Chapter 222: An Unexpected Battlefield (1/2)

Chapter 222: An Unexpected Battlefield

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong did not expect to be hit even before Coxcomb could stabilize itself after the warp jump. He shook his head to clear his mind, and looked outside.

Here, in outer space, were numerous starships. Mechs were flying everywhere. Laser beams were shot, creating silent but bright and violent explosions in the skies.

Ye Chong was startled. Was he really at Fal Galaxy?

”Shang, what’s happening?” Ye Chong asked Shang for guidance.

”It looks like a fleet of ships were attacked by space pirates.” Shang was also uncertain. It was chaos out there. They could see damaged starships and mechs engaged in battle everywhere.

Ye Chong studied the scene, and agreed with Shang’s deductions. None of the starships here appeared to be warships, and that was a relief to Ye Chong. As long as they did not meet the Freedom Alliance, Ye Chong was not too worried.

What was odd, however, was how this starship fleet was composed of starships of all kinds of models. Usually, a starship fleet would be made up of ships of the same model for convenient resupply. The fleet he was seeing now was of the extreme opposite. Besides, there was only one large ship, a Zika class starship. It was designed very differently from Coxcomb, its angular body made it look more agile than Coxcomb.

Fid looked calm on the surface, but was growing anxious inside. The battle was stretching on, and the pirates more than he expected.

The entire fleet was mostly made up of civilians, hoping to escape the war by moving to the Csebesini Galaxy. Due to the high risk of encountering space pirates in their route, they had hired three mech squads for security.

In truth, they were already targeted by the space pirates right from the beginning. This mostly civilian starship fleet was a ripe target for the space pirates. Hence, the surrounding space pirates had came together to plan this assault.

The situation would not have been so damning, had not one of hired mech squads actually ran off out of fear of the large crew of space pirates. Now, it was only Fid’s Oak Leaves and another mech squad called Red Lion fighting against the attack. Many of the civilians had also took to their mechs and joined the fray, battling against the space pirates to save their loved ones. It was because of them that the battle had not ended swiftly against their favor.

The battle was more vicious than the space pirates expected. They did not expect the mellow civilians to actually fight with their lives. These civilians had fought without regard of their own safety, coming in droves like moths into the fire, hoping to end spread of danger in exchange for their lives.

They all knew that their loved ones were right behind them. From here on out, they could only move forwards! Everyone was emboldened by desperation. Strong men led the battle, followed by the young, then the women. It all happened silently, without any screaming or moaning. No one hoped to survive the fight, only wishing that their lives were enough to save the elderly and the children in the starships. For this meager possibility, they entered the battlefield.

The battlefield was silent, even as mechs clashed in sparks, metal against metal, ending in fire, light, blood and flesh splattering into outer space. In their suicidal attack, they only hoped to die with the enemy. As the explosion engulfed them, they looked back at their starships with a soft gaze while the fire consumed their bodies and reduced them into ashes.

The space pirates paid their price heavily for every starship they won.

Fid understood the severity of the situation, but there was nothing he could do. Just then, his second suddenly pointed towards the holographic screen and said, ”Squad Captain, look!”

Fid raised his eyes to the screen, and saw a massive starship slowly heading towards them.

The sudden appearance of such a massive starship had gained the attention of the commanding station from both sides. However, the head of the space pirates found that it was only one starship, and felt relieved. Under the circumstances, no one would possibly volunteer to get involved in the mess. Since the other party was only a single ship, they would simply finish it off as well if it decided to interfere. The head of the space pirate crew watched the bulky starship with a cold smile. So what if it was a Zika class starship? His men were now all hungry for a fight, and he still had control over his crew, so he was not afraid of any surprises coming from them.

Ye Chong studied the battlefield on his holographic screen with a cool look. Those people charged towards their enemies without hesitation, even knowing that their lives were forsaken. Behind them was an alloy door. Without any sound, the holographic screen illuminated Ye Chong’s face, hiding his expression.

When Ye Chong saw the children through the window behind the alloy door, he finally understood. One of the space pirates had finally cleared the last line of hurdle. The fight he went through with the suicidal opponents had also left him with a deep thirst for blood. The floor was littered with broken mech fragments. The children behind the alloy door were all crying in fear as he smiled menacingly with greed. In a moment, once he destroyed the alloy door, all the treasures within would be his! If all those civilians were stopping him so earnestly, there must be something very precious within!

”Disparity in strength could not be overcome by courage alone,” thought Ye Chong. This strengthened his resolution to become stronger. Only then could be truly be in control of his own destiny.

Suddenly, one of the heavily damaged mechs on the floor rose and pulled the space pirate into an embrace. The mech activated its engines and went straight against the ship’s wall. They broke through the already damaged hull of the starship, flying into outer space.

This sudden turn of events caught the space pirate off guard.

Ye Chong could see that the damaged mech had a broken pilot cabin. As they flew into outer space, the mech pilot’s face immediately ashen, the result of cyanosis. His face, however, was traced with a smile, and the result was eerie. In the next moment, both mechs exploded into flames, engulfing both the owner of the eerie smile and the space pirate.

Ye Chong looked at the smiling face in a trance. He felt like he was hit at a vulnerable spot deep within him.