"The number of Ladder Star Gates is increasing rapidly, and the pressure on the border defenses keeps mounting. They're using their numerical advantage to offset our information advantage..." Wei Peng said with concern.
"We can only trade space for time."
On the border, the defenses that had barely been holding were now on the verge of collapse. New Dimension Fortress Groups were constantly being destroyed after being surrounded by large numbers of Corrupted Fleets, and the green dots representing their forces winked out on the holographic star map.
"The only thing we can do now is hold on." Lin Zhichen looked at the star map. The defensive line closest to the Empire's border was now only 50,000 light-years away. Before the war began, it had been 100,000 light-years away.
Time flew by, and the Gods stayed busy with their own affairs.
The changes brought about by the spread of the Time Acceleration rune arrays continued throughout the Empire, while reinforcements to the front lines steadily increased.
With new factories constantly being built and put into operation, rising production capacity provided the military with more reinforcements. As time passed, the defensive line, which had been retreating step by step, finally stabilized once more.
Everyone knew, however, that this was only a temporary victory. Overall, the Empire remained at an overwhelming disadvantage, forced to wage a defensive war behind its fortified lines.
Time passed, bringing them to the tenth year since the Civilization Trial began.
"Even so, we're still being pushed back on the Frontline Battlefield."
By then, the border defenses had retreated from 50,000 light-years to 20,000. Though the rate of retreat had slowed over the years, the fact that the line was falling back said it all.
"According to my estimates, the Corrupted Fleets' rate of replenishment has also doubled