Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 37
After multiple training sessions, Alois had already regained his feel for piloting a fighter jet. Upon entering space, he quickly adjusted his balance and located his three companions on the radar: Liz, Rachel, and Fran.
“Liz calling Doro. Do you copy?” Through the speaker came the voice of Errol, Titia’s older brother.
“Doro, copy that.” Alois forced himself to utter the name despite the chill running down his spine.
“Form Formation 1.”
“Understood.”
The four fighter jets formed a diamond formation, with Fran at the front, Rachel and Liz on the flanks, and Doro bringing up the rear. This formation was the result of Leo’s comprehensive analysis of their training: Titia liked to act unpredictably, so she led to confuse the enemy as much as possible; Errol and Udino, as brothers, had a near-telepathic connection, allowing them to support each other, while the “more stable” Alois could both attack and clean up the mess left by the other three.
“Meeting Lagrange was a stroke of luck! With him, the Begrel pirate fleet is bound to have a bright future!” Leo wrote in his log. Alois, having accidentally seen the log, deeply doubted what kind of dark past the pirate fleet had.
“The enemy’s main cannon is charging! Be careful! Execute Plan B!” Errol commanded. Fran and Doro dispersed up and down, while the distance between Liz and Rachel widened, forming the vertices of a tetrahedron as they approached the merchant ship.
Alois immediately noticed that the merchant ship was a modified warship, equipped with heavy beam cannons and missile launchers. The Dowlan Company, the Empire’s largest supplier of raw gemstones, spared no expense to protect their cargo.
Unfortunately, they were up against the craziest pirates in the universe.
The merchant ship’s main cannon began charging, while the secondary cannons fired deadly beams continuously. Missile launchers on the ship’s flanks opened, releasing hundreds of missiles that swarmed towards the four like a plague of locusts.
Alois activated his defense field, navigating agilely through the jungle of missiles and beams. Ahead, Titia flitted like a ghost, appearing on the left one moment, then on the right the next. He couldn’t fathom what she was doing, and the enemy was likely even more confused. Errol and Udi, protecting each other, spiraled in perfect defense, breaking through the missile swarm.
Thanks to the three of them, the path ahead was cleared. Alois advanced steadily. Fortunately, the merchant ship had no fighter jets of its own, which would have been more troublesome. He pressed the fire button, launching two armor-piercing missiles at the merchant ship’s left flank. One was shot down by a beam before reaching the target, but the other hit its mark, exploding beneath the left flank. The bright flash quickly faded, revealing that the ship’s hull had an additional layer of armor. Regular armor-piercing missiles were ineffective. Alois pulled the control stick, passing the left side of the ship, dropping a few torpedoes. They exploded against the hull like hitting a bronze wall, having minimal effect.
This armor couldn’t be penetrated unless it was the Lady of the Night’s main cannon. Alois lightly tapped the edge of his helmet, activating the communication device to report the situation to his companions.
On the bridge, Joanna impatiently tapped the armrest of the command chair, eager to end the battle quickly and drag the loot (gems!) back to enjoy her matcha almond cake. Of course, to the uninformed, her constant tapping seemed to signify that the captain was racking her brains on how to break through the merchant ship’s defenses. In reality, Joanna’s thoughts were barely on that.
“Fire at the main cannon,” the pirate ordered.
Alois spiraled toward the merchant ship’s main cannon, his screen indicating high energy gathering at the barrel. “Fire? How?!” he shouted into the microphone.
“You’re a man, figure it out!” Joanna shouted back.
The dark past of the pirate fleet was fully revealed at this moment! Alois, on the verge of tears, pulled up the aircraft to join the other three pilots.
“Doro, we’ll draw the main cannon’s fire. Once it fires a shot, you attack during the recharge time!” Errol remained calm. After issuing the order, he and Udino’s Rachel circled the main cannon. Doro and Fran evaded the incoming laser beams and missiles from the periphery, waiting for a chance to strike. Alois understood Errol’s plan: the merchant ship’s main cannon was an Empire MF711 model, powerful enough to burn half the Lady of the Night into dust with one shot but had only a 12-second firing duration. Liz and Rachel would serve as bait, drawing fire, while Fran and Doro attacked from two different directions. The main cannon’s firing arc was only 80 degrees, insufficient to cover both fighter jets.
“Its energy is fully charged!”
The cockpit flashed red, warning Alois of the imminent high energy. He deftly avoided the barrel, circling the merchant ship’s right side. Liz and Rachel danced like ballet partners before the main cannon. As the cannon fired, they separated rapidly, like repelling magnets.
The intense light temporarily blinded Alois. He cursed himself for forgetting to activate the shading system. But it was too late now. He closed his eyes, relying on memory, and approached the main cannon from above. After counting to 12 seconds, he reopened his eyes, still seeing afterimages but managing to locate the main cannon. He locked onto it and pressed the fire button, sending several missiles toward the still-open barrel. Simultaneously, Titia appeared below him, launching three missiles.
The missiles entered the barrel just as it was closing, exploding along the high-energy pathways into the ship’s interior.
Alois activated the shading system, watching the screen dim to reveal a spark and thick smoke emerging from the main cannon. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hear the sound, but it must have been spectacular.
Without its main cannon, the merchant ship was like a soldier without a weapon, trembling under the pirates’ might. Joanna had Leo open the communication channel and began her robbery declaration. “Attention crew of the Dowlan Company’s Silver String, we are the Begrel Pirates, and I am Begrel herself.” She paused for two seconds, as if savoring their shock, though she couldn’t see what was happening on the merchant ship, so she was just assuming it. “Our demands are simple: cease resistance, hand over control of the ship, and we will negotiate with your superiors. We promise not to harm the crew and guarantee your safety. If you agree, stop attacking immediately and surrender control. Any resistance will be met with force.”
The Silver String clearly didn’t want to compromise with pirates. The secondary cannons continued firing, and the engines powered up to full, attempting to flee. However, before they could accelerate, the shuttle carrying the vanguard team had already burned a path through the main cannon’s wreckage. The vanguard team, composed of the most ruthless pirates, emerged with weapons drawn, heading for the bridge. Joshua was among them, wasting no energy cartridges, sending laser shots precisely into the crew’s hearts and heads.
Someone shouted, “Look, it’s the assassin, The Mourner!” The crew, initially determined to resist the pirates, panicked, abandoning their posts. Joshua realized he’d forgotten to set his helmet’s visor to opaque, so some sharp-eyed person must have recognized his eyes. But this was good too. If a name alone could demoralize the enemy, why not?
Soon, Joanna received the Silver String’s surrender signal. The enemy ceased firing and opened computer access to the Lady of the Night. Leo quickly took control, decelerating the merchant ship. The vanguard team escorted the disarmed and surrendered crew to the bridge, binding them. Some severely injured crew members had to be taken to the medical bay.
“You despicable pirates!” The captain of the Silver String, with Joshua’s gun to his head, tearfully accused. “The Lord will punish you! Hypocrites!”
“That’s not right,” Joshua replied. “We always treat prisoners well, even better than the dogs on our ship.”
The captain seemed even more disheartened. This reaction baffled the assassin, who had spoken the truth.
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