Chapter 981: Gallardo hates liars the most
In the orbit of Holy Terra, on the orbital fortress of the 'Holy Grail of Base', another kind of madness is spreading.
Prime Minister Gallardo gazed at the tactical star map. The dots of light were ships, divided into two groups. The one that remained stationary was the Solar Fleet stationed in orbit around Holy Terra. On the other side, steadily approaching, was Robert's expeditionary fleet.
The content revealed on the tactical star map didn't look particularly exciting. Both sides were already so close that there were no beams from light spears, missiles, or macro cannons, but rather some of them were close together.
He knew why.
Robert used the relationship with the group of naval generals he conquered in the previous lunar battle to contact many generals of the Solar Fleet.
As the Minister of Military Affairs, Gallardo naturally had close ties with the military, especially the Solar Fleet, which he had focused on developing. Based on the relationships he had established within the Solar Fleet, he had access to a wealth of information regarding the Solar Fleet's current interactions with the Expeditionary Force.
In fact, many of the contacts between the two sides were carried out by Gallardo through the generals and commanders in the navy who obeyed his orders.
And the goal is today.
"How can it be so easy to let you in?"
He sneered.
There were several people sitting in front of his desk.
One of them asked, "Prophet, should we launch the attack now?"
"Yes, it's time."
One person nodded slightly and walked out.
Gallardo returned his gaze to the tactical star map.
Change came quickly.
Suddenly, a group of ships suddenly appeared and, under the pretext of "friendly communication", launched an attack on the expeditionary fleet without any warning.
And there are quite a few of them.
This sudden act of betrayal must have been due to the Terra Expeditionary Force's fleet being unprepared.
Even though they were well-trained and responded quickly, counterattacked and escaped, they still suffered considerable losses suddenly.
However, the direct losses suffered by the expeditionary force were only one aspect, but the greater impact was that the expeditionary force was unable to identify how many of the enemies in front of them were enemies.
Part of it? Or all of it?
But at this moment, when the counterattack was launched, it was particularly difficult to distinguish. Robert's expeditionary force could not be completely sure who was the enemy and who was the friend.
Besides those who were suddenly backstabbed, there were also some ships in the Solar Fleet that had no idea what was happening. They received a variety of completely different and contradictory orders.
Orders have been issued stating that these so-called expeditionary ships are traitors, and Robert's identity as the Son of God is a forgery. This was a carefully planned ambush, previously kept secret, but now it has been a resounding success. We must seize the opportunity, pursue the victory, and eliminate as many of the enemy's remaining forces as possible!
The credibility of this order is quite high. It is signed by the Supreme Marshal of the Imperial Navy - Li Li, as well as the signatures of two deputy commanders of the Solar Fleet and several squadron commanders.
As a result, many ships obeyed the order without knowing why and opened fire on the expeditionary fleet.
Can you really blame them?
It’s hard to say.
They also tried to verify the orders from their superiors, but either they received no response or the battle situation in space changed rapidly. They had no time to hesitate and had to make a decision on their own - it was either to fight or not to fight, there was no third option.
Some of them received a response that explicitly told them to open fire.
Even if you are completely confused, you can only obey the order with doubts.
The key to enabling them to obey orders is not actually the signature of the Supreme Marshal Li Li.
Although he was theoretically the supreme commander of the entire imperial navy, the title was too big.
Is my superior my superior?
It’s hard to say.
Moreover, is it normal for a high-ranking figure like Li Li to directly give combat orders to the captains of the frontline ships?
What's more, if we really want to talk about the commander-in-chief's order, why is the signature of Song Min, the commander-in-chief of the Sun Fleet, not there?
However, all the signatures on the order were not as strong as the order of the squadron commander.
This is the direct superior of many captains.
There were ships that obeyed orders and opened fire, and there were ships that questioned orders.
But among them, there were very few who had enough courage to immediately contact the expeditionary force, turn against their sides on the spot, and open fire on their comrades in the same fleet.
The best they could do was to question both sides and express their attitudes at the same time, then be fully alert, drive the void shield with all their strength, stay away from the battlefield, and help no one.
But some ships pretended to be neutral parties, and then suddenly turned against the expeditionary force and poured fire on its ships.
Some ships, without receiving any orders or receiving orders from their superiors to remain in place, took the initiative to close their communication channels and launched a fierce attack on the expeditionary force without hesitation.
The situation was extremely chaotic for a while.
The expeditionary fleet had no way of distinguishing who was the enemy, who was neutral, and who was friendly.
In some less extreme situations, they would just treat all the ships in front of them as enemies.
Even if there are accidental injuries, sacrifice is inevitable if it is for the ultimate victory.
However, even this is not possible.
Those traitors chose this critical moment and this way to make such a decisive betrayal. Wasn't their purpose to completely ruin the negotiations between the expeditionary force and the Solar Fleet?
At this moment, if we mindlessly treat all the ships of the Solar Fleet as enemies and attack them indiscriminately, we will probably fall into the situation that the enemy wants most.
As a result, the Terra Expeditionary Force ships had no choice but to protect themselves, fully energize all their defense equipment and power engines, and evacuate at full speed.
Disengage first, then talk about the rest.
…
The chaos was only temporary, and Gallardo knew it himself.
Even if the peace talks between the expeditionary force and the Solar Fleet were disrupted on the spot, as long as the expeditionary force did not fall into the worst situation where all ships were regarded as enemies, the misunderstanding could be resolved later.
What a pity, it was because Robert came too early and too fast.
If he were given more time, perhaps he would be able to take control of the entire Solar Fleet.
In that case, there would be no need to do so many things. In the lunar war, we could use our superior naval forces to set up bigger traps and completely bury Robert on the moon.
At present, Gallardo's corrupted ships account for only a little over 20% of the Solar Fleet.
In the previous chaos, a large number of ships were actually at a loss or even deceived due to miscommunicated orders.
Once they have sorted things out, it will be difficult to do it again.
Even the 20% of the Sun Fleet's ships under his control would be gradually identified in the following time due to the previous incident. And after being exposed, with the support of Robert's powerful external fleet, they might be wiped out in a short time.
But, it doesn't matter anymore.
The purpose of doing this is just to delay time.
With the Solar Fleet destined to be taken over by Robert and the Imperial Guard clearly on the opposite side, it was inevitable that Robert would successfully lead his expeditionary force to take over Holy Terra.
What’s the point of other people making a lot of noise?
But this is something Gallardo absolutely does not want to see.
Robert is nothing more than a running dog of Gu Hang.
That liar is so good at deceiving people. Gallardo is absolutely unwilling to let him control Holy Terra so easily!
When talking about this matter, we have to go back a hundred years.
That was the first time he met Gu Hang.
Their first meeting was definitely not a pleasant one. He was a war apostle who was collecting bribes for the Sun Lord's expedition; Gu Hang was a planetary governor who had not yet fully controlled his planet. He wanted to get some money from Gu Hang as additional tax.
It was really a small amount of money, but it was because of this small amount of money that Gu Hang became so malicious towards him.
During the Chaos attack on the Hive World of Korogar, he fell into the Warp and nearly died there.
He was saved by Gu Hang, and he was full of gratitude to Gu Hang. He had clearly oppressed Gu Hang at the beginning, but Gu Hang actually saved him in the end!
He wasn't the type to repay a favor—he knew himself. But for Gu Hang, he made an exception.
After arriving at Holy Terra, he rose through the ranks, yet he never forgot to bring his younger brother, who lived far away in the eastern border of the empire, to his aid, securing countless benefits for him...
However, when he learned that the danger of him falling into the subspace was inseparable from Gu Hang's hidden hand, he felt sick from the bottom of his heart when he thought of the help he had provided to Gu Hang in the past!
That liar tricked him into the subspace and pretended to rescue him, but in fact, he implanted a psychic seed in his heart while he was unconscious, controlling and transforming his thoughts, turning him into the liar's slave!
How despicable!
Gallardo suddenly remembered all this after waking up from a nap in the tenth year after the outbreak of the Cataclysm.
Is this my own awakening?
He guessed it wasn't.
Objectively speaking, Gu Hang was a master of psychic powers, while his own accomplishments in this area were essentially nonexistent. Without external help, it would have been nearly impossible for him to recall the truth on his own.
There must be something, an external force, that influenced him.
But he doesn't care.
He was certain that what he recalled was indeed the truth, and not another implanted and fabricated memory.
Because... he knew himself, he was definitely not the type to repay a favor. Even if it was true that Gu Hang saved him, given his personality, he would most likely be ungrateful and would never spare any effort to help Gu Hang in the future.
He hated this deception and the past hundred years. His self-proclaimed glory was actually just at the mercy of the liar Gu Hang!
He was absolutely unwilling to accept such a reality, and his highest goal was revenge.
He would give a lot for revenge.
What's more, the entire universe is in chaos right now! This is a cosmic upheaval that rarely happens in a thousand years!
In this situation, what he needs to do most is to ride the wind, turn the tide, and become a hero!
And this goal does not conflict with his desire for revenge at all.
He looked in the mirror, at his own face, and again and again called out the name of the great being who had awakened him and freed him from the deception.
And suddenly, he saw that in the mirror, nine eyes opened one after another on his forehead, face, neck, chest...
He heard a holy voice, which contained supreme truth and endless knowledge.
Since that day, Gallardo, who had become more "intelligent", began to make countless plans of his own.
For example, those related to Prime Minister Sir David.
He was almost the first person on Holy Terra to know that Qibodru had been corrupted by Nurgle.
But he certainly wouldn't expose the corrupt prime minister who was pursuing immortality so easily.
On the contrary, he secretly provided a lot of help.
Without Gallardo's help, it would have been difficult for the Prime Minister to hide well. He hid for more than ten years before he was finally exposed, and the scene of him being forced out of the palace may have happened even earlier.
Gallardo knew that under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for him to move to a higher position and gain more power.
Although his previous position was not low, a lot of his authority came from the liar as foreign aid.
Now that he can no longer borrow this support, his situation is precarious.
He had to make Holy Terra even more chaotic.
That corrupt prime minister is the biggest move and handiwork among them.
At the same time, he also knew that on Holy Terra, the Pleasure Cult of Slaanesh was very active.
Hedonism has always been something that the powerful and wealthy on Holy Terra are unwilling to give up.
He helped a little, allowing the Cult of Slaanesh to develop better and drawing a lot of attention from the Inquisition.
He then led a group of reckless Khorne believers to Holy Terra.
Although those guys don't have much brains, some of their violent methods - such as the Khorne Mind Plague - are very effective.
The large-scale spread of the Khorne mental plague in the Solar Legion was due to the help of him, the Prime Minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs. Otherwise, how could it have spread so quickly?
He also contributed to the previous lunar battle.
He was the one who sent the Solar Rebels, and it was his idea to steal Khorne's sacrificial ritual. He hoped that Magnus's arrival would stop Robert.
However, it did not succeed.
This made him unhappy. He had done a good job, but Magnus was a complete loser.
And now, he only has one last trick left to turn the tables.
Since Robert's landing on the ground is inevitable, let him take over the worthless Holy Terra that has been completely destroyed by a huge conspiracy!
(End of this chapter)
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