Chapter 690: Retreat (1/2)
Chapter 690: Retreat
“Connect him.”
“Admiral Kang Hui!” Yan Yuan’s stern face appeared on the screen.
“Admiral Yan Yuan, what’s happened?” Kang Hui asked calmly.
Yan Yuan explained. “We were ambushed by one of the planets. It was much stronger than we anticipated. It struck us and we were forced to eject the tail of our ship in order to escape. We recorded the encounter, I’ll send it to you in a moment and we should be arriving at your location in fifteen minutes. What is your current situation?”
Kang Hui’s hands were clenched into fists. “We were in a stalemate until First Fleet sacrificed their lives to buy us a chance. We’re preparing to counter-attack, I’ll speak with you in a moment. Come as fast as you can.”
“Alright.” Yan Yuan nodded. After hearing things were going better for Tyrannosaurus, he was visibly less worried.
Another call was coming through.
“Arachnid-Class Bastion has come under enemy fire and was destroyed. There were no survivors.”
For a moment Kang Hui was stunned. Holmen’s craggy face swam up at him from the depths of his memory.
Holmen’s fallen in battle? Down with his Bastion? How could this happen… He…
Kang Hui felt cold all over his body.
The enemy had separated, waiting for the humans to stumble into their traps. Only Tyrannosaurus managed to stand their ground, but only just barely. Their operation was a failure! Heron was on its way, but so were the two other alien planets.
A harsh and bitter expression darkened the admiral’s face. Ominous as the situation was, however, he still gave his commands.
“Sound the retreat, all hands. Tell Third and Sixth Fleets to bring up the rear. Give Admiral Yan Yuan our fallback position, and have Heron meet us there. We’re getting out of here as fast as we can, and let the Alliance know what’s transpired.”
Retreat was their only option. Live to fight another day. If they let themselves get surrounded by all three alien planets they would be doomed. It didn’t matter how sour the taste of defeat was, withdrawal was the right decision. They’d already lost many to the expedition, further risks were irresponsible.
Tyrannosaurus, guarded by its entourage, slowly began to head back the way it’d come. Even in retreat they kept their guns trained on the distant alien world, while keeping an eye out for the other two.
The enemy planet had stopped once it reached the relative safety of the asteroid belt. It floated in silence, as though it were watching them go with cold, hard eyes.
The main cannon was charged!
Lan Jue let his arms drop, releases the charging rod. He’d also heard the retreat order.
“Let’s head back,” the Wine Master said.
The familiar flash of silver light deposited Lan Jue and the others back into Kang Hui’s office.
The Admiral sat behind his table. He looked like he’d aged sixty years since they last saw him. His hands rested limply on the desk top, pale and weak from overuse. A deep and bitter pain was behind his eyes.
“Admiral, what’s happened? Why are we pulling back?” Lan Jue asked.
Kang Hui’s response was curt. “Heron was defeated and barely managed to escape, but not before jettisoning half the ship. It’s got about as much punch as a Capital ship now. Arachnid was destroyed by one of the planets, leaving no survivors. Admiral Holmen chose to self-destruct, but not before sending us all the information they’d gathered. We learned that the planets are headed back here – if we don’t retreat we’ll be surrounded.”
They’d guessed it would happen, but hearing it from Kang Hui made Skyfire Avenue’s scout team shudder. Their hearts sank.
The North had been defeated. Three Bastions and five fleets, and still the alien planets emerged victorious. From this battle they witnessed firsthand the terrible power of these invaders, the sheer power they were capable of. It wasn’t even a direct engagement.
At first it’d seemed the Bastions were a match for these evil worlds, but was that true? The aliens were wise and cunning, more than humans could ever have thought. For all their boisterous praise, human intelligence was thwarted.