267: First shot, seeds of suspicion

In the Main Control Room, there was a deathly silence.

The madness on Black Skull's face froze. Like a stone statue, he stiffly turned his head to watch the deep cannon muzzle slowly changing its direction.

All the surviving pirates, including the tens of thousands outside the flagship who were watching this scene through the light screens of their respective starships, stopped breathing.

Their minds went blank.

The flagship's main cannon was the greatest deterrent of their Black Sail Pirate Crew; it was the foundation and reliance for their rampage across the Universe and their plundering of everything.

Every time it was activated, it meant the defensive formation of a planet was about to shatter, and a Sect was about to be annihilated.

But now, this cannon barrel, which symbolized destruction and plunder, was aimed at their own people.

It was aimed at the "Blood Raven," the second-most powerful ship in the fleet, commanded personally by the Vice Leader, Blood Raven!

"No... impossible..."

A dry, rattling sound escaped Black Skull's throat; he could not comprehend everything happening before his eyes.

This ship was a fortress he had spent a century of effort building with countless resources, and every inch of its formation patterns was branded with his Divine Soul imprint.

How could it... how could it turn against him so easily in the hands of an outsider?

Inside the bridge of the Blood Raven, the atmosphere had dropped to freezing point.

The handsome, effeminate young man was staring fixedly at the menacing cannon muzzle on the light screen aimed right at him. The iconic playful smile on his face had long since vanished, replaced by unprecedented gravity and... a hint of absurdity.

He had never imagined that there would come a day when he would be targeted by his own main cannon.

"He's crazy..."

"This guy... is completely crazy!"

Lin Fan stood at the entrance of the Main Control Room with a warm smile on his face, as if the upcoming event was not a massacre, but a fireworks display.

He didn't even glance at the crazed Black Skull beside him, simply snapping his fingers lightly.

"Fire."

There was no earth-shattering roar, nor any destructive energy fluctuation.

A beam of dark red light, condensed to the extreme, shot silently from the main muzzle of the Black Skull, instantly crossing the pitch-black space of the Universe.

Time, at this moment, was infinitely slowed down.

Everyone thought that in the next second, the Blood Raven would be completely blasted into cosmic dust by this strike capable of piercing through continental plates.

However, that dark red beam did not hit the hull of the Blood Raven.

With inconceivable precision, it grazed the edge of the Blood Raven's energy shield and accurately struck an inconspicuous power node at the stern of the starship.

Puff. A soft sound, as if popping a balloon.

On the massive hull of the Blood Raven, all the rune lights flickered violently, and then, from the outside in, they dimmed layer by layer.

The roaring spiritual energy engines let out a wail of unwillingness before slowly falling into silence.

The entire warship, like a giant beast with its spine removed, collapsed in the cold Universe, becoming an immobile steel coffin.

One strike. Just one strike. No sinking, no explosion, just precisely disabling the mobility of the entire secondary flagship.

This kind of effortless, surgical precision was far more terrifying than simply destroying it, striking fear deep into one's bones!

It was declaring one thing to everyone: this flagship now completely and utterly belonged to Lin Fan!

Black Skull's pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks.

However, Lin Fan's performance had only just begun.

He raised his hand and tapped lightly in the Void Realm. The next moment, a voice was synchronized through the flagship's amplification formation to the internal channels of all the starships in the fleet.

"Vice Leader, the Leader's suspicion is growing heavier and heavier."

This was a slightly hoarse voice, the voice of "Mad Blade," one of the fleet's five major bosses.

Immediately after, another voice rang out, calm and effeminate; it was indeed the voice of Blood Raven.

"The old guy has lived too long and lost his edge from back then. The Black Sail needs a new master."

"Then what about the plan for Qingmu Star..."

"The plan remains the same. Once we obtain the Ten Thousand Year Qingmu Heart, that will be the critical moment for him to advance his Magic Treasure, and also his weakest moment. At that time, I will personally twist off his head."

"We are willing to die for the Vice Leader!"

"..."

A short but information-packed conversation of "conspiracy" was clearly transmitted into the ears of every pirate.

The entire scene was deathly silent. All the pirates were stunned.

Subconsciously, they cast their gazes toward the Blood Raven, which had lost all power. Their eyes were filled with shock, suspicion, and... fear.

On the Blood Raven, the crew members, who were already in chaos from being attacked by the main cannon, instantly exploded into an uproar upon hearing this recording!

Countless gazes focused simultaneously on Blood Raven in the center of the bridge. There was terror, confusion, and disbelief.

"Vice... Vice Leader..." a trusted aide spoke with a tremble, "This... this is..."

"Shut up!" Blood Raven roared sharply, his face turning ashen to the extreme.

A frame-up! This was a naked frame-up!

The voice was imitated perfectly, but he knew very well that he had never said these words!

But who would believe him?

The flagship had just shelled his vessel, and immediately after, this "treasonous" recording was made public. Everything seemed so "logical."

He immediately rushed to the communication console, trying to contact Black Skull, trying to explain to the entire fleet. But on the communication console, there was only static with no response.

Lin Fan had already cut off all his external communications. He was isolated.

At this moment, he was an isolated island of information, a "traitor" nailed to the pillar of shame.

On the other side, on the warship where Mad Blade was located, this burly, one-armed man with a fleshy face was so angry that he was jumping with rage and trembling all over.

"Bullshit! Slandering me!"

"I am loyal to the Leader, how could I possibly betray him!"

He roared crazily, trying to defend himself, but his voice could only echo within his own ship; it could not be transmitted out at all.

Once the seeds of suspicion were planted, they would take root and sprout wildly.

Some pirate bosses who were already at odds with Blood Raven's faction were already showing schadenfreude and undisguised hostility in their eyes.

And those direct subordinates of Blood Raven were all pale-faced and at a loss. They had become rebels.

The entire fleet, at this moment, was divided into several camps by an invisible wall.

The brotherhood that was once said to be about living and dying together was fragile and vulnerable in the face of suspicion.

Inside the Main Control Room, Black Skull stared fixedly at Lin Fan, his burly body trembling violently due to extreme rage.

He finally understood. From the beginning to the end, this monster wasn't running away, wasn't making a show of force. He was toying with them!

He was using a cat-and-mouse stance to dismantle everything he was most proud of, bit by bit! Strength, prestige, brothers...

He was not just killing them, but destroying their hearts!

"Ahhhhhh—!" Black Skull let out a beast-like roar. The terrifying pressure of the Void Refining stage could no longer restrain his Divine Soul, which was on the verge of bursting from fury!

He lunged at the highest communication Magical Artifact on the main console, using all his strength to roar out the most insane and stupid order of his life.

"All ships!!"

"All ships that can still move!!"

"Listen to my order!"

"Target, Black Skull! Fire!!"

"Blast it... into smithereens!!!"

The order, through the highest authority, was instantly transmitted to the entire fleet.

In the deathly silent Universe, dozens of starships, surging with Evil Qi, slowly turned their cannon muzzles after a brief hesitation.

The dense array of cannon barrels, flashing with dangerous spiritual energy, were no longer aimed at the distant Qingmu Star, nor at the so-called "traitor," the Blood Raven.

Their target was only one. The former king, the flagship of the fleet. The Black Skull.