Translator: Chaos Editor: Geoffrey
The 1st United Fleet’s light cruisers and the fighter aircraft assembled group had finally smashed apart the enemy’s battleships after losing 40% of their total military strength. This was a cruel battle where both sides had used their utmost efforts to attack the enemy’s formation. At last, one of the motherships of the Gyaca Woods Imperial fleet was destroyed under the attack. The explosion of the mothership emitted a gorgeous firework that caused the confidence of the Imperial fleets to completely crumble because amongst those affected by the aftereffects of the explosion of the mothership, there was still an ordinary-looking flagship hidden within the formation!
Without the command of a single commander, several battleships took the opportunity before the command signal was transferred to the second-in-command ship and began their retreat. These battleships were already riddled with damage; the Imperial officers and the men on the battleships were entirely awed by the assault undertaken by the Federation fighter aircraft and light cruisers, who seemingly did not fear of death! These soldiers from the lower class race occupied about 60% of the total crew members on the battleships, and the current morale was dropping rapidly. After seeing an issue happening with their flagship, a battleship had not even waited for the fleet commander to give new orders, and its captain utilized this opportunity to dodge the incoming cannon fire as they turned around and retreated with no intention of coming back.
At the same time, the Federation 1st, 2nd, and 8th fleets that formed the 2nd United Fleet stationed at the area near the warp point had finally clashed with their enemy, a mixed assembly formed from six Empire fleets. The appearance of the six motherships had made all the officers and men heave a cold breath. The enemy had appeared two hours ago at a location that was about three million kilometers away from this current united fleet; they were currently travelling at upwards of 1,000 kilometers per hour as they approached them. Just two hours later, the advance party of the enemy had their first contact with the 2nd United Fleet.
The commanding officer of the fleet, Vice Admiral Chen, had already received the news regarding the Federation’s 1st United Fleet. After knowing that the 1st United Fleet had been tangled up with another fleet of the Empire, Chen knew that he could only rely on himself this time. The Federation’s 3rd United Fleet was still assembling over at the Central Starfield, and without the period of a week, it would be absolutely impossible for them to rush over via the warp points into the Newton Galaxy.
It seemed that the Gyaca Woods Empire wanted to achieve something huge in this single battle; for them to amass such a huge group, the Imperial Army must have wanted to utilize this opportunity when the 3rd and 9th Space Fleets were still returning to the Leray Central Starfield via the public starfield and thus dispatched more than half of their outer space fleets stationed in the Galileo Galaxy over to the Newton Galaxy. Without the impedance from those two Federation fleets, they became dauntless, and at this moment, the 3rd and 9th Outer Space Fleets of the Federation must be on their way back to the capital via the public starfields.
There were only three paths placed in front of Vice Admiral Chen. One of them would be to fight until they die! Another path would be to retreat when the Imperial fleets were still at a distance of more than 10,000 kilometers away. As for the third path, it would be to retreat back to the Federation Central Starfield.
The most reliable one would certainly be to retreat back to the Central Starfield, but this decision would, at the same time, be the most shameful one! All their hard work would be wasted, and regardless of whether it was the 1st United Fleet staying in the Newton Galaxy or the ground resistance group on Miracolo Planet, they would no longer be able to obtain any more supplies or reinforcements. For them to want to reopen this space warp channel the next time, the price they would have to pay would be ten times more than the sacrifices they had paid in the past.
As for the first path? Even though the Federation fleets had certainly improved their combat capabilities after the many battles, the disparity between the power of the two fleets was too huge—there was a total of six Empire fleets forming a single mixed assembly coming at them! Even if they wrestled in the battle of life and death, the best outcome they could get was for the enemy to suffer 40% combat loss at the cost of the total annihilation of their fleets.
Thus, from all the different options, it seemed that only the second path remained. But Chen understood that this was precisely the path which he could not choose, as their fleet had appeared within the enemy’s radar, and thus, the time constraints would prevent them from disappearing on their radar. Furthermore, with the environment of the Newton Galaxy, there were not many places for them to hide. Losing the supply channel would just cause the fleet to become a sheep wandering in the desolate land, and the enemy would slowly chase after them before eating the fleet bite by bite!
Also, if the 2nd United Fleet did not delay the enemy, this Imperial fleet would immediately split apart, and at the same time, not only would the space warp point be lost to the enemy, but even the 1st United Fleet, which had just obtained an advantage, would be unable to escape from the enemy surrounding them!
Battle? Or to escape?
Nobody truly knew what Vice Admiral Chen was thinking in his heart at this moment, and neither were there people who knew what the aftereffects would be after sending the orders to retreat back to the Leray Central Starfield. The 2nd United Fleet only knew that after the commanding officer’s orders to assemble into a defensive formation, they had also similarly been ordered to prepare the space warp assistance energy reserve storage.
Every single minute felt like torture! The Gyaca Woods Empire’s fleet was not more than 20,000 kilometers away. The officers and the men on the flagship had merely looked at this frowning, contemplating, and silent commanding officer of theirs who was currently in a conundrum.
At this moment, a major in the flagship commanding room that was responsible for observing the radar had actually involuntarily shouted out. Apparently, on the radar, the enemy fleet had started slowing down, and to their side, another fleet had appeared.
This fleet was currently aiding the commanding officer of the 2nd United Fleet to make a practical decision—they had slowed the high-speed progression of the enemy, and just like a moth flying into the flame, they charged at the enemy courageously.
They were not foolish—at a distance outside the enemy’s firing range, this fleet had seemingly teased the enemy by moving in a beautiful arc and turning before moving to the rear of the enemy fleet!
The communication signal illustrated that this fleet was not a group of heavenly soldiers and divine generals; instead, they were the Newton Regional Fleet who had previously put in a huge sacrifice as they charged towards the warp point.
A second-rate Federation established fleet!
What they had done caused all the officers and men in the 2nd United Fleet to rage.
This fleet that was fundamentally ruined in the battle for the space warp point only had 30% of their initial strength; the remaining ships were damaged as well. Because of the need for a plan to be considered holistically, they were not provided with much supplies and reinforcements. Only after the other main fleets were resupplied and provided reinforcements would the Federation reorganize and form a new Newton Regional Fleet by transferring over several fleets from the other starfields.
Currently, this fleet was giving a lesson to the 2nd United Fleet; the main topic was formed using their hot-bloodedness and life, with the title of—sacrifice!
What the Newton Regional Fleet sacrificed was their lives! And what they exchanged them for was time!
The 1st United Fleet was currently at the advantage, and what they needed most was time. The Gyaca Woods Imperial Army had already left their base. In this galaxy, it was impossible for them to have any other military existences, so what the 1st United Fleet needed most was time.
The Newton Regional Fleet was currently trying to gain time not only for the 2nd United Fleet but also for the 1st United Fleet, so that they would have enough time to rush over after their battle. But how long would they be able to fight for? Nobody truly knew the answer. The 1st United Fleet might just very well be defeated under the enemy’s superior military power, and defeat meant that the Newton Regional Fleet’s sacrifice would be worthless. The 2nd United Fleet was absolutely not a match against this enormous Imperial fleet in front of their eyes.
But what if they did not make this sacrifice? Then the answer was naturally impossible. Even if the final outcome was defeat, the Federation soldiers wanted to continue fighting on in hopes that there might even be a one in ten thousand chance of succeeding.
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