Super Mothership
Goldtooth stared at the pirates excitedly unloading cargo at the port and the mountains of supplies already piled up across the docks.
There were only four words to describe the expression on his face…
His entire understanding of life had collapsed!
He had just woken up from a hangover when his creditor called him and forcibly waived the debt, acting like they would get angry if he actually paid them back.
While he was still groggy and had no idea how he was supposed to report this bizarre situation to his superiors, one of his subordinates came running over to report that the fleet had returned.
And then he discovered that his own fleet had undergone a magnificent transformation after merely going out for a little plundering.
Goldtooth knew his own assets better than anyone. When they had left, they had only a little over a hundred second-rate warships. When they returned, however, even counting the cargo ships, there was now a massive fleet of more than 500 vessels.
It had expanded fivefold!
If that alone wasn't enough, the mountains of gold, silver, treasures, weapons, and equipment being unloaded from the cargo ships completely plunged Goldtooth into a state of incomprehension.
Those dazzling piles of shiny little treasures…
Could those possibly be energy crystals?
Wait a minute…
Why did that enormous super-beast being dragged behind the fleet, looking like a dead fish, seem so familiar?
The successive shocks of everything happening before his eyes completely shattered Goldtooth's worldview.
And after his subordinates excitedly recounted one glorious achievement after another from the fleet's expedition, Goldtooth's already shattered worldview was ground into powder…
The seven big shots whose every stomp could cause an earthquake throughout the Shattered Star Domain had just lost two of their number to his own boss?
Not only that, his fleet had even looted the headquarters of the richest pirate group, the Gold Coin Pirates?
And then they had somehow gained the recognition of the other big shots, instantly becoming an existence on equal footing with the great pirates?
One bombshell after another left Goldtooth's head spinning.
He had known all along that he had managed to latch onto a powerful backer.
But he never imagined that the thigh he'd thought he'd grabbed was actually only one strand of the man's leg hair…
After finally digesting the news and recovering from his mixture of shock and delight, Goldtooth gradually realized there was a rather serious problem.
The Gold Coin Pirates…
Had they been wiped out?!
Holy crap!
The crystal card they had given him was still in his pocket!
He had heard that quite a few members of the Gold Coin Pirates had also been captured this time. If someone wanted to step on him to climb higher and report him to the authorities…
The moment he thought of that possibility, cold sweat instantly poured down Goldtooth's forehead.
What should he do?
Should he confess and hope for leniency, or go home and celebrate the New Year?
“Hurry, hurry, hurry! Get all the useless stuff unloaded and stored! Bring over more weapons and equipment, and fill everything to capacity with energy ammunition!”
“Where's the maintenance team? These captured warships need a complete inspection and overhaul. You've got only 48 hours!”
“Newly formed Mecha Squads Three through Six, you're going to Warship No. 086. Three mechas per person. Don't ask why, because I don't know either!”
“……”
Goldtooth was still locked in an internal struggle when he noticed groups of pirates unloading their incredibly valuable spoils and then immediately beginning to resupply the various spacecraft and load them up with supplies.
One mecha after another stepped off the ships. After maintenance and system reinstallation, they were rapidly reorganized and reassigned to the hangars of various warships.
The entire port was in a state of frantic activity.
“I say, what exactly are you guys preparing to do?” Goldtooth hurriedly grabbed a pirate who was rushing past.
“Oh! Lord Goldtooth! It's an order from Lord Ghost Captain. We're going to set sail again very soon!”
“Set sail again? What for?” Goldtooth asked in confusion.
After all those consecutive battles, shouldn't the fleet be given a good rest?
Where were they going at a time like this?
“No idea. But everyone's saying that the Captain has a new target!” The pirate sounded rather excited.
Now, these pirates absolutely worshipped their leader.
Just look at the kind of major operations they'd carried out since following this new boss!
They had gone head-to-head with Black Sails, wiped out the Gold Coin Pirates, and even hunted down the infamous Karon Beast just because they decided to hunt it.
What was that?
A true big-shot killer!
Pirates were naturally a group that worshipped the strong. And putting aside the slaves who had already been deeply grateful to Ghost Captain, even the former members of the Goldtooth Pirates now had dramatically increased loyalty.
Nie Yun had also deliberately worked to win their hearts. With one grand wave of his hand, he had directly distributed more than ten billion in war bonuses.
With such generous spoils combined with victory after victory, the entire Ghost Pirates had completely entered a state of sky-high morale.
Now, as long as Nie Yun gave the order, these already lawless pirates would probably dare to charge straight into battle and fight to the death even if their opponent were the Imperial Royal Family.
The members of other pirate groups who had previously shown off their weapons, equipment, salaries, and benefits in their social circles were now frantically asking around about the requirements for joining the Ghost Pirates.
These days, whenever someone said they were a member of the Ghost Pirates, they were guaranteed to receive envious and jealous looks accompanied by eager requests to become friends.
Following such an incredible boss was far more glorious than being Goldtooth's subordinate before.
How could they possibly not support him?
The pirate secretly glanced at his “former” boss.
Sigh!
Compared to others, you just wanted to die; compared to other goods, you just wanted to throw yours away…
Completely unaware that he had just been silently looked down upon, Goldtooth was both shocked and delighted when he heard that his boss had “another new target.”
He was delighted because his boss, who usually seemed content to laze around, had finally become incredibly motivated. His recent attendance rate had been astonishingly high.
But what shocked him was that there was apparently another major operation in the works.
Could it be that another big shot had been targeted?
But this wasn't the time to worry about that.
The most important thing was to hurry over, demonstrate his loyalty, and probe the boss for information.
“Where is Lord Captain?” Goldtooth quickly asked.
“Well… he seems to have taken a group of rather strange robots inside.”
Following the pirate's pointing finger, Goldtooth saw the enormous body of the Karon Beast…
Inside…
Inside that thing?!
Before he could recover from his shock, he saw Nie Yun slowly walk out of the Karon Beast's enormous mouth, which had been propped open by mechanical supports, accompanied by a robot.
Goldtooth hurriedly scurried over to greet him.
“Elder Yu, what do you think? Is there any possibility of recycling and making use of it?”
“It's a little troublesome. The injuries to the Leviathan itself aren't particularly serious. Given its tissue regeneration ability, it should be able to completely recover in about a week.
“However, this human vessel has already been completely connected to the Leviathan as its central nervous system. The original component that was removed isn't in our hands anymore, so finding a replacement will be very difficult.
“We're currently discussing the possibility of using data signals instead of neural signals to control it.
“Combined with your unparalleled consciousness-descent technology, Boss, we might even be able to create a remotely controlled Leviathan.
“The troublesome part is… that guy has already been reduced to a severe state of dementia. That makes it very difficult for us to study the neural-control model.”
“Ahem! That guy was a psychic ability user too. He struggled a little too violently while we were extracting information. I accidentally went a little too far. My mistake, my mistake. Sorry for causing everyone trouble…”
“Boss, you're being too modest. You discover the trouble, and we solve the trouble. That's precisely what we subordinates are supposed to do!”
“Heh heh! Your flattery is getting more and more blatant.”
“You're too kind, you're too kind. I hear you've recently made a huge windfall, Boss, and now you've got a new project. So, about next quarter's R&D budget…”
“Double it!”
“You got it!”
Goldtooth's footsteps grew slower and slower, while the sweat on his forehead increased.
Had he just overheard something he absolutely shouldn't have?
He was about to quietly slip away when the two men had already turned their gazes toward him.
The strange robot glanced at him once, then turned around and disappeared back into the Karon Beast's enormous mouth.
“C-Congratulations on your triumphant return, Lord Captain! May your literary and martial virtues shine throughout the ages, may you live for ten thousand years, and may you unify the entire Shattered Star Domain!” Goldtooth forced himself to smile.
Flattery could get you through anything.
Judging by the looks of things, this guy probably still enjoyed hearing it!
“Goldtooth, I was just looking for you.” Nie Yun looked at Goldtooth, a faintly amused yet mysterious smile appearing on his face.
Looking for me?
Those words made Goldtooth's heart skip a beat.
His heart practically jumped into his throat.
However, Nie Yun's next words made his heart temporarily drop back into his stomach.
“Among the spoils this time, there's a large batch of antiques and works of art. Find a way to sell them off as soon as possible and convert them into supplies or energy crystals.”
“Y-Yes! Yes! I'll get it done as quickly as possible! I absolutely won't hold the organization back!”
Thank goodness, thank goodness.
The boss probably hadn't heard any rumors yet.
“Mm! Very good! I'm quite satisfied with your performance lately, so… consider the crystal card in your pocket your performance bonus for this month.”
Goldtooth froze for a moment.
Then the cold sweat on his forehead suddenly poured down.
Holy crap!
It had come to light!
I'm screwed!
But how was he supposed to explain himself now?
He had been caught red-handed!
“Th-This… I…” Infinite fear surged through Goldtooth's heart.
Nie Yun smiled as he walked over and patted Goldtooth on the shoulder, making him tremble violently.
“You know, it's not difficult for a person to make a mistake. What's difficult is continuing to make one mistake after another! Keep it up. I have high hopes for you!”
Goldtooth: “……”
Goldtooth: “???”
TL Note- Bonus...
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