Chapter 24: The Howl of the Blood Wolf, Section 4

Marquis Vincent, the mastermind behind all these events, the culprit who killed Lily.
With his dark hair and personality, such a man deserved death countless times over just to quench the fury in his heart. Yet, for some reason, seeing him now made Dark Hair’s heart much calmer.
His hair was pale, with gray at the roots, covered in green mucus and dried blood scabs. Standing alone in the courtyard, this once powerful marquis was still trembling slightly. With Dark Hair’s keen eyes, he could even see his pores contracting from fear. His expression was stiff, like that of a clay statue. If one hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, who would believe that this old man was the once mighty Marquis Vincent?
Who would believe he was a high-ranking noble who could decide others’ lives and deaths with just a word?
In front of the mighty Killing Emperor, this aged marquis was as insignificant as an ant. He stood there quietly, occasionally trembling slightly—something that would go unnoticed unless observed closely.
Hmph. Dark Hair sneered.
Sure enough, this guy was pretending to be stupid. But fear deep in his heart couldn’t be concealed. The slight tremor in his knees revealed his true state of mind.
Thinking this would get him spared? This marquis was far too naive.
“Blood Eye, as agreed, I can hand him over to you. But if you let him die within three days, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” His gaze turned icy, his words as cold as frost. Through the public channel, every pirate who heard them shuddered.
Blood Eye didn’t say much, only giving a cold snort before walking over. His massive mech grabbed Marquis Vincent like a chick.
“Don’t worry, I’ll ensure he spends the rest of his life in agony,” Blood Eye said slowly, emphasizing the word “agony” heavily.
“Good.” Dark Hair gently touched his chest with his left hand, feeling the faintly pulsing crystal. A bitter smile appeared on his face.
“Burn it all down…”
A huge fire broke out, and the news of the fall of the capital planet in the Eighth Star Region spread rapidly throughout the universe. As before, the Blood Wolf forces of the Thirty-First Star Region once again became the focus of everyone’s attention.
It was terrifying. It was brutal.

They actually invaded the enemy’s territory just because of a failed assault. They destroyed most of the mining planets and killed a noble marquis. Not only that, but they also ruined the entire capital planet. The economy of the Eighth Star Region regressed by thirty years in an instant. What’s more chilling is that this legendary Blood Wolf faction achieved all this with just seventy warships, while the nearly thousand warships of the Eighth Star Region were completely at their mercy!! A ratio of one to ten once again proved the strength of the Blood Wolf faction to all races in the universe, drawing everyone’s attention to this newly emerging force. Although no one knew the true reason behind Black Hair’s massive retaliation this time, it didn’t stop rumors about the Blood Wolf faction from spreading. Even more unexpectedly for Black Hair, the consequences of this retaliation were far more than just a minor disturbance. The downfall of Marquis Vincent triggered a major upheaval in the noble circles. As many as twenty high-ranking nobles expressed strong hostility toward Black Hair’s Thirty-First Star Region! Other non-noble forces also began to mass their troops and communicate closely, clearly planning to take action as well. But these weren’t the most important things. The most crucial point was that Admiral Wick of the Interstellar Fleet finally received the long-awaited large-scale supplies and an order to attack the Thirty-First Star Region. No one knew how happy Admiral Wick was when he saw this order. Nor did anyone know that just three minutes after receiving it, Admiral Wick had already made contact with Black Hair. The two communicated for a long time on a highly secure channel, though the content of their conversation remained unknown. However, it wasn’t long before Admiral Wick took action. The Interstellar Fleet launched the largest mobilization in its history. All deployed fleets received orders to return immediately. Once they returned to headquarters, they were placed under house arrest. Admiral Wick had finally started to act. A purge. To firmly control the Interstellar Fleet, even a veteran like Admiral Wick, with his high reputation, had to shed blood. After all, for a long time, the noble class had infiltrated the fleet too deeply. Although Admiral Wick was the leader of the entire fleet, he actually only held control over one-third of its power. To fulfill his agreement with Black Hair, he had to do this.

Imprisonment for imprisonment, execution for execution. In less than a week, Marshal Wick almost completely reorganized the entire Interstellar Fleet. The intelligence he had accumulated over time proved useful. All fleet commanders who had close ties to the noble class were removed by him, and their positions were filled by Marshal Wick’s allies. His actions were so swift that by the time the noble class learned of it, Marshal Wick had already completed most of his work. What remained were just a few small, scattered fleets.

Clearly, the noble circles were not easy to provoke. Upon learning the news, the entire parliament immediately held a meeting to condemn Marshal Wick. A warrant was then issued, describing him as an extremely evil thug who used his power to seek personal gain at the expense of humanity’s interests. He was labeled the biggest cancer lurking within the Interstellar Fleet, and all captains with a sense of justice were called upon to oppose this thug and firmly return to the embrace of the noble parliament. The warrant also offered an astonishing bounty—whomever could deliver Marshal Wick’s head would receive an entire star domain as reward.

It was an earthquake, an absolute earthquake! Such a large bounty had never been seen in human history. Unfortunately, its effectiveness was also unprecedentedly useless.

Not to mention, with Marshal Wick now fully in control of the Interstellar Fleet, trying to issue a warrant for someone like him was nothing short of madness. Moreover, at the same time the warrant was released, the 31st Star Domain, which had just committed a shocking act, issued an official statement acknowledging Marshal Wick’s status as leader of the Interstellar Fleet. It also issued severe protests and condemnations against all nobles involved, emphasizing that if necessary, the Blood Wolf forces would become allies of the Interstellar Fleet and use force to defend their allies’ dignity.

If Marshal Wick’s actions were an earthquake, then the Black Hair faction’s statement was like a revolution. Once the news spread, the entire universe was in uproar. After all, the Blood Wolf forces of the 31st Star Domain had just destroyed an entire star domain—their brutality was well-known. While such threats from other factions might be dismissed, those from the Blood Wolf forces required serious consideration. After all, this newly risen force was known for its warlike nature, completely different from ordinary star domains that pursued peaceful development.

Of course, Black Hair’s gestures of goodwill were also part of Marshal Wick’s private talks with him. So, while the 31st Star Region issued its announcement, Marshal Wick also released a proclamation in the name of the Interstellar Fleet. The proclamation detailed the long-standing crimes of the noble classes and stated that the Interstellar Fleet would go completely independent of noble control, becoming a separate force that would work together with Black Hair’s 31st Star Region to contribute to the development of the universe. Meanwhile, due to a lack of supply sources, Marshal Wick announced that the Interstellar Fleet would take charge of rebuilding the 8th Star Region. Once rebuilt, the 8th Star Region would abandon its previous status as a comprehensive star region and become a supply region for the Interstellar Fleet, placed under military administration.

Three announcements, three different contents—but all centered on the same goal. Taking advantage of Black Hair’s recent conquest of the 8th Star Region, Marshal Wick acted swiftly, completing his plans at lightning speed and firmly bringing the Interstellar Fleet under his control. He became the biggest winner from this upheaval, while the authority of the noble class faced unprecedented challenges. The entire universe was in turmoil, on the brink of chaos. Not only were various forces frequently shifting their military strategies, but even commerce among the twin systems was affected, with transaction volumes dropping by two percent.

But all of this was necessary, as both Black Hair and Marshal Wick were well aware. Soon, they would face their greatest enemy. If they couldn’t consolidate their power before then, when the time came, it wouldn’t just be a matter of them two anymore—entire human society would be at risk of destruction! In comparison, what were those parasitic noble classes anyway?

After two encounters with the Moor race, Marshal Wick firmly believed in the descriptions of Black Hair. It was this powerful and terrifying race that ignited the ambition of the man in his sixties. Having spent his life serving the nobles, today he was finally going to do something meaningful for humanity!

The impact of the three announcements was enormous. Soon, subtle changes occurred among all forces. Any organization with sufficient strength understood that it was time to choose a side. If they didn’t make the right choice now, they might be the first to be targeted in the future. Trade under various pretexts flourished, while smaller forces without proper connections were in dire straits.

Here, the old forces such as the Five Great Families and the Warrior Guilds, which had long been connected to Black Hair, became highly sought after. Many small organizations hoping to establish ties with the Blood Wolf faction were forced to rely on them due to being unable to find the right path, which enabled these organizations to grow rapidly, advancing by several stages at once. Their influence expanded dramatically, and within a month, they directly or indirectly controlled five star systems, becoming unrivaled in prominence. Meanwhile, Black Hair went directly to the Wanderers’ gathering place beneath the Death Star and isolated himself completely. No one knew what he was planning…