Starting from the Planetary Governor

Now, Gu Hang really started to feel a headache.

There was indeed such a pitfall waiting for him on the Phoenix.

The most likely situation with the Phoenix’s genetic seeds issue was that at the time the warband was established, although most of the genetic seeds belonged to the Phoenix Legion, for some unknown reason, some of the Blood Angels’ seeds got mixed in.

Or, it could be that during one instance of the warband receiving support and genetic seed replenishment, a batch of the seeds came from the Blood Angels.

In some brutal, large-scale wars, it’s indeed possible for such a mix-up to happen due to management errors—if there was no conspiracy or deliberate action involved.

And if you include the so-called conspiracy theories in consideration...that would become too complicated.

It’s not impossible, but there are too many possibilities, and the truth of history has long been submerged in the passage of time. It’s now unclear and beyond our capability to investigate.

It can only be left as is, for now.

According to Matins, before the sin redemption expedition, the Phoenix wasn’t too worried about inspections from the Empire Government and the Mars Cultivation Association. On one hand, they had an abundant supply of genetic seeds from which they could select the ones most resembling the Phoenix Legion for inspection.

On the other hand, they themselves were formidable, had considerable political influence, and had the support of the parent legion for cover.

But now all these advantages are gone.

The genetic seeds that Gu Xing exchanged were all standard Phoenix seeds, without any that were more similar to the Phoenix.

And the Phoenix itself was no longer the powerful second-generation warband it used to be; it was fortunate not to have been annihilated. Also, because of the great mistake made in the past, they had long been severed from the parent legion, with no contact for over a hundred years.

Although they could try to re-establish this connection, over a hundred years have passed, and whether the Phoenix still acknowledges the Phoenix that is suspected to be a ’wild-breed, mongrel’ sub-legion is uncertain.

As for the Blood Angels, which might be another part of the gene source for the Phoenix... They weren’t even willing to perform a genetic inspection back then to see who the Phoenix warband actually belonged to, let alone now.

These original warbands, each with its own independence and because they have glorious combat records in the millennia-old inheritance, with extraordinary influence over many political entities of the Empire, coupled with many close sub-warbands surrounding them, nearly every one of them is an independent political force within the Empire.

And with their formidable military power and influence, almost no one dares to provoke them.

And the Phoenix is no longer the relatively strong second-generation warband of the past; there is no longer a question of being unwilling to offend them.

The Phoenix also underwent a sin redemption expedition, fought many dangerous enemies, and visited a lot of highly contaminated areas... It’s uncertain whether, under such circumstances, after paying the genetic seed tax, the Empire would determine that there’s a problem with the Phoenix’s seeds and consequently provoke a major review targeting the Phoenix and the Rage Owl Star harboring it.

When it comes to the affairs of an interstellar warrior warband, Gu Hang, who could barely be considered a newly established Planetary Governor, truly has no means to influence such matters. This isn’t as simple as a political struggle within a Star Sector.

But soon, Gu Hang stopped dwelling on this issue and even tried to comfort Matins, saying:

"There’s always a way when you reach the mountains, no need to worry. The collection of the warband’s genetic taxes isn’t related to the Imperial Taxation Department; it’s the Combat Corps Administration Bureau established jointly by the Mars Cultivation Association and the Empire Government that’s in charge.

Since the Phoenix Legion ended its expedition, it has only been a short while; they couldn’t possibly know where you all are and how much tax you need to pay so quickly. I’m not looking down on the Empire’s management abilities, but they... their efficiency in managing these details is a complete mess. Who knows when the trouble will actually come?"

Matins did not feel reassured after hearing Gu Hang’s comforting words; instead, his bitter smile became even more pronounced.

Tax evasion... this is not something to be taken lightly in the Empire.

Of course, interstellar warrior warbands have a bit more leeway compared to a Planetary Governor, especially those so-called fleet-based warbands without a home planet or conscription planet.

Perhaps during an expedition, they might lose track of where they are amidst the fighting, and in the meantime, they may overlook paying taxes, and the Empire might not be able to find them, which is quite normal.

The Phoenix now claims to be ’loyal’ to Mr. Gu, but this is just an agreed-upon relationship between them, formed by Mr. Gu providing genetic seeds, with all new blood of the warband pledging first loyalty to Mr. Gu, creating a strong binding relationship. But there is no such record in the official records of the Empire. Theoretically, finding Phoenix has nothing to do with Gu Hang.

But... even though that’s what he said, it wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, but Matins just felt somewhat... disloyal.

Gu Hang continued, "If push comes to shove, just hand over the seeds, if they want to start trouble, let them. It’s not that we can’t explain. Let them compare the seeds we’re handing over now with those given by the Phoenix in its heyday a hundred years ago. Can they really turn white into black?"

Matins was still not at ease.

Turn white into black?

They really could.

If it came to that, it would be too much of a last resort.

Matins started to consider the slightly disloyal suggestion previously made by Mr. Gu.

...

Gu Hang only felt a slight headache about the Phoenix’s predicament for a short while before he stopped worrying about it.

It didn’t make much sense to dwell on things he couldn’t change or that would happen in the future.

Gu Hang, whose strength was gradually filling out, wasn’t made of clay either.

He would never be like some planetary governors with inadequate foundations or lacking strength, who could be simply overthrown by the Empire sending a few agents from the Legal Department or judges from the Tribunal.

A seventh-level, spiritually energized individual with Divine Realm enhancement? That’s a joke.

Moreover, the alliance structure he had built from scratch was undeniably loyal to him. Attempts at political subversion were also quite unrealistic.

These shady tactics were the favorites of places like the Empire Legal Affairs Department and the Tribunal. They would usually handle the matter first, turning it into a fait accompli, and then announce the governor was a traitor. After all, the person would be dead already, the coffin lid nailed shut, and there’d be no way for them to refute it.

But once these ’efficient’ methods failed, dealing with a planetary governor became troublesome, especially if that governor was paying taxes diligently.

Following the proper administrative channels required evidence, multiple departmental reviews, and then a declaration that the planetary governor was a traitor to the Empire, followed by mobilizing the appropriate Empire troops for suppression. The respective declaration would also need to convince the action forces to accept it...

The process would be long, troublesome, and would fully reflect the Empire’s slow, rigid, and corrupt system.

If the system wasn’t this slow, rigid, and corrupt, to the point of being nearly irreversible, why would organizations like the Legal Department and the Tribunal turn assassination and subversion into their most commonly used standard operations?

That’s because, by doing so, they can’t handle the situation.

And Gu Hang, his resistance to these tactics was already extremely high.

He refocused his attention on the current conflict at hand.

Your adventure continues at

The Phoenix’s behind-the-enemy-lines special operations had achieved a complete victory.

Although two had been severely injured and three sets of tactical power armor were damaged and would take months to repair, the Blackbird Heavy Industries’ intercontinental missile bases were all gone.

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