Chapter 23: My Fury Can Burn the Sky – Section 6

Beams of energy suddenly appeared across the universe. At Black Hair’s command, rows of precise artillery fire surged toward the planet below like a storm. Attacking a planet in a fleet formation was a textbook-style battle, but in their hands, it took on a distorted form.
That was because their firepower was simply too strong.
It all stemmed from the new weapon recently developed by the Death Star: the “Hellfire” multi-layer pulse magic cannon.
Although its specifications had long been known, only those who had seen it firsthand could grasp the terrifying rate of fire—120 shots per minute. Though its caliber was only slightly larger than that of conventional ship guns, the concept of hybrid weaponry gave it astonishing penetration power. Coupled with its rapid fire rate, upon firing, it created a vast, ferocious wave of steel stretching miles ahead of the fleet!
No one could survive such intense artillery fire. Not even Black Hair’s fierce Wind, let alone the defenders of a mining planet.
Thus, five minutes after the attack began, the five defense ships sent from the mining planet had already turned into piles of scrap metal, drifting aimlessly in space. Soon after, the fleet’s artillery fire descended unimpeded upon the planet, sweeping across it according to the pre-scanned coordinates. Under the onslaught of superheated metal particles, the planet’s buildings instantly collapsed. Wherever the wave passed, even the surface of the planet showed clear depressions, as if a layer had been scraped away.
Fifteen minutes later, every building on the planet had been completely destroyed—except for the basic miner dormitories, which remained intact. Black Hair glanced coldly at the data presented to him and waved his hand expressionlessly. Soon, the entire fleet vanished into the depths of space like ghosts.
From ambush to attack to conclusion, the whole process took less than an hour. Under Black Hair’s preference for blitzkrieg tactics, Marquis Vincent’s strategy of holding out was utterly useless. It couldn’t even delay Black Hair, let alone stop him for a moment. On the planet, the survivors stared at the vast starry sky, helpless and in tears.

Speaking of which, Black Hair’s revenge was quite rational. Though he swept through five planets like a storm, aside from destroying infrastructure, the only things he destroyed were the guard fleets that tried to resist. The miners living at the bottom of society, working in the mines for the nobles, weren’t affected at all—not even a hair was harmed.

Blood-Pupil never cared about this. He believed that since it was revenge, it should be done swiftly and thoroughly. Destroying these planets couldn’t quench his anger; what he truly wanted was the head of that guy named Vincent.

Glancing calmly at Blood-Pupil, who showed signs of resentment, Black Hair’s tone remained unchanged. “Don’t rush, Blood-Pupil. You’ll definitely get what you want. But before that, I hope you understand—sometimes, actions that seem useless can be even more torturous for the person involved.”

His gaze settled calmly on the starry sky outside the window, yet his words carried a cruel tone. “Vincent will die. But before that, he must taste something worse than death. And for a noble, there’s only one thing worse than death: having nothing at all.”

“I look forward to seeing his expression of despair.”

“Before that, let’s collect some interest first…”

“Slap!” A clear, sharp sound. A bright red handprint appeared on the guard’s face instantly, and he was thrown backward, crashing to the ground in disarray. Before him, the furious Marquis Vincent was like a roaring lion!

“Idiots!! All of you idiots!! I just slept for a while, and you tell me another mining planet has been lost!! Are you useless guards? Where are your warships? Your mechs? Damn it, don’t tell me you didn’t even see their shadows! What’s the point of keeping you idiots around?!”

“Five mining planets! Already five!! How am I supposed to explain this at this year’s evaluation meeting? Oh, my dear Duke, because I offended a bunch of pirates, five of my planets were destroyed!? Oh, fuck. This will make me a laughingstock in the circle!! People will say, Look, our great Marquis Vincent can’t even deal with a bunch of pirates—letting them wreak havoc in his own backyard. Bullshit!”

“Yes, my lord.” The guard stood there, holding his face, too stunned to say anything.

Indeed, these pirates have gone too far. In just two days, they recklessly raided five mining planets without any restraint. Although the casualties were light, those planets won’t be able to produce anything for a while—after all, they are the lifeline of the nobles. How can this be tolerated? What’s more embarrassing for these guards is that despite deploying the entire fleet of their sector, they couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the pirates. Isn’t this a huge joke?

If this news spreads, their Eighth Sector will become the laughingstock of everyone. What a profound humiliation…

However, neither the guard nor Marquis Vincent expected that this was only the beginning. In the following three days, reports of successive losses poured in like snowflakes before the marquis. After those five mining planets, other planets in the Eighth Sector were also attacked one after another. Unlike before, these attacks no longer followed a clear sequence; many occurred simultaneously.

Upon hearing this, Marquis Vincent was stunned. His hands and feet trembled, his face turned pale, and he could barely control himself.

The situation was out of control…

No one is stupid. If the initial attacks were acts of revenge by the Blood Wolf faction, then these new reports clearly indicated something else. Multiple planets being attacked at once meant that outsiders were taking advantage of the chaos!

To be honest, Marquis Vincent had considered this possibility from the start. But his privileged lifestyle and sense of superiority as a noble filled him with confidence. He didn’t believe anyone would dare challenge the authority of the nobles, so he didn’t make any further preparations. Yet the facts before him completely overturned all his assumptions.

“The Pirate Alliance?” The name of this organization suddenly popped into the marquis’s mind.

Undoubtedly, if anyone in the universe still had the audacity to do such things, it was this lawless organization. And against an interstellar fleet that could almost dominate the universe, only this group would act recklessly and plunder without restraint.

But he had no grudges against them. Wouldn’t such actions foolishly anger all the nobles? After all, over the years, although the Pirate Alliance had plundered and acted lawlessly, they had always exercised restraint when targeting noble fleets. Offending such a powerful group would surely make their own lives difficult.

Could it be that these guys finally lost control?

Gritting his teeth fiercely, Marquis Vincent’s eyes turned bloodshot. “If you think this is enough to defeat a noble, then I must say you’re wrong—completely wrong! I’ll show you just how powerful the forces behind a noble really are!”
“Thud!” He slammed the report onto the ground with force, pointing his finger directly at the guard’s nose.
“Issue a proclamation: this star system is under heavy attack by unknown pirates. This is an act of aggression. As a hereditary marquis, I demand the help of all neighboring forces. At the same time, send a formal invitation to the Interstellar Fleet to dispatch their ships immediately to assist me in suppressing these pirates.”
“Yes, my lord,” the guard replied awkwardly.
Watching him hurry away, a cruel smile appeared on Marquis Vincent’s face.
Pirates, huh? Since you insist on playing that role, then die in it. Don’t forget—In this universe, pirates are the target of every faction. With that as a reason, even Marshal Wick can’t stop the Interstellar Fleet from getting involved. Add in the influence of the nobles… Hmph, haha, hahaha…
News spread quickly. Almost simultaneously, all relevant factions received this official announcement. But to Marquis Vincent’s surprise, their reactions varied.
The neighboring noble factions generously offered to send their fleets right away to help suppress the pirates. Meanwhile, the non-noble lords, as if by some unspoken agreement, remained restrained, issuing only mild statements of regret, outrage, or condemnation—clearly intending to wait and see. This only made the marquis even angrier.
Fortunately, as the most powerful military force in human society, the Interstellar Fleet cooperated fully this time. Almost as soon as the announcement was made, Marshal Wick vowed to teach these pirates a harsh lesson. He dispatched a large fleet of around 500 ships to the Eighth Star System. The entire fleet was equipped with the latest gear and best crew, truly reflecting the Interstellar Fleet’s strength.
But the results were different. For some reason, despite their large numbers and advanced equipment, after circling the Eighth Star System extensively, they still achieved nothing. On the contrary, while they were “suppressing” the pirates, two more mining planets were destroyed.
Hearing this news, Marquis Vincent was so enraged he almost spat blood, filled with despair.

How could he still not see it now? This was clearly a conspiracy, a conspiracy aimed at him personally. Marshal Wick’s cooperation was merely superficial. That fleet wasn’t there to attack; it was there for sightseeing!! Marquis Vincent was almost certain that the crew on those warships might be drinking rum and cuddling beauties while watching the chaos. How could he accept this?
Just as the marquis was about to go mad, a message made him jump up in surprise.
“What!? They’ve finally found the pirates’ trail!?”