Chapter 103: Chapter 102, Laughter with Profound Meaning

Upgrade complete!

Feeling the sudden surge of immensely powerful Spiritual Energy, Gu Hang’s confidence skyrocketed!

He even wanted to find a Phoenix to spar with, not for anything else just to test his current strength!

Of course, that was not feasible.

He and the Phoenix were allies now, but their relationship wasn’t that close yet.

Gu Hang could only regretfully give up on the idea.

Speaking of the Phoenix Battle Group, Gu Hang got along quite well with Commander Matins, but he wasn’t very familiar with the others. Mainly because those space warriors all had an unapproachable air about them, making it hard to strike up a conversation.

Except for Priest Rizzo, with whom Gu Hang had quite a good impression—a kind-looking old bald man with white whiskers—though it was strange to describe a four-hundred-year veteran who had blood on his hands as kind and benevolent.

Although Gu Hang had not met him many times, each time he saw him, the priest would smile at him.

He always felt that there was some deep meaning behind the old priest’s smile.

…

Commander Matins always felt that Priest Rizzo’s gaze towards Mr. Gu was somewhat peculiar.

After receiving Mr. Gu’s mission request, he accepted it without any hesitation.

Ignoring Schneider’s eagerness to fight, he had the bald guy stay in the outer city to continue coordinating the security work of the food distribution points in the entire outer city area.

Schneider was certainly not satisfied, but obedience was instinctive, and he could only keep his dissatisfaction to himself.

Then, with two of his brothers and Priest Rizzo, Matins rushed to the inner city.

As they were gathering and preparing to depart, he noticed the exchange of glances between Priest Rizzo and Mr. Gu, which sparked his curiosity.

Being the closest of battle brothers, there was nothing to be embarrassed about, so Matins straightforwardly voiced the question in his heart.

Priest Rizzo just gave him a smile and said, “Did we not come to this world to seek the help of this Mr. Gu? We should at least have a good attitude.”

“Uh…”

Hearing Rizzo’s response, Matins was somewhat at a loss for words.

I asked with such sincerity, and the old priest is brushing me off?

Is there some secret he can’t tell me?

Wanting to inquire further but Rizzo took the initiative, “Why did you choose not to bring Schneider this time and come personally? Because…”

While speaking, the white-whiskered old bald man winked towards Superior Georgette not far away.

Caught off guard and suddenly embarrassed, Matins said, “What do you mean?”

“Hahaha!” Rizzo laughed, patting Matins on the shoulder.

He successfully diverted the topic.

This slippery old man!

He didn’t have time to ask any more questions, as the operation was about to begin.

Four space warriors, nine Battle Nuns, twenty-eight elite marines, and the 2nd Battalion led by Perbov—though under-full strength…

This formation, although not particularly numerous, was the most elite small action team that Gu Hang could offer at the moment.

They sat in many army vehicles, heading towards the outer city.

These military vehicles had also been seized from the Alliance Legion. Produced by the Abandoned Cave Society, the IR Iron Bull series had just entered mass production with not much output—barely enough to organize a convoy from Weixing City transporting synthetic starch and was being directly used in Revival City.

This so-called Weixing City was the initial camp. Gu Hang had recently given it a precise name. It was a play on words: it could either be referred to as Revival City’s satellite city or be interpreted as ‘defending the achievements of Revival’.

However, even though the IR Iron Ox series isn’t needed yet, the original military vehicles were sufficient for the task.

The Battle Nuns were fine, but the massive size of the four interstellar warriors made it difficult for them to squeeze into the canvas-covered trucks, which also challenged the vehicles’ load-bearing capabilities.

Enduring this inconvenience was necessary.

Their operation this time was a decapitation strike, seeking swift and rapid action to catch the enemy off guard. The giants clad in blood-red battle armor running through the streets towards their target would make a lot of noise. Merely showing such a stance would likely alert the target to flee immediately.

They had no choice but to hide in the vehicles.

As for whether the movement of military vehicles would attract attention… there was indeed such a possibility. However, fortunately, military mobilization in Revival City had been frequent of late, and military vehicles moving back and forth in the narrow passages of the outer city had almost become the norm.

In any case, riding in vehicles would certainly be more stealthy than if they were to reveal themselves and move openly.

As for what Commander Matins was obsessively thinking about… Pah! Not at all!

Regarding the Battle Nuns, Matins realized they hadn’t boarded the trucks.

He remembered the previously agreed plan of action, where the nuns would enter the battlefield directly from the air.

Why couldn’t the interstellar warriors do the same?

Because they were too heavy, and the aircraft couldn’t bear them… The Battle Nuns’ powered armor was much lighter than theirs.

Thinking about this explanation, Matins was infuriated.

What a piece of junk planet, not even a damn aircraft capable of carrying them could be found!

They were wearing standard tactical powered armor, not some vanguard type, and certainly not the terminator type.

If even this wasn’t possible, thumbs down!

…

Sitting in the military vehicle, which was significantly narrower relative to their size, with a hint of gloom for a while, they came to a stop.

It seemed they had arrived at their destination.

At that moment, inside the helmet connected to the radio message, information came through that they were in position.

Matins ordered the team to disembark, spread out in formation, and surround the target location.

He assumed command.

This was a very natural thing for him, as Matins had gotten used to such a role from his past experiences. Interstellar warriors always held a core tactical position on any battlefield. Especially when coordinating with other imperial forces, they naturally placed themselves in the most pivotal position and then took command.

However, Gu Hang had an issue with this.

Having Matins in command was certainly great tactically. He had at least two hundred years of combat experience and possessed the status of a battle group commander—directing such a small-scale team battle was definitely within his grasp, meticulous in every aspect, something Gu Hang, who had not undergone specialized military command training, could not compare to.

But this would let the interstellar warriors establish their prestige among the troops without saying a word. When the soldiers got used to taking orders directly from the interstellar warriors, where would the governor’s authority stand?

Although Matins himself might not have intentionally aimed to build influence, merely acting normally, Gu Hang did not welcome this development.

Sometimes, on many non-homeworld planets, where interstellar warriors stayed for a long time, the governor slowly turned into a nanny for the battle group, often evolving step by step in this way.

There was still a long way to go before reaching that state, but it didn’t prevent Gu Hang from nipping it in the bud.

Feeling guilty, he certainly didn’t want the Phoenix, especially the Phoenix he hadn’t yet dealt with, to have too much sway over his direct subordinates.

Gu Hang issued a new order, “Commander Matins, please launch the attack directly. We can’t afford to slowly wait for the encirclement to form, the enemy might escape during this time.”

Matins was taken aback for a moment, slightly unaccustomed.

He thought again of Priest Rizzo’s smile, but ultimately said nothing more, simply acknowledging and then signalling the other three brothers to begin their action.

After getting out of the vehicle, Matins looked up at the sky.

The gloomy sky had begun to rain, and the wind was growing stronger.