Chapter 50: Orbit of Attrition: War on Jupiter’s Frontline

It had been a full ten hours since both sides had entered Jupiter’s orbit and started their relentless chase.

During this time, the rate of casualties on both sides wasn’t actually that high per hour.

The Klein fleet had lost about 170 warships of various types, while the Federation Fleet’s losses were around 280 ships.

At first glance, the numbers made it seem like the Federation was taking a much heavier hit.

But in truth, the trailing ships in the Federation Fleet mostly belonged to the Solar System Defense Command—ships generally used for patrolling trade routes, barely armed with a handful of electromagnetic rapid-fire cannons.

Of course, the Klein had no idea about this.

After all, they had yet to actually seize a single warship or capture any prisoners.

True, these ships weren’t unmanned, but the crew numbers were minimal.

Each one held only a few dozen people, just enough to keep the ships running at a basic level and to act as sentries for critical areas like the bridge or engine room.

All these crew members had volunteered before the battle began.

Their mission was simple—keep the ship operational as long as possible and, most importantly, make sure the real plan behind the Jupiter campaign stayed hidden from the Klein.

How exactly would they do that?

If a Klein raider ever boarded, the answer was brutal: blow up the ship and take the enemy with them, making sure the enemy never realized how lightly armed or undermanned these vessels really were.

If a ship wasn’t boarded but crippled by enemy fire and left adrift…

Then, once the Klein approached, self-destruct as well.

The guiding rule was clear: never let even a single ship fall into Klein hands.

At first, Alum thought the Federation Fleet was circling Jupiter’s far side just to evade his sensors, maybe laying a trap or prepping for a hasty retreat beyond the Jupiter defense line.

That was why he’d pursued them without hesitation, staying right on their tail.

But what happened next?

The Federation didn’t run, much less try anything sneaky while Jupiter blocked his sensors.

On the contrary, once the Klein fleet entered orbit and began circling as well, the Federation looped all the way around to bite at the Klein’s own rear flank.

So what started as him chasing the Federation became a tangled mess where both sides now chased each other around Jupiter.

Could he break away, regroup, and reshuffle his formation off the orbit?

Sure, in theory—but the Federation would just seize the opening and start hunting him instead.

The end result?

This chasing game would flip, turning into a one-sided pursuit.

And this time, it would be humanity hounding the Klein.

Truth is, space combat isn’t so different from a dogfight back on the Homeworld—at least in some ways.

The key similarity?

Turning takes forever.

On solid ground, a person can spin on a dime, barely a moment lost.

But a fighter jet? Now that takes many times longer—flying in a wide arc, slowly looping around until it finally reverses course.

A warship in space…

Needs even more time!

Even discounting the time to decelerate, just turning around could take a good two or three minutes. High-speed maneuvering was even tougher, since you had to slow down before the attitude control engines could swing you all the way around.

Altogether, it could easily take over ten minutes just to change direction.

Add to that, most primary weapons on first and second-tier civilizations’ ships are massive, which means they’re horribly slow to rotate.

Not that they’re locked steady—but their field of fire isn’t nearly as wide as you’d hope.

Take the Federation’s ion cannons for example. They can only cover a thirty-degree arc in front of the ship.

Weapons that could fire to the rear? Only a few railguns and rapid-fire cannons placed just right and free from obstructions.

All told, their rear firepower was less than one-tenth of what they could muster in front.

So, when it comes to tactical maneuvering in interstellar war…

It’s no wonder that first and second-tier civilizations rely on outmaneuvering their enemies.

At the heart of every tactic is the goal of biting into your opponent’s rear or flank.

Get caught from behind, and you’re as good as defenseless.

Get flanked, and sure, maybe you can fight back with half your weapons, but—

You’re presenting a much larger target and your armor is nowhere near as thick as it is up front.

That’s why, even knowing he’d been suckered into a war of attrition, Alum hadn’t dared pull his fleet out of orbit after ten whole hours.

Because he knew—

If he broke away now, things would only go from bad to worse.

Luckily, humanity was taking heavier losses. And besides—

Their armed satellites were about to fall.

Once the Sixth Column arrived, they could set up just outside the orbit and attack the sides of the Federation Fleet circling within.

With this thought, Alum finally felt at ease.

He might be stuck in a slugfest, but the ultimate victory would still belong to the Klein.

——

At the same time—

Roughly 670,000 kilometers from Jupiter.

Europa.

Around three hundred Klein warships were bombarding the moon with everything they had.

Based on the surrounding debris, Klein had paid dearly too—over thirty of their ships had been completely destroyed.

That was about a tenth of the entire column they’d deployed.

As for defense platforms in orbit, the wreckage was even more abundant.

At least several thousand railguns and ion beam weapons had been destroyed.

Inside Europa, the primary target—the Super Ion Cannon—had been wiped out long ago.

Every structure and facility nearby was flattened with it.

Currently, all that remained of the Federation’s defense was what little firepower was left in orbit, still remote-controlled and doggedly firing back.

But even that wouldn’t last much longer.

At most, they’d hold for another three hours before collapsing completely.

At that point, those Klein ships would be freed up—even with less than three hundred left, they’d become a deciding force on Jupiter’s main battlefield.

Overall, things for the Federation…

Were looking incredibly grim.

——

Meanwhile—

Jupiter orbit, Federation Fleet’s temporary flagship, Warstar Qiongxiao.

“Report! Io is now simultaneously hidden from Europa and the Klein fleet’s sensors. The window lasts 165 minutes!”

“Now’s our chance!”

Hearing this, Mu Xingchen, the Federation Fleet’s overall commander, sprang to his feet.

He clenched his right fist, eyes fixed intently on the 3D tactical star map ahead.

“I order: commence phase three of the Jupiter offensive! Follow the plan—detonate Europa Io now!”

“Yes, Commander!”