As Feng was about to fire the Flotation Cannons in another volley, he suddenly saw the two dozen Great Apes scatter, showing no intention of turning back to fight.

Blade could not discern the true form of any of them, and after shattering a few illusions, could only watch helplessly as the Master-level fighters fled.

Concurrently, the ancient legion’s fighters across the entire battlefield seemed to be retreating as well, as did their warships. They turned their bows ninety degrees and disengaged from the battle laterally, while simultaneously recalling the returning Ape fighters. It appeared this engagement was nearing its end.

The reason for disengaging laterally was that exposing the rear thrusters of a warship to the enemy was an extremely dangerous maneuver; only when defeat was certain, and there was no other option but desperate flight, would they choose to turn a full one hundred and eighty degrees.

Lateral withdrawal, while not as fast, was safe, and the ancient legion’s forces were certain the Earth forces would not pursue. With two already severely battered second-line main fleets, plus tens of thousands of fighters, merely surviving until now was a minor miracle; to press an attack would certainly mean a near-certain death, perhaps even total annihilation.

To make the decision to pursue at such a juncture required either a super-general or a complete fool; whether the decision-maker was the former or the latter would only be determined by the outcome of the pursuit, though the probability of idiocy stood at ninety-nine percent.

However, Blade was deeply unwilling to stop now. The Flotation Cannons were being used on the battlefield for the first time, an experimental deployment, and this was precisely the moment to gather data, to expose any latent issues for immediate adjustment. Since he had already engaged, he naturally intended to utilize the Flotation Cannons to their fullest potential.

Blade narrowed his eyes to slits, letting slivers of eager cold light escape, and thrust the control stick forward, charging toward the retreating Ape fighters.

Seeing the ancient legion’s fighters begin to withdraw, most of the Earth force pilots were thinking of striking a crippled dog. The hatred between the Earth forces and the ancient legion had long festered to an infuriating depth; they would certainly not pass up such an opportunity, and one after another, they gave chase.

Naturally, an organized retreat required a rearguard. Approximately five thousand Fang fighters were left behind with the objective of delaying the human pursuit, allowing the regular Ape fighters, who were faster, an easier escape once they pulled clear.

On another front, Blade surged ahead. Taking advantage of the moment before the ancient legion’s fighters had fully separated from the Earth forces, he immediately unleashed his attack: twelve Flotation Cannons, generating one hundred and sixty-eight beams, forming a single, sweeping scythe. Where it passed, it mowed down its targets.

The Ape fighters he targeted instantly found themselves unable to defend front and rear, falling in rows. They were not Master-level experts; even the Fang fighters struggled to survive under such a dense net of energy beams.

The advantage of the Flotation Cannons lay in their small profile and the dense light-net they created; beams could strike from any angle one could not possibly anticipate, finishing the target before a reaction could even form. Even those higher-ranked Apes or Quasi-Master higher-ranked Apes who managed to evade one or two beams still faced others converging from every direction. They were not piloting Master-level fighters, only the non-mass-produced special Fang fighters, and how could they withstand such an intense beam assault?

When Blade brought the full firepower of his one hundred and seventy Uranium Cannons to bear, he was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. The Ape fighters blocking his path began to suffer massive casualties instantly; explosions were nearly continuous, with a deluge of beams sweeping over them. A huge burst of fireworks erupted before his eyes; in a single concentrated volley, several hundred fighters were obliterated in mid-air!

The Earth force fighters surrounding Blade stared on, dumbfounded, some nearly colliding. Many human pilots, chasing closely behind the Ape fighters, even forgot to fire their own weapons.

After several successive bursts and volleys, the Flotation Cannons’ energy began to deplete. The regular Ape fighters fled as if avoiding a plague, pushing their engines to maximum speed. Meanwhile, some of the rear-guard Fang fighters attacked Blade with suicidal ferocity, intent on a final showdown.

Blade abandoned the immediate pursuit, recalling his Flotation Cannons in batches to replenish their D-Particles. The recharge rate was rapid; through the superconducting charging system on his Ghost fighter, a depleted Flotation Cannon could be fully charged and redeployed to attack again within five seconds.

Through the relentless filtering of the light-net, the Fang fighters also began to fall like cabbages being chopped.

The entire pursuit lasted barely a minute and a half. The number of Ape fighters taken down by Blade reached a full five or six hundred, at least one hundred of whom were Fang fighters.

In places where he could not see, the gazes of many Earth force officers and soldiers fixed upon him underwent a dramatic shift. Later, after the conclusion of this Jupiter campaign, Blade would earn the moniker, the "Jupiter Butcher."

Blade was attacking wantonly, watching wave after wave of Ape fighters explode under his fire, when a sudden premonition struck him. He activated the 'Ground Shrink' maneuver on his fighter, instantly teleporting it about five meters to the side. Simultaneously, two beams fired from cunningly precise angles slammed into the space where he had just been.

“Too conspicuous an action. Was I targeted by a Master-level fighter?”

Blade shook off the distraction, assessing that while he had gained a slight initial advantage against the previous Master-level fighter partly due to luck and the Flotation Cannons' debut catching the opponent unprepared, another Master-level fighter would certainly not make the same mistake.

As Blade focused intently, the newly arrived Master-level fighter suddenly vanished without a trace.

“Stealth! Could it be Kordemy of the Gangdi Fleet?”

Blade reacted instantly, linking his fighter’s radar to the nearest Observer unit, instructing it to transmit real-time images that could detect stealth technology.

His radar screen flickered, and the hidden Master-level fighter reappeared.

Seeing the Observer’s detection was effective, Blade allowed himself a slight smile: “If it were another type of psychic device, I might have been a bit wary, but to use stealth in front of me? That’s like showing off a broadsword before Guan Gong.”

With a thought, the Flotation Cannons burst forth at ultra-high speed, instantly scattering to form an inescapable Heavenly Net.

While fighting, Blade was also learning. His application of the Flotation Cannons had already gained considerable insight, showing marked improvement compared to moments before.

The opponent was indeed Kordemy. He had approached only after noticing Blade's Flotation Cannons were too conspicuous, intending to intercept Blade.

His fighter was renowned for its stealth capabilities; within a hundred meters, even other Master-level experts found it difficult to detect. And what was a hundred meters in the vast scale of cosmic combat? It was virtually no distance at all.

However, Kordemy was astonished. The enemy before him seemed to know his location. Judging by the distribution of the Flotation Cannons opposite him, he was completely enveloped—above, below, left, and right. He immediately forced his fighter through a series of evasive maneuvers he rarely used in standard engagements.

The next instant, a barrage of overwhelming beams sliced through the space Kordemy had just occupied.

Inside the Ghost fighter, Blade noted Kordemy’s evasion and thought grimly, ‘Master-level experts are indeed not simple. Dealing with those possessing precognition is no easy task.’

Fortunately, the Flotation Cannons still possessed ample energy, making it possible to maintain firing density.

Kordemy’s fighter possessed only the stealth device as its psychic capability besides conventional weaponry. Normally, this made him practically invincible during ambushes; even if an enemy evaded his sneak attack, the inability to locate him left the target in a passive, defensive position.

But Blade was different. Blade could easily locate him using the Observer. Kordemy’s single greatest advantage had evaporated. All that remained was passive defense, desperately trying to evade the omnipresent beams within the light-net.

After several salvos, Kordemy realized his opponent was not some newly ascended Master-level expert from a Psychic Temple, as he had initially assumed. While the light-net was meticulously woven, for a Master-level expert, prediction was the most crucial element in launching an attack. If this net had been woven by a Master, it might not have been so dense, but it would certainly have been the most difficult to evade.

These were still the tactics of a mortal!

Kordemy’s expression shifted between dark and bright. Although the enemy was still using mortal techniques, he was proving incredibly difficult to handle before even reaching the Master realm. If he were to ascend, who could stop him?

Another light-net swept toward him. Kordemy maneuvered his fighter like a nimble bird to slip past it, sighing inwardly. Though he desired to eliminate this future threat to the ancient legion, he found himself unable to commit fully. With his stealth compromised, eliminating the enemy using only conventional weapons, even if possible, would take far more than a moment.

Glancing back at the surrounding ancient legion fighters, he saw they had retreated a sufficient distance. He turned his bow away from the battle and accelerated toward his rear line.

This entire engagement lasted only three or five exchanges. Blade failed to strike Kordemy, and Kordemy never gained a chance to counterattack. Although Blade held the advantage, he could not convert it into victory, so the encounter was largely considered a draw.

Subsequently, Marshal Alexander transmitted orders to cease pursuit and defend the forward fleet. Blade halted his chase, regrouped with his Ghost fighter squadron, and rejoined the main body of troops.

Blade’s Flotation Cannons had made a profound debut this day. That minute-and-a-half massacre was indelibly etched into the memories of many. Furthermore, his feat of repeatedly defeating two Ape Masters using the combination of the Ghost fighter and Flotation Cannons was noted by numerous observers. Blade's name instantly spread throughout the entire Allied Fleet.

An hour later, the main central force finally arrived and linked up with the forward fleet. Blade led his detachment back into the Trans Mercenary Group’s warship.

Many warships in the forward fleet were clearly beyond immediate operation and required patching up before being sent back to rear repair yards. There were also the treatment of the wounded and the collection of the deceased—a mountain of trivial matters.

However, intelligence suggested urgency. Marshal Alexander could only assign a few staff officers to assist the forward fleet in handling these issues, after which the remaining forces would set sail toward Jupiter again.

There is a third update; even if it is late, it will be posted, but fellow readers should probably wait until tomorrow to read it. It is getting late.