Yang Ying waited a moment on the wide lawn outside the villa. The fighting inside the estate quieted down, the sounds of battle quickly fading. Reports of their success trickled in through the communicators.

"Sector One enemies completely eliminated."

"Sector Two enemies completely eliminated."

"Sector Three..."

Each Ghost operative squad had faithfully completed its mission. Once all squads reported mission completion, Yang Ying ordered them to set fire to the villa and destroy all evidence.

Murder and arson—two acts historically linked, and so it was this time.

Soon, flickers of fire appeared in several rooms, rapidly spreading outward.

Yang Ying's face remained impassive. Although eliminating the enemy had gone smoothly, killing was never a cause for jubilation. If the Council hadn't resorted to such malicious tactics against him, he wouldn't have needed to make this example—this show of force.

In his heart, he hoped this incident would temper the Council's arrogance. They shouldn't assume their immense power gave them license to act with impunity across the solar system. But if the Council persisted in these malevolent actions, then regardless of how distasteful it was, he would not hesitate to swing the sword in his hand, cutting down every enemy before him until one side was utterly defeated.

Yang Ying picked up his communicator and called the Ghosts to assemble. Shortly after, the operatives converged, emerging from the villa’s main doors or the rear garden.

The flames erupting from the villa grew stronger, soon engulfing several floors. Once the Ghost operatives were gathered, they moved toward the ground floor, enveloping the entire structure in fire.

The roaring blaze shot up tens of meters high, like a colossal torch on the open field, its light painting the surrounding thousand meters a deep crimson far into the distance. Waves of heat washed over them, slowly desiccating the grass on the lawn until it withered.

Illuminated by the inferno, the Ghost operatives formed a neat queue. Yang Ying quickly counted heads—ten squads, not one missing.

"You did well. Return now."

With another flash of golden light, Yang Ying sent them back to the Floating Continent.

He walked slowly toward the edge of the estate, contacted Kevin, and told him to drop the satellite jamming before Yang Ying vanished using Suo Di (Shrinking the Ground).

Simultaneously, in other locations across Earth, direct descendants of the Fukina family were also being assassinated by Yang Ying's clones and the Ghost operatives. Nearly all generals were wiped out; only distant, low-ranking collateral relatives survived.

With this, the entire Fukina family could be considered extinct.

Meanwhile, at Callisto, the outcome of the battle between the Thor Guard and Pitril's five Pacific-class battlecruisers had been decided. The engagement zone was littered with fighter wreckage, the debris bearing the telltale puncture wounds inflicted by Uranium Beam Cannons.

These wounds originated from the floating turrets.

Pitril’s Earth Military fighter contingent, numbering over eight hundred and fifty, had been entirely annihilated in space, save for a few who surrendered. All the wreckage here belonged to them.

However, out of respect for the Earth Military, Blade had refrained from firing on pilots who had ejected from their cockpits. During the fight, they had also deliberately avoided targeting the cockpits where possible. Consequently, very few pilots died directly; most were left adrift in space awaiting rescue.

The ten escort squadrons of Ghost fighters, though outnumbered, possessed an absolute performance advantage. As a result, only five or six sustained minor injuries and safely retreated to their transport ships for repairs and resupply.

Pitril’s Pacific-class battlecruiser was spewing thick smoke and roaring flames into space, having fallen into a completely immobilized state. The other four vessels, while not as catastrophic, were not faring much better; all had been breached by third-generation anti-ship missiles, fire raging internally, although many of their anti-air guns were still active.

Blade's concentrated salvo from one hundred and seventy Uranium Beam Cannons possessed overwhelming power. No point of armor on the Pacific-class battlecruisers could withstand such focused beam fire. He had circled the battleship once in his fighter, inflicting devastating damage.

However, this unexpected skirmish ended here. Blade did not press the attack because the Joint Fleet's Military Police had arrived on the scene.

They encircled the battlefield with ten battlecruisers and over twenty heavy cruisers. The leading officer, a Major General of the Military Police around fifty years old, broadcast a general communication across the zone.

"This is Major General Bysak of the Military Police, representing the Joint Fleet Command. We require all engaged parties to cease fire immediately. Colonel Blade of the Tran Mercenary Group, and Rear Admiral Pitril of the Ninth Fleet, you are required to restrain your forces and halt hostilities, or face unfavorable consequences in a court-martial."

Blade snorted, murmuring to himself, "They're bringing out the court-martial now? Where were your Military Police forces earlier?"

Nevertheless, the consequences of attacking the Military Police were dire, and antagonizing the Earth Military would benefit neither him nor the Tran Mercenary Group. Thus, Blade issued the order for the Ghost fighters to withdraw. He then pulled his fighter back, retracted his floating turrets, and turned toward the Thor transport ship.

On the other side, the five Pacific-class cruisers saw the Military Police intervene and dared not defy the world's expectation by continuing their attack, halting fire from their remaining anti-air batteries.

Major General Bysak sent another communication: "Both fleets separate. Ships, power down, and all fighters must remain grounded in their hangars. Rear Admiral Pitril and Colonel Blade, proceed immediately to the flagship to explain the course of events."

A Major, a staff officer, suddenly appeared on the screen and stated, "Major General Bysak, Rear Admiral Pitril suffered a severe shock just now; his mental state may not be suitable for questioning on the flagship."

Pitril’s bridge had been destroyed, but the Pacific-class battlecruiser possessed auxiliary command systems. The aide who narrowly escaped the initial blast brought the mentally disturbed Pitril to the backup command room, called the accompanying medical officer to attend to him, and transferred command authority to the captain of another Pacific-class vessel.

All five Pacific-class bridges had been destroyed in the first wave of attack. Including Pitril, only two of the five captains survived; the other three perished in the bridge explosions. Of the two survivors, Pitril had lost command capacity due to his mental breakdown, leaving only one remaining captain capable of directing the battle.

Upon hearing the Major's explanation, the Military Police Major General frowned. "Mental breakdown? He still has to come with me. Get him moving immediately; Marshal Alexander should not be kept waiting."

The Major staff officer tried to interject again, but the General cut him off loudly, "That is an order!"

The Major staff officer wanted to remind the General that Rear Admiral Pitril was the son of General Levant, a member of the Ministry of Defense Strategy Office. However, the vast difference in their military ranks made him only dare to agree meekly.

"Colonel Blade, you are to depart immediately as well. Your three transport ships will be temporarily secured by the Military Police to prevent any further aggressive actions. Please allow the Military Police to board your transports," the General instructed Blade, his tone commanding.

A cold glint flashed in Blade's eyes. The cause of this conflict was Pitril's attempt to hijack the Thor, an act for which the Tran Mercenary Group had already risked open conflict with the Earth Military. Now, how could they allow the Military Police aboard? Who could guarantee the Military Police were free of Council members?

No, Blade was almost certain: the Council must have agents within the Military Police.

"Permission denied."

Yang Ying suddenly cut into the communication, appearing on the screen, addressing the Military Police Major General. "Rear Admiral Pitril's forces can be managed by the Military Police, as he is clearly a disgrace to your military. However, the warships of the Tran Mercenary Group must remain under our own disposition."

"The origin of this battle was Pitril attempting to seize our property. We still do not know if he has accomplices, or if they have already infiltrated other branches of the military. Therefore, we must proceed with caution. I hope Major General Bysak can understand."

This was a direct statement: We do not trust the Military Police.

Major General Bysak's brow furrowed deeply. In his entire career, he had never encountered such disrespect toward the Military Police. Anger surged within him, and he was about to speak when his aide interjected, "General, the Tran Mercenary Group's fleet is advancing."

"Hm?" He turned and saw a string of signals representing warships approaching. The signal identification read: Friendly, Tran Mercenary Group.

Smack!

Major General Bysak slammed the armrest and shot up from his command chair, enraged. "Your Tran Mercenary Group has incredible audacity! After fighting with friendly forces, you dare to violently resist the enforcement of the Military Police? Do you have any respect for the authority of Earth Military law!"

Yang Ying sat calmly in his command seat, fixing his gaze directly onto the Military Police Major General's eyes, speaking with grave intensity. "I do not slight the authority of military law, but I have stated clearly: Pitril's accomplices may have infiltrated certain sectors of the military, perhaps even operating under the guise of military authority to serve selfish ends. Let me be blunt: the military's condoning of Pitril's behavior has made us extremely angry. I seriously doubt whether your Military Police can truly represent the authority of military law!"

Yang Ying knew that although their faction was weaker than the military, they could not afford to lose the moral high ground or the momentum of their stance.

Major General Bysak straightened his back, unwilling to yield in demeanor to Yang Ying. But asserting authority wasn't just about standing tall and fixing an intimidating stare. If one harbored internal doubt about their own position, mere physical gestures could not manifest true presence. Earth Military officers who reached the rank of Major General were generally aware of the Council's existence and influence. Today's events smelled highly suspicious, and the General knew it was plausible the military had wronged the Tran Mercenary Group, and that his own ranks were not free of Council pawns. After locking eyes with Yang Ying for a few seconds, he couldn't help but shift his gaze away, muttering, "Colonel Yang Ying, what you say is only one side of the story. The actual sequence of events requires further investigation before a conclusion can be reached."

Yang Ying recognized the General's retreat and pressed his advantage. "Since nothing is confirmed, it remains a case of differing accounts. Therefore, there is no reason for you to take custody of our transport ships. Colonel Blade will accompany you to the flagship to clarify the facts, but we must first reclaim our three transport ships. We will discuss the rest after the results are out."

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