Super Mothership
The old clan leader of the Ryan people walked out of the cave and looked up at the meteors constantly streaking across the pitch-black night sky. His expression changed slightly.
With his wealth of battlefield experience, he could naturally tell that this was not a naturally occurring meteor shower. It was clearly the phenomenon of a large number of aircraft descending onto the planet.
And judging by the sheer number of them, at least tens of thousands of aircraft had invaded Ryan Star!
But how was that possible? There were a full fifty warships stationed above the planet to guard them.
Could it be that the Locke Consortium had decided they were no longer of any value, and was now preparing to dispose of them once they had served their purpose?
“Grandpa, I'm scared!”
A young Ryan girl couldn't help but cling to the old clan leader's leg.
At this moment, the Ryan people throughout the entire settlement also emerged from their crude dwellings, drawn outside by the sight in the night sky. Everyone looked somewhat uneasy.
“BOOM!”
Just as everyone was growing frightened, a meteor suddenly came streaking toward them from the distance, accompanied by engine roars like rolling thunder.
“BANG!”
A gigantic cyan figure slowly descended outside their settlement. Its steel body was still faintly red from the friction of atmospheric entry, radiating waves of scorching heat.
Although the flying dust and distorted waves of hot air somewhat obstructed their vision, many people were still able to identify it at a glance from its familiar silhouette…
A Bronze mecha!
And this appeared to be a modified elite mecha, clearly different from the standard-issue equipment they had previously piloted on the battlefield.
“Stay alert!”
The Ryan warriors responsible for guard duty immediately assumed defensive positions.
However, with only a few ancient training mechas and primitive cold weapons meant for close combat, there was little they could actually do against the unknown enemy before them. At best, their preparations could only serve to reassure themselves.
Although there were quite a few Silver-level warriors within the settlement, all of their equipment had already been reclaimed by the Locke Consortium. Even an ace pilot could do nothing without the necessary equipment.
However, just as everyone was bracing themselves for the worst, the mecha's cockpit slowly opened with a “hiss.”
And when the pilot climbed out of the cockpit, everyone was stunned.
“A Ryan!”
“He's one of our own?!”
“What's going on?”
The fellow Ryan pilot removed his helmet, looked around, and then slowly walked toward them.
Although no one could make sense of the situation, the defensive Ryan warriors still raised their weapons and blocked the mysterious clansman whose identity and allegiance were unknown.
“Huh? Spartacus! It's actually you?!”
At that moment, a surprised voice came from within the crowd.
Spartacus turned his head and immediately broke into a grin.
“Morsy? You're still alive?”
The person who had recognized him was none other than his old rival, Morsy, with whom Spartacus had previously fought a “God of War Deathmatch.”
“Hmph! I'm still waiting to kill you with my own hands. If you aren't dead, how could I possibly die before you?”
Morsy snorted coldly, but he took the initiative to lower the weapon in his hand.
His words were as sharp as ever, but after their previous duel, Morsy had actually come to acknowledge Spartacus.
Therefore, he believed that Spartacus had definitely not come here intending to harm them.
Morsy clearly held some prestige among these warriors. Seeing him lower his weapon, the surrounding people also lowered theirs one after another.
“Young warrior, state your identity and your purpose for coming here!”
At that moment, the old clan leader stepped out from the parted crowd and stared solemnly at Spartacus.
The moment Spartacus saw the old clan leader, he couldn't help becoming emotional.
When the old clan leader was young, he had not only been the strongest warrior in the clan, but also one of the very few people who had inherited the ancient knowledge of the Ryan people. He possessed extraordinary wisdom.
It could be said that it was precisely because he had constantly maneuvered and negotiated with the Locke Consortium that he had managed to preserve the last spark of the Ryan people's existence.
In the eyes of every young Ryan warrior, the old clan leader was a legend who commanded unparalleled prestige.
Spartacus placed one hand over his chest, dropped to one knee, and spoke respectfully.
“Ryan warrior, Spartacus, leader of the Hammer of Destruction Knights of the Ghost Pirates, pays his respects to the clan leader!”
Ghost Pirates? Leader of the Knights?
The old clan leader frowned. He couldn't help recalling the pirate raid the clansmen had told him about, and his gaze turned slightly cold.
“So you're saying that it was this Ghost Pirates who came to raid our people last time? What? Have you come today to help the wicked, to act as the tiger's accomplice, and help our enemies torment our already long-suffering clansmen?”
The people surrounding them immediately raised their weapons again. Their gazes toward Spartacus became angry and hostile.
“Clan leader, please don't misunderstand! I have never forgotten that I am a warrior of the Ryan people!”
Spartacus immediately made his position clear.
“Although the Ghost Pirates raided our people, they didn't harm a single one of us. On the contrary, every one of us, myself included, is deeply grateful to the captain for rescuing us from Ryan Star!”
“We joined the pirate group voluntarily as mercenaries. No one ever forced us to do so.
Compared to all those years we spent risking our lives for the Woolf Empire, we are finally truly free now!
After joining the pirate group, we can earn our own pay with our own hands and improve our status through military achievements. That allows our families to live comfortable lives, and our women and children can even attend schools to learn advanced knowledge of interstellar civilization.
They no longer have to risk following us onto the battlefield just for that pitiful amount of survival supplies.
They can live in warm, comfortable rooms without having to worry all day about when they might be attacked by monsters from beneath the ground…”
After Spartacus finished recounting his own experiences, not only the old clan leader, but everyone present was left stunned.
Could such a paradise really exist in this world?
And such a paradise… existed in a pirate den?
The old clan leader remained silent for a while before letting out a sigh.
“Sigh… If only I could believe that everything you have described is true.”
“However, what you've said is only your side of the story. As far as I know, interstellar pirates are all people who care only about profit. When it comes to the people they raid, they have always treated them as slaves. Those who are captured can only end up with a fate even more miserable than ours.”
“Exactly! Pirates could actually be that kind-hearted? Spartacus, have you been brainwashed? I know the Woolf Empire has technology capable of doing that!”
Morsy also stepped forward, his expression hostile.
“Whether it's a deception or not, you'll know as soon as you see it.”
Spartacus knew that words alone would be difficult to make them believe him.
After all, even he hadn't believed at first that there could be such an anomaly among the pirates as the Ghost Captain.
Without saying anything more, he simply raised his wrist and operated it a few times.
The eyes of the mecha standing behind him suddenly lit up, and a huge projection appeared in midair.
Then, scene after scene depicting the lives of the Ryan people began to appear before everyone.
As the images changed, the expressions of the crowd shifted from skepticism, to tentative belief, and finally, nearly everyone had a trace of longing and yearning on their faces.
One scene in particular deeply touched the hearts of every Ryan warrior present: Ryan women and children studying diligently in a spacious, brightly lit classroom, smiles on their faces.
Even the toughest warriors had tenderness in their hearts.
They could face death without hesitation on the battlefield, but when it came to their families, that was the softest place in every person's heart.
Even the old clan leader's eyes showed a slight change.
“That's Aunt Nia! Her entire family was taken away by the pirates before!”
“That's Bal! Thank the ancestors, they're all still alive!”
“I saw the Simpson family. They seem to… really be doing quite well?”
Exclamations and discussions continued to rise from the crowd, and everyone's gaze grew increasingly fervent.
What if all of this… was actually true?
When the projection disappeared, Spartacus took a deep breath.
“Clan leader, our Ryan people have endured the oppression of the Woolf Empire for far, far too long.
They force us to live in the harshest environments and endure the most brutal battles, giving us only a small amount of survival supplies to barely keep ourselves alive.
They use the executioner's blade to force our brave warriors to bleed and die for them on the battlefield, casually consuming us as cannon fodder.
They even make us slaughter one another!”
Spartacus's low voice, resembling the roar of a beast, caused the expressions of everyone around him to darken.
Spartacus raised his head and pointed toward Morsy.
“Morsy, we could have become the best of friends, the most trustworthy comrades-in-arms. Yet simply for the sake of surviving, I killed his younger brother. In the end, we became enemies!”
Morsy's expression became complicated upon hearing this.
Spartacus then turned back toward the old clan leader.
“Clan leader, our ancestors told us that the blood and thunder of the battlefield would grant us strength and glory. Yet now, the blood of our Ryan warriors is being spilled across the stars in humiliation. What glory is there left to speak of?”
The old clan leader stared blankly at Spartacus.
For a moment, he seemed to see his younger self standing before him…
TL Note- Warrior....
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