Chapter 945, Strategic Direction

They could understand each other's words and recognize that what the other said was correct and valuable.

The importance of both Comoros and Holy Terra is beyond question.

However, the two of them soon came up with some new directions.

The two strategic directions, Sacred Terra and Comoros, are not mutually exclusive.

The core issue lies in what General Xiong Lei said to Robert earlier: the alliance has only contributed less than one percent of its forces.

That sentence says it all.

Did Robert's Terra Expeditionary Force really need to conquer the entire Comoros?
No need.

How strong is the Terra Expeditionary Force?
With a fleet of two thousand warships, how does it compare to the Alliance?

Of the five major armies of the alliance, the smallest, the Northern Front Army, has more than 5,000 warships deployed south of the Scarlet Scar along the 'Iron Wall' for defense.

The Terra Expeditionary Force's two thousand warships, placed within the largest Southern Expeditionary Force, would likely be equivalent to—and slightly smaller than—the main fleet. While the main fleet was the largest in the Southern Front, for the sake of expeditionary efficiency, there were at least ten additional detachments, each with fifty to sixty warships, and some with five to six hundred. The total number of fleets in the Southern Front likely exceeded ten thousand warships.

The total number of warships in the alliance may reach more than 40,000.

Moreover, this number is growing rapidly. In a few years or a decade, a fleet the size of a Terran expeditionary force might emerge again.

If a naval fleet, which requires time to build ship by ship, has already reached this scale, then the army, which can be built much faster, is even more impressive.

The biggest limitation restricting the alliance from sending troops to Comoros is its deployment capability.

If the alliance fails to conquer Comoros, or if it takes a very long time, then whether Robert's Terra Expeditionary Force is present or not will not significantly affect the outcome.

“However…” Gu Hang also said, “The Terra Expeditionary Force will still need to hold out here for a while.”

Robert understood the meaning behind Gu Hang's words.

The alliance's troops will be sent to Comoros little by little.

Even after the newest, large-scale curtain spirit gate is built, doubling its delivery capacity, it will still take a considerable amount of time.

Before that, humanity must at least retain control of the Rose Queen's port.

If the Terra Expeditionary Force leaves now, the remaining Alliance forces may not be able to withstand the counterattack of the Dark Eldar.

Robert can accept this.

He could lead his troops to fight in the Comoros for a while longer, for the sake of humanity.

Moreover, he can't leave now even if he wanted to.

This brings us to the second topic – the attack on the direction of Holy Terra.

The veiled portal can theoretically open to any location in the real universe. However, there is a prerequisite—there must be a portal at that location in the real universe.

The seven gates currently open at Queen Rose Harbor correspond to locations in the real universe that were once strongholds of the Dark Eldar in Alliance-controlled areas, captured by human armies. The large spirit gate that is about to be built will also require materials to be transported to the real universe through the veiled spirit gate, and then a convenient landing site will be chosen to establish the new spirit gate before it can be used.

For the Dark Eldar, venturing into an unfamiliar star system requires them to sail through the nearest Veil Spiritgate, then use conventional methods of navigation, whether via astral tunnels or warp space, to reach their target area. They then need to establish a Spiritgate to facilitate future travel.

To put it bluntly, even if you could teleport at will, you still need a teleportation point.

To quickly transport the Terran Expeditionary Force to Hallowed Terra, a Veiled Spirit Gate must be established there. This means that at least several ships, carrying materials for constructing the Veiled Spirit Gate, would need to arrive in Hallowed Terra.

Alternatively, there could be a ready-made veiled spiritual gate, which would also be acceptable.

Regarding how the expeditionary force could reach Terra, Gu Hang and Robert discussed both directions simultaneously and decided to pursue a two-pronged approach.

For the former, they need to further develop and acquire some construction equipment and materials for the Veil Spirit Gate—Karl has already led a team to work on the relevant technologies, but it's unknown how long it will take for them to complete the technological breakthroughs and reach the point where they can produce them independently.

After obtaining the item, it must be sent to the real universe, and then delivered to the Western Expeditionary Force as quickly as possible.

The Western Expeditionary Force was to organize a vanguard fleet, carrying supplies, and risk crossing the distance between two cosmic domains—areas that had not yet been captured. This meant that without the protection of the Thunder Torch Tower, they would have to rely on themselves to bring the Veil Spirit Gate equipment as close to Holy Terra as possible and complete the construction of the Veil Spirit Gate.

However, the difficulties might not be that high—if they can't hold on halfway through, as long as the entire fleet, along with its equipment, doesn't get lost at sea, they can simply find a place to build a spirit gate and then obtain supplies directly from the Comoros. This includes not only logistics but also the replenishment of troops and ships.

Once supplies are replenished, dismantle the veiled spirit gate and set off again.

The feasibility is quite good, but there is only one problem: it will take a long time.

I don't know when I'll be able to snag a new set of Veil Spirit Gate equipment; that's a problem.

After this problem is solved, the journey from the Veil Spirit Gate, currently controlled by the Alliance, to the Western Front Army will likely take more than a year.

The Western Front formed an advance fleet to Holy Terra. Putting aside the dangers, the journey itself was completely unpredictable. Before the Cataclysmic Era, this voyage might have taken more than six months. Now, with battles along the way and no Thunder Torch protection, repeated jumps could lead to disorientation. Even if they didn't completely lose their way, a single mistake could leave the entire fleet adrift in the astral tunnels for six months before finally finding its way out…

All of these are uncontrollable risks.

As for when we will be able to reach Holy Terra, only the Emperor truly knows how long that will take.

The entire process could take anywhere from two or three years to an unknown number of years before the Terra Expeditionary Force could set off again.

This was clearly something Robert was reluctant to accept.

But at least, this is a path that can be controlled autonomously, and everything is in human hands.

With this path, we have the initiative.

Comparatively speaking, finding an existing veiled spirit gate means that the initiative is no longer in human hands.

This is one of the peace terms proposed by the Dark Eldar.

(End of this chapter)