Chapter 79

Chapter 79: The Situation is Settled

The situation was settled. Gu Hang also breathed a sigh of relief.

He had reason to be happy: the final measure he had prepared was not needed.

His actions today involved some risk, but not much. With the double protection of the Star Warriors and Battle Sisters, and considering that he himself was quite a formidable psyker, it was unlikely for anything to go wrong. Additionally, his identity as the Governor provided protection, leaving the Alliance soldiers confused, hesitant to commit fully to battle—another layer of protection.

It was these advantages that gave him the courage to execute Mondok and subsequently take control of the entire army.

And the biggest risk was nothing more than the failure of the operation.

At this moment, his predetermined goal had been achieved.

Of course, he had also contemplated the scenario where this venture could spiral completely out of control.

In such a case, he might have faced the predicament of being nineteen men deep within an army of ten thousand. However, he was confident that even in such a situation, he could break through with full force. Moreover, he had a final measure to completely resolve the issue.

In space orbit, the Quintet had already been fully battle-prepared, with its cannons ready to fire at the ground for orbital strikes at any moment.

If the situation became entirely uncontrollable, Gu Hang would leave a marker and break through with all his might. Yan Fangxu’s team would provide support and establish a defensive line, trapping the Alliance Corps outside the city.

Once he broke out, the ship’s cannons would commence orbital bombardment, targeting the Alliance Corps stationed in the outer city with relatively precise, small-scale strikes.

Orbital strikes were not invincible. If the targeted side had dug deep air-raid shelters and tunnels, combined with very sturdy bunkers specifically designed to resist orbital strikes, the power of the bombardment might be significantly reduced, minimizing damage.

But clearly, the Alliance Corps had not made such preparations. And doing so on short notice was impossible.

After the orbital bombardment ended, Gu Hang would lead the troops to sweep the battlefield, still achieving the objective of destroying the Alliance Corps.

However, this was the last resort, the ultimate measure.

Orbital bombardment could not be entirely precise. Some shells might fall into the inner city or non-combat areas of the outer city, causing severe collateral damage. The fear of orbital bombardment would spread throughout Revival City. This fear might help Gu Hang in his subsequent actions, but it could also fuel resistance among the city’s residents.
If it came to that, the ensuing troubles would be numerous.

But if it really reached that point, Gu Hang would not hesitate. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made such a contingency plan.

However, avoiding its use was obviously preferable.

The current outcome was much better than clearing the path with orbital cannons.

The Alliance Corps was now his.

To completely control these ten thousand fully armed corps soldiers and turn them into reliable subordinates was certainly insufficient. In fact, just disarming them all and concentrating them under guard had already taken considerable effort. After executing Mondok, it took nearly an entire day just to disarm and settle these soldiers.

Mainly, while most of these soldiers had accepted their fate, a small minority still refused to surrender their weapons, leading to conflicts and bloodshed with the infantry regiment led by Yan Fangxu.

Additionally, there were quite a few who, although not daring to openly resist, would secretly escape with their weapons.

The direct troops Gu Hang brought numbered roughly fifteen hundred across five battalions, which was indeed somewhat stretched thin. Despite their best efforts to prevent it, a considerable number of Alliance soldiers still managed to escape with their weapons.

These individuals would likely become a problem in the future. If they hid in the outer city’s slums, they might pose a security threat; if they fled outside the city, they could turn into bandits. Troublesome as they were, these were minor issues, not major ones.

Excluding the dead and those who had escaped, approximately seven thousand soldiers were eventually rounded up and placed under guard.

Next, Gu Hang did not rush into the city.

Given the current situation, the issues within the city and with Hodgson were no longer primary concerns. With the military disarmed, the city had become a sitting target, waiting for Gu Hang to harvest at his leisure.

In reality, what Gu Hang faced now was far from the full war potential of Revival City. This operation could not even be considered a ‘war.’

If Gu Hang were to name it himself, he would call it a ‘special military operation.’

Gu Hang astutely judged that although Old Hodgson’s disappearance signaled that the Alliance authorities were waging war against him, the enemy in this ‘war’ was not the entire Revival City.

On the contrary, the city should be his, and the people within, as well as the army defending it, should not be his enemies but rather his subjects.

Recognizing clearly who the real enemy was and who should be won over to his side was the core reason Gu Hang achieved such significant results at a relatively low cost. Understanding this issue was key to achieving twice the results with half the effort, rather than foolishly treating the entire city as the enemy and ending up in mutual destruction.

With the strategic direction resolved, the remaining task was execution.
With Star Warriors, Battle Sisters, starship cannons, and his identity as Governor, the means to solve the problem were not an issue.

After dealing with the Alliance army, Gu Hang dispatched his troops to five locations.

Four infantry battalions were each assigned to guard and close the four gates of the inner city. The people who had protected themselves with high walls now found these walls had become their prison, with the four exits sealed off.

Thus, the inner city’s aristocrats and its population of a hundred thousand were locked inside, isolated from the eight to nine hundred thousand people in the outer city.

The remaining battalion was tasked with guarding the seven thousand disarmed, captive Alliance soldiers.

Gu Hang stayed there as well.

These seven thousand men were crucial.

Gu Hang didn’t naively believe he could immediately turn them into his loyal subordinates, but in the future, they would form a significant part of his military forces.

He couldn’t afford to leave these seven thousand men unused.

Even with systematic training functions available to him, having a good pool of soldiers remained important.

However, before incorporating this army, Gu Hang had much work to do.