Perhaps some unseen force of fate had brought the Battle of the Ring of Miracles and the Yaochi (Fourth) Campaign to the same day: November 20, 833 on the Common Era calendar.
Faced with the Commonwealth defenders' formidable line in the border valleys of Sector 1, the Empire spent more than half a year moving troops and appointing commanders. Only after assembling a force five or six times the size of the defenders' did it launch an all-out assault on the Ring of Miracles' defenses.
The commander was the renowned Admiral Orosha. In the timeline where Yu Lian had been active, the old veteran had already left the stage of history. But in this timeline, he was the finest ground-warfare commander in the entire Galactic Empire—without exception.
However, the facts proved that Yu Lian's "Defense Is the Universal Answer" theory, distilled from the lessons of war in the timeline before last, was still highly practical. Even a ground-warfare expert like Admiral Orosha needed an overwhelming numerical advantage and the willingness to sacrifice countless lives before daring to launch the final assault.
They said the Imperials had indeed left nearly a hundred thousand bodies behind at the Ring of Miracles—almost as many as the enemy troops they had killed or subdued in the campaign. That was a testament to the defenders' valiant efforts, and also to the merits of Yu Lian's "Defense Is the Universal Answer" theory.
Yang Xiyi was probably praising Yu Lian. Yet the latter's mood sank all the same. He suddenly thought that if Brother Sayo hadn't gotten hold of his "Defense Is the Universal Answer" theory and grown dependent on it, perhaps they wouldn't have held their ground to the bitter end. They might have chosen a more flexible strategy instead.
After all, the Ring of Miracles