The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2685. The Death of Silas
Allman Tagg's rage had reached its peak; he wanted to unleash all his power right now on Druckenville, smashing the planet to pieces! Including his brother, Silas Tagg!

He no longer cared about any family ties; all he wanted was for Silas to die! To die!

That stupid brother of mine, he ruined everything!
However, in his anger, Orman Taggart regained his composure and knew that there were some things he could not do.

In fact, as the newly appointed Imperial Marshal, Orman Tag has a great deal of power at his disposal, the most powerful of which is the so-called prototype ship.

The Advanced Technology Alliance currently manages the cutting-edge technology research and development of the entire Galactic Empire, and its strength continues to expand. Hundreds of the Galactic Empire's most advanced and cutting-edge technological research and development projects are all completed within this alliance, and the three major industrial giants of the Galactic Empire—Quart Power Shipyard, Corellia Engineering Corporation, and Sina Fleet Systems—have all sent their best technical teams to reside within it.

The project that consumed the most resources in all aspects was naturally the Death Star project!
These projects have involved trillions of Imperial Credits, which is equivalent to 70% of the entire Galactic Empire's annual military budget!

So even though Orman Tagh, the Imperial Marshal, did not have direct military power, he actually controlled the most resources among the twelve marshals.

Now, with the addition of two other Imperial Marshals specializing in technology—Matto Bach and Demetrius Zarin—the alliance has become even more powerful.

Emperor Palpatine's move was primarily intended to divide Orman-Tagg's power, but in reality, it gradually created a faction within the Galactic Empire dominated by technical officials—the research faction.

With such vast resources at his disposal, Orman Tag could certainly mobilize many things. Among them were many prototypes of new warships!

Generally, to develop a new type of warship, after completing technology verification, the research department will begin construction of prototype ships, ranging from two to ten. Because they involve the latest technologies, these prototype ships are built to the highest standards, using the latest materials and components.

Next, after the prototype ship is built, the feasibility of these new technologies will be verified on the prototype ship. Finally, on the basis of ensuring feasibility, subtraction will be carried out, and the configuration will be continuously reduced until the optimal solution under the existing technological conditions is reached.

Therefore, normally speaking, the combat capability of a prototype ship is at least twice that of the mass-produced model!
Currently, Orman Tag possesses prototypes for three Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyers, six Commander III-class Dreadnoughts, and one Sovereign-class Super Star Destroyer. Of these prototypes, one Eclipse-class and four Commander III-class ships possess basic combat capabilities.

In addition, there were prototype ships for new warships, including four Onager-class Star Destroyers, five Side-class Missile Heavy Cruisers, ten Raider-class Corvettes, ten Razor-class Frigates, and ten Class II Frigates.

If all these warships were added together, Orman Tag could even assemble a powerful fleet consisting of one super Star Destroyer, four Dreadnoughts, more than thirty Star Destroyers, and more than 260 medium and small warships!

As long as he sends this force out, Druckenville will undoubtedly be flattened!
However, he dared not.

Because sending the prototype ships into combat would be tantamount to a serious military leak. The frigates would be fine, but if Orman-Tagg really dared to send the Eclipse-class prototypes out, the Imperial Intelligence Service would probably be calling him in for questioning the next day.

After careful consideration, Orman Tager decided to seek outside help.

So he sought out Neil Decklan, who was also an Imperial Marshal. He was the least notable of the twelve Imperial Marshals, because of his humble origins; before becoming a Marshal, the only verifiable qualification he held was as a TIE fighter pilot.

However, there was a gap of several years between his time as a fighter pilot and his promotion to marshal, and no one knew where he went. Rumors circulated that he received personal training from His Majesty the Emperor during those years, suggesting he was on the Emperor's side.

None of these rumors have been verified, so even as an Imperial Marshal, Niall Decklane lacked real power.

Orman Tagg saw this precisely in himself; he believed he could form an alliance with Neil Decklane to some extent. His Tagg family was wealthy and powerful, but lacked a strong foothold in the military, while Neil Decklane was neither a deeply entrenched military family nor lacked military connections, and he also held the position of Imperial Marshal, making him a perfect fit.

So when he received the news that his family fleet had suffered a crushing defeat and that Major General Dorras, who was fighting in his personal capacity, had been killed, Orman Tag immediately contacted Neil Decklane and asked him to come and help him resolve the Silas Tag problem.

Neil Deckland readily agreed, and he soon arrived on the planet Miragro, where he began assembling a fleet under the pretext of quelling the rebellion.

Meanwhile, Silas Tag was not idle either; he finally began to take action.

Taking advantage of the victory in the battle of Druckenville, he began to demand that the other members of House Targ submit to him and acknowledge him as the head of the family.

However, Silas-Tagg's appeal was completely ignored. The powerful figures in the family saw very clearly that Silas had only defeated Orman-Tagg's fleet by colluding with the pirates of the Hutt Space.

An enraged Silas-Tagg was furious in his command center, threatening the family members that if they did not acknowledge him as the head of the family, he would send a fleet to kill them all.

But still, no one paid any attention.

Internal strife is brewing within the Targ family. The defeat in the Druckenville campaign has led many in the family to believe that Orman Targ is no longer fit to be the head of the family. But just because Orman isn't the head doesn't mean it has to be Silas. Many who believe they are qualified to be the head of the family are beginning to stir.

Silas Targ wanted to leave Druckenville and return to his home planet, Tepachi. However, he was surprised to find that the Galactic Empire's navy had sealed off the borders, and all hyperspace routes around Druckenville were closed!

This is equivalent to Silas-Tagg being confined outside the Empire's borders!
Silas had no idea how big a mess he had made!

After he opened the hyperspace channel at the border, allowing the Scourge to enter the Empire, a large number of space pirates entered the Empire because all the border outposts in the Hutt space direction became ineffective.

The Scourge failed to obtain funds from Silas-Taggart, but dared not directly attack Silas due to the influence of the Kingdom of Dawn and Ni Yongxiao. Enraged, Ron stormed into the Empire, using the superior mobility and firepower of the Minmatar ships in EVE Online to plunder and pillage within its borders.

In just one week, the Scourge ravaged three planets, causing not only huge casualties but also looting almost all of the planets' wealth!
If we include other ships that were looted by pirates, the number would increase to hundreds!

Moreover, in just one week, countless illegal immigrants and people have poured in! It's even impossible to determine whether any Dawn Kingdom spies have infiltrated among them!
Marshal Neil Deklan agreed to Orman Tagg's request, and this was also an important reason—he had another mission: to wipe out these space pirates.

So when Neil Deklan led his fleet to the planet Drukenville, Silas Tagg was horrified to discover that he had already been abandoned by everyone!

He couldn't leave Druckenville, and his family avoided him like the plague—although he exposed Orman-Tagg's financial fraud, proving Orman wrong didn't prove him right. Furthermore, his collusion with space pirates to destroy Orman's fleet was equally unacceptable.

Because these fleets belong to Orman Tag, but also to the family!

Moreover, when Marshal Neil Deklan led his regular army to blockade Druckenville, even Silas Targ's most loyal subordinates—those in the research and technology department—fled. The future envisioned by Casio Targ did not materialize; Silas Targ defeated Orman's fleet, but still lost everything.

This is natural. Everyone knows that Orman-Tagg leads only a family fleet that is reserved by the Empire. This is only the strength of a super-large escort fleet. If this fleet were really thrown into the main battlefield between the Dawn Kingdom and the Galactic Empire, it probably wouldn't even make a ripple.

The battle on Drukenville was a lose-lose situation for both Silas and Orman!
Blinded by rage, Orman Tagg ordered Marshal Neil Declane to immediately conquer Druckenville, and to spare no one, life or death, any traitors on the planet!
Neil Deckerlan was naturally very happy to accept, and he knew he lacked a foundation and support, so he wouldn't let go of such an opportunity to gain exposure.

He led a squadron of the Galactic Empire Navy, comprising 40 Imperial-class Star Destroyers and 300 medium and small warships—a force that could easily overwhelm Silas-Tagg's escort fleet. As for the Scourge, they'd long since vanished without a trace!
At this moment, the command center on the planet Druckenville is in complete chaos.

Everyone was thinking about escaping or surrendering. Silas Tagg was completely at a loss; he frantically called out to his older brother, Casio Tagg, but there was no response.

Neil-Declan's fleet has reached the outer reaches of the planet; it's all over.

"No! Impossible! Where is Casio! Where is Casio!! You said it! You said that as long as we win, it's fine!!" Silas-Tagg shouted frantically.

“Mr. Silas… calm down! Surrender!” one of Silas’s men said as he approached. “It’s Marshal Neil Decklane! He’s a man of the army!”

"No! Get Casio Tagg here right now! Quick! He must have a solution!" Silas Tagg grabbed his subordinate's shoulder and shouted.

"Mr. Casio?" The subordinate paused, then asked curiously, "Didn't Mr. Casio sacrifice himself ten years ago? Why are you mentioning him?"

"What are you talking about? He was just here! He's the one who won that battle!!" Silas's expression suddenly changed.

“Mr. Silas, stop fantasizing. That battle was commanded by the fleet commander of Druckenville, Stanker…” his subordinate continued to urge, “Surrender! This is your only chance…”

"No... impossible... impossible! Second brother is still here! Second brother is still here..." Silas-Tagg was completely in a state of chaos.

Seeing him like this, the subordinate didn't care about anything else and turned to run away.

However, just when everyone was trying to find their own way to make a living, all communications, holographic networks, and even television stations on the entire planet Druckenville simultaneously began broadcasting the same image.

All that appeared on the screen was a black man dressed in a white marshal's uniform with gold epaulets and a dark blue cloak—Neil Decklane. He coldly declared: "Led by Silas Targ, the planet Drukenville has colluded with foreign pirates, causing severe losses to the Empire. Now, on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor, I hereby issue an extermination order against Drukenville!"

"What did he say? An extermination order?" A pedestrian in the square pointed at the giant screen and shouted, "What does the battle happening here have to do with us? Why issue an extermination order?!"

"Run! Run! Run!!!"

"Help... I don't want to die, I don't want to die..." Almost all the people were in chaos.

Even the Silas fleet on the planet's periphery received the news, and all their communications to the Imperial fleet went unanswered.

“He’s going to kill us! He’s going to kill us all!!” a Tagg family officer shouted.

"They didn't even give us a chance to surrender..."

"We're going to die anyway!! Let's fight them to the death!!"

Just then, a turbo laser cannon was suddenly fired from somewhere! However, the shot missed and hit a space station instead.

However, this very shot reignited the flames of war!

Someone shouted into the Silas fleet's communication channel: "The Empire wants to kill us! We can't just sit here and wait to die! Rather than be slaughtered like chickens, we'd rather fight them to the death!!"

"Yes! Let's fight them!"

"Fight them!!"

People are herd-oriented, and in extreme despair, they finally unleashed their last strength!

……

Meanwhile, Neil Deklan looked at Druckenville with great curiosity, "What are they doing? They've come this far, why don't they surrender?"

"Keep calling on the public channel and tell them to surrender!" the adjutant relayed the order. "Where's Silas Tag? Still can't reach him? Make him come with us; punishment is better than death!"

At this moment, a sudden change occurred!
"Marshal! We've detected that the enemy warships have opened fire!!" the officer from the sensor department shouted.

Neil Deklan was stunned for a moment, then a surge of anger rose from the bottom of his heart, "Since that's the case, you asked for it!!"

He abruptly stood up, spread his arms, and a powerful, dark primal force instantly expanded, engulfing the entire fleet! His eyes were bloodshot, and he said ferociously, "Then, this is your choice! Battle Meditation!"

As the dark side of the Force expanded, the eyes of all Imperial Navy officers and men in the fleet turned bloodshot! They felt a surge of rage and bloodlust from the depths of their being! Now, everyone in this fleet only wanted to tear their enemy to shreds!
Battle Meditation!

This is why Palpatine appointed Neil Deckerlane as Field Marshal! (End of Chapter)