Chapter 293 – With Universal Megacorp's Support, Victory Guaranteed! Hold the Line—No Heroics!
Right away, Leto shared a torrent of intel Universal Huanyu Megacorp with Paul. But it all boiled down to two key points:
First, with Megacorp's fleet on their side this round, there's essentially no need to carry the game yourself.
The Atreides family guards were just there to cheer and scoop up scraps. The heavy lifting would be done by Megacorp's forces. At most, the Atreides should aim for a support role—an assist would be more than enough.
No charging in and throwing lives away. Anyone who dares feed the enemy is going to get an earful from the old man himself.
Second, the throne of the Galactic Emperor was never the Atreides' to begin with, so there was no point in risking life and limb on behalf of Megacorp.
The revolution was about to succeed, and soon the spoils of victory would be divided. As long as they kept their heads down, they could enjoy peace and prosperity for generations. No need to stir up trouble when the prize was already within reach.
Hold the line. No heroics. That's the key to everything.
Once Paul fully understood that their family had a powerhouse fleet from Megacorp backing them—and that this fleet came equipped with unmatched shield technology capable of steamrolling any imperial unit—he was left a bit stunned.
He suddenly recalled the man who had appeared in his dreams. Could that have been Megacorp's executive, Li Ang ?
If so, then there really was no need to overextend himself. Playing it safe might actually align better with their family's long-term strategic goals.
If lying low meant a guaranteed win, then there was no point wasting energy trying to play the hero.
"Understood, Father. I get it now."
Paul nodded thoughtfully, etching Leto's words into his memory.
———
Two weeks later.
Without requesting help from the Spacing Guild, the Atreides fleet—powered by Megacorp's armada—successfully reached Arrakis.
The Atreides fleet, made up of Megacorp's advance expeditionary force, 200 micro-ships, and 500 ornithopters, formed the backbone of Leto's confidence in opposing the Corrino royal family.
Granted, the total number of ships and ornithopters didn't even match the carrier capacity of one Megacorp warship, but this was still everything the Atreides could muster.
Fortunately, with Megacorp's massive warships backing them up, the Atreides fleet wouldn't be instantly obliterated by the Spacing Guild's high-grade dreadnoughts.
Now, under the watchful eyes of the many noble houses, Universal Megacorp fleet had taken up position in the sun-facing low orbit of Arrakis and begun releasing swarms of AI drones and carrier-based aircraft down to the planet's surface.
From a distance, they looked like a swarm of metallic locusts—this unexpected sight left many noble elites stunned.
None of them had the faintest clue when the Atreides family had secretly built such a massive interstellar fleet.
After all, the core technologies behind Imperial warships were all tightly controlled by the Spacing Guild's engineers. Without the Guild's cooperation, the great houses had to rely on homegrown tech.
And developing their own required enormous numbers of Mentats to run research and simulations—putting an unimaginable strain on spice reserves.
When the Emperor's spies learned that the Atreides guards had reached Arrakis without using the Spacing Guild's transport services, they were livid.
Emperor Shaddam had specifically bribed the Guild with mountains of spice to stall the Atreides, hoping to delay their arrival.
But who could have guessed—Leto hadn't ordered a single ship from the Guild. He'd flown in with his own fleet and arrived without needing their help at all.
Of course, the bribes had already been paid, and the Guild's spice-addicted members weren't about to give it back. The best they could do now was pledge to support the royal house and the Harkonnens with a few extra ships.
Whether that would be enough to make a difference was anyone's guess.
Meanwhile, in a star sector 30,000 kilometers from Arrakis, inside a Harkonnen warship, the family's upper echelon was observing the Atreides fleet with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
Like the other great houses, they were puzzled by the Atreides' starships—particularly one dreadnought with a sleek, blade-like design that looked especially fierce.
"My Lord Baron, that fleet's attack capabilities and carrier formations are impressive. Their reconnaissance coverage is also surprisingly thorough."
"Even now, our scouts haven't been able to obtain any meaningful intel. Looks like the Atreides have been planning this for a long time. No wonder they dared to declare war on both the Emperor and us."
The speaker was the Harkonnen Mentat, Piter De Vries—a loyal and cunning servant whose ruthlessness and intelligence had earned the baron's trust.
The Harkonnen family patriarch, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, couldn't have looked more different from the refined and seasoned Duke Leto. He was a bloated, grotesque mass of flesh—like a mound of living pork belly—whose oily, obscene appearance belied his status as head of one of the Empire's most powerful houses.
In truth, Baron Harkonnen had once been a dashing, charismatic figure. But after offending Reverend Mother Helen, he had been infected with a virus, leaving him in this monstrous, half-human state.
His current grotesque form only amplified his already twisted and sadistic nature. Gluttonous, lecherous, greedy—these were the fundamental elements of his personality.
To maximize his extraction of spice from Arrakis, the fat slob had ruthlessly oppressed the native Fremen people.
Unsurprisingly, the Fremen had long held a grudge against the Harkonnens and were ready to rise up and tear their oppressors apart at the first opportunity.
"Not a single shred of intel?"
The baron's voice squeezed out of his greasy throat, laced with suspicion. He suspected incompetence—how hard could it be to get basic information?
"We've pushed our agents, my lord. I believe we'll have something new very soon."
Piter answered with extreme caution, knowing full well how volatile the baron could be. Even the slightest displeasure could provoke his wrath.
To put it mildly, Baron Harkonnen was unpredictable. Less charitably—he was an emotional infant, a classic lunatic tyrant.
"Heh… that fleet does look fairly legit. No wonder that old fossil Leto dared to act against us."
Baron Harkonnen chuckled coldly. He couldn't understand why the Atreides had spent so much just to build a pile of floating targets.
Did they really think the Holtzman Shields didn't exist?
"Sure, it's big—but a few energy turrets will be enough to vaporize their entire fleet. Leto's gone senile, that's what this is."
His disdain was obvious. Those fools actually thought they could snatch Arrakis and the spice trade from him? In their dreams.
But Piter sensed something was off. After a brief hesitation, he couldn't help but voice a warning:
"My Lord, I suspect this isn't as simple as it looks. Duke Leto may have intentionally left out Holtzman Shields. If that's the case, destroying this fleet could prove far more difficult."
Just one glance at those ships had convinced Piter—their armor was far too thick. Small-caliber energy weapons might do next to nothing.
"No matter," the baron said with a sneer.
"War burns through money. And to annihilate House Atreides, I've converted every last crown we earned from spice into warships."
"Right now, nearly half of the Spacing Guild's ships, fleets, and navigators are working for us. The Atreides burned all they had just to build those floating hunks of junk. I bet they're flat broke."
"Leto's a washed-up pauper. The moment war starts, even a prolonged fight will bleed him dry!"
In the Galactic Empire, the great houses' ability to field space fleets was practically nonexistent.
Most of the time, when they needed warships or transports, they'd turn to the Spacing Guild to assemble a fleet—either by renting or purchasing outright.
Naturally, the vast majority of houses opted to rent. The long-term cost of maintaining a fleet was astronomical.
Plus, most house feuds rarely escalated to full-scale war. Even elite families like the Harkonnens typically just rented ships for conflict.
Even the royal family did the same.
Put simply, war was an expensive pastime—and interstellar warfare was extravagance taken to the extreme.
So when resources were tight, nobles usually agreed to a designated battlefield and opted for "cost-effective" ground combat.
After all, soldiers could be replaced through population growth, but once a ship was destroyed, the family had to cough up real gold to buy or lease a new one.
This time, though, Emperor Shaddam himself had rallied the Harkonnens to gang up on House Atreides.
Together, they could bankrupt Leto and split the loot—a deal too good to pass up.
"The Emperor even brought along his Sardaukar legions to reinforce us," the baron said smugly. "With both our families in a joint assault, I'd like to see how long that old bastard lasts!"
———
While Baron Harkonnen and the great houses watched the brewing conflict with keen interest, forces from House Atreides were already on the ground.
On the dry, dust-blown surface of Arrakis, Thufir Hawat and the Atreides guards had arrived ahead of Leto to scout and secure the area.
After sweeping the region clean of Harkonnen loyalists and assassins, Hawat finally allowed Duke Leto to land.
As two ornithopters slowly descended, Leto stepped out of the cabin in full military regalia, accompanied by his family.
His personal appearance on the battlefield, despite the danger, was meant as a public statement: House Atreides was honoring its pledge and had come to Arrakis prepared to fight both the Corrino and Harkonnen forces.
The fate of the Imperial throne would be decided on the battlefield.
At that moment, Duke Leto stood atop a raised platform, surveying the troops around him. He saw not only the loyal guards of House Atreides, but also tens of thousands of Fremen mercenaries under their command.
His heart surged with passion and resolve.
Although this group of people were merely background characters—present more for show than substance—it didn't dampen Duke Leto's soaring spirits in the slightest.
Listening to the steady beat of war drums below and the voices rising to welcome him, Duke Leto nodded repeatedly, filled with emotion. "From this moment on, Arrakis belongs to House Atreides!"
But he quickly realized he had misspoken. Arrakis and its spice were, after all, properties officially assigned by the Universal Megacorporation. He was merely a temporary custodian.
With that in mind, Leto leaned toward Hawat and whispered, "We need to extract as much spice as we can before the Megacorporation takes over Arrakis. Just in case."
Since House Atreides had already reached an agreement with the Megacorporation, it wouldn't be right to go back on their word.
Still, giving up the spice so easily felt like a waste. While they could still mine it, they might as well stockpile a reserve.
"Yes… but at our current extraction rate, it might be a bit slow," Hawat replied with a helpless smile.
It turned out that before the Harkonnens withdrew from Arrakis, they had taken all the advanced mining equipment with them, leaving behind only outdated and worn-out machinery.
This had severely hampered their efficiency. Fortunately, the Megacorporation had agreed to supply them with equipment to aid in spice production—though it hadn't yet been delivered.
"Hm." Leto nodded.
Having the Megacorporation's support was, of course, ideal.
But whenever he thought of the enigmatic and unfathomable Megacorporation executive, Li Ang , Leto couldn't help but feel a strong sense of curiosity—and a desire to meet him face-to-face.
Through the information provided by Song Zhaomei, Leto had learned that within the Megacorporation, Song Zhaomei was merely a mid-level departmental leader—not even one of the top-tier executives.
So just how powerful must Li Ang be, this man who was soon to become the God-Emperor of the Galactic Empire?
After a moment of contemplation, Leto snapped out of his thoughts and asked Hawat, "Has anything important happened recently?"
Hawat pondered for a moment before replying, "Nothing major—everything's proceeding more or less as we expected."
"The Padishah Emperor Shaddam has allocated a large sum of money to mobilize the Sardaukar legions, and that Baron's brat hasn't been stingy either, spending heavily to rent starships and warcraft."
The Sardaukar were the elite ground troops of House Corrino, fearsome in terrestrial combat—but the times had changed.
Outwardly, Leto had agreed with Emperor Shaddam and Baron Harkonnen to fight a ground war on Arrakis. In reality, however, he had already ordered the Megacorporation fleet to preemptively seize control of key strongholds and strategic chokepoints across the planet.
Some would serve as decoys for a frontal assault; others were positioned to cut off the enemy's retreat.
The moment the Highliner of the Spacing Guild appeared—with Sardaukar troops onboard—Leto's forces would strike immediately, hitting them mid-transit before they could even land!
With such a powerful space fleet at his command, who in their right mind would wait around for the enemy to land and drag things out in a costly ground war?
If the royal family and the Harkonnens could team up to play their version of "righteous two-against-one," then House Atreides pulling off a sneak attack hardly seemed unfair.
With the vast expeditionary army of the Megacorporation at his side, the royal and Harkonnen forces would never even set foot on Arrakis—unless they first made it past the corporate blockade.
And once their fleets went head-to-head with the Megacorporation's, they'd learn very quickly what it meant to face a true civilization-level power.
(Show your support and read more chapters on my Patreon: p@treon.com/psychopet. Thank you for your support!)