Chapter 8: The Distance Between You and Me

**Orbit**

"Fleet Command reports that ground support is urgently needed. How long until your unit can establish a target? Over."

"The 2nd and 16th Orbital Infantry Regiments have occupied the enemy satellite cluster, and the 37th Special Demolition Team is seizing the space-based weapon station. Ten minutes should be enough! Over!"

"Get in position as soon as possible! Over!"

A blue flame flickered, and Han Ronghao pulled down the visor of his spacesuit, shouting, "Guys! Final assault! Follow me!"

Han Ronghao opened the cockpit door of the escort fighter. The dense barrages from the side cannons resembled a brilliant "sky bridge," connecting to the imperial orbital space station thousands of meters away. The orbital infantry captain leaped out first, using his jetpack to propel himself through the vast emptiness. Below him was the planet code-named "Eagle Valley."

He grabbed onto the space station's airlock. Just as he placed a bomb, a figure emerged from the sunlit side. Han Ronghao quickly locked onto the enemy, and in the vacuum of space, the bullets flew without resistance, instantly knocking away the attacking imperial soldier. Oxygen from the pierced spacesuit gushed out like a vortex, scattering misty droplets of blood into the darkness.

"Charge!" Han Ronghao shouted. As the airlock exploded, he dashed inside the space station, twisting his body quickly to land feet-first. His rifle fired in rapid succession, taking down several guards. The spent cartridges tumbled and floated in the narrow corridor. Just as he pulled out a new magazine, a repair hammer struck his visor, nearly shattering it. Furious, he turned around and grabbed the bold space station technician, pressing the barrel against the man's chest. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" He pulled the trigger repeatedly. He then kicked the lifeless body toward the docking interface, where it was instantly shredded into a puddle of mush by the rotating mechanism.

Han Ronghao grasped the handrail and kicked off like a frog, catching the breaching hammer sent from behind. He then stepped on the chest of an incoming teammate, bending his knees to quickly slide into the control room. Taking a deep breath, he raised three fingers to the team members and then lowered them one by one.

"Boom!" The control room door was slammed open. Han Ronghao ducked just in time to avoid a knife ambush behind the door. In the zero-gravity environment, he was like an agile catfish, quickly spinning around and landing behind the enemy, knocking them unconscious with his rifle butt while his teammates subdued the valuable operators.

Han Ronghao had no time to waste on cracking the satellite motherboard. He also didn't intend to waste words, so he pried open an operator's helmet and directly removed the eyeball for security identification. Just as he prepared to use his dagger on a third person, the officer finally complied, unlocking the system and presenting the weapon-grade space station.

"Report! I have secured the target. Requesting the launch of space-based tungsten rods to support the ground forces. Over!"

"Request granted. Detailed information is being uploaded. Ensure all enemy forces outside the Stela Fortress are cleared. Over!"

Han Ronghao slapped the operator's head and wiped his hands clean on the man's uniform. In the distance, satellites launched long tungsten rods; the sparks generated from their rapid descent were very striking but then abruptly disappeared. Han Ronghao stood with his hands on his hips, slightly tilting his head back to look at the warship overhead, which almost blocked out the sunlight with its mere movement.

Its name was "Coronatus," the flagship of the Expanse Alliance expeditionary fleet.

**In the Sky**

"Poseidon-1, watch ahead! Enemy aircraft!" the wingman warned.

"Received," Major Li Yanxu replied. To his left, a multi-domain fighter swept past; it was his wingman, its vector nozzles glowing blue as they burned through the already scorching atmosphere. The empire's ground-based "Xuguang" fighters filled the stratosphere like stars.

"Beep beep beep!" Lock-on alarm! Years of free air combat had taught Li Yanxu never to hesitate. The major immediately pulled up, the sudden overload pressing him hard against his seat. The fighter ascended into the clouds, performing barrel rolls and rapid maneuvers as he calmly waited until the last moment.

"Boom!" Decoys released! Simultaneously, the aircraft shuddered as a missile barely grazed the canopy! The enemy aircraft zipped past with a "whoosh." He lifted the nose, the fighter flying backward while descending in a rapid horizontal spin!

The unmatched power of the multi-domain fighter gave the major considerable leeway. Taking advantage of the thrust difference, the aircraft traced a beautiful arc. After a 360-degree light rotation, the major effortlessly regained control, like a fallen leaf brushing through the air, as he now locked onto the enemy aircraft.

"I'm counting on you!" The wingman, having repositioned to the side and rear, executed a high-pressure offensive maneuver, causing one of the "Xuguang" fighters to abandon its dive and retreat, losing its attack position. The wingman swiftly flew over a kilometer away, notifying the lead aircraft.

Although Li Yanxu didn't have the altitude advantage, attacking from below allowed him to avoid the "Xuguang" fighter's intense defensive fire. He pushed the throttle, and the fighter's exhaust flame suddenly heated up as he quickly locked onto the enemy aircraft.

The imperial pilot of the "Xuguang" was clearly an experienced one. Before Li Yanxu could finish locking on, the "Xuguang" suddenly pulled vertically up, executing a cobra maneuver before leveling out again! Unfortunately, Li Yanxu had anticipated this move. He slammed on the brakes, shutting down both engines! He executed a 180-degree turn and locked on! Fire!

"Confirmed kill," the wingman reported. Li Yanxu glanced at the "Xuguang" as its wings were sheared off and it began to stall. His fighter was already cruising at high Mach speed, eager to achieve his ace status tonight.

The imperial ground-based air force was increasingly strained. Ground-based fighters paled in comparison to space-based ones, consuming much fuel just to take off, accelerate, and reach their designated airspace. Not to mention that the fleet's air force always had the support of space carrier ships. If necessary, a space cruiser could even pressure targets into low Earth orbit.

The imperial "Xuguang" fighter, which was harassing transport planes, was driven off by the fleet's air force. Li Yanxu's formation quickly received new orders.

"The 506th Fighter Group is to switch to low-earth support, targeting the nearest Stela Fortress, and is responsible for guiding the 507th Transport Group to deploy Titan mechs in that area. Command completed!"

Li Yanxu's fighter AI completed the new target adjustment in an instant. He looked up at the looming transport plane. The precious Titan mechs were also onboard, and unless the sky was clear, the fleet air force wouldn't dare to deploy the invaluable Titan mechs, especially the now-depleted Iron Steed.

The holographic screen displayed the targets that needed to be cleared. Li Yanxu reviewed it carefully and said to the formation commander, "Poseidon formation requests to disengage and provide support to the AZ5 area."

"Granted." The multi-domain fighter formation scattered and flew away.

Li Yanxu's four-plane formation received the call sign "Crescent-23," flying across the blue and dark alternating boundary, the fighters gliding past frozen storm clouds. The fleet-type multi-domain fighters could easily take down the "Xuguang," and their bellies could carry a large amount of ground munitions.

"Fortress, fortress, this is Crescent-23 formation. Confirming direct strike on the fortress?" Li Yanxu licked his lips. He hadn't had a drink in hours, and the air combat had exhausted much of his energy. But compared to the fortress below, which had opened its death ray shield, nothing else mattered. He knew this Stela Fortress was surely at its limit. He circled above the death ray, spotting a giant Titan mech, an ideal target for a strike.

"Fortress, Crescent-23 will begin attacking from the south. Estimated time of arrival, 20 seconds."

**On the Ground**

Thunder cleaved through the snowy night, illuminating the world. Lu Yuan stood on the crumbling city wall, squinting at Ivan the Terrible, who was already straddling the battlements a hundred meters away. He noticed several people stuck in molten iron, burned to death. Lu Yuan weighed the energy core he had dismantled from the railgun, the hot wind tousling his hair. Behind him was now empty; half the paratroopers, led by Zhang Yueyang, had circled the wall to launch a flanking attack. Yu Dong led the other half to collect energy cores, preventing the mission from failing without any follow-up.

Lu Yuan threw down his helmet and wiped his face, feeling the sweat pooling in his palm. He input the code into the energy core in his backpack, starting the decoding process to transform it into a large-caliber anti-armor projectile with vertical explosive magnetic rail flow. He pressed the red confirmation button next to the panel, and the mechanical timer began to tick, "tick-tock." Only a couple of hundred meters left; he still had some time.

His face felt cold as Lu Yuan gazed at the sky. The horizon remained dark; no hazy dawn had arrived. He wondered if at this moment, Xue Shenxing was basking in the sun's new rays, and whether the hibiscus tree in front of his house had dew on its petals. Perhaps in the next moment, a beam of purple light would shine before him, and an Iron Steed would appear out of

 the ether.

"Boom!" The fortress shot an electric beam, illuminating everything. He watched the beam aim toward the Titan mech, almost like a teasing stroke of a brush.

He swore he'd destroy that blasted mecha! No! He must destroy the mecha! 

"Tick-tock, tick-tock!" The countdown reached five seconds. 

He gritted his teeth and leaped off the battlements, an all-or-nothing move. An imperial soldier guarding the Titan mech spotted him; with their rifle aimed at Lu Yuan, he could even hear the dry click of the safety being released. 

"Boom!" A flash erupted in the air. Lu Yuan adjusted his trajectory, closing in with the wind screaming past his ears. The shot hit his backpack, causing an enormous explosion. The energy core exploded right behind him, sending him spinning. The world around him faded, and with it, all thoughts.