“Of course, the route definitely won’t be a straight line. Such a route is too long and too dangerous, and if the defensive line is stretched too thin, it simply can’t be guarded.” Charlie drew an inverted V-shape on the map, then pointed to the midpoint of the V: “We also need a transfer station, an A-Class Port Area powerful enough to support all the defense work for the middle section of the route.”
Wang Yu looked closely. At the central point of that entire sea area, there was a cluster of islands that looked to be about the same size as his Port Area’s island. On those islands in the center of the sea, numerous symbols representing Port Areas were densely marked; these were the outposts for the entire sea area’s defense.
Their unique geographical location allowed them to more conveniently provide support to other parts of the sea, and they were also the most vulnerable to Siren attacks.
On the islands far from the coastline, the entire sea was surrounded by enemies!
“Our Xianggua Island sea area has a total of three A-Class Port Areas or above. One is permanently stationed offshore, dedicating almost all its energy to the development of the Great World. Another was just established, which is your Tianqing Port, my friend Wang Yu.” He picked up the pointer and tapped on Tianqing Port, then moved to the central island cluster on the map and drew a heavy circle: “The last one is located here, and it was also the only A-Class Port Area previously stationed in the Xianggua Island sea area—Victory Port!”
As the only A-Class Port Area previously stationed in the Xianggua Island sea area, Victory Port naturally bore the most important strategic mission. It was permanently stationed at the center of the sea area’s operations, ready to support the entire sea area at any time, and also faced the enormous threat of comprehensive, blind-spot attacks from the Siren.
The cluster of established Port Areas centered around Victory Port was also one of the strongest defensive forces in this sea area.
“If Victory Port serves as the transfer station for the entire route, then the original long-distance route, which takes over 4 days of continuous sailing, will be divided into two segments, each of which can be completed within two days. Moreover, in this way, each Port Area only needs to be responsible for the defense of a small section of the route, greatly reducing the scope of the sea area that needs to be patrolled.” Charlie meticulously explained his plan, clearly having prepared for this scheme for a long time and having a clear idea in his mind.
Wang Yu understood Charlie’s plan. After all, a journey that a merchant fleet could complete in two days, Ship Girls could cover back and forth in a single day at full speed. While the defense range increased with the extended route, the defensive work was perfectly distributed among three nodes. For a single Port Area, the difficulty of defense was greatly reduced. Ultimately, the length of the route to be defended was only about half a day’s journey for Ship Girls. With multiple fleets rotating patrols, the safety of the route could basically be guaranteed.
At the same time, if they encountered an enemy they couldn’t handle, there would be enough time to react, making both retreat and calling for support much simpler, preventing situations where a retreating fleet is overtaken and completely annihilated. If it were the previous route, due to its excessive length, encountering a Siren attack would likely leave no time for support. After all, by the time a support fleet reached halfway, the distressed fleet would most likely have already been overtaken and wiped out.
“If that’s the case, then this route indeed has the feasibility to be launched.” Wang Yu calculated the scale of his Port Area. To maintain daily patrol missions for the section of the route from his Port Area to Victory Port, at least three full main battle fleets would be needed to patrol simultaneously, in addition to arranging an equally sized rotating fleet and a standby fleet for emergencies. Dozens, if not hundreds, of Ship Girls would be required to manage it.
This was also assuming his Ship Girls were powerful enough to easily eliminate all enemies encountered. For other Port Areas, to ensure combat effectiveness, the fleets dispatched would be ten or even more times larger.
“However, even so, this route is currently only theoretically feasible; in practice, there are still many, many problems.”
“Of course.” Charlie calmly nodded: “I know it’s highly unlikely for this route to be launched right now. This is a long-term plan. If all goes well, in my plan, it might achieve an initial scale within 20 years, but for now, there’s still a lot we need to consider.”
Pennsylvania nodded: “If the Headquarters ultimately agrees to launch this route, they might establish more Port Areas and offshore bases along the way, but that’s not something that can be accomplished overnight.”
“This is just the final plan. For now, it’s too early to launch this route. Our most important task right now is to reactivate several routes that were previously abandoned. These routes were successively closed over decades, and now it’s time to restart them!”
Charlie’s voice was invigorated. Compared to a plan decades away, or even uncertain to be implemented, the restart of these routes was within easy reach.
“I’m already in communication with the Headquarters about these. At that time, the Headquarters will issue corresponding escort missions to Commanders. Tianqing City will also re-establish a Commander’s garrison to host those Commanders who are stationed here for long-term missions.”
He recalled his wandering life right after graduation. Every city’s garrison had countless new Commanders like them. The garrison brought them together, and if they were lucky enough to meet again in a garrison in another city, that scene would be like a family reunion.
“As soon as the Headquarters issues the order to restart the routes and assigns escort missions, more Commanders will soon arrive to take on commissions. However, most of those who come will be Commanders with limited strength. They can deal with wandering Siren Fleets, but they definitely cannot handle the true Siren main forces. Therefore, when a powerful Siren threat is truly encountered, it will still require your Port Area, my friend Wang Yu, to deal with them.”
Charlie looked at Wang Yu. This was why routes only existed in cities with Port Area garrisons; powerful Sirens were not something those wandering new Commanders could handle.
Under the suppression of too great a level gap, an advantage in numbers was insignificant. Moreover, against the overwhelming mass-produced Siren Fleets, Commanders were the side with fewer forces.
“Don’t worry.” Wang Yu nodded and assured him: “Our Port Area will be responsible for eliminating those powerful Siren Fleets. This is my duty!” He was confident in the strength of his Port Area. Outside of an all-out war, one or two Siren main fleets were no match for his Port Area.
Clearly, everyone else thought the same. After all, Tianqing Port already had a track record of achievements, so others naturally recognized its combat effectiveness.