The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2773 The Demise of Zhalin

2772. The Demise of Zhalin
Rewind to the end of 9 BBY, when Lieutenant General Zell Johnson was still putting up a last-ditch effort, the bad news from Dantoin had already reached Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Empire and the center of the Empire.

As the New Year approaches, high-ranking officials, dignitaries, and wealthy families are all preparing for celebrations under the domes of their magnificent mansions, with banquets, fireworks, and grand performances being rehearsed intensively.

At countless banquets, these dignitaries at the top of the empire chatted and laughed, discussing the various events happening in the galaxy amidst the clinking of glasses. In their words, those matters that shaped the galactic situation seemed to be nothing more than topics of casual conversation, as lightly as discussing the weather.

As for the defeat on the planet Dantuin, which seemed somewhat abrupt due to the Dawn Kingdom's retreat, it naturally became the subject of their jokes.

Some even jokingly called the fall of Dantuin "a minor cold on the imperial frontier."

"Have you heard? Governor Dunn lost two million troops on Dantuin."

"Hahaha, isn't that right? He's going to have to bleed a lot. Two million troops, even if you take away the robots and clones, he'll still have to pay a huge sum in compensation, right?"

"I heard he even managed to get Marshal Matteo involved, but it still didn't save the situation."

"Why should we worry about this? His wife is the chief engineer of Quarter Dynamics Shipyard; she doesn't lack this little bit of money. Hehehehe."

"He's really stupid to have thrown so many troops into that remote place. This is going to be interesting; he's probably going to suffer a huge loss!"

All sorts of rumors circulated among the high-ranking officials and their wives, who saw the lives of 200 million people as nothing more than a unit to measure pensions.

At this 9BBY mark, which is also the 11th year since the empire was founded, it seems that everything has returned to that decadent and extravagant era.

The fall of the Kingdom of Dawn brought these people a final peace—a fragile tranquility, like a mirage, easily shattered.

……

"Are we really going to risk the lives of two million people for this secret research facility that no one can say for sure what it is?" Gerard Perrin asked dejectedly.

“If you have the ability to rescue those 200 million people, I have no objection,” Dunn-Wessex said coldly. “If you can’t, then focus all your energy on strengthening the defenses and ensuring that the separatists don’t use Dantuin to cause us more trouble.”

“The astronomical position of Dantuin will not actually affect our military strategy,” Gerard Perein said.

Marshal Matteo Bach, standing nearby, said, "What I'm more worried about now is that if the fighting continues on Dantoin, and the conflict escalates, the separatists will find the location of Warren Base. So, the most important thing is to calm down the fighting on Dantoin as soon as possible—even if we are the losers."

Dunn-Wessex leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, trying to recall, "Warren Base... I heard an officer mention it to me before, I think it was called... Burke..."

“Bors Teraud, a colonel in the Advanced Technology Alliance,” Mattio Bacci said. “However, I can’t even access his information.”

“Ah, that’s right. I wouldn’t remember anything a colonel mentioned to me.” Dunn-Wessex waved his hand. “I was probably just telling Zell Johnson to keep an eye on the base, and then, until you brought it up with me, I didn’t think of it.”

He thought for a moment, his brow furrowing. He sat up straight and leaned closer to Matteo Bach, asking, "If this base is truly a secret project under His Majesty's purview, then why wasn't its existence kept secret? If Zell Johnson were captured by the separatists, wouldn't the intelligence have been leaked?"

“He won’t know the true location of the base; at most, it’s just an office on the ground,” Mattio Bach said. “The true location of the base is inside an ancient ruin, but I cannot reveal more detailed information without His Majesty the Emperor’s permission.”

“Okay, so what should we do to get this base out of separatist control?” Dunn-Wessex asked.

“It’s not about bringing it out, but about burying what’s inside completely. It must not fall into Tang Xiao’s hands,” Matteo Bach said. “I suggest we have the Dark Prophet’s people assist in handling this.”

"And then? You just abandoned Dantuin?" Gerard Perein was still brooding over it.

“After the separatists occupy Dantoin, they won't be very wary because of its remote astronomical location. Once the fighting there subsides, we'll send people to secretly infiltrate the planet and do what we need to do.” Mattio Bach looked at Dunn. “I can confirm that His Majesty the Emperor can tolerate the occupation of Dantoin, but he will absolutely not be happy to see Tang Xiao find Warren Base. You understand what I mean…”

Dunn Wessex nodded slowly, his expression gradually becoming serious.

……

As the war on Dantuin gradually subsided, the war on another part of the Milky Way was also drawing to a close.

Demetrius Zarin – former Imperial Marshal, and also the greatest traitor in the history of the Galactic Empire and even the Galactic Republic.

Now, he has reached a dead end.

In the previous battle, his fleet was overtaken by Admiral Thrawn and forced to engage the enemy head-on. However, even with the TIE Defender fighters, he was still soundly defeated by Thrawn.

Thrawn's fleet seemed to read his mind, always predicting his actions and setting traps to surround Zarin's warships with crossfire.

Zalin never expected that in a battlefield environment where detectors could monitor almost the entire movement trajectory of the enemy fleet in real time, Thrawn could bring his tactical predictions to such an extreme.

Later, Arden-Lin intervened, and she and her disciple Jing Fang piloted fighters that forcefully broke through the Imperial fighter formation's interception, launching several proton torpedoes at Admiral Thrawn's flagship. This finally forced Admiral Thrawn to order his fleet to change formation.

Finally, Demetrius Zarin escaped with the desperate protection of his men, but the base he had painstakingly begun to build was captured by Thrallus—and all the equipment and personnel inside the base fell into the hands of the Empire.

To make matters worse, he had a major falling out with Arden-Lin. Or rather, Arden-Lin felt that he was no longer of any use to her and could no longer help her achieve her goal of killing Darth Sidious, so she simply withdrew and disappeared without a trace.

If he could previously rely on Arden-Lin, a super-powerful Force-sensitive individual, to resist, now, without Arden-Lin and with only his remaining fleet and a few loyal lieutenants, Demetrius Zarin was powerless to turn the tide. His escape route was gradually blocked by the Empire, his supply lines were cut off, and every move he made was anticipated by Thrawn. His once ambitious rebellion plan was now reduced to a few battered warships barely clinging to life in the star system.

These warships were all painted with a huge, dark blue "Z" shaped mark on their sides, which was the emblem of Zarin's fleet.

At this moment, Demetrius Zarin sat on the bridge of his flagship, gazing at the holographic star map before him. The star map was marked with red lines, a completely impenetrable blockade constructed by Thrawn using fleets from various star sectors.

His adjutant, Major Crundha, approached and whispered in Zarin's ear, "Sir Marshal, I have received three different answers..."

"Oh? Why three?" Zhalin looked up at his loyal but mediocre adjutant and asked in return.

“The Rebel Alliance rejected our offer, claiming they would never do business with people like us. However, within their ranks, a Bosaan leader named Borsk-Felia claimed he could pay 50 billion Imperial Credits for the TIE-Defender fighter technology,” Kronda said.

"What about their fleet?" Zarin asked again.

Kronda shook his head. "They won't use their precious fleet for us."

Zhalin took a deep breath, shook his head, and asked, "What about the Kingdom of Dawn?"

“They are quite generous, not only willing to give us 10 billion credits, but also willing to send a fleet to pick us up. But the condition is… they also want all the intelligence data we have, especially about the Eclipse-class super star destroyer. In addition… we must accept complete incorporation,” Kronda said.

"In other words, if I go to the Kingdom of Dawn, there will be nothing left," Zhalin said coldly.

“But… their terms are indeed very generous. If we could really get 10 billion credits and bring them in, it wouldn’t be unacceptable,” Kronda replied.

"Foolish!" Zalin shouted angrily. "This force is our last resort. Once it is co-opted by those separatists, what's the point of them giving us a hundred billion? Without a force to protect us, they can take the money back at any time!"

"Then we should..." Major Kronda was confused.

Demetrius Zarin waved his hand. "Then we'll negotiate with them. The goods are in our hands; if they want them, they have to satisfy me! After that, let the fleet rest as much as possible, and we'll continue our journey!"

"Yes, Marshal." Kronda saluted, then asked, "Where is our next destination?"

“We can’t get past the Southern Territory; Thrallon has blocked our way. Let’s continue towards the Northeast, to the Mandalorian Sector. The political situation there is very chaotic; we should be able to shake Thrallon off there,” Zarin said. “But before that, we need to strengthen our forces and hire some mercenaries.”

Upon hearing the word "mercenaries," Major Kronda hesitated. "My lord, I don't trust the Scourge. Their current leader, Ron, is a ruthless and cunning thug. I fear that if this continues, they might kill us all at any moment..."

Demetrius Zarin said, "So we need another mercenary force that can rival the Scourge, preferably one where the two sides are at odds with each other. That way, we can maintain a stable balance between the two sides."

Kronda's eyes lit up. "I see! Marshal, you are indeed farsighted!"

"As for hiring them, we'll use the TIE-Defender technology as collateral beforehand. After selling the technology, we can satisfy any amount of money they want." Zalin waved his hand and continued, "Didn't we find an information broker yesterday? Let's have him come over and ask."

"Yes, Marshal!"

A moment later, a middle-aged man wearing a leather jacket, who looked like he had been traveling around various star sectors for a long time and whose face was full of vicissitudes, was brought over.

"In the Mandalorian Sector, which mercenaries are powerful enough and have an excellent reputation?" Demetrius Zarin asked directly.

“Sir, to be honest, your head is worth far more than the money you can offer right now,” the information broker said. “It’s just that nobody wants to deal with the Galactic Empire, so nobody’s come after you. But even so, there aren’t many mercenary groups willing to get involved in this mess.”

"That's a wise choice. Do those mercenaries really think they can collect bounties in the Galactic Empire just by taking my head? What a joke!" Zarin sneered.

The information broker neither confirmed nor denied it, but continued, "Near the Mandalorian sector, the larger mercenary groups are actually the Mandalorian mercenary groups. However, they only take on land jobs, since they don't have many warships... Speaking of which... there's a new group of pirates; maybe we could contact them."

“Pirates?” Kronda said with some disdain. “The Mandalorians don’t have warships, but pirates do? Besides, those people are known for their treachery. How do I know they won’t turn around and betray us?”

"No, this pirate group is a bit different." The information broker shook his head. "They take any job they can get; they're basically a mercenary group. It's just that they often rob the Galactic Empire's fleets when they're not busy, so people call them pirates. In reality, apart from what seems to be a grudge against the Galactic Empire, they're quite trustworthy to everyone else."

"Do they have a grudge against the Galactic Empire?" Demetrius Zarin stroked his chin, lost in thought.

“My lord! If we have a grudge against the Empire, perhaps we can actually use them to our advantage!” Kronda’s eyes lit up.

"Shut up, let me think about it." Zhalin interrupted him. Zhalin stared at the star map in silence for a long time before asking, "This group of pirates, let's make contact with them."

"But sir... you shouldn't have any money, right?" The information broker revealed a sly expression.

"Hmph! We possess the technology for the most powerful fighter jet in this galaxy. Tell them that as long as they can protect our safety, they can receive 20% of the proceeds after I sell the technology to the Dawn Kingdom!" Zhalin said coldly.

“I think they won’t refuse this price.” The information broker laughed.

"What's the name of this group of pirates?" Zhalin asked.

"Ah, they are called... the Fist of Orega."