From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 621: The Composure of the Old Military Leaders
Not long after the firefight near the presidential palace began, the Secret Service defense commander also figured out the identity of the attacker.

The teams that attacked the security forces of the "Corporate Federation" were also not official federal units, but "private soldiers" of another group of companies.

To be honest, the defense commander was still shocked that these corporate security forces and private soldiers could produce HCPs equipped with heavy particle cannons in the federal capital.

But at this moment, he didn't have time to think about the source of these things. After all, any extra defensive force the Presidential Palace could have would increase their chances of survival.

So the defense commander did not think too long before ordering the defense forces and fixed artillery batteries near the Presidential Palace to provide fire support to friendly units.

The fixed heavy particle cannon easily penetrated the deflection field of an HCP that was targeted in a flash of lightning, and then directly tore open the upper half of the body.

Among the two teams originally stationed in the Presidential Palace, two of the six HCPs took the initiative to attack. In the blue light emitted by the plasma propulsion array, they directly rushed to the roof of a nearby building and launched a sneak attack from a high position.

Although the dozens of tons of machine body directly crushed the roof of the building, the two HCPs still managed to escape after destroying several multi-legged tanks and defeating the attacking team.

And brought bad news.

As soon as the two pilots flew to a high altitude, they instantly activated all the detection units of the aircraft, conducted a round of scans, and then found that more unidentified armed forces were approaching the Presidential Palace.

Soon, the final images sent back by several downed drones also showed that the configuration of these attacking teams was the same as that of the enemies in front of the Presidential Palace, a combination of infantry + multi-legged tanks + HCP.

The increase in the enemy's HCP is naturally not good news for the defenders of the Presidential Palace.

These units have high mobility, high firepower, and strong survivability when the deflection field is not ineffective. They are actually a headache for the defender to deal with.

After gaining a numerical advantage, the enemy can use the high mobility of the HCP to continuously pull the enemy away, disperse the defensive forces and the "gun line" of fixed fire points, and finally achieve a breakthrough.
"Sir, once the enemy reinforcements arrive, it will be difficult for us to defend this place."

The adjutant, who also saw the enemy reinforcements, approached the defense commander and spoke.

"Of course I know. I'm not blind." The defense commander replied angrily, "What can I do? Should I just quit defending and run away?"

The adjutant scratched his head: "He who knows the current situation is a hero."

“I don’t want to hear that again.”

The defense commander turned around suddenly and forced the adjutant directly onto a parapet, and his iron fist, powered by the combat exoskeleton, hit the adjutant's head directly.

"Think about your duty, think about why we are standing here now. If you don't feel you have the courage to stay here any longer, then take off your equipment and get out of here! I will let others kill you as a deserter!"

"Sir, I didn't say anything just now!"

The adjutant stood up straight, saluted the defense commander, and ran towards the front line with his weapon in hand.

The defense commander watched his departing back without saying anything, but in fact he began to worry.

He was not a fool who liked to lead his men to die on the battlefield, but his duty as a Secret Service agent and also as a guard of the Presidential Palace forced him to stay here with his men.

He also knew very well that if no other units came to support him, the Presidential Palace would be breached sooner or later with just these few Secret Service agents and local police officers.
"Mr. President, the presidential guards reported that they have already exchanged fire with people outside the perimeter. The attackers are private forces affiliated with some companies."

"Has Mrs. Paris's support arrived?"

"A group of people have arrived with equipment, but they were attacked by the enemy when they joined the enemy and lost some equipment. Another two groups of armed forces were intercepted on the way and are currently exchanging fire with the enemy three blocks away."

Inside the fortress under the presidential palace, Brandon was standing in front of a holographic sand table, listening to the officers around him reporting on the current situation.

He was not actually surprised to hear that another group of 'private armed forces' were attacking Paris and her supporters.

He was well aware that after the dismantling of the military-industrial complex, these companies, which were no longer as powerful as before, would have to seek refuge from senior federal officials in order to survive.

A group of companies headed by Mrs. Paris chose to join the "Iron Triangle", while other companies each found senior leaders of the two parties.

In other words, the military-industrial complex, which was forced to disintegrate after being hit hard by the Atlas Group at the time, was basically divided up by the top brass of the federal government, forming a kind of deformed situation of "political and business integration" but divided into different camps.

When Brandon saw the logo on the attacking armored unit in the footage captured by the presidential palace security forces, he couldn't help but sneer:
"Hmph, Gabriel creatures, I didn't expect that after choosing to part ways with Madam Paris, they even decided to go to war."

Another presidential aide said: "After all, this is a gamble for them. If they win, then it will be just a matter of time before they want to return to their previous status."

"That's why I can't let them succeed." Brandon's tone revealed a fierceness, and then he looked at the officer who reported the situation, "What's the situation in other directions?"

"The 3rd Guard Regiment has now reached the Ministry of National Defense building. The 1st Guard Regiment, which is composed of HCP and high-mobility armored units, is counterattacking. The follow-up main force of the 1st Regiment is setting up a temporary defense line near the Ministry of National Defense building. At the same time, after leaving a part of its forces to defend the Capitol, the remaining forces of the 2nd Guard Regiment are beginning to move towards us.

As for the Capital Garrison Brigade, the HCP units of the three brigades acting as spearheads have all entered the Capital Special District. Colonel Karen of the First Brigade has ordered some lightly armed troops to separate from the majority and are heading to our side for support. As for the second and third garrison brigades of the rebels, except for the HCP that has already entered the city, the other troops are still operating according to the standard attack process! "

Brandon: "They currently have a military advantage, so they won't rush. Instead, they will take steady steps to try to completely control the Capital Special Administrative Region."

"That's true." The officer nodded after hearing this. "Among the other troops, the one closest to the capital won't arrive until tomorrow night. That means the rebels will have an absolute advantage in manpower before tomorrow night. They definitely know this, so when the main forces of the two brigades enter the city, they will definitely launch a fierce attack."

"What do you think is the chance of success in holding out until tomorrow night with the troops we currently control?"

Brandon asked, and after seeing the officer's hesitant expression, he added:
"to be honest."

"It is really unrealistic for a brigade, a regiment, plus Secret Service agents and some armed police to fight against two heavily armed brigades and two regiments by tomorrow night."

The officer knew that it was pointless to say nice things, so he stopped trying to hide his feelings and spoke his mind honestly.

"Let's not talk about the armed police. We can't expect them to fight the regular army. What's more terrible is that the Second and Third Garrison Brigades have a lot of heavy equipment. We are completely unable to deal with this extra heavy firepower in urban warfare." Brandon: "So what is your judgment?"

"If no other reinforcements can arrive, our army will surely be defeated."

After saying this almost resignedly, the officer saluted Brandon, then stood quietly in front of the holographic sand table without saying anything else.

The entire bunker fell silent after the officer told them about the not-so-good situation.

Although those who can enter the bunker are all die-hard fans of President Brandon or the "Iron Triangle", this does not mean that they can maintain their confidence after hearing the "must lose" ending.

But since they have already entered the bunker, there is naturally no possibility of retreating, so everyone can only use silence to cover up their inner uneasiness.

"Hahahaha, it sounds like the situation is not good for us~"

President Brandon's laughter suddenly rang out in the silence, which was not only a little inappropriate, but also a little harsh.

Everyone in the bunker looked at each other in bewilderment. They even began to wonder if this president, who had reached his dead end, had gone crazy.

But the next second, they all opened their eyes wide after hearing Brandon's next words.

"But both you and the enemy seem to have overlooked the existence of another person in the 'Iron Triangle'."

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"But isn't Marshal Trafalgar currently leading his troops outside? Even if he knew the current situation in the capital, he would be completely unable to come back to help, right?"

"What if I tell you that Marshal Trafalgar had anticipated this situation and had a plan in place? Would you have forgotten that there is still a large garrison fleet in orbit?"

Brandon looked at the expressions of 'escaping from a desperate situation' on everyone's faces with satisfaction, although he had only learned of Marshal Trafalgar's backup plan after receiving a message from Defense Secretary Miller through a secret channel a few minutes ago.

"This Trafalgar. Actually only told Miller. Don't you trust me?"

Although he was dissatisfied with the fact that the Admiral had to keep it a secret even for himself, Brandon had to admit that this 'old military leader' was indeed experienced and very perceptive in this regard.

He knew that after he led the main fleet away, it would be the best opportunity for those who tried to seize power, so the garrison fleets that remained were completely loyal to him and were also his secret weapons that could turn the tide of the battle at the critical moment.
-
In the space near the federal capital star, a ship that looked like an ordinary merchant ship carefully hid itself in the shadow of Satellite No. 2, and then the cooling layer under the ship's armor plate began to use working fluid water to quickly transfer the heat from the outer layer.

Before long, the temperature of this "merchant ship" dropped to a temperature close to the background temperature of the universe under the action of multiple cooling systems.

"The ship's temperature has dropped below the red line, the black body coating and optical stealth have been activated, and the passive radar wave cancellation device has been adjusted to adaptive mode. The ship has entered stealth action mode."

After hearing the voice of the crew member who was ostensibly the navigator but was actually the tactical information coordinator, everyone in the bridge breathed a sigh of relief.

In particular, Major Merlin of the Atlas Combat Fleet - Special Operations Squadron, who was the captain, also loosened his hands that were tightly gripping the armrests of the captain's seat.

You know, their "spy ship" armed as a merchant ship was almost discovered by the patrol ship of the Federal Capital Garrison Fleet.

Major Merlin took off the helmet mask of his suit, wiped the sweat on his face that had not been dried by the constant temperature system, and asked, "What's going on? Can anyone tell me why the garrison fleet suddenly moved?"

"Captain, judging from the trajectory of the garrison fleet, they are preparing to enter the orbit of the capital planet. I always feel that it is a bit like the process of escorting orbital attack ships into low orbit," the intelligence officer replied.

"Is the garrison fleet planning to launch an orbital strike towards its own capital?" Major Merlin raised his eyebrows, obviously a little surprised by this situation. "The garrison fleet should be under the control of the Admiral of the Navy, so are they doing this to 'serve the king'?"

"I don't know whether they are going to defend the king or not. Captain, I only know that the orbital defense platform of the capital planet seems to be planning to stop them?! Several groups of weapons have been activated!"

As the intelligence officer spoke, he placed the synthetic image generated by the integrated detection unit on the main screen of the bridge. Some of the turrets on the orbital defense platform were adjusting their angles, pointing their beam axes in the direction of the garrison fleet.

Major Merlin: "That's not right. According to our intelligence, shouldn't the orbital defense platform be in the hands of the president and his two men?"

The captain of the spy ship was somewhat puzzled, but he had no time to think about the reason at this moment. He immediately turned his head to look at the communicator on the other side and said:

"Send the current situation back to headquarters, using encrypted route 24, quickly!"

While Atlas' spy ship was nervously transmitting messages to the rear, the Capital Garrison Fleet in the distance also began to act. The warships in the front of the formation suddenly launched a full-deck attack and ejected all the ship-borne HCPs.

Almost at the same time as these HCPs appeared in the universe, some weapon groups on the orbital defense platform directly in front of them also opened fire. The beams of directed energy weapons and the trajectories swept by close-in electromagnetic guns quickly covered the entire universe.

"The attack team confirmed that the orbital defense platform has opened fire! Sure enough, this place has been infiltrated by those rebels in advance!"

The HCP commander of the garrison fleet said loudly in the fleet communication channel, and also issued the order of "allowing counterattack" to all HCP squadrons that were attacking.

After skillfully completing the attack formation, the pilots of these steel giants quickly dispersed in all directions and began to attack from the sides and rear.

Whether it is tactical movements, combat experience, or mentality, they are completely beyond the reach of the garrison fleet pilots who always stay in the capital.
"This is all within the Marshal's expectations. Don't panic! Compared to the battles we've experienced before, this is just a child's play!"

The commander of the garrison fleet, Major General Griezmann, the former commander of the 14th Fleet of the Federal Navy, waved his hand and said in a loud voice:

“It’s just an attack from a certain weapon group. There’s nothing to be afraid of!

HCP attack team quickly eliminate the threat of these weapons groups!
The vanguard fleet releases the assault capsule! After the Marines complete the boarding, they quickly eliminate the rebels on the orbital defense platform and make contact with other friendly forces!
Orbital strike ship squadron, begin descending into orbit!"

After issuing this series of orders, Rear Admiral Griezmann said to the bridge communications officer:

"Contact the martial law headquarters on the ground and tell the martial law commander, Major General Henry, that orbital support is ready!"

(End of this chapter)