Super Mothership
“Captain Ghost, your group’s gains this time are enough to make anyone jealous. Congratulations!”
Messiah opened with a beaming smile and warm congratulations, as though the two sides had never had any conflict at all.
Red Dragon was there too, though his smile was rather awkward.
“Heh heh! Likewise, likewise. I hear your fleet has more than doubled in size. Compared to everyone else, my little gains are hardly worth mentioning.
I never imagined that even these few scraps would catch your attention, Lord Messiah.” Nie Yun smiled just as brightly, showing not the slightest trace of anger.
Hearing the faintly barbed remark, the smile on Messiah’s face gradually faded.
“Captain Ghost, you’ve seized the entire Ryan people this time. Surely giving up a portion of them wouldn’t hurt. We are allies, after all. If our strength increases, that means the strength of the alliance increases as well. Isn’t that right?”
The Twin Dragons and the Ghost Pirates currently had aligned interests. And with an ambitious faction like Black Sails looming over them, the two sides had good reason to form a defensive alliance to maintain the balance of power in the Shattered Star Domain.
However, for pirates whose moral standards were generally below average and who had virtually no foundation of trust, having an ally who was too powerful was hardly a good thing.
When the Ghost Pirates had first emerged, their strength was nowhere near that of the major pirate groups. Messiah had naturally welcomed such outside support with open arms.
But during the recent great battle in the Shattered Star Domain, the Ghost Pirates had suddenly become the biggest dark horse—and the greatest winner. Their explosive growth had caught everyone off guard and left them utterly stunned.
Although they still lacked the deep foundations of some long-established pirate groups, their demonstrated combat strength was now no weaker than that of the Dragon Riders.
Their origins were already mysterious. Now, with so many battle-hardened Ryan people joining them, their strength would undoubtedly grow even more rapidly in the future.
Messiah’s attempt to force a purchase this time was partly because it would have been a shame to leave such a tempting prize untouched. But more importantly, it was a test of Nie Yun.
If Nie Yun responded aggressively, clearly displaying the attitude of someone whose strength had surged and whose arrogance had grown to the point that he no longer considered the Twin Dragons worthy of regard, Messiah would have to reassess his relationship with this ally.
It was even possible that, in the end, the Twin Dragons would have to side with Black Sails and join forces against the Ghost Pirates, restoring the balance of power between the factions.
In the chaotic Shattered Star Domain, an enemy today could become a friend tomorrow.
Likewise, a friend today might become an enemy tomorrow…
“Mm! Lord Messiah, you’re absolutely right. I completely agree! Everyone benefits when everyone does well!
Some of my men were even clamoring to take the people back, saying that otherwise it would be a fight to the death. What does that show? It shows they have no sense of the bigger picture! They spend every day guarding their own little patch of land, desperately trying to hoard every good thing for themselves and worrying that someone else might take an interest in it. They’re short-sighted and utterly foolish!
How can they not understand that ‘sharing’ is the future of cooperation? Once you have that, what more do you need a bicycle for?”
“Uh…”
Although they didn’t understand Nie Yun’s “sharing economy” joke, his generosity was clearly far beyond anything either man had expected. Messiah, who had already prepared all sorts of arguments, suddenly didn’t know how to respond.
He’s this easygoing even after we took his people? Is he trying to make us lower our guard, or is he really prepared to swallow the humiliation?
Messiah cleared his throat and cautiously tested the waters.
“Ahem! You truly think so?”
“Of course! But there’s one thing about your actions that I’m very dissatisfied with!”
Here it comes. There’s always a “but,” isn’t there…
“I think you’re asking for far too little. How can a mere hundred thousand be enough? How about this—I’ll provide another million Ryan warriors so you can form a battle corps!”
Messiah stared at him blankly.
I must have… misheard that, right?
Could it be that the other party valued them so highly that he was willing to offer such an enormous benefit just to strengthen their alliance?
Is he really willing to spend that much?
Red Dragon was equally dumbfounded.
“Brother Ghost, are you serious?”
A Ryan battle corps numbering a million warriors—such a temptation was simply impossible to refuse!
“Of course I’m serious. But sharing goes both ways, so I’d also like to borrow something from you.”
The two immediately grew wary.
“Well… Brother Ghost, anything except money is negotiable!” Red Dragon said cautiously.
Damn it! Have we really angered him? Has this guy decided to kill us and send us that terrifying ‘Death Notice for a Loan That Will Never Be Repaid’ everyone’s heard of?
Borrow money? Nie Yun blinked in confusion.
After swallowing the Gold Coin Pirates’ treasure, even if he couldn’t become the richest man in the Shattered Star Domain, did he really look like someone short on cash?
And here they are, acting like they’d rather die than lend me anything… Are they really this stingy?
“Of course not. I want to borrow a mecha. A Legendary Mecha!” Nie Yun said with a smile.
“Phew…” Red Dragon breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned.
“You want to borrow the Red Dragon? Well… since you’ve asked, brother, there’s no way we can refuse!” Red Dragon hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and agreeing.
Messiah thought it over and didn’t object.
After all, Nie Yun had repaired the mecha for them. There were practically no secrets left in it for him, so they could consider this repayment for that favor.
Of course, that was assuming Nie Yun first fulfilled his promise of a million Ryan warriors.
“No, I don’t mean the Red Dragon. I mean… the other Legendary Mecha you have!” Nie Yun smiled meaningfully.
Both men’s expressions changed in an instant.
“If I’m not mistaken, it should be called… Valkyrie?”
Whoosh!
Cold sweat immediately broke out on their foreheads.
We’ve been exposed? How could that be?!
“Captain Ghost must be joking. How could we possibly have a second Legendary Mecha? If we did, Flint wouldn’t have driven us into such desperate straits earlier.” Messiah smiled, but it was an extremely strained smile.
With their greatest secret laid bare, the shock was so overwhelming that they could no longer fully control their expressions.
“Is that so? You really don’t have one?” Nie Yun asked suspiciously.
“W-we really don’t!” Red Dragon stammered, his face flustered as he repeatedly waved his hands.
“What a pity. I wanted to study that rumored commander-class Legendary Mecha, which is supposedly even stronger in combat. If you don’t have it, then forget it.
Damn Karon! He was about to die, yet he still gave me false information! So the Second Prince and the wanted order were all fake, too!” Nie Yun said indignantly.
The Second Prince? A wanted order?
So… Karon isn’t dead?!
Messiah and Red Dragon turned completely pale. They immediately realized that their identities had probably been exposed in full.
“Heh…” Messiah gave a bitter laugh, finally abandoning any hope that they might have escaped detection.
“If the information came from Karon… then I suppose the Second Prince’s people have already discovered our identities?”
Red Dragon stepped forward, placing his imposing body between Messiah and Nie Yun.
“Are you planning to turn us in for the bounty?” Red Dragon stared at Nie Yun with blood-red eyes, like a cornered beast.
“Easy, easy! If I were working with that Second Prince, you’d have been dead several times over by now.”
Nie Yun’s words eased Red Dragon’s tension somewhat.
“If you don’t mind, could you tell me your story?” Nie Yun poured himself a glass of wine.
Then he glanced behind him.
Codename had already dragged over a little stool and was holding a bag of terrible-tasting melon seeds, staring at the communication screen with eager anticipation.
Nie Yun’s mouth twitched.
That book, The Twin Dragons of the Shattered Star Domain, seems to be nearing ten million words… The author really has it rough, grinding away to earn pocket money. Oh, well…
Seeing that Nie Yun’s tone was fairly gentle, Red Dragon hesitated, then cautiously worked up the courage to ask:
“And what if we do mind?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt two overwhelming waves of resentment emanating from the other side of the screen…
“Then by tomorrow, I have no idea how many people will be trying to turn you in for the bounty…” came a faint, chilling voice, laced with murderous intent.
Red Dragon: “…”
So if we don’t tell the story, you’ll expose us?
Under the “intense scrutiny” of the two enthusiastic spectators, Red Dragon and Messiah exchanged a miserable glance.
In the end, they finally began recounting the little-known secret buried in the currents of history more than thirty years ago…
TL Note- Story time, sorry for the Gap as I was on a trip....
Next
Comments
Post a Comment