After receiving the message, Yang Ying set the submarine's autopilot, directing the vessel toward the mouth of the massive sinkhole one hundred kilometers away.

Activating the submarine, he withdrew from the clone body and returned to his own, proceeding to the bridge to confer with Admiral Alexander.

The mission to destroy the secret factory was of paramount importance; officers of slightly lower rank had no knowledge of it—only Admiral Alexander and a few senior staff officers within the Second Fleet Command were privy to the matter.

Upon learning what had transpired at the secret factory, they immediately began cross-referencing and vetting individuals who might have been present, which meant contacting all suspects.

Admiral Alexander had no pressing agenda with Yang Ying; his inquiry was merely to confirm Yang Ying's whereabouts. Thus, after briefly soliciting Yang Ying’s views on the evacuation work, the conversation concluded swiftly.

After all, according to their intelligence, Yang Ying was merely a Free Awakened at the level of a Minor Psion; while possessing high talent, the probability of him slaying the far superior Ape Emissary Fifteen was slim.

If it were not for the fact that the Psions in the fleet were all at their posts, and the Holy Light Knights of the Army had clear assignments indicating their absence from the secret factory, Admiral Alexander would not have bothered contacting Yang Ying, whose involvement was highly unlikely.

Now that Admiral Alexander confirmed Yang Ying was safely aboard the warship, he felt no suspicion and immediately turned to contact the next person on his list.

The number of Awakened was exceedingly small, and Free Awakened were even rarer. Even within the Joint Fleet here, after accounting for the Psions and the Holy Light Knights, only a paltry few Awakened remained!

Besides Yang Ying and Blade, the Caesar Mercenary Corps also retained several Awakened, but their strength was quite mediocre, equivalent only to Minor Psions or even Apprentices.

Even the Nine Dragons Mercenary Corps could not secure the allegiance of a single Awakened, and other ordinary large mercenary groups couldn't even get near one.

In the Solar System, the most orthodox lineage of Awakened stemmed from the Psion Temple, followed by ancient religious organizations possessing deep history, such as the Holy Knights.

The Caesar Mercenary Corps only managed to secure the assistance of a few Awakened by leveraging the vast wealth of the Caesar Group, pouring immense funds into sponsoring several religious bodies.

After concluding his communications, Yang Ying returned to his clone body, sitting in the submarine as it sailed toward the massive sinkhole.

On the way, he recalled that the Ghost fighter jet he piloted was still hovering directly above the secret factory. He used the computer on his wrist to initiate remote control, setting the fighter's autopilot to wait for him at the sinkhole.

The submarine traveled a short distance further when a tremendous explosion echoed from behind!

The entire vessel began to shake violently, pitching up and down. Some exposed components nearby instantly overloaded, and sparks burst out with a loud bang.

Yang Ying knew the secret factory behind them had been utterly demolished. Judging by the shockwave, not only the seventeenth level he had visited but even the seventh level above it would have met a destructive fate.

Every trace vanished without a shadow following that resounding boom.

Yang Ying stabilized the submarine and, unperturbed, continued moving forward.

The submarine maintained a speed of about two hundred kilometers per hour. After roughly half an hour, Yang Ying could see the location of the massive sinkhole on the vessel’s scanner; it was only one kilometer away.

His wrist emitted two soft beeps; another communication request had arrived.

Yang Ying’s brow twitched. At this critical juncture, what could possibly be the matter?

He activated a holographic screen, and Howard spoke to him: "Sir, there is an anomaly in Jupiter's outer space. The Observers have detected a fleet belonging to the Ancient Legion approaching. We have notified the flagship of the Joint Fleet. Admiral Alexander has just issued orders to intercept."

"Have they finally arrived?" Yang Ying knew the Ancient Legion would not allow the evacuation of Jupiter’s civilians to proceed peacefully. The Joint Fleet had long been mentally and tactically prepared for this.

"I need to move faster."

The submarine arrived beneath the sinkhole. Yang Ying piloted it to the surface, set its self-destruct sequence to activate one minute later, then jumped out. He boarded his Ghost fighter and soared toward space.

Meanwhile, outside Jupiter, a fleet belonging to the Ancient Legion was closing in.

The core of the entire fleet consisted of twenty long, strip-shaped warships, each about five hundred meters in length. They were entirely black, absorbing all light without a single reflection, giving onlookers a chilling sense of dread.

These were the Ancient Legion's most advanced vessel type: the Dragon King-class Battlecruisers. Each ship was bristling with weaponry, featuring three twin-linked Level Six main gun turrets, along with numerous triple-linked turrets of Level Four and Level Two, arming the vessel like a porcupine.

The Dragon King’s firepower was comparable to Caesar’s Laurel-class, but its hull volume was significantly smaller, carrying fewer fighter craft than the Laurel.

However, one must not forget that they utilized High-Apes as fighter pilots. The sheer number of High-Apes—ten times that of Psions—gave them an overwhelming advantage over ordinary humans.

Inside the bridge of the lead flagship, a towering Ape nearly two meters tall sat regally on the highest command seat. He was clad in form-fitting black combat gear woven from high-tensile nano-fibers, draped with a crimson and black cape fastened by a small silver clasp holding the hilt of a light staff.

“Lord Gangdi, our movements have been detected. The Terrans have dispatched a fleet toward us,” an Ape staff officer informed him.

“Prepare for engagement. Dispatch the Second Flight Wing immediately to harass the human transports and delay their civilian evacuation efforts. Have the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Flight Wings provide cover. Simultaneously, send a small contingent to that secret factory to assess the situation. Emissary Ape serving under Lord Helas has been out of contact for a long time. I need to know precisely what happened there.”

The Commander of the Ancient Legion's Gangdi Fleet, Master Ape Gangdi, issued his orders.

A significant difference existed between the Ancient Legion's fleet structure and that of the Terran military: the senior officers of the Legion were High-Apes, and a primary fleet commander was invariably an Ape Master. They even named the fleet after the Master himself.

Unlike the Terran military, where all primary fleet commanders were ordinary humans, and Psion Masters existed only as advisors without military rank.

Under Gangdi’s command, the hangars of dozens of large and extra-large warships opened simultaneously, disgorging over a thousand fighter jets in a continuous stream. Among them, over three hundred were ace fighters piloted entirely by High-Apes.

They formed a precise formation, surging toward Jupiter with palpable intensity.

“The humans are unreliable. That one named Morkea didn't relay the information promptly. And in a fifty-man squad, everyone except him was an ordinary human. They couldn't even handle that; I don't know what the great Lord Helas sees in choosing him as a subordinate,” the Vice-Captain grumbled casually. He was a High-Ape nearing Master level.

The reason he complained about Morkea's delayed intelligence was that the Joint Fleet maintained strict information control and communications blackout while maneuvering; Morkea struggled to find an opportunity to transmit his message.

It wasn't until Morkea’s squad landed on Europa that he managed to send out news that the Joint Fleet had begun evacuating the Jovian colonies and that a secret nuclear factory existed on Europa.

The message was sent to Yego, who managed intelligence for the Ape Worship Sect, and after a chain of intelligence transfers, the order to sabotage the demolition only reached Morkea when he was on the sixteenth level installing explosives.

The Ancient Legion's Gangdi Fleet was dispatched to Jupiter for two reasons: to disrupt the Joint Fleet’s civilian evacuation and to seize the secret factory.

Morkea’s orders also stipulated that he must defend the secret factory at all costs before the Gangdi Fleet arrived. However, shortly after the order was given, Morkea lost contact with the Gangdi Fleet—perhaps Yang Ying had killed him?

This explained the Vice-Captain’s disdain for Morkea.

“Silence! How dare you slander Lord Helas! If I ever hear such talk again—hmph!” Gangdi shot him a cold glance. The Vice-Captain instantly felt a bone-chilling cold and shivered, daring not to speak further.

Yang Ying returned to his main ship ten minutes later, having encountered none of the Second Flight Wing units dispatched by Gangdi.

He entered his quarters, switched back to his original body, and sent the clone back to the Floating Continent.

The research institute maintained specialized storage rooms to preserve these clones, containing rows of cryo-medical pods where the clones were placed to prevent decay.

Having seen to this, Yang Ying exchanged a few intimate words with Katerina and teased her briefly before proceeding to the bridge.

The bridge was quiet now, save for the main screen displaying an image: thousands of fighters entangled in ferocious combat, sparks erupting every second.

“What is the status of the Ancient Legion’s fleet?” Yang Ying multitasked, watching, walking, and inquiring as he approached his command station and sat down.

Howard, seeing his arrival, dispensed with pleasantries and answered directly: “It has been confirmed that the invading fleet is the Gangdi Fleet, one of the main fleets of the Ancient Legion. They were likely dispatched from their Pluto base to reinforce the front lines but diverted directly to Jupiter upon learning of our operations here. The Gangdi Fleet has now launched over a thousand fighters, attempting to break our defensive lines and disrupt the evacuation.”

Yang Ying nodded. “Is there anything else I need to know?”

A staff officer replied: “Report, Sir. Observers recently detected a squadron of High-Ape ace fighters breaking off from the main engagement, heading toward Europa. Calculations suggest their target is likely the fighter escorting the factory team.”

“Oh? They missed me, then. What a pity. Those apes probably don't know that the secret factory has already been demolished,” Yang Ying remarked with a slight smile. He played a part in that outcome; without him, Morkea might indeed have succeeded in delaying things until now.

Still, he couldn't leave his name attached to it; consider it a good deed done anonymously.