The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2809. Salukami's Blood Debt (Part 1)
Lin Nan led the fleet in a frenzied attack, even ordering the Typhoon-class and Catastrophe-class battlecruisers, which were long-range support ships, to join the main force in the attack.

This way, he can have his main fleet take care of these relatively vulnerable warships, preventing them from being attacked by enemy star destroyers.

At this stage of the battle, formations have become irrelevant; he's just fighting and killing haphazardly. As long as he can inflict substantial damage on the Imperial fleet, he can continuously intimidate them, making them hesitant and afraid to fight to the death.

It's like being cornered in an alley by a group of thugs. In this situation, the best course of action for your survival is not to cower and passively take a beating, but to grab a brick and knock one of them down, even if it means taking a couple of hits, and beat him until he's bleeding profusely. Only then will they be too afraid to fight you to the death.

Lin Nanyi continued to relentlessly pursue the Imperial fleet that had previously attacked the D-37 area, partly to strike a fallen enemy, and partly to leave room for Imperial warships in other areas.

What space?
There's room to escape!

Lin Nanyi was now gritting his teeth and fiercely attacking the D-37 area fleet, while constantly telling the Imperial warships in other areas to run away quickly and stop firing cold shots.

Even though hundreds of Imperial-class Star Destroyers hesitated to advance, their firing from a distance posed a significant threat. The relentless long-range artillery barrage and the dense barrage of turbine laser beams were deadly threats. Lin Nanyi couldn't even slow down the fleet's advance, because any slowdown would result in a devastating barrage!

Although Lin Nanyi has now gained the upper hand, the situation remains extremely dangerous. Although he launched a counterattack like a mad dog, crippling the Imperial fleet in the D-37 area, the Imperial warships in other directions are merely hesitant to advance, far from being on the verge of collapse and wanting to flee.

To put it bluntly, the captains of those imperial warships were just watching and waiting for others to be sent to their deaths, until the Dawn Kingdom's warships were almost exhausted and at their last gasp, so that they could go up and reap the rewards.

They could all see that the Dawn Kingdom fleet led by Lin Nanyi's mad dog-like offensive could not last—especially the phased missiles launched from the Typhoon-class battlecruisers, which were even more limited.

Therefore, they remained certain that the victor was still on their side. The only difference lay in who would be the cannon fodder, sacrificing their lives to wear down the Dawn Kingdom's fleet.

It seems this cannon fodder is the fleet in area D-37. Great! It's not us. Then we'll provide long-range artillery support from behind. We'll provide very strong support, so don't accuse us of being passive in combat!

The commander of this Imperial fleet, Vice Admiral Torgusius, had completely given up. Upon receiving news that Admiral Gideon Tarkin had been decapitated and killed on Chalos IV, he knew he was finished.

He was a general in the Tarkin family system, and with Gideon Tarkin's death, the Twelfth Army's military landscape would undoubtedly be completely reshuffled. Given the Imperial military's consistent practices, a general like him, who had lost his patron, would almost certainly be made a scapegoat to bear the responsibility for this defeat.

Therefore, in the current battle on Planet Salukami, if the war was won, it was because the captains exercised their initiative and fought bravely despite the command system being paralyzed, defeating the enemy. If it was lost, it was because of their poor command and flawed decision-making, resulting in the defeat of the separatists despite having superior forces.

Either way it's death.

So, Lieutenant General Torgusius began indulging in drinking and revelry on his flagship, getting himself completely drunk. His staff and command structure were in the same boat; they were all in the same boat, and therefore, they had no future.

The entire battlefield on the planet Sarukami was engulfed in a hail of bullets and artillery fire, yet inside their flagship, singing, dancing, and laughter filled the air. What did they care about combat command, unified deployment, or intelligence support? If one were to look from the outside, they could even see multicolored lights flashing continuously inside the flagship's portholes.

However, the lack of unified command and intelligence support caused most of the Imperial Fleet's warship captains to overlook one fact—the Kingdom of Dawn also had reinforcements!
Or rather, even if they knew, they wouldn't know what to do at that moment.

The lack of unified command means that no one can think about and judge the problem from a higher perspective. Each individual believes that they cannot mobilize others, so their only choice is to do their own job well.

What is happening right now?
Long-range artillery support!
Just then, a bright white light flashed, and the other half of the Dawn Kingdom's fleet finally arrived at the battlefield!

The force of 100 capital ships, 40 heavy cruisers, and 400 medium and small warships became the key factor in determining the outcome of the battle!
Seeing the reinforcements arrive, Lin Nan finally breathed a sigh of relief, but before his tense nerves could relax, the communication terminal began flashing red, and a figure appeared on the screen.

It wasn't Major General Pinar, but...

General Grievous! His single eye burned with a ferocious, bestial light, and his mechanical arm gleamed coldly in the firelight streaming through the porthole: "You did very well, Governor Lin Nanyi, better than I expected."

The sound seemed to come from inside a metal can, filled with cruelty and murderous intent.

"Thank you for your timely assistance, General Griffiths." Lin Nan was somewhat excited. He subconsciously gave a military salute, but then realized that he no longer held a military rank and quickly put it down.

General Griffiths returned a formal salute from the Kingdom of Dawn and said, "Continue your current operations; I will provide flank support."

“I understand, General Griffiths.” Lin Nan nodded.

After shutting down communications, General Greaves began issuing operational orders to Major General Pinnell, who had now become his operations adjutant. Order after order, precise and efficient.

He had never been so serious before, and this attitude even surprised Major General Pinar, who knew him before.

No one here knows that a fire is burning in General Grievous's heart!
The flames of revenge!
Ten years ago, right here on the planet Sarukami, he led the last main fleet of the Independent System Confederation, holding out for four years before finally succumbing to Darth Vader's relentless and incredibly ferocious offensive.

This defeat also cost the entire Independent Galaxy Confederation!

General Grievous will never forget how the Galactic Empire's warships relentlessly pursued and hunted down his fleet after it finally collapsed, not even sparing warships that shut down their engines and surrendered!

He will never forget that Thunbak-Tura led the Semir's fleet to resist to the last man on the planet Salukami, even though they could have surrendered!
He would never forget that after Darth Vader conquered Sarukami, he did not immediately use orbital bombardment, but instead landed on the planet and systematically executed all its inhabitants, broadcasting the entire galaxy live!
How many people died in this massacre? 80 billion!
No, it's 8,374,369,921 people!! (End of Chapter)