Three hours later, the hijacked transport ship slowly docked at the Delphi Star System’s port.
The port was surrounded by Delphi Star System’s fleet, making it impossible for anyone to escape.
All the starships docked at the port were moved out. The vast starship docking deck was left with only a solitary transport ship.
Scorpion Tail: “Your Highness, please order the evacuation of the port garrison and allow only the Holy Son’s tour yacht to enter.”
Nero’s eyes darkened: “Release the hostages first.”
His crimson mecha, always hovering high above the port, was tightly guarded by the Wolf Knights, who had their light shields raised, protecting him securely.
“Your Highness, although I deeply respect you, you always seek to challenge our rules. I’m starting to lose patience. Let’s start counting from the fifth minute.”
The barrel of the Scorpion Tail member’s gun mercilessly pressed against the head of a severely injured Wolf Knight.
In the holographic screen, the silver-haired Emperor showed a rare hint of anxiety and vulnerability – a detail keenly observed by the Scorpion Tail members.
This was naturally within their expectations.
Back when they were trying to capture the fleeing young prince, the Scorpion Tail had continuously changed identities and observed young Nero and the Wolf Knights for more than a year.
The Wolf Knights always had deep affection for their young master. Even when they couldn’t bear arms or armor during their escape, they fought bare-handed with the pursuing forces to ensure Nero’s escape.
The Scorpion Tail had witnessed the scene of the young prince lying unconscious on the body of a White Wolf Knight, crying until he fainted, and then being silently carried back by the young White Wolf Knight.
What a pity.
The cold eyes under the hoods glanced at the White Wolf mecha in front of the crimson one.
At that time, no one could have predicted that the crying little prince would one day become the Emperor of the Galactic Empire.
…Otherwise, back then, they would have concentrated all their firepower to capture the White Wolf at the Emperor’s side.
One wondered if, by threatening Nero with a dying White Wolf, they could even get him to surrender the Rose Throne.
“…Delphi Star System’s fleet, follow orders and evacuate from the port.”
After a while, Nero finally spoke.
The Scorpion Tail member corrected him: “Your Highness, I hope your orders can be more specific. Please order all orbital cannons in the Delphi Star System’s port to shut down, have the fleet retreat to a thousand light-years away from the port, and open the warp channels to connect to the L2032 fortress.”
Soon someone found out that L2032 fortress belonged to the Laud Family’s territory. Transferring from here could directly warp outside the Western border.
And the pursuing Delphi Star System’s fleet would be intercepted by the massive garrison of the Laud Family.
A senior officer couldn’t help but angrily say, “You, you’re indeed hired by the Laud Family…!!”
Nero interrupted: “Do as they say.”
“!!” The Delphi Star System’s officers couldn’t believe it. “Your Majesty!!”
All orbital guns at Delphi Star System’s port were shut down.
The dark fleet had to withdraw and stop one thousand light-years away from the port.
This distance was also calculated by Scorpion Tail; at the speed of the winged ship and the imperial battleship, even if the imperial fleet tried to pursue, the winged craft carrying Scorpion Tail would be long gone.
The magnificent tour yacht slowly returned to the port from the streets.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Your Majesty! Are you really going to give the Holy Son to them?”
The Delphi Star System’s officers watched all this with wide eyes, ignoring that communication between Nero and the Scorpion Tail had not been cut off yet, and asked urgently over the channel.
Rescuing the hostages, then handing over the Holy Son before chasing back seemed to be the only feasible option at the moment.
But if the Scorpion Tail really took the Holy Son along their route, there would be too many variables for the Delphi Star System’s fleet to chase back the Holy Son.
Moreover, once the Holy Son fell into the hands of the extremist Scorpion Tail, whether he would be treated with respect or directly sacrificed to the so-called ‘gods’ was also unknown.
Nero remained silent.
He followed the tour yacht, driving the crimson mecha into the port.
The towering mecha stood on the side of the deck, and the icy voice of the silver-haired Emperor sounded through the communication:
“I cannot force the Holy Son to follow you.”
Scorpion Tail: “Of course, Your Highness. The Knights of the Temple should always abide by the sacred ritual and welcome the Holy Son back to glory.”
Nero’s tone became colder: “The Holy Son is here. Release the hostages.”
Scorpion Tail shook its head: “Your Highness, you are still impatient. Please retreat with your Wolf Knights to one thousand light-years away from the port. Then, we will disembark to welcome the Holy Son.”
A trace of extreme coldness flashed in Nero’s eyes.
The frequency of his tapping on the panel increased.
But soon, he actually turned around and left the port with the Wolf Knights.
The Holy Son stood alone on the deck, initially showing joy at the sight of the scarlet mecha accompanying him, but quickly saw it leave under the Wolf Knights’ protection.
He widened his golden eyes and took a few steps to follow.
But the silver-red mecha left quickly.
With a few loud explosions, it disappeared from the sky.
When the Scorpion Tail confirmed on the star map that all mechas and fleets had moved one thousand light-years away, the hatch of the transport ship finally opened. Under the surveillance of the port’s mechanical electronic eyes, countless people wearing robes and veils walked out of the transport ship.
They were tall and short, fat and thin, and all of them wore Asimov Collars around their necks.
For a moment, it was difficult to distinguish with the naked eye who were the hostages and who were the Scorpion Tail members.
More than ten thousand people walked neatly to the front of the tour yacht.
Then, they opened their hands and knelt towards the Holy Son on the tour yacht, starting to sing a long and melancholic ancient hymn, tears streaming down their faces.
…Without the need for the mechanical eye to zoom in, Nero could guess the bewildered look on the Holy Son’s face at this moment.
“…They’re coming down. Detecting neutron reactions in the explosive energy guns and the signal sources of the Asimov Collars.”
The voice of the White Wolf Knight echoed softly in Nero’s ears.
He was confirming the number of Scorpion Tail members.
“1809, 1820, 1823.”
“The Scorpion Tail is still too close to the hostages.”
A hoarse voice from Asaga also sounded low on the channel.
“Even if the Infiltrators disable the Asimov Collars, when we break through forcibly, the Scorpion Tail still has the chance to take the hostages.”
Not all members of the Scorpion Tail had left the transport ship.
At this moment, over fifty captured Wolf Knights and Scorpion Tail members remained inside the transport ship.
In front of them, a screen connected them to Nero.
The Scorpion Tail members kept a close eye on Nero’s micro-expressions, never averting their gaze.
Applying psychological pressure on the opposing leader was the key to their successful hostage tactics.
They were satisfied to note that the silver-haired Emperor’s gaze remained fixated on the Wolf Knights.
His lips tightly pursed, his eyes betraying suppressed rage and frustration.
His pristine fingers tapped the panel again, seemingly unable to endure the wait.
…But no one knew that the silver-haired Emperor’s tapping was actually sending out a series of broken bytes.
These fragmented texts, forming brief sentences, were transmitted to the micro-screens beyond the Scorpion Tail’s line of sight, transmitted to the White Wolf Knight’s smart brain.
The knight, in turn, silently translated these messages into precise commands and relayed them to the Infiltrators and the Imperial Scepter.
“…”
The White Wolf Knight responded softly, “As you command, Your Majesty.”
Within the port, the Scorpion Tail member continued chanting hymns around the flagship.
Inside the transport ship, however, after a brief wait, a Scorpion Tail member pointed a gun at the captured Wolf Knights’ heads and courteously addressed the screen:
“Your Highness, forgive the impatience. But is the shuttle you prepared for us ready?”
Nero’s fingertips paused slightly above the panel.
His once rosy lips were now pale, the rage in his eyes still unrelenting.
Yet, his voice, compared to when he first learned of the Wolf Knights in the hands of the Scorpion Tail, seemed less hoarse.
Nero said, “There are only 300 spare winged shuttles in Delphi Star System. Leave the hostages. Their execution commands are already linked to your lives. I promise not to harm you for at least a period of time.”
The Scorpion Tail member shook his head, a hint of pity in his eyes as he looked at Nero.
“Your Highness, please do not attempt such tricks again. We have long known that you possess the means to deactivate Asimov Collar, but you cannot apply them without direct contact with the hostages. Unless, under the name of the Emperor, you announce an edict to the Galactic Empire, ordering the Galactic Empire to give us a clear path, escorting us to the cosmic void of the western territory, I will release the hostages to the winged shuttles.”
“You are pushing it too far!”
The increasingly unreasonable demands of the Scorpion Tail angered all the commanders. “Trust is the premise of negotiations. However, you have shown no integrity. If the negotiations break down, the Delphi Star System’s fleet can obliterate you in an instant!”
“Allow me to correct you, gentlemen.”
The eyes beneath the Scorpion Tail member’s hood turned to the Wolf Knights on the ground. “The premise of negotiations is not trust but useful leverage.”
“Please provide the winged shuttles we need as soon as possible and open the warp channel to L2032 fortress.”
Half an hour later, the noise of winged shuttles entering the port outside the transport ship was heard.
Although the Delphi Star System’s port had been cleared in advance, with plenty of empty space available for docking, the automated settings still caused over a thousand winged shuttles to dock in batches, creating continuous tremors and noise that nearly drowned out the chanting crowd.
“Your Majesty, the Asaga’s team is in position.”
As the noise subsided, the White Wolf Knight whispered in Nero’s ear.
Nero lightly tapped the panel with his fingertips, looking up at the port scene outside the transport ship.
Thousands of Scorpion Tail members in long robes continued to kneel on the ground, palms spread out, chanting loudly towards the Holy Son on the flagship.
The detection map sent by the Infiltrators showed over a thousand Scorpion Tail members dispersed among the dense crowd, half a fist away from the hostages, ready to drag them into a kill zone at any moment.
Without a way to separate the Scorpion Tail members from the hostages, the recently finalized operation plan still carried significant risks. Nero silently tapped his fingers, thinking rapidly.
But just then.
The unexpected person, at the unexpected moment, in a completely unexpected way, changed the situation.
The Holy Son stood on the towering deck, shielded by the formidable defenses of the star destroyer, which separated him from the Scorpion Tail.
He gazed blankly, listening to the crowd singing hymns.
The hymn was woven in an ancient language that Nero couldn’t understand, but he saw the Holy Son suddenly frown, then urgently turn his head, looking back towards the distant red horizon.
The azure sky outside the port was serene, but conspicuously absent was the silhouette of the mechas.
He seemed to finally grasp something, lowering his head slowly, revealing the pitiful posture of abandonment once again.
Then, his eyes and expression gradually returned to emptiness, once again resembling a statue devoid of sorrow or joy.
“——”
Suddenly, the Holy Son opened his mouth, uttering a phrase in a language incomprehensible to ordinary ears.
The hostages in the crowd showed no reaction, but the Scorpion Tail members all raised their heads abruptly!
GO GO HOLY SON!!!! I have a hunch he will save these people alongside Nero!!
I wish there is a translation on the language used by the holy son, I really can’t wait for the next chapter!! Thankyou very much for this, I really become addicted to this novel🥰🥰
Ohohoho what did he say?
Thank you for your hard work 🥹
I hope the holy son doesn’t feel betrayed. Clearly there’s careful planning in the background.
What a rough place to be in QQ
The cliffhanger is killing me 😭😭😭 Why can’t I just be patient and wait for this novel to be completely translated 🫠🫠🫠
Anyway, thank you for the chapter!! <3
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️