Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 1174: Chapter 8-13: Kerry’s Proposal (2)

The loss of Hanfrey’s two Elephant-class fleets has severed one of Sobel’s two fists in the Southeast Star System. Mikami Yuto’s strategy of ”appearing in the open while clandestinely advancing” may have been brilliant, but it has instead ensnared himself.

The atmosphere in the assembly hall seemed noticeably more relaxed than before. The overnight meetings were significantly reduced, officials representing various countries had their normal expressions restored, and during discussions of the situation, they were no longer as anxious and uneasy.

On October 2, the Alliance Command Center held a joint operations meeting.

The meeting appointed Admiral Chuckna Chen Fengxi as the chief commander of the alliance, leading the first Resk Army Group, composed of six mixed fleets, twenty-two armored divisions, and twenty-six fully mechanized infantry divisions, dispatched by Feiyang, the Silliac Federation, and Chuckna, to reinforce Leifeng Star. They are to join the current Eastern Theater alliance forces in Chuckna to stabilize the Resk Battle.

At the same time, after studying the current situation, the command center approved the appointment of Leefer as the commander of the Second Army Group in the Ryan Battlefield, leading ten A-level fleets, thirty armored divisions, and fifty fully mechanized infantry divisions to attack Catalonia and seize Evergreen Vine Star a month later, in order to divert the forces of the Western Alliance and create conditions for the Karsdon Star River Battlefield.

The news of Leefer leading troops to battle stirred up a thousand waves, causing various discussions in both military and political circles of the Feiyang Army.

As the leader of the Five Tiger Generals, Leefer and his army played a significant role, and the implications of his appointment involved many interest disputes and overt and covert struggles within the Feiyang hierarchy, which everyone was well aware of.

Leefer had a high reputation among the public. There had long been rumors of Leefer being suppressed, sparking various voices of protest from the public. These voices could not be suppressed anymore when Resk was in danger. If it weren’t for Longbow Star System still being in control, Leefer’s deployment to Resk was almost a certainty.

Now, although the crisis in Resk had somewhat eased, the Karsdon Star River, which is most important to Feiyang, faced aggressive attacks from the Binart Empire. Public opinion was growing stronger, and with the instigation of certain political figures, leaving Leefer sidelined was no longer justifiable. Sending him to the Ryan Battlefield was clearly the result of a compromise from all sides.

While everyone was either joyful, worried, secretly pleased, or wary about Leefer’s appointment, the officials of the Fei Alliance Joint Congress also held a meeting.

At 4 PM on the afternoon of October 2, United Parliament member Robert Kerry proposed demanding clarification on the ownership of the two captured Binart Royal Elephant-class fleets.

”Mars is neither a member country nor a regional union of the Fei Alliance; its so-called Sect Mutual Aid Alliance is merely a local armed group in Mars. There are no alliance or hierarchical relationships with the Fei Alliance. Our consistent stance towards such armed groups is either to eradicate or incorporate them. As far as I know, the fleet armed under the Sect Mutual Aid Alliance is vicious and malevolent, openly raiding trade ships passing Mars, committing all sorts of heinous acts.”

With flaxen hair and a scholarly demeanor, Kerry spoke righteously, ”I do not know the particulars of the Longbow Battle, nor do I wish to know. I only know that whatever they have done is not a reason for the Fei Alliance to be complicit with them, and certainly not a reason to let them take over the two Royal Elephant-class fleets! We can give them an opportunity, a chance to reform. However, if they insist on staying outside the Fei Alliance system and escaping control, then I believe we need to eliminate a hidden threat in the Southeast Battle Zone.”

At that moment, the assembly hall was silent.

Everyone knew how the Longbow Battle was won, the ambiguous relations with Leray and the so-called bandit army, and they also knew that the bandit army fleet stationed at Blue Stone Star and the miraculously ”broken out” Leray Fleet were, in fact, commanded by Leray Federation Admiral Russell.

And Leray certainly had no intention of placing the only forces they possessed under the command of the Alliance Command Center.

Kerry obviously knew all this as well; he just pretended not to. He deliberately did not mention the Leray Fleet led by Russell, choosing instead to target the Sect Mutual Aid Alliance. His maneuver was indeed precise and ruthless.

The Fei Alliance is a massive entity. Beside this colossus, the existence of armed forces such as the bandit army could not be allowed. This was a given among the officials of the United Parliament and a consensus among all member countries except the Leray Federation.

Moreover, the two Royal Elephant-class fleets were too coveted. Allowing these fleets to operate under the name of the sect and remain outside the Fei Alliance’s control was something no one could tolerate.

Robert Kerry’s words were like pouring cold water into a boiling pot of oil, causing various sizzling voices from the Feiyang area to splash out of the pot.

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Longbow Star System, Blue Stone Star.

In the city, heavily loaded trucks full of supplies either traveled back and forth along the resource highways or lined up in long rows outside the bustling factory bases. Transport ships took off from the airport, roaring with the sound of their reaction engines, passing through the strands of aurora in the atmosphere’s ionosphere, and flying into the vast starry sky. In space, gigantic steel space ports floated quietly. Warship formations patrolled vigilantly around them. Mining and merchant ships streamed constantly in and out.