May, year eight of the Calendar of the Gods.
The Atlantis Empire began to move.
Large numbers of troops and warships were dispatched to the east and west.
As the Atlantis Empire took action,
the United Navy, which had lain quiet for over a month, also began to stir.
Shortly after the Atlantis Empire's fleets left its home territory, they immediately came under attack from the United Navy's fleets.
The attacks struck both fronts simultaneously.
In both numbers and combat strength, the United Navy's forces far surpassed those of the Atlantis Empire.
The Atlantis Empire's only advantage in conventional forces was its unusually large number of Legendary Battleships!
The Atlantis Empire now had a full twenty Legendary Battleships.
They were divided evenly between the eastern and western fronts.
This time, however, the United Navy had spared no expense, procuring as many as fifteen Legendary Battleships from some unknown source.
Moreover, the United Navy staked everything on a single gamble, sending all fifteen Legendary Battleships to the Eastern Battlefield.
Had Annie not reacted in time and teleported every Legendary Battleship on the western front to the eastern front,
the Legendaries responsible for the Eastern Battlefield would probably have had to enter the fighting themselves.
Even then, the Eastern Battlefield only managed a draw, with losses on both sides.
But on the western front, without the Legendary Battleships to hold the enemy in check, the Atlantis Empire's forces suffered rather heavy losses.
Had the United Navy not withdrawn of its own accord for some unknown reason, the troops on the western front would probably have been driven straight back to the empire's home territory.
Over the following two months, the Atlantis Empire and the United Navy began a prolonged tug-of-war over the territories within the Sea Route.
Both sides remained very restrained