From the moment that Second managed to break through the outermost port on his side, they were near immediately surrounded by reinforcements who had come over from other ports or bases around the area. This was certainly a quick response to the play that Vesper had been dealt, but Second husband expected this and unleashed a few land-based vehicles and soldiers to stall the enemy for the time being.

On another part of the island, Zheng Zhi Long and Baron continued their war without knowing of the developments of the other battlefields. This was decided upon by Zheng Zhi Long as a way for his own navy and soldiers to be able to focus on the task at hand and perform at their best. Without any worries. Of course, that isn’t to say he kept them in the dark about everything. Good news had to be shared as well to ensure that the morale was as high as possible when fighting on the battlefield.

The defense that Zheng Zhi Long and Baron were up against was quite formidable. Even with about the same number of ships and everything on both sides, they were able to hold out for a few days. Far beyond what the two of them had predicted when they saw the defenses for the first time. This could only mean that the strategists that they were up against were quite capable individuals, as expected of such a high-level get together. However, just because they had claimed the port didn’t mean that they were anywhere near completing their objective.

What their true aim was had to be achieved in the next month and a half, and they were already behind schedule. All 5 ports had to be taken no matter what. This operation was a high risk, high danger, and super high reward. If they managed to take all 5 ports, then they would be able to claim the island. It was crucial that they did so in as little time as possible. They had already sent out a few scouting ships towards many directions so that they could get a read on enemies heading their way as soon as possible. However, Baron’s F-35’s were able to do the same job so it was more of a backup more than anything.

There were a few options left to Baron, Zheng Zhi Long and the rest of the strategists that were on their side. One was to leave a few defensive measures, mostly naval, in the port so as to make sure that they would be able to hold onto the port if the Vesper people wanted to try to take it back. Following that procedure, they could lead an invasion through land, to try and take the other ports from behind. Or, they could leave only a portion of their naval force while taking the rest to battle it out with the other defenses erected by the Great elder.

This was to be discussed after thorough checking of the immediate surrounding area, both land, and sea. What they found was that it was extremely likely that there were enemies waiting in ambush around the port. It wasn’t exactly a surprising development, but it was definitely an annoyance that they could not afford to waste their time on. But what were they to do? Just by waiting for the night to end to decide on a move had cost them far more than they originally bargained for.

When they got the message that they were under attack, it was not that big of a deal as the enemy mainly composed of a large number of relatively primitive ships. Presumably, that was how they were able to sneak past all of the safeguards that were put in place to make sure that this exact situation did not happen. It was a mere annoyance to deal with these, but just an hour later, it was evident that this was just one part of a much larger plot. Zheng Zhi Long who was busy with defending the port got quite a shock when he heard the news that there were enemy soldiers spotted behind the port trying to knock it down. However, he also received the news that Baron was taking care of the situation so that he didn’t have to.

The icing on top of the very annoying cake was that not long after, Baron got word that there were several fleets, all fairly powerful ones, were moving towards their current position. Such a development was a serious problem. Not because they were a threat, but because of how suspiciously many there were. Currently, they were too far away to determine who could possibly have the reputation to use such extensive force, but it certainly wasn’t anyone who was inferior to the great elder of the Vesper faction.

At the pace that they were going, the new force would be able to reach the port in under a day. About the time needed to fend off these nuisances. If they were the target of these multiple large fleets, it was not an understatement to say that there was almost zero chance of making it out alive. Unless they retreated inward and abandoned all of their ships. Of course, there was no guarantee that they were the sole target of such a massive invasion. Perhaps the fleets would split up to attack all 5 ports at once.

Whatever the answer may be, they had to act quickly if they wished to have a chance at repelling this attack. Zheng Zhi Long immediately relayed the word to Second and soon enough, both of them were making preparations for the upcoming fight. They readied everything they could, and in a bid of sheer monstrous strength, both sides managed to push back the attackers at their ports. Now, there were still 3 ports to take over, but for now, the fleet came first.

It would be a very hard wake up call once they realized that the objective of the new fleet was not them, but rather, to make an offensive move against the Forever Pirates territory. There were just two options left to them now. Abandon the island and go off to fight the new fleet, or let it run rampant in their territory. If they chose the former, they would almost certainly be pincered by the great elder. If they chose the latter, they would have given up all they had fought for the past little while.