Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 1553: Chapter 882: The Essence of Humanity

The horde of demons swarmed in, and almost in an instant, filled up the once seemingly wide net path.

“Prepare for battle!”

“Maintain formation!”

The warriors of the Human Empire shouted as they formed battle formations.

Gu Jing, standing aside, quickly identified the composition of this mixed unit.

Interstellar Warriors, Protection Army, Battle Nuns, and Tribunal troops, all were present.

This basically included the most outstanding people within the forces of the Human Empire.

Especially among the Interstellar Warriors, the main force came from the Black Cross Army. This battle group had dealt with the Alliance before in the Iron Armor War. According to the records of the Alliance, this battle group was one to be reckoned with.

They could almost be counted as the largest single battle group in the entire Human Empire.

Once destined to oppose the Empire, they brazenly reproduced over hundreds of years, to the point of uninhibited expansion like the Iron Armor Battle Group. By the end of the war, based on post-war statistics, the total force of the Iron Armor Battle Group may have reached over seven to eight thousand at its pre-war peak.

However, the ’legitimate’ Black Cross Army likely does not fall short of that number either.

And if one were to think the warriors of the Black Cross Army only have strength in numbers, they would be gravely mistaken.

Despite their massive size, which inevitably means not every member can reach an extremely high standard, this does not diminish the formidable combat power of the true elite among the Black Cross Army.

Most renowned are the Black Cross Champion Swordsmen.

Each one of them follows the path of the great champion Xigis from the Golden Knights, who first established the battle group, revering the sword, minimizing reliance on external forces, and fully pursuing the way of the sword, thereby gaining powerful combat strength.

Currently, there are surely over a thousand of the Black Cross Army warriors here, approximately one thousand three to four hundred.

Dozens of Champion Swordsmen, as the eyes of the entire frontline, serve as a backbone.

Meanwhile, Gu Jing can also observe that among the leaders of the Black Cross Army, there are two individuals worth mentioning.

One of them is Marshal Xi Rui, who once fought alongside the Alliance. He is the marshal of the Black Cross Army’s Fourth Fleet. During the Iron Armor War, he served as the deputy commander of the North Line. After the Second Fleet Marshal had an accident, he took over the command, and subsequently merged the heavily damaged Second and Fourth Fleets into a new Second Fleet, with him as the marshal.

Overall, after the Iron Armor War, his position within the entire Black Cross Army is securely among the top three.

But he is not the overall commander of this Black Cross Army force here; rather, he still plays a secondary role.

The only person he would willingly serve as a deputy for is the current supreme Grand Marshal of the Black Cross Army, Rosemond.

He is also said to be the Empire’s number one swordsman.

There aren’t many who disagree. Among them, quite a few challenged him deliberately, only to be subdued.

According to the classification by Gu Jing’s father, Rosemond not only clearly reaches the level of a Divine Champion but is also among the top at that level, possibly even transcending that category.

Under the Holy Sword of this Black Marshal, any demon, no matter what kind, is shredded like blocks of tofu.

Xi Rui, during the era of the Iron Armor War, should have reached the peak of a Battle Group Champion, with one foot into the realm of a Divine Champion. After a hundred years, he now appears to have also achieved the level of a Divine Champion.

Combined with a number of champions from the Black Cross Army, they form the backbone of this entire army lost in the net path, the main force indeed.

However, this does not render others unimportant.

Most of the Interstellar Warriors are from the Black Cross Army. Besides them, there are about over five hundred other battle group Interstellar Warriors.

Their decorations are quite diverse, presumably picked up conveniently when rescuing people from the Spirit Race. Their structures are scattered, sources complex, but now they seem fully under the unified command of the Black Cross Army.

Yet among these over five hundred warriors, about a hundred fifty of them have relatively standardized decorations.

They wear silver-gray battle armor, but the ’additional’ decorations on them are exaggeratedly abundant.

Indeed, Interstellar Warriors like to adorn their armor with various items. Traditional insignias of the battle group, the Sky Eagle emblem of the Empire, skulls symbolizing human purity, ribbons and inscriptions proclaiming faith’s purity, some devotional prayers…

These items might not seem to contribute to the combat power of the Interstellar Warriors, but it is not so.

Even if truly of no practical use, serving just as external decoration, they are actually very important. Truly exquisite armor with a hefty load of bits and pieces may resemble a ceremonial guard’s outfit but is actually practical armor.

One shouldn’t always think of armor as purely utilitarian, just a simple combat tool.

It isn’t.

Artistry and utility can indeed be combined.

A piece of gold-embellished relief on the Power Armor, a skull Sky Eagle on the right side, may all seem like visual effects, not enhancing safety, even appearing as burdens. But in reality, when such Interstellar Warriors reach the battlefield, the morale-boosting effect they bring is astonishing.