Super Mothership
In the outskirts of Ryan Star, the wreckage of four warships left behind after a brief battle was slowly drifting apart, becoming space debris in the silent starfield.
“Captain, the six surrendered warships have all been secured, and the prisoners onboard are under control,” Goldtooth reported with a beaming smile.
These were regular warships from the Jinlok Consortium’s Fifth Fleet, and they were still seventy to eighty percent new—far superior to their armed merchant ships.
In the Shattered Star Region, such warships were highly sought after. This single operation alone was already worth the cost.
This new boss… they had definitely made the right choice following him!
As for offending the Jinlok Consortium again… well, it wasn’t the first time. Their reputation had long since dropped into the “hostile” category anyway—once you owe enough debts, you stop worrying about more.
Since joining the new boss, Goldtooth felt he had become more and more laid-back…
“The enemy’s will to fight was really weak. They surrendered after just two rounds of bombardment,” Nie Yun said, sounding rather disappointed compared to the elated Goldtooth.
He had planned to use this group of pirates to train his forces, but didn’t expect the local garrison to be so small—and so fragile.
In truth, the Jinlok Consortium only stationed ten warships here for two reasons.
First, the place was remote and desolate, with almost no ships passing by, so it was practically unknown to outsiders.
Second, it lay deep within the Jinlok Consortium’s territory, and Ryan Star itself held nothing valuable aside from a batch of “prisoners” from subordinate civilizations. The Consortium never imagined that a pirate fleet would launch a surprise attack here—allowing Nie Yun to succeed with ease.
“Uh…” Goldtooth was speechless.
We’ve got over a hundred ships—of course we scared them to death.
Besides, the Fifth Fleet isn’t even a main combat force of the Jinlok Consortium. The garrison troops are basically just stronger security guards. The fact they held out for two rounds already shows decent professionalism, alright?
“But Captain, how did you even know there was a secret Jinlok Consortium base here?” After hesitating, Goldtooth finally voiced the question that had been bothering him.
“I have my own intelligence sources. Ever heard of the ‘All-Things-As-One Society’? No? Well, that’s normal given your level. Anyway, it’s a very, very mysterious organization.”
Advertising starts from your subordinates—might as well fool Goldtooth first.
Once the name of the All-Things-As-One Society spreads here, it’ll be easier to fool people on the Gemini side too…
As for people here being confused, that’s perfectly normal.
If everyone had heard of it, how could it be called a mysterious organization?
Sure enough, Goldtooth showed a look of awe mixed with confusion, silently memorizing the name before turning to the Gemini warships outside the viewport.
“Captain, those warships should belong to regular forces, right? How about we incorporate them into our pirate group?”
“Heh! Got your eyes on them?”
“Hehe, yeah. If it weren’t for those fifty warships acting as the backbone, our armed merchant ships couldn’t have taken down four warships in two rounds.”
In fact, more than half of the four destroyed warships could be credited to those fifty Gemini warships.
“Warships like these are things you can’t buy even with money in the Shattered Star Region. Only forces at the level of the Seven Great Pirate Crews have stable procurement channels. For small groups like us, getting even one would be enough to show off for a while,” Goldtooth said, a hint of bitterness in his tone.
Warships weren’t like mechs—the Wolf Empire strictly controlled them, and they were hard to obtain even on the black market.
And in battle, warships almost never surrendered, and they were fast enough to escape, so the chance of capturing one through plunder was extremely low.
If pirates did manage to get a warship, they usually kept it to strengthen themselves. In pirate society, strength determined everything, so supply in the market was scarce despite high demand.
“You can forget about taking all of them. After this operation, they’ll be leaving. The people can’t stay—but we can keep some of the warships,” Nie Yun said with a smile.
Aside from Beckman’s fleet and the flagship Fallen Angel, the remaining thirty-odd warships under Nie Yun’s command would all be handed over as payment—officially listed as “hired assets” to the Ghost Pirate Crew.
Anyway, once “Arthas” returned to Gemini, he would receive a full new fleet. Might as well spend Gemini’s money—no need to be stingy and let him go back empty-handed.
And this hiring arrangement had already been approved by General Girard.
After all, the main force currently fighting Gemini was the Ryan race. If they could strike their base and disrupt the Jinlok Consortium’s troop replenishment, it would count as a strategic-level victory.
Compared to such gains, what were thirty or so warships?
“Really? That’s great!” Hearing that some of the warships could be kept, Goldtooth couldn’t help but feel overjoyed.
Money when needed, equipment when needed—this new boss’s backing force really does things in a grand way!
What he didn’t know was that Nie Yun had managed this fleet for a long time, and a large number of mechanical bugs were hidden within it.
If the Ghost Pirate Crew wanted to survive and grow in the perilous Shattered Star Region, they would inevitably have to deal with all kinds of unexpected situations. Nie Yun was simply leaving himself some hidden cards.
“Oh right, Captain—after the battle ended, that guy named Beckman sent another communication request. He wants to talk to you. Are we still not answering this time?” Goldtooth suddenly asked.
“Don’t answer. Tell him I’m busy.”
…
On Beckman’s flagship, the adjutant put down the communicator with a helpless expression.
“Sir, the other side still refuses to take the call!”
For the past two days, Beckman had been trying to contact the leader of the Ghost Pirate Crew, but the other party had completely ignored him.
“Sigh! That Arthas guy really did everything flawlessly. He must have known we’d try to contact the pirate leader to seize some influence over the Wolf Empire issue.
What I don’t understand is why this pirate leader only recognizes Arthas. What exactly did he promise them?” Beckman couldn’t make sense of it no matter how much he thought.
Although the “Agent Plan” was being carried out by Arthas, Beckman was naturally unwilling to let all the credit fall into the other man’s hands. But now, he couldn’t even meet the main figure, making everything he said meaningless.
“Sir, Lord Arthas just sent a message. The battle here is over. Next, the looting and destruction of the planet will be handled by the pirate crew.
Also, Lord Arthas asked us to prepare to receive personnel. They will immediately vacate the warships promised to the pirates. Once we finish receiving our personnel, we are to depart at once and return to Gemini.”
If the warships were to be handed over, then the Gemini personnel onboard would naturally have to relocate—crowding in with Beckman’s group.
“Heh! In such a hurry to send us away—they really aren’t giving us even the slightest chance. Sigh… forget it. We’re completely on the back foot right now. This place has already become their home ground. Tell the men to prepare to receive personnel and withdraw,” Beckman said with a bitter smile.
“Yes, sir! Oh, and they also said the pirate crew has given us one captured enemy warship. We’re to arrange some crew members to go over—both sides will jointly take control of it.”
The adjutant’s words immediately made Beckman’s eyes light up.
Sooner or later, Gemini would face the Jinlok Consortium’s main fleet in battle. Yet right now, they knew almost nothing about the enemy’s primary warships.
If this captured warship could be brought back to Gemini for sample analysis, it would allow them to make a much more accurate assessment of the enemy fleet’s combat capabilities—and prepare more targeted tactics for any future war.
For Gemini, this was almost equivalent to obtaining the U.S. military’s “F-35” before a war.
If taken seriously, this contribution could be considered strategic-level intelligence capable of changing the course of a battlefield!
And yet, the other party was willing to share such credit with him?
Was this a slap followed by a sweet reward?
Beckman suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness, as if he had been completely outmatched—in ability, strategy, and magnanimity.
Alas! “Since Heaven gave birth to Yu, why also Liang?”
…
Three hours later, watching the Fallen Angel and Beckman’s group slowly departing the star system, Nie Yun (in his werewolf clone) waved his hand grandly.
“Men, land on the planet! Loot everything!”
This was the part pirates loved the most!
Amid chaotic excitement, all the pirates cheered wildly as countless landing crafts were deployed, plunging into the atmosphere under the cover of numerous warships above!
The Jinlok Consortium had already received the distress signal, but their nearest reinforcements would take at least seven days to arrive. So Nie Yun had reserved five days for himself to carry out the plundering.
With a tight schedule, it would be enough for him to fill all his more than 130 warships with captives.
But even if he stuffed people into every corner—including the ship bathrooms—there was no way Nie Yun could take all five million-plus Ryan natives in one go. At best, taking a hundred thousand would already be impressive.
So this operation was destined to be a quick hit-and-run. Still, Nie Yun wasn’t in a hurry.
A hundred thousand people, along with the slaves he had already purchased, would be enough for the Ghost Pirate Crew to manage for quite some time. If they needed more manpower later, they could always come back for another round!
However, even capturing people required a certain technique. After all, these would be future comrades in the underworld—tearing families apart too brutally would lower loyalty.
“Remember! Don’t just pick young adults or women. Even as pirates, we have our principles—kidnapping should also follow a bit of humanitarianism! I don’t care if it’s grandparents, great-grandparents, granddaughters, great-granddaughters, distant relatives, or even illegitimate children—if they’re a family, then take the whole family together!
A family should stay complete—no one left behind!”
All the pirates: “…”
TL Note- Family planning...
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