The arrival was so sudden that the Black Horn people had no psychological preparation and were directly disabled by the Starship’s destruction of one of their heavy black warships.
The entire planet immediately descended into chaos. A large number of warships took to the sky, and civilian spacecraft retracted. In no time, the scene changed from one of thriving prosperity to one of preparing for an unexpected attack.
The Starship continued to fire, destroying several warships in succession. The Black Horn people finally realized that they were in serious trouble. Six octopus-like ships quietly appeared, opening a large hexagonal wormhole and ushering in one heavy black warship and over twenty ordinary black warships.
Ou Zhanpeng immediately took out the octopus-like ships, but he could not stop the enemy reinforcements.
However, it didn't matter. The number of enemy ships was not the deciding factor; range was.
Ou Zhanpeng was also a little worried. The Black Horn people’s military technology was certainly no match for the Starship, but that mysterious civilization was another matter. If the Black Horn people managed to summon the fleet of the mysterious civilization, the Starship might have to flee for its life.
Fortunately, the most feared scenario did not occur. The Starship, like a player fighting the final boss in a game, continuously cut down and bled the Black Horn fleet until the enemy could no longer bear it and escaped through a wormhole.
Ling Xiao couldn't help but sigh, "Why does it feel like a warship bullying a small fishing boat?"
Ou Zhanpeng breathed a sigh of relief, "Shouldn't it be like that?"
"Not really," Ling Xiao shook his head, "I'm just not used to it."
After the Black Horn fleet left, the planet entered an undefended mode, or rather, it could only rely on orbital rings and ground firepower for defense.
In this situation, any space warship could become a nightmare for the planet.
Ou Zhanpeng did not hesitate and prepared to attack the planet.
Being kind to enemies is cruelty to oneself; he was not so foolish as not to understand such a simple truth.
Just as the Starship was about to open fire, the system suddenly issued a warning: a wormhole had opened a dozen astronomical units away.
Ou Zhanpeng immediately halted the air raid and prepared for any unexpected events.
However, what emerged from the wormhole was not a Black Horn warship, but that dilapidated pirate ship.
On the side of the pirate ship, a graffiti-like blood-dripping skull logo was painted, clearly imitating the Starship, but lacking sufficient artistic skill.
After the wormhole closed, the other party immediately sent a communication request. Everyone’s attention immediately focused on Ou Zhanpeng, their gazes asking: Should we accept or not?
"Connect it," Ou Zhanpeng said.
A familiar image appeared in the center of the control room. Although the other party was also humanoid, their appearance was very primitive, with rough skin and strange facial features. Especially the triangular protrusion on their forehead, which extended from their forehead to their upper lip, like a flat, thick, fleshy worm clinging to their head. It looked particularly horrifying, as if some unheard-of alien creature had cultivated itself into sentience.
If this were on Earth, it would be enough to scare people to death late at night.
But on aliens, it was just so-so, making them seem rather unremarkable.
For the sake of convenience, Ou Zhanpeng, based on their physical characteristics, gave them the moniker "Pronged Foreheads."
Whether it sounded good or not was not a consideration; the key was to accurately describe their characteristics and avoid identification errors.
As soon as the Pronged Foreheads appeared on screen, they tapped their chests three times before speaking in an extremely respectful manner. Their words could be roughly translated as: "Boss, I have brought many younger brothers. We are willing to go through fire and water for you, Brother. We do not seek to be born on the same day of the same year, but we seek to die on the same day of the same year."
The blood-dripping skull logo carved on the pirate ship was to demonstrate the Pronged Foreheads’ loyalty to the Starship.
Ou Zhanpeng didn't know what to say. He had deliberately avoided these pirates, so how did they find him?
After all, they were a race with grievances against the Black Horn people. Even if he despised them in his heart as unscrupulous pirates, it was not good to refuse them outright.
Ou Zhanpeng reluctantly agreed. As soon as he uttered the word "good," the Pronged Foreheads jumped up excitedly and immediately shared the news.
The next second, alarms blared on the Starship, and at the same time, dozens of wormholes were detected opening.
Everyone was shocked, but they soon discovered that the nearest wormhole was still half an astronomical unit away from the Starship, so there was no need to worry needlessly.
Before long, over sixty pirate ships appeared at the outer edges of the star system, each with the blood-dripping skull logo painted on its side.
Moreover, each skull on the logo was different, possessing unique racial characteristics. The backgrounds also varied somewhat; some had single sabers, some had double sabers, and some even had a saber piercing the skull. In short, they were as horrifying as possible.
After these pirate ships appeared, they immediately sent communication requests to the Starship. Ou Zhanpeng was in a terrible mood, unsure whether to accept or not.
After a moment’s thought, he decided not to dwell on it. With a cannon shot, he severed the orbital ring in the planet’s outer space. "Go!"
Ou Zhanpeng only said that one word. As for how the pirates understood it, that was their own business.
As expected, their hatred ran deep. The moment they heard that word, the pirates were like injected with chicken blood. They opened wormholes in a swarm and appeared around the planet.
From then on, Ou Zhanpeng didn't have to worry about anything. The pirates divided their tasks and launched surprise attacks. Although they were a disorganized rabble, they were numerous!
Moreover, with the planet having lost the protection of its fleet, the pirate ships entered as if no one were there. In groups of three or two, they cleared out the planetary and surrounding firepower points in a short period.
What followed was a thorough plundering carnival. Pirate ships frequently appeared inside and outside the planet. Some pirates even reached the surface by orbital elevator, looting the planet with a “scrape the ground three feet” attitude.
"Too brutal!" Ling Xiao said in pain.
He wasn't sympathizing with the Black Horn people; he just felt that this carnival was soulless without the Starship!
However, it was impossible for the Starship to join in and plunder wantonly with these beggars of pirates.
No matter the origin of the Starship, the personnel on board were all legitimate military personnel. While it was acceptable to bomb enemy planets to eliminate potential dangers, transforming into bandits and engaging in looting and killing was not a matter of whether they were enemies; it was about throwing away the honor of soldiers and trampling on it fiercely.
This was entirely different from fighting enemies.
Strangely, the Pronged Forehead’s spacecraft did not join the attack either but stayed obediently near the Starship.
Ou Zhanpeng was very curious and specifically asked them why they were not participating in the attack.
The Pronged Foreheads’ answer was also very interesting. In essence, they were obeying the Starship’s orders and believed that assisting the Starship was more important than plundering the planet.
Perhaps prompted by Ou Zhanpeng’s question, the Pronged Foreheads also revealed some little-known information, such as the locations of Black Horn mining planets and bases.
Furthermore, Black Horn mining planets and other bases used a large number of slaves from other races, with countless deaths!
It turned out that the Pronged Foreheads had long since grasped the situation of the Black Horn people and were waiting for an opportunity for revenge!
More importantly, the Black Horn people had a space base for building warships!
Upon hearing this, Ou Zhanpeng's heart pounded. If they could seize this base, wouldn't humanity prosper?
He immediately pressed for details about the warship construction base, and the Pronged Foreheads answered them all one by one.
Ling Xiao couldn't help but ask, "Do you believe what they're saying? Aren't you afraid they're deliberately making it up to trick us? Don't get sold and still help them count the money!"
Even towards humans, one must remain cautious, let alone towards aliens. One must always be extra careful.
"I think this is an opportunity," Ou Zhanpeng said.
Ling Xiao rolled his eyes fiercely. "Don't joke. What kind of opportunity is this? Are there good talents among pirates? Would they be so kind?"
"The opportunity I'm talking about is not to seize the construction base, but to destroy it completely!" Ou Zhanpeng said.
Although it hadn't been long, he had already figured it out. Seizing the construction base was unrealistic, let alone relying on pirates to seize it. If these rabble really took over the base, they wouldn't be willing to give it up!
However, such an important space base could not be left to the Black Horn people, so destroying it was the best option.
Ou Zhanpeng really wanted to rush to the next planet immediately, but he also felt that if the pirates were used well, they could be a considerable force.
Besides, although sneak attacks could achieve the goal of striking the Black Horn people, they wouldn't yield much satisfaction. If they could drive a mob of pirates to break through a heavily defended Black Horn planet, the blow to the Black Horn people would be much greater!
With such thoughts, the Starship waited patiently. Half a day later, this revenge carnival belonging to the pirates finally came to a close.
The planet, which had been full of song and dance half a day ago, was now a dilapidated mess.
Ou Zhanpeng was about to set off when a pirate ship flew towards the Starship first, released some supplies, and then retreated.
Everyone stared in astonishment.
"What does this mean? A tribute?" Ling Xiao's tone changed. "This deal is doable, it's very doable!"
Xu Qing quickly reminded him, "Accept it, accept it quickly!"
Ou Zhanpeng was stunned. "Accept it? Isn't that inappropriate?"
Xu Qing said, filled with disappointment, "We are pirate leaders now. This is how pirates express their loyalty. Accepting it means we are one of them. Not accepting it means refusal or disagreement, and we won't be able to lead the team!"
Her explanation was hurried, but Ou Zhanpeng indeed understood and immediately used the tractor beam to bring the tribute into the ship.
Ling Xiao was surprised, "Even a few pirates have so many rules?"
"This has nothing to do with being pirates or not. Since ancient times, whether it's reliance, subordination, or a simple interest relationship, accepting money and doing things is the most basic thing, understand?"
"I understand the words, but is it appropriate to apply our customs to aliens?"
Xu Qing said confidently, "There are always patterns, evolution has patterns, and social development naturally has patterns. If you don't understand, ask more questions, don't assume."
Another pirate ship approached and also offered tribute.
Xu Qing said again, "You can accept it and then return it, but you absolutely cannot refuse it!"
Ou Zhanpeng nodded, "Understood."
Scanning revealed that most of the pirates’ tributes were precious metals like gold, and a small number of non-functional alien artifacts.
For safety, Ou Zhanpeng returned all the alien artifacts, keeping only the precious metals.
This tribute ceremony lasted for more than an hour before concluding. With Ou Zhanpeng's command, the Starship and more than sixty pirate ships collectively moved to the next Black Horn planet.
After the Starship passed through the wormhole, it waited for a while but saw no other pirate ships. For a moment, it thought it had the wrong target. After repeated checks, it confirmed it was correct.
Then it could only be that the pirate ships were too slow to keep up with the Starship's speed.
With some time to spare, Ou Zhanpeng simply launched an attack and severely punished the Black Horn fleet.
He thought there would be no unusual situations this time, but as soon as the battle began, the Black Horn fleet immediately withdrew, leaving the planet to the Starship.
Ou Zhanpeng thought, "You don't care about the planet, so I'll be soft-hearted?"
Just as he was about to open fire and destroy it, the planet actually contacted the Starship proactively. Simply put, the Black Horn people on the planet intended to ask the Starship for a price. They were willing to redeem themselves with precious metals or other means, begging the Starship to spare the planet.
Captain Ou almost laughed with anger. What kind of pathetic planet was this? It had too little backbone.
But facing such a submissive planet, he really couldn't bring himself to do it.
Just then, a large group of pirate ships arrived. The Pronged Foreheads discovered something was wrong and immediately came forward to understand the situation.
Ou Zhanpeng also noticed something was wrong. Why were there more pirate ships? It turned out that they took so long to arrive because they stopped to gather friends and acquaintances along the way, rather than arriving directly at their destination?
After asking, he learned that although not all pirates had a life-and-death feud with the Black Horn people, there were certainly many underlying tensions.
Moreover, pirates lived by plunder, so why would they miss an opportunity to kick a dog when it's down?
Those starships that did not display the blood-dripping skull logo were pirates who seized the opportunity to make a quick buck.
This was only because of the short time. If the Pronged Foreheads had more time, they could have gathered even more starships.
Of course, all of this was due to the Starship setting a precedent. Otherwise, no matter how many pirate ships there were, they would have scattered in front of the Black Horn fleet, rather than uniting for a common cause.
Ou Zhanpeng found it all very awkward. The flattery was so clumsy, and what did they mean by "common cause"? Did they really think he was a highway robber?
Perhaps also realizing the presence of numerous pirate ships, the Black Horn people, knowing they could not escape, stopped mentioning redemption. One moment there was no movement, and the next, a large number of spacecraft surged out of the planet, scattering in all directions without any pattern.
These pirates were experienced enough not to attack the planet immediately. Instead, they focused on blocking the battlefield and prioritizing the pursuit of escaping spacecraft.
Failing to escape, the Black Horn civilian spacecraft regrouped around the planet and fought back desperately, relying on the weapons on the orbital ring.
In order to survive, the Black Horn people fought with all their might, putting up a spirited resistance and destroying several pirate ships.
However, two fists can't beat four hands. The pirates only felt that there might be good things on the spacecraft, so they didn't go for the kill. As they gradually got fired up, they no longer cared about anything else. Various weapons were unleashed simultaneously, and in a short while, the orbital ring was dismantled, completely neutralizing the Black Horn resistance.
Ou Zhanpeng couldn't help but marvel that he hadn't expected this battle to be so easy when they set out. They really lucked out!
Indeed, pirates, if utilized well, were also a considerable force!