The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2826. The Invisible Hand [General Grievous wishes everyone a Happy New Year]

Chalos IV was captured, and the planet's governor's mansion was completely destroyed by the wreckage of a crashing warship, resulting in the governor's death. The planet's highest military commander, Lieutenant General Ramon, surrendered—he did alright, leading his 200 battered Star Destroyers to fight until only about 40 remained, though the resistance didn't last long.

This bloody battle report is now on the desk of Serben, the governor of the Imperial Twelfth Army.

"Idiots! Idiots!! Even with Imperial-class Star Destroyers and an orbital space station, you can't defeat 120 of their ships? Idiots! Idiots! I'm going to court-martial Ramon!!" Governor Serben roared.

“Technically speaking, Lieutenant General Ramon is currently in a prisoner-of-war camp in the Kingdom of Dawn, so you cannot bring him to a military court,” Lieutenant General Hector said coldly.

He had completely given up on Governor Serben's actions.

If the Tarkin family had previously been prioritizing military gains before engaging in political maneuvering, then Serben completely disregarded the frontline battles, focusing solely on shirking responsibility, whitewashing the situation, and desperately reaping political capital.

Lieutenant General Hector had completely lost hope for the future of the Twelfth Army. He glanced at the impotently furious Serben, then silently turned and left.

This defeat was a devastating blow to the Twelfth Army. Now, the chain reaction has begun: Chalos IV has fallen, and General Grievous is leading nine Purifier carriers to plunder Balamak. Upon hearing the news, Balamak surrendered without any resistance.

Moreover, the mountain of logistical supplies on the planet Baramak has now all been obtained by General Griffiths.

General Grievous then began assembling his fleet, directing the true main force of the Dawn Kingdom's eastern territories toward the planet Baramak. Currently, only the planet Kashyyk remained standing between the Dawn Kingdom's fleet and the Galactic Empire's Fourth Army.

Kashyk? Yes, that's the planet where the Imperial Army is fighting the Wookiees to the death.

Can you really expect this planet to hold off the Dawn Kingdom's fleet for the Galactic Empire? Dream on. It's already a miracle that the Wookiee's escort ships didn't raid the Empire's supply lines.

Thus, the Fourth Army's Governor, Wilhelm Tarkin, very casually handed a document to the Twelfth Army's Governor, Serben: "Given that separatism may threaten the Fourth Army's territory, effective immediately, the Fourth Army will sever all forms of assistance to the Twelfth Army and will submit the shameful defeat of the loss of the Chalos IV military base to the Imperial Supreme Military Court for prosecution."

Then, Wilhoff Tarkin began to assemble his army on the planet Umbala to establish a defensive line.

That's right, Planet Andron!

It was once the production line for the behemoth-class battlecruisers built by the Underron people, who were aided by the Kingdom of Dawn. Later, during the Clone Wars, after fierce battles on the planet Underron and the extermination on the Dexon satellite, the planet Underron finally surrendered and was forced to join the Galactic Republic.

Today, this planet, once flowing with steel and blood, has once again become the steel bulwark of the Galactic Empire.

The planet Andron is an advanced planet with an independent military-industrial complex. After being occupied by the Galactic Republic, it began to be integrated into the Republic's production system. Now, the Dexon satellite, which once produced behemoth-class battlecruisers for the Dawn Kingdom, has become an important OEM factory for Imperial-class star destroyers.

Relying on its formidable industrial strength, Wilhoff Tarkin firmly believed that the Kingdom of Dawn had no chance of breaking through the Andron defenses. He cared nothing for the Twelfth Army—in his view, even disregarding Gideon Tarkin's grievances, Governor Serben's defeatism and incompetence had already sealed the Twelfth Army's fate. Governor Serben now had no other thoughts; his only concern was how to survive until the very end on Lantilis.

But in reality, once the 12th Army Company can no longer serve as a bulwark for the eastern border, then they have no value.

For the Galactic Empire, losing Chalos IV essentially crippled the Twelfth Army's strategic offensive capabilities. Their only remaining role was indeed to hold off on Lantilis, blocking the Peremian trade route, and hold out for as long as possible.

If we can't hold it? Then forget it.

But General Grievous's ambitions went far beyond that. His fleet set sail from Baramak and captured the planet Torgria—one of the two major logistical bases that had once supported Chalos IV.

Unlike the planet Baramak, which surrendered without hesitation, the governor of Planet Torgraia at least set fires, planted bombs, and destroyed most of the supplies, leaving General Grievous with little to gain.

Then, General Griffith didn't even touch the planet Kashyyk.

The Wookiees now defy all but the rebels. Even though the Kingdom of Dawn drove away the Galactic Empire's garrison, they still obediently engaged the Wookiee guerrillas in the jungle, or resorted to orbital bombardment, creating a super massacre that shocked the entire galaxy.

Therefore, it would be better to leave Kashyyk to the Galactic Empire and maintain the status quo.

Interestingly, Kashyk was within the Twelfth Army's defense zone, so when Wilhoff Tarkin crossed his legs and said he wouldn't interfere with the Twelfth Army's affairs, the mess naturally fell to Governor Thurben.

Serben has suffered defeat after defeat and has even been countersued by Wilhoff-Tarkin. He really doesn't dare to continue to slack off, so he grits his teeth and continues the ground war on Kashyyk. In short, as long as he doesn't clash head-on with the main fleet of the Dawn Kingdom, he'll do whatever he wants.

General Grievous, after suddenly baring his fangs and conquering Chalos IV within three days, and then sweeping through the surrounding area, disappeared again, lying low, and no one knew what he planned to do next.

Governor Serben now fully understands the despair of the Amriy people back then, and how General Griffith, whom the Kali people revered as a demigod, led a civilization of cold weapons to drive an interstellar civilization to the brink of extinction.

He didn't know where General Grievous was; he only knew that General Grievous was watching him. If he showed any weakness, General Grievous would suddenly appear from the place that terrified him the most, deliver a fatal blow, and then disappear again.

This feeling is devastating!

Governor Serben was almost sleepless at night. His biggest nightmare was waking up one morning to find General Grievous's fleet right in front of him.

The Twelfth Army of the Galactic Empire still exists, and the planet Lantilis still stands, but this army and this planet have been abandoned by the Empire. (End of Chapter)