Counterfeit Hero

The PT-8911 star system, adjacent to the Mars Free Star System, is a small star system with only one planet.

Like other numbered star systems, being individually marked and numbered in the vast PT-89 star system proves that this star system is a part of countless points along the Mars Free Channel.

Among interstellar trade routes, the most complex are those of the Free World. These routes, composed of numerous jump points woven into a dense network, are drawn by generations of interstellar explorers over thousands of years with their lives and luck, forming the lines of life in the cosmos.

Unlike the main channels of mainstream human society, the trade routes of the Free World can never be made into an accurate and complete interstellar navigation map.

The jump points, obstacle areas, black holes, gravitational reefs, comet orbit schedules, and asteroid belts along these trade routes only exist in the navigation devices of various commerce groups, smugglers, adventurers, and pirates, with no mutual communication.

Many trade routes even exist solely in the minds of pilots who have lived in the cosmos all their lives. These are their livelihood. Other than passing them down verbally to their sons or disciples, these old pilots will never tell anyone else, let alone draw them out.

This is the survival method of the Free World citizens and the survival method of the entire Free World, which is isolated from mainstream society.

Only by relying on these trade routes and the seemingly impassable star systems, one daunting obstacle after another, can commerce groups trade, smugglers evade powerful military fleets of various nations, pirate fleets escape from anti-piracy fleets and anti-smuggling fleets, adventurers hide the scarce rare minerals, plants, animals they discover and ultimately survive in this barren world.

These trade routes, along with the numerous and highly concealed freedom docks and space stations scattered within them, truly constitute the Free World. Mars Free Port is merely the largest space station among them. Even if Mars Planet is conquered or destroyed, the Free World will still exist.

The PT-8911 star system is the first station on the densely woven freedom channel from Mars Free Port, heading west to Tatania or south to the Saleria Star Domain, and is also the essential path entering Mars Free Port from the Southeast Star Domain.

In the interstellar navigation maps of the Free World, the PT channel with B-level passing capability is a route every qualified pilot must master. As the first station of the route, every jump channel and obstacle area in the PT-8911 star system is familiar to the pilots like their own wives’ bodies.

Just having passed the first jump channel after entering the PT-8911 star system from Mars Free Port, in a decelerating state, the Demon’s Eye Pirate Group sub-fleet never dreamed that upon just leaving Mars Free Port, a strange ragged fleet would launch an attack on them.

With only short-range optical detection and civilian radar, the Demon’s Eye sub-fleet did not have time to take any evasive action when they discovered the swift encircling fleet. Three armed merchant ships and six escort ships, led by a cruiser that seemed to be falling apart, suddenly appeared around the sub-fleet almost in a blink.

”Turn around fully, escort ship in the rear!” The fleet commander of the Demon’s Eye sub-fleet quickly issued the order.

As an experienced pirate who has led his raider fleet to countless plunders in the cosmos, the fleet commander reacted almost immediately upon discovering the enemy.

Though he was surprised by the precise encirclement of the enemy and the failure of the usually reliable civilian radar to give advance warning, he was not particularly afraid. The armed merchant ships and three escort ships leading this convoy were the main force of his raider fleet. All his brothers were seasoned battle-hardened raiders, and the warships they commanded were among the best-maintained and equipped in the Demon’s Eye.

While the enemy ships had the advantage in numbers, and one of them was almost the size of a cruiser, these ”warships” were incredibly dilapidated, so much so that it was laughable. The fleet commander of Demon’s Eye felt no real threat to his convoy from such rickety ships.

In just a few seconds, he made his judgment. Distance to Mars Free Port was still close. As long as the armed merchant ships paving the way and the three escorting escort ships could hold out for a while, resist the first wave of the enemy’s attack, and widen the distance utilizing speed, those ragged warships could not contain them. The two transport ships laden with supplies could swiftly return via the jump channel.

To be fair, as a pirate organization with lax discipline, the pirate crew under this pirate leader were quite well-trained and coordinated. In just a few minutes, the armed merchant ship at the leading position of the fleet had already turned to guard the left front, blocking the advancing bandit army warships head-on, while the three escort ships on each flank accelerated to the front, forming a triangle formation and guarding the right front. This bought time and space for the transport ships behind to turn around.

When the ambushing warships entered firing range, the four warships of the Demon’s Eye transport fleet were already prepared to open fire. Their civilian energy ship cannons, space torpedoes, and close-combat laser cannons had all extended out of the armor defense ports, and the rotating turrets were locking on to the enemy ships under the guidance of the fire control system.