A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 581 - Chapter 581 Chapter 426 Mysterious Warship_1

Chapter 581: Chapter 426: Mysterious Warship_1 Chapter 581: Chapter 426: Mysterious Warship_1 After conquering the Boundary God Star System, a question weighed on Duanmu Huai’s mind… should he destroy the Collectors’ Mass Relay?

Truly, there were pros and cons for both destroying it and letting it be. If he destroyed it, it would essentially cut off the Collectors’ access to the Boundary God Star System. Of course, they might have other Mass Relays elsewhere, but at the very least, they couldn’t freely come and go freely anymore.

If he didn’t destroy it, even though it posed a risk, it would also corner the Collectors into a predictable course of action.

However, after some thought, Duanmu Huai decided to destroy the Mass Relay.

Leaving it in place could be troublesome. As for whether the Collectors possessed other Mass Relays, that was a problem for another time; this one definitely had to go.

This is one of the reasons why Duanmu Huai’s stance has always been somewhere between the Radical Faction Judges and the Pure Faction Judges. The Radical Faction Judges prefer “learning from a barbarian in order to subdue the barbarian;” anything useful in resisting the evil god and his demons was welcome to them.

But the Pure Faction Judges did not agree. They believed that utilizing alien and heretic technology could lead to contamination by those sources. Even if there was no immediate issue, it was inevitable something would go awry in the future.

In this regard, Duanmu Huai leaned more towards the view of the Pure Faction Judges, so he did not study or utilize the mass relay. He already possessed the superior Stargate device, so what need was there for a Mass Relay?

He might as well destroy it and save himself from worry.

In the days that followed, while the entire Tribunal was relocated to the Boundary God Star System for rapid mining and further fleet expansion, Duanmu Huai kept a close eye on how True Mechanism was doing in Star Union.

At first, Duanmu Huai was worried that True Mechanism would livestream for too long. However, he soon discovered that she was quite savvy, only streaming for a couple of hours until around midnight. The content was also quite consistent: first, True Mechanism would greet her viewers and chat. Then she would sing and dance. At the end, she would select a couple of viewers’ private messages and help solve their problems while encouraging them.

Hm… How should I put it? It’s more like a variety show than a livestream.

While the variety show might be just a mere show for others, True Mechanism’s Superior Charm is undeniable. Duanmu Huai had tuned in once, her each and every frown, smile, and gesture on the screen was captivating, so much so that even without paying attention to what she was saying, the two to three hours would fly by at just watching her.

Furthermore, contrary to Duanmu Huai’s expectations, almost half of True Mechanism’s fans turned out to be female!

This was unusual, as generally female anchors hardly attracted female viewers, who either disdained them or saw them as rivals.

Of course, this might have something to do with True Mechanism’s chosen attributes. Unlike most female anchors, she did not opt for innocence or sensuality, but cuteness!

Cuteness, coupled with True Mechanism’s youthful appearance, made her more like a little sister, even lessening the hostility female viewers might feel towards her. What’s more, she always took the time to teach her female viewers about makeup and performance skills. It’s no wonder she managed to garner fans of both genders and all ages… one could say she attracted a wide spectrum of viewers.

During this period, True Mechanism became extremely popular. News about her was all over Star Union’s network. The viewership had even reached one-third of Star Union’s total population… She truly deserved the title of the number one broadcaster.

Of course, popularity came with its own share of problems. There were plenty of rumors about True Mechanism floating around on the internet. However, Duanmu Huai didn’t need to worry about them. Star Union would take care of anything too excessive. After all, True Mechanism was part of the Tribunal; messing with her could affect diplomatic relations!

But regardless, thanks to True Mechanism’s influence, the horse maiden race was becoming increasingly popular among humans. After all, the only difference between a horse maiden and a human was an extra set of ears and a tail; many found these attributes to be adorable. As such, they were very well received. There were even many girls who went to beauty salons wanting to add a pair of horse ears and a tail to themselves… Fortunately, such technology did not exist within the Star Union yet.

In this way, once Star Union joined the Divine Assembly, they would be able to stand their ground against the Ashali People.

However, even before Duanmu Huai could breath sigh of relief, Maria came looking for him with another matter.

The reason was simple: the mining speed… was too slow!

Previously, the Tribunal would have puppets driving mining machinery, mining in asteroid belts or on uninhabited planets, then transporting the raw ore to the Void Dockyard. There, it would be cast into shape through a series of automated processes and then manufacturing would begin.

But, Duanmu Huai had previously flippantly tossed out Whirlwind Torpedoes like a maverick, exhausting the Tribunal’s inventory. Now that they needed to build a large amount of warships, Maria was short of resources. Relying solely on those small mining machines just wouldn’t suffice, so Maria found Duanmu Huai, hoping he could speed up the collection of raw materials.

Otherwise… they wouldn’t have enough!

So, Duanmu Huai thought of the Planet Dissolution Ship he hadn’t redeemed after completing his previous task.

According to the system introduction, this warship seemed very suitable for the task at hand. It could disintegrate an entire planet by using gravity technology, and then extract and refine the minerals inside for further processing.

The only problem was…… according to the introduction, this thing was haunted……

Well…… haunted, huh………

Well, who cares about whether it’s haunted or not right now, let’s just redeem it and use it!

Soon enough, Duanmu Huai redeemed the Planet Dissolution Ship.

I have to say, when Duanmu Huai saw this ship, he was startled.

The Planet Dissolution Ship was very bizarre in appearance. Like all Imperial warships, there were three tall, golden cathedrals built at the rear of the Planet Dissolution Ship. Underneath, on each side, were four scaffold-like structures, much like the fins of a fish.

Of course, these weren’t the odd part; the strange thing was…… the upper half of the ship was surrounded by things that resembled rib bones! From a distance, this warship looked like a corpse whose upper body has completely rotted away, leaving only the skeleton!

Is this something a human could design?

Although Duanmu Huai felt the ship seemed off when he found it on the system introduction, only after redeeming it did he realize its exterior was especially peculiar!

Good lord, and here ghost movies at least have ordinary-looking exteriors and terrors hidden inside; this item on the other hand, doesn’t even look like a habitat for humans from the outside!!

All in all, let’s check it out.

Although he was somewhat apprehensive, Duanmu Huai believed the system wouldn’t screw him over. Of course, to be safe, he chose not to go alone and brought along Ogis, as well as Greiya and Ann, and Lani… After all, if it really was haunted, magic would be a bit more effective than technology.

In addition, Felin was controlling a drone, wobbling along side them.

She certainly wouldn’t step out of this door, let alone step into a haunted place.

So, Duanmu Huai steered a Night Raven Black Star slowly towards that warship.

“Whoooo………”

As they got closer, Ann couldn’t help but shudder at the sight of the eerie, pitch-black warship which looked like a skeletal structure.

“Sir Knight, this battleship seems rather….. terrifying.”

“Indeed, it does. One wonders who designed it… weren’t they purified by the Tribunal?”

Looking at the warship, Duanmu Huai couldn’t help but comment. Just then, a voice appeared in his ear.

“Your honor, the Judge…”

Upon hearing this voice, Duanmu Huai looked up to see a ghost girl floating quietly beside him.

“Oh, it’s you. What is it?”

Duanmu Huai certainly remembered this ghost girl whom he had tamed, who was a citizen of the Empire in her lifetime. However, she usually stayed in one place and barely ever showed up.

“This ship, it seems familiar…”

Staring at the Planet Dissolution Ship in front of her, the ghost girl spoke softly.

“Familiar? Did you work on it?”

“No, I feel like I saw it mentioned in the Empire’s news, something happened to it…”

“What happened?”

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Huai’s brow furrowed; the vagueness troubled him and darkened his mood.

With Duanmu’s experience, if the ship was attacked by a heretic, alien, or demon, it wouldn’t be reported in the news. Similarly, if the Empire found something wrong with the ship it wouldn’t make the matter public. However, since the ghost girl claimed to have seen it in the Imperial news, this clearly indicates the ship had not been purified nor had it been in related situations.

However, the system specified this ship was haunted…

“Sss, sss…”

While Duanmu Huai was deep in thought, the communication lights around him suddenly lit up, followed by the crackling sound of electricity.

“What’s going on?”

Duanmu Huai’s expression shifted slightly; he hadn’t connected to any communication, so where did it come from?

At this thought, Duanmu Huai quickly reached out to try and disconnect the communication, only for his attempts to be met with failure. Then, a voice emerged from the speakers.

“…Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are…”

“Huh?”

“What’s happening?”

“Who’s singing?”

At the sudden outburst of song, everyone was startled, but Duanmu Huai’s face turned even gloomier.

Well, it was truly haunted!

“Judge!”

At that moment, the Ghost Girl screamed out.

“I can sense a powerful surge of spiritual energy, right ahead…!”

“A spiritual energy surge? Wait, could it be…”

“Bang!”

However, just then, all of a sudden, the control of Duanmu Huai’s Night Raven Black Star was lost. It wildly charged toward the Planet Dissolution Ship!

“Damn, no other choice.”

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai gritted his teeth.

“Soul Resonance!”

The next moment, with Duanmu Huai’s roar, a large opening suddenly appeared in front of the pitch-black Planet Dissolution Ship, whereupon Duanmu Huai grabbed the steering lever and guided Night Raven Black Star straight into the opening!

“———–!”

In the next moment, they plunged into the opening, with the previously out-of-control Night Raven Black Star regaining normality. Suddenly, a sound came from the communication console again.

“This is Planet Cracking Battleship Steel Hammer. State your number and name immediately!”

Duanmu Huai looked up to see a once pitch-black battleship now ablaze with lights.

“Sigh…”

Looking at the brightly lit battleship before him Duanmu Huai sighed, then connected the communication.

“This is Grand Judge Duanmu Huai from the Tribunal; I request to board immediately.”

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.