Herman was merely the mouthpiece for the Two Great Pirate Fleets, not one of them; his influence over the Three Great Pirate Fleets was extremely limited.

Furthermore, the Valkyrie originated from Terran technology, one of Yang Ying's deepest secrets. Even if the leaders of the Three Great Pirate Fleets themselves came to this small room and demanded one from Yang Ying, Yang Ying would never comply.

Yang Ying wasn't afraid of their retaliation. Even if he couldn't match the vast fleets of the Three Great Pirate Fleets, at worst, he could pull the base into his Pocket Galaxy, leave an empty shell for them, and then lead his troops in guerrilla warfare—who could outlast whom?

With a world as his backing, Yang Ying paid Herman's threats no mind whatsoever.

After clapping his hands in laughter, Isaac sat motionless, his face unreadable, making it impossible to discern his thoughts. Both Nais and Commander Xie looked puzzled, surprised by Yang Ying’s hardline stance. After all, in the Asteroid Belt, not everyone could afford to ignore the reputation of the Three Great Pirate Fleets. Even setting aside the other two fleets, the infamous name of the Caribbean alone was enough to frighten children into silence and strike terror into the hearts of men.

The fact that Yang Ying refused so categorically without even probing whether Herman's request originated from himself or one of the Pirate Fleet Commanders made everyone in the room, save for those from the Tran Mercenary Group, re-evaluate, casting doubt on whether the Tran Mercenary Group had deeper backing.

The person in the room whose expression was the worst was Herman himself. He was used to bullying his way around Gray Port, and his words were never meant to tolerate contradiction. Except for the leaders of a few major powers, who else dared to give him such grief?

"Good, good, good!" Herman laughed in anger, spitting out three 'good's. "Young man, how old are you? To dare show absolutely no face whatsoever—cough, cough." He broke into a violent fit of coughing. However, the mercenary commanders in the room paid no heed to his health, watching with cold indifference.

Herman caught his breath and said to a bodyguard behind him, "Why hasn't Number Three called the waiter yet? Number Two, go look."

The bodyguard addressed as Number Two nodded once and walked out of the room.

Herman snorted, then turned back to Yang Ying. "Young man, you must understand, this demand did not come from me..."

"Heh heh," Isaac suddenly interjected, chuckling twice. "Herman, who doesn't know you’re doing dirty work for pirates? Since that new type of warship is so formidable, it’s even less likely it should fall into your hands."

"Commander Isaac speaks the truth. Besides, you pirates conduct business without any capital. If Commander Yang Ying sells you a warship, who will ask you for payment?" Dennis chimed in with a cold sneer.

"It is improper for mercenaries and pirates to do business; that is aiding a tyrant. I firmly support Commander Yang Ying’s decision," Commander Xie followed closely. Although he seemed to be supporting Yang Ying's decision on the surface, Yang Ying noticed that the words from this seemingly compatriot Commander Xie were rather venomous. He couldn't tell if it was his naturally blunt character or if he had ulterior motives.

The label of "aiding a tyrant" had been pinned down, seizing the moral high ground and blocking off any potential path of cooperation between Yang Ying and Herman. If Herman were to claim the Pirate King Nab was the mastermind behind the scenes, Yang Ying would have no room to retreat unless he was willing to sacrifice his reputation.

Even if the Pirate King himself stood before him, Yang Ying would not agree to betray the Valkyrie, but Commander Xie did not know this. Therefore, the purpose behind his statement warranted scrutiny.

However, this also served as a reminder to Yang Ying: his reputation was currently positive, which, while restricting others' means of dealing with him, also limited the means he himself could employ—this was not a good situation.

"I need to quickly cool down this overheated fame," Yang Ying thought secretly.

Seeing himself as the target of general condemnation, Herman's eye socket twitched slightly. In his heart, he wished he could blast everyone before him into pieces with a laser cannon. But he had anticipated this scenario before coming; one needed a certain nerve to barge into a gathering hosted by mercenaries as a pirate agent. Herman possessed courage, but most of that courage rested on his backer. Thinking of the person who sent him this time gave him renewed confidence.

"Really not reconsidering, Commander Yang Ying? Old Barrow asked me to inquire about the price of the new warship," Herman proved himself to be a thick-skinned old fox, recovering quickly. A hypocritical expression settled back on his face, as if he had completely forgotten the words spoken to him by everyone moments before.

At these words, Isaac, Dennis, and Commander Xie all frowned, their gazes shifting to Yang Ying, hoping to glean something from his expression.

Old Barrow, who led the Blood Skull Pirate Fleet, was one of the three Great Pirate Fleets represented by Herman. Although far inferior to the Caribbean, his fleet was still much stronger than the bottom-ranked Sharks, constantly occupying positions around third or fourth among the Top Ten Pirate Fleets, possessing strength far exceeding that of the Giant Mercenary Group. All the mercenaries in Gray Port combined were not a match for them.

"Name whatever conditions you have. Refusal won't solve the problem. I can tell you, in the end, you will obediently hand over the warship. You might as well take more benefits while you can still name your terms," Herman stated in a chilling tone.

"My warship is not for sale. Even if Old Barrow himself came, the answer would be the same. Mr. Herman, please return; there is no need to discuss selling the warship further," Yang Ying once again rejected him calmly.

Just then, Number Two entered, supporting Number Three, who held his head and appeared somewhat groggy. He whispered a few words into Herman's ear.

Herman's eyes widened upon hearing them, and he glared at Yang Ying: "My bodyguard says he was attacked in the corridor opposite and fainted. Did you do it?"

"How would I know that? Did your men see who attacked him?" Yang Ying pierced Number Three's eyes with a sharp gaze.

"N-no, I don't know, I just stumbled and fell in the corridor, crushing..."

Number Three felt a stinging pain in his eyes, sensing that under Yang Ying's scrutiny, any lie would be exposed. He stammered out the truth.

This was a form of mental suppression, making it hard to evade the questioner's query. Psi-users often employed this tactic when interrogating prisoners.

Yang Ying adopted an indifferent demeanor toward Herman. "There are many reasons someone might collapse in a corridor—hitting his head from a fall, or perhaps malnutrition and anemia. You should pay more attention to your subordinates."

In reality, this was exactly what Yang Ying had instructed a Ghost Agent to do using telepathy. These bodyguards clearly had pirate backgrounds, and Yang Ying did not want another pirate disrupting the order of the banquet hall. Moreover, Herman's arrogance had annoyed Yang Ying.

"It seems we won't make much progress today. However, I believe you will regret this soon enough," Herman threw out a parting threat and stood up to leave. He felt Yang Ying was hopelessly stubborn for refusing even Old Barrow's face. Yet, his suspicious nature made him wonder if Yang Ying's strong resistance meant he had another backer, so he decided to investigate more deeply before proceeding further.