The Tree May Long for Stillness, but the Wind Will Not Cease

Baron had been able to borrow this fleet partly because of his identity as a member of the Department of Anomalous Affairs.

But the main reason was his bad temper and erratic personality. No one wanted to offend a lunatic like him.

Also, the nature of the Hongjingtian Team happened to align with the fleet's combat objectives, and they were all located in the Asteroid Belt.

Only with all three factors combined had he been able to borrow this fleet in his own name.

Even so, he could not bear the consequences of the fleet being wiped out—even a costly victory would have left him plenty of room to maneuver.

That was precisely why, in the end, he no longer wanted to live and stubbornly insisted on challenging Qu Jianlei to a one-on-one duel.

Of course, given that man's arrogant nature, he probably could not calmly accept such a crushing defeat either.

So it was hardly surprising that he had risked everything in an attempt to salvage his pride.

Besides that, Qu Jianlei had specifically looked into the origins of those two armed merchant ships.

The two starships were indeed connected to the Flying Eagle Group, though only through a temporary hiring arrangement.

However, Baron had been the one who brokered those resources as well.

Flying Eagle knew it had offended the Hongjingtian Team and was about to face retaliation. It wanted to compensate them honestly, but it was also somewhat unwilling.

At that point, Baron sent someone to pass along a message, saying that he could recommend two armed merchant ships to join in, and they only needed to pay a token fee.

Naturally, Flying Eagle did not dare offend him either—compared to the Hongjingtian Team, Baron seemed even more formidable.

In any case, they had already been torn