The Mech Touch novel Chapter 5034

5034 Superior Tactical Position

Ves sighed as he observed a projection of a ruined colony.

The pioneer who boldly decided to invest into building a settlement on a planet at the coreward side of the Torald Middle Zone definitely suffered a massive loss!

Though it was unlikely for that pioneer to remain in the star system while his colony became subjected to ruinous orbital bombardment, it was still a massive loss that could ruin the man's ambitions!

There was no way for a defeated pioneer to invest in another colony in the new age. Many pioneers had lost the ability to replenish their funding and assets by relying on the easy support supplied by the Milky Way.

"I could have been one of these unlucky fools." Ves quietly muttered.

"Meow." Lucky responded as he lazily rested on the armrest of the command throne.

"I knew it was a better idea to keep the core of my clan mobile." Ves smugly said. "These colonies are completely fixed in place. It is far too easy for hostile aliens to bombard them into pieces. They will never be able to do that to our fleet."

"Meow meow meow."

"You're not wrong that we are frequently forced to expose our civilian ships and populations to enemy fire, but I would rather endure these dangers than making it easy for our enemies to target our foundation."

The war against the indigenous alien races of the Red Ocean had taken a decisive turn for the worse now that the counterattack had begun!

Many more frontier colonies already suffered similar fates. The pioneers who all wanted to get ahead of the trend and build their settlements in danger paid heavily for their decisions!

Ves did not necessarily feel sorry for all of the rich people and organizations who sunk so much money and assets into their crumbling colonies.

He felt sorry for the poor residents and workers who had bought into the hype and accepted risky transfer offers in the hopes of securing a prosperous new life.

It may have been possible for the Golden Skull Alliance to stop the alien raiding fleet from capturing and killing most of the harmless human colonists.

The expeditionary fleet could have sped up. The Spirit of Benthelm and the few other modern starships equipped with superdrives could have reached the colony ahead of time and bolster the local defenses.

As long as this superdrive squadron loaded up all of the ace mechs as well as a lot of other high-end mechs, there was a realistic chance that they could have repulsed the alien raiders and protect the lives of the human colonists!

The Golden Skull Alliance did not opt to do so. The Larkinsons and the others were not that noble and selfless.

Splitting up the fleet and transferring all of the ace mechs away severely reduced the defenses of all of the starships left behind!

Any powerful enemy would have been able to pounce on the opportunity and destroy the foundation of the Golden Skull Alliance!

The Torald Middle Zone had become a lot more dangerous as of late, so neither Ves nor any of the other leaders were willing to split up their forces that easily.

The only acceptable way to disperse their forces was to send out their combat carriers and more expendable mech units on various missions in neighboring star systems.

The main fleet always had to be protected by the best of what the Golden Skull Alliance had at its disposal!

In any case, Ves felt no overwhelming guilt for choosing the safest course for his own men and fleet.

The pioneers and colonists who boldly built their new homes and businesses in the deep frontier clearly knew what they signed up for. The risks were clear to everyone from the start, even if few humans took them seriously at the time.

The fact that the 'weak' indigenous aliens defied everyone's expectations was no excuse to treat this as an injustice!

There was no right and wrong in a war between races and civilizations. There was only survival and extinction.

A projected figure appeared next to his command throne. General Verle looked rather ecstatic for his age. Ves hadn't seen the man so excited in a long time!

"I take it that the Phobos completed the mission."

"We have just received the latest delayed data burst from the Phobos. Our fantastic new stealth asset has successfully crippled the warp drives and various other systems of the orven battleship as well as half-a-dozen other large alien warships. While they still retain a high degree of combat effectiveness, we can maintain the initiative for two to four days. That is how long it will take for the alien engineers to repair the damaged warp drives."

This was an important advantage!

The alien raiding fleet was at the Golden Skull Alliance's mercy. Ves and the other leaders could fully choose whether to commit to an attack or retreat without suffering any losses.

"What have you decided?" Ves asked as he idly stroked Lucky's back.

"We can take them." The general responded with a gleam in his eyes. "The disparity in firepower is not as great as we would have liked, but it is still within a tolerable range. The orven battleship is by far the greatest threat of the opposing fleet. However, she should be weaker than the Fractured House of the Collapsing Star and the larger orven battleship we fought during Operation Lighthouse. Three ace mechs should be enough to take her out, especially when the Phobos has partially crippled her defenses."

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