Chapter 946, The Emperor need not get up.
Chapter 946, The Emperor need not get up.
Over the long course of history, the Dark Eldar have established countless Veil Gates throughout the universe.
They are indispensable everywhere.
Even near Holy Terra.
Perhaps they were hesitant to send raiding parties to operate directly near Holy Terra. Even when the human empire was in decline, Holy Terra, as the core of the empire, still possessed considerable power.
Every bit of power of the Dark Eldar is precious and cannot be wasted casually; the risk-reward ratio must be carefully considered.
Raiding near Holy Terra is not only risky because the prey is highly defensive and difficult to catch, but also because once you show yourself, you are likely to be met with a strong attack from the human empire, making it a very unprofitable endeavor.
However, this place is also extremely important. Holy Terra is the core area of the Human Empire, and there is a wealth of information that can be obtained here. If they hear news of a transport convoy operating outside the core area of the Human Empire, they can send the news back and then organize a raiding party to plunder the large cargo in a relatively safe place.
They have always had people lurking within Holy Terra, conducting their activities quietly, discreetly, and silently.
To support their activities in the Holy Terra, a small veiled spirit gate was naturally constructed in the solar system.
That would be too arrogant not on the planet Holy Terra. But in the solar system, it's acceptable.
At the edge of the galaxy, on the asteroid belt, is where the Dark Eldar's Veil of Spirits was built.
It's not big, but it's very secluded.
Although after arriving in the solar system, it will still take some time and regular travel to reach Holy Terra, at least that means we've already arrived.
The problem is that this veiled portal is entirely under the control of the Dark Eldar; their coordinates and the key to open it are unknown. It's currently impossible to open.
Unless, of course, humans conquer the port of Comoros that holds the coordinates, or they manage to pry open the mouth of a Dark Eldar prisoner who knows the coordinates and obtain the specific coordinates and key.
Even so, it's still very difficult.
Because the Dark Eldar could, upon receiving the news, have their units stationed at the Veil Spiritgate in the Solar System destroy the Veil Spiritgate, and then everything would be over.
It was precisely because of this that Robert found the peace talks with the Dark Eldar truly appealing.
If they agree, they can almost immediately reach the solar system and complete the most important step of the expedition that Robert expects: leading a large army to Holy Terra to see if the capital of this human empire is still loyal enough.
But at this point in the conversation, Gu Hang disregarded any notion of Robert being the son of God and seriously criticized Robert's opportunistic and wishful thinking.
Robert was both amused and exasperated by Gu Hang's criticism.
He was certainly not the irrational person Gu Hang described. Since he had considered peace talks, he naturally devised a series of peace terms and corresponding action plans to ensure that the Dark Spirit Clan would fulfill their obligations.
He knew, of course, that, just as Gu Hang had said, this was a race utterly devoid of integrity—in fact, the very idea of cross-race integrity was absurd.
But overall, it is a fact that the Dark Eldar have a poor reputation. They are cruel and cunning by nature, and their internal intrigues and struggles are endless, let alone their cooperation with the outside world.
Robert wouldn't easily trust the other party, in fact, he wouldn't believe a single word they said. He would only take action if he had a binding force that guaranteed the other party's fulfillment of the agreement.
In this process, the power of the alliance is indispensable.
He would only dare to send his troops into the Veil Spirit Gate that the Dark Eldar had opened for them if there was an alliance watching over Comoros.
Otherwise, even if there's only a one percent chance that the other party is trying to trick him, it will become one hundred percent in the case of the Dark Elf Clan.
In other words, if Gu Hang does not agree to peace talks, he cannot negotiate on his own without the support of the alliance.
He understood that Gu Hang was trying to fob him off with excuses like "opportunism," "wishful thinking," and "the Dark Eldar's promises are unreliable."
Essentially, they still wanted to persist in their attack on Comoros and didn't want to let the Terran expeditionary force escape.
“Let’s talk about this openly, Mr. Gu Hang. There’s no need for these unnecessary statements that we all know are pointless. I believe you are a smart man,” Robert said.
Gu Hang found it somewhat laughable.
“I am now having an open and honest conversation, Your Highness Robert.”
“You might think I’m talking to you about this to stop you. But my general has told you this before, and I’ve told you this before, and I’ll emphasize it again: conquering Comoros is my goal, but the Alliance doesn’t need your expeditionary force in the process. We are fully capable of completing this task independently.”
“I completely understand why you misunderstood me. You think you will be fully prepared, and that as long as I agree, the alliance's forces will cooperate, and no matter what underhanded schemes the Dark Eldar may have, they will not be able to stop you from completing your plan.”
"But in my opinion, you are too arrogant, Prince Robert. You trust your mind, the wisdom and reason bestowed upon you by the Emperor, and you believe that your perfect plan, if executed step by step, will be flawless. Even if there are flaws, you are confident that you have sufficient contingency plans to make up for them... But what are you facing? Do not underestimate the Dark Eldar. They are now weak, corrupt, and few in number, but I must solemnly tell you that they were once a race that dominated the universe, and no one knows what kind of power is still hidden beneath their foundation. Your perfect plan is very likely to fail and could lead the expeditionary force into the abyss."
Robert was still smiling when he heard this.
He even felt that Gu Hang wasn't actually that smart.
He had assumed Gu Hang was a highly intelligent 'kind,' someone exceptionally clever, someone who could guess his perfect plan even without him saying it. And knowing his plan would ensure everything went smoothly.
pity……
But who can blame Gu Hang for having such a powerful alliance?
He decided that he still needed to spend some time explaining things to Gu Hang properly, and patiently try to persuade the ruler of the alliance.
However, he still felt somewhat disappointed.
If Gu Hang was the kind of person with 'absolute wisdom' he had previously imagined, he had even considered handing the empire over to him. He had served as the 'regent' of the empire for a period of time, overseeing all military and political affairs. He knew all too well how arduous that was. He was willing to relinquish that responsibility, or rather, share it with Gu Hang.
But it seems that Gu Hang is not that kind of 'absolutely wise man'.
It was a pity, but at least Gu Hang should be able to serve as his deputy and help him share some of the pressure. However, before he could even open his mouth to explain his perfect plan, Gu Hang's next sentence completely wiped the smile off his face.
"...I believe that ten thousand years ago, when you led the reinforcements from the Infinite Starfield as the most important and largest force to support Holy Terra in the Imperial Civil War, you must have made a 'perfect plan'. But you and your troops only arrived after the war was over, so that certainly wasn't part of your perfect plan, was it?"
Beneath Robert's frozen expression, a surge of anger was brewing.
how dare you?
That was one of the most painful wounds of his life, and he spent countless nights blaming himself. Exceptionally intelligent, he knew, of course, that many people thought the same thing, but no one ever dared to reveal it to his face.
Even though he was a son of God known for his rationality, he was not immune to anger.
Ultimately, doesn't Robert's personality also have an impulsive and angry side?
No, not only did he have it, but it was very strong, even as much as some of his brothers who were known for their recklessness.
Seeing that Robert had stopped smiling, Gu Hang laughed instead: "I believe you have reflected on that history countless times over countless nights. So, don't repeat the same mistakes, okay?"
After Gu Hang said that, Robert fell into a long silence.
Gu Hang waited a while, then began to speak to himself:
"Of course, I am not entirely against peace talks. But peace talks are just a means. We want to use war to promote talks. We want to gain complete dominance, which means that we will not accept any conditions proposed by the Dark Eldar. We will only accept one thing: they must completely, utterly, and unconditionally accept all our conditions."
"Time is on our side. The autonomous plan can be implemented starting today. We can dismantle a small version of the current Veil Spirit Gate, salvage it for equipment and materials, and then hand it over to the Vanguard Fleet to begin our journey to Holy Terra."
"We can continue searching for new equipment and materials for the manufacture of the Veil Spirit Gate in the Comoros, and we will also try to conquer other ports."
"In a few years, once our vanguard fleet reaches one or two star systems near Holy Terra, we can set up small spiritual gates. By then, we should have acquired more spiritual gate equipment and more ports. We can then transport the equipment from the small spiritual gates to build larger ones, which the expeditionary force can still pass through."
"The timeline won't be as bad as the worst-case scenario we initially thought."
"Moreover, we can also lay this out in the open when negotiating with the Dark Eldar. With every second that passes, the bargaining chips they hold will become weaker and weaker."
"Multiple approaches, parallel advancements. Your Highness Robert, you can revise your somewhat stingy plan. My alliance has sufficient resources to execute many ambitious goals simultaneously. You don't always need to consider a perfect plan that minimizes costs and maximizes the probability of success. No, we can do everything, and we can afford to lose."
Hearing this, Robert couldn't help but ask, "What if we lose the Holy Terra?"
“We can afford to lose,” Gu Hang said. “What does the Alliance’s Dark Side Expedition have to do with Holy Terra? We’ve already taken over a quarter of the Empire, and it’s clear that given time, we can take over the entire Dark Side of the Empire and then reclaim the Holy Frontier of the Empire on the other side.”
At this point, Gu Hang's voice turned somewhat cold: "To put it bluntly, even if Holy Terra is completely destroyed, so what? We can just build another world, regenerate a trillion people, create another Royal Guard, create multiple garrisoned warbands, and dig out the secrets and treasures buried under Holy Terra, make a copy, and that's all."
"Perhaps, such a new Terra is more worthwhile than saving the old Terra."
Robert pressed on, asking, "And what about the Emperor? The Emperor's body still sits on the golden throne deep within the palace!"
Gu Hang's smile became somewhat enigmatic, seemingly carrying a hint of mockery. Robert wasn't sure if he was seeing things.
He said, "The Emperor probably doesn't care anymore."
What use is a physical body to an emperor who has ascended to heaven? You shouldn't get up anymore.
……
Was Robert eventually persuaded?
not at all.
But he had no choice.
The alliance is the most powerful party. All his plans require the full cooperation of the alliance to succeed.
If Gu Hang doesn't agree, no matter how perfect his plan is, it will be in vain.
He had no choice but to carry out Gu Hang's plan.
He even had to patch up the crude plan that Gu Hang's so-called Allied Military General Staff had put forward.
In this regard, Gu Hang had complete faith in his wisdom.
As long as the general direction is correct, Robert can change the specific implementation plan however he wants.
They are 'absolutely wise,' they can't be wrong, and they won't do anything stupid out of spite.
Well, probably not.
Even if I do, it's okay.
As Gu Hang said, the current alliance can afford to lose, and can afford to lose many times.
After the newly built large-scale curtained spirit gate was put into operation, the throughput capacity of Queen Rose Port doubled.
Two months later, one-third of the main force of the Central Front Army of the Alliance had already entered the Comoros.
There were three thousand warships, and one of them was the Glory Queen of the Alliance.
Meanwhile, the Alliance alone had over thirty Space Marine chapters engaged in the battle. Adding to this the descendants of Robert's Infinite Legion expedition, a total of over 50,000 Space Marines were fighting in the Comoros.
With Robert's consent, and the consent of the various Infinite Sub-groups from the Infinite Starfield, the Alliance's New Blood Cultivation Center will also recruit the original Forged recruits to supplement the sub-groups of those Infinite Warriors.
Although there are some issues with veterans' acceptance, during wartime, those concerns are disregarded.
I'll learn to adapt slowly on the battlefield.
With their forces replenished, humanity once again launched a massive offensive in the Comoros!
(End of this chapter)
