Over a thousand units traveled through the cold, lifeless expanse of space. Not a sound came over the fleet's shared channel, which was as silent as the void around them.
They had come so openly simply because Performer and the other units saw no need to hide. That was all.
Aboard the Iron Throne, Cheng Yu was also watching this battle with its foregone conclusion through the fleet's first-person feed.
Ahead lay a planet that looked somewhat barren, but soon, warships of all shapes and sizes began rising from its surface.
Cheng Yu raised an eyebrow. He had assumed most Starry Sky Pirates would have organized fleets like the Mad God's.
He had not expected this pirate band to look more like a ragtag army.
Inside the largest warship, Burly Man stared at the approaching fleet in surprise.
It was an organized force, its formation showing no sign of disorder. Burly Man's expression immediately grew grave. A regular military.
He just did not know which faction the fleet belonged to.
Burly Man said coldly,
"Contact them!"
A short while later, an operator below reported,
"No luck, Captain. There's no response on their channel. They don't want to talk to us."
Burly Man's expression darkened further.
"In that case, open fire the moment they enter range! I want their lines broken as quickly as possible!"
Incidentally, Cheng Yu was also on Performer's shared channel.
At that moment, a synthesized mechanical voice sounded over the fleet's shared channel.
"Purge targets detected. All command units, take note. Repeat..."
Then the formation of purger 0-7 units unleashed a volley.
Each purger 0-7 fired three beams simultaneously.
Burly Man shot to his feet in disbelief.
"Their range is that long?!"
Then he immediately shouted,
"Quick! Activate the shield generators!"
The yellow-white beams struck the shields