The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2688 The Fall of the Fortress (Part 1)

2688. The Fall of the Fortress (Part 1)

The northern border of the Milky Way.

The Dawn Kingdom's intention to make a breakthrough in this direction is very clear. The only difference is whether they want to attack Palin-Minol first and completely destroy the Galactic Empire's Northern Legion, or attack Bilbrin directly and then strike at the core of the Galactic Empire.

The defenses of Palin-Minor are extremely strong. Even though the previous armed satellite, Iron Moon, was destroyed, the planet itself still possesses top-tier planetary shields, the highest configuration of its orbital defense system, and a large fleet stationed there, making it virtually impregnable.

Bilbrin also possesses a top-tier defense system. Although its planetary shield and orbital defense system aren't particularly advanced, they boast unique astronomical advantages—

The route from Dorin, controlled by the Dawn Kingdom, to Bilblin is extremely difficult due to the complex nature of the hyperspace passageways, resulting in very limited navigation capabilities. However, the route from Bilblin to the Galactic Empire is unaffected by the Empire's control of several highly secret, seasonal hyperspace passageways, which are used alternately.

Then, the planet Bilbrin was surrounded by an asteroid belt. The Galactic Empire transformed many of these asteroids into armed asteroids, installing reactors and heavy turbolaser cannons to create a powerful firepower network.

This situation appears to be impregnable...

However, all of this is only beautiful on the surface.

In the previous phase of the campaign, the Galactic Empire suffered a defeat in an encounter on the planet Bilbrin, with Lieutenant General Holster-Stretch killed in action. This led to the Dawn Kingdom's fleet invading the Bilbrin system and deploying several Dawnblade-class industrial motherships, establishing a forward base.

Subsequently, Admiral Gilard Pereren, who was preparing to attack the planet Od Mantel, misjudged the strategic mobility of the Dawn Kingdom fleet and was directly attacked by the Titan warship Divine Messenger, guided by a hyperspace beacon. The two Titan warships abandoned Bilbrin and arrived at Od Mantel within a day, defeating his fleet.

During the battle, Admiral Gerard Perrin was seriously wounded and returned to Palin Minor for treatment.

Two consecutive defeats made the Imperial military realize that something was seriously wrong. King Dunn Wessex of the North quickly transferred troops from various places to strengthen the defense of Palin-Minor, including even Bilbrin—yes, in his panic, he even planned to transfer troops from this fortress planet to defend his home base.

At this time, Lieutenant General Dagon Nils, who succeeded the fallen Lieutenant General Holster Streich as commander of the planet Bilblin, disobeyed Dunn Wessex's order to preserve strength in order to avoid insufficient forces due to troop withdrawals and thus make the Dawn Kingdom's forward base more secure, and led the planet's defense fleet to launch an offensive.

However, his offensive, launched with superior forces, was completely thwarted under the command of Major General Luo Huacheng, a Dawn Kingdom general who was personally leading an operation for the first time. Although the battle was incredibly arduous, Dagon-Nils ultimately failed to break through the Dawn Kingdom's defenses. With Dunn-Wessex issuing even harsher orders to withdraw, he was forced to halt his offensive. He was subsequently arrested by Dunn-Wessex and brought before a military court.

After that, Luo Huacheng increased the number of Dawn of Light-class industrial motherships at the forward base to 15, and obtained raw materials by salvaging warship wreckage and mining asteroids, thus initially achieving self-sufficiency. Some warships that were not seriously damaged could be repaired on-site.

Furthermore, field hospitals, recreation centers, command centers, soldiers' unions, and other logistical facilities were built here to provide as much support as possible for soldiers on expeditions far from home.

Meanwhile, the Galactic Empire was also caught in a tug-of-war with King Dunn Wessex of the North. Dunn Wessex believed that the Dawn Kingdom's two Titan warships in the North were both in the direction of Palin-Minor, so their attack direction must be there. Therefore, he insisted on withdrawing troops from other places and redeploying forces to defend Palin-Minor.

Furthermore, the fact that the only Executor-class super Star Destroyer in the North, the Lyra, was destroyed by Darth Malthael and crash-landed on the surface of Doku, and is still not airborne, gives him even more reason to withdraw troops from other places.

The Imperial High Command placed greater emphasis on Bilbrin. To prevent the gateway to the inner circle from being left open, they adopted a two-pronged approach of carrot and stick: first, they appeased Dunn Wessex by promising to send two Assertor-class dreadnoughts to the North as reinforcements, provided that he did not withdraw troops from Bilbrin.

Meanwhile, the Galactic Empire's most powerful First Star Force began to mobilize. The newly appointed Imperial Marshal Oswald Teschke personally led the Reaper Executor-class Super Star Destroyer to Sipio, and the Guardian Executor-class Super Star Destroyer also left Coruscant and entered the First Star Force's headquarters, Anax.

This was tantamount to moving the defensive line forward, and it also formally acknowledged Oswald Teschke's powerful military authority, placing two super star destroyers at his disposal. Now, he truly deservedly was the strongest among the twelve marshals of the Empire.

Marshal Oswald's military deployment served two purposes: firstly, it strengthened the defenses of the northern gateway to the core region; secondly, it served as a silent warning to Dunn Wessex, urging him not to act recklessly. The First Star System's army could easily sweep into the North, rendering him the King of the North unusable.

With this, the Galactic Empire's military deployment in the North was essentially complete. King Dunn Wessex of the North amassed a large force for defense on Palin-Minor, while also maintaining a presence on Bilbrin with 700 capital ships.

Oswald-Tesick served as the second and third lines of defense within the inner circle of the Empire, stationed on the planets of Scipio and Anax respectively, providing a solid rear support.

The fleet deployed by Oswald-Teschke in this direction has a formidable force, including two super star destroyers and 1500 capital ships!
Combined, the Galactic Empire has deployed 3300 capital ships in the North!

However, the commanders on both sides were also fighting each other for the right to speak. They argued repeatedly, each believing that the Dawn Kingdom's main attack direction was on their side in order to obtain more aid and greater military power.

This struggle is actually a microcosm of the power struggles within the Galactic Empire, and the constant internal strife is also an important reason for their repeated defeats in the war against the Kingdom of Dawn.