The Rout

On the main battlefield, the situation is already very unfavorable for the Coalition Army. They are already outnumbered and are forced to hold their ground, leaving little room for maneuver.

In addition, the Meto Race later transferred some warships and aircraft, which, although they played a small role on the main battlefield, accelerated the collapse of the Coalition Army.

"Sir, we can't hold out much longer!" a foreign commander asked.

Since the start of the war, after nearly a month of fierce fighting, the Coalition Army forces' defensive facilities have suffered damage exceeding 95%, and more than half of their 20 million warships have been destroyed. As for the Swarm, conservative estimates suggest that at least 30 million Ancient Class remain.

The ratio of troops between the two sides has increased from nearly two to almost three. If this drags on, the disparity in troop strength will only widen.

The commander of the Coalition Army on this battlefield was General Arrito, also a Telo Race. He was well aware of the difference in methods and understood his subordinates' intentions, but he had repeatedly applied to his superiors for a withdrawal, only to be denied permission. Helpless, he could only remain there and endure the situation.

"Sir, when will our reinforcements arrive?" another foreign commander asked.

General Arrito's lips curled into a bitter smile. Even he wanted to know about the reinforcements. Every time he inquired with his superiors, the answers were ambiguous and never definitive.

However, his clever little brain deduced that reinforcements were probably out of the question, because the situation was even worse for his colleague Defek on the front lines.

He had originally hoped that Defek would lead his fleet to repel the Zerg, since Defek had taken all the high-end warships with him, and his fleet's combat power was much stronger than his own.

Then turn back and attack him from both sides, wiping out his Zerg forces.

Unexpectedly, they launched a surprise attack on the Zerg's rally point with superior forces, annihilated the Zerg forces there, exploited an information gap, and then waited for the enemy to tire themselves out before taking out more of their reinforcements.

Such a perfect plan, an easy annihilation battle, has turned into a war of attrition. As time goes by, a steady stream of Zerg reinforcements joins the battlefield. As for Defek, his retreat has been blocked by the Zerg. He's lucky if the Zerg don't even try to attack him, let alone turn back to flank Zerg.

However, as the balance of power between the two sides gradually shifted, the Central Army that had been desperately held back by the Zerg was now almost completely wiped out by the Zerg reinforcements that arrived later.

Without the distraction of those advanced fleets, those mixed-race fleets from various nations were no match for the revitalized Zerg forces. They were scattered by a single Zerg charge and are now being hunted down by the Zerg army.

Even in such a dire situation, they didn't receive any reinforcements from the Alliance, let alone their side.

"Sir, quantum communication, it's a message from headquarters." Suddenly, a communications soldier came to report.

As Arrito pondered the situation, he was startled, then overjoyed. Could it be that reinforcements had arrived? This battle had been too frustrating, and he desperately needed a high-level fleet to help him vent his frustration.

Ten minutes later, Arrito's face darkened.

Although the message came from headquarters, it wasn't official information. It was just a message that a friend of his had relayed to him through official channels.

The news surprised him. First, regarding Defek's side, his troops had been scattered. Defek had gathered some remnants of his forces, bypassed the battlefield on LKDW262's side, and retreated in another direction.

Therefore, Arrito should not count on Defek. Moreover, the Mutual Aid Association has already moved the Coalition Army's assembly point from LKDW262 to LKDW257.

The LKDW257 star system is located further inside the Alliance and is also the main star system of the Meto Civilization, their birthplace. LKDW257 is about five light-years away from here in 262.

Setting up the assembly point there clearly indicates that this area has been abandoned by the Mutual Aid Association and the Alliance. Arrito's ability to command a battlefield demonstrates his considerable strength and influence, and the Telo Race will not easily relinquish him.

However, due to the large number of members in the Mutual Aid Association, it was impossible to publicly disclose the information or give him instructions. Instead, he could only inform him of the information through a friend and let him make his own decisions.

Actually, Arrito didn't have much to worry about. It was quite simple: he should learn from his colleagues and find an opportunity to extricate himself before the situation completely deteriorated.

Most of his own fleet had been deployed to the front lines. Under his command, apart from Guard Team of only a hundred or so warships, the rest were all foreign troops.

Therefore, Arrito had no burden in giving them up.

However, some superficial formalities still need to be done.

Thinking of this, he immediately relaxed, and the tense muscles in his face eased. This made his Adjutant, who was good at reading people, and the soldiers beside him secretly wonder what message their commander had received.

With a clear plan in mind, Arrito's new decisions were immediately reflected in the Coalition Army's troop deployment. Compared to their previous conservative approach, they now seemed to have a do-or-die attitude, fighting with abandon.

The Swarm also clearly sensed the change in the Coalition Army; they were actually actively seeking opportunities for a direct confrontation. The Swarm naturally welcomed this.

Thus, mechanical parts mixed with unknown flesh and blood drifted through space. Dense beams of energy crisscrossed the wreckage. The entire battlefield center was like a grinding mill, crushing both sides' forces into dust.

A great battle raged for seven days and seven nights, with neither side retreating. The Zerg could afford such attrition, but the Coalition Army could not.

Rumors that the commander-in-chief would fight to the death, with no reinforcements, began to circulate among the Coalition Army soldiers from who-knows-where and spread rapidly.

Having personally experienced the change in the commander's decision, most soldiers believed the news. However, apart from the Meto Race who were willing to die for their homeland, the other foreign races felt that their lives were precious and there was no need to waste them for other races.

As a result, panic ensued, and eventually one of the foreign tribes could not withstand the losses in battle and demanded that Arrito order a retreat. With this example set by others, the other foreign tribes naturally followed suit.

They quickly united and collectively pressured Arrito to resign.

Arrito, on the other hand, pretended to reprimand them, but was eventually forced to give in to public opinion and issue a retreat order.

The foreign tribes cheered, as if they had defeated the Zerg. But immediately, the same people who had been so united just moments before began to sabotage the others.

There was no other way. Their fleet was entangled with the Zerg, and if they wanted to retreat, someone had to cover the rear. But none of them wanted to be that person.

While they were fighting each other, no one noticed that Arrito's flagship and escort fleet had long since vanished without a trace.