situation.
The message that Robert sent out in a very targeted manner was also transmitted to the moon and received a reply.
That was the response from the Moon Guard.
They claimed a rebellion had broken out on the moon. A section of the Imperial Army's Solar Legion had launched a surprise attack. Under the guise of aiding them in suppressing the rebellion, the Imperial Marines launched artillery fire on the Solar Legion's soldiers, and the Marines also landed. Overall, their numbers were smaller than the Solar Legion's "rebels," but they were still there to provide support.
However, the Moon Guardians soon felt something was wrong again.
Why are the Marines asked to hand over some important defense positions under the pretext of helping?
The Moon Guard was a little tolerant at first, but later when he felt that something was wrong, he completely turned against it and refused.
This resulted in them facing another wave of enemies.
But fortunately, the navy did not fully participate in the battle. A large number of naval ships seemed to be in a state of confusion and hesitation, not knowing what to do. None of the three sides helped - they did not attack the Solar Legion's army, their own marines, or the Moon Guard. They were purely neutral.
This gave the Moon Guardians some relief. After all, they still had their own warships, orbital defense systems, and powerful fortresses to garrison. They could simply confront the "rebel" navy, and at least they hadn't completely lost control of the orbit.
Currently, there were four factions in orbit around the Moon. Aside from the neutral Imperial Navy fleet, which comprised half of the fleet, the Moon Guard fleet, the fleet transporting the army, and a portion of the Imperial Navy ships participating in the battle, these three factions were engaged in a fierce battle.
But in terms of naval battles and the competition for orbits, they were still very restrained.
After all, the Imperial Navy's main force didn't seem to be completely leaning towards one side. With them as ballast, the naval battle in lunar orbit was relatively peaceful.
But on the ground, there is no such ballast.
The three families are about to beat their brains out.
They are all human troops, and it is really ugly to see them fighting like this.
However, this is also Robert's opportunity.
He acted decisively and first affirmed the Moon Guard's attitude.
It wasn't that he trusted the Moon Guardian because the Moon Guardian had replied to his message, but rather that logically, the Moon Guardian was the most trustworthy.
This is a specially organized force, and their duties are clear from their name - they are the defenders of the moon.
The Moon Guards, guarding the moon, isn't that their duty?
On the contrary, whether it was the Imperial Army that entered the Moon and attacked the Moon Guard, or the Marines that attacked the Moon Guard under the guise of support but refused to cooperate and instead demanded the Moon Guard hand over important strongholds... no matter how many reasonable explanations and difficulties they had, they could not cover up one fact:
They are fighting where they shouldn't be fighting.
Even after the Moon Guard responded to the message, the Marines also responded, claiming that they came to quell the rebellion and support the Moon Guard, but they were attacked unprovoked by the Moon Guard and invited Robert's army to enter the moon and come to their position.
But Robert didn't believe them.
He directly sent out a vanguard.
Without hesitation, he directly used the most elite force in his hands - the Glory Guard from the Infinite Legion, the Ever-Victorious Army!
At least three hundred Space Marines, led by fifty Ever-Victorious Soldiers, plus some elite mortal commandos, quickly broke into the moon on ships.
The expeditionary fleet provided cover, and the Regent's order intimidated the neutral Imperial Navy, forcing them to remain neutral and not act rashly. Some participating navies and orbital defense guns seized by the Solar Legion did attempt to intercept, but the Moon Guard ships responded.
After landing, the company commander of the Ever-Victorious Army brought orders from the Regent.
He demanded that all troops on the moon cease fire, remain in place, and accept the command of the regent.
Any troops who disobey orders and continue to fight will be regarded as traitors and will suffer a devastating blow.
The Marines and Moon Guards stopped and obeyed the order.
Although they had great doubts about the sudden arrival of the Infinite Legion and Robert's resurrection, and were unwilling to easily surrender their weapons and positions, at least a ceasefire was completely in the interests of the loyalists.
However, the soldiers of the Solar Legion, who were the largest group on the planet, did not listen at all and instead launched an even more violent attack.
The Space Marines of the Infinite Legion were not polite. They first labeled the Solar Legion that invaded the moon as traitors, and then authorized some Marines and Moon Guard troops to join them in launching a fierce attack on these Astra Militarum soldiers.
During the battle, the warriors of the Infinite Legion also sent the battle situation back to the flagship where the Son of God was in real time.
Battle reports from the front lines showed that the soldiers of the Solar Legion were indeed traitors. Their red eyes, howling as they charged, and their inhuman appearances suggested that they had been corrupted by Chaos and had lost their minds.
So far, the statements from the Moon Guard and the Marines are consistent and quite credible.
The battle lasted for several days and the rebels were suppressed with great force.
While the ground battle was in full swing, Robert was not idle either.
Things have to be solved one by one. In the situation on the moon, the biggest force is actually the largest naval force that has been sitting still.
Robert believes that they are totally worth fighting for.
Although they seemed confused and did nothing to help the situation, their inaction in such a chaotic situation only further proved their loyalty.
The typical situation is that they can't see or understand anything, they don't know what is happening, they don't know who to trust, and internal opinions are completely conflicting... Many reasons combined have led to them being unable to make any decisions at the moment.
And if there is a person who can gain their trust with a strong attitude and an indisputable posture, especially if this person has supreme prestige once his identity is confirmed, what will be the result?
This chaotic, leaderless fleet could probably be used for one's own purposes immediately!
Even so, there are definitely still many problems within the fleet. Chaos corruption is everywhere, and no one knows if it exists here.
However, as long as the power does not erupt immediately, it can be utilized in such an urgent situation.
The stability of the war on the surface of the moon also boosted the credibility of Robert's words.
Especially the brave warriors of the Infinite Regiment, fighting bravely, confirmed Robert's identity to a great extent.
Who could possibly receive such all-consuming loyalty from the Infinite Legion?
Only their genetic father, the son of God - Robert.
Finally, after several rounds of negotiations, eight major generals, four lieutenant generals, and three admirals were willing to come and meet Robert as representatives of the entire fleet.
Just as Robert had expected, there were many factions within the fleet, and no single leader could completely control everyone and make a comprehensive decision. It would take so many people coming together to make it work.
But that's exactly what he wanted.
He readily agreed to the meeting, even though to show his sincerity he could only bring a small number of guards and enter a neutral landing platform on the surface of the moon, he was willing to take the risk.
The cleared landing platform area was not under the control of the expeditionary force. Instead, the naval commanders' troops were allowed to land first and control the surrounding area in order to maintain sincerity.
But Robert wasn't so reckless. A significant number of troops on the moon had been moved to a nearby location under the pretext of combat. The entire expeditionary fleet was also ready for battle.
Although he didn't think that these naval generals could cause any trouble, if something went wrong, he ensured that he had sufficient troops, from space orbit to land forces, to intervene in the incident.
Everything went smoothly at the beginning of the entire meeting.
Those naval generals really did not have many bad intentions. When they saw the Son of God's tall figure and his resolute yet gentle face, the image of the Son of God in myths and legends, in the state religion texts, and in the history of the empire immediately emerged in their minds.
When the two met, most of the naval commanders immediately knelt on one knee to show their respect.
The rest of the people never knelt down on the spot, so there was basically no doubt about it.
This identity that combined mythology, religion, and history, overlapping with the real person before their eyes, was so shocking that it instantly conquered everyone's hearts.
They all knew that the fundamental reason for the plight of their fleet as small as that of the entire Holy Terra was the lack of a backbone that could unite everyone and make everyone willing to fight for it.
Now, this natural backbone has arrived.
Robert wasn't particularly surprised by the outcome. He had already prepared his speech. He patted each general on the shoulder and waved to the officers, guards, and soldiers they brought with them. He wore a smile, his every expression carefully calculated. He understood exactly how to inspire everyone as a leader.
At this moment, the whole situation seemed so perfect.
The Imperial Navy, which was the largest force in the lunar orbit and had always been neutral, completely sided with Robert.
On the ground, the Moon Guard and Marines, seemingly loyal, followed his orders and joined his forces in attacking the Army soldiers who were clearly contaminated by some kind of Warp mind control.
Those Chaos believers and corrupted Imperial soldiers were being beaten back step by step.
If this trend continues, the moon will be reclaimed soon.
By then, he would have a stable base. Whether it was cleaning out the Chaos corruption that might exist within his own ranks, or using this base as a core to gradually plot against Holy Terra, it would be a very firm first step.
However, an accident suddenly happened at this moment.
First of all, there was a troop on the front line that urgently sent back intelligence, saying that they saw the corrupted soldiers of the Solar Legion, under the leadership of a group of Chaos Wizards, seemingly constructing some kind of sacrificial array.
There was no need for Robert's orders. The front-line troops naturally made destroying the unknown chaos array their top priority.
But just when the operation was about to succeed, a unit of Marines that attacked with them suddenly turned against them.
Among these defecting Marines, many exceptionally powerful masters suddenly emerged. Some soldiers even turned directly into demons!
No, it’s not so much that they turned into demons, it’s more accurate to say that they were demons in disguise.
They stole the sacrificial circle!
(End of this chapter)
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