Chapter 77: Operation: Strike at the Heart

More than ten days later.

The Fifth Fleet finally arrived at Outpost Three, hidden within the Asteroid Belt and under Federation control.

Inside the base’s conference room.

“Based on our latest intel, we expect the Klein vanguard fleet to make a move on Outpost Two. They’ll try to use it as a foothold to threaten our Mars defense line!”

Standing by the 3D tactical star map, Mu Qingxue looked unusually grim.

There’s a reason the two sides have stared each other down in the Asteroid Belt for a year and a half.

For the Federation, their overall firepower still lags behind the Klein, so launching a direct offensive to retake Jupiter is out of the question.

Meanwhile, the Klein lack detailed maps of the Asteroid Belt. After all, the Solar System has always been humanity’s turf, and this is their first real incursion.

The Klein need time to scout out the belt, mapping it in detail before acting.

Otherwise, charging their entire fleet through unfamiliar territory is just asking to walk into an ambush.

The Asteroid Belt is unlike anywhere else. The environment is incredibly complex.

There are plenty of places to hide a fleet.

As for Outpost Two, it’s closest to Mars among all three outposts and the only one not surrounded by dense asteroid fields.

Originally, this made it a poor spot for an outpost—too exposed, like a lone building on an empty plain.

But they couldn’t afford not to defend it.

If left unguarded, the enemy could steam right through and put Mars in real danger.

That’s why the Federation hauled in a mountain of asteroids from elsewhere.

Ranging from hundreds to thousands of meters wide and in plenty of quantity.

If there weren’t any large natural objects to form a shield, then a cluster of medium and small ones would have to do—layered together into a fortress.

That makeshift shield is the main barrier against the Klein fleet crossing through.

For that reason, Outpost Two is the largest and most resource-intensively built base the Federation has.

“Commander, Outpost Two may have the First, Second, and Fourth Fleets stationed there. But even after new reinforcements over the past year and a half, the Fourth is still operating at just a third of its original size.”

“All three fleets together only give us a bit over 400 ships. Is that really enough to hold the line?”

Already on the back foot, the Federation has to spread its forces even thinner.

So Outpost Two is left with a little over 400 warships, trying to defend a gaping patch of empty space…

Qin Xuan didn’t hide her concerns.

“There’s not much choice. Even if our predictions are right, who can guarantee the Klein will only attack Outpost Two and not One or Three?”

Mu Qingxue shook her head.

With the frontline so long, attackers can throw everything at one point, but defenders can’t risk betting everything on just one spot. That’s the harsh reality.

The plan Mu Xingchen set in motion was one of desperation.

That’s why he had over 6,000 converted civilian gunboats and 1,000 warships from the Security Command stay in Mars orbit.

As for Outpost Two, to be frank…

Mu Xingchen never expected it to completely block the Klein fleet.

He just wanted to leverage the base’s long-range firepower to wear the enemy down, maybe take out a few of their ships, and—

—most importantly, buy time for the real showdown that would follow.

“Alright, Outpost Two will remain under the Free Commander’s control. As for us…”

“Headquarters has different plans for us!”

Huh?

Everyone blinked in surprise.

Wait, what? The commander means we won’t be in the main battle—so what are we being sent to do?

All eyes snapped to Mu Qingxue.

Not wasting a second, Mu Qingxue brought up a new tactical star map.

This time, it showed Jupiter and its surrounding regions.

“Here—this is Europa.”

“Once, it was the core of our Jupiter defense line—a massive war fortress.”

“Unfortunately, during the last Battle of Jupiter, that so-called impregnable fortress was destroyed.”

“Of course, Europa itself is still there. But now the surface facilities are all gone.”

“According to confessions from captured Klein, once we withdrew to Mars the Klein seized Europa and built a vast warship production line in its orbit.”

“And get this—the Klein colony fleet is stationed there too!”

……

……

No one in the room was slow on the uptake.

Mu Qingxue had laid it all out. Everyone pretty much understood the assignment by now.

The mission Fleet Headquarters had handed to the Fifth Fleet was clear.

“Looks like you’re all on the same page.”

“That’s right. Once the Klein launch their main assault on Outpost Two and their big fleet follows up, we’ll strike while their home base is vulnerable—sneak in, sabotage every bit of their shipyards, and maybe just—”

“—wipe out their war-making potential altogether!”

No one so much as blinked at the idea of sabotaging all their shipyards—of course that’s what you’d do in a rear attack.

But when Mu Qingxue added that bit about totally crippling the Klein’s war machine…

That hit differently.

What did she mean by that?

Could it be…

“Exactly what you’re all thinking—the Klein colony fleet!”

“Without those colony ships, even if the Klein keep churning out warships using the Asteroid Belt, what good is it?”

“They’ll have no one left to crew them!”

“So our mission boils down to three main objectives!”

“First: hit the Klein’s core territories, force their vanguard at Outpost Two plus their main fleet to rush back to defend.”

“Second: destroy every Klein facility orbiting Europa.”

“Third: surround their colony fleet, wait until the Klein return in force, and then—when rescue is almost within reach—strike those colony ships with everything we’ve got.”

“If we do all three, we become the Federation’s hit-and-run fleet on Jupiter’s side of the belt. Our job: bait the Klein with their own endless rage, let them chase us around for at least half a year!”

Now that’s a move…

Even Lin Yu silently let out a ‘nice!’ in his head.

The old-timers at Fleet Headquarters really know what they’re doing.

Destroying every last colony ship won’t just cripple the Klein’s ability to make war. It’ll drive them to madness—leaving them with no choice but to wipe out the Fifth Fleet.

And by riding that storm of rage, the Fifth Fleet turns into a guerrilla force—drawing the Klein through cat-and-mouse battles by Jupiter’s slice of the belt.

That would buy half a year for the Federation Fleet.

In that time…

With no new people to fill the ranks, it doesn’t matter how many ships the Klein build—they won’t have anyone to staff them.

And as for humanity…

The plan called for another 80-plus main warships and nearly 4,000 more converted gunboats ready for action during those six months.

With the scales tipping, even if the Klein never attack, humanity…

…would finally be ready to launch their operation to take Jupiter back.

This plan—

I love it!!

Lin Yu quietly cheered for the plan in his heart.