Chapter 17: White Terror, Section 6

The white light flickered very slowly, almost as slowly as a turtle. Yet, correspondingly, its power was astonishingly great.
Each flicker was merely a brief burst of brilliance. But once the light faded, a mech would inevitably explode into fragments in midair. Their armor defense systems couldn’t even withstand it for a moment, let alone defend against it.
Cries of pain, screams, and the deafening booms of mech explosions rang out continuously. All the pirates were shaken to their core, sweat streaming down their cheeks and dripping onto the control panels. Yet none of them retreated. With bursts of fire exploding in the starry sky, they fought like demons from hell, charging at their enemies without fear of death.
Such were the pirates. Lacking equipment and proper training, when it came to battle, their only reliance was this fearless spirit. Even if their comrades fell before them, it couldn’t stop them for a moment. They would keep fighting until death. This was why the world feared them. When faced with over 300 pirate mechs charging at them, even the regular planetary guard would be terrified.
Under normal circumstances, Hei Fa would never allow them to do this, as the cost would be too high. But now…
Hei Fa himself couldn’t care less.
He had to board those two Droplet ships!!
No matter the cost!!
Explosions, roars, and brilliant bursts of fire turned the quiet starry sky into a sea of chaos. The pirates’ charge was still effective. At least so far, the remaining warships and Hei Fa’s group hadn’t suffered any direct attacks. Compared to them, the dense swarm of mech fighters seemed more aggressive. The opposing Droplet ships seemed to realize that once trapped by these ferocious foes, their only fate was destruction. So almost all of their firepower was directed at the mech fighters, giving Hei Fa a great opportunity.
“Baroka, stay here and keep organizing the charge—don’t stop. Blood Eyes, come with me.” A cold glint flashed in his eyes as Hei Fa issued his first order upon entering the battlefield. At his command, the two blood-red mechs behind him separated immediately—one rushing toward the nearby mech fighter swarm, the other quickly approaching him.

Amidst the raging battles, the starry sky seemed to ignite in an instant. Countless ballistic trajectories from artillery fire crisscrossed through it, making the entire world appear unreal. The pirates howled loudly, swarming at the two Droplet warships from all directions like ants, but under the flickering white light, they paid a heavy price. Every cry of pain made Black Hair’s heart ache, yet he could only bite his lip tightly.

In such chaos, he and Blood Pupil moved with great ease. Two blood-red mechs silently circled around the edge of the battlefield before hiding behind a slowly drifting meteorite, shutting down all engine power. They remained quiet and motionless, moving along with the meteorite.

Infiltrating did not mean facing direct enemy fire—that would be foolish. With Black Hair and Blood Pupil’s tactics, they would surely make use of their surroundings. And this drifting meteorite was one of the best assets available.

In fact, Black Hair had long noticed this meteorite. Though it was small and didn’t drift very fast, its path happened to be right along the route taken by the Droplet warships. If they could get behind it, they would gain the perfect opportunity… an opportunity to strike at the enemy’s underbelly.

As is well known, warships are heavy combat vessels with exceptionally thick armor. In combat, they are theoretically completely sealed, leaving no possibility of intrusion. Yet nature is fair—just as even the strongest creatures have weaknesses, warships too have their vulnerabilities. That is their underbellies, where complex auxiliary engines and systems for surviving in outer space are installed, making the armor there the thinnest. While it can withstand ordinary planetary defense fire, it cannot resist the power of a strong fleet’s firepower. This is why, in warfare, both sides always strive to seize positions beneath the enemy’s underbellies.

But even though the underbelly is a weakness, it’s not something a single mech can simply enter or exit. Black Hair’s goal was to set up an escape hatch there. Once he could lift the armor plate covering the hatch, he would have completed the first step of his infiltration.

The distance grew closer. As the meteor kept drifting, the shadows of those two Droplet Warships grew larger in front of the black-haired man. Soon, they silently moved to below one of the Droplet Warships. On the screen in front of him, he could even see the huge engine nozzles on the lower part of the warship! There were also those oddly shaped, rotating turrets.

Wait… turrets!?

The black-haired man’s pupils constricted sharply, his heart tightening. In a normal warship layout, shouldn’t the turrets be on top? How could turrets be here? This didn’t make sense according to standard warship configurations!! A badpremonition suddenly arose in his mind, and his face turned ashen.

“Boss, what kind of warship is this? Why are the turrets placed on the belly? It’s so strange.” Just then, Blood Eye’s voice came through the channel, tinged with concern.

“…” The black-haired man didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he tapped something, quickly enlarging the image on the screen. Soon, the details of those turrets appeared before him.

“Damn it! Those are Pulse Rapid Cannons!! Blood Eye, get away from the meteor!!!” The moment he saw the details of the turrets, the black-haired man’s face turned pale with fear. He abruptly pulled the control lever with his right hand and stepped on the energy valve beneath his feet. The engine nozzles on the back of his Blood Red Mecha ignited simultaneously, spewing dazzling exhaust plumes. His entire body rolled as he shot out of the meteor. Behind him, Blood Eye, being an experienced veteran, reacted immediately—performing a graceful roll to get away from the back of the meteor almost as soon as the black-haired man screamed.

They were fast enough. Almost at the same time they got out of the meteor’s range, the turrets on the belly of the Droplet Warship suddenly turned their barrels in unison, firing countless purplish-red beams.

“Boom!!”

Without any delay, the meteor was engulfed by those purplish-red beams. Countless surging streams of energy erupted instantly, like violent tornadoes, sucking in the black-haired man and Blood Eye who were right nearby. Alarms blared inside the mecha, and the indicator bar showing the degree of damage turned completely red in an instant!

What an amazing close-range defense system!!

The black-haired man’s face remained pale, but he didn’t even glance at the indicator bar on the screen. With swift movements of his fingers, his Blood Red Mecha grabbed Blood Eye and shot upward.

He knew it was no time to assess his own losses. The cooling time for the pulse rapid cannons was only five seconds, and the energy turbulence provided no protection longer than that. If they couldn’t get inside the cannon array within five seconds, he and Bloodpupil would be as visible as lice on a bald head. The consequences of being discovered by over thirty such rapid cannons were obvious even without thinking. At this thought, a cold glint flashed in Blackhair’s eyes. With a bang, his left hand shattered into countless thin strands of black thread, which immediately pierced into the control panel ahead. At the same time, the red mech’s movements became twice as agile; its massive right hand swung and threw Bloodpupil upward. “Thanks, Boss!” Bloodpupil laughed heartily, using the momentum from Blackhair’s throw to gain more speed, sticking close to the warship’s belly before throwing a steel cable for Blackhair to grab. Their seamless coordination allowed them to reach the blind spot of the cannon array in less than three seconds. Just as they finished their maneuver, those terrifying cannons began rotating again in a rhythmic pattern, their dark muzzles emitting a chilling glow. “Huh… huh… How are you, Bloodpupil?” Blackhair panted heavily, checking his own condition. That brief moment felt like a cycle of life and death, leaving him somewhat terrified. “Heh… heh… I’m fine…” Bloodpupil was the same. If anyone were in his cockpit now, they would see that the assassin’s face had turned deathly pale. It could be said that their actions just now were nothing short of reckless. If not for Blackhair’s quick reflexes and Bloodpupil’s flawless coordination, they would likely have turned into space debris by now. But on the other hand, great danger always brings great rewards. After paying a heavy price, they finally managed to infiltrate the warship’s belly, and the rest of the invasion was merely a matter of time. Indeed, with Blackhair’s black threads, opening an escape route was a simple task. Soon, a panel of armor on the warship’s belly automatically flipped open in front of Bloodpupil, revealing a dark opening inside. “Hey, Boss, I have to say—you’re truly an excellent thief,” Bloodpupil exclaimed in admiration as Blackhair’s black threads worked once again. “Thanks for the compliment,” Blackhair replied without hesitation, stepping into the escape shaft first.

One doesn’t realize until they enter. It was only when Black Hair came inside this warship that he realized its technology far exceeded their imagination. There were no complex mechanical components, nor any old, oil-stained pipelines. When they looked through the other end of the escape hatch, what appeared before them was a spacious and grand room. The walls seemed to be made of some unknown material—resembling crystal—with not a single seam in sight. A gentle light emanated from these walls, illuminating every inch of the space. “Oh, God! Is this a ship from heaven!?” Blood-Pupils was stunned by the sight and could barely speak, trembling. In front of him, Black Hair was also extremely surprised. This scene reminded him of somewhere he had seen before… “Hm? Star Wars!?”