Chapter 972, Matters of the Moon

Chapter 972, Matters of the Moon

The Moon is humanity's home planet and the only satellite of Holy Terra, so it naturally plays a significant role.

It is a natural transit port, home to some high-tech factories, and also the largest natural outer fortress of Holy Terra, a naval port.

Robert's decision to go to the moon first was deliberate.

If possible, he didn't want to push the people of Holy Terra too far, especially now that Holy Terra was in such chaos.

His reconnaissance troops were met with warning shots as they approached.

The reconnaissance ships also wisely kept their distance.

On one hand, it's dangerous; getting too close would be risky, given the formidable orbital defenses on Holy Terra. Close reconnaissance would be largely pointless.

On the other hand, it was also Robert's order—not to provoke the nerves of the Holy Terra.

Terra is in chaos. Even from a distance, reconnaissance ships can see that various factions are constantly at war. At this moment, it is impossible to distinguish how many sides are fighting, what their respective attitudes are, who are the loyalists and who are corrupt traitors. Rashly getting involved in the chaos of Holy Terra could easily lead to mistakes.

On the contrary, the moon is a good target.

Attacking the moon would certainly be a very provocative act against Holy Terra, but there is also a war going on on the moon. Even though the images transmitted back by the reconnaissance fleet were very blurry due to the great distance, Robert was able to keenly perceive and deduce that the war on the moon seemed to be quite different from the war on Terra.

To be precise, Robert believed that the various groups fighting and clashing on the moon were not entirely subordinate to those fighting on Earth. The chaotic Holy Terra currently lacked sufficient control over the lunar conflict.

Robert's targeted message reached the moon and received a reply.

That was a response from the 'Moon Guard Legion'.

They claimed that a rebellion had broken out on the moon. A portion of the Imperial Army's Solar Legion soldiers had ambushed them. The Imperial Marines, under the pretext of helping them quell the rebellion, had some ships bombard the Solar Legion soldiers, and the Marines also landed. Their overall numbers were smaller than the Solar Legion's 'rebels,' but they were still reinforcements.

However, the moon guardians soon sensed something was wrong.

Why are Marines, under the guise of helping out, being asked to hand over some important defense positions?
The moon guardian was somewhat tolerant at first, but later, when he really felt something was wrong, he completely turned his back and refused.

This resulted in them having another wave of enemies.

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 fight the Sun Legion's army, their own marines, or the Moon Guardians; they remained purely neutral.

This brought some relief to the Moon Guardians—at least they still had their own warships, orbital defense systems, and powerful fortresses to garrison. They could simply confront the 'rebel' navy; at least they hadn't completely lost control of orbit.

Currently, there are four factions in lunar orbit. Apart from the Imperial Navy, which comprises half of the fleet and remains neutral, there is the Moon Guard fleet, the fleet transporting the army, and a portion of the Imperial Navy ships participating in the war. These three factions are engaged in a chaotic battle.

However, in terms of naval warfare, the struggle for control of the orbital planes was relatively restrained.

After all, the main force of the Imperial Navy does not yet appear to be completely biased towards one side. With them as a ballast, the naval battles in lunar orbit can still be considered peaceful.

But on land, there's no such ballast.

The three families almost beat the dog's brain out.

It's really ugly that all of them are human troops fighting like this.

However, this is also Robert's opportunity.

He made a quick decision, first affirming the Moon Guardian's attitude.

It's not that he trusts the Moon Guardian so much just because it replied to the message. Rather, it's because logically speaking, the Moon Guardian is the most trustworthy.

This specially organized unit, as its name suggests, is responsible for guarding the moon.

The Moon Guards, protecting the Moon, isn't that their duty?
Conversely, whether it was the Imperial Army that entered the moon and attacked the Moon Guardians, or the Marine Corps that, under the guise of support, refused to cooperate and instead demanded the Moon Guardians hand over important strongholds, and then launched an attack on the Moon Guardians... no matter how many reasonable explanations or difficulties they had, they could not conceal one fact:
They are fighting where they shouldn't be fighting.

Even after the Moon Guardians replied, the Marines followed suit, claiming they had come to quell the rebellion and support the Moon Guardians, but were met with an unprovoked attack from the Moon Guardians, who invited Robert's troops to enter the moon and come to their positions.

However, Robert didn't believe them.

He directly dispatched an advance force.

Without hesitation, he directly used his most elite force—the Honor Guard, the Ever-Victorious Army, from the Infinite Warband!

At least three hundred Space Marines, led by fifty victorious soldiers and some elite mortal assault troops, swiftly stormed into the moon aboard their ships.

The expeditionary fleet provided cover, and the Regent's orders deterred the neutral Imperial Navy, keeping them neutral and preventing them from making any rash moves. Some of the participating naval forces, along with the orbital defense cannons seized by the Sun Legion, attempted to intercept, but were met by the ships of the Moon Guard.

Upon landing, the company commander of the Ever Victorious Army brought with him the Regent's orders.

He demanded that all troops on the moon cease hostilities, remain stationed in their current locations, and submit to the Regent's command.

Any unit that disobeys orders and insists on fighting will be considered a traitor and will suffer a devastating blow.

The Marines and Moon Guards stopped and obediently accepted the order.

Although they had great doubts about the sudden arrival of the Infinite Chapter and Robert's resurrection, and were unwilling to easily surrender their weapons and positions, the ceasefire was entirely in the interests of the loyalists.

However, the soldiers of the Solar Legion, which constituted the largest force on the planet, paid no heed and instead launched an even more ferocious attack. The Space Marines of the Infinite Chapter showed no mercy. They first labeled these Solar Legion soldiers who had invaded the moon as traitors, and then authorized some Marines and Moon Guard units to join them in a fierce assault on these Astronaut soldiers.

During the battle, the warriors of the Infinite Chapter also sent real-time updates on the battle situation back to the flagship where the Son of God was located.

Battle reports from the front lines indicate that the soldiers of the Sun Legion were indeed traitors—their red eyes, howling charges, and inhuman appearance suggest that they had been corrupted by Chaos and had lost their minds.

So far, the accounts from the Moon Guardians and the Marine Corps are consistent and relatively credible.

The battle lasted for several days, and the rebels were strongly suppressed.

While the ground battle raged on, Robert was not idle either.

Things need to be resolved one by one. In fact, the biggest force on the moon is none other than the largest naval force that has been holding back all along.

Robert believed they were absolutely worth fighting for.

Although they seemed confused and did nothing to improve the situation, their inaction in such a chaotic situation only served to demonstrate their loyalty.

The typical situation is that they can't see or understand anything, they don't know what happened, they don't know who to believe, and their internal opinions are completely contradictory... All these factors combined have led to them being unable to make any decisions at the moment.

But what if someone could gain their trust with a strong and undisputed attitude, especially if that person had unparalleled prestige once their identity was confirmed?
This chaotic, leaderless fleet could probably be put to our use immediately!
Even so, there are certainly many problems within the fleet. Chaotic corruption is everywhere, and no one knows if it's present here as well.

However, any force that hasn't yet erupted is still a force that can be utilized in such an urgent situation.

The stability of the war on the lunar surface also contributed to the credibility of Robert's words.

The valiant fighting of the numerous warriors of the Infinite Warband, in particular, largely corroborated Robert's identity.

Who else could earn such unwavering loyalty from the Infinite Chapter?
Only their genetic father, the Son of God - Robert.

Ultimately, after several rounds of negotiations, eight major generals, four vice generals, and three admirals agreed to represent the entire fleet and come to meet Robert.

Just as Robert had predicted, there were many factions within the fleet, and no single leader could completely control everyone and make comprehensive decisions. It required a meeting of so many people to get things done.

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 to a neutral landing platform on the lunar surface, and he was willing to take the risk.

The cleared landing platform area was not under the control of the expeditionary force. Instead, the naval officers' troops landed first and controlled the surrounding area, all to demonstrate their sincerity.

But Robert wasn't actually that reckless. A considerable number of troops on the moon, under the guise of battle, had moved to nearby locations. The entire expeditionary fleet was also prepared for battle.

Although he didn't think these naval commanders could cause any trouble, he assured them he had sufficient forces, from space to land, to intervene should things go wrong.

The talks went quite smoothly at the beginning.

Those naval commanders certainly didn't have many bad intentions. When they saw the Son of God's towering figure and his resolute yet gentle face, images of the Son of God from mythology, state religious texts, and imperial history immediately came to mind.

Upon seeing the two figures overlap, most of the naval officers immediately knelt down on one knee to show their respect.

The remaining people, who did not kneel down on the spot, were basically left with no doubt.

The combination of mythology, religion, and history, along with the appearance of the real person before them, was so stunning that it instantly captivated everyone's hearts.

They all knew that the root cause of the predicament, from their own fleet to the entire Holy Terra, was the lack of a leader who could unite everyone and inspire them to fight for it.

Now, this natural pillar of support has arrived.

Robert wasn't too 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 smiled, and every movement of his face was perfectly measured. He fully understood how to inspire everyone as a leader.

At this moment, the whole situation seemed perfect.

They were the largest force in lunar orbit, and the Imperial Navy, which had previously maintained a neutral stance, completely sided with Robert.

On the ground, the Moon Guardians and Marines, appearing loyal, followed his orders and joined his forces in attacking the army soldiers who were clearly corrupted by some kind of warp spirit.

Those Chaos believers and corrupted Imperial soldiers are being driven back in defeat.

If things continue this way, the moon will soon be restored.

By then, he would have a stable base. Whether it was to cleanse his own forces of potential chaos and corruption or to use this base as a core to gradually plot against Holy Terra, he would have taken a very firm first step.

However, an unexpected event suddenly occurred at this moment.

First, there was an urgent intelligence report from the front lines that the corrupted soldiers of the Sun Legion, under the leadership of a group of Chaos Wizards, appeared to be constructing some kind of sacrificial array.

Without Robert's orders, the frontline troops naturally made destroying the chaotic magic circle with an unknown target their top priority.

Just when the operation was about to succeed, a Marine Corps unit that had been attacking alongside them suddenly defected.

Among these defecting Marines, many exceptionally skilled individuals suddenly emerged. Some soldiers even turned into demons!
No, rather than saying they turned into demons, it's more accurate to say they were demons in disguise from the start.

They stole the sacrificial array!
(End of this chapter)