Chapter Twelve: The Thirty-First Pirate Gang, Section 9

As the Speaker said, the Thirty-First Star Region was indeed an untouched virgin land—its vastness and depth far exceeding those of any known star region. Yet precisely because of this, the level of danger within it far surpassed human imagination.
Not to mention anything else, even the Blaze Pirates, who brought back this news, were still in a frantic state of flight. The rescue team sent by the Speaker had already sent word, describing the enemy’s situation. That mysterious warship, which had never appeared before any faction, had been pursuing them all the way from the Thirty-First Star Region.
In fact, up to now, the Pirate Alliance’s council had still not reached a conclusion regarding the Thirty-First Star Region. The only thing known was that it contained countless minerals, in such abundant quantities that no known star region could compare.
A star region so rich in minerals, once developed by interstellar fleets, would surely become a new focal point in the universe, with numerous transport fleets and factions shuttling through it. To the pirates, these ships carrying high-tech equipment and large amounts of minerals were the epitome of easy prey—offering unparalleled temptation.
Handing such a lucrative star region over to Blackhair was beyond the comprehension of not only the leader of the Vice Speaker’s faction but also the Speaker’s closest confidants. Instantly, all eyes turned toward the Alliance Speaker.
“What? Is there something wrong with my proposal?” The Speaker, seemingly unaware that he was now the center of everyone’s attention, asked gently, still wearing his composed smile.
Across from him, the obese Vice Speaker was clearly still in shock, unable to process what had happened for a long time. It wasn’t until someone nudged him that he suddenly exclaimed, “Speaker, is this true? Are you really planning to give this region to that kid?” Perhaps due to the sheer surprise, the Vice Speaker was visibly anxious, even omitting the title when referring to Blackhair, his tone extremely rude. This immediately made all the pirates present frown.
After all, their conversation was currently open to everyone. To speak rudely to the winner of a death duel like this was probably the first time in the history of the Pirate Alliance. No matter how much support the Vice Speaker had among his leaders, this act alone made him lose respect in the eyes of all pirates.

“That’s correct, that’s what I said.” The Speaker nodded affirmatively. Then he turned to face the man with black hair in the crowd. “Mr. Black Hair, would you be willing to take on the role of representative for this region?” “Your will is my command, Your Excellency the Speaker.” Black Hair smiled and bowed, showing respect to the Speaker in front of all the pirates. But this made it clear to everyone which side Black Hair was on. The leaders around the Speaker immediately showed signs of satisfaction, while those around the Vice Speaker turned their hostile gazes toward the man in the crowd. Unfortunately, in such a public setting, they had no way to deal with Black Hair—unless their eyes could kill. Satisfied with Black Hair’s response, the Speaker’s expression improved greatly. He had always wanted to make Black Hair his subordinate, but he hadn’t succeeded due to his inability to gauge Black Hair’s true intentions and his deep reservations about his character. Now that Black Hair had spoken up in front of all the audience in the arena, although it didn’t mean he would join them, it was enough to fill the Speaker with joy. At least in the upcoming power struggle with the Vice Speaker, Black Hair was on his side. With that thought, the Speaker decided not to delay any longer and immediately exercised his authority. “Your Excellency the Vice Speaker, I have already provided the council with sufficient information and proposals regarding Mr. Black Hair’s request, and they have been approved. I really don’t understand why you suddenly refuse to carry out this decision. But I don’t want to hear your explanation now.” The Speaker’s tone grew sharper, becoming quite rude. “As the Speaker of the Alliance, I demand that you immediately approve Mr. Black Hair’s request. Otherwise, I will accuse you of dereliction of duty in the council!” “This… this…” Suddenly confronted by the Speaker’s harsh tone, even the usually unflappable Vice Speaker was shaken. His face turned pale and then red, and his body began to tremble. It was obvious to anyone that he was struggling hard to control his anger. Indeed, no matter how many supporters he had, as long as the Speaker remained in power, he could only serve as a figurehead in such a public setting. Seeing his expression, the Speaker was extremely satisfied. When he spoke again, his tone carried an hint of mockery. “What, my dear Vice Speaker? Do you even refuse to carry out decisions approved by the council?”

By this point, the Speaker’s voice had become extremely sinister. According to the laws of the Pirate Alliance, if anyone refused to carry out a resolution passed by the council, they would be considered to have automatically left the alliance and would no longer be protected by its rules. However, the Vice Speaker was by no means a fool—he wouldn’t fall for such a rhetorical trap. Upon hearing the Speaker’s repeated question, he hesitated not for a moment before responding directly. “No, of course not, Honorable Speaker. I support Mr. Blackhair’s request. But there seems to be a small problem now—seems he doesn’t have any warships… If he doesn’t even have a single warship, how can he form a team?” “Well…” The Speaker was momentarily speechless. The Vice Speaker was right. Even if they agreed to Blackhair’s request, it would still be impossible for him to form a team at this point. Without warships, he couldn’t even set sail, let alone venture into the vast universe to hunt. After all, warships were no ordinary equipment; not even those in the Pirate Alliance could just hand them out freely. For pirates without industrial support, warships were like their homes—something beyond the reach of money. The conversation between the two was heard by every audience member through the speakers. Immediately, a noisy flurry of discussion arose, as all the pirates wanted to see how the alliance council would resolve this issue. At that moment, no one noticed that Blackhair’s expression suddenly changed—he frowned deeply. Ignoring the gazes of the audience, he turned around and returned to the cockpit of Nightmare. Then, the cockpit door closed silently. At the same time, a figure dressed as a servant rushed onto the podium, went to the Speaker’s side, and whispered something in his ear. Hearing his report, the Speaker seemed shocked, his eyes widening dramatically. After a long while, he waved his hand to send the servant away. Then he turned around, facing all the pirate audience members with a very serious expression. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t give you a satisfactory answer today. We just received news—that our Blaze Team is approaching Hell Star. They’ve returned home. But of the ten warships I sent as rescuers, only three remain. And worse still, even with those, they failed to escape the pursuit of that mysterious warship. According to intelligence, that warship is now closely following the Blaze Team and has also entered the Alibaba Star Cluster.”

It really caused a huge stir. As soon as the Speaker finished speaking, the entire arena erupted into chaos. All the pirates stood up, their faces turning pale. Being attacked right at their doorstep? Such a situation had never happened even during the past attacks by the Interstellar Fleet… Why was that mysterious warship so arrogant?

Seeing the unstable situation in the arena, the Speaker didn’t offer further explanations. He simply ordered the staff around to evacuate the spectators and quickly left the arena with all the leaders. The vice-Speaker, who had been somewhat dissatisfied, also seemed to abandon all his objections instantly and rushed after him.

Chaos reigned in the arena, while the black-haired Nightmare Mech stood alone in the middle, motionless, as if forgotten by everyone.

“Leader…” Bloodpupil pushed through the crowd and finally reached the feet of the Nightmare Mech. Ignoring the chaotic arena around him, he focused entirely on the hatch on the mech’s abdomen.

Unlike others, at this moment, he wasn’t concerned about the mysterious warship rapidly approaching Hell Planet. He only wanted to know what the black-haired man was thinking. For some reason, he had a strange feeling that everything had already been predetermined and was just unfolding according to a script.

“Click.” As if in response to his call, the hatch of the Nightmare Mech opened, and the black-haired man quickly jumped down. Without saying a word, he grabbed Bloodpupil and rushed outside the arena.

“Leader, what’s going on?” Bloodpupil asked anxiously as they ran.

By now, many warships could be seen in the sky above Hell Planet—prepared by the pirates who had taken action first. The pike-shaped warships appeared enormous, covering the sky like a sea of ships. It looked as if war was about to break out, with people running everywhere.

“It’s Li Feng!” The black-haired man’s voice was short and urgent.

“I’ve received a signal. That mysterious warship is Li Feng!! We must stop the Alliance Council from engaging in battle immediately.”

What!!!?

Bloodpupil was stunned.