Starting from the Planetary Governor

The Iron Casket, is what they call the Dreadnought Mech.

It's where an Interstellar Warrior is roughly stuffed into an alloy life support pod from which they can never leave again. All the life sustenance for this Interstellar Warrior will henceforth rely entirely on this life support pod for the rest of their life.

At the same time, this life support pod is the cockpit of the Dreadnought Mech. Numerous tubes connect to the Interstellar Warrior's nervous system, allowing them to control the massive Dreadnought Mech as if it were their own limbs. The mech's visual system becomes their eyes, and the auditory system becomes their ears.

It might sound not too bad.

Though they can never taste food again or have any physiological needs or impulses, most Interstellar Warriors have little need for these things in the first place. Within the vast majority of Interstellar Warrior groups, the pursuit of appetite and food taste is instead despised. They revere asceticism and the honing of the mind.

As for physiological needs beyond delicious food...

Whether they have the ability to engage in sexual activities, it's hard to say, but there are no proper Interstellar Warriors chasing after such things.

As for the more advanced reproductive capabilities, those are indisputably absent. Interstellar Warriors cannot normally reproduce; if they truly want to 'reproduce,' they can only do so via genetic seed implantation surgery.

So, the absence of these mortal pursuits doesn't seem to matter much to the Interstellar Warriors. Whether or not they enter the Fearless Iron Coffin, they live like this anyway.

But this is actually just the most trivial price after entering the Dreadnought Mech.

The real cost lies in the negative effects.

They will remain perpetually awake, no longer needing sleep, without dreams. Though their brains may stay physiologically healthy under the life support pod's maintenance, the mental fatigue will persist eternally, with no way to restore it.

The life support pod ensures the physical health of the Interstellar Warrior's body, but due to the direct link between the machinery and their nerves, a slight pricking sensation, more akin to itchiness, will continuously torment the Interstellar Warrior whenever they operate the Dreadnought Mech for regular movement.

It's not only when moving; even just activating the visual and auditory systems involves operating the body, and that will also 'itch.'

When it comes to intense combat, the itch transforms into pain.

It is for this reason that many Fearless Iron Coffins meet a grim end. When unnecessary, they'll stay motionless in the fleet's storerooms, libraries, or elder chambers, appearing to sleep but actually awake, bored, and unable to do anything—for any movement invites that itching sensation throughout the body.

But whether it's the itch or the long, dark boredom, both will ultimately drive a person insane.

Indeed, Interstellar Warriors are extraordinary beings, and while a normal mortal might go insane in days, they can persist for a hundred or even a thousand years...

But it isn't everlasting.

Dreadnought Mechs have a tendency towards self-destruction; often, they'll throw themselves into the most perilous situations in a battle, seeking liberation through combat—a fulfillment of loyalty to the Emperor and the Battle Group, and, as well, a release from the eternal suffering.

And the worse scenarios might see them, at some point, unable to withstand the unknowably long-lasting torment, erupting into indiscriminate attacks on their own starship, ultimately resolved by their battle brothers.

The name 'Iron Casket' for the Dreadnought Mech is frankly an understatement; it is not merely a steel coffin but an eternal instrument of torture.

Precisely for this reason, only the most resilient Interstellar Warriors can enter the Dreadnought Mech.

Without bodily impairments, there's no need to enter and endure this living hell. ReadaheadandgetupdatesbyvisitingM^VLEMPYR.

Those with insufficient resolve generally don't want to enter either. Rather than endure eternal punishment, they might prefer to swiftly return to the Golden Throne.

Even if one might momentarily wish to enter, each Battle Group has strict standards. Disabled warriors, those who've lost combat ability, or even those who would die without entering the Fearless Iron Coffin are evaluated based on usual performance for endurance—if they can't bear that eternal punishment, they might instead endanger the Battle Group.

Leroux's decision to enter means he's determined and resolved. Additionally, he possesses the willpower to withstand the test brought by the Fearless Iron Coffin.

...

Gu Hang had no objections to Leroux's decision.

His starship contains a Dreadnought Mech.

It belongs to the Phoenix Battle Group, intended for some irrecoverable elite veterans, so allocating one to Leroux was no issue.

This Black Cross Marshal's performance in the ground battle was impressive enough to earn admiration.

And indeed, it had significantly impacted the strategic situation.

The major insect nest was destroyed; in that disabling strike, hundreds of thousands of Insect Race units across various battlefields were eliminated—not an eye-catching number at first glance, but crucially, it included many high-level units. Ultimately, the Insect Nest Overlord's level was so high that many units, usually deemed the highest-ranked node organisms, were in fact under its control. Now, there was no need to struggle killing them; they could observe from afar and obliterate with artillery, leaving their opponent unable to dodge.

This directly led to the Biological Titan army of the Insect Swarm having to retreat in disarray.

A considerable number of Biological Titans did escape, but their losses in prior battles were substantial; in the subsequent retreat, whether annihilated by humans as rear guard forces or taken down during pursuit, the army—intended by the Queen to utterly destroy the human army's planetary base camps—suffered great damage.