Starting from the Planetary Governor

But no matter what, speed is of the essence. The mobilized forces must quickly return to their original battlefield to fulfill the duties that remain unfinished.

In this plan, the delay in the front followed by rapid strikes at the back are both anticipated to involve tough battles.

How many lives will be sacrificed, how much will be paid, and how many worlds occupied by the enemy during the delay will suffer worsening insect swarm disasters due to the lack of suppression?

And now, he's told that none of this needs to be worried about, that the battle hasn't even started on the other side, and they've already surrendered?

All I need to do is go there, and I can occupy it?

The Spear of the Dragon King won't resist?

That Alliance agent named Amanda... is that capable?

She alone can stand against a thousand troops, is that it?

If that's really the case, then of course, it's a cause for celebration.

But as the supreme commander of the Thistle Muster Star Field, entrusted personally by Governor Gu, Matins dared not show the slightest carelessness.

What if Amanda had been deceived?

What if Amanda had been turned against them?

What if the Spear of the Dragon King went back on their word?

...

There were countless potential scenarios.

Matins couldn't risk betting everything on a single move.

But he also wouldn't let excessive caution cause him to miss an opportunity.

He developed a meticulous 'occupation plan.'

First, the main mobile forces were assembled. Five hundred Interstellar Warriors, as well as the flagships of the Phoenix and Blood Shark battle groups, were present. They would march toward the target star system, but not at full speed. Along the way, they would inspect the status of each star system, leaving observation posts and patrolling fleets to ensure safety along the route and avoid enemy ambushes.

The entire main fleet would concentrate its actions to prevent being picked off one by one.

Before entering the target star system, Matins stationed the Blood Sharks in the rear. This group of killing machines wasn't particularly good at communication or diplomacy, and such political and diplomatic phases had little to do with the Blood Sharks. The two hundred Blood Sharks, along with their flagship 'Ghost Evil Shark' under Commander Youwin's leadership, would stay one star system away.

If nothing happened, they could continue their assignments; if something did, they could leverage the Blood Shark Fleet's speed advantage to quickly break into the battlefield and support Matins.

As for Matins himself, he would approach the Spear of the Dragon King as the theater commander and Battle Group Leader, acting as Gu Hang's representative. He would carry out the occupation of the target star system and oversee the disarmament of the Spear of the Dragon King. Following that, everything would wait for further orders from Governor Gu.

Throughout the occupation and takeover of this planet, Matins remained extremely cautious.

The 'Burn Feather' carefully approached the planetary perimeter. Observations showed that the Spear of the Dragon King's Battle Group Fleet hadn't moved a single ship. Their flagship, a combat barge, and all their other vessels, were docked at the Starport.

An Alliance destroyer advanced cautiously and approached the Starport.

No attacks were made.

Fifty Phoenix warriors and over a thousand Navy Marine Corps personnel boarded assault ships and entered the Starport.

They encountered no resistance.

They encountered the Spear of the Dragon King's Interstellar Warriors, who neither attacked them nor even raised their weapons.

The Phoenix warriors, encountering such a scenario for the first time, also maintained a very polite demeanor—though they were entirely surrounded by the numerically superior Dragon Spear Warriors. Just because the Dragon Spears didn't attack didn't mean they couldn't win the fight.

It was at this moment that Amanda came forward. Along with several Dragon Spear company captains, she mediated and convinced the Dragon Spear warriors to lay down their arms, remain peacefully in designated areas, and refrain from taking any actions. Meanwhile, the Phoenix warriors and Marine Corps secured control over the Starport's firepower systems and docked ships.

Simultaneously, they immediately requested reinforcements from Matins.

Controlling those strategic points with just this limited number of troops was far from sufficient.

Matins responded decisively.

At this stage, the chances of a trap were minuscule. Still exercising some caution, he deployed another hundred Interstellar Warriors. However, he committed a much larger portion of elite Marine Corps and army forces.

Not only did he dispatch 10,000 elite Marine Corps personnel, but he also sent over 200,000 army troops in the first wave aboard assault ships into the Starport. Additional second and third waves would follow...

The more forces committed to controlling the key positions of the Starport and several starships, the better.

It also diminished the likelihood of unforeseen reversals.

By the end, the Starport was nearly fully secured. A headcount revealed that there were nine hundred Spear of the Dragon King warriors inside the Starport, all of whom had been completely disarmed.

To show respect, they were not asked to remove their power armor.

Following a thorough safety inspection, no self-destructive explosives or related threats were found within the Starport, eliminating those risks entirely.

Only then did Matins personally lead the remaining Interstellar Warriors to enter the facility. His first priority was to hold a very cordial meeting with the company captains of the Spear of the Dragon King. But before that, he met with Amanda.

Amanda guided him to meet the captains, briefing him quickly on some key issues along the way.

By the time they met, Matins already had an idea of what to say.

He refrained entirely from mentioning words like surrender or betrayal, terms that might provoke the Spear of the Dragon King. Instead, he emphasized their loyalty to the Empire, their service to the Emperor, and how their actions indirectly saved countless lives. The entire Thistle Muster Star Field, with its potentially hundreds of billions of inhabitants, stood to benefit indirectly from their decision.

These words were much more palatable to the Spear of the Dragon King warriors.

No matter how justified their reasons might have been, the essence of their actions—surrendering without a fight—was unmistakable. For Interstellar Warriors, who placed supreme value on honor, this was a shameful act. Only a few dishonorable groups, like the Old New World Torchbearers, would stoop so low.

Reiterating their loyalty to the Empire and humanity as a greater honor effectively mitigated their resentment.

After appeasing the Dragon Spear warriors, Matins learned that the Spear of the Dragon King's leader, Tai Shichen, was still on the planet's surface, accompanied by two hundred Dragon Spear warriors.

The entire force of the Spear of the Dragon King amounted to just 1,100 individuals.

At their peak before the war, their total strength had been 1,400. They believed their actions didn't violate the sacred tenets of the Empire, as 400 of them were reserve recruits meant to replenish the battle group's losses, a routine practice.

But after years of continuous warfare, they had lost 300 warriors and were now down to 1,100.

When Matins descended to the planet's surface to locate Tai Shichen, they were in the middle of an operation.

It was a remarkably well-executed assault against a Cult infestation.

The planet's infestation by insect corruption wasn't particularly severe. Large-scale insect swarms hadn't appeared yet, but parasitic infections were a major problem in densely populated urban centers.

Tai Shichen's team had launched a sudden raid on the local powers colluding with the Cult, eliminating the infected ruler and swiftly destroying the Cult's headquarters, rescuing a large number of civilians.

Matins, after some thought, chose to lead his team to join the battle.

Although the Dragon Spears didn't need assistance, Matins saw this as an opportunity to foster closer relations between the two sides.

Following Amanda's guidance, Matins treated the Spear of the Dragon King more as allied forces rather than surrendered enemies.

In truth, if this were just about surrender, Matins would only solve a potential external threat to the Thistle Muster Star Field.

Furthermore, these 1,100 prisoners—fully equipped Interstellar Warriors—were a tremendous destabilizing factor. Even if they were disarmed and stripped of their power armor, a significant force would be needed to monitor them.

But if they could be smoothly integrated as allies, even if they refused to fight against the Ironclads as turncoats or betrayers, they could still be immensely useful in addressing the insect swarm crises across the Thistle Muster Star Field. This would directly free up manpower from the Phoenix and Blood Shark battle groups.

Matins was working toward this goal.

And Tai Shichen's actions on the planet—attacking the parasitic menace—was, in a sense, making a statement of allegiance.

...

When Gu Hang, far away in another Star Domain, received the news, he couldn't hide his delight.

Another battle group acquired, and for free!