The Home Front

From what I can see now, Defek is slowly starting to think that perhaps the Koya Alliance's approach is the right one: continuously ceding space and letting the Zerg nibble away at it, thereby buying time.

Once the central and Inner-Ring Civilizations Epoch Clan, intervene, the Zerg will be driven back in no time. The lost territory will naturally be reclaimed; the only loss will be some fixed assets.

But the Locke Mutual Aid Society, attempting to stop the Zerg invasion, has already lost over ten million warships and countless personnel from various races on both battlefields since the war began.

Most importantly, with so many losses and no strategic objectives achieved, and now the Zerg are even directly raiding our base, the future losses are uncertain. No matter how you look at it, losing so much for the sake of saving face is not worth it.

But there was no time for him to dwell on his feelings; he had to make a decision immediately: whether to continue fighting here or return to aid the LKDW262 star system.

However, after careful consideration, he realized that he didn't have many options left.

In the LKDW262 star system, there are still about 20 million warships. However, apart from a few tens of thousands of warships that have just been sent as reinforcements, the rest are all ships that cannot participate in this operation because they lack warp propulsion.

While the presence or absence of warp drive might not make a significant difference for a defensive ship, it's important to remember that a warship lacking even a warp engine can't possibly have any other decent features.

Even though there are many fixed defense facilities within the star system, the Meto Civilization, which built them, was a younger, outermost civilization.

With a combination of lower-tier warships and lower-tier defensive units, can they hold off 50 million ferocious Zerg troops, or for how long...?

Of the Coalition Army that launched the attack, the strongest tier, the vanguard composed of fleets from the top three civilizations of the Locke Mutual Aid Society, had already lost 80% of its strength.

The second-tier rear guard, after calculating their losses, has also reached approximately 40%. The remaining third-tier flank forces, although they still look presentable now, should not be forgotten. At the very beginning of the war, they were routed by the Zerg forces, fleeing tens of millions of kilometers and suffering heavy losses.

In this situation, even if he led his troops back, how effective could these weakened and defeated soldiers be?

Therefore, facing LKDW262's plea for help, Defek found it very difficult to make a decision. But while he was still pondering a countermeasure, a sudden change occurred on the battlefield.

The distress call from the rear somehow leaked out, causing the morale of the Meto Civilization, which was serving as the main force on both flanks, to waver. As a newly emerging civilization that had only entered the interstellar era a few thousand years ago, they had not yet completely shed their various ties, and with their homeland invaded, how could they remain calm?

Numerous requests for reinforcements were sent to command, but Defek was also in a difficult position. The two sides were now locked in a stalemate, and even if he wanted to retreat, the Zerg would not allow it. If he forced a retreat, the Coalition Army in the middle lane, blocked by the Zerg, would suffer heavy losses.

Moreover, they will be relentlessly pursued by the Zerg. By the time they reach the LKDW262 star system, it's easy to imagine how many of these Coalition Army will be left.

Moreover, outside LKDW262, there is a Zerg force of 50 million blocking their way. If they are intercepted, they will definitely be surrounded and wiped out. At that point, it won't just be a matter of sending reinforcements; it could very well be a matter of total annihilation.

The lack of response from command was causing the Meto Race to gradually lose their composure, believing that the Telo Race commander- Coalition Army -chief was deliberately stalling for time. Incited by some with ulterior motives, a squadron of Meto warships finally broke away from the battle, their Sub-light Engine operating at full power, propelling them rapidly away from the battlefield. Then, space blurred, and the entire squadron entered warp drive mode, disappearing into the void.

With these role models leading the way, more and more Meto warships left the battlefield. During this time Defek tried to persuade them with reason, emotion, and even threats, but he could not stop the Meto Race from returning home.

Defek was also getting frustrated. Although the Meto Race fleet was the main force on both flanks and was numerous, it had suffered heavy losses and few remained. In addition, its technology was outdated, so its role on the battlefield at this stage was limited. Even if they all left, if Defek handled things properly, it wouldn't have a significant impact on the situation.

But now, their reckless behavior without the commander's permission has not only greatly affected morale but also damaged Defek's prestige.

However, Defek didn't have a better solution. In his opinion, the best course of action was to make an example of the enemy by destroying all the warships that had left without permission, thus setting a clear example for the enemy.

In reality, for this idea to come true, he would have to go to the infirmary immediately for an injection and a good night's sleep. Because anything can happen in dreams.

The departure of the Meto fleet, coupled with low morale, significantly reduced the pressure on the Zerg forces. The situation, which had initially been at a disadvantage, slowly began to turn around.

Seeing this, Defek could only sigh inwardly. He couldn't think of anything else now; he had to take care of the immediate situation. Otherwise, forget about providing support; they wouldn't even be able to get through this crisis.

Meanwhile, facing the sudden appearance of the Zerg army, the LKDW262 star system was in an uproar. Some advocated a full-scale defense, some advocated a retreat, and others advocated a proactive attack.

Of course, ignoring the last point, which is utterly absurd, both sides in the debate mainly hold the first two viewpoints. Among them, the Meto Civilization, as the host, is the main force advocating for retreat and has even requested that the Alliance warships help evacuate civilians.

Population is the hope of a race. What good is victory if a world war wipes out the population of an entire star system?

Meanwhile, some civilizations that wanted to preserve their own warships supported the Meto Civilization's proposal.

Most of the civilizations that advocate defense are neighbors of the Meto Civilization. They believe that if the Meto Civilization abandons its position, they will have to take in a large number of Meto refugees, and once the Zerg have recovered, they will be the next to suffer.

Under these circumstances, they naturally hoped that the Coalition Army could hold out in the territory of the Meto Civilization for as long as possible. As for the casualties of the Meto Race, they were not of their own kind, and in such a critical moment, they could not care about such things.

While they were arguing, the Zerg were not wasting any time. After a quick rest, countless Ancient Class Zerg rushed towards the star system from multiple directions.

The outermost planetary base resisted for less than an hour before being overwhelmed by the tidal wave of Zerg.

The debate among the various races of the Coalition Army was interrupted by this sudden attack; the Zerg, so close at hand, made everyone feel threatened.

If we retreat now, the warships will still have time to leave at their leisure, but transferring the population will be extremely time-consuming and will no longer be sufficient.

Therefore, the Meto Race, who had originally advocated for evacuation, quickly changed their stance and became staunch supporters of the defense.