Bathing in the dense ranks of the ancient legion fleet arrayed before him, Yang Ying recalled the secret conversation he had with Li Yosef late one evening.

Both men had dismissed their attendants, and the communication line was absolutely secure, impervious to eavesdropping; what they discussed, neither would acknowledge after the transmission ended.

At the start of the dialogue, Li Yosef had stated calmly, "Commander Yang Ying, I trust the Trident Mercenary Group has already uncovered the scheming of those foolish politicians attempting to push you into a confrontation with Weng Shali. I sought you out privately precisely because of this matter."

Yang Ying felt a touch of surprise that Li Yosef would bring this up so directly, yet he maintained a composed facade, asking, "Marshal, are you so certain we are already aware?"

Yang Ying knew well that Li Yosef, as the supreme commander, must be privy to the politicians' conspiracy. This was no minor plot intended to frame a low-ranking soldier or non-commissioned officer within the Earth Forces; it targeted a peak master of humanity like himself, and the formidable military strength he represented. A conspiracy of this magnitude, set to unfold during the Saturn Campaign, could not possibly bypass the campaign's highest authority.

However, based on their first meeting, Yang Ying had confirmed Li Yosef was not involved, at most merely turning a blind eye. Yang Ying held no illusions that Li Yosef would offer assistance against the politicians out of the blue, especially given their lack of established rapport. But the fact that Li Yosef had sought him out privately, laying the issue bare, caused the corner of Yang Ying's mouth to lift slightly. A flicker of interest stirred within him: what exactly was the mind of this man, hailed as the God of War, contemplating?

Li Yosef then smiled, saying, "I know the saying, 'Unsolicited favor often signals ill intent,' but I will be clear about my motives to convince you of my sincerity."

"Then please, Marshal," Yang Ying replied.

Li Yosef cleared his throat. "I take it for granted that you can detect the actions of those simpletons. If you couldn't, you wouldn't be the Trident Mercenary Group." He seemed wholly confident in the mercenary group. "I have studied your past battle records and assessed your intelligence capabilities. While perhaps not perfectly accurate, the evaluation is sufficient for reference."

In Yang Ying's view, the smile Li Yosef wore while speaking those words was profoundly meaningful, suggesting that not only were the politicians exposed, but all existing security measures on Earth were riddled with holes and practically nonexistent before the Trident Mercenary Group.

Yang Ying simply shrugged, offering no verbal confirmation, thus tacitly accepting the assessment.

"You see," Li Yosef spread his hands in enumeration, "once a conspiracy is brought into the open, it ceases to be a conspiracy. And the capabilities of those politicians are extremely limited; they haven't reached the level required to execute an open plot. Therefore, it is predictable that they will suffer a crushing defeat. However, because this confrontation is occurring in Saturn's orbit, under my jurisdiction, I sought out Commander Yang Ying to reach certain understandings, ensuring this conflict does not destabilize the overall campaign."

"I see," Yang Ying murmured.

Yang Ying now understood: Li Yosef had sought him out only after discerning the outcome of the conflict, approaching him as the inevitable victor, which explained why he addressed the issue head-on from the beginning.

"The current situation is this," Li Yosef continued. "Those fools have colluded with a portion of the high-ranking generals within the military—individuals who previously accepted favors from the Council. There are quite a number of them. Since the Council's sudden collapse months ago cut off their funding, they harbor deep resentment."

Yang Ying snorted. "Resentment indeed!"

Since antiquity, economic interests have been the source of most malicious motivations—men die for wealth, birds starve for food. Yang Ying could understand the anger felt by those high-ranking officers directed at him.

"Commander Yang Ying, I dislike those generals bought off by the Council, but as the commander of this joint fleet, I am still responsible for bringing them to justice. The conflicts of interest among high-ranking officers should not drag innocent soldiers into it, wouldn't you agree?" Li Yosef said with assured confidence.

"Marshal speaks correctly," Yang Ying nodded. "I will not involve the common soldiers."

"If you share that view, then we can certainly reach an accord," Li Yosef smiled, moving to the substance of the matter. "Last time, you mentioned Weng Shali might retreat. Have you obtained concrete intelligence on that?"

"Yes," Yang Ying admitted. "We detected signs that the major fortresses in Saturn's orbit are being emptied."

"That's excellent news," Li Yosef applauded lightly, smiling. "According to what I've heard, once the fighting begins tomorrow, those generals bribed by the Council will propose a measure: the regular army fleet will tie down Weng Shali's forces, and then mercenary units will be dispatched to seize a few fortresses as staging points."

"Dispatching mercenaries to seize fortresses? I suspect the involvement of the Leishen has something to do with this!" Yang Ying’s voice carried a hint of mockery.

"Precisely. The Leishen has never entered the market; the Earth Forces have been unable to acquire them. Many ground force commanders are eager for them. Now that fortresses are to be captured, it makes logical sense for them to demand the Leishen be deployed. That proposal will garner substantial support," Li Yosef stated.

Since the Jupiter Campaign six months prior, the military had exerted considerable pressure on the Trident Corporation to release the Leishen to the market quickly. However, the Trident Corporation benefited from Yang Ying's pinnacle status and the notorious reputation earned from crippling the Council, which prevented the military from pushing too far.

"Indeed, a bunch of fools. They want us to seize fortresses that have already been emptied—aren't they practically handing us the greatest glory?" Yang Ying found the situation absurd; those plotting against him were inadvertently pointing out his advantage.

"Information is power; without it, they have no leverage," Li Yosef commented with a chuckle. "Their probable thinking is this: while you attack the fortresses, if the Ancient Legion gains an advantage, they will inevitably divert a fleet to reinforce the fortress defenses. Our side will naturally send support, but they intend to volunteer for that support mission, then deliberately fail to execute it, sitting back and watching you battle the ape-men. Perhaps they are even hoping to draw out the hidden strength of the Trident Mercenary Group and wipe you out in one sweep."

The outside world consistently believed the Trident Mercenary Group possessed a hidden military capability, otherwise, they couldn't explain how a mere handful of visible warships managed to annihilate more than twenty times their number in the previous engagement.

"They certainly put forth considerable effort. Forget it, refusing such a good opportunity would be an insult to their hard work," Yang Ying's eyes sharpened. "Let it be so. We will play along with their scheme—we will attack those empty fortresses."

"Good," Li Yosef nodded with a smile. "With this, the recovery of Saturn's orbit can be confirmed ahead of schedule. The remaining question is how large a battle Weng Shali will choose to fight before he retreats."

"Does that make a difference?"

"Of course it does," Li Yosef stated seriously. "Weng Shali's every move cannot be viewed in isolation. Every step he takes is followed by several more. The intensity of his resistance tomorrow will allow us to analyze the Ancient Legion's subsequent operational plans."

"Very well," Yang Ying asked, "how intense will this battle be?"

"How should I know?" Li Yosef displayed a look of feigned surprise. "I am no parasite inside Weng Shali's belly. Furthermore, based on my limited understanding of Weng Shali, he would not casually abandon the entire Saturn defense perimeter. Perhaps the decision to retreat did not originate with him."

"If not him, then who?"

"The Commander of the Ancient Legion, Ape King Hardek!" Li Yosef uttered the name with gravity. "Besides Hardek, I cannot imagine anyone else who could interfere with Weng Shali's actions."

"Hardek. On par with Elder Kong Li of the Nian Neng Temple, both spoken of as beings closest to the divine. I have heard his name whispered for a long time," Yang Ying remarked.

"Sir, the battle has commenced!" Howard reported.

Yang Ying nodded. The light from tens of thousands of synchronized beam shots illuminated his face outside the bridge viewport. The Saturn Campaign had officially begun!

The beams from both sides crisscrossed over tens of thousands of kilometers, occasionally striking a warship and generating violent explosions, but the universe was infinitely deep, and the eternal darkness absorbed every fleeting beam of light, leaving only the distant stars to permanently adorn the black curtain of space.

"Sir, Headquarters requires the mercenary contingent to secure the four fortresses on Titan, and they specifically demand we deploy the Leishen!" Howard reported.

"Very well, let's go down there," Yang Ying commanded.

The eight hundred-plus warships of the mercenary contingent detached from the main body and sped toward Titan. Meanwhile, the regular forces continued their exchange of fire with Weng Shali's fleet.

Yang Ying had brought a full contingent of twenty-four Leishen units for this Saturn Campaign; the twenty-four Leishen transport ships were shielded by the fleet as they approached Titan's upper atmosphere.

Titan, also known as Rhea in some records, was the only moon in the solar system possessing a dense atmosphere, the second-largest satellite of Saturn, and even exceeding Mercury in volume. It was the very first location Yang Ying saw upon arriving in this world.

To avoid being pulled into the gravity well, many large warships remained in high orbit, ready to provide fire support to the surface. However, what struck them as strange was the near-total absence of surface defense fire; even the few scattered beams posed minimal threat. This situation was highly anomalous, causing many to wonder internally if the ape-men were behaving foolishly.

The movements of many warships became hesitant, clearly affected by the command structure's inability to react to such an unexpected scenario, which impacted their efficiency.

However, the forces of the Trident Mercenary Group attacked without hesitation. The twenty-four Leishen units were deployed to the ground, striding forward, charging toward Fortress One!