Chapter 23: My Fury Can Burn the Sky – Section 8

The warship was indeed empty.
No one doubted this. Not to mention anything else, even during the inspection, the overly cautious landing troops of the Fifth Fleet checked it no less than five times. Every corner of the warship was searched thoroughly, not even the energy core, often regarded as the ultimate forbidden zone, was spared.

Moreover, upon returning to Capital Star, Marquis Vincent arrived promptly. With him was a powerful research team of nearly a hundred members. These private R&D teams, originally supported by nobles, were now used as laborers by Marquis Vincent. They climbed aboard the dilapidated Salmoon-class warship and got to work with various instruments.

During this lull, Marquis Vincent smiled and patted Keba on the shoulder.
“Very good, Viscount Keba. You truly lived up to my expectations. Among all these search teams, only you brought me results. Tell me, how should I reward you? How about giving you fifty more Spearfire Ships? Or perhaps you’d like your own vacation planet?”

“I am humbled, Your Excellency Marquis Vincent. All my achievements stem from your guidance. In such a crisis, I desire no rewards. I am only willing to contribute my strength to you and to the entire Eighth Star Region. If possible, I hope you’ll grant me the authority to lead the first attack once these pirates are truly located,” said Viscount Keba, bowing respectfully with a serious expression.

He knew well that although Marquis Vincent was also a noble, he preferred subordinates with a militaristic demeanor. The tougher he appeared, the more he would be appreciated. Of course, if he could get the promise of leading the first attack against the pirates, his chances of gaining military honors would be even greater…

This was not the age of ancient cold weapons. Leading the first attack did not mean becoming cannon fodder. In fact, Keba understood that once Marquis Vincent agreed to his request, he would surely provide him with many more warships. After all, he himself didn’t want to hear news of defeat in the first battle.

In any case, this was a highly profitable deal. Keba had calculated everything carefully.

But Marquis Vincent wasn’t easy to fool either. After hearing Keba’s seemingly sincere words, he merely glanced at the viscount with a kind smile but said nothing in response.

While the two were busy calculating their own interests, the research team responsible for decrypting the information had already delivered the results. An old man with white hair but high energy rushed a few steps forward to Marquis Vincent and, without ceremony, handed him a folder.
“What’s this?” Marquis Vincent asked with a smile as he took it.
“It’s the information records of their warships, My Lord. Although they launched destructive attacks before abandoning the ship, it’s clear those attacks weren’t thorough enough. The information was only superficially deleted. After sorting through the fragments, we found this.”
“Oh?” The marquis became interested. “Is there anything worth celebrating?”
“Of course, My Lord. These records contain their next plans, as well as an estimate of their number of warships and their identification codes. With this, you should be able to easily track down those pests. Most importantly, part of the information refers to their headquarters. It’s in…” The old man hesitated for a moment but still spoke up.
“The 31st Star Region. They come from the Blood Wolf faction.”
As a researcher, the old man clearly didn’t know the marquis had already guessed the possible origin of these pirates. Yet even the stupidest person understood the severe consequences of one star region invading another at will. So he had been very careful in his wording.
Of course, such words only made Marquis Vincent smile bitterly.
In fact, he couldn’t understand why the Blood Wolf faction had gone to such extreme lengths this time. They entered openly, not with the aim of occupation, but merely to cause havoc. It was like digging at the roots of his power! His heart ached at the thought—each mine planet lost weakened his foundation. If these pirates continued unchecked, he would soon be penniless!
This hurt him even more than death itself. That’s why he also wanted to know the reason behind the Blood Wolf faction’s reckless destruction.
Unfortunately, all his attempts to contact the ruler of this star region up to now had been rejected. The reason was simple… the ruler was too busy with trivial matters.
Hei Fa was extremely busy. During this period, he had conquered two more mine planets. In the 8th Star Region, Marquis Vincent owned eighteen mine planets, but thanks to his efforts, only half remained. Meanwhile, Hei Fa’s own losses were minimal—aside from that abandoned Sockeye-class warship, he had suffered no losses from battles at all.

This is entirely thanks to the newly developed firepower system. Under the onslaught of “Hellfire,” there’s no enemy that can withstand even a single strike. On the contrary, because the Thunderbolt Warship possesses an exceptional energy defense system, it’s now very difficult for regular warships’ energy weapons to cause damage to the Black-Haired Fleet. During battles, the Thunderbolt Assault Ships are often used by the Black-Haired as shields, positioned at the front of the fleet. Though they are small warships, they are more dazzling than any large warship, forcing all those who try to resist to meet their end in despair.

“Boom!!”

A thunderous explosion was heard through the channel. As the last enemy frigate turned into a ball of light under the artillery fire, the Black-Haired stared expressionlessly at his adjutant beside him. The adjutant seemed accustomed to such behavior from the Black-Haired and didn’t wait for him to speak, immediately giving orders.

“Adjust the fleet’s course. Supply coordinates: 25481, 14785, 1485, 1547. Supply time: thirty minutes. Head to the next mining planet right after that!”

Hearing the order to head to the mining planet, Blood-Eyed raised his eyebrows but remained silent.

To be honest, the Black-Haired’s departure this time was rather hasty; they weren’t prepared for a long-term battle. Moreover, the Eighth Star Region couldn’t provide supplies to the enemy. So, over the past two days, they had been struggling to find supplies. But the Pirate Alliance solved this problem for them.

It’s unclear where they got the information that the Black-Haired intended to strike the Eighth Star Region. Brutus, the president of the Pirate Alliance who hadn’t been in touch with the Black-Haired for a long time, suddenly approached him without any pleasantries, handing over a star map right away.

“These are the Pirate Alliance’s secret supply points in the Eighth Star Region. There are only three. They’ll be destroyed after use. I hope you’ll take them seriously. As payment for this help, I want three mining planets.”

“No problem. Send your own fleet to get them,” the Black-Haired replied readily.

In this way, the Black-Haired easily obtained what he wanted and also owed a favor to President Brutus. Of course, this was a win-win situation for both sides. The Pirate Alliance took advantage of the Black-Haired’s actions to profit, while the Black-Haired got the supplies he urgently needed.

This was also the truth behind the unusual loss report received by Marquis Vincent.

“Boss, are you sure thatNeedlefish-class ship will serve the purpose you want?” Blood-Eyed suddenly asked in the quiet cabin, looking up at the Black-Haired. His eyes were clearly blood-red.

The retaliation has been going on for five days, yet aside from continuously destroying the mining planets, they still haven’t engaged in actual combat with Marquis Vincent’s fleet. The impatient Blood-Pupil could hardly hold back any longer. Although destroying mining planets was also a cruel form of retaliation, in his heart, killing his enemies with his own hands remained the most satisfying option.

Though he understood Blood-Pupil’s thoughts well, Black-Hair still adhered to his own plan. He glanced at Blood-Pupil, whose eyes were bloodshot, and nodded.

“The undead race loves such tricks—let them go to town. Our pain must be experienced a hundred times over by that damned marquis. I really want to see his expression when he witnesses hell. Also, are the Bark Bugs ready?”

“They’re already lurking around the capital planet of the Eighth Star Region, Captain. Their leader asks me to tell you that they swear not to let any creature escape as long as it passes through the anti-space realm,” Baroka replied quickly.

“Good. That’s enough. By blocking anti-space, the capital planet becomes a prison. I can’t wait.” Black-Hair’s body trembled slightly, and the armrest of his chair emitted a clear creaking sound.

“I really want to see a planetary fireworks display…”

Silence fell over the cabin as everyone involuntarily shuddered, their eyes filled with horror.

Meanwhile, at the site where the Sausage Warship in the Eighth Star Region’s capital planet was being dismantled, a shrill scream suddenly pierced the sky.

At that moment, Marquis Vincent was carefully reviewing the decryption report he had just received. The scream startled him greatly.

“Damn it!! Who’s screaming here!! Don’t they know decryption work requires silence?! Guards, bring that guy here right now!! Teach that bastard some discipline…”

Furious, the marquis waved his arms wildly, shouting at the guards around him. But before he could finish speaking, he suddenly noticed a group of people running out of the dismantled Sausage Warship. Everyone was in a state of panic, their faces twisted with extreme fear. A few even stumbled and fell to the ground.

“Marquis… My lord… It’s bad… It’s really bad…”

“It’s bad for you!! Explain clearly what’s going on! How did you all get out?!?” Marquis Vincent stopped the guards from intervening and yelled at those figures.

But soon after, his face turned deathly pale!

Because he suddenly realized that at the very back of those figures… were three grotesque corpses covered in blood, with their bones protruding from their bodies!!!!