Chapter 31: The Devil’s Gift, Section 6

Active flagship mechs? Blood Moon and Setting Sun?
Hearing the Old Marshal’s outrageous demands, Hei Ba couldn’t help but smile bitterly inwardly.
Not only were Blood Moon and Setting Sun his latest equipment, with ample quantities available, but even just the supporting gear required was beyond what most people could imagine. After all, they weren’t the mechs of the past. Designed to excel in a single domain at SSS level, Blood Moon and Setting Sun would likely remain unfinished without the proper supporting equipment, their combat power even inferior to those retired flagship mechs. But with those supporting gears added, Hei Ba found it hard to imagine just how much their value would increase.
The problem was that precisely because of this, the supporting gear for them was also enormous. Almost every Blood Moon or Setting Sun came with corresponding land, air, space, and aquatic support systems, each of which further had shooting and combat subtypes. To put it simply, a Blood Moon or Setting Sun, along with its supporting gear, was worth as much as a warship!
With such mechs, the Old Marshal still wanted him to bend? Even if given them, could he afford the astronomical maintenance costs and wear and tear?
Absolutely not!
Thinking this, Hei Ba shook his head.
“Marshal, it seems you’re giving me a tough task this time. I’ve just provided five thousand mechs, and the 31st Star Region isn’t an arms depot. Where am I supposed to get more for you? Besides, if I give you all my own mechs, what will I use to fight when the Moors attack?”
“That’s not my concern,” the Old Marshal said, shaking his head stubbornly—clearly being unreasonable. “You’ve given them so many mechs. My Interstellar Fleet is huge; my numbers can’t be too low, right? Fine, I won’t ask for your active mechs either. I want five thousand flagship mechs just like theirs right now. State the resources you need—I won’t haggle.”
What audacity!
Hearing the Old Marshal’s unreasonable demands, Hei Ba curled his lips. Yet he understood that although the Old Marshal was bold, he indeed had the strength to back it up. Perhaps for ordinary forces, resources were the key obstacle to development, but for a massive Interstellar Fleet—especially one freed from noble constraints—resources were just a number.
After all, there were many mineral planets in each star region with disputed ownership. Now, those planets had been completely brought under the Old Marshal’s control. In terms of wealth, who could compare to him?

However, my own Death Star seems pretty good too… The black-haired man smiled sinisterly and shook his head.
“No. Five thousand mechs are already all I have in stock. Marshal, I’m afraid you’ve come all this way for nothing today. I’m truly sorry.”
“How could that be?” Faced with the black-haired man’s sinister smile and refusal, the old marshal wasn’t angry. A similarly cunning expression appeared on his aged face as well.
“Five ordinary resource planets, mainly producing high-quality steel and other conventional resources. They’re rich in minerals. What do you think? I know your family is quite wealthy, but after all, the Twins are a business model subject to transportation constraints. As for Death Stars… hehe, it’s likely that rare resources won’t be scarce, but rather conventional resources will be in short supply…”
The old marshal smiled cunningly, also noticing the slight surprise on the black-haired man’s face.
In fact, though he had come in a hurry this time, he wasn’t unprepared. The 31st Star Region had reaped great benefits from having a radical leader like the black-haired man in recent wars—something the old marshal had always kept in mind. But at the same time, he was well aware of the black-haired man’s biggest dilemma: the shortage of conventional resources.
Perhaps because the black-haired man had placed too much emphasis on capital recovery and the unique location of his Death Stars, a strange phenomenon had arisen there. Resources like gems and energy crystals, which were scarce elsewhere, were abundant in the warehouses. But materials like steel, stone, and various semi-finished goods that required large quantities were almost nonexistent on the Death Stars. If it weren’t for the continued success of the new Twins commercial planets, the development of the Death Stars would have long been hindered by this abnormal situation.
But after all, the Twins were commercial planets, and all supplies had to be transported bit by bit by merchants from other parts of the universe. Not only did they have to endure harsh environments, but they also faced risks such as space pirates and noble checkpoints. There were indeed many limitations.
So the old marshal knew very well that the terms he proposed were an irresistible temptation for the black-haired man!
Sure enough, right after he put forward these terms, the black-haired man’s face twitched suddenly. With the old marshal’s sharp eyes, he could even see his pupils constrict. And the next moment, he heard a voice as sweet as music.
“Very good. I agree to this deal. But I only have three thousand mechs available.”

“Three thousand units is indeed a bit short—just enough to arm one brigade,” the old marshal pretended to hesitate for a moment before smiling and nodding. “Alright, I’ll suffer a loss this time. I’ll take this batch for now. But you must promise me that next time there’s new stock, you’ll give priority to our Interstellar Fleet. Of course, don’t worry about the price—I definitely won’t let you lose out.”
“Okay!” The black-haired man’s voice seemed to come out through gritted teeth, his gaze at the old marshal fierce.
It was rare to see the black-haired man so frustrated, so the old marshal burst into laughter. He stood up and asked to take a look around. Though depressed, the black-haired man couldn’t refuse this reasonable request and could only summon Blood-Pupil to accompany him, slipping away first.
Of course, what the old marshal didn’t expect was that as soon as the black-haired man left the room, the worry on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a relaxed expression.
There was no other choice—this time, to carry out his strategy, a complete overhaul of the Death Stars was essential. Although the retired elite mechs were top-notch in the old marshal’s eyes, they were useless to someone like the black-haired man who was already accustomed to higher-grade mechs.
Dismantling and melting them was one option, but what could be done with the parts? Sold, of course. Melting the waste parts also required energy. In the black-haired man’s view, it was better to sell the whole mech—likely for a higher price. As for the sensitive technologies in the mechs, the Black Prison faction surely had their ways of dealing with them.
The first five thousand mechs were just a decoy for the black-haired man. Even if the old marshal hadn’t shown up, he had planned to sell the remaining retired mechs to him—just for a good price. Now…
The black-haired man chuckled and headed toward a nearby canyon, where a shuttle was waiting for him.
A dazzling wake traced a beautiful straight line through the silent universe as the shuttle raced through the vast starfield, yet the cabin remained eerily quiet. A beautiful elven woman approached the black-haired man and respectfully handed him a glass of red wine, which he accepted with a smile before taking a small sip.
Seeing that the black-haired man had no further intentions, the elven woman left the cabin obediently, closing the door behind her.
The cabin became so quiet that even the sound of a needle falling could be heard. The black-haired man let out a contented groan, his gaze fixed on the vast starfield outside the window.

This time, he left during the old marshal’s visit. Though it was somewhat impolite, he had no other choice. Just yesterday, that young man from the Black Prison Group had sent him a message, asking him to arrive at the assembly site of the Killing Emperor today to carry out the adjustments himself. Yet the assembly site of the Killing Emperor was not on Death Star—it was at Thor’s Fortress! Even Black Hair probably wouldn’t have expected the Black Prison Group to be so bold as to move their most critical research and assembly facilities directly to Thor’s Fortress! The underground factories on Death Star that he had seen before were only responsible for the research and assembly of ordinary mechs and warships. None of these changes had been authorized by Black Hair. But now, he had to admit that the guys from Black Prison had thought things through very thoroughly. It was all for safety’s sake. Although Death Star had a nuclear reactor, it was still a capital planet. If anyone harbored hostility toward it, it would be the first target without even needing to consider alternatives. So no matter how strong the defenses were, they might not guarantee safety. Thor’s Fortress, on the other hand, was different. Though it was a weapon of war and had to be on the front lines of battles constantly, its massive size and robust defenses gave it a higher safety level than Death Star. Moreover, a fully militarized fortress was more suitable for keeping secrets! The Black Prison Group’s considerations really pleased Black Hair. Of course, he had no complaints about setting off this time. Besides, he was eager to see Thor’s Fortress once it was completed. The vast universe stretched endlessly, yet the speed of the shuttle was astonishingly fast. Soon, Black Hair saw a huge gyroscopic-shaped object appear in his field of vision, rapidly growing larger. As a slight tremor occurred beneath his feet, the shuttle’s speed slowed down significantly. A massive eye-like structure now lay before Black Hair. With a diameter of nearly a thousand kilometers and buildings of varying heights on its surface, it would have been hard for Black Hair to recognize this as a fortress if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. He would have preferred to think of it as an artificial planet. In fact, in a sense, Thor’s Fortress resembled the Moor Planet Station he had just left quite a bit.

But Kurokami was clear that this was just superficial. Those undulating buildings were not meant for living but served as firing positions—ranging from close-defense clusters to long-range artillery with ultra-long ranges, covering almost everything. These heavily armed killing devices were encased in thick armor, making them appear like ordinary buildings on the outside, yet brimming with lethal intent inside. Anyone who dared underestimate them would pay a heavy price.
In the silent starry sky, this massive fortress floated quietly, rotating slightly. Soon, a section of its surface suddenly sank, revealing a pitch-black opening. Kurokami felt an immediate pull coming from it, and the shuttle rushed in like a bird.
Everything before him turned pitch black…