The Fall of the Fortress (I)
Northern Galaxy.
The Kingdom of Dawn's intention to make a breakthrough in this direction had become unmistakably clear. The only question was whether they wanted to attack Palin-Minor Planet first and completely destroy the Galactic Empire's Northern Territory legion, or strike directly at Bilbrin Planet and then drive straight into the Galactic Empire's core.
Palin-Minor Planet's defenses were exceptionally strong. Even though its armed satellite—the Iron Moon—had previously been destroyed, the planet itself still possessed top-tier planetary shields, the highest possible configuration of orbital defense systems, and a massive fleet stationed there. It was naturally impregnable...
Bilbrin Planet also possessed a top-tier defense system. Although its planetary shields and orbital defense systems were not of particularly high grade, it enjoyed a unique astronomical advantage—
From Dorin Planet, in Kingdom of Dawn-controlled territory, to Bilbrin Planet, hyperspace routes were extremely complex, leaving transit capacity severely limited. However, from Bilbrin Planet toward Galactic Empire-controlled territory, the Empire possessed several highly secret seasonal hyperspace routes. By using them in rotation, transit remained completely unaffected.
Moreover, an asteroid belt lay directly around Bilbrin Planet. The Galactic Empire had converted a large number of those asteroids into armed asteroids, installing reactors and heavy turbolaser cannons to form a formidable network of firepower.
Under such circumstances, it appeared equally impregnable...
Yet all of it was merely beautiful on the surface.
During the previous stage of the campaign, the Galactic Empire had first suffered defeat in the encounter battle at Bilbrin Planet, where Lieutenant General Horst Strege was killed in action. This allowed the Kingdom of Dawn fleet to invade the Bilbrin system and deploy several Dawn's Radiance-class industrial motherships, establishing a forward base.
Afterward, General Gillard Perine, who had been preparing to attack Ord Mantell Planet, misjudged the strategic mobility