68: Alliance of Peace

"Isn't… isn't this jump a bit too big?" Zhang Huaiyuan hesitated.

"Gale" and the other three Pirate Groups have dominated this route for over a hundred years; their strength goes without saying.

After secretly subduing Pirate Groups like "Gray Shark" and "Night Blade," he had investigated them, and what was revealed on the surface alone was enough to be shocking.

Their leader, "Morsa," is an S-Class Transcendent.

He possesses the high-tier death-type ability "Song of the Dead," which allows him to control the corpses of living beings that have been dead for no more than one hour; the duration and quantity increase with the ability's level.

You have to realize that Leios, who was previously a guest of honor for the Star Dome Empire noble Viscount Kane and served the Adolu Family, was only a high-tier S-Class Transcendent.

If this "Morsa" is comparable to Leios in strength and equipment, then I'm afraid he alone would be enough to destroy a small fleet.

Not to mention that he has seven Double A-Class vice leaders under his command, along with a large number of ordinary Transcendent and high-level equipment.

"Normally, yes."

The voice in the light screen continued: "In fact, the information your subordinates gathered previously is not comprehensive."

"Behind the 'Gale' Pirate Group is 'Buyad,' the vice president of the Free Star Alliance Security Management Center and one of the eighteen permanent directors of the Star Alliance."

"In order to help 'Gale' gain a firm foothold and continue providing huge amounts of wealth, Buyad once secretly modified a large number of retired Star Alliance equipment and smuggled them to this group of pirates."

"Therefore, apart from the Transcendent, the starships and mechs they currently use also include some elite standard equipment phased out by the Star Alliance twenty-five years ago; their strength is even greater than the current basic standard equipment."

"Furthermore, more importantly, the other three large Pirate Groups on this route are also supported by high-level Star Alliance officials. They stand together; if any outside force attacks one of them, the other three will join forces to support them."

"Asroth, how did you obtain this information? Is the intelligence accurate?"

Zhang Huaiyuan was slightly stunned and said with some surprise.

"Didn't you ask me to pay attention to the intelligence in this star sector? Last time when Tarian and Finn were paying tribute to the 'Gale' vice leader, I took the opportunity to hack into their communication system."

"Uh… is it that simple? Isn't it rumored that the 'Gale' Pirate Group's system is managed by the Statue of Liberty? How did you hack it…"

"That is clearly a rumor; the real Statue of Liberty would not collude with them."

The voice in the light screen said with a hint of pride and as a matter of course.

"Alright… even so, the gap between us and 'Gale' is still huge."

Zhang Huaiyuan seemed not to notice, just smiling helplessly:

"S-Class and Double A-Class Transcendent—the quality is about the same as ours, but the vastly superior quantity of armaments… knowing this intelligence seems to be of no help other than hurting our confidence."

"You are correct, so under normal circumstances, that is the case…"

"Then what about abnormal circumstances?"

Zhang Huaiyuan asked with interest.

"Perhaps they will start fighting each other."

"Ah…?"

Two days later, on a planet at the intersection of the Four Great Pirate Groups' territories on this "Peaceful Passage."

If anyone were to pass by here at this moment, they would likely be scared half to death—the four pirate leaders, who are rarely seen on ordinary days, were gathered here together.

"Long time no see, you bastards."

A young man wearing fire-red clothes spoke up enthusiastically first.

He was none other than the leader of the "Flame" Pirate Group among the Four Great Pirate Groups, "Purgatory Fire" Loranger.

"It would be better not to see you; seeing you just makes me angry."

Another man with a gloomy expression sneered.

"Hey… Hetok, it was just one time I won against you last time, is it necessary to hold a grudge for so long? You 'Deep Sea' have been number one so many times, what's wrong with letting me win once?"

The young man in red was not annoyed, laughing to himself.

"Alright, Loranger, stop playing the fool. I have things to do later, let's hurry up and settle the matter."

A bald man with a scar on his face interrupted.

"Alright, alright. But this 'Pact of Peace' is Gale's turn to host, right? Old Morsa, why don't you tell us about it."

The three of them looked at the figure hidden in the black robe.

The Pact of Peace is an internal martial arts competition held by the Four Great Pirate Groups every twenty years, mainly to determine the ownership of newly discovered resource planets during this period, as well as the number of wormhole toll points to occupy.

After all, they are all supported by high-level Star Alliance officials; if they really fought, everyone has the ability to flip the table. Therefore, they agreed to distribute them in this relatively peaceful way.

"It is already prepared."

A somewhat dry voice sounded from the black cloak.

"Oh? What is the format? It wouldn't be the same as the last session, just picking a few experts to have a fight, would it? That's too boring."

The young man in red shrugged and sighed: "After all, you are all too weak; there are no surprises at all."

"What did you say, Loranger."

The gloomy man narrowed his eyes, and the faint sound of ocean waves suddenly rang out from around him.

"What, you're not convinced?"

The young man in red still had a smile on his face, snapping his fingers lightly with his right hand, and a jet-black flame shot out from his fingertips.

"My Purgatory Fire is not afraid of your little ocean waves."

"Then what if you add me?"

The bald man snorted coldly and looked over with a hostile expression.

"Tch, you think I'm afraid of you? If you have the guts, let's have a one-on-one."

"Alright, stop arguing."

Just as the few were at daggers drawn, the leader of "Gale," Morsa, suddenly spoke up to interrupt.

"If you want to fight, there will be plenty of opportunities to do so this time."

"What do you mean?"

Once these words were spoken, the few no longer cared about arguing and asked with frowns.

Morsa scanned everyone and said indifferently: "My lord's meaning is that over so many years, we have accumulated quite a few collisions and frictions. Keeping it suppressed might lead to problems one day, so it's better to settle it once and for all during this 'Pact of Peace'."

"You must be joking, Old Morsa. Will those lords allow us to really fight?"

At this, even the most jumpy young man in red couldn't help but change his expression slightly.

A full-scale war is different from a performance-based competition; even he was not confident that he could survive under the attacks of countless starships.

"Of course, it's not fighting for real."

Morsa said with some pride in his tone: "That is why my lord specifically invited the Statue of Liberty to take action. As for the specifics, let the Goddess herself explain."

As soon as the words fell, the communication devices on the four people's wrists lit up simultaneously, and an indifferent voice came out:

"I am the Statue of Liberty."

"Morsa, take the items out."

"Okay."

Morsa took out four circular, disc-shaped items, attached one to his ear, and handed the other three to the others.

"What is this?"

"Put it on."

The voice in the communicator sounded again, with no intention of explaining at all.

The three looked at each other, obediently picked up the discs, and placed them to their ears, imitating him.

"And then?"

"Kill him."