Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 267 - 186: Sword Saint

Chapter 267: Chapter 186: Sword Saint

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Earth Wolf Twelve looked up at Actus on the throne. This wasn’t their first encounter. He had seen the notorious Cosmic Pirate more than once at the "annual meetings" of the Shanqi Commerce Association.

This was the biggest difference between the Chamber of Commerce and the Company.

The Company would at least maintain an image of justice openly, never dealing with riff-raff like Cosmic Pirates. By contrast, the Chamber of Commerce was much freer. As long as you could bring tangible benefits to it, the Shan Clan People would welcome you with open arms, even if your infamy had spread throughout the universe.

Earth Wolf Twelve had never held a good impression of this Tyrant.

Although Universe Company, under the guise of "justice," routinely intervened in the internal affairs of other planets, Actus was one of the few tyrants so cruel that he incited the people of planets to rise up in rebellion.

One of Actus’s passions in life was to create cruel punishments. Nearly every barbaric method you could imagine was catalogued in his books, and after becoming a Cosmic Pirate, he had only intensified his actions. Earth Wolf Twelve, during his employment at the Company, had visited space that had been raided by Actus. The horrors there were even worse than the "Cocooned" planets.

After all, the creatures on the "Cocooned" planets he’d encountered would only kill you; they weren’t interested in torturing captives to the utmost.

Of course, Earth Wolf Twelve knew that Actus wouldn’t have a good impression of him either—a "former Company man."

The Tyrant believed Universe Company had taken everything from him, so he had spent the latter half of his life doing everything he could to oppose the Company.

"Yo, yo, yo, isn’t this our famous Interstellar Cowboy? I didn’t expect to see you again so soon."

The Tyrant’s face was brimming with a mocking smile, and his speech was as sarcastically whimsical as ever.

The reek of blood from the corridor had spread all the way to the throne; the corridor outside was littered with mutilated bodies.

"You’re still the same, hiding in this iron coffin, dreaming of being a king."

Earth Wolf Twelve, with a cigar that was almost burnt out in his mouth, spun the cylinder of his revolver, loading bullets.

Perhaps in this regard, they were the same—after their first meeting, they both knew that a day would come when swords would cross.

Earth Wolf Twelve had no intention of following the traditions of Hot Sand Star with such scum.

Tradition was meant for men of honor, not beasts in human skin.

Besides, this duel wasn’t about the two of them.

"Admit it, you’re just jealous of me," said Actus.

He didn’t get angry; instead, he grinned, displaying his row of sharpened, modified teeth.

Earth Wolf Twelve had heard that this Tyrant had been pursued by the Long Branch Guard when fleeing his home planet and had his head blown off. The Company had thought him dead, but he had managed to survive. His face was stitched together, with metal parts underneath the skin; his body had been modified more extensively than Earth Wolf Twelve, who was half a cyborg.

This made Earth Wolf Twelve feel somewhat regretful. If he had been the one pursuing this piece of trash, he would not have given him a chance to "get a new face."

Actus kept prattling on, poking at Earth Wolf Twelve’s sore spots, "Since the Rangers were defeated, you’ve been a loner. Even when the Chamber of Commerce treated you as an expendable piece, you couldn’t find a decent assistant."

"Are you talking about these?"

Earth Wolf Twelve raised an eyebrow, turned sideways so Actus could get a clearer view of the pile of bodies in the corridor, "I wouldn’t call these people assistants."

"I’m talking about the rats that boarded this ship with you."

"You really don’t think I’m aware of your little games, do you? You’re here to distract me while they sneak into the control room, setting off an explosion on my ship, ending both of our lives in a blaze of glory... Come on, that kind of space opera that only an Interstellar Cowboy would love is outdated."

"What’s wrong with space operas?"

The revolver spat out a flash of fire.

The thick mechanical arm blocked the bullet headed for Actus, blasting a hole in the armor. Actus shook his arm, flinging the flattened ammunition to the ground.

He rose from his throne, which transformed into a set of exoskeleton armor that he donned.

"Let me tell you what happens in reality-themed works—those presumptuous little mice will be caught by the ace assassin I hired. Don’t worry, I specifically instructed him to leave them breathing, if your life is tough enough, perhaps you could still see them before you close your eyes."

The mountainous armor leapt up and crashed heavily to the ground, "It’s rare to find such amusement, I’ve prepared many interesting tortures for them."

"Ace assassin? You’re not talking about those cheap mercenaries, are you?"

Earth Wolf Twelve ducked behind cover as a crimson laser left a deep gash in the spot he had just been.

"You know the person too,"

Actus said, "The ’Cosmic Sword Saint’, that’s what people seem to call him."

..................

Elsewhere.

After shaking off the last of their pursuers, the Third Prince and Tang Qianqian, among others, gasped for air as they hid in a storage room.

The four of them looked at each other in the dark, some of whom were students at the academy just half a month ago, and yet, half a month later, they were tasked with blowing up the most powerful cosmic pirate’s ship.

But the Interstellar Cowboy told them it was the only chance.

If they allowed that flagship to continue bombarding, they wouldn’t even have a chance to fight before being turned to debris by tactical nukes.

The difficulty of the task, however, was simply too outrageous, as if you’d just stepped out of the beginner’s village only to be greeted by the four generals of the Demon Lord’s army.

They were also at an absolute disadvantage in terms of manpower; it wasn’t so much that they had shaken off their pursuers but rather that the pursuers scattered like birds and beasts upon learning certain news—sharp-eared Tang Qianqian overheard them mentioning the name "Cosmic Sword Saint."

"What’s the big deal with the Cosmic Sword Saint?"

She was nearly out of breath from too much exertion, but thankfully these cosmic pirates knew nothing of Life Energy, and the rudimentary Barrier she, Yang Ping, and the Elder Princess created managed to slow the pursuers’ advance.

But the Cosmic Sword Saint sounded like an extremely tough character not to be trifled with.

Hearing this, the Third Prince, leaning against a storage cabinet, also felt a chill.

He had heard this name when the Blue Star’s ambassador visited the Chamber of Commerce. In their words, it was a madman consumed by the pursuit of ultimate swordsmanship, whose behavior couldn’t be measured by normal standards. The last time someone had news of him, this madman was experimenting with his swordsmanship by cutting through a transport ship.

Compared to this madman, the Third Prince felt that even the Prime Monarch at his peak probably wasn’t his match.

But why would such an enigmatic figure, not even found by the Universe Company, appear on a cosmic pirate’s ship?

"Have you heard of him?"

Noticing the change in the Third Prince’s expression, Tang Qianqian pursued the question.

The Third Prince seemed quite frightened by the name.

"He’s a madman with nothing but swordsmanship in his head."

He paused, then added, "But he’s also the strongest swordsmanship madman."