First of all, the Flying Rainbow Fleet captured a batch of able-bodied men in their own territory according to the old rules. Naturally, it was more than easy for them. Without any resistance, they tied up the young men and even the old, the weak, and the disabled onto the starships.
After they were recorded in the roster, they became "elites" who were determined to serve their country loyally and die for His Majesty and the four Kurfürsten. The salary, disability benefits, and even pension for every "elite" were not insignificant, and they could be reimbursed by the Council of Elders. It was certainly not a bad deal.
However, they could not capture too many able-bodied men in their own territory. After all, they had to maintain the high-intensity work in their own mines, farms, and magical equipment factories, as well as the minimal operation of the economic systems of the few Sectors. They could not kill the goose that laid the golden eggs!
Therefore, the Flying Rainbow Fleet, which barely filled a few ragged starships, shifted its attention to the neighboring Sectors, the resource planets and space fortresses beyond the Sectors, and the passing business teams.
Among them, the passing trade caravans were all accurate. That was the logic. The merchants who were really law-abiding nowadays had been staying at home obediently. Those who were bold enough to run around at such a moment had to be bold desperadoes who were deeply connected to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Those who were connected to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors were connected to the reformists. They were undoubtedly the lackeys of the 'Reform Committee of the Council of Elders'.
Then, wouldn't it be reasonable, merciful, and humane for the Flying Rainbow Fleet to capture them, confiscate their starships, and confiscate their goods, and enlist everybody in the business teams into the daring squads to "atone for their crimes"?
Just like that, the Flying Rainbow Fleet first jumped to a neighboring Sector that had always had gaps, taking advantage of the fact that the local Sector Master was away and did not have enough troops. As a matter of fact, it was very possible that the local Sector Master had led his own troops to the territory of the Flying Rainbow Fleet to "capture able-bodied men". All in all, the Flying Rainbow Fleet swept a few local resource planets even more brutally than the space pirates, taking away all the people and assets. Then, they set up ambushes on a few busy business routes. When they detected the spiritual waves of the business teams, they would approach them with the advantage of the high speed and firepower of their warships and board the starships for inspection. As long as they found anything that was related to the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, even if it was just a roll of toilet paper with the mark of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors, they would immediately declare that the strangers were rebels of the reformists, and their assets would be confiscated.
Such "operations to purge the bandits" lasted for several months. The hundred outdated starships that the Flying Rainbow Fleet had abandoned were all crammed to the brim. The desperate "able-bodied men" had also captured tremendous carriers of the "bandits" and added them to their own fleet. They were truly back from a fruitful trip!
Supposedly, the "operations to purge the bandits" had been a great success, and they could have gone back to their hometown to take a rest. After the "battle of Seven Seas" began, the newly recruited men would be sent to the frontline to be killed, while the old brothers of the Flying Rainbow Fleet would cover them in the rear. After most of the able-bodied men were killed, the Flying Rainbow Fleet would announce that the Flying Rainbow Fleet had suffered heavy losses and was almost entirely wiped out. They had to retreat from the battlefield in regret out of loyalty to His Majesty and the four Kurfürsten. It was an old routine. Basically, all the troops of the warlords, the local armed forces, and the miscellaneous troops at the edge of the Imperium were doing the same.
However, right when the Flying Rainbow Fleet was about to return home, they accidentally detected a new starship that jumped to their vicinity.
Compared to their trophies in the past few months, the tiny starship was really a shrimp that could not be stuffed into the gaps between their teeth.
But now that they had seen it, it was not a big deal at all. They might as well recruit it too!
With that in mind, the few main-force warships of the Flying Rainbow Fleet approached the starship lazily. After a brief exchange of fire, the tiny starship's spiritual shield and power unit were soon blown up, and it had to send out a signal of surrender.
Everything had been normal until this moment.
But what happened next was greatly out of the expectations of all the soldiers of the Flying Rainbow Fleet.
Or rather, including the commanders of all levels, ninety-nine percent of the people did not know what had happened at all.
All in all, a shocking explosion took place on the flagship of the Flying Rainbow Fleet later that day, killing and wounding countless Immortal Cultivators.
What was even weirder was that a lot of Immortal Cultivators had gone missing, too. Those who went missing were all the direct bloodlines of the leadership of the Flying Rainbow Fleet. They were either the sons of the chief of staff or the fire control officer. Even the highest commander had two grandsons who had gone missing uncannily!
In the meantime, the few carriers that had been theoretically controlled by the Flying Rainbow Fleet got rid of the restraint of the fleet and fled in the chaos. The carriers were filled with the cannon fodder that the Flying Rainbow Fleet intended to use as scapegoats!
The leadership of the Flying Rainbow Fleet was so infuriated that smoke was almost popping out of their eyes. Naturally, they chased after them closely.
By logic, the leadership of the Flying Rainbow Fleet should not have been so careless.
However, on one hand, their sons and grandsons had gone missing, and it was possible that they were on the few carriers that had escaped uncannily. On the other hand, they did not see how strong the enemy was from the beginning to the end. The few carriers that were fleeing in panic were also moving and stopping now and then, being bombarded by their cannons, giving them the illusion that they would catch up with them after a while, and the battle would be settled after a bombardment.
Therefore, the Flying Rainbow Fleet chased after the few carriers and jumped all the way to the Blue Sky Space Zone.
After jumping to the periphery of the Blue Sky Space Zone, the Flying Rainbow Fleet knew that this place was likely to be occupied by the enemy. Therefore, they did not dare act rashly but tested the details of the Blue Sky Market first.
After learning that the business settlement of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors had been occupied by Li Wuji, they were overjoyed and asked Li Wuji to help them capture the few uncanny carriers.
"Boss Bai, what do you think?"
After figuring out what had happened, A Boxing Champion asked.
"What else can I think?"
Closing his eyes, Boss Bai held his nose and gnashed his teeth. "It must've been Li Yao, the soft-hearted man, who accidentally discovered that the Flying Rainbow Fleet was capturing innocent people as scapegoats and cannon fodder. His compassion was stirred, and he decided to lend a hand when he saw the injustice!
"A * shole, if you like helping others, you should at least clean your own ass. I am the greatest space pirate in the sea of stars and the freest man. I am going to conquer the world of magic and the four-dimensional space, not to clean your ass for Vulture Li Yao every day!"
"Boss —"
One of his subordinates brought over the latest detection and scanning results. "According to our precise calculation, the enemy's possible arrival point has been greatly advanced. If they don't change their course, they will collide with the Blue Sky Market in about seven hours."
Boss Bai: "… What's the enemy's distribution of troops?"
His subordinate said, "Knowing that Li Wuji's fleet has occupied the Blue Sky Market, the enemy did not hide their spiritual waves anymore. Judging from the waves from the exhaust flames of the starships, the Flying Rainbow Fleet has received at least ten secondhand warships from the four families. In terms of speed, firepower, and sustainability, they are more than 30% higher than the previous Flying Rainbow Fleet.
"Of course, we do not know if their distribution has been improved yet. So, it is still unknown how much their combat ability has been improved.
"However, judging from the data on paper, considering that our army is exhausted after a great battle, it will be a hard battle. Even if our army wins, it will be a victory with tremendous losses."
"A hard battle … a miserable victory …"
Boss Bai stared at the dense, glittering light spots on the light beam that were getting closer and closer to the Blue Sky Market. Red spots popped up in his eyes, and blood was almost spurting out of the red spots. In the end, taking a deep breath, he waved his hands and said brutally, "All the starships that are still breathing, attack at full strength. Pretend to join hands, but in fact, we will surround the enemy's flanks and rear!"
"B-Surround?"
His subordinate was stunned, thinking that he had misheard. However weak the Flying Rainbow Fleet was, it was still a regular army. The Big Bai Pirate Gang might be capable of swallowing them after a month of rest, but in such an awkward situation right now, it would be good enough if they could defeat or even crush the enemy. If they tried to surround the enemy, wouldn't they be even thinner than they already were?
In a situation where one's own forces were severely insufficient and their men and horses were exhausted, they still had to disperse their forces and try to surround and annihilate the enemy. This was simply the biggest joke in the world. How could their boss commit such a taboo?
"Exactly. Surround."
Boss Bai's eyes suddenly became determined. He said, one word after another, "Then, swallow the Flying Rainbow Fleet. Don't let go of any escape capsule!"
"That's impossible!"
His subordinate blurted out, "It's already a great miracle for a snake to swallow an elephant. How can we swallow two elephants in a row in only twenty-four hours?"
"We can. We can, as long as —"
Boss Bai narrowed his eyes, which were full of unpredictable tacit understanding. He mumbled, "As long as Li Yao still has some humanity and is not simply asking for my help!"
…
At the edge of the Blue Sky Space Zone, on a fleeing starship that was riddled with holes and smoking, spluttering noises were echoing everywhere on the bridge where smoke and fire were popping up now and then.
"Boss Bai, help me! Boss Bai, help me! Boss Bai, help me! "
In a silk shirt, beach shorts, and blue slippers, Li Yao shrieked at the top of his voice while he drank the tropical fruit juice.
Standing far away from him, Long Yangjun looked at the infinite sea of stars outside of the crystal cabin with her hands behind her back, as if she did not know him at all.
Li Jialing, on the other hand, looked at him in bewilderment next to him.
Xiaowen and Mingming were sitting in a corner. The two kids bit their lips softly and wriggled their clothes now and then. Their big watery eyes were full of confusion, as if they were wondering why they had such a father.
"Rest assured. Everything is under control."
After screaming for a while, Li Yao turned around and smiled at Li Jialing. "According to my accurate speculation, the new master of this place should be my sworn brother, Boss Bai. He is a very righteous and loyal man. After receiving my distress signal, he will certainly come to pick me up without caring about anything. Then, everything will be fine!"
"A mere space pirate —"
Li Jialing had been holding it back for a long time. He finally couldn't hold it back any longer. "How righteous and loyal can he be?"
"Well …"
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