Chapter 992: Chapter 534, Give Me an Explanation_2

He had many disputes with Adler Politos over specific tactical strategies.

However, he was unable to sway Politos’ decision.

Ironfury also reformed the military structure under its rule. The indigenous Imperial model of independent forces did not work in the Spiderweb Domain. Humphrey Paolo established a complete and unified military structure using both soft and hard approaches.

Despite Wang Mengsong’s dissatisfaction, he could only hold back.

Then, he watched as his own legion spent time on these Fortress Worlds in the Northern Menghe Star Domain.

Indeed, the Interstellar Warriors, as the most core and valuable force, were invested minimally, resulting in minimal losses. The Princess Legion, and even the recruited ordinary Defense Army, showed quite significant effectiveness.

They clearly suppressed the momentum of the Alliance Vanguard Army, and were removing one thorn after another.

Although slow, the momentum was stable.

If things continued this way, Wang Mengsong could endure it.

However, after he and Politos, with two battleships, drove away the newly arrived enemy battlecruiser reinforcements at Yuehe VII and regained control of the planetary orbit, Politos ordered the troops to withdraw from Yuehe VII!

What was more critical was that such an important decision was made by Politos without any consultation with him!

This was absolutely intolerable for him!

It was for this reason that he rushed, with full force, to the flagship of the Fury Flame Battle Group, the ‘Fire of Triumph’ battle barge.

He needed an explanation.

“Why retreat?”

Wang Mengsong strode into the bridge area, his first words were a direct question: “We sacrificed so much at Yuehe VII, millions of casualties over the past few months, plus naval losses, so much investment, why give up just like that?”

After finishing, he emphasized again: “At least fifteen of you Fury Flames died in there, and I lost five warriors too!”

Adler Politos’ gaze turned from the star map to Wang Mengsong:

“Just execute the decision.”

Wang Mengsong calmed down.

“Are you speaking to me in your capacity as the South Front Commander?”

“Yes.”

“Heh.” Wang Mengsong let out a cold laugh.

The two then fell into silence.

Wang Mengsong spoke again: “You are the commander, it’s your call, but that’s definitely no excuse for making such a mistake freely! Nor should you have made such a decision without consulting me!”

“Consultation? Does consulting you have any meaning?” Politos countered, “I’ve explained my intentions to you countless times, but each time it just resulted in arguments.”

“That’s because you’re cowardly!” Wang Mengsong raised his voice: “Four years ago your Fury Flame Battle Group had its spine broken on Dragonhawk Star, right? Now you’re soft like a puddle of mush! If you’d listened to me earlier, we could have flattened this mire a long time ago!”

Hit at the most painful moment in the battle group’s history, Adler Politos’ gaze went cold immediately.

“And sacrifice countless warriors in a totally non-essential region, right? I’m not like you, needing to use the sacrifice of my people to wash away the guilt of betraying allied forces.”

This sentence also pierced through Wang Mengsong’s defense.

The two of them, using each other’s sore spots, tore each other’s lungs out.

On edge, it wasn’t just the two of them, it also included the warriors on both sides.

The Glory Guards of both Battle Group Leaders had already drawn their weapons.

Given this situation, it was like a minor disagreement could lead to an internal conflict on their own ships.

But fortunately, the leaders of both sides still retained their rationality.

Without an apology, Adler Politos still gave Wang Mengsong an explanation:

“Our strength isn’t enough to counter the Alliance’s main forces. The strategy to capture the North Meng River defensive line has failed, we must now contract our line.”

“The failure to capture the North Meng River defensive line is all due to your cowardly strategy earlier!”

“If we sacrifice too much strength at the North Meng River, once the Alliance’s main forces arrive, whatever we’ve taken will have to be spat back out, and we won’t even be able to retreat to Proudclaw!”

“If we’d struck earlier, we could leverage the North Meng River defensive line against the Alliance’s main forces!”

“All shifting to a defensive stance, why sacrifice so much living force to guard a broken line? Retreating to Proudclaw, using the lines we’ve built over several years to defend, the forces would be more abundant!”

“How long do we have to defend then?”

“Until the Regent King sends reinforcements.”

Their speech was rapid, the atmosphere still far from calm, still arguing with each other.

But at least they tacitly avoided mentioning each other’s black history, sticking to the topic.

At this point, Politos was finally unwilling to be entangled with Wang Mengsong anymore.

Without waiting for the New World’s Torch Battle Group Leader to speak again, he firmly ended the topic: “Let’s leave it at that, Battle Group Leader Wang Mengsong, I don’t want to explain these already overly explained strategies to you anymore. I am the overall in charge of the southern front, I’ve made my decision on this matter, please execute the order. Even if you have any objections, keep them to yourself.”

“I will raise objections with the Regent King, just wait for your command to be dismissed!”

“Try if you can.”

The ‘Regent King’ mentioned by them was Humphrey Paolo. Last year, this Battle Group Leader of the Iron Armor Battle Group gave himself such a title, claiming to be the one carrying out the Emperor’s command to punish the disobedient on Holy Terra.

This stirred even greater turmoil across the Empire.

This would clearly place even greater external pressure on their revolutionary group. But since they had already risen, adding such a description didn’t make much difference.

Simultaneously, having this title internally allowed for better consolidating forces. In subsequent wars, it also forced some planets and groups that had suffered losses to join their side.

Humphrey Paolo’s prestige among rebellious forces in the Spiderweb Domain rose once again.

As for resolving the schism between the two Interstellar Warrior Battle Group Leaders on the southern front once and for all, only this ‘Regent King’ had the capability.

But for now, since Adler Politos was the overall in charge of the southern front, the battlefield situations would still proceed according to his will.

After the two parted on bad terms, a large-scale withdrawal was being carried out on Yuehe VII and across this entire frontline, on dozens of engaged planets, according to Politos’ orders.

…

“They ran.”

A month later, arriving with the Alliance Main Fleet at the North Meng River, Gu Hang sighed.

“The Governor’s renown is known by all. As soon as you arrived, those traitors fled like dogs with their tails between their legs, gone without a trace!” Perbov laughed, not in the usual manner towards subordinates.

Yan Fangxu, beside him, cleared his throat lightly and directly reported the situation: “We also attempted to pursue, but it wasn’t very effective. Their two battleship-class vessels guarded the retreating ships closely. To be safe, we didn’t risk launching particularly aggressive pursuits.”

“A prudent choice.” Gu Hang acknowledged.

Yan Fangxu continued, “Our forces have already set out, aiming to reclaim the entire northern Menghe Star Domain. The enemy has completely withdrawn from this area, leaving behind very sparse resistance. However, according to reconnaissance, the enemy still holds a final stronghold in the Menghe Star Domain.”

“That’s Shangdong Star. This planet serves as a key passage between the Menghe Star Domain and the Proudclaw Star Domain. From here, one jump can reach Proudclaw Star Domain – Guangtai Sector – Guangfeng Star.”

“They have set up extremely strong defenses on Shangdong Star and Guangfeng Star.”

Gu Hang asked, “So now, is it our turn to bite at the opponent’s line of defense?”

Yan Fangxu looked grim, “I’m afraid so.”