The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2689 The Fall of the Fortress (Part Two)
2689. The Fall of the Fortress (Part Two)

Then, an unexpected incident occurred.

The Lyra, a super star destroyer that crashed in Doku, was attacked by special forces from the Kingdom of Dawn. The Kingdom of Dawn deployed a raiding force that included Ghost Agents, Serari Special Forces, and an Ewok jungle unit, which secretly infiltrated the planet in an attempt to destroy the Lyra.

However, this military operation ended in failure. The Galactic Empire had deployed over 50000 Imperial Stormtroopers here, and the Imperial Tribunal's judge, 'Ninth Sister,' was also present. After several attacks, the Dawn Kingdom's raiding forces suffered considerable losses. Seeing that the Imperial army's defenses remained solid, they chose to break up into smaller groups and disappear into the planet's jungle.

This attack solidified Dunn Wessex's belief that the Kingdom of Dawn would attack Palin-Minor. He reasoned that the Kingdom of Dawn's attempt to delay the Lyra's launch was a deliberate attempt to create a time gap so that they could launch a full-scale attack when the Lyra was at its weakest.

This led him to make wrong judgments in several subsequent decisions.

……

9 BBY, July 10th, Tang Xiao had barely recovered from the erosion caused by his "son". In order to continue commanding the next combat operation, he traveled from Planet Macito to Planet Ode-Mantel in a spaceship.

He stood in front of the sink, looking at himself in the mirror.

He was a pale-skinned man who looked to be in his thirties. He had regular features, sharp eyebrows, and bright eyes. Normally, he should be quite handsome. Coupled with the strong confidence and sense of oppression that came from being in a high position for a long time, it would be no problem to say that he had the air of a king.

However, this handsome appearance was ruined by his current sinister aura. He now looked almost sickly, and his neat chin and thick jawline only made him appear more sinister and terrifying. Moreover, a hideous black scar now ran down his right cheek from his temple to the corner of his mouth, making him even more frightening.

Tang Xiao slowly ran his hand over the scar on his cheek, feeling its icy touch, as if there were unmelting black ice blocks frozen inside the black scar.

He remembered that when he first began training in the Dark Side of the Force under Darth Preggs, a scar had formed in the same spot on his right cheek, though it wasn't as noticeable then. Later, as his Dark Side Force skills improved, and with the stealth techniques that Darth Preggs had taught him—the mastery of the Bane Paradoxes—the scar gradually disappeared, and his appearance returned to normal.

Later, as his Death Force matured, he became emaciated and skeletal for about six months. However, he later completed his Dark Ritual on Coriban, gaining almost complete control over Death, which restored his appearance once again.

Tang Xiao knew that the changes in his appearance during those times were only temporary, and were a result of his own increasing power. Eventually, he would return to his original appearance.

But this time, Tang Xiao understood that his appearance would not change again. Even if it did, it would only become more terrifying and grotesque, eventually losing its original appearance completely and becoming utterly hideous, like Darth Sidious.

This is the inevitable outcome for every Dark Side Force sensible individual who pushes darkness to its extreme. But for him, the situation seems even worse. His current state is a direct result of the erosion caused by his "son's" incredibly powerful Dark Side Force; in other words, he was passively transformed. This also indicates that his Dark Side Force is beginning to show signs of spiraling out of control.

This was the price he inevitably had to pay when he tried to control his "son," an existence that was almost the very essence of the dark side of the Force.

A surge of anxiety rose within Tang Xiao. He raised his hand and gently brushed it across the mirror's surface. With a crack, the reinforced mirror instantly shattered. Seeing it shatter into countless pieces, his expression turned sinister.

Turning abruptly, Tang Xiao entered the conference room, where several holographic projections were already waiting. These included Admiral Trench, the current commander of the Northern Fleet; the secret operations advisor, Ander Wiking; Major General Luo Huacheng, commander of the Bilbolin Planet forward base; and senior military leaders from Dawn Planet, including Qi Jian and Karl Walton, as well as several intelligence department heads, including Peggy Carter.

And here, there is another unexpected person—the priestess!

She wasn't participating remotely; she was actually on Tang Xiao's current spaceship.

After subjugating Imperial Inquisitor Jerek as “Temporality,” he took control of the Twilight Covenant, thus freeing the priestesses to formally participate in the revenge against the Empire.

Perhaps it's because she's served as the headmistress of the Twilight Covenant for so many years that people have forgotten that the priestess's true specialty is lightsaber swordsmanship! She is, in essence, a combat-oriented Jedi Master!
The priestess's presence undoubtedly provides greater assurance for this operation.

This meeting will decide on the second phase of the Northern Campaign, also known as Operation Gold.

Upon seeing Tang Xiao arrive, everyone immediately stood up and bowed. Only after Tang Xiao sat down and gently pressed his hand down did they all sit down.

Qi Jian said, "Your Majesty, we have completed our operational plan for the attack on Bilbrin. Once we capture Bilbrin and complete the stargate construction, we will have immense strategic mobility in the North. We will be free to launch a direct attack south on the core planet Sipio, cut off the Northern Legion's logistics to the east, or attack the Northern industrial planets. At that time, the Galactic Empire will be forced to defend everywhere, and their forces will be further dispersed."

As he spoke, he marked the star map. "It can be said that when Bilbrin falls, the strategic importance of the Imperial Northern Legion will decline politically, and the strategic center of the Galactic Empire will inevitably shift towards the core legions. Dunn-Wessex will find it impossible to maintain his position; at that point, he may not be far from establishing his own independent regime."

"Hehehe, very good, this is the result I wanted." Tang Xiao nodded in satisfaction.

However, he now exudes a cold and terrifying aura, so even such a praise sounds incredibly sinister and sends chills down one's spine.

Qi Jian continued, "The Galactic Empire is well aware of the strategic importance of Bilbrin, and they will undoubtedly react very strongly to our military actions. Therefore, there is only one way for us to conquer this fortress planet—by exploiting the conflict between Dunn-Wessex and Oswald-Teschke to create a time gap!"