When Duanmu Huai's battleship headed toward the signal's source, the girls crowded around as well.
"What happened, Master?"
"Oh, nothing much. We picked up a distress signal. Most likely a merchant ship is under attack by pirates."
"Eh?"
Hearing this, the girls gasped in surprise. Even Guleya looked at Duanmu Huai in astonishment.
"There are… bandits in space too?"
"Of course. As long as there's wealth and profit, bandits and thieves will never disappear."
Duanmu Huai replied casually while focusing on the star map before him.
"Of course, it's also possible that the pirates deliberately sent out a distress signal to lure nearby fleets into their ambush. Times are chaotic now…"
The reason he had chosen this star sector was because it lay along the busiest trade route near the Holy City. For that reason, it was a frequent hunting ground for space pirates preying on human merchant convoys. Duanmu Huai had come here to lie in wait. With the collapse of the Imperium, the order of the galaxy was essentially zero — anything could happen.
It didn't take long before they arrived at the source. There, they saw a massive transport ship being attacked by another warship. Both resembled Duanmu Huai's Glory Queen-class, but much smaller.
When he saw the images of the two ships on the screen, Duanmu Huai froze.
"Well now, this looks interesting."
No wonder he said so — the vessel under attack was a proper commercial transport, a Galaxy-class armed freighter, one of the most common ships in interstellar trade. Clearly, this wasn't a pirate ambush trap, just a straightforward prey caught in the open.
The attacker, however, stood out. With its flashy platinum hull and broadside lined with fourteen macro cannons, it was unmistakably a Grail-class battlecruiser.
The Imperium had always embraced a "more is better, bigger is best" multi-turret romanticism. Every warship it built was bristling with guns. Even Duanmu Huai's Glory Queen followed that principle. From its observation windows, one could see layer upon layer of massive macro batteries, their dark muzzles ready to blast enemies into pieces.
The Grail-class was considered a "fast heavy cruiser." Its design goal was to combine speed, flexibility, and firepower.
Of course, nothing is perfect. While the Grail-class was fast and hit hard, its armor was practically paper-thin. Among warships, it was a classic glass cannon — high offense, no defense. A direct hit could destroy it outright.
Even so, players loved it.
The reason was simple: it looked cool!
Most players in the early game couldn't get their hands on a battleship or flagship. For them, the Grail-class was the most stylish ship available early on. High speed and high damage suited many players' tastes. As for the paper armor… well, you could always work on fixing that later.
For Duanmu Huai, though, it was a bit disappointing.
"A shame it's human. If only it were those bean-sprouts instead…"
He shook his head at the battle unfolding before him.
"Shall we open fire, Master?"
The Grail-class was now within range, and Mia had already locked on. All it needed was his command for the lances to turn it to dust.
But…
"No! Blowing up a prize like this would be a waste. Ready the boarding torpedoes! Order the Night Sentinel Guard to the launch bay. We're boarding!"
Excited, Duanmu Huai left the command room. The girls exchanged confused looks, unsure of his plan.
But for him, this was the moment he had waited for! Boarding was a man's true romance — fleet duels were old-fashioned. And the Grail-class hadn't even raised its void shields! It was the perfect target. In the game, boarding had always been the favorite — tearing through defenses, storming inside, wreaking havoc, and breaking both body and spirit… what could be more satisfying?
He arrived at the torpedo launch bay, where several black-armored figures awaited. They were Night Sentinels, not in their original ghostly form but possessing the power armor of Space Marines. This way, their combat strength was preserved, and even if the armor was destroyed, their spirits would simply return to the mothership.
Though similar, Duanmu Huai insisted — this had nothing to do with certain "red-letter" warriors!
"Board the ship. Prepare for battle!"
At his command, the Sentinels stepped into the giant torpedoes. Mechanical clamps locked them in place.
Moments later, the torpedoes blasted out of the launch tubes, streaking toward the Grail-class.
Perhaps too focused on its prey, the cruiser only noticed them at the last moment. It tried desperately to turn aside, but too late.
Like drilling machines, the torpedoes' spinning tips tore through its hull plating. Massive black cylinders punched deep into the cruiser's body. Their fronts split open, unleashing armored warriors who poured out like hungry wolves, racing toward the heart of the ship.
To Duanmu Huai, the layout of such ships was as familiar as his own home. Leaping out of the torpedo, he strode straight toward the command deck.
But…
"Ugh, what a wreck."
He frowned at the filthy corridors and drafty decks. No wonder their void shields weren't raised — this ship is barely holding together.
Many sections were empty, stripped of servitors. That was no surprise; most people hated servitors anyway. After so many years, they had probably even forgotten their purpose. Its machine-spirit was likely long dead.
Machine-spirits functioned as the AI cores of warships. Without them, control was difficult but not impossible. Some spirits even grew into higher intelligence over time.
His own Glory Queen lacked a machine-spirit as well, running mostly on manual control. He planned to upgrade it later with Argent tech systems. As for machine-spirits… best avoided.
He certainly didn't have a tech-priest around to sing binary hymns all day.
"This way!!"
As he turned a corner, shouts and footsteps echoed ahead. A mob of raggedly armored men carrying guns rushed toward him. At the sight of Duanmu Huai and his boarding squad, they froze.
Then, unexpectedly, panic erupted.
The hardened space pirates dropped their weapons, wailing and fleeing in terror. The few who remained clutched their guns, trembling like reeds before a storm as Duanmu Huai advanced.
[Space Pirate A encounters Aura of Terror]
[Rolling… Save Failed!]
[Space Pirate A is Panicked!]
[Space Pirate C encounters Aura of Terror]
[Rolling… Save Succeeded!]
[Space Pirate B is Shaken for 1 round!]
"Hmph!!"
Duanmu Huai sneered at the system prompts. With a swing of his warhammer, he smashed the remaining pirates into pulp, their broken bodies plastered against the walls. Without slowing, he stormed toward the command deck.
Inside, chaos reigned.
"What's happening?! Where did they come from?!"
The pirate leader roared, slamming the table. He truly hadn't noticed Duanmu Huai's ship approach. If not for the Glory Queen's sheer bulk, he'd still be clueless.
Even more shocking was their attack method — stuffing men inside torpedoes and firing them aboard!
Cursing, the pirate grabbed a small chained figure beside his chair, shaking him furiously.
"You idiot! Why didn't you warn us?! If you'd told us sooner—"
"Boom!!"
The door to the command deck flew open, kicked clean off its hinges. Duanmu Huai strode in, warhammer in hand. At the sight of him, most pirates screamed and bolted, while others rolled their eyes back and fainted on the spot.
"Your crimes end here, scum!"
He roared, eyes locked on the pirate leader. Under that murderous glare, the man trembled, then collapsed to his knees.
"Spare me, mighty warrior!!!"
(End of Chapter)