The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2833, The Fortress's Swan Song
Currently, the Kingdom of Dawn is brazenly constructing a stargate on the planet Bonta in the Eastern Territory. However, they know that once this stargate is completed, combined with the stargate on the planet Losar, the Kingdom of Dawn will greatly strengthen its control over the Eastern Territory. At that point, the war situation in the Eastern Territory will gradually spiral out of control, just like the two battlefields in the Northern and Southwestern Territories.

Even if Wilhoff Tarkin knew this, he wouldn't dare to easily send troops to obstruct the attack. Partly because he himself lacked sufficient forces, and partly because Kashik, situated between Umbala and Chalos IV, became a very conspicuous presence.

The Wookiees of Kashyyk are known for their unruly nature, martial spirit, and liberalism. During the Clone Wars, they fought against the Confederation of Independent Systems; during the Galactic Empire era, they fought against the Galactic Empire, their motto being: "Whoever doesn't grant me autonomy, I'll beat them up."

Moreover, their army is extremely powerful, and with the orbital defense facilities built with their help from the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars, this planet has become an indestructible rock. It's similar to the planet Jabim, which previously relentlessly attacked the Dawn Kingdom.

Therefore, if Wilhoff-Tarkin's fleet were to attack the planet Bonta, it would inevitably pass through the airspace of Kashyk. The Wookiee's orbital artillery would certainly not show mercy to the Imperial fleet, and the Rebel Alliance would continue to harass its logistics as always. This would definitely cause trouble in the Imperial fleet's backyard.

Wilhoff Tarkin had organized orbital bombardments before, but his fleet dared not linger too long on the outskirts of Kashyyk. So, they mostly carried out precise, small-scale orbital bombardments, destroying clearly defined targets and then quickly leaving, fearing that while they were focused on bombing, they would be ambushed by Rebel Alliance X-wing fighters that suddenly appeared and stabbed them in the back with proton torpedoes.

Therefore, the Imperial Army mostly fought on land on Kashyyk, where there were no elusive and powerful X-wing fighters.

The Wookiee's organized army has been destroyed by precision orbital bombardment, and guerrilla warfare is still the main mode of warfare on the planet, always resorting to the most disgusting tactics.

Therefore, Wilhoff Tarkin could only watch helplessly as the ring structure of the Bunta Gate was pieced together section by section in orbit, and there was nothing he could do about it.

On the Eastern Front, General Grievous is currently leading the Titan warship Divine Messenger, pressing the main fleet forward to the planet Roch, poised to attack Lantilis at any moment. Furthermore, the nine Purifier carriers led by Moyo have disappeared and are harassing supply lines behind Lantilis's borders.

The planet Lantilis is on the verge of destruction.

……

Just as tensions were rising on both sides in the East, the battle on Bilblin had completely erupted.

Oswald-Tesick, spearheaded by his flagship Reaper-class Executor-class super star destroyer and accompanied by five Warrior-class dreadnoughts, launched a frenzied bombardment of the armed asteroid defenses surrounding Bilbrin.

The most distinctive feature of Bilbrin's planetary defenses is its asteroid belt. These asteroids, developed since the Galactic Republic era and later by Dunn-Wessex, have been largely equipped with turbo-laser cannons and energy reactors, transforming them into armed asteroids. These armed asteroids are a crucial component of Bilbrin's defenses. If the planet is attacked, these armed asteroids will fire upon the incoming fleet from all directions. Moreover, most of these armed asteroids are fortified; their size, ranging from several kilometers to hundreds of kilometers, makes them extremely resilient, making them a truly formidable force.

However, the tug-of-war between the Dawn Kingdom and the Galactic Empire on the planet Bilbrin has lasted for one or two years, with three or four large-scale battles fought and the planet changing hands twice. Each battle follows a fixed pattern—clear the armed asteroid, occupy the planet, control the armed asteroid, then the other side invades, the other side clears the armed asteroid, the other side occupies the planet…

As a result, the asteroid belt around Bilblin is now very sparse, with a total of about 4000 asteroids remaining.

Luo Huacheng used barges and makeshift engines to pull all 4000-plus armed asteroids to the vicinity of the planet, constructing a new defensive line. This defensive line is now in a state of disarray, essentially emitting its last vestiges of light and heat.

After those armed asteroids were destroyed, countless warship wrecks and asteroid fragments swirled around the planet, making the surrounding environment extremely harsh, even hindering normal navigation. Unfortunately, both the Dawn Kingdom and the Galactic Empire, facing pressure from each other, were frantically strengthening the planet's defenses, leaving them no time to clean up the surrounding environment.

Luo Huacheng treated Planet Bilblin as a consumable resource, developing it in a way that was completely unsustainable. He also installed a destructive bomb on the stargate, intending to detonate it if the core equipment couldn't be removed during the retreat.

The Reaper-class Executor-class super star destroyer charged at the forefront, its 5000 large and small turbo-laser cannons firing wildly, exploding like raindrops on the armed asteroid.
Luo Huacheng commanded his fleet to hide behind the armed asteroid, trying to let the asteroid absorb as much enemy fire as possible, and then return fire. Currently, the Dawn Kingdom's fleet deployed on the planet Bilbrin consists of 150 capital ships, 300 heavy cruisers, and 2000 medium and small warships, putting them at a significant numerical disadvantage.

Moreover, apart from the Taotie-class Titan battleship, all other warships, including the Eternal-class supercarrier, the Prophet-class battleship, and the Archon-class drone carrier, had been transferred to the Eastern Territory, leaving only ordinary warships. Faced with the Galactic Empire's frenzied offensive, Admiral Trench, in coordination with Lieutenant General Luo Huacheng, precisely deployed the defensive line, avoiding the Executor-class super star destroyer's fire as much as possible, and concentrating firepower on other Imperial-class star destroyer formations to inflict casualties.

Meanwhile, war has also broken out on the planet Ode-Mantel.

The attack was launched by Dunn-Wessex with 150 Star Destroyers and over 1000 medium and small warships—a meager force indeed. However, the Dawn Kingdom's garrison on Od Mantel was equally meager, consisting of only 50 capital ships, 30 heavy cruisers, and 400 medium and small warships.

However, in this direction, Dunn-Wessex was worried about being harassed from the rear by the Geths's human-shaped Throne of Kings and dared not launch a full-scale attack. The Dawn Kingdom's fleet was also fearless and simply held its ground, refusing to engage in battle.

On the third day of the battle, Marshal Oswald Tessik's main fleet of the First Star System had fully entered Bilbrin, and the fighting began to become incredibly fierce. (End of Chapter)