The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2628 The Battle of Bilbulin

2628, Bilbo Nymph Outpost
9BBY，5月10日。银河系标准时间上午10点07分。

Northern Galactic Region, Galactic Empire Territory, 7th Army – Kuran Class II Hyperspace Outpost, designated BB2299-NX.

*Beep beep beep!* A piercing alarm sounded. The Imperial soldier waiting beside the hyperspace sensor immediately grabbed the listening device. He heard the parameters from the intelligent computer inside and saw the violently fluctuating waveforms on the screen in front of him. He immediately stood up. "Sir! Large-scale hyperspace fluctuations detected! Confirmed direction: Planet Bilbrin! Estimated contact time: 85 minutes!"

A lieutenant in the Galactic Empire Navy lunged forward, peering at the rapidly fluctuating ripples on the control panel, his face instantly turning grim. He turned and said, "Report immediately! Hyperspace outpost number UK-2299-NX! Coordinates NW-79983.1500.00337! Large-scale hyperspace fluctuation detected! Suspected enemy main fleet! Estimated contact time: 85 minutes!"

"Yes, sir!" The communications soldier, who was on standby at the communications station, immediately put on his headset, activated the hyperspace communicator, and sent out the enemy situation report: [This is the Northern Hyperspace Outpost, number...]

[Northern Hyperspace Outpost, BB-1043-NX! Large-scale hyperspace fluctuations detected! Expected contact in 83 minutes!]

[Northern Hyperspace Outpost, BB-4426-NX! Large-scale hyperspace fluctuations detected! Expected contact in 72 minutes!]

……

The Milky Way Standard Time is 10:12 AM.

Northern Galactic Region, Galactic Empire Territory, 7th Army, Planet Bilbrin, home of the Imperial Northern Third Fleet. Flagship: USS Wolf, an Imperial-class star destroyer.

The communications soldier skillfully operated the screen, categorizing and filtering the communications he received. Upon seeing several of them, his expression changed drastically. He quickly swiped to copy the communications directly to a portable terminal, then stood up and handed the terminal to a communications officer standing nearby.

The officer's expression changed drastically when he saw the long string of similar communications displayed on the terminal. He quickly signed the message on the screen, rushed to the bridge command center, and handed the terminal to the fleet adjutant. "Sir! Multiple hyperspace outposts have sent communications! They've detected movement of the enemy's main fleet!"

"What did you say?!" The adjutant jumped up, snatched the terminal, and looked at the contents. His face turned ashen.

He immediately sprinted into the commander-in-chief's office, shouting, "General Streich! The main fleet of the separatists has been deployed!!"

Sitting in the office was a general in his fifties, dressed in a white Imperial Navy general's uniform. He had a dignified and imposing face and a robust physique, clearly someone who had experienced frontline combat and worked his way up from the bottom.

Admiral Horst Strage of the Galactic Empire.

Although a veteran, General Streich was only recently promoted. He had also briefly served as Girard Perrine's superior before being transferred to the North in his early years.

Now, General Holster-Stretch has been transferred to the North, but only to assist Gerald Perrin in managing and commanding this enormous Northern defense force.

Also transferred to the North was Admiral Trinald Scalid. During the Clone Wars, he had served as a Vice Admiral and, together with Vice Admiral Jane Dodenaar, commanded the campaign in the Lundiri system, but suffered a crushing defeat and was captured by Severance Tann.

However, after the Dawn Kingdom and the Galactic Empire made a separate peace, both sides released prisoners of war according to their agreement, so Jane Dodner and Trinald Scalid returned to the Galactic Empire. They were subsequently demoted to colonels and sidelined.

Later, Jane Dodenar was reinstated as a Rear Admiral, but he embraced liberal ideology and subsequently betrayed the Galactic Empire, joining the rebels. Scalid, on the other hand, through his own efforts and scheming, once again returned to the rank of Vice Admiral.

This time, in order to strengthen the forces of the North and to counterbalance the control of the Northern army by King Dunn Wessex in the North, Vice Admiral Trinald Scalid and Vice Admiral Holster Stretch were promoted to Admiral and transferred to the North.

The officer currently leading the Third Fleet of the North to guard the planet Bilblin is none other than Admiral Holst Streich.

He looked at the terminal in his hand, but remained remarkably calm. He raised his head and said, "Order the entire army to immediately enter combat readiness! Activate the planetary shields, engage the asteroid turrets, and deploy all fleets according to the battle plan! Immediately bring Admiral Girard Perrin to my aid!"

"Yes!"

……

Galactic Standard Time, 9 BBY, 10:25 AM.

Northern Galactic Region, capital of the 9th Imperial Army, planet Palin-Minor, planetary theater command center.

The highest-ranking military officer in the North, Imperial Navy Admiral Gerald Perrin, was attending a military conference. As he was speaking and outlining upcoming defense and military operations, several attendants opened the door and approached one of the staff officers, whispering reports in his ear.
Girard Perrin frowned as he watched the whispers. However, the senior staff officer rose and walked over to Perrin, leaning down to whisper, "Confirmed: the main Separatist fleet has been deployed. They are about to arrive at Bilbrin."

"How much time do we have left?" General Gerard Pereira asked in a deep voice.

"At most 60 minutes," the staff officer said.

Gerald Perrin nodded, stood up, and announced loudly to everyone in the room: "We have just received a communication that the main Separatist fleet has launched an attack on the planet Bilbrin! The meeting is adjourned immediately, and everyone should return to their respective war zones!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Perrin then turned and said, "Put our entire fleet on combat readiness. Send reserve fleets to Palancy, Argama, and Vessos respectively. Immediately dispatch reconnaissance aircraft to confirm the Separatist fleet's attack direction. As for Admiral Holst-Stretch, have him stall for time as much as possible to confirm the true size of the Separatist fleet."

He then thought for a moment and said, "Let's first inform the Imperial Central Command and the Imperial Supreme Strategic Command of the attack. At the same time, we'll also inform Governor Dunn-Wessex."

The staff officer asked, "But General, isn't it going over our head by reporting directly to the Supreme Strategic Command?"

“His Excellency the Governor is currently in an underground shelter. He can only be released after it is completely confirmed that Tang Xiao is incapable of assassinating him. Otherwise, if he is harmed by Tang Xiao, our entire Northern Territory will collapse,” Gerard Perein said.

The staff officer nodded, then asked, "So, do we need to recall the Lila Super Star Destroyer?"

Gerald Perrin shook his head and said, "No! Send Task Force 17 to reinforce the Lila! Now that the Separatist Northern Fleet has begun its operations, Tang Xiao will definitely not stop moving behind our lines. If possible, take this opportunity to eliminate him!"

At this point, Perrin's gaze sharpened. "Yes!"

Everyone in the conference room returned to their respective posts and resumed their duties. But Gerald Perrin did not leave; he stood in the empty conference room, staring at the enormous holographic star map.

On the star map, the northern part of Tang Xiao's defensive line and the southern part of the defensive line where Bilblin Planet is located are far apart. So, is it south or north?
Gerard Pereira stroked the thick beard that had grown at the corner of his mouth and fell into deep thought.

Ten minutes later, the Imperial High Command's reply arrived: [We must resist resolutely and strive to annihilate the enemy in the north! Long live the Empire!]

At the same time, a communication arrived from Dunn-Wessex. His voice trembled in the message: "Command of the Northern campaign is entrusted to you! I will return to the Imperial heartland to personally meet with His Majesty the Emperor and request reinforcements."

Gerald Perrin nodded to himself; he didn't believe Dunn Wessex was deserting. In fact, returning him to the heart of the Empire to leverage his connections and secure more reinforcements for the North was where he could be most effective.

Moreover, he couldn't stay in the heart of the empire for long. For a high-ranking official like him, staying within his own territory was the safest option.

After much deliberation, Gerard Perrin made up his mind. He left the conference room and went to the command center. There, he found it already bustling with activity; intelligence officers and staff officers were moving about, and hundreds of communications soldiers were at their seats, monitoring preset frequencies and constantly relaying communication instructions.

The most advanced quantum computer filters and performs preliminary analysis on all intelligence and communications, then extracts the essential information and distributes it to various departments. Each department then divides into two groups: one group further organizes and analyzes the filtered intelligence, reporting it upwards based on its urgency; the other group manually reviews the remaining, less valuable intelligence.

This method of cross-checking by computers and human brains ensures that all intelligence, no matter how small, is handled in the most appropriate way.

“General Perrin, General Streich has completed his defensive deployment and he wants you to confirm his operational objectives,” the adjutant said.

“Delay for at least three days. Within three days, we must not abandon Bilblin,” Perrin said resolutely.

"Yes!"

Perrin turned to another senior staff officer and asked, "Has Task Force 17 set sail?"

"They have already set off, General."

"Send the 19th, 32nd, and 33rd Fleets to reinforce the Lila! Even if we can't kill Tang Xiao, we'll force him out of there," Gerard Perein said.

He has made his choice: north first, then south.

As a commander, he also hoped the enemy's actions would be simple. If the enemy's actions were not simple, then he would create opportunities to make them simple.

Although it was almost impossible for the incredibly powerful Sith Lord to kill Tang Xiao, he was only one person. If he sent out a massive fleet, Tang Xiao would have no choice but to flee.

In any case, even if it means joining up with his own fleet, the point is to get him out of his defensive line; otherwise, he won't be able to carry out strategic maneuvers within the northern territory.

After a considerable amount of time, about 30 minutes later, the communications officer reported again, "A separatist fleet has appeared on the planet Dantuin!"

“Dantooine?” Gerard Pereira frowned.

This is a planet located on the northern edge of the galaxy, extremely remote, almost in the northernmost part of the galaxy. It would be very difficult for either the Galactic Empire or the Kingdom of Dawn to send troops there.

But Dantuin happens to contain the ruins of an ancient Jedi Order, and its countless underground caverns yield vast quantities of crystal. The most valuable of these is, of course, kyber crystal!
Neither the Kingdom of Dawn nor the Galactic Empire dispatched large fleets to occupy the area during previous battles, but they did send ground troops and small fleets to reinforce this direction.

Therefore, small-scale battles have been constantly breaking out between the two sides on the planet, but in general, each side controls a portion of the planet and neither side can do anything to the other.

However, basically, because the Dawn Kingdom's elite land forces mostly held the advantage, while the Galactic Empire was on the defensive.

Now that the Dawn Kingdom's fleet has appeared in Dantuin, this presents Gerard Perein with another problem.

Because the planet Dantuin is too far away, sending reinforcements here would inevitably scatter their fleet. However, from another perspective, the Dawn Kingdom's attack on this location also indicates that their own fleet has begun to disperse. In that case, concentrating their forces to seek a decisive fleet battle with the Dawn Kingdom's main fleet after its forces have been divided would be a good strategy.

“Send ground forces to Dantuin. Send all our Cheerleader-class assault ships in this direction,” Gerald Perein said. “Tell Colonel Redditch that they have received almost no fleet support. If things get bad, they’ll go underground and fight the separatist ground forces.”

"Yes!"

"Our main fleet shall immediately begin preparations for attack and depart in 60 minutes, advancing towards Planet Ode-Mantel!"

"Yes!"

……

On the planet Bilbrin, outside this fortified planet built by the Galactic Empire, the Galactic Empire's Third Fleet is already on high alert.

The massive force of over 600 capital ships and over 3000 medium and small warships relied on a large number of surrounding asteroids for defense. These asteroids were all modified on-site, fitted with powerful turbine laser cannons, which became fixed turrets.

The Milky Way Standard Time is 11:04 AM.

A fierce white light began to flash, and then a colossal figure appeared in outer space. Its immense size, even just from escaping the hyperspace passage, caused energy fluctuations that triggered reactions in the shields of some nearby warships.

This is a super-giant ship with a disc-shaped bow with a diameter of 8000 meters and a total length of 13774 meters!

Titan Battleship - Divine Messenger Class!

The instant they escaped hyperspace, the flagship-level laser array mounted on the bow of the Divine Messenger-class warship opened fire! A fleeting X-ray ignited the flames of the Third Northern War!