Chapter 121: Viles Decision.
Chapter 121: Viles Decision.
Chapter 121: Viles' Decision.
In the conference room, Alfie said to Joanna in an unquestionable tone.
"Commander Joanna, I order you as the Queen to immediately lead the Fifth Legion to retreat to Circe and rearrange the Star Path defense!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Queen ordering a retreat and withdrawing from the line by herself were two completely different things.
Joanna, who had no more psychological burden, immediately ordered the legion to start withdrawing from the Star Path defense line. Using their speed advantage and moving in an arc, they quickly pulled away from the fire of Viles' Legion. They sailed towards the Star Path in the direction of Circe!
Currently, at the exit of the Star Path, although the bridgehead of Viles' Legion has been established, there were currently only 80,000 warships, which were not yet able to effectively stop Joanna's Fifth Legion from moving.
Coupled with the fact that the speed of their warships were slower than Joanna's. They could only watch as the other side quickly withdrew from the battlefield.
The logistics personnel in Star Port were also evacuating quickly. As for some of the staff members on various planets, Joanna just notified them to hide.
After all, just as what Li Cangdou said, Viles does not have time to waste. He would clear the planets, hence they were basically safe.
An hour later, after converging with a large number of transport ships carrying logistics personnel flying out of the Star Port, Joanna's legion began to enter the Star Path and head to Circe.
Just as Joanna's Fifth Legion withdrew, Viles' flagship also sailed out from within the Star Path.
Looking at the evacuating Io Federation fleet in the distance, Viles frowned deeply.
This was the last thing he wanted to see. For Viles, the ideal situation would be to wipe out the other side in one fell swoop in Sierra.
They only destroyed 20,000 warships and the other party retreated just as their bridgehead was being established. On the other hand, they had lost nearly 80,000 warships in the early stages of establishing the bridgehead.
If this was in ordinary times, Viles would not care, after all the 80,000 warships were exchanged for an important position. It was a very good trade.
But the situation right now was not ordinary. He had no backup, and the other side was clearly going to gradually consume them as they push through. When did the Io Federation become so good at fighting?
However, this makes no sense without knowing the current situation of the Ochs Empire. Using this strategy was tantamount to destroying one's self. After all, once Sierra was lost, the Ochs Empire's army could enter the Io Federation and even push all the way to its capital circle.
Unless… The angels and humans teamed up, and the Io Federation knew about the current state of the Ochs Empire. They knew that his legion was now a lone army.
That was the only way to explain why the Io Federation had adopted such a strategy.
If this was really the case, then Viles was in danger. The Io Federation would definitely not fight with them head-on, but will use its defensive advantage to destroy their fleet in large numbers just like the beginning of the battle in Sierra.
Afterwards, when the other sides defensive advantage was gradually lost, they would continue to retreat and set up defensive lines at the next node. Basically, rinse and repeat.
The result would be that Viles' Legion would be like an apple, being eaten one bite at a time.
This outcome must not be realized. Viles must changed their strategy, otherwise they would definitely not last before they could cross the territory of the Io Federation. They would die on the journey.
However, even if Viles wanted to change strategies, it was not an easy thing to do. Currently,he only had three options.
First, return to Ceres, but that is equal to looking for death so Viles did not even bother to consider it.
Second was go to Circe that's 0.2 light years away and would take them about 24 days of travel. But Joanna's Fifth Legion would definitely head to Circe and re-establish the Star Path defense line.
Third was to go Mihodon that's 0.3 light-years away and would take them about 36 days of travel. It was unknown if the Io Federation would also be waiting for them there, but Viles was inclined to believe that there would be one.
For Viles, the first option one can be completely disregarded, he'll need to consider mainly the second and third option.
If he chose the second option, it would mean that they would be led in the nose by the Io Federation and they were bound to lose at least tens of thousands of warships in Circe.
As for the third option, there was a very big uncertainty. Their travel would bring 12 days of gap. These 12 days was very deadly.
Viles knows that humans have Warp Engines, and guessed that humans and angels were colluding together. These 12 days of travel was very dangerous as they were likely to be intercepted by the humans.
Therefore, compared to the uncertainty of option three, Viles believes that it was better to go to Circe, he'll just need to make a change in their strategy.
After arriving at Circe, the other side would definitely repeat what they did in Sierra. Hence, after taking Circe, he would split the legion and sail towards multiple star paths - scattering - then split and scatter again later.
The final result would be was that there would be small fleets everywhere, scattered into numerous routes to split the situation. As long as a few of the fleets, no, even if only one fleet successfully crossed the territory of the Io Federation, it could be considered a success.
Viles was a decisive person so after making up his mind, without even waiting for the follow-up fleet, he immediately sent more than 200,000 warships towards the Star Path leading to Circe. After all, the earlier they reach Circe, the less time would the Io Federation have to set up the defense line.
At the same time, he informed the follow-up fleet that they should also head for Circe immediately after leaving the Star Path, without any stops!
Eventually, half an hour after Joanna's Fifth Legion entered the Star Path in the direction of Circe, the front of Viles' Legion also got to the entrance of the Star Path and quickly entered it one after another.
"We have now entered the Star Path of Circe. Meanwhile, according to the report from the remaining personnel in Sierra, the rest of Viles' Legion is heading towards Circe, just about half an hour time behind us!"
Joanna said to the people present in the conference room, she still wore an anxious look on her face.
"Good, then we will now distribute the tasks!"
Liang Xingchen stood up and said after looking around at the room.
"First of all, cancel Mihodon's support plan, Commander Elena please lead your legion to Circe, while I will likewise lead my fleet to there."
"Secondly, we are bound to be too late, so I ask Commander Joanna to kindly repeat what you did in Sierra. Subsequently, choose the closest Star Path to continue the retreat."
"Lastly, after our main fleet arrives in Circe, we will make a final battle plan based on the direction of travel of Viles, does anyone have any questions?"
"None!"
All the people in the conference room except for Queen Alfie, stood up and responded!