NOVEL WEB Chapter 136: Catch and Conquer
Calytherion Star System, that's the name of the solar system where the Voltherians reside.
It was a massive system of twelve planets orbiting a white dwarf star named Courr-V1, located near the Lobster Nebulae within the Spilteride Star Cluster.
Relatively speaking, it's positioned closer to the Astoraxia Galaxy than it is to our current location, the Calumet Star System—nestled somewhere in between, if you drew a straight line connecting both ends. A place I haven't arrived at just yet.
Well, it doesn't really matter, since I can't use the Range Falcon in this this time.
It's far too recognizable a ship, after all. If I were to use it to assist Nyssra in stealing the Primula, they'd identify me immediately.
Before, that wouldn't have been much of a problem—I didn't exactly have a "home" I needed to protect. The Range Falcon was essentially all I had. But now that I'm officially a Duke under the Meyers Star System, the only planet I govern would instantly become a massive target.
Naturally, I can't afford to drag billions of lives into this situation.
So I won't use the Range Falcon.
"Hmm... How about this one?" Nyssra asked, pointing toward a holographic image displayed in front of us.
It showed a battle cruiser roughly the same size as the Range Falcon. At a glance, it looked decent, but after noticing it only had two turret slots, I immediately crossed it off the list.
"No, if I'm getting one, it should be at least this much," I said, tapping the one next to it.
The image showed a Leviathan-Class ship—ten times larger than the Range Falcon in every dimension. Not only could it support triple the number of turrets, but it also had double the slots for all shield generators. Its hull was fortified, making it a nightmare to take down.
"You mean the Percival? I heard its energy efficiency is garbage because it uses printed circuit boards to transfer power, which tanks its maximum speed to... basically trash tier," she quipped, shaking her head with a teasing grin.
"..."
Well, I was only pointing at it in passing. I never said I was going to buy that one specifically. More importantly, the ship selection here at Narlia Commercial Hub seemed frustratingly limited.
All the available ships either lacked firepower, were underpowered in performance, or came with a long list of issues. They did, however, offer an overwhelming number of corvettes and frigates... fitting for a place designed as a "starting point."
"Well, not like I didn't see this coming."
Even if I expected it, I had still hoped for a small surprise—like maybe a hidden gem among the trash. But alas, the result was disappointing. All the ships were under B-Class, not even brushing the A-Class tier. And what I was looking for, at minimum, was S-Class.
"Guess I have no choice..." I sighed, closing the catalog. "I'll go and catch a useful ship for myself."
"Huh?"
Nyssra blinked, clearly baffled by my words, but I had no plans to explain. What I said meant exactly what it sounded like.
I walked back into the Range Falcon and fired up the engines.
Nyssra, noticing that I was about to leave, hurried back to her own ship and followed after me—hovering in nearby space.
Her ship wasn't too shabby either, a destroyer only a size smaller than mine. To my surprise, she didn't seem to have any crew members aboard, much like me. Was she that skilled at piloting...? I honestly couldn't recall.
{Where are you going now? I thought you were getting a new ship?}
She asked through open comms—though how she accessed my ship's private frequency was beyond me. Regardless, I simply shrugged before responding.
"That's exactly where I'm going. Somewhere I can catch a new ship."
{...Catch? Really...?}
She definitely picked up on that word. She must've realized what I truly meant. After a passive radar scan, I detected several unknown signals just beyond the edge of my radar range. A decent number of them, suggesting a sizable group.
"You should stay here if you're not confident," I said before activating the Jump Drives. "I wouldn't feel great if my client got taken down by small fry, after all."
{The fu—! I'm not that weak! I'll show you...!}
Even though I genuinely meant it as a warning out of concern, she clearly took it as a challenge. Oh well... she should be fine as long as she keeps her distance and plays it smart.
The jump initiated, flinging me straight toward the detected cluster.
As I drew closer, just as I expected, Percy's voice rang out, accompanied by an urgent alarm.
[Warning! Jump Drive Jammers Detected. Exiting Hyperspace Travel.]
Gradually, the view outside my visor shifted, revealing a new scene.
Ahead, roughly 5,000 kilometers away, lay a vast fleet of ships. They came in all shapes and sizes—corvettes, frigates, and even dreadnaughts among them.
"Oh, this is a bigger haul than I expected."
I smiled, muttering through the open radio—set to broadcast across all active channels.
"Everyone, good day," I spoke, addressing the masses. "All good men listening to me, turn off your engines and weapon systems, and I'll let you keep your lives. Refuse, and all ships—except that big one over there—will be turned into molten scraps."
After my little speech, a few seconds of silence hung heavy in space.
Then, out of nowhere, a voice crackled back through the speakers, laughing loudly—a sound like claws raking across a metal sheet.
{Kid, that's my line. Disarm all your weapons, cut off your thrusters, and bring your shields down. Do that, and I'll let you drift in space in one piece. That's a promise.}
Without waiting for my response, the rest of their fleet began to shift, maneuvering slowly to surround my ship... A poor decision, I'd say. Very poor.
"...Is that your final answer?" I asked, giving them one last chance. "No chance you'll reconsider?"
{Kid... Just give up with your delusions. It's your fault for showing up carelessly like this.} The pirate fleet's leader sneered with audible contempt. {If you're gonna cry, cry to the stars or to your own rotten luck. Keke!}
Welp... So much for peaceful negotiations.
Just as I was about to engage, another ship appeared beside mine—unsurprisingly, it was Nyssra, pulled out of hyperspace by the same Jump Drive Jammer that hit me.
Within seconds, she sized up the situation and let out a string of curses.
{Fuck... You were thinking of catching that dreadnaught, weren't you? There's too many of them... This is insane! We should get out of here while we still can, then regroup and come back properly prepared!}
Nyssra's suggestion was full of logic and reason.
Facing a force that outnumbered us by the hundreds, the smart move was to retreat—but not for me. No, the real danger in this entire battlefield wasn't their pirate fleet. It was me.
"Percy, switch to complete manual controls!"
It had been a while since I did this—taking on pirates directly, I mean. Ever since we saved Cassandra, Eva's "pirate magnet charm" had seemingly faded out of relevance.
With a soft chime, the usual notification rang, and familiar manual controls rose from the floor and locked into place. I gripped both levers firmly, tilting them gently to align the Range Falcon for attack.
The ship began its forward acceleration.
Of course, I didn't forget to warn Nyssra before I began.
"Stay back. If you fly too close to my ship, you might get turned to scraps by accident." I told her, my tone perfectly flat.
Whether she listened or not didn't matter. I had bigger concerns. What lay ahead was a small armada of bloodthirsty pirates itching to tear my ship apart.
My fingers danced across the console, quickly tagging multiple targets. Once the locks were complete—so complete that their systems should've been screaming alerts—I gave my final warning.
"Last warning. Shut down your engines, and I'll spare you. You have three seconds."
As I spoke, the Range Falcon's turrets began to hum, gathering deadly energy. Each turret charged steadily, light blooming at the barrels. I gave them exactly three seconds—the time needed to reach full charge.
But, as I suspected, none of them heeded my warning.
They were too drunk on the illusion of superiority, thinking numbers alone gave them an unshakable edge. The idea of losing hadn't even entered their minds.
"...Fire."
I pulled the trigger, my voice cold as the void.
In an instant, all the turrets unleashed their fury, vaporizing the pre-locked targets. The front line consisted of small ships—scouts, interceptors, and light corvettes. Their shields popped instantly, too weak to even flare before collapsing. Lasers tore through their hulls, turning them into short-lived bursts of fire and twisted metal.
And of course, when I said "all" turrets, that included the Brionac. Its pure white, prismatic beam surged forward like a divine spear, slicing clean through their ranks. It didn't dim. It didn't slow. Multiple ships evaporated in its path, reduced to smoldering wreckage.
Roughly thirty ships became a flaming bouquet of debris, their pilots most likely vaporized within milliseconds.
{Fuck! What was that?!}
{They got Henry and Brile! This can't be happening!}
{What the hell?! This isn't how it was supposed to go!}
Panic took hold. Judging by their voices, most of these cowards were riding corvettes or light frigates. The sudden show of power shattered their morale. The open channel echoed with fear and chaos. My strategy had the intended effect—it worked as a psychological strike.
"Let's see if you've grown a bit more obedient now,"
I muttered, clearing my throat as I addressed them again.
"Turn off your engines, power down your thrusters, disarm your weapons. Surrender. Do that, and I promise you'll live long enough to die of old age."
The psychological tide had turned.
Now, the fear was theirs.
And I have the upper hand.