Mutual Help, Right?

"Sure."

Yelicia hadn't expected that answer. It gave her a vague idea of what Gu Hang really meant.

Still, she deliberately asked, "If there are enemies like that, Governor, give me their exact coordinates and orbital bombardment will follow. Greenskins or heretical cultists, it doesn't matter. I'll unleash the Emperor's most terrible wrath upon them."

"How could the Empire's enemies dare show themselves in the sunlight? They won't act openly. I'll need some time to dig them out. And I'll need your help with that."

Yelicia fell silent.

Now she understood exactly what Gu Hang meant.

Those enemies might already exist on Nuxiao Planet, which would be ideal. If they didn't, then they could be made to exist—but that would require the Governor's authority to help. Yelicia would have a hard time handling it on her own.

Gu Hang's voice sounded again. "I don't need much, and you won't have to send down any more personnel. Two hundred sets of weapons and equipment for Servitor soldiers, plus some armored vehicles suitable for land use. Those things won't do you much good sitting aboard your starship for now. But they could give us an opportunity."

"This would certainly help me, but it would help you, too. What do you think of the title 'Savior of Nuxiao Planet'? The heads of countless enemies of the Empire will become your medals of merit. And all you have to give up is some insignificant Marine equipment. I'll find the enemies for you. I can even help you take their heads."

"I don't want the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Tax Bureau executing me two years from now, and you don't want to waste two years in orbit over Nuxiao Planet. So why don't we help each other? This isn't a deal. It's the reason we came here, and it's our future."

"Ahem..." Yelicia tried to speak, but found her throat was dry.

To be honest, she was tempted.

She'd thought she would have to sit idle in orbit for two years, then go back and face all kinds of gossip, still itching for a chance to see real combat but with no idea when one might come.

But now Gu Hang's words had opened a new door for her.

She began to seriously consider whether this was feasible, what she would have to give up, and what she might gain.

And the answer didn't seem hard to work out.

The worst-case scenario was that she provided personnel and weapons, but Gu Hang still failed to accomplish anything. She'd have wasted two years here for nothing.

But so what? Her two years here were a foregone conclusion. The Naval Department had given the order, and that couldn't be changed. If the personnel and weapons she sent to the surface were all lost, that wouldn't be her fault. Supporting the Governor was part of her duty. She could requisition replacements for the lost equipment later.

The key was that it wouldn't cost her a single penny. The Empire's treasury would pay.

There was no other price to pay.

Was she supposed to worry that anyone could threaten her starship? Even she thought that was a joke.

And if Gu Hang succeeded, she would earn the merit of purging every enemy on the planet. An enemy's head was a soldier's medal.

The enemies who had kept Nuxiao Planet from providing the star sector with sufficient resources and tax revenue would be wiped out by her. The planet would return to normal. Wasn't that the honor she was after?

Granted, it wouldn't be as glorious as distinguishing herself in a decisive naval battle by destroying the enemy's flagship. But at least it would be a real achievement, proof that she hadn't wasted these two years. It might not shut everyone up when she returned, but it would at least add some color to her record. Right now, it was nothing but marks for drills and training, the sort of thing veterans would laugh at.

Grinding her teeth, Yelicia said, "If that's the case, I agree."

"Excellent."

The crew of the Quintet worked very efficiently. Before long, two transport ships had taken off from the starship.

As she watched them descend toward the desolate gray planet below, Yelicia gradually came to her senses.

The Marine contingent aboard my starship isn't that large, and we don't actually have that much equipment in storage...

Wait a minute!

Hadn't she decided that no matter what Gu Hang said, she wouldn't give him a single thing this time?

That Gu Hang had painted her a rosy picture, and she'd just swallowed it whole?

The key was that he hadn't given her anything in return—not even a concrete promise. So how had she ended up sending over two hundred sets of infantry equipment and four armored vehicles?

That man had fooled her again!

But... what he said made so much sense...

It had hit exactly where she wanted it to.

"sigh..."

Yelicia sighed and forced herself to stop worrying about it.

She'd already handed everything over. What else could she do?

She could only hope Gu Hang would deliver as he'd said.

Gu Hang was delighted to have gotten what he wanted.

Before long, he saw two transport ships from the Quintet land at the airfield, which was still under construction.

A large number of servants were already waiting. As soon as the ships' hatches opened, they unloaded the cargo.

After everything was counted, not a single item was missing.

The two hundred sets of infantry equipment were mostly built around G7 Assaulter rifles, with some squad machine guns, mortars, and uniforms. The uniforms came with bulletproof inserts made of Alloy Plasteel. Their performance was decent; at the very least, they offered some protection.

Gu Hang immediately allocated a hundred sets to the newly recruited Waste Mine Company.

Then he used the Troop Token feature in the system to spend the last of his Grace on them.

[Waste Mine Company, Overall: -, Cannot Upgrade]

[Type: Light Infantry, Number: 100]

[Equipment: T5, Training: -, Experience: -]

That was the Waste Mine Company's current status. Based on Gu Hang's previous experience, the effects of the training bonus would fully manifest in about three days. By then, this new force would have reached an overall level of T5.

That was the minimum standard for the Empire's regular troops. In equal numbers, they could easily defeat the bandits and petty warlords on Nuxiao Planet, while keeping casualties to a minimum.

The transport ships had also brought down four Strider Type V light armored vehicles. Each vehicle had three pairs of wheels, and its weapon mount came equipped with a rapid-fire autocannon. They were formidable combat vehicles.

Unfortunately, Servitor soldiers couldn't drive them, and nobody in the Waste Mine Company knew how. Gu Hang would have to assign the thirty elite Marines to the four vehicles and use them as a mobile force.

By now, Gu Hang commanded a force of more than four hundred, equipped with four high-quality armored vehicles.

It was already a force to be reckoned with.

His gaze turned toward Revival City, the Alliance's capital.