Chapter 24: The Howl of the Blood Wolf, Section 6

This consideration took a full month.
Having just gone through the attack on the Eighth Star Region, human society was already rife with unrest. Yet Hei Fa had no time to worry about such things. While the Interstellar Fleet sorted out its own affairs, he continued to issue a series of orders without pause. The entire Thirty-First Star Region, too, began to function like a well-oiled machine, operating at full speed.

The first step was to reclaim large areas within the region. Since the Thirty-First Star Region had risen not long ago and faced continuous wars, Hei Fa devoted almost all his energy to these efforts. Although military preparations kept increasing, development within the region remained virtually non-existent. So far, only the Death Stars and the five major natural planets on the region’s outskirts had been developed, while the deeper parts of the region remained untouched. Clearly, this was highly disadvantageous for the entire Thirty-First Star Region.

To address this, Hei Fa dispatched as many as 300 large fleets to carry out a widespread reclamation campaign. Countless resources were used, even affecting the construction of the Thunder God Fortress. Results had to be achieved in a short time.

Of course, it’s easy said but difficult done. Reclaiming new territories is one of the greatest challenges in human expansion in the universe. No matter how powerful a fleet is, it faces the same dangers when encountering unknown star regions. Finding barren planets is a huge stroke of luck, but running into mysterious and powerful races can be fatal. In the past, entire fleets have been wiped out during such campaigns, showing just how difficult it is. Moreover, the environment of unknown star regions is unpredictable. If they encountered spatial turbulence like the Earth expedition forces did in the past, not even the gods could save them.

Fortunately, this time, the task was carried out by Monkey along with the Hong Lan brothers. With their rich experience, Hei Fa felt much more at ease.

On the other hand, he also issued orders to Baroka and Blood Pup to plunder without restraint. He gave them a small, high-speed fleet of less than a hundred ships, erased all markings, and they truly became pirates in space. Their main targets were the large freighters heading to Silver Star and other noble territories. Once spotted, regardless of destination, only the amount of resources mattered. They were to plunder all materials without limit, causing minimal casualties—whether it was rare gemstones or ordinary civilian or military supplies, Black Hair accepted everything. For easier transportation, he even asked Koko to provide support with a fleet of three hundred ships for logistics.

However, the universe was currently in turmoil, so Black Hair’s plundering didn’t cause much of a stir. All major factions’ attention was drawn to recent disputes between the Interstellar Fleet and the noble circles. Even if a freighter fleet was robbed, they could only lament their bad luck and dare not engage in open warfare at such a critical time, fearing they might become the first target after the Interstellar Fleet was reorganized. At most, they could file complaints with Marshal Wick of the Interstellar Fleet.

Marshal Wick of the Interstellar Fleet was well aware of this suddenly rampant mysterious pirate gang. Unintentionally, he seized all complaint letters, effectively approving Black Hair’s actions and focusing all his attention on the developments within the noble circles—doing Black Hair a huge favor.

As a result, Baroka was extremely pleased. His and Blood Pup’s fleet was like a pack of wolves, wildly ruthless. Any fleet they targeted had no choice but to hand over supplies obediently. With up to a hundred high-speed assault ships, they possessed the fastest speed available, leaving no fleet able to escape their pursuit. They became unrivaled in space, and Baroka even felt like he was back to being a desert bandit!

Crazy plundering inevitably brought rich rewards, and Baroka certainly wouldn’t disappoint Black Hair. In just one month, he sent back 1,700 shipments of supplies from Death Star. On average, over fifty fully loaded freighters returned to Death Star every day. The abundance of loot was truly astonishing. Little Su Lei was so busy dealing with these supplies that she had no time to think about settling down on Natural Star.

Death Star quickly became a warehouse for resources. If it weren’t for the Wanderers urgently clearing out vast underground space for Black Hair, the sheer accumulation of resources might have destroyed Death Star’s ecological balance.

Of course, a strategy of plundering to gather resources couldn’t last forever. Hei Fa also understood that if things went too far, Marshal Wick’s situation would likely be just as dire. So the plundering operations lasted only two months. The mysterious and insane pirates of Baroka vanished into the cosmos, leaving behind only various mysterious speculations.

Meanwhile, the colonization efforts made some progress. With ample supplies provided by Hei Fa, the brothers Monkey and Hong Lan acted swiftly. In just two months, their presence spread across half of the star region. Their massive fleet of 300 warships became the focus of discussion among all alien races. Perhaps due to Hei Fa’s policy of supporting other races, their colonization efforts faced little resistance. Aside from one reclusive barbarian alien faction, they encountered no opposition at all. Seeing the Blood Wolf symbol on the fleet, the aliens were even too eager to welcome them.

Yet the 31st Star Region was an extremely harsh environment. Monkey still suffered losses inevitably. Seven warships were caught in sudden energy turbulence while passing through a meteor belt, instantly turning into twisted scrap metal, with not a single crew member surviving.

The colonization efforts also lasted only two months. Monkey brought back to Hei Fa the coordinates of five mineral planets and three barren planets. Most of the other planets were occupied by friendly alien races. To avoid conflicting with Hei Fa’s policies, Monkey did not launch conquests. As for the only barbarian alien faction that attacked them, it was severely punished by Monkey and finally surrendered. Now, Hei Fa’s orders could be implemented unimpeded across half of the 31st Star Region.

As a result, Hei Fa’s influence in the 31st Star Region grew significantly. Unlike before when they struggled to survive, they now had abundant supply resources. The five newly discovered mineral planets, though not yet suitable for large-scale mining, had already begun to be developed. Equipment and supplies were being continuously extracted from them. Given time, they would surely ensure that the Blood Wolf clan had no worries about food and clothing.

It must be said, Hei Fa’s policy toward other races was truly successful. There were many exotic races in the 31st Star Region, several of which possessed extraordinary abilities. Among them was a race naturally attuned to plants, whose presence increased food production significantly. Three of the five major natural planets were used by Hei Fa as cultivation bases for plants.

The large-scale development of Death Star lasted for two months, with almost all of Black Hair’s subordinates involved. Of course, he himself couldn’t stay idle either. During this time, the top priority was the review of applications from new alien races to settle there. As the 31-Star Region grew stronger and its irresponsible business model succeeded, Death Star had become a paradise in the eyes of aliens. Applications piled up like mountains. Yet for so long, aside from the first five races whom Black Hair allowed to settle, the others remained at the application stage, at most only having the right to exchange resources, without ever being able to establish offices or proper settlements. This, of course, wasn’t a sustainable solution. But Death Star’s space was limited, and Black Hair had imposed strict restrictions to protect the ecosystem. Now, the five natural star systems were also included in the development plan. It was possible he might loosen his rules a bit. After two months of screening, he finally decided to admit two more races into the resident category of the 31-Star Region. Unlike the previous five races, these two were both races with little combat capability and somewhat peculiar—no, utterly bizarre. One of them had a plant-based form of life, resembling tree people from myths. They were naturally attuned to nature, able to sense the soil structure, nutrient distribution, and plant growth activities within about a kilometer around them. They could use their own nutrients to stimulate plant growth, turning them into barriers for themselves. Their abilities were quite practical. However, their own growth required a long time. By chance, they discovered that the trace radiation from energy-decomposed amethyst ore could accelerate their growth rate, prompting them to eagerly request entry into Death Star. But since their abilities were limited to the plant realm, they weren’t well-liked by Sulei. The other race didn’t even belong to the general category of life. Their appearance resembled mud, with varying sizes, and they could change shape at will. With sufficient energy, they could even instantly expand their bodies to alter the surface of the ground. They were a very special form of life. Like the first race, they had no names, so Black Hair temporarily referred to them as “mud.” This race was extremely rare, liked to wander, and their organisms could survive in space. Yet they lacked the ability to travel long distances. It was only when they were brought to Death Star as commodities by other races that they caught Black Hair’s attention. When they heard Black Hair’s decision regarding their approval, Death Star was instantly in an uproar, and these two races were overjoyed. Oh, heavens. This was like a dream.

So many races on Death Star had applied without receiving a response. These two races were both marginalized groups. The Mudlings had even been nearly treated as commodities. It was unthinkable that they would be chosen by the Black-Haired ones. Upon hearing the news, they immediately became excited—never expecting such good fortune to fall to them. The other races all expressed envy. As they gazed at the towering spire of Death Star, their eyes grew even more eager. But they didn’t know that at that spire, symbolizing Death Star’s supreme power, there was also a pair of eager eyes watching them, as if… watching over their own people.