"They've left, they've all really left..."

Inside the command center of Port Brulow, officers were nervously discussing the Yan Army's withdrawal.

If they hadn't known that Foster Harbor was under heavy attack, the Yan Army's withdrawal from the area would have been good news for them, meaning that Bruno Harbor had been successfully defended. But now, the enemy's withdrawal seems to have made the situation even more unpredictable.

"If Foster Harbor is safe and the Yan people are intercepted at sea, then the Yan people's retreat means that this battle is over."

"They have taken our Star Islands and control of the sea, but the price they have to pay to set foot on our land is still too high," Dingle said to the crowd with a solemn expression.

But after saying that, he changed the subject and continued:

"But if Foster Harbor has already been captured by the Yan Kingdom, then their evacuation is to change course and land at Foster Harbor for a safer landing."

"Everyone, which possibility do you think is more likely?" Although he already had a general idea in mind, Dingle wanted to hear more people's opinions.

“They started their withdrawal around five o’clock, and it’s only a little past six now. Excluding the time for communication, they couldn’t have captured Foster Harbor at three or four o’clock, could they?”

“You know, they only started their attack around midnight. In just three or four hours, even though Foster Harbor’s defenses aren’t as robust as ours, surely it shouldn’t have fallen in such a short time?” Lieutenant General Webb said, frowning.

Dingle did not respond, but he could tell from the rhetorical questions at the end of each of Weber's sentences that he was more pessimistic.

“They should have held out. Harris is a master of positional warfare. It’s impossible for the Yan people to take Foster Harbor from him in just a few hours. Even if the Yan people are strong, it will take them at least a dozen hours to set foot on the port’s land.” Bernhardt, however, seemed confident and had a different opinion.

"The Yan people's withdrawal from our port must be because their attack on Foster Harbor failed and resulted in heavy casualties. To avoid further losses, they chose to retreat. If nothing unexpected happens, they should retreat back to the Star Islands for rest and resupply," he said with certainty.

Lieutenant General Harris, the commander of Foster Harbor, was indeed a capable and valiant man, but compared to the Yan people, who had superior weapons and were better prepared for battle, it would be difficult to close the gap with sheer willpower and strategic means alone. Dingle thought this after Bernhardt finished speaking.

"Foster Harbor has most likely already fallen..."

In the end, Dingle gave his deduction in front of everyone.

Upon hearing this, the officers who were still discussing the matter gradually fell silent, but at such a time, silence itself was a form of approval.

Only Bernhard remained stubbornly committed to his own ideas.

"No... absolutely not..." He shook his head, vehemently denying the possibility.

Lieutenant General Webb glanced at Bernhardt, then turned to Dingle and asked:

"The threat at sea has been eliminated, what should we do now?"

"Should we divert our troops and send more reinforcements to support Foster Harbor? Or send an army to Joplin Harbor?"

Dingle pondered for a moment and said, "Do nothing until we receive the latest information about Foster Harbor."

"We have no choice but to remain inactive."

Lieutenant General Webb frowned: "But didn't you just say..."

Dingle raised his hand to interrupt, and sighed softly, "Only when we confirm that the enemy has landed can we abandon the defense of Bruno Port."

"Because there's no point in defending it any further."

As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the command room plummeted to freezing point. Even Bernhardt stopped talking, because the fall of any one of the three ports would mean that all the defensive deployments on the western coast had been rendered futile.

Dingle looked out the window. The Yan Kingdom fleet, which had already left the area, had disappeared without a trace. Without any warships to track and monitor them, no one knew where they were going.

Perhaps it's Port Joplin, perhaps Port Foster, or perhaps it's retreated to the Star Islands, or... anchored at the entrance to the Brando Strait, monitoring the entire inland sea.

That is equivalent to the people inside not being able to get out, and the people outside not being able to get in.

The nation's borders are now firmly in their grasp.

"Hopefully they won't send in more troops..." Dingle murmured to himself, looking at the distant sea that was gradually turning white.

The sun is about to rise.

——

The cold night finally passed, and the sun rose slowly at seven o'clock in the morning on the first day of the new year.

Although the rising sun could not completely dispel the chill of the night, its pure and bright sunlight still brought a sense of warmth to people's hearts.

"We're almost there! Speed ​​up!"

Under the sunlight, a group of exhausted soldiers retreating from Foster Harbour were walking along the road. Not far ahead of them, a huge factory stood prominently, its towering chimneys billowing black smoke.

That was the Macedonian military factory.

It was Harris, who was evacuating from Foster Harbour, who decided on his destination.

During the port defense battle last night, he led his troops to hold out until 3:45 a.m., but ultimately, Harris had no choice but to withdraw with the few hundred remaining troops.

Before the evacuation, Harris sent some soldiers to Bruno Port to seek help, while he himself led the rest of his men to the Macedonian military factory.

Struck by the late evacuation, lack of prior preparation, and the harsh conditions of night and cold, it took Harris nearly three hours to finally approach the Macedonian military factory.

Everyone was exhausted. The fierce battle last night had left them in agony, and after traveling for so long, they were all on their last breath.

As they approached, a guard stationed at the Macedonian military factory quickly spotted them, and Harris was then escorted into the factory grounds.

"Foster Harbor has fallen, and the Yan people have landed. Before they spread, the weapons and ammunition being produced in the factory need to be moved immediately!"

"Take everything you can! Now! Leave right now!"

Upon arriving before Davis, the head of the Macedonian military factory, Harris, pale-faced, said the following words to him.

Upon hearing this, the short, stocky, and overweight former Army Lieutenant General Davis's face turned bright red. Before he could recover from this shocking news, Harris had already fainted in front of him.

"Move out now? How is that possible!" Davis exclaimed in surprise and anxiety.