"Alright then. Take care, little bird. Hope you haven't dropped a tier by the next time we meet."
Leon didn't ask if she planned to leave with the Corporation or find some other way to travel.
Either way, he was planning to jump from the ship.
Thud, thud, thud.
Employees wielding high-tech firearms and clad in exoskeletal armor hurried past them.
They looked to be in a great rush.
"What's happening?"
Robin asked curiously, seeing the commotion.
"An unknown party has attacked a branch vessel. Please don't worry, the Corporation will quell this disturbance immediately."
An employee, stopped by her, answered the question with the utmost respect.
"Attacking a ship?" Robin was startled to hear this.
Who would be brave enough to dare attack a Corporation vessel?
BOOM!!
Just as the employee finished his brief explanation, a tremendous roar echoed in their ears, and the fiery light of an explosion soared into the sky outside the adjacent floor-to-ceiling window!
The sight caught Leon's attention.
He walked over to the spot he had been eyeing for a while, his designated jumping point, and watched the source of the commotion.
The next moment, a man whose body was filled with machinery, dressed in a style reminiscent of a space cowboy, suddenly appeared, falling right before his eyes.
The cowboy held down the brim of his hat against the zero-g gale, his entire body upside down with legs to the sky, plummeting rapidly.
In the process, his silver eyes, which bore the crosshairs of a gunsight, met Leon's gaze for a fleeting moment.
—A Galaxy Ranger.
The instant their eyes met, the same thought surfaced in both their minds.
A slight smile played on Leon's lips. He found it amusing to have unexpectedly run into a kindred spirit here.
It seems the theory that Stand users are drawn to each other really does apply everywhere.
His actions, while guided by the numerical value of tiers...
If your tier was low, or if something didn't benefit his stats, Leon would rarely get involved.
But a man's actions are governed by a single principle: style!
And a ranger's actions, while stylish, are governed by the free-spirited, satisfying impulse of chivalry!
Therefore, Leon decided to lend this colleague a hand.
He took a few steps back, then crossed his arms to shield his head.
Without another word, Leon charged forward!
CRACK!
Shards of glass flew everywhere!
With a body forged from raw stats,
he smashed the protective window—made by the Corporation from "Dissipated Stardust" imbued with the power of Preservation—to smithereens!
Leon leaped from the ship as he intended, and a violent wind surged endlessly into the cabin through the opening he created!
"This..."
Several employees stared at each other, completely dumbfounded.
The main ship's protective windows were supposed to be able to nullify attacks from Pathstriders, yet this man had shattered one with such ease?
They didn't know Leon's strength or identity, only that he was Lady Jade's guest.
But now they understood why Lady Jade had treated him with such reverence.
"What do we do now?"
The employees were momentarily thrown into disarray.
By rights, they should be heading to support the branch vessel, but they couldn't just leave this gaping hole unattended.
"All units, stand down."
Jade raised her hand, and the power of Preservation surged forth, a deep purple energy barrier covering the opening.
"Ignore everything. Pretend you saw nothing today."
She said as she walked toward them.
"Lady Jade!"
The employees snapped to attention upon seeing her.
"You said to ignore it, but isn't it our own fleet that's under attack?"
one of the employees asked, confused by her words.
"Do you remember what I taught you?"
Jade glanced at the employee who had asked the question.
"Unconditionally obey all orders!"
the employee answered without hesitation.
"Good. Ask less, do more. It will help your career progression," Jade said, observing the scene in the vast sky.
The person attacking the ship was a repeat offender, and one on the Corporation's wanted list.
The Galaxy Ranger, Boothill.
She'd heard that the people from the Market Development Department had used strong-arm tactics to annex his homeworld, Algon-Apache, leaving him as the planet's sole survivor.
The Market Development Department was no stranger to such violent expansion.
There was even a member of the Ten Stonehearts who had suffered a similar fate, now able to fit his entire family portrait into a selfie.
But unlike Aventurine, who later joined the Strategic Investment Department...
According to Corporation intelligence,
this Boothill, fueled by the hatred of his clan's extermination, had embarked on the Path of The Hunt and had since been seeking revenge against the Market Development Department everywhere he went.
Under normal circumstances, Jade would never let this slide.
But these were not normal circumstances.
If anyone dared to make a move at this juncture, she would gladly abdicate her position in the Ten Stonehearts to them.
Leon was here, after all. Who do you think he would side with, the Corporation or his own colleague?
The latter, obviously.
This Heavenly General already had no love for capitalist dogs.
If she sent her people to provide support, it would be a direct declaration of hostility toward him.
Everyone here would die. That much was certain.
The Corporation had no reason to senselessly start a war with an Emanator.
Besides, the Strategic Investment Department and the Market Development Department were rivals to begin with.
Both sides would be delighted to see the other take a hit.
Now, with the perfect excuse—
the "Emanator" factor—she imagined even Oswaldo Schneider would have nothing to say.
That being the case, why should she go through the trouble of dealing with it?
Achieving maximum returns with minimum risk—that was the philosophy of the Interastral Peace Corporation.
"Abandon all Market Development Department branch vessels. We're leaving immediately."
Jade watched the two falling figures and gave the order in a tone that brooked no argument.
Out of sight, out of mind. Besides, if they stayed any longer, she was afraid Leon's arrows might hit the other ships.
She herself had no confidence in taking a single blow from this Heavenly General, let alone protecting anything from him.
"Mr. Ranger..."
Robin's gaze could no longer find his figure.
She didn't know why he had suddenly jumped from the ship, nor what he was going to do.
But she thought that by the next time they met,
everything would have an answer.
...
...
High in the sky.
Faced with the intense sensation of weightlessness that came with a stylish ascent, Boothill looked slightly disheveled. Leon, by contrast...
...looked completely unaffected.
Accelerating with his Imaginary internal energy, he quickly reached the same altitude as Boothill, also falling upside down.
"Bro."
Leon met his eyes.
Though he spoke only one word, it contained everything.
"Bro?"
Boothill paused for a second, then his lips curled into a wide grin, revealing a mouthful of shark-like teeth.
His intuition was right after all!
He'd seen Leon on the Corporation ship earlier and had mistaken him for one of the establishment's lapdogs.
Now he saw it was just a misunderstanding.
His luck was truly incredible this time, to have run into a fellow Ranger bro so serendipitously!
"Bro!"
Leon replied earnestly to his query.
"Bro!"
Boothill laughed heartily, clearly delighted.
Sometimes, communication between men is just that simple.
A single "Bro," a single glance.
Nothing more needs to be said; their brainwaves are already in sync.
"Bro!"
Having established their collaboration, Boothill immediately extended his right hand toward him, the meaning unmistakable.
"Bro!"
Leon instantly clasped it, understanding exactly what he meant.
"Bro!!"
Boothill laughed freely.
A silent plan was formed in the exchange of glances.
With a "Bro" that meant "Let's go!", Boothill tossed the revolver in his left hand into the air, then reversed his grip on Leon's hand, signaling with his eyes for him to make a move.
Leon nodded in understanding and immediately kicked Boothill's joined legs with force!
Under his controlled strength, Boothill's entire body was kicked into a reverse somersault.
And since every action has an equal and opposite reaction, Leon, with his body relaxed, was also pulled into a flip!
Just like that, the two of them were now falling feet-first.
Having done all that, Leon raised his hand.
Smack!
Without even looking, he precisely caught the falling revolver.
A perfect catch, as if it had been choreographed all along.
"Bro!"
Leon looked him seriously in the eyes.
"Bro!"
Boothill nodded with equal seriousness.
Then, his left index finger began to extend, the other three fingers curling back, leaving only his thumb up, mimicking a gun!
The two clasped hands tightly, and after a mutual confirming glance,
the next second, their bodies began to spin wildly, rotating instantly like a helicopter's propeller!
Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!
Leon's right hand holding the revolver and Boothill's left hand formed into a gun became afterimages flashing in all four cardinal directions!
Even as they spun in a grand rotation, they never forgot their ultimate goal!
With perfect coordination, they opened fire, bullets flying from all directions, striking true against the Market Development Department's fleet!
Heh, hah, a two-in-one martial soul fusion technique!
—A rare brotherhood, an unbreakable bond of loyalty!
BOOM!!!
Fragments of starships scattered everywhere as a deafening roar accompanied the black smoke birthed from the explosions!
Under the joint execution of justice by the two Galaxy Rangers,
every last ship of the Market Development Department's fleet was brought to justice!
With you and I, my bro, fighting together, how could any enemy stand a chance!
____
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