Bette's rough intervention left the Distressed Survivors sowhat terrified. Li Yu shrugged; Bette never used his brain when violence could solve the problem. As expected of a "Saiyan."
However, just then, waves of clamor ca from the periphery. The fully ard soldiers made way, and Horus, with an indifferent expression, followed by Klein's side.
Klein's delicate cheeks were filled with anxiety, her brows slightly furrowed, and her footsteps hurried. She wore a long blue dress dotted with starlight that faded toward the hem, tightly covering her slender thighs.
Behind her followed four blue-clad maids with downcast heads and well-proportioned figures, holding up the hem of Klein's dress. Their steps were hurried yet steady.
"What's going on here?" Klein looked around. Her expression changed slightly when she saw Sap, who had been turned into at paste on the ground, and the dead, naless Orc.
Given her willingness to spare no effort in fighting Marauders, Klein wasn't a princess who had never seen blood, but the at paste in front of her was still a bit... an eyesore.
A hint of dissatisfaction flashed in Horus's eyes as he glanced at Bette.
She arrived right at this mont? Li Yu pondered. Normally, Klein should have received the news very quickly.
After all, by the ti he found out, he had already finished fighting with Bette. He was delayed for over ten minutes and still made it here, yet Klein hadn't arrived.
However, Klein only arrived belatedly after Sap's death. No matter how he looked at it, it was a bit too coincidental.
"Noble Princess Klein, you must uphold justice for us!"
"Sacred Princess Klein, save us!"
"Beautiful Princess Klein, you must severely punish those wicked people!"
The Distressed Survivors seed to have found their backbone, falling to their knees simultaneously and wailing. The place was like a chaotic wet market.
"What on earth happened?" Klein was a bit anxious. After Horus inford her, she ca here imdiately and hadn't had ti to understand what was going on.
"...That creature..."
"...Your soldier..."
"...That big guy went smack, and Sap... turned into at paste..."
The Distressed Survivors fell over each other to complain, adding exaggerations to their accounts.
Klein's face grew increasingly ugly. Brown listened as he was described as a wicked person bullying them.
He found it hard to believe. What did I do? I just raised my hand and haven't even acted yet. How did that beco bullying others by relying on my power?
That guy was right; these bastards were just taking advantage of Princess Klein's... kindness.
"Bette!" She shouted loudly, her chest heaving and her eyes sharp. "Why did you beat Sap into... that state?"
"Sap?" Bette was a bit confused until Li Yu secretly pointed at the "ketchup" on the ground. He then realized and said, "Because he deserved to die."
"You... you... how could you..." Klein's face flushed red. "They are already so pitiful and were tortured by the Marauders. Do they still have to be bullied by us?"
Bette offered no further explanation. He was exceptionally frank and didn't think there was anything wrong with this. Horus watched quietly without any reaction.
Li Yu secretly shook his head. Bette had solved a problem for him, so he couldn't just watch Bette get into trouble because of it.
"Princess Klein..." he said softly. "Sap harbored ulterior motives, frad my subordinate, and incited these poor people to build montum for him. Bette was solving a problem for you."
"Frad your subordinate?" Klein turned to look at Li Yu, her lingering anger suppressed with effort. "Is there any evidence for this matter?"
Evidence? Li Yu couldn't help but laugh. He pulled Tu Ying over and said, "Princess, he is a Troll. Although he is tall, his actual age is less than ten years old. You're saying he harassed a female creature?"
"Trolls are not a precocious species. Their lifespan is much longer than that of interstellar humans. Ten years old is equivalent to five or six years old for an interstellar human."
A five or six-year-old child?
Hearing this, Klein felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over her head. She looked at Tu Ying, hesitated for a mont, and then looked at Horus. Horus nodded slightly, confirming Li Yu's claim.
Li Yu secretly nudged Tu Ying. The Little Demon Giant understood tacitly and said indignantly, "Princess, these people are not pitiful at all. Most of them band together, ostracize others, exploit the lower-class Distressed Survivors, and even badmouth you behind your back."
Tu Ying had pent-up anger with nowhere to vent. Seeing an opportunity, he imdiately blurted it out without holding back.
"Why are you telling such blunt truths?" Li Yu pushed Tu Ying back. Horus's expression shifted slightly. He hesitated for a mont before his face settled, as if he had made so kind of decision.
"Is that true?" Klein found it hard to believe, but she looked at the ragged Distressed Survivors with so hesitation.
They imdiately denied it, crying foul and constantly praising Klein. But without a leader, they didn't even know how to defend themselves.
Listening to their praise now, Klein inexplicably found it grating.
Li Yu looked at Horus, and Horus happened to look back at him. His dead-silent eyes held a strange aning.
Fuck, I knew there was sothing fishy going on here. Li Yu roughly guessed what was happening.
Horus definitely knew what these people were doing behind the scenes, but he turned a blind eye to it and let the Distressed Survivors beco increasingly arrogant. His goal was likely to provoke Klein and make her realize how sinister human nature could be.
It was just that before these Distressed Survivors could beco arrogant enough, they stepped on Li Yu's toes.
The reason Klein hadn't co down earlier was probably because Horus was secretly playing tricks. If a few people didn't die and Klein wasn't angered, how could the provocation be profound?
He's not afraid of breaking Klein, Li Yu grumbled inwardly. Horus's eyes flickered, and he secretly connected his Smart Terminal to Li Yu's. "Do you know what's going on?"
Li Yu nodded helplessly. Horus wasn't surprised and continued, "My original intention was to let these people dig their own graves, but after this incident, they definitely won't dare to act up again."
"What do you think we should do?"
Li Yu felt a toothache coming on. Horus was clearly making him complete the task the Distressed Survivors had failed to finish. He could only step forward and say, "Princess, I have a recording here."
He took out the Rat-person's whistleblowing video from back then. Recording things was a good habit.
Without any editing, it showed the cruel reality that Klein was unaware of. It included the systematic training on how to converse with Klein, the exploitation of food, the badmouthing of Klein, and even a lot of filthy language.
These Distressed Survivors weren't hard to deal with, and Li Yu had never taken them seriously.
If Horus hadn't been treating them as pawns, he would have eliminated the unstable elents among them long ago without Klein even noticing.
Watching the recording, Klein clenched her fair fists. Her face went from flushed to gradually pale, her eyes losing focus. She seed to have suffered a massive shock.
She looked at the Distressed Survivors. They were extrely terrified and didn't know what to do, only repeatedly denying everything.
Li Yu glanced at Horus, and Horus shook his head slightly. Damn, still not enough?
He really isn't afraid of her breaking? She's already showing signs of a ntal breakdown.
Since Horus wasn't satisfied, Li Yu had no choice but to continue. "Princess, your status is noble, and everyone around you caters to you to make you happy."
"Your so-called friends are only using you to gain benefits."
"Imagine if you lost this status, lost the identity of the Princess of Return Star, what would you have left? Do you think you're the one saving people, or is it your status that's saving them...?"
Even Li Yu felt that what he said was too disgusting. It was a typical bait-and-switch; what kind of analogy was this?
But Klein's face grew even paler. She muttered sothing inaudibly, her body swaying unsteadily. The blue-clad maids behind her quickly stepped forward to support her.
If earlier was a denial of her ideals, this was a denial of her entire person.
If she were clear-headed, she might have spotted the flaws in Li Yu's words, but having just experienced a heavy blow, she couldn't calm down to think.
If I use Life ntor now, can I directly gain a Zealot...? Li Yu looked at Horus and eventually dismissed the idea.
Although Klein was the Princess of Return Star, she had no real power, and every move she made was under Horus's control.
If Horus noticed sothing amiss, it would be troubleso. The risk was a bit too high.
Horus nodded slightly at Li Yu before saying in a deep voice, "Princess Klein is feeling unwell. Let's put this matter on hold for now and escort the Princess back."
In a daze, Klein was supported as she left the area.
The surrounding soldiers still didn't know what had happened and were all sowhat confused. Brown gulped, vaguely sensing that sothing was wrong with this situation. As for Bette... he remained indifferent.
...
Return Star Civilization—Mango Galaxy. This was the border of the Return Star Civilization. Sowhere, a warp light streaked across the quiet, dark cosmic space.
This was a small fleet consisting of over a dozen heavy warships that looked like steel behemoths.
The silver-gray hulls were covered in various chanical components, exuding a daunting and awe-inspiring presence.
This was the small fleet sent by the Return Star Civilization to welco Klein. Klein's diplomatic tour should have ended half a month ago.
This small fleet had arrived early to wait, but they still hadn't seen anyone.
The Return Star Civilization possessed Stargate technology, so the travel ti for this small fleet wasn't long.
At this mont, several small reconnaissance ships were exploring the area, leaving only three light reconnaissance ships.
Below the three-dinsional radar detection map on the main reconnaissance ship, a young man with deeply furrowed brows stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the detection screen.
Edwin Castro, a top student from the Return Star Higher Military Academy, was also the son of Prince Connor of Return Star, the nephew of the Return Star ruler, and Klein's cousin.
After graduation, he entered the Guixing Military and was drafted to participate in multiple military operations.
He had experienced over a hundred battles, large and small, made nurous contributions, and received several exceptional promotions, making him a young representative of the Guixing Military.
He had actively requested the task of welcoming Klein, harboring his own little sches.
Edwin looked energetic. Although young, his aura was exceptionally sharp, his back straight like an upright flag.
He wore blue-tinted glasses, an Advanced Combat Analyzer created by Return Star with communication, detection, and strategic view analysis capabilities.
He wore the Return Star Civilization's Advanced Combat Suit. It was black with blue star-patterned accents, and the emblem of the Return Star Civilization was on the left side of the chest.
Advanced combat suits were made of nanomaterials, being lightweight, tough, and highly protective, while also providing ergency life support and other auxiliary functions.
"Colonel Edwin, the radar has intercepted a distress signal at coordinates c123.e111."
"According to the reconnaissance ship's observations, an interstellar travel group is being attacked by a Marauder group. The enemy has fourteen low-level warships."
The adjutant snapped a crisp salute and reported loudly.
"Broadcast on the public channel. Tell them to stop imdiately and leave this place."
Edwin spoke quickly, his brows furrowed. He didn't want to engage in combat.
"...The broadcast has been sent. There is no response from the other party."
The adjutant glanced at the detection screen and reported, "The other party has intensified their attacks, intending to finish off the distressed interstellar travel group as quickly as possible."
"Switch combat formations! Level two alert! Activate ultra-long-range mode and have the reconnaissance ships coordinate." Edwin calmly issued commands.
His mission was to welco Klein, and he didn't like unnecessary complications. The interstellar travel group's plea for help wasn't within his consideration, but this group of people stubbornly refused to leave.
The three reconnaissance ships spread out in a fan shape toward the battlefield, providing a combat view for ultra-long-range strikes.
This group of Marauders was attacked and tried to counterattack, but they could hardly hit the reconnaissance units. Under Edwin's command, the small fleet consistently maintained maximum firing range.
After easily destroying several enemy ships, Edwin switched tactics, directing the reconnaissance ships to circle around and lay siege.
Although the total number of ships in the fleet was similar to the enemy's, Edwin could always create a localized nurical advantage.
Under his tactical command, the Marauders seed to be the ones surrounded and were gradually whittled down.
Although Edwin was a rising star in the military, he was still young and hadn't commanded large fleets in battle. However, he was incredibly proficient in micro-managing such a small fleet.
His tactical style was like a cat playing with a mouse. No matter what thods these Marauders used, he easily neutralized them.
Even without the reconnaissance units emitting wave disruption, the Marauders couldn't find an opportunity to jump away. They were beaten dizzy, unable to tell north from south.
With a massive gap in tactical ability and a huge disparity in warship performance, the battle didn't last long.
Unsurprisingly, the Marauders were completely wiped out. Edwin's battle losses were practically zero; he had only expended so energy to maintain the shields.
"Problem solved."
Edwin's tone was calm. Accustod to large-scale interstellar wars, the battle just now didn't even count as a warm-up for him. It was effortless, and his mood remained unruffled.
"Commander, the interstellar travel group's spaceship has suffered severe energy depletion and cannot sustain long-distance travel. They are begging for assistance," the adjutant's voice bood like thunder.
"Refused." Edwin's expression didn't change. "Tell them to go to the nearest space station themselves."
This interstellar travel group still wanted to catch a white wolf with bare hands by asking for energy assistance. It was simply wishful thinking.
The adjutant suddenly received a ssage. "Commander, soone among the passengers wishes to speak with you. We have his identity in our database."
"He is the leader of a small rcenary Corps, and he claims to be friends with Princess Klein."
"Friends with Klein?" Edwin raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, he submitted a photo as evidence, and there are no signs of forgery," the adjutant added.
Edwin fell silent for a mont before saying coldly, "Initiate a long-range strike and wipe out the remaining spaceships too."
The adjutant wasn't surprised by the order. Those from the travel group wouldn't even know why the Return Star Fleet suddenly attacked them right up until their deaths.
"Klein..." Edwin muttered softly, "Truly..."
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