Time was running out fast. Every moment that they spent thinking of a solution to the problem, the closer the forces of Vesper would encroach upon their lands. On the one hand, they had confidence in their leader and defenses, but they also knew how much things could and would go wrong in critical situations like this. The final call was Second and Second’s alone. It didn’t matter if every single one of his allies disagreed with him, he was given the right to command the fleet in its entirety.

Second had a hard choice in front of him. In the end, he chose to put faith in his allies to repel this attack that they faced. However, this was not the end of the matter. He would make it his mission to claim the rest of the island and launch a counterattack as soon as he was able to. There was just one problem with this type of risky play. If he underestimated the time it took to capture the island or underestimated the power of the force heading towards his lands, then it would have been a grave mistake.

He took the time to properly think of something that would be able to be done on his end, but it was near hopeless. To get something like taking over a small-medium sized island then send part of their fleet back was just not plausible. Second considered just turning back with the entire fleet in tow, but changed his mind as soon as he got Baron’s message. The message stated that Baron, his aerial squad, as well as half of the forces of Zheng Zhi Long would head back to fight off the enemy from the back.

This disobedience and indecision allowed them to catch up with the much larger fleet in time and launch a surprise attack. Subsequent reports stated that Baron and Zheng Zhi Long’s forces were able to hold their own somehow. The next message was from one of the elders under Zheng Zhi Long about how they had completely destroyed the port they had captured. Half a day later, another report stated that half of the forces that didn’t leave with Zheng Zhi Long would be sent to one of the captured ports after torching the port. Normally, such actions would lead to disciplinary actions, but if they were able to accomplish something, then it would be rewarded instead.

For Second husband, it seemed as if Zheng Zhi Long and Baron had made the difficult decision for him. With these new developments he had to take into consideration, mainly that he didn’t have to worry about Vesper’s forces invading their land, he made sure to concoct a plan to solely take over the entire island as fast as his men were able to. After getting all of the information out, mistakes would not be tolerated, especially since Baron and Zheng Zhi Long had given up a port to sacrifice their ships and aircraft for an almost suicidal run.

The calculations he had made regarding how long he could spend on taking the island did not give him much breathing space. Regardless, it was time to do or die. If they were not able to accomplish their task, then none of it would matter. 25 days plus a few more to claim the entire island. That was the maximum allowable days that they would be given to spend, any later and devastation was sure to befall their land. Baron and Zheng Zhi Long could only hold out for so long against an enemy that was nearly 50 times their number. Very bad odds.

On day 1, Second and the rest of the elders recalled all of their power onto the one port that was in their possession. The rest of Zheng Zhi Long’s fleet came to just in time to flank one of the periodic hit and runs committed by a small fleet of Vesper. A couple of elders led soldiers throughout the land and brought with them a couple of land vehicles, courtesy of Baron, and rolled out to see if it was possible that there were any enemy bases around. Given they had been routinely attacked from behind, it was likely. Second reorganized the fleet that was under his control and had a few elders be in charge of them.

On the second day, aside from one, those same fleets led by groups of elders would all attack the port that was 10 km east of the port that they already captured. The one group that would not be attacking would be guarding the flank of all of the other fleets in case of a surprise attack. Not an hour after the siege on the port went by when enemy forces tried to hit them from behind. The elder most renowned for defense on the seas was to do all he can to give the others time to take the port. For him, it was a simple task.

On the fourth day, they had managed to take the port and driven out or executed anyone who was their enemy. For now, this port would be the second port that they had successfully taken. Soon after, a group from the first port was sent over to take over while the rest of the groups in port 2 would go and take over another port even more to the east. Just before the reinforcements came, a group of enemy ships appeared out of nowhere and tried to take the port. It was another one of those hit and runs, but just as they were pulling out, the reinforcements came to block their exit and the rest was history.

On the eighth day, the third and final middle difficulty port was seized. From this point on, the remaining port would not be easy to take. This one had the highest defense out of all 5 which the great elder of the Vesper faction supposedly was defending. Though they were making great time, this next battle would be the true testament to their power, the real obstacle in their path. If they were able to accomplish this, the rest would be child's play. The latest report that Baron had sent them was that they were still able to keep the much larger force at bay so far.