When would the occupation of Europa be finalized? A week's time should suffice. The severely wounded have already been evacuated to the rear lines, and those with minor injuries can soon return to their posts, yes?

Of course, the field hospital never lacks for the wounded. Although there hasn't been a major engagement between the Terran Army and the Ancient Legion since Ganymede was taken, skirmishes between smaller units are an almost daily occurrence.

While the daily casualties aren't high, the steady trickle is consistent enough to cause headaches for the logistics teams over the span of a week.

Three of Yang Ying's Thunder God units have been repaired. More than that, a new Thunder God has been brought into service, bringing the total number of Thunder God chassis to four.

The four Thunder Gods underwent minor adjustments under his supervision. Based on analysis from two fierce battles, armor was thickened on sections particularly vulnerable to attack. Furthermore, they were equipped with Boron missiles. After all, judging by the gaunt, simple, and rather pathetic appearance of the battle robots, it was clear that heavy boron shielding did not cover these lowest-tier cannon fodder. If the Ancient Legion dared to send another sea of battle robots, a single Boron missile could wipe out everything within a hundred kilometers!

On the other side, the supreme commander of the Ancient Legion, Peak Master Weng Shale, seemed to have grasped that the Jupiter campaign was nearing its end. The Terran Army held absolute superiority in Jupiter's orbit due to three factors: first, in terms of manpower, the Terran Army outnumbered the Ancient Legion two to one; second, the omnipresent surveillance eyes severely restricted his ability to employ risky or unorthodox maneuvers; and third, the performance of the Ghost fighters, which far surpassed the old Night Owl and Dragon models, completely suppressed the advantage of the Ancient Legion's Viper fighter squadrons.

During the seven days of rest, the Terran Army captured the small, irregularly shaped moons of Callisto and Themisto. After losing three major satellites, the Ancient Legion's defensive perimeter had fractured, and their remaining forces could no longer adequately cover every minor fortress.

A defense riddled with gaps is no defense at all. Weng Shale understood this perfectly, so he contracted his defenses, consolidating all forces on Io, abandoning the surrounding minor strongholds.

Although Io possessed the most comprehensive defenses among Jupiter's four major moons, it appeared too thin against the overwhelming advantage held by the Terran Army.

From every perspective, the Ancient Legion was cornered on Jupiter.

In the virtual conference hall, Marshal Alexander delivered his final mobilization address to the assembled officers before departure.

"Gentlemen, thank you for your relentless efforts. We are finally about to launch the final battle to reclaim Jupiter. The Jupiter Campaign has lasted nearly three weeks, marked by countless moving and heroic deeds. Through the combined efforts of the steady-handed generals, the diligent officers, the brave soldiers, and the mercenaries, we have not failed the expectations of the people back home."

Loud applause erupted. Most attendees in the hall were "steady-handed" generals, and perhaps for this reason, they resonated deeply with Marshal Alexander's words.

The mercenaries in the rear clapped too, but their applause seemed somewhat perfunctory. After all, in that passage, the mercenaries were placed last. Moreover, they were not preceded by qualifiers like "steady-handed," "diligent," or "brave," clearly indicating they were overlooked.

Marshal Alexander raised his hand to quiet the applause, coughed, and continued, "But there is an old Chinese saying: 'To travel a hundred li, ninety is the last ten.' Although we have reached the final step, we must not let our guard down. Failing in this last step could nullify all our previous efforts! Remember, Weng Shale is not a simple figure—uh, creature! If you become careless in the upcoming battle, you could easily fall into his traps, potentially costing us the entire campaign! When commanding the fighting, you must plan boldly, but proceed with caution!"

Applause rang out again, though this time it was noticeably less enthusiastic than before. After all, the previous words were pleasant, whereas these were harsh truths.

Marshal Alexander frowned slightly, then continued, "I presume all commanders are fully briefed on the strategy for this battle. The fight will commence shortly. Upon returning, you must complete the mobilization of your soldiers and boost morale, but strictly caution your officers to maintain cool heads. Remember, the soldiers' parents, wives, and children are waiting for them to return home! Any dereliction of duty by those issuing orders is absolutely intolerable! The people in the rear have, do, and always will have their eyes upon us. I have finished speaking!"

The applause sounded a final time. Yang Ying seized the moment to sweep his gaze across the faces of dozens of generals, noting that many of them seemed unimpressed by Alexander's final admonition. Instead, they looked intoxicated by the impending military merits, as if they were already members of the victorious crowd, with flowers and applause surging towards them.

Fools, Yang Ying thought coldly.

Shortly after the meeting adjourned, the nine fleets of the Terran Army ignited their engines and set sail. They had recently received another batch of supplies, and some fresh recruits had been assigned to the depleted units, restoring some combat strength.

Damaged warships had also received limited repairs during this short period, making them look fit for the fight.

The fleets assembled, forming a tight, dense formation, and marched mightily toward Io.

Io is an orange-red planet, dotted with hundreds of volcanoes, frequently erupting, featuring scalding sulfur lakes and surging rivers of magma. The surface temperature can reach over 400 degrees Celsius, though its average temperature hovers around minus 100 degrees Celsius.

In this environment, the Ancient Legion had easily created three extremely secure fortresses, exploiting absolute topographical advantages by redirecting the flow of magma and modifying the volcanoes. Terran armor formations found it almost impossible to launch assaults across the magma-strewn terrain.

Fueled by endless geothermal energy, the fortresses' power sources were inexhaustible, and the number of various defensive and siege cannons far exceeded those on other moons.

The combined fleet of the Terran Army and mercenaries reached the perimeter of Io. The defensive fire from Fortress Number One on Io instantly opened at full capacity. Vast beams of energy flooded into the combined fleet's ranks. A direct hit from a single Level Six siege cannon was enough to instantly vaporize a heavy cruiser!

Simultaneously, the Ancient Legion's fleet arrayed itself outside Io, unleashing its full firepower against the joint fleet, sending thousands of beams towards the opposing force.

The Terran Army returned fire almost at the same instant. A massive rain of beams, so extensive it dimmed the starlight, swept back toward the Ancient Legion's fleet. Following this, approximately seven or eight hundred large missiles, clearly marked with nuclear symbols and carrying warheads, were launched from the fleet, streaking toward the surface with comet-like fiery tails!

With current missile interception technology, two missiles would never reach the ground. Only a massive missile offensive held any chance of success.

As the missiles entered the effective range of the fortress's anti-aircraft guns, tens of thousands of AA batteries fired simultaneously, targeting the incoming ordnance!

Crack! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Many missiles were detonated in mid-air, creating massive spheres of light above Io. However, the spacing between the missiles had been calculated with extreme precision so that the shockwave from one missile’s explosion would not interfere with the attack trajectory of its neighbors.

The light net formed by the anti-aircraft guns was dense and effective. Two or three seconds of sweeping fire destroyed eighty percent of the missiles. The remaining missiles continued their downward plunge; accelerated by the vacuum of space, they covered tens of thousands of meters per second!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Bright spheres of light appeared with increasing frequency—a beautiful spectacle that many would never witness in their lifetimes. Set against the backdrop of boundless space and the majestically marbled Jupiter beside them, it formed an almost classical piece of art. Many eyes were drawn to this event, hoping this wave of nuclear strikes could take down Fortress Number One in one go.

Boom! Boom!

The frequency of new light spheres decreased as the number of missiles dropped to one-tenth of the original count, and they continued to be obliterated. The closer they got to the ground, the denser the anti-air fire became.

Boom!

No new light spheres appeared. Calculating the time, it should have been about the moment of impact. It was uncertain whether the last missile was destroyed in mid-air outside the engagement zone or if it managed to acquire a lock on Fortress Number One.

The light from hundreds of large spheres slowly faded, and the scene of Fortress Number One became visible to all observers.

Inside the bridge of the Hao class ship, the forward main screen displayed a clear optical image—first-hand battlefield intelligence transmitted by an observer drone.

The caldera used to construct Fortress Number One had collapsed significantly, and magma was slowly welling up from the breach, forming a temporary lava river.

However, the crater was thousands of meters deep, and the main body of the fortress, built into the mountain walls, still stood firm. Its surface armor bore only scratches and gashes, evidence that debris shattered by the nuclear blasts had rained down upon the structure, but for the fortress, this was only superficial damage, posing no major threat.

The massive exchanges of beam fire between both sides continued. Within their respective formations, ships were intermittently struck and exploded, and escape pods zipped everywhere. Simultaneously, the fighter wings from both sides began charging toward the opposing force, preparing for close-quarters combat.

Suddenly, about a hundred Mind Energy Adept fighters broke away from their main fleet formation and flew in the opposite direction of the fighter swarm. After a moment, this small squadron turned and began descending toward Io.

Amidst the immense swarm numbering in the hundreds of thousands of fighters, a hundred craft were virtually insignificant. And within this group of Mind Energy Adept fighters, a single Ghost fighter was equally unremarkable.

The pilot of this Ghost fighter was Blade. Following the pre-established plan, he was tasked with assisting this special detachment—composed of several Master-level fighters and nearly a hundred Mind Energy Adept fighters—to descend to the surface in an area with less dense anti-air coverage, breach the anti-air artillery net from low altitude, and directly assault Fortress Number One.

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