Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 51: The Rebirth of the Phoenix

In the infinitely distant void of the universe, a scarlet spaceship is sailing through the stars.

Scarred and not grand in size, it carries a battalion on the brink of death.

The Phoenix Battalion has completed its long penitential expedition and has now regained its honor.

The tribunal of the Eastern Star Region, representing the central empire, has personally announced this to the world.

But what of it?

“We achieved victory in our century-long penitential expedition and gained the battle results we desired most, but we are now facing extinction.”

The Battalion Leader of the Phoenix Battalion, Salas Martins, often thought sorrowfully.

He is the 64th Battalion Leader of the Phoenix Battalion.

This battalion, with its countless glorious histories, is very likely to be brought to an end in his hands.

Before the penitential expedition, how did the battalion live?

At that time, the Phoenix Battalion was glorious and powerful.

They guarded the mother planet, receiving the adoration of billions of ordinary people, selecting the finest young men from billions, and transforming them with genetic seeds to become one of them.

The manpower and resources of the entire planet were at their disposal.

While defending the mother planet, they also responded to the call of the Emperor, traveling across the universe to participate in one glorious and great war after another.

They either crushed the enemies of the Emperor or defended worlds on the brink of destruction.

He and his brothers were called the Emperor’s Angels.

This glory accumulated over thousands of years abruptly ended a hundred years ago.

Martins bore no resentment towards anyone.

During the ‘Purple Lily Calamity,’ the Phoenix Battalion stood on the wrong side.

Thanks to the grace of the God Emperor, they were not purged as traitors, but they were still guilty.

The tribunal sentenced them to a century-long penitential expedition.

The so-called penitential expedition required the guilty battalion to carry out the most challenging and casualty-heavy assault missions without supplies, manpower, or support.

Once the mission was given, refusal was not an option, and it had to be carried out to the end, even unto death.

Most battalions sentenced to penitential expeditions never lasted until the end of their punishment period.

But the Phoenix Battalion, true to its name, was resilient and miraculously endured the penitential expedition.

One brutal war after another continued for a hundred years.

During these days, they still fought for the empire, but without any honor.

Their battles were for atonement, for death.

During the century-long expedition, the battalion leader changed six times, eventually falling into the hands of Martins, who considered himself talentless.

A few months ago, in the final battle of the penitential expedition, the previous battalion leader led the battalion’s last elite force in a desperate charge.

They won, but the cost was that, except for Martins and six others left behind, none survived.

He always remembered the look in his mentor’s eyes when he handed over the battalion leader’s emblem before the charge.

That gaze was filled with expectation and hope, and the future of the battalion hung heavily on his chest.

He was determined to rebuild his battalion but did not know how to achieve it.

Their homeworld had already been assigned to another battalion; the fleet had been entirely destroyed, leaving only the ‘Burning Feather,’ a small spaceship not even qualifying as a frigate; their power armor, armory, and genetic seed vault were all lost with the flagship’s destruction…

Perhaps no other battalion had ever fallen to such a miserable state.

They could only drift aimlessly through the universe, like headless flies.

Many forces indeed wanted to ‘help’ them. However, Martins could see through their sinister intentions.

They only wanted the remaining seven members of the Phoenix Battalion to serve as their high-ranking enforcers.

That held no honor and certainly no hope.

Martins sought a chance to rebuild the battalion, an opportunity to let the battalion fight with honor once again.

Unfortunately, when these topics were brought up, those who offered help would fall silent.

Recently, their spaceship had drifted aimlessly through a webway tunnel and arrived in the Pegasus Sector, much like many other sectors they had passed through in the past few months, with nothing special about it.

However, the battalion chaplain approached him at this time, claiming to have received a revelation during prayer: the hope for the battalion’s rebirth lay here.

Hope rose in Martins’ heart, like a drowning man grasping at a straw.

Rationally, he should not have believed it.

What was special about the Pegasus Sector?

An obscure sector with no special output, no glorious history, and no other battalions stationed here.

How could the hope for the battalion’s rebirth be here?

Yet, emotionally, he almost immediately believed it without hesitation.

Although it had only been a few months, which was insignificant compared to the long lives of the genetically modified space marines, he felt that he had endured too long a torment.

This sense of emptiness was even more painful than during the penitential expedition.

Given the chance, he was eager to seize it.

The battalion chaplain, his most trusted battle brother, had been in the prayer room for two days, with no sign of movement.

Martins’ anxiety was gradually rising.

But all the anxiety finally bore fruit at this moment.

He heard heavy footsteps, and as he turned his head, he saw a figure clad in the distinctive black power armor of a chaplain, wearing a skull-shaped helmet, with huge shoulder pads painted in the fiery red of the battalion and adorned with the Phoenix emblem, symbolizing the battalion’s identity.

It was Rizo, the oldest of the seven survivors, who had fought in the battalion for four hundred years.

He was supposed to have joined the final deadly battle but was forcefully retained by the previous battalion leader.

The battalion needed his experience to aid Martins.

“Chaplain Rizo, you’ve finally come out. Did your prayers yield any results?”

“Yes, Battalion Leader,” Rizo’s voice was tired but hopeful, “I have received a more precise revelation. The opportunity for the Phoenix to be reborn from the ashes is right here!”

The chaplain’s finger pointed on the star map.

There, was Fury Owl Planet.

Martins looked bewildered, ransacking his memory, unable to recall anything special about this world.

He couldn’t help asking, “Are you sure there’s no mistake?”

“I’m certain,” Rizo replied calmly, “The God Emperor has revealed that the chance for the battalion to be reborn lies there, on the Governor of that planet.”

Martins paced back and forth, finally making a decision: “Alright, change course, we head to Fury Owl Planet!”

The revelation received by Chaplain Rizo was the only opportunity in the past few months that Martins felt was worth looking forward to.

Although he had never heard of any special attributes of Fury Owl Planet, since it was a revelation from the God Emperor, surely there must be a powerful Governor there who might be willing to help rebuild the battalion!