Chapter 854: Heading to Kamirate (1)

The outskirts of the Kamirate Star Belt.

Jaghatai's fleet glided between the stars.

The formation was composed mainly of Cobra-class Destroyers and Dreadnought-class Light Cruisers, with a Lunar-class Cruiser, the *Fengchi*, surrounded in the center.

Painted on the hulls was a brand-new emblem: a golden double-headed eagle with two tools crossed beneath it.

On the bridge of the Lunar-class Cruiser *Fengchi*, Jaghatai stood with his arms crossed, gazing at the slowly rotating nebula outside the main observation window.

His thoughts had already drifted to the target of this trip—the Kamirate Star Belt.

Scattered there were several outposts and monitoring points of the Feng Qi Xing Alliance, sensing any movement in this region.

His task was to pull out these "eyes" and "ears" as quickly as possible and take Kamirate, clearing the obstacles for the subsequent liberation operations by his brother primarchs.

"Khan,"

A White Scars Space Marine approached and reported in a low voice.

"The Navigator reports that faint energy ripples have been sensed in the airspace ahead; they are not naturally formed and may be traces of small ship engine overload."

Jaghatai's gaze did not leave the nebula; he merely nodded slightly, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Hyenas that smell rotting meat are always the first to appear. Maintain course, increase vigilance, and let us see which blind fools these are."

This star sector was on the edge of the Feng Qi Xing Alliance's control range; besides their own Patrol Squads, the most common sights were various desperate space pirates, smugglers, and mercenary gangs.

They relied on picking up the scraps that fell through the cracks of major powers, or ambushing weaker targets to survive.

Meanwhile, millions of kilometers away on the flank of the fleet, a mixed formation consisting of three modified armed freighters and one old light assault ship was lurking behind the shadow of a small gas planet.

Inside the bridge of the lead assault ship, various pungent odors were mixed together.

In the captain's seat, a Craftian with dark red skin and short, thick bone spurs growing from the top of his head was grinning, revealing a mouthful of jagged teeth as he stared at the light spots on the sensor screen.

"Look, fat sheep!"

He let out a hoarse laugh and tapped the screen with his finger.

"A small fleet, a new emblem I've never seen... not ships from those purple-skinned guys in Fengqi, nor from Canaan or the Ashes... hehe, must be some bumpkin faction that just popped out of some godforsaken corner, thinking they can come to this 'rich mine' area to fish for some benefits!"

"Captain Gerak."

An Adjutant, a mechanical body that looked like it was pieced together from scrap metal and wires, issued a warning in a raspy voice.

"Target ship identification... there is a Cruiser-class vessel, firepower configuration unknown. Suggest caution."

"Caution? Can caution make money?"

Gerak spat out a breath smelling of sulfur in disdain.

"So what if it's a Cruiser? Look at their formation, it's loose as hell! One look and you can tell they lack combat experience! Must be greenhorns scared out of their wits! What I rob is exactly these kinds of self-righteous, reckless fools!"

Greed flickered in his eyes.

Such new factions often carried some local "specialties"—perhaps valuable minerals, perhaps rare biological samples, or even some naive slaves that could be sold for a good price... most importantly, their warships themselves were immense wealth!

"All units, listen up!"

Gerak roared through the internal communication channel to the other pirate ships, marking the armed vessels one by one.

"Target, that strange fleet! My assault ship will feign a frontal attack to draw fire! Two armed ships will split off to flank from the left and right to disrupt their formation! The remaining armed ship, you damn well circle around to the back and use the Landing Pods! Even though they look numerous, they are clearly a newly risen faction! Board them directly! Grab their damn warships! Whoever grabs the most, I'll give them the lion's share!"

A chorus of chaotic, excited howls and strange laughter immediately erupted on the pirate channel.

For this group of desperadoes, risk and reward were always directly proportional, and this "strange" fleet before them looked like low risk with potentially high reward.

*Fengchi* bridge.

"Khan! Multiple high-speed approaching signals detected! Energy signatures are mixed, identified as irregular armed forces! Hostile intent!"

Almost simultaneously, a Cobra-class Destroyer on the fleet's flank sent an emergency communication.

"Khan! Our ship is locked by Energy Weapons! It's pirates!"

There was no panic in Khan Jaghatai's eyes; instead, flames of excitement ignited.

"They've finally come! Everyone, battle stations! Let them get closer and taste the power of our 'new toys'!"

He did not immediately order an all-out counterattack, but instead deliberately let the fleet appear somewhat "panicked" and "sluggish," with the formation pulling back slightly as if caught off guard.

This further fueled the arrogance of the space pirates.

"Look! They're scared! They're panicking! Charge! Tear them apart!"

Gerak shouted crazily on the channel.

Gerak's assault ship fired first; several unstable particle beams tore through the void, most missing, while a few grazed the Void Shields of the Cobra-class Destroyer, stirring up ripples.

The other two armed freighters also flanked from the sides, using Laser Cannons and conventional artillery for harassing fire.

And the armed ship responsible for circling to the rear, relying on its relatively small size and the pirates' superb piloting skills, really did attempt to use the cover of friendly fire to maneuver toward a Cobra-class Destroyer at the rear of the fleet—the one carrying part of the Taran Desert Raiders regiment and logistics supplies.

"Boarding target locked! Boys, prepare for boarding action! Wealth and slaves are waiting for us!"

The captain of this armed ship, a Human with a hideous scar on his face, licked his lips excitedly, as if he had already seen the scene of returning fully loaded.

However, just as this armed ship entered the optimal boarding distance and had already come alongside the Cobra-class Destroyer.

On the bridge of the *Fengchi*, the playfulness on Khan Jaghatai's face vanished.

"The game is over. White Scars, crush them!"

The order spread throughout the entire fleet via encrypted channel.

The previously "sluggish" Xiuluosheng Fleet bared its ferocious Liaya!

The engine exhausts of all warships erupted with a massive flare of light far exceeding before; accelerating and turning, the seemingly loose formation became compact in the blink of an eye, instead wrapping the charging pirate ships in the middle!

The locked Cobra-class Destroyer stopped retreating, turned its orientation, and the Single-barrel Light Macro-cannon on its prow spat out scorching fury!

And several surrounding Cobra-class Destroyers turned simultaneously, their Single-barrel Light Macro-cannons firing at the same time.

The firepower coverage of the Single-barrel Light Macro-cannons enveloped the armed ship flanking from the right.

The armed ship's weak shields overloaded and collapsed instantly, followed by the hull being struck directly by several Rune Bullets!

Boom!

A massive explosion bloomed silently in the void.

Before this armed ship could even show its prowess, it turned into a rapidly expanding cloud of metal fragments and flesh-and-blood dust!

The armed ship on the other side fared no better; it was singled out by a volley of Laser Cannons from another White Scars Light Cruiser, its engine was blown apart, it lost power, and the hull drifted under the influence of inertia.

Inside the assault ship feinting from the front, Gerak was dumbfounded as he saw this scene, the ferocious grin on his face freezing completely.

"This... how is this possible?! Their firepower! Their maneuverability!!"

He shrieked, his voice distorted.

"Retreat! Retreat, for fuck's sake!"

But it was already too late.

Fengchi fired a beam of energy that tore through the void, striking the assault ship directly as it attempted to turn and flee!

The last thing Gerak saw was a white light filling his entire field of vision.

Boom!!!

The explosion of the assault ship was even more violent than that of the armed ship.

Now, only the armed ship attempting to flank and board remained.