Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 269 - 188: The First Mate

Chapter 269: Chapter 188: The First Mate

A group of people ultimately failed to await the visit of the Cosmic Sword Saint, and their premonitions were faintly confirmed.

When they learned that the speed of the light sword wielded by the stranger spoken of by Duan Mingyuan was lightning fast, capable of casually cleaving off a flagship’s cabin, they finally understood that the Cosmic Sword Saint had actually come—now taking on a new image as a high-tech light sword, becoming the weapon in Duan Mingyuan’s hands.

Duan Mingyuan casually gifted the light sword to the Elder Princess Ning Ruyue, who had studied swordsmanship for a time, as he usually did not fixate on weapons.

Yet, Duan Mingyuan once again refreshed their understanding.

They had thought that this duel between "the strongest of Blue Star" against "the strongest in the universe" would last for quite some time, and might even end with the destruction of the entire flagship, but in reality, as Duan Mingyuan put it, they had only symbolically exchanged a move before the battle concluded.

After all, he was busy now, taking over a new ship, needing to understand all aspects of it, with no time to waste on a light sword stranger that appeared from who knows where.

The Third Prince gave up the plan to destroy the engines. Now, the plan had changed, preparing to take the crown... oh, that’s wrong, to take the ship.

"Fortress Number" sounded like a flagship that still had its charm, and even if it had a scandalous history of becoming a pirate ship, the Third Prince felt that by simply changing its name and replacing the skull flag with a symbol representing Blue Star, his ship repairer’s cultivation would leap into the Mahayana Realm.

So, he reported an important piece of information to Duan Mingyuan—at this very moment, Earth Wolf Twelve was engaged in a fight to the death with Captain Actus in the captain’s cabin, buying them enough time for their plan to destroy the engines.

But this was, after all, the home ground of the Cosmic Pirates, and Actus was a truly ruthless character. Earth Wolf Twelve, alone and deep behind enemy lines, was likely in an unfavorable situation.

Upon learning of this, Duan Mingyuan decided to head to the captain’s cabin to discuss the future ownership of Fortress Number with Captain Actus. He felt it was a good ship, not at all destined to crash on Mechanical Star alongside a group of infamous Cosmic Pirates.

When Fortress Number broke through Mirage’s barrier and appeared above the Mechanical Throne, and even bombarded the Gear Hotel with miniature nuclear missiles, the pirates’ fate was already sealed.

It was their actions that set the tone for this strife.

The Cosmic Pirates had come to plunder, and since someone would inevitably be robbed, why couldn’t it be the Cosmic Pirates themselves?

Duan Mingyuan felt that Captain Actus could rest assured handing over Fortress Number to them for caretaking. Although the ship’s current defensive facilities lacked refinement, unable to withstand even a light sword stranger, Blue Star’s envoy had welcomed an outstanding shipwright—Ling Long had inherited most of the knowledge from the palace, fully capable of creating a superior security defense system.

He believed that Actus would surely rest in peace if he knew this.

About a quarter of an hour later, guided by the enthusiastic pirate crew, Duan Mingyuan found the captain’s cabin.

All along this path were mutilated corpses, the stench of blood everywhere, indicating the intensity of the battle.

When he entered the captain’s cabin, Earth Wolf Twelve’s battle with Actus had reached its most intense stage. From the looks of it, the Interstellar Cowboy was at a disadvantage due to inferior equipment, while Actus, protected by his Exoskeleton Armor, was recklessly unleashing firepower.

Not only that, but he was also sneering, talking about the differences between him and Earth Wolf Twelve.

"The times have changed, cowboy. These days, a lone wolf doesn’t make a difference—recognize this armor? If you hadn’t fled the company and accepted the invitation of the Long Branch Committee, becoming a glorious Long Branch Guard, you would have had a suit of armor like this too."

Earth Wolf Twelve looked to be in dire straits, his mechanical left arm damaged in the battle, a hole in his abdomen that allowed a straight view through to the other side.

Despite his combat skills, he couldn’t bridge the absolute gap in equipment.

"I think you’ve been deceived," Duan Mingyuan, who had just entered the room, said upon hearing Actus’s speech.

"Hmm?"

At this, both Actus and Earth Wolf Twelve turned their gazes to him.

One surprised, the other relieved.

"You just said that this is the same model of armor provided by the Long Branch Committee, and that it cost a lot of money," Duan Mingyuan continued.

His sense of justice wouldn’t allow him to ignore this issue. If Mr. Actus were to die without realizing he had been tricked by his own craftsman, surely, even in death, he would find it hard to rest in peace.

So, to prevent Mr. Actus from dying wronged, he explained, "This armor is entirely different from the Long Branch Guard armor, it contains no spark of civilizational energy within."

And true Long Branch Guard Armor is linked to the energy condensed by a specific civilization.

It grants its wearer new abilities, but it also subtly alters their bodies. Once worn, it cannot be removed unless the wearer dies or faces an irresistible force.

On this matter, Duan Mingyuan felt he had considerable experience.

He had not only interacted with numerous Long Branch Guards but also personally witnessed the appearance after the armor was stripped from them, as well as the owners’ shocking transformations.

"This one of yours should only be considered as an armor with very excellent defense capabilities, and it’s also equipped with heavy firepower,"

"And where did you pop up from, you piece of trash?"

Actus was beside himself with rage.

He was well aware that his armor couldn’t compare to that of the Long Branch Guard, but hadn’t he just been boasting after gaining a decisive advantage over that interstellar cowboy?

The goal was to utterly crush him, both in spirit and body.

Yet this meddler, who popped up from nowhere, had just declared in front of them all that his armor was a counterfeit product.

The carefully crafted atmosphere was completely destroyed!

Actus lifted the armored arm on his left hand, aiming at Duan Mingyuan, and the armguard’s cannon fired a scorching beam of light, blasting straight at Duan Mingyuan.

Earth Wolf Twelve’s pupils shrank, wanting to warn, but was a step too late.

He had also underestimated the speed and power of the beam before, failing to dodge in time and leaving a shocking hole in his lower abdomen.

Although his modified mechanical body didn’t feel pain, it received several alarms at the same time.

"You—!"

Earth Wolf Twelve and Actus exclaimed in unison, their voices coming to an abrupt halt.

They clearly saw the laser shot at Duan Mingyuan being caught in his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, the beam turned into a brand-new light sword fresh from the factory.

It was now the era of interstellar wars, and revolvers were increasingly struggling to keep up with the tides of the times.

Duan Mingyuan tossed the light sword to Earth Wolf Twelve.

The sudden attack from Actus made up his mind.

Without a doubt, this notorious cosmic pirate was an extremely dangerous individual, and it was highly likely that his armor was equipped with weapons of mass destruction. If set off on the flagship, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Actus, too, was clearly shaken by Duan Mingyuan’s actions, the smile that had been maintained on his face disappeared, and he asked in a cold voice, "Who exactly are you?"

"Who I am doesn’t matter. What’s important is that I’m going to stop you from threatening the safety of this ship."

No matter who the enemy is, no matter what equipment they have.

Protecting the ship is the duty of every deputy captain.

He too slowly drew out the Peach Wood Sword from the scabbard at his waist, pointing it at the cosmic pirate leader armed to the teeth in the captain’s cabin.

The high and mighty leader locked eyes with him.

Then...

Three question marks popped up above his head.

Hold on, just wait a moment.

Actus was left completely baffled by Duan Mingyuan’s speech, alas, both his hands were protected inside the armguards, unable to gesture for a "time-out."

To stop him from threatening the safety of this ship?

With a firm and righteous tone, everything sounded so rightful and inevitable.

But... whose ship is this exactly?

And who is the captain of this ship?

This question filled Actus’s heart, and as he looked at the skull emblem inside the captain’s cabin, it seemed he finally found the answer.

This... isn’t this his ship?