Chapter 1717: Chapter 976: Gu Hang’s Opinion Must Be Respected
The Silent Sisters and the Nullifiers advanced suddenly, under the protection of the Imperial Guard, to a place very close to Magnus, bringing a critical change to the battle situation.
Although Gu Jing was also unable to easily project his spiritual energy due to the influence of the Silent Sisters and the Nullifiers, it allowed Robert to seize the opportunity.
A swift slash from the Emperor’s Sword severed one of Magnus’s arms; another sword strike followed, aiming directly at His head.
If not for two of his nine golden horns breaking, releasing a strong burst of spiritual energy that deflected the Emperor’s Sword, he might have had his head split open by this strike!
But this also woke Magnus up.
He realized that if he continued fighting under the current circumstances, he might indeed meet his end under the Emperor’s Sword.
And to die under the Emperor’s Sword would be different from being banished from the material universe in the past.
"Godspawn" can also be slain.
Magnus, who had to admit defeat, could only take the initiative to "leave" while the warp rifts had yet to be completely closed.
No matter how vicious the curses he left behind before fleeing were, they could not conceal the fact that he had run away in disgrace.
...
With Magnus gone, and the warp rifts being closed one by one, the demons on the moon naturally became rootless duckweed, not even needing to be killed; they quickly weakened themselves, turning to ashes and vanishing without a trace.
However, the remaining cultists required a bit of effort to deal with, yet they were trivial enough to be handled by ordinary troops.
Given the current situation, it could essentially be said that the moon had been pacified.
The naval fleet in the moon’s orbit, although only a small part of the Solar Fleet, actually had its main forces stationed in Holy Terra’s orbit nearby. They chose to remain neutral and observe.
But at least, the allegiance of this segment of the fleet was a very good omen.
Not only did it serve as an excellent augmentation to the fleet under Robert’s command, but also provided a pretext to contact the other Navy Generals of the Solar Fleet through their connections. If another meeting could be convened like the previous one, perhaps more Navy Generals of the Solar Fleet would be swayed by the majestic presence of the Regent King.
Meanwhile, the Moon Guard had mostly sided with Robert. They had no other choice, and once the moon was fully controlled, their importance was, frankly, greatly diminished. After all, whether it’s their weapons and equipment or their training, all were specialized for defending the moon. Their absolute strength and numbers were insufficient, and they were more defensive than offensive. If a war were to break out with Holy Terra later on, they could not be of much help.
Robert, in reclaiming the entirety of Holy Terra, would primarily have to rely on his own power.
Of course, another key factor is the existing military forces on Holy Terra.
The Imperial Guard was a good example. In the confrontation against Magnus, the sudden arrival of the Imperial Guard represented a very clear stance—these folks who have been "housebound" in the Imperial Palace for ten thousand years seemed to be breaking from their traditional neutrality, deciding to truly enter the fray.
This was not actually unexpected.
While for the vast majority of people in the Empire, the non-involvement of the Imperial Guard in politics seemed like an ironclad rule, this was not the case for Robert. In his era, during its early days, the Imperial Guard acted with The Emperor, launching expeditions and fully participating in the founding wars.
Even after The Emperor’s ascension, the Imperial Guard played a significant role in combating many of the Empire’s traitors.
Even during Robert’s tenure as Regent King after the Empire’s civil war, he maintained quite a good relationship with the Grand Marshal of the Imperial Guard, which served as a very sharp blade under his command.
Robert does not see the Imperial Guard as an untouchable group to be won over.
Their initiative in partaking in the lunar campaign was a very positive signal.
These palace guards did not hurriedly depart back to the Terra Imperial Palace after the battle but stayed on the moon. The Tribune leading them also spoke with Robert, and they would obey his orders and conveyed greetings from the Grand Marshal.
"The Grand Marshal looks forward to speaking with you."
Holy Terra is shrouded in a layer of chaotic warp surges, making long-distance communication difficult, and it’s likely to encounter intentional interference from other forces on Terra.
But presumably, the Imperial Guard is not worried about this.
Having guarded the palace for ten thousand years, in the palace’s underground chambers, among countless secret Imperial Guard rooms, there are too many hidden assets. It seems they would have some way to establish fixed communications with Robert.
And it’s not just the Imperial Guard; Robert plans to communicate with many factions on Holy Terra.
The military operation on the moon serves as a rehearsal for actions on Terra. The situation on Terra might be more complicated than on the moon, with more factions entangled in mutual skirmishes. He must clearly distinguish between friend and foe and proceed with even greater caution.
The Chaos side managed to conjure his erstwhile blood brother to fight against him on the moon, so on Holy Terra—with its larger scale and unknown depth of corruption—who knows what grand machination they might attempt?
