Him and their stars.

Chapter 2256 The Sovereigns are All Partners of Justice

“You young people really haven’t had a good life.” The bald Captain Buddha touched his bald head, exhaling a puff of foul-smelling smoke, but his face was filled with nostalgia and emotion: “Back then, it was a good time! Heroes from all walks of life gathered here to make a grand spectacle. We roamed the seas, invincible, and gathered in the mountains and forests, living a carefree life. We robbed the rich to help the poor and acted on behalf of heaven…”

"Don't you guys believe that meat products are valued more than gold products, which are valued more than light products, which are valued more than heavy products?" the young first mate and second-in-command asked.

"Yes, meat is the most expensive! That's why we have to invite those important people as guests! So that you know that we heroes who roam the stars never bully the weak."

"It's just that there are occasional ripples, right?" the younger boatswain and third-in-command said with a sidelong glance.

"There will often be repercussions, but since we are going to roam the stars, this is all the will of the universe." Captain Buddha Han clasped his hands together in front of the void and sighed for a moment before saying, "In short, when I was following Boss Wan Sha, I even robbed the Imperial Royal Chamber of Commerce's treasure ships."

"Oh, the one who was number one in psionic energy, martial arts, and techniques back in the day?" the first mate exclaimed in surprise.

The captain was extremely pleased with himself.

"The one that was vaporized by the Alliance and the Empire using dreadnoughts?"

"The fact that it could be evaporated by the Dreadnought only proves its power," the captain argued confidently.

"But didn't you say before that you were following Boss Gong Xiao?"

"He's already ashore, a nobleman of the empire, and doesn't recognize us poor brothers anymore. Humph, he betrayed all the brothers in the underworld!" The captain waved his hand, his face full of resentment. This gesture was less an expression of anger towards the traitor and more an expression of regret that he didn't even lend a hand to his brothers after going ashore.

“I did treat him to dinner,” Captain Buddha added.

The second mate and the bosun exchanged bewildered glances. They were highly suspicious that their captain was exaggerating. After all, Captain Buddha had spent his entire life in the underworld and was only a third-rate figure, not even making it into the top ten of the Standard Shipping Association's wanted pirate list. It was hard to imagine that he could be chatting and laughing with those big shots.

In fact, the pirate ship "Reaper" that he led was just an ordinary member of the pirate group involved in this joint operation.

This is the ecosystem of space pirates in this era.

Normally everyone does their own thing, but when a big job comes up, there are always some "big shots" with some reputation in the industry who call on their friends and a large group of colleagues.

In this day and age, the Alliance would no longer allow a pirate group of Gong Xiao's size to still exist in this nebula. Farming in a remote star system would be fine, but if it turned into a Primal Commune like the one in neighboring Femo, things would be very bad.

Regardless, the Spiral Grand Cross Nebula is still there, and even the Alliance at its peak could not truly control this most vast and complex starry sky in the entire galaxy.

After the Terra War, also known as the "Second Earth War of Independence," the Alliance, which considered itself the victor, controlled all the shipping lane nodes in the Spiral Nebula and established more than twenty "independent" city-states there. They also set up new space fleet bases and garrisons, expanding their sphere of influence to Femo, which is opposite the Spiral Nebula.

Even so, it is impossible to truly eradicate the criminal forces that have been entrenched in this nebula for thousands of years.

Or rather, even if it were possible, there would be no need to do it.

In any era, powerful figures living in the public eye always need underworld figures to do things for them behind the scenes.

“We really did rob treasure ships, and we even robbed an Alliance cruise ship,” Captain Buddhahan sighed.

The first mate said, "But now, all we can do is rob grain transport ships."

"That's why I said you've never eaten anything good."

“But it’s not a grain ship, it’s a Leviathan. That’s what the client says,” the boatswain said. “That’s what Planck, the stern captain who summoned us, said too.”

"Yes, that's right. The cosmic Leviathan has even ventured into commercial shipping lanes. We're ridding the world of this menace!" The captain immediately became motivated.

At this moment, communications from the "temporary leader," the Nine Serpents V, were also transmitted to the Reaper.

"Target spotted. As planned, deploy the entire fleet and make every effort to sink the target, eliminating a menace to the universe."

"You're quite the talker." Buddhahan exhaled a puff of smoke dismissively, but said to everyone, "See? We're clearly doing good! We're not pirates, but Robin Hood-like figures who rob the rich to help the poor and occasionally aid those in distress. Leviathan is also a living being; it's afraid of fire and bombardment."

"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!" the pirates began to shout.

"The food... no, the client paid three times the price! We can even launder the money after it's all done," the captain added.

"Awoooooo!" The pirates became even more excited.

"A legal letter of marque?" the first mate asked in surprise.

“It’s better than that. In the last ten years, more than twenty new autonomous city-states have appeared on the Spiral Channel,” the captain said.

"Hey, to put it bluntly, it's just the estates of the league's bigwigs," the first mate said.

"But the manor needs guards too!"

"Wouldn't that turn us into dogs?" the boatswain muttered.

"Hey, you guys are still young! You need to know that in our line of work, the greatest happiness is to become a dog of a big shot. Whether it's the Alliance, the Empire, or even Earthlings, as long as it's a big shot. Those who think they're wolves are just stray dogs wandering around, they won't live for long."

He took a deep breath, and the fierce look of a ruthless bandit finally appeared on his face: "Prepare the railgun, load the biotin warhead!"

Thirty-seven pirate ships began to maneuver, splitting into three formations, and appeared behind the asteroid belt, rushing towards the giant pupa that was slowly traversing space in the distance.

They were indeed like a pack of hunting wolves—fierce, swift, and highly disciplined. Their refined fleet maneuvering alone was enough to secure a promising job in the space fleets of both the Empire and the Alliance.

……

Sonia saw it and became slightly nervous.

She had been a psionicist and a reserve Overlord for over a decade, and was well aware of the power she wielded. Even so, this was her first time leading a battle of this scale, and she lacked confidence to some extent.

At first, just as she was experiencing such inner turmoil, some strange information seemed to instinctively flood into his mind.

Those were fragments of Shirley's war memories.

During that time, she led the Mothership Fleet across the front lines of the human war, remaining steadfast and unyielding.

The Overmind of the Swarm has witnessed far too many brutal battles. Her memories are a treasure trove of war strategies and tactics for all the Swarm Lords and prospective Overminds.

Don't worry, we'll win!
She closed her eyes, and psionic energy surged forth like a tide, connecting with the consciousness of the Zergling warship, as well as with the 300 Devourer Zerglings, 1200 Dragonflies, and 4000 Hydralisks waiting in the Zergling swarm's abdomen.

...Okay, half of the Hydralisks here are civilian models, the kind that can massage bulls and spit out sweet milk, but even the remaining half of the combat units are enough to form an impenetrable air defense network.

Sonia opened her eyes. She felt invincible.

She felt the shells coming.

The shells propelled by electromagnetic orbits traced bright trajectories in the vacuum, like a dazzling meteor shower. However, Sonia did not attempt to dodge.

Shirley's fragmented memories told her that it wasn't necessary.

She was still somewhat hesitant, but instinct led her to follow Shirley's judgment.

“I pay tribute to my ancestors,” Sonia said to herself.

The shell hit its target.

However, before the projectile could physically collide with Leviathan's armor, it was already entangled by the invisible pulse formed by the bio-spectacle, and immediately lost its kinetic energy.

Those special warheads that can paralyze biological nervous systems were deprived of their activation function by the Faraday cage outside the Leviathan's shell before they even had a chance to be activated.

At the same moment, Leviathan unfurled its enormous, light-wave-like wings, with a unique aura flowing across its translucent biological tissue.

Tens of thousands of spores detached from the luminous slits of the wing membrane, fell into the vacuum, and then suddenly accelerated, reaching sub-light speed in just half a second.

The pirate ship's early warning radar didn't even have time to issue a warning before it was hit head-on.

An explosion occurred.

The high-pressure gas within each spore exploded violently, destroying shields and armor. Corrosive enzymes seeped into the cracks in the armor, releasing acidic liquid capable of dissolving the alloy inside the hull.

The three pirate ships lost signal in an instant.

"Slow down! Slow down! Slow down now!" Captain Ferhan roared, finally managing to get his Reaper to avoid a horde of terrifying spores.

He then grabbed the first mate: "Quickly, Commander Planck, the enemy isn't your average Leviathan; we have to strike hard. His Serpent V has light spear cannons; have him snipe from a distance!"

He did not receive an immediate response.

A full ten seconds passed before the first mate answered in a near-scream, "Nine, the Nine Serpents are retreating... Boss Planck ran away! He just ran away!" The Nine Serpents, the largest of the pirates, after being hit by several spores, actually turned around and began to flee, relying on its thick skin and high health.

Even if pirates only fight when they have an advantage, this kind of operation is still too overpowered.

The pirates couldn't help but shout, "Good, good! Looking so listless, he dares to be the Pirate King?"

"Damn it, this is definitely the worst pirate king ever from the Spiral Nebula!"

Amidst the curses and insults, the pirate ships turned their bows and began maneuvering to avoid the attack. Each of them appeared to be highly skilled and well-prepared.

Just then, a pirate captain equipped with a high-powered deep-space probe issued an alert on the communication channel: "A ship has been spotted approaching from the direction of Weight Well No. 3."

"What the heck? Number 3, isn't that the direction of Fermo?"

"There is the Alliance's naval headquarters over there, with more than a hundred warships."

"There are also three newly established autonomous city-states."

Amid the pirates' arguing, updated intelligence soon arrived: "Yes, it's a Ranger Type 4 light cruiser... wait, no, it's clearly a Han-class cruiser!"

"The Primal Color Commune's space fleet?" Buddha was slightly taken aback, but then immediately realized: "He betrayed us."

"Betrayal?" His subordinates didn't understand.

"I've been sold again!"

The word "again" is quite clever.

"This is a trap! The grain shipment on this Leviathan is destined for the Primal Commune. They're trying to lure us in; they want to find evidence that we're colluding with those bigwigs in the Alliance... ugh, I mean, cooperating!"

"Then, what about Boss Planck?"

"He...yes! He can also go ashore! Every generation of pirate kings either dies or goes ashore. The previous leader, Gong Xiao, sided with the Empress, and this generation, Planck, sided with the Original Color Commune. It's quite normal."

"Pirates, siding with the original colors?" The first mate revealed an absurd smile: "Boss, do you even have a brain when you say that?"

The boatswain also said, "I've also read 'The Origin,' and I know they shouldn't be like this, and the world shouldn't be like this either."

"I see now, you guys became pirates just to infiltrate, right?"

"Look at what you're saying, at least I'm genuinely here to go beachcombing."

“Me too! I swear to the Spirit of the Universe that I am definitely not an investigator from the Blue Star Republic… Um, speaking of which, how did the Primal Color Commune's fleet get here? Did they bypass the Alliance's naval base?”

"And the border lords of the empire! As expected, these old-fashioned powers are all just empty talk! There's no hope for them!"

Of course, by this point, it seems too late to discuss these issues.

The massive Leviathan suddenly accelerated, quickly catching up with the fleeing pirate ships. Its belly, clad in sturdy armor, suddenly extended thick tentacles, like whips stretching tens of thousands of meters, lunging towards the surrounding pirate ships.

A pirate ship was caught off guard and immediately entangled. Its outer armor began to deform violently under the immense pressure, like a crushed soda can, spinning and drifting into the distance before losing all kinetic energy.

The pirate ship completely lost its organization and scattered in all directions. At this moment, Ferhane ordered his men aboard the Reaper: "Surrender!"

"Huh? Actually, if we try harder, we can still escape," the first mate said.

"If we try a little harder, we can at least outrun our teammates," the boatswain said.

"It's possible, but unnecessary. The damage done is already worth the reward from the bigwigs. Now, it's time to set things right and get back on track." The elderly Captain Buddha waved his hand forcefully: "Don't you want a different way of life?"

The pirate captain, watching the Leviathan approach, felt as if he could already hear the flat, monotonous infrasound. He commanded again, "Quickly, shut down the cannons. Shut down the engines. Send the surrender signal to the Primal Color Commune's fleet."

An hour later, Sonia's first battle came to an end. Of the thirty-seven pirate ships, eight were destroyed, twelve escaped, and the remaining seventeen surrendered.

Of course, this battle was a major event for Sonia, but on the scale of the universe, it was merely a minor incident. Even for the Zerg, this new intelligent race, it wasn't a significant matter.

Two million light-years away from the normal battle, somewhere in the starry sky of the New World, the Overlord of the Swarm arrived at a planet that had no name on the Standard Shipping Association, only the number kk749.

That being said, this planet has indigenous inhabitants.

The intelligent race that lives here calls this planet "Octus," which means "mother."

Shirley stood on a red meadow, gazing at the distant mountains. They were a mountain range that was moving.

This is certainly not a geological movement, but rather something that is literally in motion.

In reality, each mountain has countless legs, resembling insect limbs, propelling it across the ground. These mountains are alive, the largest organisms on this planet.

Their movement caused the soil to tumble, leading to the migration of organisms and the prosperity of the entire ecosystem.

They can even be considered the core of the planet's natural ecosystem.

“I’ve seen many space Leviathans, but this is the largest creature in the atmosphere,” Shirley murmured.

A green-skinned native next to him nodded: "So, in ancient times, we called them giants."

He was over three meters tall, with muscles that bulged like rocks, and his face was painted with white patterns, resembling the wild battle markings of some primitive tribe.

However, upon closer inspection, one can discover that this person has a thick weapon belt around his waist, on which hangs a large special pistol, a high-carbon crystal warhammer, and a retractable serrated shield.

A faint spiritual light still emanated from his body.

His name was Gro, and he was the war chief of the local Orks.

"Are you keeping them as pets now?"

Gro shook his head: "We'll cooperate."

“I like cooperation,” Shirley smiled. As the Overlord of the Zerg, she enjoyed this harmonious coexistence of multiple races.

"So, what kind of cooperation do you want?"

Gro held the leather bag and took a big gulp of strong liquor. It wasn't very crafty and was too spicy, but it suited the Octaean taste perfectly.

However, Shirley could smell that it was a product from a new winery in Xinyumen. It certainly wasn't of high quality, but it suited the veteran crew members' needs. And now, it suited the needs of the Ok people as well.

“They come from another universe, some good, some bad,” Gro said. “Now, ten years have passed. Some have built hospitals, schools, and railways for us, in exchange for our gold and food. We welcome them. But some who came before us have stolen our gold and kidnapped our children. They even want to slaughter our giants and use their bones for experiments. Octos is our homeland, and we cannot back down! But we cannot defeat them—they have cannons, ships, flying iron birds, and iron ships that can travel in space.”

“You should find the good ones and unite them to defeat the bad ones,” Shirley said, looking at him.

“Aren’t you one of the good ones?” Gro said.

Shirley really liked hearing that. After traversing the universe for so many years, this was the first time she had ever heard someone call her a good person.

"So, what do you want to do? Make me fight for you?" Shirley was, of course, prepared to refuse. She stated that she was a true member of the Zerg swarm and did not engage in mercenary business.

"This is our own war. A kind and great god told us that we can only have our own country if we win the victory ourselves," Gro said.

Shirley felt that this "god" was someone she knew, but she decided to dismiss it as her imagination. She looked at Gro and sensed a spiritual aura.

"You must know the word of God..."

“I know, God is the ultimate psychic. I’m a psychic too, I know the difference, but I still want to be called that.” Gro patted the special pistol at his waist and looked at Shirley with earnest eyes: “Then, Miss Fairy, help us transport weapons. I’ve heard of your abilities.”

Shirley, having maxed out her stealth abilities, breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to fight, but upon reflection, she vaguely thought she might be quite suited for this kind of transport work.

In addition, she especially loves hearing about fairies and the like.

At that moment, she saw Gro pointing to the distant, moving mountains.

"You can extract their genes. That's the payment."

Shirley stood up, brushed the grass clippings off her white dress, and grasped the Ork man's large, fan-like hand: "Deal."

In the distance, the rolling mountains let out a long, drawn-out cry, like a roar from space.

Shirley looked up at the starry sky over the New World, feeling as if she had somehow been involved in something significant. But in any case, it was just transporting some weapons; it shouldn't be anything serious.