Today was undoubtedly the worst day of Bilbrin Planet Defense Fleet Commander Dagon Nierz's life.
Because at this very moment, he had received two contradictory orders...
The King of the North, Governor of the Ninth Army Dunn Vesex, demanded that he preserve the fleet as much as possible, gradually withdraw from Bilbrin Planet, and redeploy ships to defend Parlin Minor Planet.
However, just yesterday, the Galactic Empire's financial center, Scipio, had come under attack. The situation remained unclear, but Imperial Marshal Oswald Tessik was evidently furious. In an exceedingly stern tone, he ordered Lieutenant General Dagon Nierz to launch an immediate offensive and exert as much pressure on the Kingdom of Dawn as possible.
More importantly, Marshal Oswald Tessik wanted Lieutenant General Dagon Nierz to destroy the Kingdom of Dawn's forward base under construction on Bilbrin Planet, eliminating the possibility of the Kingdom of Dawn main fleet passing through Bilbrin Planet and striking directly at the Imperial Core Worlds.
Although Dagon Nierz did not know the exact state of the battle near Scipio, he could tell from Marshal Tessik's reaction that the situation was absolutely grim.
So the question was: should he attack or retreat?
Dagon Nierz forwarded Marshal Tessik's orders to Dunn Vesex, only to receive a cold reply—handle it yourself.
Clearly, Dunn Vesex was demanding that Dagon Nierz choose a side. This was not merely a military choice, but a political one as well.
Dunn Vesex was undoubtedly still bitter over failing to become an Imperial Marshal, so there was no way he would proactively cooperate with any of Marshal Oswald Tessik's orders.
But for Dagon Nierz, the choice was not difficult.
He was loyal to the Empire...
And abandoning the defensive line at Bilbrin Planet, leaving the Imperial Core Worlds completely exposed, would be a fatal blow