by <unknown>
The fierce battle in the Seven Seas Grand Market was about to happen. Naturally, almost all the worlds and fleets at the edge of the Imperium were to be involved.
The four families had drawn the space pirates and the local armed forces to their side at a fortune and offered them all kinds of gears and titles because they wanted the local forces to lead the charge as the vanguard.
Neither the space pirates nor the local armed forces like the Flying Rainbow Fleet were stupid. They accepted the titles and offerings of the four families, swearing that their loyalty would be unquestionable. But whether or not they would really fight for the four families dutifully in a battle… it remained to be seen!
It was impossible for them to die for the four families, but they at least needed to pretend to be fearless. So, all they needed to do was to capture random people, kick them into the obsolete starships, and force them to lead the charge in the battle.
After all, since even the space pirates had turned into the National Protection Army, the rank and the maximal number of the Flying Rainbow Fleet had been more than doubled. The vacancies were allowed to be filled by their own enlistment. So, what was there to worry about? Just start capturing!
Chapter 2471: The Star of the Show Has Finally Come! |
At first, the Flying Rainbow Fleet conducted the enlistment in its own defense area according to the tradition. Naturally, it was a familiar job for them. Without meeting any resistance, they tied up tremendous young and old people and sent them to starships.
After their names were added to the register of soldiers, they became the "elites" who were devoted to the country and willing to die for His Majesty and the four Kurfürsten. The subsidy and compensation for every "elite" could be applied from the Council of Elders and were not small at all. It was a bargain in any way.
However, they could not capture too many people from their own territory. After all, the high-intensity work in the mines, the farms, and the magical equipment factories had to be ensured, and the economic systems in the few Sectors needed to be kept running at least at the lowest efficiency too. They certainly could not kill the goose that laid golden eggs.
Therefore, after stuffing a few ragged starships, the Flying Rainbow Fleet shifted their attention to the neighboring Sectors, as well as the resource planets and space fortresses beyond the Sectors and the merchant teams that were passing by.
Among all of them, the passing merchant teams were their favorite targets. Their logic was simple. In such chaotic days, the real dutiful merchants were all resting at home obediently, and those who were bold enough to travel around must be desperadoes who were deeply associated with the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, which meant that they were undoubtedly the accomplices of the "illegitimate Reform Committee of the Council of Elders".
Then, wasn't it reasonable, merciful, and humane for the Flying Rainbow Fleet to capture such merchants, confiscate their starships and goods, and enlist everybody in the business team so that they could "correct their mistakes by making contributions"?
Just like that, the Flying Rainbow Fleet jumped to a neighboring Sector, which had been in a bad relationship with it, in secret. Taking advantage of the fact that the local Sector Master was out and the place was weakly defended—speaking of which, the local Sector Master had probably gone to the Flying Rainbow Fleet's territory for "enlistment" in secret with his own troops—the Flying Rainbow Fleet swept across a few local resource planets even more brutally than space pirates, taking away all persons and assets.
Then, they set up ambushes on the few busy business routes nearby, and the moment they detected the spiritual waves of the merchant teams, they would immediately lean close with the advantage of the high speed and the fierce firepower, demanding to board on the starships for inspection. So much as they discovered anything that was remotely associated with the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, even if it was only a roll of toilet paper with the logo of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, they would immediately declare that the strangers were the rebelling reformists and that their assets would be confiscated and they would be enlisted.
The operation "to clear the rebels and the bandits" lasted a few months. The hundred obsolete starships that had been used by the Flying Rainbow Fleet were all crammed with crying, hopeless "soldiers". Many carriers of the "rebels" had been captured and added to their own fleet. The operation was certainly a success!
Supposedly, they could return to their hometown for a rest after the successful operation. When the "battle of Seven Seas" began, the newly-drafted soldiers would be escorted to the frontline to be killed, while the veterans of the Flying Rainbow Fleet would cover them in the rear. By the time the newly-drafted soldiers were mostly killed, they would announce that the Flying Rainbow Fleet had suffered heavy losses and were almost entirely wiped out and that they had to withdraw from the battlefield despite their infinite devotion to His Majesty and the four Kurfürsten. Such moves were already clichés. Basically, all the warlords and local armed forces at the edge of the Imperium had been doing that.
However, when the Flying Rainbow Fleet was about to return, they accidentally detected a new starship jumping to their nearby.
Compared with their trophies in the past few months, the tiny starship was only a shrimp that could barely fill the gap of their teeth.
But now that they had seen it, it wouldn't hurt to draft the new starship.
With that in mind, the few main warships of the Flying Rainbow Fleet moved toward the starship lazily. After a brief engagement, the tiny starship's spiritual shield and power units were soon blown up, and it had to send out the signal of surrender.
Up to this moment, everything was normal.
However, what happened later was far beyond the expectation of all the soldiers in the Flying Rainbow Fleet.
Or rather, including the commanders of all levels, 99% of the people had no idea what happened until this moment.
All in all, later that day, the flagship of the Flying Rainbow Fleet had an astonishing explosion. Too many Immortal Cultivators had been wounded or blown up.
What was even weirder was that tremendous Immortal Cultivators had gone missing. Those who went missing were all the direct bloodlines of the leadership of the Flying Rainbow Fleet. They were the sons of the chief of staff and the fire control officer. Two of the highest commander's grandsons had disappeared uncannily too!
In the meantime, the few carriers that had theoretically been controlled by the Flying Rainbow Fleet somehow got away from the fleet taking advantage of the chaos. Those carriers were fully loaded with the cannon fodder that the Flying Rainbow Fleet had captured to die for themselves!
The leaders of the Flying Rainbow Fleet were almost fuming in fury. They naturally chased after the runners passionately.
By logic, the leaders of the Flying Rainbow Fleet shouldn't have been as unvigilant.
But on one hand, their important persons had gone missing and were probably on the few carriers that had wandered off uncannily, and on the other hand, the enemy did not strike them as formidable from the beginning to the end. The few running fleets were also now stopping and now moving, damaged by the barrage. They were under the impression that they could settle the battle with a crazy bombardment.
After jumping to the edge of the Blue Sky Space Zone, the Flying Rainbow Fleet, knowing that it was probably occupied by the enemy, was careful enough to send a message to the Blue Sky Market to check the situation.
After they learned that the business center had been conquered by Li Wuji, they were overjoyed and requested Li Wuji to attack together with them and capture the few uncanny carriers.
"Boss Bai, what do you think?"
After basically figuring out what had happened, the Fist King asked.
"What can I possibly think?"
Closing his eyes and rubbing his nose, Boss Bai gnashed his teeth, "It must've been that wavering Li Yao who accidentally discovered that the Flying
Rainbow Fleet was capturing innocent people as cannon fodder. He became a hero who saved people from a disaster again!
"A*shole, if you like being a hero, at least learn to wipe your own a*s! Boss Bai is the greatest space pirate in the universe who will explore the wizardly worlds and the four-dimension someday, not someone who wipes your a*s for you every day!"
"Boss—"
One of his subordinates brought over the latest scanning result. "According to our accurate calculation, the enemy's possible time of arrival has been significantly advanced. If they do not change their course, they will run into the Blue Sky Market in about seven hours."
Boss Bai: "… What's the configuration of the enemy's army?"
His subordinate replied, "Now that the enemy knows that Li Wuji's fleet has conquered the Blue Sky Market, they do not hide their spiritual waves anymore. Based on the exhaust flames of the starships, the Flying Rainbow Fleet has got at least ten secondhand main-force warships from the four families. In terms of speed, firepower, or duration, it is more than 30% stronger than the previous Flying Rainbow Fleet.
"Of course, we do not know whether or not their personnel has been improved. So, it remains to be seen how much their combat ability has been actually improved.
"But according to the data on paper, and since our army is exhausted after a fierce battle, it will be an arduous battle. Even if our army wins, it will be a brutal victory with heavy losses."
"Arduous battle… Brutal victory…"
Staring at the light spots that were getting closer and closer to the Blue Sky Market, Boss Bai's eyes were filled with little red spots from which blood was almost shooting out. In the end, he took a deep breath and waved his hands. "All the starships that can move, prepare to attack. We will pretend to cooperate with the enemy but we will, in fact, surround the Flying Rainbow Fleet from their flanks and their rear!"
"S-Surround them?"
Stunned, his subordinate thought that he heard it wrong. However weak the Flying Rainbow Fleet was, they were a regular army after all. The Big Bai Pirate Gang might be capable of swallowing them after a month of rest, but in today's awkward situation, it wouldn't be bad at all if they could defeat or crush the enemy. If they were to surround the enemy, wouldn't the previously outnumbered troop be even more dispersed?
Now that they were seriously short of hands and everybody was exhausted, they were still going to disperse and surround the enemy. It was almost the greatest joke. How could their boss make such a mistake?
"Yes, we will surround them."
Boss Bai's eyes suddenly grew firm. "Then, we will eat the Flying Rainbow Fleet without letting go of a single escape capsule!"
"It's impossible!"
His subordinate blurted out, "It's already the greatest miracle to have swallowed one elephant. How can we possibly swallow two elephants in a row in only twenty-four hours."
"Yes, we can, as long as—"
Boss Bai narrowed his eyes and mumbled, "As long as Li Yao still had the slightest humanity and is not simply crying for help!"
…
At the edge of the Blue Sky Space Zone, a starship that was riddled with holes and blackened by fire was fleeing in panic. Sparks were spluttering everywhere, while intense smoke was popping up.
"Boss Bai, help! Boss Bai, help! Boss Bai, help!"
Wearing a silk flowery shirt and a pair of beach pants, with blue-and-white slippers on his feet, Li Yao held a cup of juice of tropical fruits, shrieking while sipping the juice.
Long Yangjun stood far away from him, with her hands behind her back, and stared at the infinite sea of stars outside of the crystal window, as if she did not know him at all.
Li Jialing, on the other hand, looked at him in bewilderment.
Xiaoming and Wenwen were sitting in a corner. They were biting their lips and twisting their clothes now and then, their big watery eyes filled with confusion, as if they were wondering why they had such a father.
"Rest assured, everything is under control."
Li Yao shouted for a while before he turned around and smiled at Li Jialing. "According to my accurate speculation, the new master of this place should be my life-and-death brother Boss Bai, who is a man of integrity and brotherhood. After receiving my cry for hell, he will certainly reinforce me without caring about anything else. Then, everything will be fine!"
"He's just a space pirate—"
Li Jialing had been holding himself long enough and couldn't do it anymore. "How much integrity and brotherhood can he possibly have?"
"Well…"
Thinking for a moment and sipping the juice again, Li Yao made a gesture and said, "He has as much integrity and brotherhood as I do!"
Chapter 2472: Li Yao's Plan |
Li Jialing: "… Why am I getting more and more scared as you talk, Brother Yao? Speaking of which, even if we are asking for help from this Boss Bai, there is no need to put on such tawdry clothes, is there?"
Li Jialing pointed at Li Yao's red-and-green clothes and his blue-and-white flip-floppers.
"What do you know? This is exactly a garment of Boss Bai's style!"
Li Yao said disapprovingly, "I learned this style from Boss Bai exactly as a way to show my admiration for him. The moment he sees this same-style battle robe, he will certainly recall how we fought together years ago, and he won't refuse to help us at all."
Li Jialing bit his teeth hard as he tried to hold himself back. "I only feel that this is such a disgrace. We were never like this when we were faced with Blackstar the Great a few days back. At that time, you rode on the 'Gold Vulture' magnificently. Isn't it a shame to be so… humble before a space pirate?"
"A shame? Do you really think that you are something and your honor is valuable?"
Li Yao sniffed and drank up the juice in the cup. His eyes glowing with calmness and determination, he said solemnly, "We Cultivators can shed blood or even die for what we believe in. Do we need such a thing as honor?"
"Cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough, cough."
Long Yangjun coughed lightly not far away and moved quietly, getting as far away from Li Yao as possible.
Xiaoming and Wenwen couldn't hear it anymore and went to the cabins in the rear to look after the soldiers that had just been rescued—or the people who were soon to be cannon fodder.
Blushing, Li Jialing was lost for words. After a long daze, he finally managed to ask, "Brother, I'm just confused. Although the Flying Rainbow Fleet has a hundred times more starships than we do, it is just a mediocre fleet without a Colossus, isn't it? Our carrier may not have any combat ability, but with the Colossi of you and Sister Long, wouldn't it be more than easy for you to destroy the enemy's flagship?
"I don't believe that the local troop at the edge of the Imperium can be so determined that they will still fight the Colossi when their flagship has been decapitated by the Colossi. It's absolutely impossible! Even the best fleet of the Imperium hardly chooses to attack the enemy's Colossus if they do not have any Colossus themselves.
"So, why do we have to ask Boss Bai for the favor?"
Li Yao sighed. Licking the juice on his lips, he said, "This question is very simple. First of all, it is indeed possible for Long Yangjun and me to crush the Flying Rainbow Fleet's battle formation or even destroy the enemy's flagship and a few main warships.
"But it's certainly impossible to keep the entire Flying Rainbow Fleet here with only two Colossus. Such local troops from the edge of the Imperium are all specialists at preserving themselves. They may be not good at fighting hard battles, but they are the best experts when it comes to shifting sides or running away! Perhaps the moment they detect the spiritual flames spreading out of the two Colossi, they will immediately escape at their highest speed. How many of the starships can Long Yangjun and I catch even if we have three heads and six arms?
"Once most of the starships of the Flying Rainbow Fleet jump away, they will certainly spread out the news that two mysterious Colossi appeared in this area. Soon
enough, all the forces will learn the traces of Long Yangjun and me, including Blackstar the Great.
"Then, it will be easy for him to figure out our intention and our association with Boss Bai. He may even infer that our operation in the next step must be concerned with the Seven Seas Grand Market, the nest of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.
"It is the last thing that I want Blackstar the Great to know. In the game between us and Blackstar the Great, our greatest advantage is that the enemy is in the light while we are in the dark. The more secret and stealthy we are, the better. It will be best if we are gone from Blackstar the Great's eyes forever and emerge from his back at the most awkward moment for him!
"Secondly, and more importantly—
"We attacked the Flying Rainbow Fleet at the risk of exposing ourselves in order to rescue the ordinary people who had been captured by the Flying Rainbow Fleet as cannon fodder.
"If we hadn't done anything, the innocent miners, farmers, and small dealers who struggled to survive would've been chained to the starships and forced to march at the most dangerous battlefield by the damn Immortal Cultivators of the Flying Rainbow Fleet, getting killed for nothing!
"Right now, we have only saved part of the innocents. There are still more 'soldiers' who are scattered on the starships of the Flying Rainbow Fleet. We can barely rescue them with only our strength. If Long Yangjun and I really destroy the flagship of the Flying Rainbow Fleet, the remaining fleets will only disperse and bring the captives back to their nest. Then, we can't chase after them planet after planet, can we?
"So, if we want to rescue all the innocents at once, we must tread lightly. We can only show the Flying Rainbow Fleet that we are weak and attract them to Boss Bai's territory so that we can surround them with the Big Bai Pirate Gang and possibly the fleet of the Cultivators, trying to not let go of any starship.
