Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 46
Darius Bayes stood completely still, his back as straight as a razor-sharp blade. Joshua stepped up behind him, pressing the muzzle of his gun to the back of his head.
“Take your hands off the panel.”
“I thought you’d shoot me right away. Are you hesitating?” Darius smirked. “You’re still just an assassin. If you’d been on the battlefield, you’d know that a moment’s hesitation can cost your life.”
The monitor screen flickered, and a third person walked into the main control room, holding a gun.
“Surrender, pirate!” John Leibniz ordered sternly. “Resistance is futile!”
Darius turned his head slightly, looking either at Joshua or the suddenly appearing adjutant. “You’re late, Leibniz.”
“Sorry, Major General. I just went to the bathroom. When I came back, everyone was dead.”
“Your lateness is fortuitous. I’ll overlook your dereliction of duty this time.”
“Much obliged.”
Leibniz also approached Joshua from behind. The assassin felt a hard object pressed against his head. Joshua Planck had never been held at gunpoint for more than a second, and it filled him with deep irritation.
“Do you think you’re threatening me?”
Darius gestured. “Shoot, Leibniz. Don’t learn from this hesitating assassin.”
The adjutant’s breath caught.
“Go ahead and try, brave Mr. Leibniz,” Joshua said. “See if your hand is faster than mine.”
Darius’s finger hovered above the confirm button. A simple press would send all the maps of the Second Sea of Death and Milantu. “Isn’t it the same principle?”
“I think it’s different.” Joshua’s hand remained steady on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment. “Mr. Leibniz, have you ever killed a man? Not by pressing buttons in a control room or issuing orders, but with your own hands, watching the blood spurt, seeing the expression freeze at the moment of death…”
“What are you trying to say, pirate?” Leibniz interrupted. “If you think you can talk your way out of this, you’re dreaming…”
Joshua ignored him, continuing, “It looks like you haven’t. But I’m different. I’ve personally killed hundreds of people. Killing is as simple as breathing to me. The most important thing is…” He paused. “I love the feeling of killing.”
“You!”
“Death is my domain. Don’t challenge my patience in this area.”
Leibniz gritted his teeth.
The three men threatened each other, yet no one acted.
A grating metallic sound came from above the main control room, crawling over their skin like a cold lizard’s tongue. Joshua shivered, wishing he didn’t have ears to hear it.
“Milantu ground command tower! Milantu ground command tower!” Amid the harsh noise, a woman’s voice could be heard. It was Joanna’s unusually serious voice. Soon the noise disappeared. “This is Joanna Begrel speaking to you!”
‘Finally made it in time,’ Joshua thought.
Joanna muttered something softly, probably cursing. “Leo, quickly connect the main control room monitor! What? Can’t connect? Incompetent!”
Darius sneered.
“What are you laughing at?” Joanna’s sharp ears caught his sneer. “Laughing with a gun to your head, are you relaxed or just thick-skinned?”
“Then cry, Begrel,” Darius retorted. “The sword of Damocles is hanging over your head. If you don’t cry now, it’ll be too late.”
“Mutual feelings, Bayes. I’ll be back in Milantu in three hours and can immediately order the ground forces to storm the command tower and kill you.”
“I’ll have sent the map to my fleet by then.”
“My AI will intercept it.”
“You should ask if it can.”
On the bridge of the Lady of the Night, Joanna tapped the holographic control panel in front of her, closing the communication with Milantu.
“Leo, are you confident you can intercept Milantu’s information?”
Leonard kept his hands in his sleeves, biting his pale lip. “Milantu’s server is under constant attack… I think… maybe… there’s a fifty percent chance of success.”
Joanna blinked, carefully examining the AI’s face. She had known Leo for ten years, and in her memory, Leo was always confident and competent, rarely showing such a helpless expression.
“Alright.” The captain reopened the communication. “Bayes, you win. Joshua, kill him.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Wait!” Darius raised his voice. “Begrel, even if I die, my adjutant will still send the map. You’ll not only expose your base but also lose a top subordinate.”
“No problem, we can go down together,” Joanna said lazily. “Although your great cause will end before it starts, at least you’ll gain a reputation for dying for your country and taking down the treacherous Joanna Begrel with you. Oh, it’s so touching, I’m almost in tears!”
“Your threats don’t work on me,” Darius said. “If you really plan on mutual destruction, that’s fine. Take everyone in Milantu with you. The Empire doesn’t always treat prisoners kindly.”
Joanna chuckled dryly. “It’s been years since we last met, Bayes. You’ve improved, daring to confront me.”
“Honored by your praise.”
“Alright, let’s be honest. State your terms. You’re Darius Bayes, the Empire’s most promising young general, ambitious. You wouldn’t want to die on this obscure frontier planet.”
“My terms are simple. Let all of us leave Milantu safely, and I’ll withdraw my troops and promise not to target Milantu for a year.”
“Your Empire Army?”
“Just me. But I’m sure no one else would dare confront Joanna Begrel.”
“Alright, I can guarantee your safe return to your fleet, but my AI must navigate to prevent you from obtaining Milantu’s map.”
“Agreed,” Darius consented. “I trust your integrity. Also, you must cease all pirate activities for a year.”
“How will I survive then?”
“Didn’t I send you a ship full of jewels?”
“Oh, I thought you were taking them back.”
“The Bayes family can afford it.” Darius turned, glaring at Joshua. “Lastly, I want to take this fugitive back. Coming all the way to Milantu with heavy losses, I need a trophy to account for at the Empire capital.”
Joshua smirked. “I don’t care how you account.”
Joanna said, “Bayes, my ace pilot is already in your hands, and now you want to take the Mourner too?”
“I didn’t know that. Who’s your ace pilot?”
“Another fugitive.”
Joshua’s black-gold eyes glared at the ceiling, as if questioning, “How did you command to let Alois get captured?!” Unfortunately, Joanna couldn’t see his angry eyes.
Darius beamed. “Ah, my senior Lagrange.”
Joshua lowered his gun, throwing a sharp look. “I’ll go with you.”
The author has something to say:
Joshua probably enjoys reading Connelly’s “The Poet”. =w=
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