Chapter 23: My Fury Can Burn the Sky – Section 5

Planet Taraton, Interstellar Fleet Headquarters.
Marshal Wick’s room was filled with smoke. He hadn’t left it in a whole day. And ever since the last orderly who tried to bring him water was scolded out, no one else dared enter the room.
There was a reason for this—Marshal Wick was now at one of the most critical moments in his life.
He had faced such moments at least three times before. Each time, it brought about earth-shaking changes.
The first time, he rose from being a down-and-out orderly to becoming a noble and then the captain of a warship. The second time, he used his warship to help that noble eliminate his rivals; after narrowly escaping death, he was promoted again to become the commander of a fleet. The third time, he single-handedly supported that noble’s plan to expand territory, helping to build a vast domain for him, and thus became the most powerful figure in the Interstellar Fleet.
But this time…
Thinking of the tone in Blackhair’s messages and those veiled suggestions, Marshal Wick fell silent.
His keen sense told him this was an opportunity—a once-in-a-lifetime chance to achieve great things.
In fact, Marshal Wick was a contradictory person. Though he appeared calm on the surface, his heart was filled with a desire for power. This could be seen from the path he took to rise to power. To gain power, he was willing to stay in the shadow of nobles, acting as their tool. But once he truly held power, his desires grew even larger.
He longed for freedom.
Commander of the Interstellar Fleet sounded impressive. But in reality, it was still a tool of noble rule. Most of the territories conquered during each year’s expansion campaign were divided among these nobles. Only the remaining wastelands could be sold at his own discretion. This greatly restricted Wick’s actions. More importantly, though the Interstellar Fleet had a great reputation, almost all supply rights were in the hands of the nobles. He didn’t dare to make even the slightest move.
Blackhair’s veiled hints were like a key, unlocking the Pandora’s box in Marshal Wick’s heart.
Desire and ambition sprang up in his heart like bamboo after rain, growing rapidly—only to be forcefully suppressed by him. Until today…

In the room shrouded in smoke, Marshal Wick waited—waiting for the next move from the black-haired man. He knew that this young man with black hair would never give up easily. Though he didn’t know what had happened, Marquis Vincent would surely suffer greatly.

And what he needed was this gap in opportunity.

Marquis Vincent was a pivotal figure among the nobility. If anything really happened to him, the noble family he had long relied on would not stand idly by. By then, his own fleet would receive ample supplies and resources, along with orders to conquer the Thirty-One Star Systems. Most importantly, a huge void would surely arise among the nobility.

After such a long time, Marshal Wick was curious whether even the knives in the hands of the nobles could have two edges. For this reason, he sent a brief message to his adjutant, Saka, ordering him to halt all offensive actions and keep everyone on high alert, awaiting his next instructions.

Storms were gathering… Now, all that remained was to wait for the black-haired man’s move. Marshal Wick stared blankly at the communication crystal before him. The light in the room grew dimmer and dimmer, enveloping him entirely in shadow.

The black-haired man moved swiftly, almost like a storm. In less than five days, a message spread through the universe like thunder.

In the Eighth Star System, two of Marquis Vincent’s private planets were attacked by unknown pirates. Aside from those who resisted, the remaining inhabitants were unharmed. Yet the entire infrastructure of the planets was destroyed. According to reports, these pirates were extremely powerful, possessing a medium-sized fleet and employing brutal, rapid tactics. They showed no mercy toward those who resisted, annihilating nearly all five frigates stationed on each planet.

These two news items immediately caused a huge uproar throughout the universe.

It had been so many years—so many years since anyone had dared to challenge the authority of the nobility. Those living at the bottom of society seemed to have long forgotten that such a class even existed. Two private planets—what immense value must they hold? To be utterly destroyed by these mysterious forces… This was serious business…

After all, in a sense, the nobility was not much different from the landlords of ancient Huaguo. Their greatest asset wasn’t commercial profit but land—the number of private planets they owned directly determined a noble’s power. And the most crucial factor among those was mineral planets.

Those two destroyed planets were nothing but mineral planets!

Upon hearing this news, Marquis Vincent flew into a rage, nearly losing his sanity. He harshly rebuked the garrison on those two planets and imposed cruel punishments of exile. Yet at the same time, he understood clearly that what was destined to happen had finally arrived. Days earlier, upon learning that his expedition fleet had suffered heavy losses, he had been unable to eat or sleep, regretting his impulsive decision. He had conducted extensive investigations into this newly risen Thirty-One Star System, only to be shocked by the results. He never expected that the rise of this new star system was completely different from previous ones—it had grown almost entirely through conquest, stained with blood. Although its forces were small in number, their combat strength was on par with even the elite units of interstellar fleets, and they had even dealt a severe blow to the Black Prison forces.

So Marquis Vincent immediately recalled his expedition fleet, ordering all members to stand at alert and wait for the star system’s request for communication. In his mind, no matter how powerful this new star system might be, it was still new and its foundation was bound to be weak. Faced with an established noble like himself, they must surely be cautious. Thus, Marquis Vincent felt somewhat confident. According to his plan, if the ruler of this new star system did not want to offend such a powerful noble as himself, the wisest choice would be to take the initiative to communicate. Then he could show off his authority, demand some compensation, and forgive them. This way, he could satisfy his pride while making a friend and avoiding being bitten by these supposedly insane Blood Wolves.

But he had underestimated them far too much, never realizing what had happened during that unexpected clash with the expedition fleet. So when news of the destruction of those two private planets reached him, the noble marquis’s heart sank instantly… Trouble. Madmen truly are mad; the legends were true. These Blood Wolf forces were advancing aggressively, showing no regard for the reactions of other interstellar powers. With such blatant retaliation, how great would his own losses be? By this point, Marquis Vincent realized he had lost all the advantage. Waiting for help or support from other nobles would only be a distant solution. So he directly ordered his newly recalled expedition fleet to join forces with all the armed forces of the star system to surround and attack them.

However, the universe is vast—how easy could it be to surround a fleet of just over seventy warships? Moreover, all of its ships were high-speed types.

Time passed slowly, yet Marquis Vincent still saw no results. It was not until he could not fall asleep that night that another piece of news stunned him to the point of dizziness.
“What!!? Two more mining planets!!! And they’re fortified ones!!? Why the hell don’t you die!! How many times have I said it—this is a state of alert! Do you understand? ALERT!! Thirty warships and over five hundred mechs were completely destroyed in one strike—are you all idiots!?” Roaring frantically, Marquis Vincent could barely control his fury.
In just two days, he had lost four mining planets. This was simply killing him. Those Blood Wolves must be possessed by madness—they didn’t care about losses in battle? After all, he only had eighteen mining planets in total. Nearly a quarter of them were gone already—how could he still hold his head high in the aristocratic circles?
His face twisted in pain as if his heart was bleeding. In a fit of anger, he slapped the messenger guard in the face and roared, “What are you standing around for? Gather troops now! Issue an order throughout the region—full alert from this moment on. Defend at all costs if attacked. I’ll send warships for support. Whatever it takes, hold off those pirates and encircle them! I want their lives, no matter the cost!! Remember! No matter what the cost!!”
“Yes, yes,” the guard replied, covering his face, before rushing out of the room. In the hallway, he grimaced in pain—half his face was numb.
“Hmph, ‘no matter the cost.’ Luckily I’m smart enough not to tell you that those pirates said they’re targeting you, the marquis. They’re willing to destroy your family at any cost,” the guard muttered before vanishing in a flash.
At the same time, outside another mining planet in the Eighth Star Region, a pitch-black fleet lay silently in space. There were no lights on the ships, and their engines were completely shut off—undetectable from afar. They resembled a group of ghosts.
On the largest ship among them, the black-haired man’s expression remained as cold as ever.
“Fifth planet—let’s begin…”