Chapter 941: Chapter 506, Watching and Helping Each Other? Chapter 941: Chapter 506, Watching and Helping Each Other? Gu Hang was dumbfounded when he heard that the fleet organized with great difficulty by the Spiderweb Domain was persuaded to defect en masse by Humphrey Paolo’s lone arrival, including the onboard Star Realm Army.

Especially when some detailed rumors came through, they were even more unbelievable to Gu Hang.

The name of the surrendering Admiral was Bowen Melandri.

The Tribunal imprisoned and interrogated his family, friends, and searched his residence and office, uncovering some confidential and non-public information in the subsequent investigation of Admiral Melandri.

It was mentioned that Melandri had known Paul from before, and they had fought alongside each other. According to his relatives, Melandri had a very favorable impression of Paul, describing him as a “resolute, inspiring, and trustworthy leader.”

Precisely for this reason, when Paul and his Iron Armor Battle Group were declared traitors by the Empire, Melandri was shocked. In his view, Paul was the paragon of an Interstellar Warrior, maintaining peace in one area and fighting against the Void Insect Species for centuries. The Princess Star Domain, and even the entire Spiderweb Starfield, enjoyed tranquility because of him, without suffering from the invasions of the Void Insect Species.

“How could such a man betray the Empire?”

This was a question Melandri had once voiced to his family.

Having said such words already, how could they let such an apparent sympathizer of the Empire’s traitor hold such an important position?

— They obviously overlooked what Melandri had said after that: “I want to personally capture Paul and bring him to Holy Terra, to repent before the Divine Emperor’s Golden Throne!”

His attitude may seem problematic, but overall it wasn’t entirely unacceptable. Gu Hang was more curious about what exactly the group leader Paul said when he came to persuade Melandri, managing to make him lead his team to defect on the spot?

Even the term “defection” is not quite accurate.

It ought to be called “turning coats.”

From the information gathered from various sources, Humphrey Paul seemed to be an extremely charismatic leader, with his charm attribute maxed out.

…

As such a high-ranking officer, Melandri’s defection was a great crime, and someone had to be held accountable.

His family and many friends who had been close to him were executed; several high-ranking officials from the Spiderweb Domain who had recommended his appointment to lead the fleet also got implicated.

Setting aside the political upheaval, the key point was that after Melandri switched sides, the defensive forces of the Spiderweb Domain were almost entirely depleted!

The situation was already very dire, and in an instant, it became rotten.

Of the fourteen star domains in the Spiderweb Domain, the southeastern three had already fallen into the hands of Tie Nu Shi; of the remaining eleven, the defenses that are still standing now are significantly inadequate.

Although there are still some navies and Star Realm Armies present, their numbers are even fewer than those who defected.

Going forward, defense will likely mainly rely on the hastily mobilized Planetary Defense Forces from various planets as the main force, then bolstered by the Protection Army sent from two of the Sect of Mechanics’ Foundry Worlds, as well as a large contingent from the Blood Rose Sisterhood dispatched by the Tribunal. In this universe, there are many Battle Nuns working for the Tribunal, possibly even more than those directly under the command of the Empire.

It looks like some main forces still exist, but in reality, they are considerably weak.

However, in the Spiderweb Domain, there is still a powerful force present: seven Starfighter Battle Groups.

These seven battle groups are not transferred from outside but are widely distributed across the Spiderweb Domain. After all, this is a vast area consisting of eight thousand worlds, and it makes sense to have seven battle groups – in fact, on average, not even one world could afford an Interstellar Warrior.

Moreover, these seven battle groups might not even all be at full strength.

Looking at it this way, the inner power under the Empire within the Spiderweb Domain does still possess certain strength. Seven battle groups, along with the Sisterhood and a portion of the Protection Army, plus the sizeable Planetary Defense Force Cluster… are not weak.

If this force could all be rallied together, with one heart, acting under a unified command system, then they might not be able to completely stop the invasion of Tie Nu Shi, but they could at least turn the entire Spiderweb Domain into a quagmire of war, dragging Tie Nu Shi down with it.

In that case, the situation would be much improved for the Imperial Side. If Tie Nu Shi could be stalled in the Spiderweb Domain for a few years, even if the ultimate cost is turning the Spiderweb Domain into wasteland, it would buy time for the Empire to muster more forces.

However, the situation the Imperial Side hoped for did not occur.

Why would those planets want to turn themselves into wasteland?

Surrender, then, became a very rational choice.

Resistance is only valuable if there’s a chance that the Empire will come to the rescue and you can hold out until then.

This is also the most significant reason that most planets face in interstellar wars: when facing foreign enemies, there’s no question but to fight or be annihilated; when there’s a clear hope of rescue from the Empire, then it’s also viable to resist and wait for salvation.

But in this war, there was nothing. Not against foreign enemies, there are benefits for surrendering; don’t count on being saved if you resist to the end. It’s clear that the Empire is treating these planets as a ‘line of resistance,’ hoping to trade space for time, and to delay as much as possible, so don’t expect rescue.