Super Mothership
In the end, Chloros didn't even bother with a few perfunctory parting words. He simply turned around and left.
He didn't believe that all four of those mechas were genuine Legendary Mechas. However, as long as even two of them were real, then combined with that terrifying main cannon on the opposing side, he might genuinely end up stranded here if he let his guard down.
After weighing the potential gains against the risks, Chloros ultimately chose to withdraw.
With his departure, the Locke Consortium's fleet also began accelerating away from the battlefield.
However, to escape their pursuers as quickly as possible, Chloros had no choice but to assign part of his forces to cover the retreat.
“Cease fire! Cease fire! We surrender! Under the Empire's Convention on Prisoners of War, we demand the treatment to which we are entitled as prisoners!”
The fleet assigned to cover the retreat fought fiercely, managing to hold off their pursuers for nearly half an hour. Only when their commander realized that escape from the encirclement was impossible did he finally fire a white surrender flare.
Perhaps unwilling to be taken prisoner by an alien race, they chose to surrender to the Ghost Pirates, who could at least be considered a “local” force.
Naturally, Nie Yun accepted their surrender without hesitation. After all, he could earn himself another handsome ransom.
Once the prisoners had been taken aboard, the Ghost Pirates immediately began withdrawing from the wormhole, showing absolutely no intention of making contact with Gemini.
And so, this small-scale battle, whose outcome had been predetermined from the beginning, finally came to an end...
...
“So that's the Legendary Mecha mentioned in the intelligence reports?”
On Gemini's side, Isabel wore a grave expression.
Although they had captured less than ten minutes of the battle on record, the overwhelming might displayed earlier by the Crypt Lord—slaughtering anyone who stood in its way—had deeply shaken every Gemini officer who had witnessed it.
Their own top-tier mechas, such as the Sea Storm-class, could fight ten enemies at once, or even a hundred under the right circumstances. But they could never match a Legendary Mecha's ability to dominate a battlefield single-handedly, moving freely through the dangers and chaos as though no one could stop it.
Such an existence was like a legendary general cutting loose on the battlefield with an unstoppable ultimate technique. It possessed enough power to determine the outcome of an entire battle.
“Good thing the Woolf Empire can't mass-produce mechas like that. Otherwise, who could possibly stand against them?” Renault wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
“Mm! But these so-called allies...” Isabel said thoughtfully, watching the pirates withdrawing on the other side.
She had assumed that the “allies” the All for One Society had mentioned would be a fleet directly under its command. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that they would turn out to be a bunch of pirates.
And judging by what she'd just witnessed, these pirates were astonishingly powerful in their own right. They had actually managed to frighten off a Legendary Mecha!
“Arthas, have we received any news from the Shattered Star Domain?”
Once they had jumped out of the wormhole, Gemini had naturally regained communications with the Shattered Star Domain. Isabel had immediately instructed Nie Yun to gather relevant intelligence.
At the very least, they needed to figure out what exactly had happened on the Locke Consortium's side.
“Mm! We've already received some intelligence. The news is astonishing!” Nie Yun replied, putting on an expression as though even he were shocked by what he had just heard.
“Not long ago, for reasons that remain unclear, a massive internal conflict erupted in the Shattered Star Domain. The seven largest pirate factions suddenly broke into open warfare, attacking one another.
“Apparently, the various factions engaged in endless schemes and shifting alliances, while smaller pirate groups from outside the major powers were dragged into the conflict as well. The situation became extraordinarily chaotic.
“Even my pirate friend was forced to seek protection by joining a powerful pirate group. He's since been absorbed into their ranks.
“As for what actually happened, outsiders have no way of knowing. Only the upper echelons of the major pirate groups know the full story.
“When the fighting finally ended, two of the seven major pirate groups—the Gold Coin Pirates and the Karon Pirates—had been wiped out one after the other. The Dark Temple suffered devastating losses and was forced to retreat into hiding. Meanwhile, a temporary alliance formed by the remaining major pirate groups emerged victorious, completely reshuffling the balance of power in the Shattered Star Domain.
“Then, almost immediately afterward, the victorious pirates launched a surprise attack on the Locke Consortium's territory and began plundering its holdings on a massive scale. I suspect that's probably why the Locke Consortium had no choice but to withdraw its forces.”
Upon hearing this bombshell, Isabel and Renault were left stunned.
“W-Wait... Are you saying that we were rescued by a bunch of pirates?” Renault stared in disbelief.
They had considered various possibilities regarding how the All for One Society would strike at the Locke Consortium. Perhaps it would apply economic pressure, or maybe influential figures within the Woolf Empire would exert pressure from above.
But it had never occurred to them that the All for One Society would use pirates to carry out its so-called “sanctions”!
As for Nie Yun's story about his “friend” being absorbed into another pirate group, they paid almost no attention to it.
A tiny pirate group with only tens of thousands of members was an insignificant pawn caught between major powers. It simply wasn't worth their attention.
“This can't possibly be a coincidence. The All for One Society must have been pulling strings behind the scenes,” Isabel said after a moment of contemplation.
At the very least, that pirate fleet they'd just encountered had undoubtedly been acting under the All for One Society's influence!
Otherwise, why would they ignore all the valuable spoils of war available for plundering and instead come to this empty wormhole to coordinate an attack with Gemini from both sides?
When Isabel considered how quickly the All for One Society had managed to eliminate some of the scattered pirate factions in the Shattered Star Domain and win over others, ultimately assembling a massive pirate alliance capable of threatening the Locke Consortium, she couldn't help feeling secretly alarmed.
Whether the Society had thrown money at the problem, crushed its opponents through sheer military superiority, or resorted to threats and inducements behind the scenes, its power and methods had left Isabel deeply shaken.
Even more frightening was that, after accomplishing all this, the organization had managed to keep its identity as the mastermind hidden from almost everyone.
Accomplish the mission, brush off the dust, and leave without claiming any credit!
It was all done without the slightest fanfare.
This was the sort of high-level operation one would expect from a shadowy underworld organization...
Woolf Empire... So you've been infiltrated too, haven't you?
Looking at Isabel, who had fallen into deep thought, Nie Yun inexplicably felt a great sense of relief.
Gemini should be out of immediate danger for now. But as for the Locke Consortium...
Although Chloros had been driven away and the wormhole had been successfully secured, Nie Yun couldn't shake the strange feeling that something wasn't quite right.
For instance, he couldn't make sense of Chloros's recent actions.
Chloros had anticipated that they would launch a surprise attack on the wormhole. How could he possibly have failed to anticipate that they would join forces with Gemini?
He had deployed a mere two hundred warships, with his rear already in an unstable position, and had even personally entered the fray to carry out a pointless delaying action. Aside from suffering casualties and losing ships, he'd gained absolutely nothing.
Had he simply watched too many historical dramas and decided to show up just to have a little chat with Nie Yun on the battlefield?
...
“Name?”
“Grimm.”
“Position?”
“Commander of the Sixth Subfleet under the First Fleet of the Locke Consortium. Rank: Senior Colonel. Identification number: LK872876...”
The two pirates conducting the interrogation exchanged strange glances.
Among all the prisoners captured this time, Grimm was the highest-ranking officer. He was also, without a doubt, the most cooperative senior officer they had ever encountered.
The other prisoners had either been agitated and refused to cooperate or had become despondent and withdrawn into silence. Someone as easy to talk to as this man was a rare find.
Moreover, Grimm's expression remained calm. He showed none of the nervousness one would normally expect from a prisoner of war.
“Very good. As a senior officer, you'll be assigned a private cell. Don't worry. As long as you behave yourself, the Ghost Pirates will treat their prisoners well!”
The smooth progress of the interrogation left the questioning pirate rather satisfied.
Grimm was soon escorted out of the interrogation room by the two pirates. They led him down a long corridor toward his private cell.
“Hmm! May I ask where we're going to be taken next?” the officer named Grimm suddenly asked with a smile.
You're a prisoner. Is that really something you should be asking?
One of the pirates' eyes narrowed sharply. He was just about to curse Grimm out when his gaze met the officer's raised eyes.
Suddenly, his mind went momentarily blank.
“You'll be taken back to our base. Once the ransom has been paid, you'll be handed over to the Locke Consortium.”
The other pirate glanced at his companion in puzzlement. Under normal circumstances, they shouldn't reveal such information to a prisoner.
However, pirates weren't regular soldiers, and they didn't follow such strict rules and regulations. He felt that something was slightly inappropriate about his companion's response, but he didn't criticize him in front of the prisoner.
After all, the information wasn't particularly sensitive, especially considering that the prisoner had no freedom of movement.
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Grimm's eyes slowly lost their faint, almost imperceptible red glow.
A strange smile appeared at the corners of his mouth...
TL Note- Trap?
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