Chapter 27: New Nobles – Section 3

As the sole survivor of this war against the new races, Lord Locke would never forget that black demon. It was nothing short of a nightmare for him!! So much so that when he saw it with his own eyes, he was so terrified that his mind stopped functioning. He stood there like a wooden statue.
How could they appear here?
How could they possibly be here!?
This was the territory of the Moor race…
Although their appearances weren’t exactly identical, Lord Locke was certain they were closely related to that terrifying black demon. Moreover, behind them was that familiar blood-red mech!
It was that blood-red mech that used its strength to help the black demon reach the speed of its warship, and it was also that mech that used its terrifying weapons to destroy nearly a thousand of his guards. When that intense firepower erupted, even the dazzling charges paled in comparison. And the most terrifying part was that the enemy could accurately hit every target it wanted to eliminate amidst such heavy fire.
Scouring his mind, Lord Locke couldn’t think of any other race in his empire that could match them. That’s why he feared them— a deep-seated fear of the strong.
But now, the being he feared was following another never-before-seen black mech. What did this mean?
Lord Locke’s breathing became difficult; he was almost terrified by his own thoughts.
Just then, the communication light on the ship suddenly lit up. Immediately afterward, a hoarse male voice rang out.
“This is Miss Veri’s escort fleet of the Tarot family. I am Captain Beck, here to capture the traitor Locke. All crew members must immediately leave their posts, cease all resistance, and allow our members to board the ship. Those who resist will be killed without mercy. Repeat…”
“Lord, what should we do?” The servants’ eyes all turned to Lord Locke, filled with fear.
As members of the Moor Empire, they certainly knew what Lord Locke’s actions entailed. And although they were subordinates, their responsibilities were still significant. If it had been an ordinary warship, they might have tried to flee desperately. But this was the Swan…
Miss Veri’s most proud private fleet, rumored to have a military-grade arsenal!!
Was there no chance left?

Feeling the gazes of the many servants—some anxious, some fearful, some pleading, some desperate—Lord Locke suddenly felt as if he had aged greatly. He slumped weakly into the armchair, waving his hand helplessly.
“Surrender…”
“Yes, my lord.” The servants’ eyes lit up as they immediately scattered to get to work. The massive Moorish warship slowly slowed down and eventually hovered quietly in front of the five Swan-class warships. The black coating on its surface flickered before gradually fading, revealing the natural yellow of the stone beneath. At the same time, protrusions appeared on the side hatches of the warship—signs indicating readiness for docking.
Seeing this, the black-haired man on the Killing Emperor smiled. From his vantage point, he could easily observe the enemy’s movements. What caught his attention, however, was the deep scar on the enemy’s bridge. If he wasn’t mistaken, it must have been left by the Monkey.
What irony—he had originally intended to leave this guy to the Monkey to deal with personally. But now there was no chance anymore.
As he pondered this, a voice from the engine room suddenly rang out. “Lord, they’re asking to surrender. Should we send someone to accept it now?”
After a brief silence, he glanced through the porthole of the enemy warship, taking in the frustrated expression of the unlucky lord. A slight smirk appeared on his lips, followed by an evil grin.
“No. Tell my brothers to kill everyone on board once they board the ship. Then bring this intact Moorish flagship back to Death Star. Lord Locke has seen your mechs—we can’t keep him alive.”
“Understood,” replied Blood Pupil with a vicious laugh before ending the communication.
At that moment, Lord Locke on the flagship couldn’t have imagined that he had already stepped into the realm of the dead. From the moment he issued the surrender order, his fate was sealed.
In fact, it was his misfortune. If he had resisted stubbornly, he might still have had a chance to survive. With the formidable defensive capabilities of the Moorish warships, even the black-haired man would need some effort to take them down. And their current location was only one standard jump distance away from the Grand Duke of Black Hand’s space station.
In other words, as long as Lord Locke could hold out for a while, he wouldn’t die. But in reality, the Grand Duke of Black Hand’s rescue fleet was already on its way!!

But it was already too late. By the time the rescue fleet of twenty Moor giant ships arrived at the coordinates, Black Hair had already completed the entire process of taking control of those ships. Lord Locke’s body had been placed in a cryo-container by the Blood Wolf Pirates. Even that nearly intact Moor giant ship was fitted with a tracking and teleportation trap by them.

However, this rescue fleet arrived just in time. Black Hair had been struggling with how to take away the Moor giant ships in front of the Octopus People. Seeing these warships suddenly emerging from teleportation, he immediately understood what to do. He promptly issued attack orders to every Swan Ship. Soon, countless massive energy beams tore through the silent starry sky, striking the enemies who had just emerged from teleportation.

This was the first time Black Hair had witnessed a live battle within the Moor Empire. Both sides used the stone warships unique to the Moors, so naturally, the battle was fierce. Within his fleet, every Octopus Person immediately secreted hormones that drove them wild, turning them into fearless soldiers. Excited howls rang out one after another, almost like wolf cries.

Yet their results were somewhat disappointing. After all, the enemy were the Moor giant ships, renowned for their defense capabilities. Despite the well-planned synchronized attacks by the Swan Ships, they couldn’t completely destroy them. Black Hair saw with his own eyes that even after those massive energy beams, the enemy fleet remained intact, though the leading ships were severely damaged and swaying, seemingly on the verge of exploding at any moment.

Seeing this, Black Hair frowned immediately. Without hesitation, he pushed the control lever, and the massive Killing Emperor accelerated instantly, its engines blasting out dazzling light as it rushed forward. The other Blood Wolf Pirates also boarded their mechs and followed their leader headlong into the enemy formation.

Chaos! Absolute chaos!

Since fleet-to-ship battles no longer made sense, Black Hair would certainly not stick to convention. The wildness of demons flowed in his blood. In such a situation, there was only one option… close combat!!

Speaking of which, Black Hair’s Blood Wolf Pirates were probably the best at chaos battles in this universe. Already accustomed to their leader’s actions, they acted like invincible arrows, following Black Hair without hesitation. The brief acceleration passed in an instant, and they had already plunged deep into the enemy fleet, causing extreme chaos among them.

The Octopus Men on the Rear Swan Warships were instantly stunned. They were all experienced sailors too. But who had ever seen a leader so reckless? He led the mechs straight into the enemy fleet at the very start of the battle. What else could this be but suicide? For a moment, almost all the Octopus Men stopped what they were doing and stood there dumbfounded, even forgetting to attack. The Blood Wolf Pirates, furious, immediately slapped each of them across the face.

“Damn you bastards! What are you standing around for? Waiting to get killed? Attack! Keep attacking!!”

“But… but Lord Baker is in the enemy fleet…” one Octopus Man dared to remind them. But in response, he got another loud slap! The Blood Wolf Pirate who knocked him to the ground seemed still unsatisfied and kicked him hard again.

“Damn it, I know. I told you to attack—stop talking so much. If my head could be blown off so easily by our own artillery, what’s the point of me being here? Move! You cowardly pigs!!”

Seeing this, the remaining Octopus Men shuddered immediately. They dared not hesitate anymore. All the Swan Warships launched another attack. Blinding beams of energy filled every corner of the starfield, completely enveloping the enemy.

It turned out exactly as the Blood Wolf Pirate had said. Although the Swan Fleet’s artillery fire was so dense it could be considered a light barrier, it had no effect at all on the Black Hair gang. These experts at close combat immediately hid in the shadows of the Moor giant ships, never showing even half of their heads. Every time one of their figures flashed by, a huge wound appeared on the belly of the Moor giant ship—either its firepower was damaged or part of its engines was destroyed. Though not a fatal blow, it disrupted the entire enemy fleet’s formation. The subsequent artillery fire from the enemy fleet turned them into minced meat.

The dazzling light balls flashed continuously, and in no time, the Black Hand Duke’s support fleet was in complete chaos. In less than fifteen minutes, three giant ships fell into the hands of the Black Hair gang. They were all disabled after their engines were destroyed by the Blood Wolf Pirates and then wiped out by the Swan Warships. Yet the Black Hair gang, the ones who started it all, didn’t even lose a single member!!

There’s nothing to do; these pirates are simply too cunning. Though their skills aren’t as good as those of Black Hair and Blood Eyes, they’ve mastered their tactics perfectly. They never stay in one place for even half a second. All the destruction is carried out through rapid maneuvers. Compared to the enormous Moorish warships, their mechs are like ants in front of giants—there’s no way to catch them. Unless the enemy also deploys similar mech guard fleets, attacks against them are useless.
However, the Grand Duke’s fleet is clearly no novice either. After a brief chaos, almost all of the Moorish warships opened their hatches at once, and instantly, countless dark mechs rushed out like wild bees, covering half of the starry sky…
But at that moment, Black Hair chuckled and sent a request to establish a communication link.