Super Mothership
However, although both fleets slammed on the brakes, the inertia from their high-speed travel still carried them straight into the ambush circle carefully arranged by Nie Yun.
The Fifth Fleet trailing behind fared slightly better, but Beckman’s remaining fleet in the front was almost entirely trapped within the encirclement. It was already too late for them to retreat.
Beckman’s group was instantly dumbfounded. Now there was a wolf in front and a tiger behind—they were practically surrounded. With only a dozen or so warships, they wouldn’t even be enough to withstand a single charge from either side.
“Is this the coordinate Arthas gave us?” Beckman asked, sweat forming on his forehead.
“Y-Yes… this is the place,” the adjutant swallowed nervously.
“Damn it! So it really was a trap. That bastard Arthas actually dared to frame his own allies so openly!” Beckman’s first thought was that he had been set up.
But he simply couldn’t understand it—other than leaving evidence behind, what benefit could Arthas possibly gain from doing this?
While Beckman’s side was still in shock and anger, a communication reply came from the Fifth Fleet.
“This is the Jinlok Consortium conducting operations. All unrelated parties withdraw immediately!”
The tone was extremely arrogant, as if they didn’t take the pirate fleet opposite them seriously at all.
Their confidence was quite understandable. Jinlok was one of the most powerful lords in the nearby star region and also the financial backer behind the Black Sail Pirate Group. In this patch of territory within the Shattered Star Region, aside from the Seven Major Pirate Groups, there were hardly any pirate forces that dared to offend them.
That was also the reason they dared to pursue their target directly into the Shattered Star Region with more than a hundred warships.
“The Jinlok Consortium? Heh. Sorry, but once you enter my territory, there’s only one identity left—prey! I’ll give you three minutes: men to the left, women to the right, valuables in the middle. Otherwise, I’ll start firing!”
The Fifth Fleet on the opposite side fell silent for quite a while. Clearly, they hadn’t expected that after revealing their affiliation, this small pirate group—whose name they had never even heard before—would still dare to be so arrogant.
They had obviously run into a bunch of reckless fools.
“You must be a newly established pirate group, right? Even if you’ve never heard of the Jinlok Consortium, you should at least know the Black Sail of the Seven Major Pirate Groups. If you continue obstructing our pursuit of these fugitives from an alien civilization, you will face a joint annihilation from us and the Black Sail!” the Fifth Fleet threatened.
The pirate formation on the opposite side was messy and completely worthy of the description “a rabble,” but this was still their territory. No one knew whether they had hidden ambushers or reinforcements nearby.
Moreover, after their earlier battle with Beckman’s Sea Storm–class mech squadrons, the fleet’s mech forces had already suffered heavy losses. Everyone understood what it meant to lose air superiority in such complex terrain.
History had already taught countless fleets through bloody lessons: fighting a group of pirates in the Shattered Star Region was an extremely unwise choice.
“Black Sail?” The other side paused for a moment, seeming somewhat cautious, but they didn’t immediately back down. “In that case, I’ll give Black Sail some face. Leave this small fleet behind, and you can go.”
“No. That fleet is our target.”
Seeing that the other side appeared to be wavering, the Fifth Fleet naturally refused to concede. Otherwise, how would they explain it to Jinlok when they returned?
“Hey! Don’t force my hand. I’m giving Flint some face by not making a fuss about you trespassing into my territory, but that doesn’t mean the Ghost Pirate Group is afraid of his Black Sail!”
Hearing this, the commander of the Fifth Fleet suddenly felt uncertain. The other side clearly knew Flint’s reputation yet still dared not give him face—could it be some newly risen powerful pirate group?
If it were one of the higher-ranked pirate groups, the Jinlok Consortium wouldn’t be afraid, but getting entangled with them would still be an unnecessary nuisance.
“What do you plan to do with that fleeing fleet?” he probed.
“Heh! As the saying goes, a thief never returns empty-handed. My brothers came out here on a mission—how could we go back with nothing? Didn’t you say they’re a refugee fleet from an alien civilization? They should fetch quite a price on the black market!”
Hearing this, the Fifth Fleet immediately felt reassured.
Now that these Gemini people had entered a pirate den, they were basically doomed. Even if they somehow survived, they’d likely end up as slaves anyway—saving the Fifth Fleet the trouble of doing it themselves.
Still, even if they had decided to abandon personally killing the target, they couldn’t appear weak.
“Fine! We can leave, but this isn’t over. Ghost Pirate Group—the Jinlok Consortium will remember you!”
After leaving behind those parting words, the Fifth Fleet slowly began to withdraw.
This both moved them away from the dangerous combat zone and left the pirates with a safe environment to act. However, although the fleet had retreated, all of the Fifth Fleet’s detection equipment remained locked onto the area, ready to monitor the pirates’ next move…
…
“The enemy is retreating?” The adjutant frowned as he watched the Fifth Fleet slowly pulling away.
Although the tiger behind them had left, they were still almost completely surrounded. Countless gun barrels were aimed at their fleet, leaving them not daring to make the slightest move.
When three sides were confronting each other, there had still been a chance to fish in troubled waters. But now, this situation was actually even worse for them.
At the very least, it seemed the other two sides were not working together—that could be considered a bit of good news…
Beckman let out a bitter laugh in his heart, but his expression soon grew serious. Although he was a second-generation heir, he was still a soldier!
“Order the fleet to prepare for a fight to the death! Gemini people would rather die standing than live on their knees!”
Hearing this, the Gemini officers immediately felt their blood boil.
“Yes! Prepare for a fight to the death!”
“Fight to the death!”
The soldiers throughout the fleet roared in response.
“Well now! Such enthusiasm. Should I wait for you to finish your oath ceremony before coming in?”
At that moment, a slightly amused voice suddenly cut in, leaving everyone who had been fired up momentarily stunned.
Beckman stared at the communication screen in disbelief. On it was a familiar face—handsome enough to make even him feel a bit jealous…
…
“Bang!” A white flare shot through space. At the same time, all the Gemini warships withdrew their gun barrels and shut down their shields.
“Hmph! I thought those Gemini people were stubborn. They didn’t even fire a single shot before surrendering!”
The Fifth Fleet officers who had been watching the situation felt greatly disappointed.
Why did they act like desperate fighters when facing us, yet instantly cower when meeting a group of pirates?
Still, no matter what, this annoying Gemini harassment fleet had finally been dealt with. They had technically completed their mission.
“Let’s go!”
…
“Oh ho ho…” Nie Yun fanned himself with a feather fan, looking extremely pleased as he watched the Fifth Fleet being fooled into leaving.
What was this called? This was called capturing a wolf with bare hands—achieving a small goal with just a few casual words.
Snatching prey right out of the tiger’s mouth without losing a single soldier!
This was one of Nie’s Thirty-Six Stratagems… Steal a sheep in passing!
Mechanical Bugs: “…”
TL Note- Wolf in sheep clothing or rather Sheep in Wolf's clothing..
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