With the exception of Blade, Yang Ying had ten clones. Two were controlling Gabu, one was permanently stationed at the secret base, three were permanently stationed on the Floating Continent, and the final three were lurking in the human world, their whereabouts elusive.
The one summoned in the cave was one of the three permanently stationed on the Floating Continent.
After summoning the clone, Yang Ying transferred his main consciousness into it, then recalled the clone body, which hadn't moved for half a year, along with the jamming antenna and the medical pod, back to the Floating Continent.
Then, the main consciousness returned to the original body.
Yang Ying acted as if nothing had happened, humming a little tune as he walked toward the bridge.
Meanwhile, the clone in the cave erupted in a burst of flame, scorching the surrounding cave walls and floor, melting away any trace of the antenna and medical pod. Since the cave was composed entirely of ice structures, accomplishing this was not difficult.
Having finished, the clone concealed its form, shifted its footing, and slipped out of the cave, finding a direction before vanishing with a step-shrink technique.
For the next two days, the Earth Army and the Ancient Legion engaged in several skirmishes. These were minor engagements, merely serving as reminders to everyone that they were on a battlefield.
However, it was clear to both sides that the time for the major engagement had not yet arrived, so these small frictions did not escalate.
Still, the heat generated by these skirmishes had ignited a thirst for battle among the Earth Army soldiers, a desire that saturated the entire Allied Fleet.
Of course, the high-ranking commanders of the fleet were happy to see this. The upcoming breakthrough operation would be an extremely arduous battle, and boiling blood could help the soldiers endure for longer to a certain extent.
The other side had the same idea.
As Io rotated, Fortress One gradually turned toward Europa, and the Allied Fleet, adjusting to the relative positions of the two planets, began shifting toward Fortress Two.
Gradually, they approached the defensive range of Fortress Two.
"The battle to attack Fortress Two is about to begin. Prepare thrusters for ignition. Countdown: sixty, fifty-nine... three, two, one! Engage!"
At the flagship's command, the entire Allied Fleet ignited their thrusters and set sail at full speed toward Fortress Two. They quickly entered the bombardment range of Fortress Two, and upon seeing this, ferocious Level Six continuous-fire light pillars shot out from the planet, attacking the Allied Fleet.
Simultaneously, the seven fleets deployed by the Ancient Legion had also assembled and appeared before the Allied Fleet.
"Attack!"
Both sides issued the command at the same time.
From the two colossal masses of warships, thousands of dazzling uranium-beam light pillars erupted, plunging toward the opposing formations!
If one were positioned on the surface of Io, and at just the right angle, they could see two vast expanses erupting in the void outside, marked by countless tiny, brilliant fireworks.
The silent universe refused to carry sound; the fireworks bloomed like silent flowers, instantly fading without leaving a trace.
Yet, as time passed, it seemed as if these fireworks had no end, appearing almost every moment. Though not as sudden and numerous as in the first burst, they never ceased. What was lamentable, however, was that despite their massive scale, the fireworks lacked color variety, appearing to possess only the hue of flame, rendering the scene monotonous.
Of course, anyone witnessing this scene would not care about that detail. The color of this flame was all that mattered on the battlefield.
Both sides unleashed their most powerful attacks upon the opposition as if driven mad. The distance between them shrank to within ten thousand kilometers, which, for space battles often fought over distances exceeding one hundred thousand kilometers, could now be considered a close-quarters fight.
The hit rate of the uranium-beam cannons increased dramatically; nearly one in every two or three shots found its mark! This accelerated the rate of slaughter for both sides.
Yang Ying manipulated the main cannon, directing lethal strikes toward the enemy time and again. He already possessed experience in operating the main cannon, and now, as a stronger quasi-Master level expert, his accuracy had improved to a terrifying degree. Since the battle began, Yang Ying had launched more than a hundred attacks, missing his target only twice.
"The enemy has locked onto us!" the staff officer shouted loudly.
"Full rudder, evade!" Howard roared even louder.
Then came a deafening roar, and a violent shudder traveled up from beneath their feet.
"We've been hit! Report damage!" Howard gripped the back of his chair, steadying himself before asking a staff officer.
"Sectors Six and Seven of the hull are damaged, air pressure leaking. Hatches sealed. Personnel losses total two hundred and sixty. Power systems down ten percent, rerouting through auxiliary lines. Weapon systems intact!" the staff officer reported urgently.
Two hundred and sixty people. This already exceeded the total number of soldiers lost by the Tyrant Corps from its inception until this very day.
Yang Ying sighed silently.
Howard’s expression remained unchanged. He barked, "Continue fighting! Fire back! Medics, treat the wounded!"
"Enemy fighter craft are approaching our position!" another staff officer announced loudly.
"Send out the Ghost fighters to meet them!" Howard commanded instantly.
Thousands of Ghost fighters streamed out of the warships into space.
Blade also departed with this wave of Ghost fighters, heading to intercept the Ancient Legion’s fighters.
As soon as the two forces met, Blade deployed its floating guns, scattering them in all directions, weaving a vast net of beams to envelop the incoming enemy.
Having learned from the experience of two major battles, Blade had fully unleashed its capability as a meat grinder. Its light beams, precise, swift, and varying in angle, met the Ancient Legion’s fighters—no matter which direction they came from.
After fighting for only a short while, a beeping sound echoed in their ears—a warning from the Observer. Blade connected the radar screen with the Observer and saw a stealth Master-level fighter rapidly approaching him.
Kordemi.
Blade muttered inwardly, pushing the control stick forward, doubling his fighter’s speed. The floating guns each traced different paths, sweeping around to surround Kordemi.
In flight, the floating guns opened their muzzles fully, firing fourteen beams in a shotgun pattern, one after the other.
Kordemi’s stealth fighter dodged the beams ahead, only to have beams shoot in from the right rear, forcing another violent maneuver to evade. Simultaneously, two floating guns attacked from above and below.
Though only one or two floating guns attacked at a time, they forced Kordemi to constantly look ahead, behind, above, and below, allowing no moment of slack.
This also had an advantage: when the floating guns' energy depleted, they could take turns returning to the Ghost fighter to recharge without interrupting the smooth flow of the attack.
Kordemi tried several times to close the distance to Blade's fighter, but was continually forced back by waves of light beams.
On the surface of Io, fifty kilometers from Fortress Two, the Earth Army ground forces were pushing forward.
The Tyrant Mercenary Corps units were positioned on the left flank of the ground forces, led by the three Thor mechs—Yang Ying's clones.
The three clones were controlling the Thors when they suddenly heard a beeping sound. The Observer sent a warning. One clone opened the Observer's information while the other two controlled their Thors to raise the Level Five uranium-beam cannons in their hands; the two Level Four twin-linked lock-on cannon turrets on their shoulders also aimed forward.
The image transmitted by the Observer was that of Fortress Two. At that moment, on a high mountain next to the fortress, an iron gate slammed open, revealing three Level Six uranium-beam cannon barrels.
Damn, they're pulling that trick again.
The presence of large siege cannons was highly effective for fortress defense. The Ancient Legion deploying three of them clearly intended to eliminate any approaching enemy as far away and in as great a number as possible.
Placing these horizontal siege cannons high up extended their attack range. Given the altitude of Fortress Two's three uranium-beam cannons, it wouldn't be surprising if they could hit the Thors. After all, Level Six uranium-beam cannons retained destructive power across space on a scale of hundreds of thousands of kilometers, let alone on a moon with a diameter of only 4,800 kilometers?
Blade had no doubt that if those three uranium-beam cannons could be used normally, the Earth Army ground forces would suffer at least a fifty percent casualty rate just trying to reach Fortress Two.
Fortunately, two Thors were ready to attack the moment the threat appeared. They extended both arms, aimed their two Level Five uranium-beam cannons and four Level Four sodium-beam cannons toward the mountaintop, and fired with a thunderous roar.
The light pillars surged across the mere few tens of kilometers of space with immense force, directly striking the three fortress cannons and utterly pulverizing the entire mountaintop.
For the clones, this was the second time they had witnessed something similar.
Various other artillery fire rained down on the Thors. Smoke and flames erupted continuously on their chassis, and violent shockwaves buffeted them. However, once the smoke cleared, the Thors could always be seen standing there as if unaffected.
Stepping forward over the ashen-white ground, the Thors’ advance seemed unstoppable.
After marching a little further, they reached a high point. The Thors strode to the crest, finding themselves perfectly positioned to see the distant Base Two. The three Thors lined up side-by-side, simultaneously ordering the tanks behind them to set up and counterattack according to the positional images transmitted by the Observer.
The Thors raised the uranium-beam cannons in their hands, aimed at the leftmost turret in a distant row of defensive emplacements, and then swept the beam across, obliterating the entire row of defensive turrets in one pass.
Then the other Thors followed suit, sweeping their uranium-beam cannons back and forth, augmented by the siege tank cannons set up behind them. This highly effective barrage tore the defensive system of Fortress Two into pieces.
After the siege tanks fired more than ten times, Yang Ying's clones noticed that the impact points of the enemy shells were gradually drawing closer to them. They ordered the tank units to retract their siege mode and continue charging forward.
Artillery positions generally required more time to relocate; their mobility was far inferior to that of siege tanks. Siege tanks only needed to lower their siege cannons and retract their supports to get moving.
The three Thors led the units onward.
A significant number of Fortress Two’s defensive turrets were still operational—anti-air guns, curved-trajectory guns, and uranium-beam cannons were relentlessly attacking their targets.
From atop the Thors, Yang Ying's clones could see the light pillars from the fortress cannons connecting Fortress Two with the void. The large and small fireworks in the sky continued to burst forth, and the two super-fleets, facing off left and right, interwove their presence with the starlit void. If one disregarded the personnel casualties, the scene might even evoke a sense of poetry.
After observing the starry sky for a moment, the clones shifted their gaze back to the distant Fortress Two.
The Thors strode forward.
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