It was certain that the ancient fortress hidden inside the dwarf planet, hollowed out from the entire celestial body, was the heart of the Demon's Throat defensive line—and the culprit responsible for destroying the most Allied warships.
During more than two months of grinding back-and-forth fighting, the Allied forces had lost over a hundred ships of all sizes and left more than four hundred thousand bodies behind. They had also managed to capture a dozen or so space outposts. But the marauders could repeatedly use the impregnable fortress as their stronghold, launching counterattacks whenever the Allies grew weary. So when the final tally was made, the Allies were astonished to find that their gains were even smaller than they had expected.
In any case, a battle that felt like a meat grinder was an immense test of both sides' patience and willpower.
So when the Commonwealth Expeditionary Force's headquarters received the battle report from the DL36 system, Yang Xiyi, deputy chief of staff, immediately proposed convening a high-level military conference.
"In this situation, the safest strategy is actually a prolonged siege. We know that we've already achieved a decisive breakthrough on another front. The enemy inside the fortress will eventually hear about it, and when they do, their morale and fighting spirit will crumble even faster. We need only wait for the right moment," Yang Xiyi began.
Lieutenant General Tivington, the chief of staff, immediately bristled. Hadn't we agreed to follow my plan and launch another full-scale assault? Yang, I've already shown you plenty of respect. And this is how you repay me?
"Am I right that your plan is to bypass the enemy outposts and artillery positions on asteroids D4, D11, and D14, then have our escort ships link their shields together to protect twelve Marine divisions as they