As the swarms began their attack, the Imperial fleet was deploying its formations in orderly fashion. Alongside the vanguard of the Imperial Guard fleet, which had just arrived on the scene, the fleets formed by local defense forces and feudal lords were also methodically spreading out into formation.
Under the protection of eleven Guardian-class ships, seventeen Arsenal Ships would deploy their formation at close range, barely 0.1 astronomical units from the gravity well's entrance. After several rounds of debate and study, the Imperial Privy Council had finally decided to phase out these two cumbersome ship classes entirely. But, as the saying went, even with the Empire's national strength and shipbuilding capacity, it was still a major undertaking that would leave a deep scar. During the process, transferring the Arsenal Ships and Guardian-class ships retired by the Central Imperial Guard Fleet, which answered directly to the Grand Marshal's Office, to local fleets was one way to reduce losses.
In an imperial heartland like the Ten Thousand Sails Sector, there were naturally no major feudal lords, nor any practical need to strengthen its armaments. But the sector was densely populated, had a complete industrial base, and enjoyed a prosperous economy. Its government coffers were therefore quite full, and with that came the duty to ease the burden on the Imperial Center.
Thus, the Ten Thousand Sails Sector Defense Command had accepted a considerable number of the giant ships retired by the Imperial Guard fleet.
To be fair, in some small countries, these Arsenal Ships and Guardian-class ships would absolutely be the mainstay of their fleets. They would be symbols of national power, front and center at military parades.
They had actually been made obsolete by Winglight fighters and spatial-bubble torpedoes. Lacking maneuverability and having limited capabilities, they were easy prey for the