It's been an hour since the battle began, and there hasn't been a single response from the UEC. Paraná sent out several more contacts, but there was no movement as if they were sinking into the sea. Barana, who has always been calm, couldn't help but be a little annoyed, what are those old fritters on the earth thinking! Without reinforcements, the Third Fleet would have been wiped out. But he wanted to think about it, but there was no hope for reinforcements, so he still had to find a way to break through.

Looking out through the porthole, the originally beautiful and peaceful scenery is covered with an eerie red color everywhere. The broken limbs were mixed with the wreckage of the battleship, and it was impossible to distinguish them. The screeching of shells piercing the air was deafening, explosions were incessant, and the sky was full of flashes of nuclear explosions. The flying insects in the sky almost obscured Io's sun, and no matter how fierce the fire on the ground was, it couldn't reduce their numbers.

Io's defense was dominated by battleships and carrier-based aircraft, and the destroyers' close-fire power and small-caliber electromagnetic guns continued to shoot at the incoming flying insects, but the battleships continued to be destroyed. Dozens of giant cannons of the Io Fortress were firing at an almost ninety degree elevation angle, and were firing at one of Chriselis's large battleships. The battle was at the outset, and Chrissles' fleet rushed to the surface at all costs, and the salvo of the battlefleet could not be stopped. A large number of flying insects and beetles rushed onto the armor of the battleship and began to wreak havoc. First two Montana-class battleships were destroyed, and then the captain of an enterprise-class aircraft carrier also ordered the ship to be abandoned, and the ship's carrier-based aircraft had to be contained by other carriers. By the hour of the battle, the battleship detachment had suffered heavy losses, even the Washington had been attacked, the destroyer fleet had suffered minor losses, and the aircraft carrier formation, although it had been fine, had lost more than half of its carrier-based aircraft.

The battle lasted another half hour, and Paraná could not sit still. There is still no reaction from the Earth side, and if it does not break through, it will really be annihilated. The fortress's defenses can still withstand it for a while, but the weaker defense ships can no longer withstand it. In desperation, Parana prepared to order all the battlefleet and aircraft carrier formations to abandon their ships. The Washington was the largest and strongest battleship on Earth and the flagship of the Third Fleet, and Barana didn't want to give up easily, but he knew that the breakthrough relied on speed and agility, and the bulky flagship could not stand out from the encirclement. He no longer plans to bring the entire fleet back to Earth intact, and he only wants his soldiers to return home safely. Both battleships and fortresses can fire automatically, and while they are not as accurate as human-controlled, they don't care much about that.

Just as Parana was about to give the order, Ritotripe suddenly appeared on the screen. Seeing that his face was full of joy (Parana muttered a sentence when he saw this), he said: "Good news, Commander, I have found the enemy's vulnerability. ”

Paraná was disheartened as he prepared to evacuate the Washington, and when he heard this, it was as if he had grasped a lifeline. He asked eagerly, "What's going on?" ”

"We found a strange position with Io as the center, five thousand kilometers deep. And we didn't have that position when we first came to Iostar. I think it's stopping us from taking the leap. ”

"How sure are you?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Excellent! The Third Fleet, all attention, is ready to take to the skies! Barana yelled and gave the order.

Paraná's original tactic was to use battleships and fortresses to deplete the enemy's forces, and then break through with speed in destroyers while the opponent's attention was focused on them. But since the folding device has the possibility of use, the distance that needs to be broken through can be greatly reduced, and it is not necessary to leave the bulky battleship behind. However, only five of the original twelve battleships of the battleship detachment remained, and Paraná, considering the value of the battleships, decided to let the destroyer fleet escort the perimeter.

With the earth-shattering roar of the fusion engines, the Third Fleet began to move out of bunkers. Although the magnificent battleship group no longer exists, the scene of the entire Third Fleet is still spectacular. Hundreds of warships rushed into the sky with dense carrier-based aircraft, and the insect swarm reacted quickly, and before the Third Fleet could fully take off, it had already surrounded it. The Io Fortress has switched to automatic control, and the cannon is spewing Type 3 anti-aircraft shells into the air. This powerful large-area anti-personnel shell did help relieve a lot of pressure on the fleet, but the swarm was endless, and it still kept pouring forward.

Before leaving the atmosphere, another battleship and a dozen destroyers were destroyed. Carrier-based aircraft were also damaged. But Parana knew that as long as he left the atmosphere, his side would have the advantage of speed, and it should not be difficult to escape 2,000 kilometers. Chrissles' air force uses wings to fly in the atmosphere, where one of their organs undergoes a chemical reaction to produce a gas for jet propulsion. If in the atmosphere, Chrissles' air force is a threat due to its small size and high speed, the way they accelerate in space is simply not worth it. Relying on this clumsy way of acceleration, by the time they reached a speed that could catch up with Paraná, his fleet would have disappeared without a trace. Having said that, the bugs continued to chase after him, constantly eating away at his royal fleet.

However, just as he was about to leave the atmosphere, Paraná noticed that almost all of the bugs had deviated from the pursuit route, staggering one by one, and even swooping towards the ground. Did they think there was something of value there? While he was puzzled, Paraná could faintly see through the porthole a giant spot on Io's surface that resembled the Great Red Spot of Jupiter.

"Let me see what is going on," ordered Paraná, "and assess the damage of our enemies again. ”

After a while, Slarda responded, "Report, it was a huge storm, about five hundred kilometers in diameter. It involves a large number of enemy troops. “

"According to the report, our side lost eight battleships, twenty-nine destroyers, one aircraft carrier, and seven hundred and sixty-three carrier-based aircraft. More than 30,000 soldiers were killed. Enemy losses are unknown, but more than a quarter are expected. Testin's response followed.

Parana listened to the report, and his heart was quite satisfied. Giving a quarter of the enemy fleet at the cost of more than half of the battleship loss does not seem to be a loss-making deal. After all, the enemy fleet dispatched half of the military forces of the entire planet. But this storm surprised him a little, he had never encountered such a violent storm in Io in more than half a year. If it weren't for this storm, maybe his losses would have been even greater. But why did the storm only affect the bugs? His fleet was not affected in the slightest, but simply broke away from the battle.

Paraná doesn't want to think about that for the time being. After all, they are not out of danger yet, and no one knows what awaits them in front of them.

Testin looked at the screen: "Your Excellency, there are still twenty minutes, and we will be able to reach a distance that can be broken." ”

At this time, Parana was a little nervous: "Who knows if those scientists' statements are accurate." Even if he is a world-renowned scientist, I still can't believe it. ”

"Sir, you just like to discriminate against scientists." Slarda joked.

Who knew that Barana replied with a serious face: "Hmph, fire prevention, anti-theft and anti-scientist, this is my consistent creed." As soon as the words fell, all three of them laughed softly.

For the rest of their lives, all three breathed a sigh of relief. The words were much more relaxed.

"Initiating the self-destruct procedure for Io Fortress." Paraná added, "Leave dinner for those bugs." ”

It was getting closer and closer to the hop position, and there was no fleet of Chrisselis ahead. "Commander, the Hopping Device is ready to use," Rito Rip suddenly appeared on the big screen. Parana nodded: "Very good, prepare for the turn, target, moon base." ”

Before taking the leap, Parana glanced back at Io one last time. This may be the last time he'll see Io, and he won't be coming back. Although Paraná was only a casual glimpse, he could clearly see that the great storm had swept half the planet.

In the next instant, the Third Fleet vanished out of thin air. Inside and outside Io's orbit, nothing but a sparse stray bug and a monstrous storm remained.