Chapter 1008: Chapter 543: The Direction with the Most Battle Achievents_2
If the pursuit continues like this, there should be so gains. There’s no need for the battlecruisers to fight desperately; just grind away at the smaller ships in the fleet, occasionally overtake and hunt them, and delay effectively.
Emphasize a strategy of harassing the retreating enemy.
Once the opponent’s main battleships go mad and try to fight desperately, the battlecruisers can also choose to retreat, and the opponent won’t catch up.
Even if they don’t want to retreat, and decide to engage a while, the relatively faster Eagle Horse will soon arrive at the battlefield; with a little more persistence, the Firebath Nova will also be there.
As long as we continue pursuing a little longer, this situation is bound to happen.
However, in the end, Admiral Yelisia, commanding the Alliance Main Fleet, ordered the pursuit to stop.
They had already chased too far out, beyond the Alliance’s control area, and pursued through several star systems.
In these unfamiliar star systems, every Star Realm Tunnel jump is a huge gamble.
Even with a Star Speaker to explore the situation across the Star Realm Tunnel beforehand, there are still thods to obscure their investigation.
The risk is certainly there.
Who knows if the next jump will lead to a thrilling chase or an ambush of eight battleships waiting on the other side?
Naval main fleets can’t afford such bets.
Even if the Army suffers heavy losses, reinforcents can be pulled from the rear, and even if they’re not well-trained, arming them to maintain army size is possible—albeit with more severe casualties.
But warships are too valuable, taking years to build even in bulk, and if destroyed now, there would simply be no ships to use at the mont.
At this stage, the Alliance’s main fleet opted to pull back conservatively.
From this, many senior Alliance officers sensed a whiff of danger.
The spread is getting larger, the deeper the penetration into enemy lines, the greater the risk.
The simple truth is that the Fury Fleet isn’t strong enough, but their strategy of trading space for ti and opportunities has indeed worked.
In such circumstances, the Alliance convened several military etings.
Ultimately, it was Gu Hang who made the decision.
“For now, we cannot claim that the second phase of the war has ended. Although we anticipated gaining control over two star sectors and twenty-nine worlds, thus reinforcing our influence in the Proudclaw Cosmos, the expanded scale of battle has also exposed our slightly vulnerable flank. The second phase requires everyone to stay vigilant until we secure a definite victory.”
“For this situation, we need a change in strategy. Shift from comprehensive control and full defense to focused area control. Many planets can remain under ground control only. Would Politos co back to reclaim these planets? It’s pointless as we could easily take them back, and they risk capture in the process.”
“He won’t do such a foolish thing. But if he does, it’s a good thing indeed.”
“Conversely, for key worlds, like crucial transportation hubs or worlds with significant industrial output or shipbuilding capability, prioritize defense and fortify these worlds. Ensure they don’t fall imdiately under attack and can hold until our fleet reinforcents arrive. Our fleets should also escort our priority transport teams through star sectors. By reducing the key worlds needing construction and defense, our transport ships won’t have to risk traveling to different locations, which also facilitates main fleet patrols and escort duties.”
After the defense layout was explained, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Currently, the Alliance occupies nearly fifty worlds in the Proudclaw Cosmos. According to Gu Hang, they would abandon around thirty, focusing on defending just under twenty.
While abandoning doesn’t an Furyfla will retake them, giving up thirty worlds in essence, even if it’s a very correct decision—since Mr. Gu is personally here, only Mr. Gu has the authority to make this decision; the others are unworthy.
Still, how to defend is a matter for now, albeit not that critical.
The Alliance remains the stronger side, surely capable of defending.
What’s most crucial is the question of the upcoming third phase of warfare.
The Alliance will surely continue to advance; otherwise, did they rally such a massive force just to capture fifty worlds in the Proudclaw Cosmos?
Clearly not.
The Alliance’s war progress has slowed, and playing safe by consolidating has revived political pressure that was waning due to the Alliance’s deploynt.
Not as severe as before, but steadily increasing.
Under these circumstances, the Alliance’s war pace cannot falter.
But the larger the scope, the higher the risk—this is an undeniable fact.
What approach should they take moving forward?
Continued fighting in this manner?
They’ve already stabilized the situation; what more could they do? Yet the further they advance, the more precarious the situation becos.
It still requires the commander, Gu Hang, to make the decision.
Gu Hang evidently had thought this through:
“First, stabilize the second phase, fortifying key worlds’ defenses and fortifications, then take a different approach in the third phase. After two phases of offensives, we have secured a foothold in the Proudclaw Cosmos, with solid positions and room to maneuver, allowing us to take so risks.”
“We no longer need to control every star system in the offensive path, but rather adopt a focused offensive approach. The command central has set three key targets in the Proudclaw Cosmos: Hewang VIII, ntus II, and Proudfang.”
Everyone was slightly surprised.
The latter two worlds were understandable, but for Hewang VIII to be one of the three main targets?
It seed strange.
Proudfang is the capital world of the Proudclaw Cosmos, making it a reasonable primary attack target;
ntus II is an important hub world located in the central ntus star sector of the Proudclaw Cosmos. It not only features a large starport, but more critically, it has the rare distinction of having eleven Star Realm Tunnels connecting to other worlds, making its position on the star map extrely important. Capturing it would be of significant strategic value.
As for Hewang VIII… that’s a bit odd.
It’s a feudal world, under considerable control by the Alfonso chanical Sect. Distributed across the planet are nurous small feudal baronies, ruled by small Knight Families. They almost all have various types of Knight chas and are at the ready for ecclesiastical summons.
When gathered, they form the ‘Alfonso Third Knight Order’.
The planet has excellent natural conditions, with very favorable agricultural conditions. The serfs under the feudal system not only support the Knight Families but also engage in extensive grain trade.
The primary trade partner, or tribute recipient, is the Alfonso Sect.
Moreover, the planet is rich in mineral resources, including three precious adamantite veins, protected by the Knight Order, with the Sect of chanics placing Protection Army troops long-term in these mining areas.
Such a world that combines ‘Knight World’, ‘Resource World’, and ‘Agro-world’ is central to the Alfonso Sect’s core interests.
The Alfonso Sect has always claid to be aligned with the Empire; no matter how ambiguous their stance, they’ve not openly raised their flag.
Rationally speaking, Hewang VIII, being core to Alfonso’s interests, could be ignored.
To target it as one of the three main objectives?
There’s a deeper implication by Mr. Gu in this move.
Gu Hang did not elaborate on this reasoning but continued: “We won’t pursue controlling every star in the offensive route as long as a star does not provide a hiding place for enemy ships, skipping over them and targeting our three planned main objectives. Once taken, we can imdiately declare we’ve conquered the Proudclaw Cosmos. From this perspective, we’ll have achieved the most results among the three fronts in the South, West, and North!”
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