Chapter 17: White Terror, Section 3

Kurokami began to regret his decision.
It was the day after Suri and the others left. A large group of armed men had already arrived at the outskirts of Silver Star. They were provided by the Beth and Richard families—two clans clearly allied with him—and they had invested heavily. This time, their efforts were truly substantial.
But it was only when Kurokami saw their numbers and weapons in person that he realized he might have made a grave mistake.
For they were utterly distinctive.
The Beth family consisted entirely of beautiful, adorable little girls, all appearing to be around twelve or thirteen years old. Five thousand of them standing together would form an army of lolitas, as if from legends. What was even more terrifying was that these cute-looking girls were fully armed! Their exquisite servant uniforms, paired with crystal spears that gleamed with a metallic sheen and large weapons resembling rocket launchers, would surely shock anyone who saw them.
Their mechs also had a distinctly cartoonish style—colorful, oversized dolls neatly arranged in the compartments of the floating ships. At first glance, it seemed like stepping into a toy store from Earth’s era.
“No way…” Kurokami pressed his head against the wall, too exhausted even to groan.
He couldn’t believe there existed such “cute” clans in this universe, and yet they were among the most powerful forces. Looking at these doll-like girls, he doubted they could actually fight.
With the Beth family as an example, he wasn’t as excited when he saw the Richard family. To be honest, compared to the Beths, the Richards weren’t much better.
Their troops were also all teenage boys, around fourteen or fifteen years old, with delicate and attractive appearances. Their fair faces, combined with the spears in their hands, gave Kurokami the impression of boy scouts. The only thing that relieved him was that the Richard family’s mechs had a more normal design, without those oversized, doll-like shapes.
“Oh, heavens… What I need are warriors, not a battlefield… not a kindergarten…”
“Head… I’ve stationed them around Silver Star’s outskirts,” Blood-eyed said softly from behind Kurokami. At that moment, this experienced assassin also looked displeased. After all, the shock value of those armed lolitas was unmatched, though no one knew if they could truly fight in battle.

So now, both Black Hair and Blood Pup felt as though they had fallen into a trap.
“I get it…” Black Hair waved his hand weakly and led the way to his room; he no longer had the interest to inspect those armed forces. “I hope those kids behave themselves these days and nothing goes wrong. I don’t want to act as a nanny.”
“Let’s hope so…” Blood Pup also gazed at the starry sky where the fleets were stationed, clearly lacking confidence.
Waiting was undoubtedly boring. Although the Beth and Richard families quickly fulfilled their promise by sending their armed forces, those from other factions still required patience. Black Hair still couldn’t leave Silver Star.
As various factions withdrew, the market on Silver Star gradually stabilized. The Creek Merchant Guild once again demonstrated their keen insight, taking advantage of the brief market gap after the withdrawal to launch a massive takeover campaign. Even without Coco present, they still achieved significant success, becoming the largest local merchant guild on Silver Star, with an astonishing 53% market share!
On the other hand, since Black Hair had destroyed the assassin guild, the local armed forces on Silver Star also changed their allegiance. Now, they almost unanimously turned to the security companies under the Creek Merchant Guild. Without exaggeration, if Coco were here, his word would carry more weight than even the highest official on Silver Star.
A precursor to planetary privatization? Black Hair sensed this issue acutely.
Different from the national models of Earth’s past era, in this age of interstellar expansion, the operational models of large merchant guilds had far surpassed those of ordinary nations. The privatized guild model completely eliminated the corruption and mediocrity inherent in nations, prioritizing efficiency above all. In such an environment, a single guild could own dozens of planets as its bases—their power was astonishing. Nations could no longer restrict their development.
Take a guild like Creek, for example—just the planets under its control that Black Hair knew of numbered in the dozens. On Earth in the past, this would have been unimaginable.
Back in his room, Blood Pup threw himself onto the sofa first, then activated a vision crystal. Immediately, a cacophony of shouts filled the room, as if they had suddenly found themselves in a bustling marketplace.

“Hey, Head! The concert on Rainbow Star is really lively. Are all channels broadcasting it now?” Seeing the scene on the vision crystal, Blood Pupil’s gloom vanished instantly, replaced by excitement.

Like Koko, Blood Pupil was also a fanatical idol worshipper. But his admiration wasn’t focused on just one person—it was for all beautiful women. Not being able to go to Rainbow Star was already a great regret for him, but now he could watch the live broadcast as some consolation.

“Oh?” Hearing Blood Pupil’s excited voice, Black Hair was somewhat unconvinced but still didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm. He sat aside and picked up an exquisite glass.

From his perspective, the spectacle on the vision crystal was truly unprecedented. It was a giant platform floating in the air, hundreds of kilometers wide, illuminated by countless neon lights. People in gorgeous outfits were dancing joyfully. Around them, tens of thousands of fans were shouting wildly. It was no different from concerts on Earth in the past.

Sure enough, it was still a world of songs and dances… If humans knew that in the near future they would face a terrifying race they had never imagined, would they still have such leisure?

Boredly watching the scene on the vision crystal, Black Hair suddenly thought maliciously.

The cheerful singing continued. Suddenly, a red light shot up from the platform and spread rapidly. All the dancers quickly split to the sides, forming two rows in front of everyone. In the middle of them, a wide passage appeared. The ground of the passage gradually rose, soon reaching above everyone’s heads.

“Haha… We’re watching at just the right time, Head! Look, it’s the princess of the Elf race!!!” Blood Pupil’s voice soared, filled with extreme excitement.

No wonder he was excited. Although the Elf race was now in decline, their princess was a top-star in the universe. At just 130 years old, she remained chaste, always presenting herself as a pure and innocent maiden. There had never been any rumors about her having romantic affairs. She led a simple life and was renowned as a symbol of purity. In this materialistic society, she was one of the few dream girls in every man’s heart.

Almost every man had such a dream: to be on a picturesque planet, by a mirror-like lake, holding such a beautiful girl under a big tree, listening to her sing and whispering to her.

Even Blood Pupil was no exception.

“Ha, it’s really her. All these years, her appearance hasn’t changed at all. My princess… Princess Veil.” Bloodshot eyes were overly excited; he even rushed toward the vision crystal. If not for her black hair, one would never have guessed his true nature—it was hard to reconcile his current pig-like appearance with the image of the calm killer he used to be.
Could an idol truly be so mesmerizing? Blackhair stroked his chin, yet his gaze held no trace of obsession. The beautiful figure on the vision crystal had, unbeknownst to him, become equivalent to a heavy weight in his heart.
Perhaps he could “invite” her to Death Star—then maybe Death Star would become a place all men longed for, greatly strengthening his power.
Of course, it might also attract the attention of countless potential enemies.
But no matter what he thought, on Rainbow Star, the other side of the vision crystal, it had already turned into a sea of cheers. The appearance of the elven princess brought the concert to a climax. Though they knew the concert might last several more days, the elven princess was no ordinary singer—every chance to see her was precious. Especially since she was so beautiful…
No, “beautiful” wasn’t enough to describe her. Anyone who saw her for the first time would only feel one thing: wonder.
Indeed, she was like a girl wrapped in a mist of beauty. She had a delicate appearance and a slender figure, draped casually in a well-fitted white gown that made her look like a princess from a fairy tale. Her long eyelashes and star-like bright eyes captivated everyone who saw her. But those weren’t the most important things—what truly touched hearts was her aura.
It was a strange sensation as if she didn’t belong to this world. It was as if, even though you could see her standing there, you could never reach her. The extreme distortion of time and space made her shine like an angel. The moment she appeared, she caused a sensation among everyone in the audience!!
“Princess Veil!! We love you!!” the crowd cheered.
“Princess Veil!! You belong to us!!!” Even louder voices followed. For a moment, it seemed the entire planet was shouting.
Hearing such enthusiastic cheers, the beautiful girl on the stage finally showed a faint, subtle smile. She parted her red lips, about to say something, when suddenly she froze.

High above her head, somewhere far away, a tiny speck of light was expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just an instant, it covered an area of hundreds of thousands of kilometers. The blinding white light shocked everyone. They thought it was a special lighting effect arranged for the Rainbow Star Concert.
Only Hei Fa, who was on Silver Star, suddenly stood up, dropping his glass, which shattered on the ground.
“That’s… the Energy Condensation Death Ray!!!”