Within the Orion Arm, the enemy-occupied zone is located 7 light-years away from the Yongdao Node. The fleets of the Galactic Empire had actually controlled three planetary systems here. The three occupied planets were Hanchi Star, Cangming Star, and Zaifu Star.
The development of this star region had not been underway for very long and could be considered a remote area of the Iridium Star United Empire. Hanchi Star was an entirely oceanic planet with no landmasses. Here, the Iridium people had built two large aquatic cities, with no significant industries apart from some tourism attributes. Cangming Star was also extremely moist; apart from 80% of the surface being oceanic, most of the remaining land was swampy, with a unique biodiversity. Iridium had established biological laboratories and research institutes here, engaging in some biological scientific research. Zaifu Star, being close to a binary star system, was initially quite arid, but the Iridium people had transformed its atmosphere into a hospitable large planet, which now housed a population of 70 million, in a fairly self-sufficient state.
The arrival of the Galactic Army caused various degrees of damage to these three planets. Hanchi Star, with only two settlements, saw one aquatic city destroyed by the warships of the Galactic Army during defense, resulting in many deaths, while the other city was captured. Cangming Star and Zaifu Star were more accurately in a state of partial occupation.
Since space supremacy was in the hands of the Galactic Army, the Iridium people on the ground could not leave. The Galactic Army did not have the energy to thoroughly evacuate these planetary surface facilities, especially not going door-to-door to capture them. Both Cangming Star and Zaifu Star had many farms with residents living in fairly rural settings. The Galactic Army would not expend energy attempting a full occupation but focused on attacking and capturing areas of military threat and governmental effectiveness.
Essentially, the soldiers of Iridium headquartered on the ground did not confront the enemy directly but instead went underground to operate. The major cities had now become strongholds of the Galactic Army. They had removed Iridium weapon platforms and destroyed many facilities, declared curfews, and struck against resistance fighters. Nevertheless, besides this, the Galactic troops did not consider expanding their scope and level of occupation.
In Green Water Province of Zaifu Star, deep in the ancient forests, a group of members of the Iridium resistance organization were secretly active. Due to Green Water Province being close to Zaifu Star's largest city, Tang Fortress, which had already been occupied by the Galactic Army, many residents had already fled. Although residents accustomed to the luxuries of city life might find survival difficult after leaving the city, Iridium people clearly did not want to be under enemy control.
The resistance organization, although temporarily formed, was not at all slack. Iridium had a tight social organization, plenty of militarized training, a variety of contingencies and emergency plans, making discipline among Iridium people excellent and forming a resistance organization not so difficult.
The leader of this batch of resistance organization was a sheriff from the surrounding towns, named You Kun. He said sternly to the resistance militia in front of him, "We have already made contact with the Empire Army. The Chancellor has returned and dispatched a large number of warships. They could launch a campaign to reclaim Zaifu Star at any moment."
Everyone was very exhilarated, high-fiving or embracing each other.
But You Kun did not have a relaxed expression on his face. He said, "We can't celebrate too early. The reason the Galactic Army was able to occupy Zaifu Star is mainly because they caught us off guard. The United Empire has enough strength, but our territory is too large, making defense very difficult. Now that the Galactic Army might be defeated, they will certainly not easily spare the people of Zaifu Star. The Chancellor is worried that the scoundrels of the Galactic Army might hold our people on Zaifu Star hostage as a bargaining chip against the Empire Army."
A young man said sorrowfully, "Bargain? They have already slaughtered who knows how many of our compatriots. The blood of Iridium people stained on their hands can never be washed off. Iridium people never compromise with the enemy, even if everyone on Zaifu Star dies, the United Empire will not back down."
Another person also nodded and said, "Iridium people have honor, we would rather die than be their bargaining chip."
A calmer middle-aged man, carrying a heavy firepower rifle, said, "The Iridium Star United Empire isn't one of those fledgling civilizations. Such a thing as cosmic warfare, where a whole planet's population dies, is all too normal. With these tricks, they cannot intimidate us Iridium people."
You Kun sighed helplessly, saying, "I know, but we still have to try to avoid this situation from happening. Many residents are controlled by the Galactic Army, we are few in number and don't have many weapons, it's difficult to contend with them. But, to the best of our ability, we must protect our compatriots and spare them from misfortune."
He continued, "The war will soon begin, and though we are few and not strong, we still have to offer as much support as possible for the actions of the Empire Army and do our best to assist our compatriots during the process."
His expression solemn, he said earnestly, "Iridium people, never surrender!"
"Iridium people, never surrender!"
In many places on Zaifu Star and Cangming Star, many Iridium people were making the same preparations. They were not unaware that such desperate actions could lead to their demise. Even the officials of the United Empire would not advise them to do so, but the valiant spirit of the Iridium people needed to be unleashed. They had been laying low for a long time, each harboring a rage that, even if their individual power was weak, when they came together, would form a force not to be ignored.
Yet at the same moment, on Earth a completely different scene was unfolding.
Earth was the only administrative star within the Iridium Star United Empire with extremely high autonomy and even had the highest population of the entire United Empire. Yet, since Earth was moved from its original position in the Solar System by Bai Zhongqi, Earth had been quite estranged from the Iridium Star United Empire.
Its administrative structure had changed somewhat over the past twenty-plus years, but fundamentally, the changes were not substantial. The world still had over two hundred countries and regions. If it weren't for Bai Zhongqi stripping them of their military power when forming the Star Alliance, military conflicts might still sporadically erupt on Earth at this time.
Earth enjoyed the material standard of living of high-level civilization from the United Empire, but the governmental organizations of various countries still existed, and their operations still carried many characteristics of the old era.
While Bai Zhongqi had completed the nobilization on Iridium, on Earth, due to the inheritance of power, many political dynasties and business families had become the nobility of Earth. Only, because of the high material standard of living and rich cultural life, ordinary people were insensitive to these inequalities.