Forty millenniums of cul.., p.1561
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1561
"You—"
The pirate head was dumbfounded by Boss Bai's craziness. "You want to swallow Marquess Yongchun's fleet? You've pissed off two greatest forces in the Imperium of True Human Beings. There's no place in the entire universe for you right now. Are you planning to fight everyone at the same time?"
"We are space pirates. Space pirates are born to fight everyone, the whole world, and the whole universe."
Boss Bai sighed in confusion. "You people are not even ready to do that, and yet you are mimicking other people to be space pirates?"
"What do you want exactly?"
Shuddering, the pirate asked, "What benefits would you get by infuriating the reformists and the four families? What can you possibly get?"
"Freedom."
Boss Bai stepped forward, slashed him apart, and smiled. "Unparalleled freedom!"
Chapter 2454: A Donkey in a Tiger's Skin |
In fact, the half fleet that Li Wuji left in the Blue Sky Market could've stopped Boss Bai from the massacre—with at least a 5% chance.
They were too proud of themselves to join the carnival of the space pirates. Naturally, they drank far less wine, and they were still rather vigilant and organized. If they had realized what was going on, they could've caused great trouble to the Big Bai Pirate Gang, which was, in fact, terribly outnumbered.
However, they were stalled by another bunch of ferocious lunatics, who were the members of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the reformists that were unfortunately captured in the battle previously.
The important captives, such as the deacons of the Business Alliance and Zuo Tianying, the market manager, were naturally tied up and delivered to Li Wuji's starship, ready to be escorted to the four families' territory.
But for the general warriors and members of the Business Alliance and the reformists, it was neither necessary nor possible to bring all of them away. Resources were highly precious in space voyages. Every one additional person on board would mean more fuel consumption during space jumps. Their daily needs could be quite costly too. Even if they were to enter the hibernation state, they would still consume freezing drugs!
After all, the most important culprits had been taken away, so the unimportant captives were simply locked in the Blue Sky Market, to be either executed or sold to mines and farms as slaves. In such a way, they could yield more value and more or less make up the cost to capture them!
The captives were caged not far away from Li Wuji's half fleet, which was also perfectly reasonable, because it would be easier for them to watch over the captives.
However, when the space pirates were partying passionately, and when Li Wuji's soldiers were tipsy and letting down their wariness, undercurrents were flowing among the captives.
"Let's fight them!"
"I was told that we are the first 'rebels' that have been caught in the peripheral worlds of the Imperium. We will certainly be killed to set an example for other people!"
"Let's fight them!"
"I was told that when the new emperor ascends to the throne, he will cut us apart and offer our blood to his royal robe!"
"No, we can't live to see the new emperor being crowned. I was told that we will be executed as offerings to the flag before the coalition fleet of the four Kurfürsten attack the Seven Seas Grand Market. It-It won't be long!"
The anxious roars of the captives congregated into a torrent of fury.
However, even if they intended to fight anyone, they couldn't do so when they were imprisoned.
Every one of them was carrying manacles and shackles weighing dozens of kilograms, which would release extremely powerful electric arcs when pulled by force.
The bars on their cage had been connected to high-voltage electricity too, and blueish sparks were spluttering nonstop.
Outside, tough-looking space pirates and regular soldiers were defending the place at the same time and would summon Li Wuji's fleet if anything went wrong.
Theoretically, the defense was flawless.
It was also the reason why the space pirates and the regular soldiers were relaxed and enjoying themselves.
However, even the strongest fortress could be breached from within, particularly when some sleazy "rats" had snuck in when the fortress was built.
When the captives were all panicked and helpless, an astonishing change suddenly took place.
The few pirates from the Big Bai Pirate Gang who were watching over them outside of the prison floated to the back of the regular soldiers like white ghosts, covering their mouths, cutting their throats, and stabbing the poisoned daggers into their chests by the way.
A lot of people of unknown identities walked in with dozens of Cosmos Rings and a few boxes of magical equipment. Opening the doors of the prison cells, they threw the keys to the manacles and shackles to the captives.
"Fellow Cultivators, don't panic. We're all spies that General Deacon Jin Yuyan sent to the Big Bai Pirate Gang for fear that the Bai-surnamed scoundrel would betray us.
"As it turns out, he is truly a treacherous man. After taking so many benefits from the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, he has sold us to the enemy so quickly!
"Right now, Boss Bai has possibly grasped the list of the spies. We have nowhere to run to now. So, let's simply go big with the brothers here before we die!
"Brothers of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and reformists, we are all supposed to be hopeless. One moment of hesitation, we may even end up more miserable than death. What's there to think about? Let's do it! If you kill one person, it will be worth your life; if you kill two, you will be making a profit!"
Huala! Huala! Huala!
The captives were freed, and the chainswords, vibration sabers, and storm bolters were distributed to the hands that were shuddering in fury.
To be honest, the mysterious persons' claim that they were spies that Jin Yuyan sent to Boss Bai had obvious loopholes.
However, the loopholes could've only been noticed with enough time in a peaceful environment, where one could be focused on thinking.
But right now, the captives were already dead for sure and had nothing to lose now.
Now that the leadership such as Zuo Tianying had been taken away by Li Wuji, the remaining captives were mostly middle- and low-level members who did not have enough information or wisdom.
When they were about to be killed, somebody had offered them a chance for the last attempt. How could they calm themselves down to think?
"Let's go! Kill them all!"
The captives congregated into a violent tide and leaped out of the prison cells, charging at the closest garrison of Li Wuji's fleet under the leadership of the few "spies".
Ten seconds ago, the cannonballs from the starships in the ports just passed by their heads and landed on the garrison of the regular army in earsplitting shrieks, which was almost a perfect coordination of soldiers and cannons that Boss Bai had practiced for hundreds of years.
It must be admitted that although Li Yuanzhen was not famous in the Imperium's army and had been killed by Boss Bai in one attack, he was truly an experienced general.
Even the temporary garrison of his troops had been constructed among a few underground fortresses and firing points that were in the Blue Sky Market in the beginning. Even the defense arrays had been repaired. Watch towers had been deployed too.
Therefore, the first round of barrages from the Big Bai Pirate Gang dealt limited damage to the garrison of the regular army. They did not end as miserably as the space pirates in the central square.
The regular army who escaped into the underground fortresses in time maintained most of their combat ability.
The attack that the captives launched at them without armor couldn't destroy them at all. The best it could achieve was to create some minor interferences.
Of course, due to the lack of leadership from Li Yuanzhen, the minor interferences might escalate into the turmoil of half to one hour.
For Boss Bai, the turmoil of one hour was enough.
While Li Wuji's fleet was stalled by the captives, Boss Bai destroyed all the pirate heads who participated in the celebration dinner. Having no time to wipe the bloodstains on his crystal suit, he had pointed his saber at the middle- and low-level sailors of the twenty-eight pirate gangs that were ten times larger than the Big Bai Pirate Gang.
"Everybody, listen up. By the order of the lord, General Li Yuanzhen and I will regroup the National Protection Army together!"
Boss Bai waved his saber aggressively and walked together with the spiritual puppet that had been disguised into the appearance of Li Yuanzhen as he spoke to the dumbfounded and panicked space pirates.
"The lord and I have been treating you fairly and sincerely meaning to recruit you into the glorious army of the Imperium! However, a few voracious and treacherous men were bold enough to keep their connection with the rebels and even instigate the captives to rise up, hoping to kick me out of my place.
"Those shameless scoundrels have been suppressed by General Li and I together. Here are their heads!"
"If you are devoted to the country, lay down your magical equipment and weapons obediently, squat where you are, and raise your hands. I know that this is none of your business, and you will not be punished. After the regrouping, your positions and your military ranks will be no lower than they are right now. There will also be tremendous awards tomorrow morning.
"Whoever is dogged enough to resist, just follow those dead pirates and eat crap in hell!"
Boss Bai's cries, as well as the bleeding, deformed heads, scared all the space pirates out of their wits. They felt that their bones had been softened.
Nobody knew that a celebration dinner could end up like this. Why were the two parties fighting each other uncannily?
However, it was anything but unusual for the regular army to perform bloody regrouping thunderously through iron and blood after they suppressed the bandits and the rebels.
Boss Bai said that it was Li Wuji's intention, which was not—not entirely impossible.
Even the bloodiest "regrouping", or to be more straightforward, "factional fight", often only involved the leadership of the pirate gangs. For the sailors, artillerymen, and other workers at the bottom level, they would not be greatly affected. After all, the starships had to be maneuvered by them, and they were the ones who did the actual work during the killing and looting outside. If they were all killed, the pirate gangs would only be empty shells, and Boss Bai would be a commander who could only command himself. Then, why would he bother to launch a factional fight at all?
What Boss Bai said befitted the tradition of the circle of space pirates. Many space pirates were thirty-percent convinced the moment they heard it.
As space pirates, they had long fed their loyalty and devotion to dogs, and they always followed whoever had bigger fists. It didn't matter if their bosses were slain by other people, because they could always seek a new boss who was stronger and tougher. What's the big deal?
Besides, it was chaos right now. Their starships were waiting to be maintained in the docks, unorganized. The space pirates around them were mostly from other places, and they never knew the strangers until half a day ago. Also, they were mostly half drunk and could barely grab their sabers. Even if they meant to avenge their bosses, how were they capable of it?
Charging forward to slay Boss Bai first and then Li Wuji later?
That was certainly a joke!
Clang! Clang!
Many veterans who had been space pirates for decades, having been through a dozen factional fights and changed multiple bosses, immediately tossed their chainswords and storm bolters far away. Holding the wine containers, they squatted and smiled at the rookie space pirates who were less experienced. "It's alright, it's alright. The bosses are fighting, which is none of our business. Everything will be fine as long as you squat and do not do anything!"
Chapter 2455: The Kleptomaniac |
Naturally, not all the space pirates were as "smart". Part of them, who were either fearless or brainless, went on a rampage and resisted.
However, under the suppression of the thunderous might of the Divinity Transformation Stage from Boss Bai, their resistance was obliterated without the least influence.
Half an hour later, all the space pirates were disarmed, and the critical places of the Blue Sky Market had all fallen to the hands of the Big Bai Pirate Gang.
Li Wuji's half fleet was the only resistance left, who was fighting based on the hidden fortresses and the firing points.
Compared to the space pirates who were quick to shift sides, they were much more determined and had a higher combat ability. If they were to be entirely destroyed, the Big Bai Pirate Gang's insufficient soldiers would be greatly tested again.
Boss Bai did not intend to completely annihilate those people either. The well-trained, experienced soldiers in the regular army had more sense of honor and discipline than the space pirates did. They were too great a treasure to be killed easily.
"Then…"
Waving the hot blood on his saber, Boss Bai stared at the shaking stars deep inside the burning sky. "The next battlefield will be space!"
Thousands of tides spurted out of the power rune arrays of his crystal suit, while Boss Bai turned into a streak of white brilliance and dashed at the battlefield in space!
…
The fierce battle in the space battlefield was still going on.
"Eternal Spring", the flagship of Li Wuji's fleet, was surrounded by more than ten rapid warships of the Cultivators, like a buffalo besieged by hyenas. It marched to all directions crazily but failed to break out of the enemy's web of fire. In the meantime, the enemy simply poured fierce firepower into the starship through the damage on the body that was torn apart.
The spiritual shield and the defense rune arrays of Eternal Spring had completely gone out of control. Every round of barrage would raise an astonishing explosion. Tremendous broken materials and even the limbs of the Immortal Cultivators were absorbed into the vacuum, spurting out like the blood of a behemoth.
Suddenly, a cluster of dazzling brilliance burst out of the head of Eternal Spring, and a Colossus that was as pure as jade jumped out of it. The honeycomb-type cannons on its shoulders blossomed like lotus flowers, letting out hundreds of streaks of brilliance spectacularly. Dozens of space shuttles and even one rapid warship on the Cultivators' side were blown up in a row, significantly reducing the pressure of Eternal Spring.
The Colossus was exactly the "Lotus Buddha", driven by Li Wuji in person!
The arrival of the Colossus made the heated battlefield pause briefly, as everybody was deeply astounded by the flames of spiritual energy that he unleashed.
Li Wuji's mood, however, did not turn better at all because of such a pause.
As far as his eyes could reach, there was nothing but mayhem and goriness in the space battlefield. He felt that his head was dizzy, and he almost felt like vomiting blood and crying out aloud.
The fleet that he had been working on for decades with all the resources of himself and even his allies had been doomed.
Most of the starships had been squeezed apart or bounced back the moment they entered the four-dimension. They had either been turned into cold iron coffins, where all the crew members were killed by the flying blades made of space ripples, or the gigantic, twisted baguettes where serial explosions were breaking out nonstop, and the crew members were darting out from the damage of the starships like miserable sparks.
The main starships such as Eternal Spring, which had a firmer structure and a higher defense ability, might have luckily survived the scourge of the four-dimensional storm, but when they devoted their extreme computational ability to the activation of the defense rune arrays and the damage control system, the "backdoors" were wide open, and the Cultivators' viruses marched in unstoppably.
The wretched "Fist King" Lei Zonglie, through the "backdoors" that were implanted in advance, had hacked in their battle network and completely paralyzed their commanding and coordination system.
A modern war was a systematic war. A single starship or Colossus was far from enough to decide the outcome of it.
Commanding and communication was the top priority!
In terms of comprehensive capability, the Cultivators' fleet, which was jumbled in the recent half year through robbery and which was as poor as beggars, was absolutely no match for Li Wuji's fleet.
However, they had chosen the perfect timing for the attack, and they had sabotaged the commanding and communication system in Li Wuji's fleet, isolating all the starships of the Immortal Cultivators that were still capable of fighting. As a result, they boasted absolute advantages in number, firepower, and mobility in the regional battlefields, thereby reversing the situation miraculously.
Naturally, the miracle for the Cultivators was undoubtedly the most ridiculous nightmare for the Immortal Cultivators.
Seeing that his starships were being blown up by the Cultivators one after another, leading to greater serial explosions, Li Wuji felt that his own heart was about to explode too.
"Damn it! I will not spare any of you! Not any!"
His eyes bloodshot and his hair in a mess, Li Wuji screamed inside the spiritual residence of his Colossus. Soon, he locked onto the largest warship of the Cultivators, which had the most intense spiritual waves, and marched at it in his Colossus.
It should be the flagship of the Cultivators.
Taking down the Cultivators' flagship with the unparalleled combat ability of the Colossus, as a neat decapitation strategy, was perhaps the only opportunity for him to reserve the outcome of the battle.
Accelerated to the highest speed, the Lotus Buddha covered the thousands of kilometers in between within a breath. The emblems of the crowned fist on the two sides of the enemy's flagship were already clearly visible.
Suddenly, the gate below the Cultivators' flagship was slowly opened, and a cluster of things that looked like iron stars was released. With dazzling helical flames behind, it charged at Li Wuji without dodging.
