Chapter 148: Chapter 113: Great Sacrifice, Verne’s Future
「One month later.」
「Ilibya World.」
The capital of the Imperial Administrative Region was the center of power governing over three hundred worlds. Every day, hundreds of thousands of political decrees and military orders were dispatched from here to all parts of the Administrative Region.
Steel warships and merchant vessels, traveling back and forth through Radiant Channels, filled the space around Ilibya World.
The planetary orbital transfer ports were at full capacity almost every day.
The prosperity of this world was a world apart from the ruin and desolation of Verne.
The Granada Stereoscopic City was built upon the highest and most magnificent mountain range of Ilibya World. Even from high planetary orbit, hundreds of kilometers away, one could witness the majestic splendor of this stereoscopic city.
Countless plumes of steam and thick smoke intertwined.
The roar of machinery never ceased.
In the Upper City District, the former private residence of the Provincial Governor had been massively expanded to house the Dome Grand Council of the Imperial Administrative Region, with a capacity for ten thousand people.
Having just concluded the annual conference of Provincial Governors and Great Lords, Sedon strode with a strong gait, his long black cloak swaying in the wind behind him.
He returned to the Grand Governor’s Government Hall.
Thousands of clerks and assistants were working day and night, tallying losses and casualties from the various war fronts. The tax documents from the three hundred worlds were even stacked into a paper mountain over twenty meters high.
A Governor approached, presenting him with a thick stack of war reports concerning Seventeenth.
"Lord Governor, for some historical reasons, more than half of Verne’s earlier archives were destroyed locally. Moreover, the last census of its population and resources was conducted four hundred years ago.
A more detailed report might take half a year, or even longer."
"Understood."
Sedon’s appearance hadn’t changed at all compared to twelve years ago.
He read the report on Verne in detail. For a barren world, not even fit to be called an Agricultural World, to have held out for over a hundred years against the corruption of a Great Demon with no supplies or reinforcements was nothing short of a miracle.
They even won the war of invasion launched by Grand Lord Kles.
Such a world, though lacking in resources, had all the virtues of a prime recruiting ground for the Imperial Infantry Corps—its people were loyal and unafraid of death.
In the past, Sedon would have suspected the people in the Regent Council had lost their minds to deliberately abandon a world whose people had Loyalty flowing in their blood for generations.
But now, he wasn’t surprised by it at all.
It was precisely because the soldiers from Verne were too valiant, too skilled in battle, and too loyal that those traitors had used the excuse of resource depletion to abandon that world of glorious history, leaving its people to fend for themselves.
If Reinhardt hadn’t crash-landed on that world by chance, and if its three-million-strong Defense Army hadn’t suffered the horrific loss of over two point six million soldiers...
Had the Ten Thousand Changes Demon Monarch succeeded in his scheme of using Verne as a bridgehead to open a Net Path from the Void Realm to the Real Cosmos, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
But even so, Verne would still become a springboard for the Demon Legions to land in the Real Cosmos, due to its proximity to the exit of a Void Storm.
After a quick look through the report, Sedon asked, "What’s the status of the medals I had the Ministry of Internal Affairs prepare?"
"The personnel count isn’t finalized yet, but preparations for the Imperial Skeleton Medals are complete."
Sedon braced his hands on the edge of the table and suddenly asked, "They suffered over 80% casualties, yet maintained such tenacious combat effectiveness, all while using obsolete equipment the Empire retired a thousand years ago. Which infantry legion in this Administrative Region do you think possesses that kind of fighting strength?"
The subtlety of politics is that you have to understand the deeper meaning behind your superior’s words and think one step ahead.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down the forehead of the young Governor, who was dressed in the traditional noble attire of Iberian World from three thousand years ago. He cleared his throat and replied, "At the moment... none."
He knew perfectly well that the Lord Governor was using this opportunity to put him on the spot.
After all, the infantry legion under his direct command had just suffered an Epic Level defeat half a month ago, resulting in the loss of two important Agricultural Worlds to Grand Lord Kles.
And forget 80% casualties; an Imperial Infantry Corps that could still maintain combat effectiveness after a 30% casualty rate was already considered an elite legion.
When he first received the casualty report from Verne, he had assumed someone was falsifying data and exaggerating, until he personally made a trip to Verne...
No one could have imagined that a group of infantry wearing leather armor and wielding primitive iron swords could stand their ground for thirteen hours against the elite infantry legion and Raider Battle Group that Grand Lord Kles had deployed via Airdrop Waymarks.
They had even faced the notorious Destiny Weaver Legion, which served the Formless Divine Monarch. The Verne Defense Army had held the line with their very lives, somehow stalling the enemy’s assault for two whole hours.
Such a feat was tantamount to a group of farmers armed with hoes holding a line with their flesh and blood against a charge by Imperial Knights, and managing to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Of course, the Imperial Knight deserved some credit, but wasn’t this battle record a bit too absurd? It was as unbelievable as Reinhardt repelling a Demon Prince with a single sword strike.
If the report weren’t sitting right on the table, he would have mistaken it for an epic legend from the Imperial annals.
If any other infantry legion received the Imperial Skeleton Medal, he and the other Governors, and even the Dome Council, would voice their opposition, suspecting political considerations were at play.
But when it came to the Mortal Soldiers of the Verne Defense Army receiving the Imperial Skeleton Medal—a high honor awarded to an infantry legion that maintained tenacious combat effectiveness despite over 60% casualties—no one would raise any objection.
Because it was an honor the Verne Defense Army deserved.
Beyond that, he believed that Grand Governor Sedon had asked him this question so suddenly to test his opinion on the proposal to incorporate the Verne Defense Army into the Imperial Administrative Region’s infantry legion command structure.
War, politics, and economics—the three have always been inextricably linked.
If it were only a matter of evaluating their combat will and their Loyalty to the Divine Emperor, he would approve wholeheartedly.
But establishing an infantry legion would not only add about ten seats to the Dome Council, but could also lead to the birth of a Knight Battle Group, causing a major shift in the balance of power.
For an Imperial Administrative Region that was, on the surface, peaceful and unified, this was not a good thing.
Furthermore, he had seen the desolation of Verne World with his own eyes.
The cost of maintaining such a large infantry legion would require the other political factions in the Administrative Region to contribute vast amounts of resources and money. In other words, it would mean bleeding other worlds dry.
After the Empire lost control of the Ash Soil Star Zone, no one would be willing to fund a massive infantry legion they didn’t control for no reason.
Noble ideals and faith are precious, of course, but people need to eat. Soldiers need their pay and rewards, as well as various guarantees for their post-service lives, all of which require the resources of the Administrative Region.
Sedon may be the Grand Governor, but he was not yet the Lord of the Empire, nor the Imperial Regent.
Although the Governor understood this level of meaning, he hesitated for a long time and did not continue speaking.
Sedon knew what concerns his loyal ally had, so he stated his thoughts bluntly.
"Verne World is the first line of defense against the Demon Legions reaching the Real Cosmos. The issue of raising a new army can be postponed for a while, but the matter of turning it into a fortress world cannot be delayed any longer.
Tomorrow, I will use my authority as Grand Governor to sign an edict to begin the construction of a fortress world on Verne.
If anyone objects, they can come find me in the Government Hall directly."
