Revised Strategic Guidelines

The Collectors felt uneasy because the enemy's defensive strength differed greatly from their expectations. The Sacred Womb State's "Assassination" Legion was likewise unsettled by the enemy's overwhelming power.

"A total of fifty-eight worlds of the State have been declared lost. The enemy's advance has temporarily halted. What do you all think?" the commander-in-chief of the Assassination Legion said at the meeting.

Because the enemy was far stronger than anticipated, the Assassination Legion's upper ranks realized the enemy might not be what they had assumed. They had no choice but to urgently convene this strategic meeting and redraw their strategic guidelines.

Besides the Assassination Legion's commander-in-chief and two deputy commanders, the meeting included the commanders of every fleet in the legion and the regional commanders of the garrison forces.

"Other than that pilot who survived by sheer luck last time, there were no survivors. Total casualties... number of fortresses lost..."

The regional garrison commanders routinely reported the war losses at the meeting.

Someone raised a question during the meeting, one that everyone present shared.

"Is the enemy really Inari? Since when did Inari's fleets possess such powerful combat strength?"

The Inari Radiant Kingdom was not an unfamiliar opponent to the Assassination Legion. The State and Inari had experienced several small-scale military conflicts over territorial disputes.

Thus, everyone in the legion had a general understanding of Inari's fleet strength.

The Assassination Legion's thinking had been simple. The deeper Inari advanced into the State, the stronger the space fortress defenses would become, and Inari's fleet would suddenly slow down. This would both inflict a certain degree of attrition upon the invading fleet and gather intelligence on the enemy, while also drawing out the Inari fleet's hidden trump card.

Furthermore, if Inari dared to attack the State, it must have something to rely upon.