Ladhor watched Rafar board the diamond-shaped ship. He shouted, “Rafar, send my regards to Prime Minister Adolf John. I am his firm supporter!”

Rafar twitched his mouth. He thought, “Send your regards to a ghost. I’ve never met the Prime Minister. If I did, I would be too busy with my own matters. Why waste time doing you a favor?” He ignored Ladhor and flew off as soon as the ship’s hatch closed.

Rafar was angry. He was flying a stealth ship from the Alleman Republic to deliver a metal box marked "Hope No. 2" to the Teuton Pirate Clan. He had no idea what the mission was about.

Martinez had called him to carry out the task personally arranged by the Prime Minister. Rafar had hoped this would finally give him a chance to meet the Prime Minister in person. He was tired of dealing with Martinez. Rafar thought, “Damn Martinez. I’m no worse than him.”

However, after hearing Martinez’s briefing, Rafar grew angry. As the head of the Reconnaissance Department of the Revival Special Forces, he felt insulted. He had been assigned a simple courier job. Worse, Martinez hadn’t given him any details about the task from the Prime Minister.

“Damn Martinez,” Rafar muttered.

"Damn it, what’s so great about you? You’re just a shady little spy leader! If I didn’t want the Teuton Pirate Clan to be part of the Alleman Republic’s defense force, I wouldn’t bother with you!" Ladhor shouted at the disappearing ship.

Ladhor was speaking from the heart. He wanted the Teuton Pirate Clan to join the Alleman Republic. If that happened, his family could join the Mansur Officer Corps. They would gain military influence and power, even without official titles.

The Mansur Officer Corps had been around for billions of years. It had the most power in the Alleman military, whether the government was a monarchy, democracy, or something else. The Corps had always remained intact.

Joining the Corps required a family to make significant contributions to the Mansur people. It was the soul of the Mansur ethnicity.

Ladhor’s family had been working for generations to get into the Mansur Officer Corps. They had cooperated with every Alleman Republic government and completed every mission assigned to them.

“Messenger, move Hope No. 2 to warehouse X,” Ladhor ordered the transport robot.

"Received, moving Hope No. 2 to warehouse X," the robot repeated.

The messenger robot had originally come with Rafar. Rafar had left it behind to move the Hope No. 2 box. The data recorder informed Ladhor that the robot was part of a secret mission. It and Hope No. 2 would be sent to a suitable planet.

Ladhor didn’t know what was inside Hope No. 2. His mission was just to find the right planet and launch it. He didn’t ask questions. Secret missions often required obedience.

Ladhor didn’t know why a simple transport robot was being used for such an important task. He didn’t care to ask. Everyone followed orders without question.

Ladhor had no idea what was inside Hope No. 2. He had been told to find the right planet, launch it, and that was all.

The Teuton Pirate Clan’s power structure was different from the Yinglong Pirate Clan. Ladhor, the leader of the Teuton Pirate Clan, had absolute power, like an emperor. However, the Alleman Republic still had some influence.

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"Akim, arrange for the people to handle it immediately," Ladhor ordered.

Akim, the deputy leader, rushed off after receiving the order.

"Akim, remember to implant spinal bombs in everyone involved," Ladhor added.

Akim paused and nodded silently.

Spinal bombs were tiny explosive devices implanted in the neck or waist. They could remotely detonate, causing death. Although cruel, they were effective.

Half a month later, Akim reported to Ladhor. “Leader, we have found a suitable target planet. It has a harsh environment, wild beasts, ‘Tide’ resources, and many ordinary soldiers.”

Ladhor frowned at the star chart. The planet was marked as difficult to reach.

With the Teuton Pirate Clan’s abilities, it seemed impossible to throw Hope No. 2 to such a planet. The planet was a military one.

“I guess I’ll need help from my old friend. It will cost me, though,” Ladhor thought.

York Star was a top-level life planet and the largest commercial planet in the Biyute United States. It had a population of 200 billion. Its residents included humans, greys, lizardmen, octopuses, and giant humans up to 8 meters tall.

York Star was a prosperous planet, a paradise for the rich and a hell for the poor.

The headquarters of the Universe Disciple Union was on York Star. The Union’s 500-floor building, Panhua Tower, was located in District D.

In an office on the 499th floor, Tong Hao was on a remote call with Zhang Lian, the director of the Yinglong Pirate Clan’s United Front Department.

Zhang Lian looked stern as he scolded Tong Hao. “Tong Hao, the United Front Department is under my control. Are you questioning my decision?”

Tong Hao quickly lowered his head. “No… I’ll handle it right away.”

If Zhang Lian had seen him, he would have noticed the disdain in Tong Hao’s eyes.

Zhang Lian, satisfied with the response, smiled. “Good! If you follow me, you’ll benefit in the future.”

Tong Hao raised his head and sneered. He stared at the hologram of Zhang Lian.

Zhang Lian didn’t notice. He looked terrified. The hologram cut off.

“Such a fool,” Tong Hao muttered.

He looked at his luxury watch, smiling cruelly. “The timing is perfect. I’m sure that old man is meeting the cosmic god now! Haha!”

The next day, the Kavas Empire’s Supreme Command issued a notice. An unidentified terrorist ship had entered the Empire and was destroyed by Colonel Liu Qi. To reward him, Emperor Louis XIII promoted him to Brigadier General and appointed him as the commander of the 8th Guard Fleet. The Supreme Command also released a hologram of Liu Qi destroying the terrorist ship, which was recognized by experts as Zhang Lian’s luxury private ship from the Yinglong Pirate Clan’s United Front Department.

This announcement caused a stir among relevant parties.

In a private resort on Chuantuo Star, two elderly men were talking.

“Duke Pat, what is the Emperor trying to do? Just for killing a terrorist, he promotes someone to Brigadier General! Is he trying to grab military power? And why promote a kid from the Panhua family?” asked an elderly man with sharp eyes, angrily.

“Count Donald, you’re still so hot-tempered. We must show respect for the Emperor,” replied a chubby elderly man.

These two were Duke Pat Os and Count Donald McMahon, two of the most powerful nobles in the Kavas Empire.

Though retired, they still had immense influence in politics and the military.

Duke Pat Os had served as Prime Minister for 5000 years, retiring only due to age. He had been in office since Emperor Louis XIII first ascended the throne.

Count Donald McMahon was the only living Marshal in the Empire. He had served as a military advisor and later as Minister of National Defense. He was promoted to Minister of Military Affairs, overseeing the Empire’s military.

The combined influence of these two was enormous, and Emperor Louis XIII rarely interfered with their matters.

Though they were elderly, they hadn’t decided on the emperor's successor, leading to competition among the Empire’s three princes.

“Well, Pat, I’ll listen to you for now. I just wonder if we’ll get to see the day we’ve been waiting for,” said Count Donald with a knowing smile.

“Don’t worry, Donald. If we plan carefully, there will be opportunities,” Duke Pat replied confidently.

Tong Hao walked into a luxury hotel on York Star’s S District. He looked sad as he knocked on the door of a presidential suite on the top floor.

S District was a special zone where the wealthiest people in the universe came to fulfill their dark desires. It was a place for the rich to enjoy banned items, such as drugs and live human hunts.

“Who is it? Don’t you know I’m busy?” a violent male voice came from the suite.