Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 873: Chapter 475, let’s get past Mr. Gu first_2 Chapter 873: Chapter 475, let’s get past Mr. Gu first_2 The returning Titus, with one-third of the Green Skins’ main force, was still no small scale. However, under the sudden assault, Gu Hang let all other fleets go, but he wouldn’t let go of the Green Skin flagship that Titus himself was on.

Titus, realizing he couldn’t escape the pursuit and had no chance of winning in the star battle, wanted to land on the surface of the nearest planet and make one last stand.

But even this plan was seen through by Gu Hang.

His warship, with its Void Shield torn apart by psychic power, became the target of the Firebath Nova and several human cruisers, which fired upon it together. Titus’ current ride was no longer the Green Skin battleship it once was—that one had been blasted apart by the Fury Flame Battle Group—nor was it the Fighting Moon, which was destroyed in the Green Skin civil war. What he now rode was merely a regular Green Skin cruiser, utterly incapable of withstanding such an attack.

After his warship was destroyed, Gu Hang made sure of his death by sending people to search his ship’s shattered remnants for his body.

This was quite a stroke of luck; even with a Beastman chieftain’s strong physique, surviving the destruction of his ship was impossible. Whether there was a whole body left depended entirely on the specifics of the situation.

But Gu Hang was fortunate; the Phoenixes, combing through the many pieces of wreckage drifting in space, actually found his body.

He was critically injured by an exploding steel beam that had pierced through his chest. There were signs that he struggled to break and pull out the steel beam to survive. There was even evidence of wound healing in his pierced chest due to his strong physique.

However, because the life support system was destroyed, the extreme cold of space meant his damaged war armor could not sustain his life.

But even with the severe injuries and direct exposure to space, he managed to survive for at least thirty-nine hours. When the Phoenixes found him, he was still alive and moving.

Such a dangerous individual—after consulting Gu Hang—was executed immediately to prevent any future threats, with only the body to be brought back.

With the assistance of a Warband Apothecary, Titus’ body was made into a specimen.

Then came Gu Hang’s interstellar call with Erso.

At first, Gu Hang had considered whether to completely fall out with Erso and the Fury Flame Battle Group. He even thought about whether he could use Titus’ body to negotiate some benefits.

But Erso’s initial attitude was a bit too much.

Gu Hang was mature, but when it was time to settle a score, he wouldn’t shrink back.

Besides, would selling Titus’ body really ease the relationship between the two parties?

After careful analysis of the big picture, Gu Hang believed it was impossible.

Any easing would be only temporary. There existed fundamental, irreconcilable differences between the two sides.

Would Gu Hang, after the end of the Iron Teeth War, retreat back to the Tianma Star Sector with full honors, content with the current nine-planet structure of the Alliance, and abandon the political framework brought by the Seven Horse Treaty, abolishing it?

Clearly not.

The Alliance had already demonstrated its strength, and it would be impossible for him to quietly make a fortune going forward.

He must expand the Alliance’s base, from the Tianma Star Sector to at least the Seven Horse Territory. At the same time, he had to adopt political unions for shared defense and economic alliances as strategies to bring many star systems into the Alliance’s fold, only then would he live up to this opportunity.

To acquire so much territory, a number of conditions were required. Military and economic strength were the basics; Gu Hang must have the capacity to stabilize these planets and restore their economies.

At the same time, great prestige and political legitimacy were absolutely essential.

Relying solely on the so-called ‘interstellar political body,’ that is, the license of the Alliance, would definitely not be adequate for such a vast area. Although there was no limit to the number of Governors that could join his Alliance, in reality, if he added hundreds of worlds all at once, it would certainly cause a massive upheaval.

The impact of this would be monumental, not just regionally, but also drawing the attention of the Central Empire’s political arena.

Galaraldo couldn’t cope with that.

Gu Hang had to gain this legitimacy from other areas.

The most direct route was to seek the position of the Dragonhawk Star Domain Leader.

With the identity of the first leader of the Star Domain Government, the Alliance’s strength could be turned into legitimate political influence, securing his position more than anyone else’s; at the same time, the identity of the Star Domain Head would also shelter the Alliance from the elements, allowing the Alliance to develop with ease across the entire Star Domain.

A secondary plan, if he could not become the Star Domain Leader, was to make the Star Domain Leader one of his own. That could achieve a similar effect, though there would be some hidden dangers and problems.

Even worse, if the Star Domain Leader stood against Gu Hang, then his only option would be to resort to standard interstellar trade, military exchange, and political alliances. That wasn’t necessarily bad, who says a few planets can’t help each other out? But once the scale of operations increased without a legitimate political title, it was very easy to trip over and run into trouble.

Gu Hang did not want to end up in the third situation; he could only strive for the first two.

This brought an irreconcilable contradiction with the Fury Flame Battle Group.

The so-called ‘Iron Fury Stone’ referred to the political entity led by the Iron Armor Battle Group, along with two staunch allies, the Fury Flame Battle Group and the Bedrock Shield Warband, radiating from the Princess Star Domain to several surrounding Star Domains.

They could almost be considered a separatist force within the Empire, much more so than Gu Hang’s Alliance.

Although the three Battle Groups had made some disguises, it was clear to the discerning eye that their numbers and grade were far beyond the stipulations of the Star Warrior Codex.

Generally speaking, it was normal for a Battle Group to exceed the limits slightly, or to behave differently than the regulations. After all, they held special identities, and each had a different cultural and historical heritage; as long as they were loyal to the Empire, the Empire would typically turn a blind eye.

But when you multiply the scale by ten or twenty times, what do you still call a Battle Group? You might as well just return to the era of legions.

Moreover, it wasn’t just the Interstellar Warriors who were breaking the rules. The Imperial Tax in the Princess Star Domain was now pretty much whatever they felt like paying.

Paying a bit of Imperial Tax was giving face; when not giving face, the Void Insect Species had been invading fiercely recently, spending a lot, so come and pay me back, Empire.

Not approved? Then the Star Domains next door felt sorry for us and donated, please exempt them from the Imperial Tax, Empire.

Not possible?

I’d like to see who comes to collect it.

This was the current attitude of ‘The Husband of the Princess’, ‘The Tyrant of the Web’, ‘The Steadfast Shield of the Void’s Eye’, Iron Legion Commander Li Guoshi.

It was much more overbearing than the Alliance, which had never fallen behind on Imperial Tax to date. Every account of Imperial Tax collected recently, how much money was collected, where it was spent, what battles were won, it was all clear and transparent. Later on, after the war, Gu Hang also had no intention of refusing to pay Imperial Tax, at most…uh, just pay it flexibly.

In Gu Hang’s view—not just his, but many high-ranking officials in the Central Empire—’Iron Fury Stone’ had become a de facto separatist regime and was brazen about it.

Galaraldo had once discussed this matter with Gu Hang.

From this perspective, the Fury Flame Battle Group’s arrival in the Dragonhawk Star Domain meant they were on a mission to expand territory.

What should Gu Hang do?

Bow down and submit, from now on, be ‘Iron Fury Stone’s’ lapdog like many of the Imperial forces in the Princess Star Domain and the surrounding Star Domains?

Of course not.

Political conflict was inevitable.

Gu Hang thus abandoned any hope of appeasement.

Relying on this war achievement, the strength of the Alliance, and upper echelon relationships, Gu Hang had the chance to fight for what he wanted.

Moreover, Gu Hang planned to find shared interests for supporting the Alliance with certain people in the Central Empire’s upper echelons.

If ‘Iron Fury Stone’ wanted to take over the Dragonhawk Star Domain, they would first have to contend with me, Gu Hang.

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