In a vast banquet hall, the generals of the Earth Forces gathered to celebrate the resounding success of the Jupiter Campaign—a celebration grander than the one held after aiding Jiang in routing the Ancient Legion's support fleet.

Within the temporary base on Callisto, a massive ballroom had been carved out. Magical lighting effects adorned the hall with breathtaking beauty. Two long dining tables were placed along the sides, laden with all manner of food for the guests to partake in.

After offering a few congratulatory words, Marshal Alexander descended from the high platform to mingle and laugh with the crowd; he seemed to recall the embarrassment of having drunk too much at the previous gathering.

Yang Ying was naturally invited as well. Compared to the last time, this invitation list was longer and more diverse, featuring all those who had rendered great service in the recent war. Yang Ying surveyed the room and even spotted a corporal in brand-new, respectable attire, standing slightly awkwardly among several generals.

A familiar voice suddenly called his name near his ear. Yang Ying turned to see Randolph approaching him, holding aloft a glass of champagne. Randolph smiled, "Yang Ying, well, doesn't the wine of victory taste especially sweet?"

Yang Ying raised his own glass to meet Randolph's, producing a crisp "clink." He then smiled, "General Randolph, this fine wine is indeed exquisitely sweet, yet bitterness lurks within that sweetness. I must admit, even with exponentially greater troop numbers, we achieved only a Pyrrhic victory."

Indeed, in the final battle at Jupiter, of the Earth Forces' nine main fleets—four frontline and five second-line—six suffered casualties exceeding fifty percent. The remaining three sustained losses above thirty percent. The Ancient Legion's fleet, coordinated with the fire from the fortress cannons, coupled with the losses sustained during the prior assaults on several fortresses, resulted in the destruction of over fifteen hundred capital and super-capital warships—a number exceeding the total count of such large vessels possessed by the Ancient Legion side.

Even Yang Ying personally lost three heavy cruisers and four light cruisers. Fortunately, the captains of these vessels were all clone commanders, whose handling of various crises was decisive and effective, preserving the majority of the crew, who managed to escape in lifeboats before the ships were completely destroyed.

Aside from those sunk, nearly every other vessel was damaged. Ship Number One, Ship Number Two, and Ship Number Three required extensive repairs, particularly Ship Number Two, which barely made it back under its own power.

Yang Ying’s crew were clones bred specifically to operate the Juggernaut-class battlecruisers. If even they suffered such grievous injuries, the state of the rest of the Earth Forces was beyond description; describing it as "a camp full of wounded" would be a conservative estimate.

Randolph nodded with a wry smile, following Yang Ying’s line of thought: "I heard they established ten field hospitals on Callisto just to treat the critically wounded who couldn't be crammed onto the transports heading back for rear-echelon care. I never imagined the transports couldn't even take all the seriously injured back. The cost of this victory was indeed steep."

"But it was necessary," came a voice. Yang Ying and Randolph turned to see Marshal Alexander approaching.

Marshal Alexander greeted the two and remarked, "By inflicting greater damage on them now, the assault on Saturn will be easier later. It’s a pity we couldn't leave them all behind in the end."

When Weng Sha Lie performed his rear-guard action, Marshal Alexander had intended to bypass Weng Sha Lie’s covering force and send the fleet around to pursue the remnants of the Ancient Legion. However, Weng Sha Lie was prepared, having deployed extensive fields of mixed space mines along the planned interception route, forcing the pursuing forces to return empty-handed.

"Are we moving on to Saturn next? Has the high command laid out any plans?" Yang Ying inquired.

"That, young man, is classified military information," Marshal Alexander said with a stern face. But seeing Yang Ying’s unperturbed reaction, he quickly softened, chuckling, "Just kidding. The Jupiter Campaign finished a month ahead of schedule. Although it was a mutual bloodbath with the Ape-men, new blood is continuously being fed into the ranks. The two hundred new recruit camps established six months ago to shore up manpower haven’t even been dismantled yet. It should take another six months, at most, to restore our full operational strength. The plan to counterattack Saturn hasn't been finalized, but by then, things should be in place across the board. Hopefully, we can still rely on the excellent service of the Teran Mercenary Corps then."

Yang Ying felt a slight displeasure at how casually Alexander spoke of personnel losses and replacements.

Suddenly, a voice nearby interjected, "The Marshal speaks so lightly of mutual destruction and 'new blood.' Do you recall your words at the pre-battle briefing before the assault on Io? Those soldiers all have families waiting for them back home. Have you forgotten them so easily? How many households will be ruined, how many wives, parents, and children will grieve heartbrokenly after this battle?"

Yang Ying, Randolph, and Alexander all turned their gazes toward the source of the voice. It was General Hans, leaning on a cane, limping over to stand beside them. General Hans had been in convalescence since his last injury and missed the Io fighting entirely, but given his status as Commander of the Fifth Fleet and his prior achievements, he was invited to the celebration.

For the record, although he did not participate in the Io combat, he had listened in on that pre-battle mobilization conference via a virtual conferencing device.

Alexander nodded and replied seriously, "The loss of soldiers' lives is indeed heartbreaking. If we could achieve mass attrition against the Ape-men with fewer casualties, I would not have chosen this path. But the enemy held the positional advantage, able to advance and retreat freely. The only way to pin them down was through this method."

Randolph sensed the rising tension and quickly tried to mediate: "Another six months? By then, the Ancient Legion will have made considerable headway in fortifying Saturn, won't they?" He sighed. "It took us this much effort just to secure the incomplete defenses in the Jupiter orbit. If we have to assault Saturn, whose defenses will be fully established, how much worse will that be! Saturn has so many moons; creating an impenetrable defense line there will be too easy."

Marshal Alexander toyed with the high-grade crystal goblet in his hand, a hint of melancholy crossing his face. "This is precisely why I was willing to let our soldiers bleed so profusely this time—to eliminate more of the Ape-men. You all know how the Ape-men replenish their forces, don't you?"

"Natural birth and incubation vats," General Hans immediately replied, raising an eyebrow. "I understand. You are banking on their generation cycle."

Yang Ying realized the implication as well. The Ape-men were originally biological weapons engineered by the Kustarians, savage creatures modified from human genetics. The first generation of Ape-men were born via incubation vats; they then gave birth to the second generation, and so on, continuing to this day.

However, the method of producing Ape-men via vats still existed. Upon birth, they learned various skills through subconscious learning machines, a technology far inferior to what Yang Ying possessed.

The clones under Yang Ying could have knowledge directly uploaded to their brains via electrical signals; from fertilization to fully developed, it took only twenty-four hours. When they stepped out of the incubation vats, they were already soldiers equipped with complete knowledge and rigorous training.

In contrast, using the subconscious learning machines required at least one to two years just to assimilate theoretical knowledge, and practical application training had to occur separately. Thus, excluding naturally grown Ape-men, it took at least two to three years for a vat-produced Ape-man to become a viable combatant.

The Ape-men were the overlords of the Ancient Legion. Their combat robots, the low-tier cannon fodder, required control by common Ape-men. The Ancient Behemoths, the high-tier cannon fodder, required control by high-ranking Ape-men. And as for the warships and fighters in space, the number of Ape-men was directly linked to the Ancient Legion's combat power.

Looking at the Earth Forces, any soldier who survived the Battle of Io—whether veteran or rookie before the campaign started—had clearly been forged into a veteran. Furthermore, as Marshal Alexander had mentioned, in six months, new recruits could attain considerable combat effectiveness. Coupled with the existing veterans, integrating the newcomers would not be difficult, allowing them to restore their full operational strength, putting them far ahead of the Ancient Legion.

Marshal Alexander finished his explanation, adding, "No matter how strong a defense line is, it requires soldiers to man it and bring it into play. The Ancient Legion definitely won't recover its vitality in six months. Moreover, six months is not enough time for them to turn the Saturn orbit into an iron-clad defense either. We fought and built the Double Star defense line against the Ancient Legion concurrently for thirty years before it became truly impenetrable. Since even the Double Star defense line could fall, it is plausible that humanity could retake Saturn within six months, and perhaps even the Double Star line again."

As Marshal Alexander spoke, several surrounding generals focused their attention. After hearing his analysis, they nodded repeatedly. However, the Marshal shifted his tone: "Of course, this six-month projection is merely my speculation. The specifics are, naturally, highly classified military secrets and cannot be revealed at this celebration."

"Of course," the others agreed unanimously.

Afterward, several more generals approached Yang Ying to curry favor. The performance of the Teran Mercenary Corps in the Jupiter Campaign truly astonished many. The descriptor "Super Mercenary Corps" seemed insufficient to capture their strength. Many approached him with probing intentions, hoping to establish a connection.

Meanwhile, in the Saturn orbit, the remaining fleet of the Ancient Legion floated silently beyond Titan.

Weng Sha Lie entered the most secret chamber aboard the flagship and activated a communication device. Instantly, he found himself in an entirely different virtual meeting hall.

It was a massive circular platform, one hundred meters in diameter. At the center, a five-pointed star array was etched, covering the entire platform, with every line emitting a faint, colored light. At each of the five vertices stood a marble pillar. Weng Sha Lie materialized atop one of these pillars.