It was clear that Chief of Staff Mkawa had needed to summon considerable resolve to say those words.
He knew, of course, that although the Far Shore Sector lay on the frontier, it was nothing like the "backwater" of New Shenzhou. New Shuntian was a military stronghold with a population of one billion. New Tennessee exported premium beef and all kinds of agricultural products across the nebula, while New Seville was a renowned seaside resort and center of marine industries.
Not to mention Lumina.
The planet Yu Lian had personally led. In ancient times, it could practically have been called the birthplace of a dynasty, couldn't it?
All of the above could, in fact, be abandoned. That was war.
But even if that was the reality, who could truly stay calm about it?
Yu Lian's expression remained placid. He motioned for Chief of Staff Mkawa to continue.
"Once they leave the Far Shore Nebula, General Bai can take the Athena and head toward New Seville to resupply and rest, then look for an opportunity to engage the enemy again."
That was, of course, a more tactful way of putting it. In plain terms, they were treating the Athena and its fleet as expendable bait to draw the enemy's attention.
But there was that same cruel truth: given the current state of the war, such a sacrifice was only to be expected.
"As for us, we don't need to stop at New Shuntian. We can take the nearest route straight to the Southern Heavenly Gate. The Imperial fleet will certainly have to divide its forces to occupy the sector's major strongholds, which will give us a chance to slip away. As long as our fleet reaches the Southern Heavenly Gate ahead of them, everything will be all right."
Yu Lian shook