The Empire's Lecture

Lina watched the image appearing on the projection screen with a blank expression.

It was a snapshot they had captured of a combat zone on the planet's surface.

The beam of light that descended from the sky, its energy level weakened by the atmosphere in the first few microseconds, but as the energy beam reached the surface and established a transport channel, the subsequent continuous energy output suffered almost no loss.

That figure was vaporized.

Its molecular structure was destroyed by high-energy ion beams.

By...

Lina felt a ringing in her ears.

The moment she witnessed Hanton being vaporized, she couldn't hear anything else, only the ringing in her ears.

"Officer... Officer!"

The young intelligence officer startled Lina.

"Speak."

"Target Number One has been confirmed killed by the pirate ship's main cannon! The information we just received is a bit chaotic. The pirates had a conflict over Kolev's buried treasure, and Target Number One got caught up in it. It seems they killed the current leader of the Black Dragon Pirate Group, Gimo, during the conflict. The pirate group, seeking revenge, attacked Target Number One with their main cannon... just now."

Lina took half a step back, raising her hand to grip the safety railing beside her, her face pale and devoid of color.

"Officer? You need to rest."

Lina suddenly said, "Bio-sensors! Use the bio-sensors to gather information from there!"

"The bio-sensors are unresponsive. The pirate ship's main cannon energy destroyed everything."

"Officer, according to the records we stole from their pirate ship, Target Number One did indeed anger this group of pirates."

"And Officer... we captured a faint signal from a tracking device... it seems to be a tracking device that remained in Target Number One's body without being metabolized. It's our exclusive product, and it sent out a weak signal before he was destroyed..."

Silence fell within the battleship for about half a minute.

"They destroyed Hanton, they destroyed Hanton... my more than a year of effort was ruined by them," Lina muttered to herself, "Take them down."

The Captain asked, "Officer, what is our target?"

"Pirates! Attack these damn pirates!"

Lina's expression became somewhat uncontrolled, a touch of red appearing on her pale cheeks, her slender body trembling uncontrollably.

"Don't let them escape! Break through their shields! Turn them into cosmic dust, now, immediately! Even if we only get credit for annihilating pirates, it's better than letting these past three months be a waste!"

The Captain shrugged slightly, "You've made the wisest decision of the last three months."

Immediately after, the Captain's voice became high-pitched, precise, and full of masculine power.

"All ship cannons charge! Shields at twenty percent! Prioritize locking onto their flagship!"

"Deploy electronic interference! Make these crude pirate ships stop dead in their tracks!"

"Fire at will!"

The entire ship was almost instantly activated, the bridge became a hive of activity, and more than a dozen laser beams appeared outside the viewport.

These beams were only intended to deplete the enemy's shield energy.

Battleship main cannons charging!

Battleship full firepower preheating!

Inside the stealth boat that had just entered the high-altitude clouds, Yang Ming looked at the flickering projection screen in front of him and exchanged a glance with Kolev.

Before he could say anything, his gaze was drawn to the beams of light appearing outside the atmosphere.

More than a dozen laser beams simultaneously struck the two pirate ships with the strongest firepower.

"Hey!" Kolev exclaimed, his eyes wide, "They're attacking my ship! Oh! Damn it! Why aren't the rest of these bastards running faster!"

"There must be electronic interference," Yang Ming reminded him, "The battleship is too close to them."

As soon as they spoke, the shields of one pirate ship were breached.

However, the battleship had only just completed its energy distribution.

The curved armor on the front half of the battleship became 'pitted and scarred', a hundred-meter caliber cannon barrel, filled with a powerful magnetic field, rapidly extended from the center of the ship's face, its sections lighting up one by one.

Around this main barrel, a circle of slightly smaller caliber barrels pushed forward in sync; this was the main and secondary cannon pairing of the Dawn-class Battleship.

Charging completed at thirty percent.

Minimum bombardment standard.

The main and secondary cannons simultaneously unleashed brilliant particle beams, like streaks of azure lightning, illuminating the sky outside the planet.

"Don't do this! Oh, no! No, no! My ship!"

Kolev roared, trembling all over.

The 300-meter-class pirate ship's main hull was almost instantly pierced by the blue beams of light!

A few seconds later, a violent explosion spread outwards from the impact point, the pirate ship disintegrated violently, and a fusion reaction ignited at the point of impact, with no figures visible in the explosion.

Kolev covered his eyes in despair.

Yang Ming said, "The Guer Alliance is using practical actions to persuade you to hang up your boots."

The stealth boat, using the clouds for cover, sped towards the horizon.

Kolev muttered incessantly, his old eyes growing unfocused; on the projection screen before him, a battleship was encircling and destroying several pirate ships.

"This is a massacre! A massacre initiated by the Guer Alliance!

"Oh, my ships, the ships I've spent half my life building. Though they're all old now, and I've earned several times their value in wealth, still... oh, what can I leave Milili? She wants so badly to be a pirate as successful as me, to sail freely across the vast galaxy.

"Oh! Heavens, your little lover is too wicked!"

Yang Ming could only offer a wry smile of sympathy.

But they didn't let the stealth boat stop.

The Fei Nan wasn't equipped with stealth, so they needed to leave Orhaifu quickly in this small craft. Whether they could use the planet to evade the battleship's radar detection became the key to their escape.

The battle in outer space ended within ten minutes.

The silver-white battleship slowly retracted its cannons, its elegant curved outer armor reappearing, but the thick cannons beneath the ship's hull were not retracted.

"What are they doing?"

Yang Ming asked softly, staring intently at the observation feed Kolev had obtained with his drones.

Kolev slumped into the co-pilot's seat, as if all his dreams had been extinguished, muttering, "I really should retire. I could buy an estate, invest in some real estate, collecting rent wouldn't be bad either."

On the projection screen, two landing craft, engulfed in fire, quickly landed on the surface, collecting information around the lava rifts on the ground.

Ten minutes later, these two landing craft returned to the battleship. Before they could even dock in the ship's aft bay, a beam of azure light descended from the sky, striking the ruins of the city below.

The point of impact was precisely the coordinates where the bionic robot had vaporized.

Immediately after, beams of light rained down densely. The battleship's firepower was unleashed wantonly upon the city ruins below, and large patches of rain clouds quickly appeared in the sky.

A post-mortem by cannon?

Yang Ming's facial muscles twitched slightly, and he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

This meant he was thoroughly dead in the Guer Alliance's eyes. All he needed to do now was get plastic surgery—to revert to his original appearance, change his name back from Hanton to Yang Ming—and he would have true freedom!

It was just that the old man beside him had suffered heavy losses.

"The plan was successful, Kolev,"

Yang Ming said gently. "We've escaped the crisis now and don't need to worry about our lives. All information has been buried with this battleship, and no one will suspect we faked our deaths."

"Yes," Kolev sighed, "which is why I've unilaterally lost nearly a hundred million Federal currency in assets."

"I still owe you a million here, more than enough for your retirement," Yang Ming said, looking at the rapidly approaching sky. "As long as we're alive, anything is possible. Don't lose heart, my wise First Mate."

Beep, beep.

Red dots suddenly appeared on the projection screen in front of Yang Ming.

"Captain," Molly Two's cold, synthesized electronic voice suddenly spoke, "detecting anomalous gravitational fluctuations."

"What anomalous gravity?"

Kolev frowned and looked over, staring intently at the instrument panel.

His old face changed rapidly, and he roared:

"Large ship warp jump! A large ship is warping! We're near the end of its warp corridor! They're going to jump directly near the planet! They're insane!"

"Warp jump? Jumping near a planet?"

Yang Ming frowned slightly, the knowledge he'd gained over the past few months quickly surfacing.

Generally, the initiation and termination points of a warp jump required a stable gravitational environment.

However, certain large ships, equipped with the technology of powerful nations, did not adhere to these 'general' rules.

Yang Ming's decision was swift and decisive.

He forcefully pushed the control yoke down. The stealth boat, which had quietly ascended to high altitude, plunged directly towards the surface as if diving.

Unobservable gravitational wave ripples appeared in space.

The colossal entity suddenly 'appeared' in synchronous orbit around the planet.

Kolev's pupils dilated violently, and he quickly held his breath, barely able to control himself.

Yang Ming had already leveled the stealth boat, shut down its forward and reverse engines, and was only maintaining power to the external coating, looking up at the depths of the sky in shock.

The surface here was already night, with a faint white glow illuminating the edge of the sky.

A warship, shaped like a 'memory stick,' was now suspended in the depths of the sky, blocking the Guer Alliance's Dawn-class light battleship.

The two warships were at the same altitude above the planet's surface.

This warship was three to four times longer than the Dawn-class battleship!

Even its forward section was a ridiculously massive main cannon, its barrel, occupying half the ship's length, was being lit up section by section!

A Dreadnought!

The Empire's Dreadnought-class heavy battleship!

A Dreadnought-class Heavy Battleship, boasting an exaggerated 3,600-meter length, equipped with a mixed energy cannon capable of shattering a densely packed fleet with a single shot, known as the flagship killer!

The Sherman Empire's national emblem, actively glowing at the stern, nearly snapped Yang Ming's nerves taut!

Kolev cursed, his mouth dry.

With trembling hands, the old man took out a cube-shaped glass network terminal, brought up an interface resembling a radio, and continuously adjusted it.

"Their communication might be on an open channel," Kolev explained, his voice trembling.

Cold sweat beaded on the old pirate's forehead.

The network terminal emitted static-filled sounds.

"...Your vessel locking onto ours will be considered an invasion of a Guer Alliance Administrative Planet."

It was Lina's voice!

Soon, a somewhat deep, aged voice sounded, likely the Captain of this Imperial behemoth.

"Does your vessel possess a member of the Guer Alliance Central Intelligence Agency, formerly known as Lina? Biological data has been transmitted to your vessel."

Yang Ming's eyebrow twitched slightly.

"I am," Lina replied softly.

"You stole Imperial secrets," the Imperial Captain said in a low voice. "You used your beauty to seduce a loyal Imperial officer, and then faked the death of this once-loyal officer, is that correct?"

Lina stated, "This is all baseless nonsense."

"Charge the main cannon," the Imperial Captain commanded. "Release gravitational interference."

A man's voice sounded from Lina's side: "Your Excellency, do you intend to go to war directly with our nation? We are ships of the Guer Alliance!"

The Imperial Captain's laughter held undisguised contempt:

"You can contact your superiors now and inform them that your vessel has been locked onto by mine. Ask them what you should do.

"Hand over Captain Hanton. He is designated as Target Number One by you. He is Professor Gigrov's final masterpiece, isn't he? Dr. Lina, this intelligence was actually leaked by one of your superiors."

"Hanton is dead."

Lina whispered, "Just now. I can provide you with proof."

"Oh, you killed him?" The Imperial Captain's voice grew even deeper. "The damage on the surface was your doing, wasn't it? You fired upon Imperial soldiers."

"I did not directly kill Hanton. He was a valuable specimen I wanted," Lina said. "He got caught up in a pirate dispute."

"So you wish to destroy his final biological data? Desecrate his corpse?"

The Imperial Captain seemed to be watching a video, a hint of anger creeping into his voice. "Oh! Even though he was only a Captain! He was an Imperial Captain! Blasted twice by your main cannon!"

Lina's side fell silent, but the main engines began to engage, the smooth curves once again becoming pockmarked.

"You are the ones waging war against the Empire."

The Imperial Captain stated coldly, "You orchestrated all of this. You attempted to steal treasures that rightfully belong to the Empire... No need for further words. Destroy them."

Lina stated firmly, "You will bear the cost of war! This is a barbaric and shameless act of war!"

The Imperial side remained silent.

Zzzzt!

The Guer Alliance vessel cut off communication.

Yang Ming crawled forward, watching the two warships in a standoff.

The Imperial side had not closed the communication channel, continuing to broadcast the Captain's steady breathing and calm reports from various locations over an open frequency.

The Dawn-class Light Battleship released a dense cloud of dust, like ink ejected by a squid. All energy was poured into its shields, giving it an added halo.

The Alliance ship was attempting to escape the planet's gravitational pull.

The Imperial Dreadnought did not pursue.

It emitted ripples invisible to the naked eye, its exaggerated and terrifying main cannon already half-lit.

The Imperial Captain said in a low voice, "Alas, Geglov was too stubborn. He was my friend. Twenty years of continuous experimentation, yet not a single sample or piece of data remained. It's said he was close to success, creating a powerful individual combat unit."

"But, General, this experiment ultimately failed. We gained nothing," a clear female voice asked. "Are we really going to directly attack Guer Alliance vessels? They are the fourth-largest power in the galaxy. This will likely create significant diplomatic pressure."

"Your Highness," the Captain chuckled, "Will the Guer Alliance go to war with us over a single light battleship?"

"No," the female voice replied. "They lack the strength to contend with the Empire's powerful legions."

"So what do we have to worry about?"

The Captain spoke slowly:

"We must warn those who like to stir up trouble. The value of this battleship is enough to make them ache. I can assure you, Your Highness, tomorrow they will claim their invincible ship encountered a bizarre gamma-ray burst."

A technician shouted, "Main cannon fully charged!"

"Take it down."

The Dreadnought remained silent for three seconds.

Most of the lights on its hull extinguished simultaneously. The massive vessel vibrated faintly and continuously as a beam of deep red high-energy ions violently dispersed the thick dust cloud ahead, engulfing the entire battleship.

A few seconds later, the shields melted.

A few microseconds later, the ship hull dissolved.

Yang Ming felt as if he saw the female doctor standing on the bridge, her skin and bones melting away under the barrage of ion beams.

As the deep crimson beams gradually faded, the Dawn-class Battleship's ship hull began to explode violently, the resulting light even momentarily outshining the star.

"Beautiful, isn't it, Your Highness?"

The Empire Captain said in a gentle voice:

"You must understand that weakness and concession will only make you a target for hyenas. Maintaining a resolve to fight at any moment is the only way to make the weaker ones understand their place.

"An experimental specimen isn't worth our anger, but we must uphold the Empire's dignity. This is a warning to the Guer Alliance, one that might make them reconsider the consequences of advancing with the New Federation.

"Between galaxies, there is no balance."

Chirp!

Kolev actively turned off the receiver in his hand. His face was deathly pale, and he asked in a low voice, "Will they find us? Will they..."

Yang Ming simply lay there, quietly gazing ahead, his silence filled with thought.

"Don't worry."

Yang Ming's voice paused for a moment, and he said softly, "The Dreadnought's target isn't me."