The expeditionary fleet retreated from Bortele!
It couldn't be helped.
The Larkinsons and its allies put up a good fight, but the odds were stacked against the defenders.
Lack of support, insufficient rest, rising casualties, plunging morale and not enough ace pilots all dood the effort to save Bortele from falling into the hands of the vengeful aliens.
The defeat weighed heavily on the soldiers. They all knew that this was the correct decision to make. As hard as they fought to slow down the alien advance, they were not invincible. Their losses were hard to replenish, which ant that with every engagent, they beca increasingly more outnumbered.
Even then, the soldiers of the expeditionary fleet could have chosen to stand their ground and defend Bortele III to the death.
Yet as honorable as it may be to put up a heroic last stand, the ch pilots did not want to sacrifice their life for an outco that was already inevitable.
Whether the Bortele System fell today or tomorrow made little difference for them. It was not worth sacrificing their lives when the native aliens could just wait for reinforcents and make another offensive push.
Many of the soldiers knew that this was not supposed to happen.
The Bortele System could have held out for least several weeks longer if the circumstances were more ideal.
If the colonial states sent out their reserves and newly mobilized ch units as they had done before, the linefighters stationed in Bortele wouldn't have beco so badly outnumbered.
If Human High Command did not insist on transferring so many ace pilots to the Upper Zones, they could have prevented the enemy phase lords from dominating the battlefield.
It was already bad enough that the alien phase lords outnumbered their human counterparts.
What was worse was that they completely fought in a scumbag manner!
After suffering several humiliating defeats against the Larkinson Clan, the lesser and greater phase lords that found themselves its latest opponents had completely put down their pride and arrogance.
The phase lords were not in a hurry to lead their forces from the front. Two greater phase lords that were skilled in spatial manipulation combined their power to launch massive space rocks at distant. targets.
Due to their enormous size and phasewater volu, they were able to fling asteroids of such great size that it took a huge amount of firepower to blow them apart!
The weapons utilized by chs weren't able to break them up fast enough. Only warships and orbital platforms could dismantle them in ti before they hit anything important, but even they could not keep their weapons active for hours on end.
Their ammunition and energy reserves began to dwindle. The weapon barrels and other chanisms beco increasingly more worn out. Their crews beca more fatigued.
The erudite phase lords anwhile kept going for many days without showing any visible sign of exhaustion. Their enormous and transcendent bodies granted them amazing endurance. So long as they did not exert themselves too hard, they may be able to persist for several weeks without
interruption!
With other phase lords staying behind for the sole purpose of guarding this siege combination, the enemy champions clearly wanted to rely on flinging space rocks to exhaust the defenses of the humans!
It didn't matter to the aliens that their progress slowed down. As long as they remained patient, they could easily achieve results without taking any excessive risks.
At no point did the phase lords ever move forward even when they noticed that they outnumbered the enemy ace pilots.
They not only feared the possibility that they would inexplicably falter when fighting against the likes of Saint Dise, but they also did not want to trigger the breakthroughs of high-tier expert pilots.
After years of fighting against human champions, the alien phase lords had gained a good understanding of how they worked.
Many arrogant and overconfident phase lords had fought hearty battles against high-tier expert pilots, only to get capsized in the gutter when their human foe suddenly beca a saint!
It was common knowledge that high pressure and heightened emotions were all correlated with a higher rate of breakthroughs.
The best way for phase lords to avoid getting blasted in their enormous faces by a newly ascended ace pilot was to avoid aggression as much as possible.
It was still possible for them to fight, but they carefully needed to grasp how much they attacked the enemy ace pilots.
If possible, the phase lords no longer fought to kill, but rather tried to tire out their enemies.
In any case, the native gods all possessed good defenses, so they could easily resist the attacks of most expert chs.
Under these circumstances, expert pilots such as Venerable Brutus Wodin, Venerable Jannzi Larkinson and Venerable Joshua Larkinson had no chance of blazing their way towards sainthood. The only way they could possibly force the issue was to go on the offensive and get close to the alien phase lords.
However, doing so would not only put a lot of distance between their ace chs and friendly forces, but also put them in the heart of the alien armada!
Few ace chs would be able to withstand the onslaught of attacks from nearby phasefighters and warships.
Combined with the attacks from every phase lord, even ace chs wouldn't be able to last long under the circumstances!
This essentially ruled out any possibility of a miracle. The inability to produce breakthroughs cut off all hope of saving the Bortele System and safeguarding the Krakatoa Middle Zone.
As the expeditionary fleet ultimately made the difficult choice to preserve their remaining strength and avoid a collapse by withdrawing from the Bortele System, the lack of accomplishnts still weighed heavily on Casella's mind.
"This is war!" Ves spoke over the comm. "I read the reports and watched the footage. You did your best under the circumstances. Our ace chs made a difference. The aliens would have taken the Bortele System a lot sooner without you and the rest!"
The Saint Commander grimaced in response. "You do not need to placate . I failed. We failed. So many clansn have fought and died in the Torald Middle Zone in the belief that their sacrifice
would make a difference. In the end... I fear that their efforts to hold the defensive bands and safeguard our hinterland from alien incursions may ultimately be in vain...'
Ves looked closely at the projected form of the Saint Commander. He could feel that her cynicism extended beyond the failure to defend the Bortele System.
As an acc commander whose mind was naturally predisposed towards strategy and tactics, she likely deduced the true intentions of Human High Command.
Those high-and-mighty military strategists and planners were tasked with preserving the human race and as much of its society as possible.
This mandate did not necessarily translate into defending every single human life.
If necessary, these rational and ruthless thinkers may have decided that it was worthwhile to sacrifice the lives of space peasants in order to protect the core power base of red humanity.
While this decision made a lot of sense, it was very hard for the people fighting in the effectively abandoned Middle and Lower Zones to accept this harsh calculus.
"Casella, we don't have the power to protect the Krakatoa Middle Zone by ourselves." Ves gently spoke. "We are but one of many organizations in the new frontier. We are not responsible for everything that is happening. What matters is that we have already done the best we could. Nobody will be able to accuse us of doing less than what our duty demands!
"That is because we are too weak." Casella resentfully grumbled as she lowered her head. "Saint Dise eagerly wanted to chop the enemy phase lords, but her outdated expert ch cannot keep up with her ambitions. Swordmaster Ketis has promised to complete the design of the First Sword Mark III in two months or less, but that may already be too late to save the people who remain stuck in the Krakatoa Middle Zone from getting slaughtered. As for myself, you know more than I how long it will take to complete the design of the Minerva Mark II'
She had beco a lot more cognizant about the importance of piloting better chs. There were many decisions that she couldn't make in the Bortele System due to the inferiority of their chs.
Ves tried to console the ace commander.
"We are working faster than before. We have already taken concrete asures to speed up our design work by acquiring a powerful new processor cluster. My wife has already begun to interview several first-class ch designers who may be able to undertake important responsibilities in the Design Departnt. Your Minerva is ready to be upgraded within a month. Once we have transford your command ch, you will be able to make a much greater difference."
"Perhaps, but it will co at the cost of my absence in the Krakatoa Middle Zone. Her tone along with her brooding expression caused Ves to develop a suspicion.
"Are you thinking about bringing your soon-to-be-graded first-class ace command ch back to the expeditionary fleet?"
"I am considering it. She admitted. "Why must all first-class chs join the defense at the Upper Zones? There are already so many powerful assets over there that my entry will not necessarily make a difference. The second-raters who are left at the rcy of the alien invaders need my protection more."'"
Ves shook his head. "We already held this discussion before. Your Command Field is much more effective when applied to first-class chs than second-class chs. Helping other first-raters defeat their direct opposition will also blunt much of the alien push into our territories. As long as the battles of the Upper Zones are resolved, the aliens will not dare to overextend themselves and push too deep into the Middle and Lower Zones. This is the best way for you to save the people who
are residing in the latter."
"I know! The Saint Commander responded. "It is just... I hate the notion that I am abandoning the second-raters who are left vulnerable to alien attacks. Fighting the enemies that threaten Krakatoa directly is much more satisfying than protecting this Middle Zone through more indirect ans!
"No matter what, you will absolutely need a powerful first-class ace ch in order to support your ambitions. Now that you have tasted a lot of defeats, you should be more eager to get your hands on an improved machine. As long as you beco powerful enough, you can force the strategists to prioritize saving lives and single-handedly defeat the alien phase lords that are so difficult to deal
with by others."
The reminder of what she could do if she beca more powerful lit a fire in her heart. Casella's eyes grew firr as she stared at the ch designer who was calling from New Constantinople. "The complaints of the weak are always ignored. There is little point for to lant the injustice of it all. If I want to change this dwarf galaxy for the better, then I should at least co closer to wielding the power of the Fist of Defiance during his latest public performance. Is there any way to further strengthen my ace ch with the help of superdinsional matter?'
"It will be hard for the Minerva to match that outrageous god ch in the foreseeable future." Ves almost winced in response. "The First of Defiance excels at brawling. His superdinsional gear also works well for the simple configuration of the Invictus. Your Minerva fights completely differently on the battlefield. High-grade superdinsional matter won't do much to you beyond making your machine a lot more resistant towards damage. Your lack of Saint Kingdom ans that you won't be able to amplify the properties of superdinsional parts as much as other ace chs. To be completely honest, the Minerva should have the lowest priority of receiving a superdinsional
makeover"
There was no way that Ves and Gloriana would agree to waste precious armor-grade and weapon-grade superdinsional matter on the Minerva Mark II when there were plenty of high-ranking lee chs that needed it more!
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