Counterfeit Hero

As soon as Audrey finished speaking, the observer in the main control room of the [Blue Rose] reported, ”Captain, the space fluctuation scanner has detected the jump fluctuations of two small ships, positions 12701-1613, 12699-1642.”

”Our guests have arrived!” Chekov smiled, pressed the button on the communications panel, and ordered, ”Blue Rose, second-level combat readiness, radar signal capture, tracking lock. Left rudder 52 marks, forward thrust eight units, starboard turrets numbers two, four, six, eight, and ten energy charge, prepare to engage!”

At Chekov’s command, the entire warship swiftly entered combat mode. The officers and soldiers busily and orderly followed the deeply ingrained combat preparation procedures... closing the living quarters, reducing energy supply to life support systems, rotating turret activations, energy charging, electronic lock-on devices starting to capture…

From the [Audrey], the silver-white destroyer had blue energy shields shimmering with light, the color deepening... the main propulsion jets had opened, emitting a massive blue exhaust like a long tail.

The iron-gray armor spread around the hull slowly closed, and the barrels of energy cannons extended from the turrets, rotating circle after circle under the synchronized guidance of the locking radar... the entire warship suddenly seemed to become a hedgehog bristling with weapons.

In truth, the crew aboard the Audrey had seen various powerful warships from major mercenary groups, pirate groups, and giant corporate security fleets gathered at the Free Port.

However, those warships were mostly outdated models. Many cruisers and battleships were essentially scrap metal skeletons purchased and remodeled with civilian equipment or small military gear obtained through special channels.

It was the first time everyone had seen a new model destroyer complete its combat preparations with their own eyes. Exclamations of admiration filled the air. As they watched, they also discussed excitedly.

Everyone said that the current situation in Saleria was chaotic, especially in the two star domains of the relatively backward Southern Alliance, where several military regions were almost bankrupt! Some who managed to make connections had gotten quite a few good items out of the army. If there was a chance, acquiring one or two destroyers... would be perfect for smuggling!

Look at this Leray destroyer, how impressive!... Hey, here they come. They were so triumphant when bullying our merchant ships, but I wonder what expression these little Yellowbeards will have when they jump out and see a destroyer standing in their way... If it were me, I’d already be crying my eyes out!

Amidst the crew’s dreamy and gloating discussions, two pirate raiders modified from [Heavenly Shuttle] civilian escort ships appeared in the Jump Point Area.

The battle ended quickly... in fact, from the moment the two pirate high-speed raiders jumped out of the jump point to their signal surrender, not a single shot was fired between the sides. The best way to describe this small-scale battle would be bloodless victory.

As long as the pirates weren’t idiots, the fight couldn’t happen; the disparity in strength was too great!

It’s known that to adapt to the pirate tactics of fleeing when outmatched and to catch up with the increasingly faster merchant ships, raiders sacrificed armor and energy shields, allocating most of their power to three massive propulsion engines.

Thus, raiders rely on speed to survive! Once they can move at full speed, even standard energy cannons can hardly lock onto them, let alone hit them in the vastness of space! But once the raiders lose their speed advantage, their combat power drops by ninety percent immediately.

This time, the two pitiful pirate raiders obviously kicked a steel plate. Without an electronic camouflage system, the raiders were already pinpointed by the [Blue Rose] before they completed their space jump.

It is imaginable how shocked the pirates were when, upon ending their jump, they saw beyond the distorted space a military destroyer faster than their raiders, with its several rotating turrets and 500mm auxiliary cannons all aimed at them!

Other than surrendering, the pirates couldn’t think of anything else they could do with their two raiders whose engines hadn’t even started.

The most disheartened among them was probably Barbarossa Hayreddin, the leader of the Redbeard Pirate Group.

This pirate leader, who inherited the legendary name of the Ancient Earth’s Redbeard Pirate, had been unchallenged in the Golden Triangle Region between Desic, Gazalin, and the Tatania Commercial Alliance for nearly two decades. He never imagined he would stumble here!

If it weren’t for accidentally getting information on the [Audrey]...

If it weren’t for being infuriated after several failed attempts to capture this damn smuggling ship and deciding to lead the ambush personally...

If it weren’t that the main force of the Pirate Group was still raiding another star domain and hadn’t returned...

If it weren’t for encountering a destroyer faster than the raiders...

If it weren’t that the ships’ engines were not started when they jumped out of the jump point...

Suppressing his regret, Barbarossa Hayreddin, dressed in a grease-stained, ordinary pirate suit, stood silently among a group of dejected pirates, his eyelids drooping, listening to the Big Boss, Hake of the raider group, who stood humbly in front, answering questions from the fully armed Leray soldiers.

Now, according to the Leray people’s orders, all pirates had gathered in the escape area. A total of sixty-one pirates were standing obediently in place under the muzzle of the energy guns pointed by dozens of heavily armed Leray soldiers, not even daring to breathe heavily.