The development of the situation unfolded precisely as Lan had predicted. The Council, initially caught off guard by the ruthlessness and sheer capability of the Trellan Company's sudden offensive, quickly pivoted toward a temporary compromise upon realizing the enemy's operational speed far exceeded their expectations.

Yang Ying and Kalia were acutely aware that the Council's primary aim was to buy time—to gather intelligence on the Trellan Company's true strength before launching another coordinated assault. Yang Ying, however, was unconcerned by the delay. Stalling was advantageous to him as well.

As long as the Council remained unable to fully ascertain the depth of the Trellan Company's resources, they would hesitate to act as rashly as they had today. By simply maintaining the status quo, Yang Ying knew that within a year, the arrival of the Jushou-class Battlecruisers would grant him an overwhelming tactical advantage, allowing him to treat all enemy machinations as nothing more than a passing breeze: "Though enemies surround me a thousandfold, I shall remain unshaken."

Especially now, with production lines across the floating continent undergoing massive upgrades and refits, the timeline for commissioning the Jushou-class Battlecruisers might even be shortened further.

Yang Ying delegated the negotiations with the Council entirely to Tom, the man posing as the nominal Chairman of the Trellan Company but who was, in fact, a spectral operative. Naturally, before any formal talks commenced, a series of probing maneuvers took place—messages relayed through intermediaries, initial contact initiated by low-level personnel, and a gradual escalation of official representation only after a certain level of mutual understanding had been established. These preliminary steps are omitted here for brevity.

Shortly after Blade returned from the flagship, the fallout from the skirmish was settled. Marshal Alexander subsequently sent an email confirming that full responsibility for the incident had been placed squarely on Major General Pitrel. Pitrel was stripped of his command, confined, and ordered to await a military tribunal.

The impact of the internal conflict was swiftly suppressed. In official reports, Pitrel's five heavily damaged Pacific-class battlecruisers were declared casualties sustained during an attack by the Ancient Legion. All deceased personnel were posthumously honored as martyrs, officially recorded as having gloriously fallen in battle against the Legion.

The surviving soldiers were all placed under strict non-disclosure orders, a tacit agreement in exchange for not prosecuting their charge of assaulting friendly forces. The reality of the firefight was classified as top-level secret, accessible only to the highest echelons of military command.

Since this occurred during the mid-phase of the Jupiter Campaign, following two grueling engagements with the Ancient Legion, the influx of five additional Pacific-class casualties on the damage reports caused no major upheaval.

Furthermore, across various units, both on the ground and in space, some personnel had witnessed aspects of the skirmish through reconnaissance equipment. The military high command simultaneously issued gag orders to these witnesses. However, the silence maintained by these soldiers proved less absolute than that of Pitrel's subordinates, who were desperate to save themselves. Consequently, hushed rumors regarding the incident began to circulate among the various military detachments.

Naturally, given the unified official narrative, these whispers never progressed beyond the realm of mere gossip.

With the skirmish resolved, the Jupiter Campaign returned to its established course.

Since the inexplicable detonation of the three fortresses on Europa's surface, the Ancient Legion had abandoned that undefended satellite. Their fleet was slightly inferior in size, and they possessed numerous well-defended strongholds, making a protracted grind on Europa unnecessary. The Earth Forces, operating as the aggressors, could not afford to relinquish any established beachhead. Thus, half their fleet was dispatched to secure Europa, establishing a pincer position with Ganymede, creating a flanking threat and mutual support network against the Ancient Legion.

Currently, in the Jupiter theater, the Earth Forces controlled Europa and Ganymede, while the Ancient Legion retained their two main strongholds: Io and Callisto.

Moreover, the fortresses the Ancient Legion had constructed on smaller satellites like Himalia, Elara, and Thebe remained intact—these served as formidable obstacles for the Earth Forces.

Since ancient times, siege warfare had always been a course of last resort. The defensive fortifications manned by the defenders inflicted massive damage upon the attackers, and these fortresses presented the same challenge.

During several operational meetings, Marshal Alexander articulated that the previous aggressive seizure of Ganymede was intended solely to secure a foothold within the Ancient Legion's Jupiter defense perimeter. Now, with established bases on both Europa and Ganymede, brute-force direct assaults were no longer necessary.

The new strategic directive for the Allied Fleet was to lure the seven fleets of the Ancient Legion away from their fortress clusters, then engage and shatter them in open space using superior numbers. Only then, with the enemy fleets dispersed, would capturing the unprotected fortresses become a natural consequence.

However, saying it was easy and doing it were two different matters. If the Ancient Legion willingly abandoned Europa, what could possibly draw them out now?

Over the following week, the Earth Forces employed numerous tactics, yet the Ancient Legion remained utterly inert, as if content to simply guard their fortress complex and await an Earth attack.

Both sides deployed patrol fleets within their respective zones. These fleets consisted mostly of small to medium-sized warships, designed for rapid engagement and swift withdrawal. They would occasionally clash at the boundaries, resulting in minor casualties on both sides, but the intensity of these skirmishes was low, causing negligible impact on either force.

The situation settled into a tense stalemate.

Then, one day, the Ranchenzhe suddenly detected a development: beyond Jupiter's orbit, two large Ancient Legion fleets were closing in on the planet.

Judging by their vector of approach, they appeared to be arriving from the vicinity of Saturn’s orbit.

As the Observer transmitted its report, Yang Ying was presently on the command seat of the bridge. He immediately contacted the flagship and spoke directly with Marshal Alexander.

“Commander Yang Ying, can you confirm this intelligence?”

Since the internal conflict, Alexander’s demeanor toward the Trellan Mercenary Group seemed to have subtly shifted; he treated them with noticeably more deference than before the incident.

Although the Trellan Mercenary Group's reconnaissance capabilities were already renowned, this report concerned a development of significant magnitude, prompting Alexander's instinctive need for verification.

“It is absolutely reliable, Marshal. These two fleets will reach Jupiter in less than thirty hours!”

As Yang Ying spoke, he compiled and transmitted the intelligence gathered by the Observer to Alexander.

Marshal Alexander reviewed the data, nodded, and stated, “Based on their size and vector, these must be reinforcements for the Ancient Legion. They fought a major engagement outside Ganymede last time, and the Ape-men likely required substantial repairs to their fleet. Therefore, dispatching two main fleets from Saturn makes perfect sense. Yes, that must be it.”

As he spoke, Marshal Alexander rose, pacing the dais before the captain’s seat. “This presents an excellent opportunity! We can use these reinforcements to lure the main Ancient Legion forces away from their fortresses, intercept them midway with overwhelming numbers, and force a decisive battle, leveraging our numerical advantage.”

His pacing quickened, as if a comprehensive plan was rapidly solidifying in his mind. Suddenly, he stopped, looking up, his eyes blazing with sharp focus. “Speed is paramount! Convene an operational meeting immediately and prepare to move!”

In the virtual briefing room:

“Marshal, this mission carries significant risk. If this is a ploy by the Ape-men to divide our forces, the contingent we send to intercept these reinforcements could face grave danger,” General Hans, commander of the Fifth Fleet, questioned with visible doubt.

“No, we do not need to attack the reinforcements. We only need the Ancient Legion to believe we are going to attack them,” Alexander declared confidently. “Our forces will march toward the Asteroid Belt in plain view of the Ancient Legion. It is imperative that the Ape-men witness this movement.”

“I see,” Hans murmured. Being a veteran of countless battles, he immediately grasped the Marshal's implication, a look of dawning comprehension spreading across his face as he sat down.

“But why?” A Lieutenant General, still confused by Alexander’s proposal, rose to ask, “If we let the Ancient Legion see our forces moving toward the Asteroid Belt, how does that convince them we are targeting the reinforcements? To make them believe that, shouldn’t our troops be marching toward Saturn?”

“No, not quite,” Marshal Alexander smiled.

This smile made the Lieutenant General feel instantly like a primary school student who had answered a question incorrectly, earning a knowing look from the teacher.

Marshal Alexander continued, “Do not forget our opponent is Ongzhalie. If we allow him to see our fleet flying directly toward Saturn, it’s too obvious. He will immediately suspect a trap and deduce that our true target is not the reinforcements, but his main body of troops. However, if he sees our forces retreating toward the Asteroid Belt, coupled with the news that his own reinforcements are imminent, he will inevitably interpret our move as a deception—believing that once we are out of his direct sight, we will immediately turn to attack his arriving support.”

The Lieutenant General finally understood, slapping his forehead. “I get it now. It’s like Cao Cao taking the Huarong Pass—Guan Yu lighting a series of fires, which instead convinced Cao Cao to take the path that led him into the ambush. It's a similar principle. Cao Cao reasoned the smoke meant Guan Yu wanted him to take an alternate route, so he did the opposite, only to fall into Zhuge Liang’s trap.”

The Lieutenant General looked upon Alexander with genuine admiration, thinking to himself that he was indeed worthy of being a Marshal for conceiving such a stratagem.

Marshal Alexander chuckled twice. “The forces we send back toward the Asteroid Belt will indeed turn, but their ultimate destination will not be the reinforcements. It will be the main body of the Ancient Legion!”

He calmly surveyed the room. “Gentlemen, if anyone has any differing opinions or suggestions, please voice them now so we can refine this plan and implement it as quickly as possible!”

Marshal Alexander clearly held high expectations for this operation. He spent half an hour in the virtual meeting room directing his staff to finalize the plan, assign duties, and then was ready to depart.

Even though there had been no major engagements that week, all fleets had been maintained in a state of readiness. Thus, upon Marshal Alexander’s command, the forces quickly mobilized and began their execution.

The Third and Fifth primary main fleets set off before the Ancient Legion, steering their courses in the direction of the Asteroid Belt.