Super Mothership
"Boss! The leaders of those pirate groups have agreed to accept our unified command. But they want thirty percent of the Dragoon's wealth and women as their share."
"Heh! What a greedy bunch of bastards... Agree to it!" Flint sneered.
During this period, despite holding the advantage, Flint had not rushed to launch a final assault. Instead, he had focused on harassing the Twin Dragons faction, steadily wearing down their morale and compressing their living space bit by bit.
He was worried that excessive losses would leave an opening for the other pirate groups to exploit.
But the situation was different now.
By continuously suppressing the Twin Dragons faction and demonstrating the Black Sail faction's overwhelming superiority to the outside world, they had attracted dozens of smaller pirate groups to join them. Their strength had grown increasingly formidable.
Today, by using the division of the Dragoons as bait, they had even secured unified command of the fleet.
Even though he already held an absolute advantage, Flint remained clear-headed.
If this rabble fought independently, they might not strengthen his side at all and could even become a burden. Therefore, before launching the final offensive, he had to seize command authority.
Still...
The benefits I've given away today, I'll reclaim sooner or later.
A cold smile appeared on Flint's face as he silently marked them for future disposal.
...
One day later, a massive mixed fleet of nearly two thousand ships had assembled and slowly began advancing toward the Dragoons' base.
Although the countless flags were dazzling to the eye, and most of the vessels were armed merchant ships with formations that were somewhat disorderly, the sheer scale of the fleet remained overwhelmingly intimidating.
"It's time to end this!" Flint stood proudly, gazing at the distant destination.
Although a few unexpected incidents had occurred along the way, everything had ultimately developed according to his plans.
Just then, a radar operator on the bridge suddenly shouted,
"Boss! Enemy ship signatures detected directly ahead! Three hundred ships and closing!"
"What?" Flint was visibly stunned.
Despite being at such an overwhelming numerical disadvantage, they actually dared to come out and fight?
And when the enemy fleet drew closer and everyone saw the reconnaissance images, they were even more shocked.
Red Dragon!
That's right. These three hundred warships were none other than Red Dragon's remaining elite forces.
After all, Red Dragon's flagship was highly recognizable throughout the Shattered Star Region.
At that moment, a communication request came through, and a familiar face appeared before Flint.
"Red Dragon, it really is you!" Flint paused briefly before revealing a mocking smile.
"Heh. How come it's only you people? Could it be... you were kicked out?"
Thinking about it, that made sense.
Pirates were always profit-driven and heartless. Under immense pressure, it was perfectly normal for Messiah to abandon Red Dragon.
After all, the Dragoons didn't belong to Messiah alone.
Drawing a powerful enemy upon themselves for the sake of a lover had probably caused dissatisfaction among her subordinates long ago.
But if Messiah thought she could stay out of this by doing that, she was being far too naive.
"If you've come to surrender, then for the sake of our past acquaintance, I can guarantee everyone's safety. Those willing to join us will receive the positions and money they deserve.
Red Dragon, I've always admired you. If you're willing to follow me, you'll become Black Sail's second-in-command. What do you say?" Flint said with a smile, extending an olive branch.
Although Red Dragon's force was small in number, they were all elite pirates. With them as the backbone, Black Sail's strength could expand even further.
Moreover, the three hundred warships under his command represented a formidable military force that could not be ignored.
That kind of strength was certainly worth offering the title of second-in-command.
"Finished talking?" Red Dragon casually dug at his ear, looking rather impatient.
His arrogant expression, which practically screamed you're so damn long-winded, immediately caused Flint to frown.
That was not the attitude of someone seeking peace.
Things... seemed to be different from what he had imagined.
"Don't tell me you think those three hundred warships of yours can stop my fleet?"
"You've got more ships than I do. I can't stop you," Red Dragon admitted openly with a shrug.
Then a mocking grin spread across his face.
"But... why would I need to stop you?"
The moment he finished speaking, Red Dragon's fleet suddenly changed course and directly cleared the route leading to the Dragoons' base, adopting a completely indifferent attitude of you take your broad highway, I'll cross my single-log bridge.
Flint stared at Red Dragon suspiciously, completely unable to figure out what game he was playing.
Even if they intended to resist to the bitter end, splitting their forces at a time like this wasn't he afraid of being defeated piecemeal?
Just as he was about to say something, a sudden commotion erupted within the right-wing fleet, instantly disrupting the already disorderly formation.
"What's going on?"
The unexpected development suddenly gave Flint a very bad feeling.
"That's the Red Ribbon Pirate Group's fleet!" the adjutant immediately reported.
Soon, the communication screen displayed the image of a pirate leader with a red ribbon tied around his arm.
"Flint, my base has been attacked by a Dragoon fleet!"
Red Ribbon's expression was exceptionally grim.
"What?!" Flint was startled.
A Dragoon fleet? How was that possible?!
While he was attacking her headquarters, Messiah had actually dared to secretly dispatch fleets to strike their rear areas!
After a brief moment of thought, he understood her purpose. She was clearly trying to intimidate those fence-sitters and shake their resolve.
Both Black Sail's and Madman's bases had sufficient defensive forces stationed there. They couldn't be taken down quickly, so the Dragoons had instead targeted the weaker fence-sitters.
However, the Dragoons' military strength was limited. Most of their forces should have remained behind to defend their headquarters. The number of ships they could send out shouldn't have been very large...
"How many warships does the enemy have?" Flint asked calmly.
"Over two hundred!" Red Ribbon replied quickly.
"My main force is here, and my base's defenses are critically weak. Flint, I need to return immediately to reinforce it!"
A trace of anxiety had already crept into his voice.
No one had expected this.
He had only come to grab a share of the spoils, but before he had gained even a single hair's worth of profit, he had somehow become the first target of retaliation.
What a fool I'd been. At a time like this, staying home was obviously the safest choice.
If he had another chance to choose, he would never have stepped into this mess.
"More than two hundred ships?" Flint's eyebrows twitched.
That number was even higher than he had expected. He had thought Messiah had merely sent out harassment fleets, but she was actually serious about this.
"Hmph! Foolish! No matter what little tricks you have, they're meaningless before absolute power!"
Flint sneered inwardly before turning toward Red Ribbon.
"The situation is obvious. Messiah has been driven into a corner. Splitting our forces now would play right into her hands."
"But my base—"
"Don't worry!" Flint raised a hand to interrupt him.
"Since we're allies now, sharing profits means sharing risks as well.
Whatever losses you suffer, I'll compensate them fully from this campaign's spoils. Not only that, but your rightful share will remain completely intact."
Red Ribbon's eyes lit up, clearly tempted.
At that moment, another commotion erupted from the fleet's right wing.
"B-Boss! It's the Blue Sprite and Golden Armor Pirate Groups! Their bases have also come under attack from the Dragoons, and they're demanding to return immediately!"
"Hmm? How many enemy ships are there?" Flint asked urgently.
"More than two hundred warships each!"
"What?!"
Flint shot to his feet.
Over six hundred warships in total!
That was practically all of the Dragoons' military strength!
Which also meant that the Dragoon headquarters was now...
Virtually undefended.
They'd abandoned even their base?
What exactly were they trying to do?
What Flint found hardest to understand was the purpose behind attacking such insignificant targets.
Even if the Dragoons lost their headquarters and wiped out all these fence-sitters, would he, Flint, shed even a single tear?
It was like someone came to burn down your house, and your response was to beat up the third son of your aunt's second brother-in-law's family... who happened to be your college classmate.
What kind of logic was that?
...
Meanwhile, news that the Dragoons had deployed all their forces to launch retaliatory strikes against various pirate bases spread like wildfire.
Flint wanted to suppress the information, but something this big was impossible to hide.
The pirate leaders who had hoped to profit from the situation were completely dumbfounded.
The Dragoons had abandoned even their own headquarters.
This was clearly a case of someone giving up everything and preparing for mutual destruction!
Madmen!
They were all complete madmen!
Nobody knew which unfortunate pirate group would be next after those first three victims, and every leader was filled with unease.
Although Flint insisted that this was merely an enemy scheme to undermine morale and promised compensation for all losses, the fleet still descended into unrest.
And just as the pirates' nerves were fraying, a broad-area transmission from Red Dragon completely ignited the situation.
"Anyone except Black Sail and Madman who withdraws now will be immediately removed from our retaliation list. We guarantee that no further action will be taken against you.
As for those who remain stubborn..."
Red Dragon's eyes flashed coldly.
"Even if I ignore Black Sail, I'll wipe you out first!"
A threat.
A completely naked threat.
The timid fear the bold, and the bold fear those who don't value their own lives.
Everyone could see it now.
These two Dragons were equally insane.
They were practically made for each other.
If they could casually abandon their own headquarters, what couldn't they do?
Several pirate groups immediately ignored all attempts at persuasion and withdrew their fleets on the spot.
When immortals fought, mortals were wise to stay far away.
In the end, aside from a few diehard Black Sail loyalists, only the three pirate groups whose bases had already been attacked chose to remain.
They didn't really have a choice.
Even if they returned now, they'd probably find nothing but ruins.
They might as well stay and hope to recover their losses through the spoils of war.
At that moment, the three pirate leaders felt utterly wronged.
There were so many fence-sitters.
Why had the first round of retaliation targeted the three of them?
...
Watching the massive fleet gradually fall apart, Red Dragon's face filled with excitement.
"It worked! This plan of yours... this..."
"The Empty Fort Strategy," Nie Yun supplied with a grin.
"Ah, right! The Empty Fort Strategy! What a brilliant plan! Hahaha!"
Red Dragon burst into laughter.
"But I have a question. There were so many pirate groups to choose from. Why did you specifically pick these three as examples? Did they offend you somehow?"
"Heh, not at all."
Nie Yun chuckled.
The only reason was that the sizes of those three pirate groups were just right.
More importantly...
Their names were simply too distinctive.
Red Ribbon.
Golden Armor.
Blue Sprite.
Nie Yun considered himself a man with obsessive tendencies.
The moment he thought of them together, he couldn't help but—
Wuhuwuhuwu~~
Mechanical Bugs: "..."
TL Note- Empty Fort Strategy...
Next
Comments
Post a Comment