Marquis Odgar had only returned to Kerna City yesterday. He hastily treated his injuries and then quickly rushed to the lowest level of the shipyard.
He stood behind the porthole, looking at Test 24, which was still under repair below, his face full of sorrow, feeling involuntarily dejected.
He felt as if he was watching his beloved young wife, severely injured and on the verge of death after a car accident, being pushed into the ICU for emergency treatment. And all he could do was wait anxiously at the door like an ant on a hot pan, utterly helpless.
The more tragic problem was that he was the one who drove the car.
"Don't worry, although our place is small, the equipment is very complete. The only thing we can't handle is the outer armor. This special emerald steel alloy armor can only be replaced when we return to the Empire's homeland. The rest of the damage is not a big problem; it will be fully repaired in three days at most," the manager of Kerna City and this shipyard comforted the Marquis.
Upon hearing this, Marquis Odgar's mood lightened a little.
"Compared to that, Your Excellency, shouldn't you deal with your own injuries first?" the other party asked again.
"It's nothing. This neurotoxin will only affect me for two or three days," the Marquis said, shaking his head expressionlessly.
The other party was an ordinary person and didn't know much about spiritual energy user. Since the Marquis said so, he stopped persuading.
In reality, although Odgar appeared calm, he was gritting his teeth inwardly. The Earthlings' shamelessness was beyond his imagination; they actually used corrosive gas bombs in a battle between civilized nations.
To protect the officers and soldiers on board, he directly rushed to the scene and activated the Saint Shield barrier until the damage control and fire fighting teams busied themselves and finally repaired the damage to the hull.
Prolonged use of high-intensity spiritual energy combat techniques still caused a considerable burden on his body and spirit. Although he used spiritual energy techniques to block the alloy corrosive toxin in the outermost isolation cabin, tiny neurotoxins still seeped in the moment the isolation cabin door fully closed, instantly poisoning several soldiers to death, and even he himself was affected.
Such a shameless weapon could not have been made by Earthlings; it must have been imported from unscrupulous merchants in the Alliance!
Fortunately, he was, after all, a "Vanguard Officer" of the Second Ring, so this amount of damage would not truly poison him to death.
Furthermore, upon closer reflection, Marquis Odgar became more at ease with the Earthlings' actions.
Since he didn't treat the other party as the Commonwealth Navy, the Earthlings on the opposite side naturally wouldn't treat him as Empire. Since it was an encounter battle between "pirates," anything goes.
Comparatively, the opponent's flexible tactics and decisive actions were quite admirable to him. If possible, he even wanted to meet the opposing Commander and perhaps even chat and laugh with her. Marquis Odgar had already sent a battle report to the Empire's homeland, hoping to receive intelligence support from there. Most importantly, he needed to know who the opposing Commander truly was.
Otherwise, not even knowing who he lost to would be truly frustrating.
However, the communication interference within the Far Shore Nebula was too severe, and the source matter wave signals were extremely weak. It would probably be a week later when the Empire received the news.
"...We did consider building source matter wave relay signal towers in nearby star systems. However, Your Excellency, as you know, such facilities require a large amount of Zero Element. In terms of cost and strategic value, it might even surpass this fortress we are currently in. The Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council have been arguing for almost ten years over the construction of Kerna City. If I were to propose building a signal tower, the Minister of Finance would surely shoot me on the spot," the person in charge added.
This was an Angmang man dressed in plain clothes, named Monte Tadan. He also had the dark red body hair characteristic of his race, though it was now an unhealthy brownish-yellow, indicating his age.
His true identity was actually an Imperial Navy Vice Admiral, and he had once served as Deputy Director in the Imperial Shipping Administration.
As a non-human without a noble background, yet achieving such a position in the human-supremacist Empire, and now responsible for managing the construction and operation of a large space station, it objectively proved his capabilities.
In fact, even Marquis Odgar couldn't have imagined that this Angmang General not only built this space city but also overfulfilled the task—he actually built a shipyard behind the nebula's rift.
"...However, the cost of building a shipyard here is too high, isn't it? Pirates can't afford good ships. They alone probably won't even recover the construction cost by the time the shipyard is scrapped."
"This was suggested by His Highness Prince Wei Lunte and His Highness Prince Dandor. Don't worry, those two Highnesses are wealthy and never intended to recoup the costs. As long as they can produce qualified warships in such extreme environments, it will prove to the Privy Council that their concept is correct!"
Seeing the Marquis's curiosity, Vice Admiral Tadan earnestly explained: The Emerald Dragon Shipyard under the Dandor Royal Family is the third largest shipyard in the Empire, and it has always been known for its innovative ideas and new technologies. The Engineers at their shipyard developed a new mobile front-line dock technology, wanting to test whether warships could be constructed under extreme celestial conditions. This way, in future wars, the Empire might be able to establish a rapid deployment point right in the enemy's face.
"...I can understand the ships, but what about the crew?" The Marquis still found it difficult to comprehend.
A mobile dock might be able to build ships right in the enemy's face, but it couldn't possibly produce crew members, could it? Without enough personnel, even the most excellent warship would be meaningless. How then could they establish a rapid deployment point right in the enemy's face?
"This subordinate is not clear about that; perhaps Valent King His Highness Prince has other considerations. But in any case, since new technology has emerged, it always needs to be tested."
But the scale was a bit too exaggerated. Marquis Odgar looked at a dock next to him, where a colossal object was parked, surrounded by various coverings. It was clearly a majestic warship. In terms of size, it was even an entire circle larger than his own young wife, who was still undergoing major repairs.
Upon closer inspection, the main structure of the ship was already complete, with only finishing touches and installation remaining.
"I know your shipyard has provided repair services to the pirates here and can build small ships... but this thing is truly too exaggerated."
"We can indeed only build small ships; at least, almost all the pirates in the Far Shore Nebula believe so. This dock is located on the negative thirteenth level of Kerna City and didn't have many options." Vice Admiral Tadan said, "This is also Valent King His Highness Prince's support for you! He greatly appreciates your behind-enemy-lines strategy. If there truly comes a day when your tactics are needed, having such a mobile dock technology will give you more confidence, right?"
Marquis Odgar sighed inwardly. He knew that Vice Admiral Tadan was a confidant of Wei Lunte King. Although not a formal retainer, precisely because of this, he could become an ally of that Great Elector King His Highness Prince in the military.
He didn't actually like Valent King. Although normal people would consider that His Highness Prince to be an absolutely graceful, gentle, and refined gentleman, Marquis Odgar always felt that the Great Elector King His Highness Prince was too calculating and overly gloomy, with every gesture carrying an affected and hypocritical air of ambiguity. But at this moment, he had no choice but to accept his favor.
The Marquis suddenly felt a bit awkward, so he somewhat stiffly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, when I just entered the port, I heard there were ghosts here?"
Tadan was slightly startled, "You're actually interested in such rumors?"
"...I am a spiritual energy user after all; isn't it reasonable for me to be interested in mysterious rumors?"
The Angmang man suppressed a smile and said, "This space city has been in operation for nearly five years. Being in such a remote deep space, and with all visitors being outlaws, strange rumors always appear. For example, information terminals that automatically play triumphal odes, external powered exoskeletons that do broadcast exercises, statues of Empress Ivanya that shoot lasers, the twelfth staircase that leads to Abyss D8, and so on... One more ghost is no big deal. It's just the pirates' vendettas, nothing more. In Kerna City, as long as it doesn't cause a major disturbance and doesn't disrupt the overall construction progress of the fortress, as long as they pay the entry tax, let them be."
Marquis Odgar still felt that this haunting incident should not be that simple. Perhaps it was a spiritual energy user's intuition. After this matter was settled, if he still had free time, it would be necessary to investigate.
Just as he was about to say something more, the Angmang General's terminal rang.
Tadan did not avoid it but directly opened the information terminal in front of the Marquis. Immediately, an Imperial Army officer's avatar appeared.
"Marquis Your Excellency, General!" After saluting, the officer quickly reported: "The Morda Pirate Group suffered a crushing defeat in the CW46 star system! Morda himself has also been killed in action."
The Marquis and the General exchanged glances, both showing an unsurprised expression simultaneously.
"One of the pirate group's important cadres, Astun Baer, is retreating aboard the Dark Abomination, and has already entered this star system."
The Dark Abomination was Morda's flagship, which was equipped with too many main guns, making it appear particularly top-heavy. Its modification was also completed at this shipyard. Commander Tadan also felt that if that ship were to truly fire a full broadside of its main guns, the hull would surely fall apart. However, the client's requirements had to be met, so he couldn't say much.
Unexpectedly, such a thinly armored yet heavily armed ship could survive until the end on the battlefield, which slightly surprised the Angmang General.
"Baer reported that the enemy fleet is still in pursuit behind them and is about to enter this star system, reminding us to be vigilant. Additionally, he himself hopes to enter the port for refuge and repairs."
The Marquis frowned slightly, looking at the General, only to see the latter ponder for a moment before saying, "Let them enter the port. Have the emergency response team and medical team stand by."