As Zhong Yun, who had completely occupied the entire planet of Mandes, heard the Marshal utter those words with such a heavy tone, his heart sank completely.

The speed at which the situation had turned caught everyone off guard; just minutes earlier, everyone had assumed Davao was on the verge of total victory. Who knew that the advantage he had painstakingly built up would be nullified by the enemy in less than a few hours?

Davao was now almost beaten back to square one. The thought made his mouth taste bitter.

"Has Lanling Star also fallen?" Zhong Yun asked urgently, wanting to gauge the true extent of the disaster.

"Intelligence reports from Lanling Star indicate the enemy has passed through the jump point and begun a ferocious offensive. In the worst-case scenario, we can only hold out for ten hours," the Marshal sounded extremely pessimistic about the situation.

Each planet retained some defensive forces, but against the enemy's main thrust, they were insignificant. The only reason they dared hope to hold for ten hours was due to the nature of the spatial jump points, which allowed only one warship to transit every ten minutes.

"The Hongxian Federation has unilaterally torn up the negotiation agreements," the Marshal's voice was laced with more helplessness than anger.

Zhong Yun fell silent, looking through the massive screen at the beautiful, cerulean planet, his gaze deep and heavy.

The Federation's decision meant only one thing: this planet, along with its billion citizens, had been abandoned by them.

The ruthlessness and finality of the Hongxian Federation's rulers sent a chill through him.

Rationally speaking, trading the entire Mandes Star for thirteen administrative planets of the Davao Republic was an excellent bargain.

But Mandes was more than just a planet; it held a billion souls. To simply discard them?

He was now caught in an impossible bind. Since the Hongxian Federation was prepared to abandon Mandes, its strategic value was now nullified.

Staying here offered no real help to the greater war effort. The 45th Fleet was now Davao's last mobile reserve force; its greatest utility lay on the front lines of battle.

Leaving meant conceding the hard-won planet back to the Federation, which felt a profound waste. Though abandoned by the Federation's high command, the planet was not useless.

What could he do now? Ten hours. It was enough time to race back to the front. But how long could one Mars-class battleship and five Wushan-class destroyers hold back the enemy advance?

And what about Mandes? Abandon it just like that? He couldn't possibly exterminate everyone on board. Considering the peril facing Lanling Star and its billion-plus inhabitants, Zhong Yun simply couldn't bring himself to issue such an order. Anything he did, the enemy would retaliate against without mercy.

"Major General Zhong Yun," the Marshal's voice snapped, regaining its stern quality.

"Sir," Zhong Yun snapped a crisp salute.

"The 45th Fleet is to remain stationed at Mandes Star. Do not fail in this duty."

"Understood."

The four figures beside Zhong Yun looked exceptionally grim. One minute ago, they had all believed peace was within reach. In a flash, they had been plunged back into a deeper hell.

"Your Excellency Marshal," Chen Wen could no longer restrain himself, rising with passionate fervor, "Are we just supposed to sit here and wait to die? There must be another way!"

Tears glinted in his eyes, his face a mask of inexpressible pain. He roared with the last of his strength, "Davao cannot perish!"

In the command center of the Mars, the air was stiflingly heavy. Zhang Xiao turned his face away, his hands clenched into tight fists. Tian Hai’s face was rigid, his eyes churning with fury and despair.

Liu Yunqi walked to Zhong Yun’s side and took his ice-cold hand. The calm surface of her face could not hide the profound sorrow in her eyes.

After a silence of two seconds, the Marshal’s hoarse voice broke through, "Davao will not perish."

He paused, then continued, "The Provisional War Command has issued orders. All forces are to withdraw and consolidate to construct a new defensive line on Lan Zhan Star."

With that, the Marshal terminated the call.

"What?" Tian Hai shot to his feet, shocked and enraged. "What about the five planets north of Lan Zhan Star? How could you possibly do this—"

Chen Wen collapsed weakly back into his chair, while Zhang Xiao buried his face deeply in his palms.

In the main control room, only Tian Hai’s furious roar echoed, "That’s over five billion citizens! How could you do this, how could you—"

Saying that, he dropped to his knees, violently pounding the dark-blue metal floor with both hands, weeping hysterically, a grief that tore the soul apart.

Zhong Yun pulled Liu Yunqi into his embrace, his own heart shivering with coldness.

Lan Zhan Star was situated at the absolute center of the Davao Republic. Davao’s thirteen administrative planets were arrayed in a long band, with the primary population centers on either end. The solitary Lan Zhan Star in the middle linked the two extremities. It was two light-years from the nearest populated star to the west and two and a half light-years to the east.

By convention, Davao divided itself culturally into a Southern and Northern region. The Hongxian Federation had invaded from the North, which comprised five residential planets.

Lan Zhan Star was also the only planet within the Republic’s core territory with two adjacent spacetime jump points—one leading north, one leading south.

The Provisional War Command's decision was profoundly astute: consolidating the dispersed forces from the four other northern planets (excluding the currently embattled Lanling Star) onto Lan Zhan Star was far better than allowing the enemy to pick them off one by one.

However, the Command’s decision had clearly been excruciatingly difficult. Abandoning nearly half the national territory and nearly a third of the populace—this order, once issued, would instantly ignite massive domestic turmoil. Zhong Yun could only imagine the pressure they were under. In the future, even if they saved Davao from annihilation, they were destined to carry the infamy for ages.

In that moment, Zhong Yun was deeply moved.

The Provisional War Command had chosen the path most beneficial to the nation, yet most damaging to their personal reputations. How would the people of Davao regard them? Incompetent, cowardly, traitors... Zhong Yun could already envision the vicious labels that would be hurled at them.

And how would the abandoned citizens view the government that had cast them aside?

The image of the President, always maintaining a gentle smile, and the Marshal, perpetually stern and expressionless, flashed before Zhong Yun’s eyes.

"Davao will not perish..." he repeated the Marshal's words.

"Davao will not perish!" He released Liu Yunqi, strode back to his seat, and took his place.

Chen Wen looked up in astonishment, seeing the resolute determination hardening Zhong Yun’s face, as if he had finally reached a crucial decision. Hope flared within him. Zhong Yun had provided countless surprises before; could this time be different?

He watched Zhong Yun with intense yearning.

"I have a plan," Zhong Yun said slowly, looking at his three close friends. "If we win, we end this war. If we lose... if we lose, we all die together."

A brilliant light erupted in his eyes. "And our chance of success is only ten percent."

Tian Hai stood up, wiping the tears from his eyes, and returned to his position, grinding his teeth. "Say no more. I'm in. Even if there’s only a one percent chance to end this damned war, I’m doing it."

Chen Wen suddenly laughed. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint us. Whatever you plan to do, count me in."

Zhang Xiao rubbed his hands together, his face eager. "Tell us, what do you need me to do?"

All despair and sorrow vanished, and vitality flooded back into them.

Zhong Yun smiled—a satisfied, genuine smile. With these brothers beside him, no matter how perilous the situation, he felt no fear.

At this point, he realized he could no longer view himself as a mere spectator. The situation had reached this stage; he knew he could not simply walk away.

If they were going to act, they would do it completely, Zhong Yun thought. You Hongxian Federation scum, you think you’ve already won? Just you wait.

"You all know the situation by now," Zhong Yun said after connecting the bridge with the five fleet captains, observing their heavy, sorrowful expressions.

The five nodded silently.

"Now, I give you two choices: one, remain here and await further orders from the Provisional War Command. Two, follow me on a mission where death is the likely outcome." Zhong Yun’s announcement was startling.

All five looked up, staring intently at him, awaiting his explanation.

"The war has reached a point where Davao has absolutely no chance of victory. Even if we weather the next wave of assaults and stabilize the front, the majority of the territory we lost will be impossible to reclaim," Zhong Yun stated.

"At that point, with the balance of power permanently shifted, Davao will forever be suppressed under the Hongxian Federation, unable to rise again, until annexation is complete." Zhong Yun’s words were not fear-mongering.

The five understood this, which only deepened their heavy spirits.

"Therefore, in this engagement, we absolutely cannot lose. This concerns the destiny of our nation for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years to come."

"Do we still have a chance?" Someone finally spoke—the Captain of Ship One, voicing the sentiments of the others.

"Yes!" Zhong Yun’s expression became grave.

A flicker of light sparked in their eyes, their breathing quickening. "How?"

"But we only have an eleven percent chance of success. If we fail, not only will our entire fleet be wiped out, but we will also lose Mandes Star's only bargaining chip."

Silence descended—

"Give the order," Captain One finally said.

"We follow you," Ship Two’s Captain snapped a salute.

The five raised their hands together in salute. "We follow you."

Zhong Yun returned the salute with profound gravity. Thank you for your trust, he thought inwardly.

Zhong Yun began redeploying forces, leaving only a small contingent of mechanized teams to maintain control of the planet, recalling all others to the mothership.

After capturing Mandes Star, they discovered two advanced warships, superior even to the Wushan-class, that had been completed. Zhong Yun reassigned a portion of the command crews from the five existing warships and brought the two captured vessels online.

Though they lacked full familiarity with the controls, they were more than enough to serve as a deterrent.

Leaving the two captured vessels behind, Zhong Yun led the five primary warships toward their destination.

P: The plot has reached a critical juncture. I wrote a lot today but was unsatisfied with everything and deleted it. My brain is aching trying to figure this out. This is all for today. I will definitely make up the rest tomorrow morning.