"But who am I afraid of? You can talk about revenge after you manage to find the Solar System!" Ding sneered at the "lucky" soul who drew the second turn, who was trembling as they walked towards him. He pursed his lips, secretly thinking, "If by some cosmic fortune your ancestral graves truly sprout black smoke and you manage to locate the Solar System, then I offer my sincerest apologies—thirty-eight Void Realm Grandmasters await your arrival."

"Slap." As expected, the second Prince was easily struck down by Gu Xiechen.

"Slap." The third Prince also collapsed to the ground, convulsing. He was kicked flying by Gu Xiechen before he could even deploy his proudest special ability.

"Slap." "Slap-slap." All thirteen Princes lay sprawled on the ground, their eyes wide and vacant like dead fish, staring at Gu Xiechen in disbelief. Was this guy really this strong?

The small medical pod suddenly hissed open. Prince Duolun, still spitting blood, shakily pulled out the single-sided eyepiece combat power detector and scanned Gu Xiechen repeatedly. But no matter how many times he scanned, Gu Xiechen’s physical strength and mental power readings matched those of the most ordinary Star Alliance citizens. How could he possibly defeat these elites who had been cultivated with the full support of royalty since childhood? Especially since several of them were powerful gifted individuals. How could he possibly defeat these princes?

Rubbing his palms vigorously, Gu Xiechen’s inherent rogue nature as an arms dealer burst forth. He let out a strange, echoing laugh directed at the thirteen ash-faced Princes. "Now, gentlemen, please transfer command of all the warships you control to my name. Hmm, there must be certain procedures required to control these space battleships, right? Tsk, tsk. Three thousand colossal vessels—I’ll certainly be busy."

Accompanied by the faint whine of engines, Fu Yaming piloted a small aircraft onto the arena platform. Lifting the cockpit canopy, Fu Yaming nodded expressionlessly toward the princes and said earnestly to Gu Xiechen, "I have just received an urgent communication from the monarchs of thirteen nations, including the Lei Wu Kingdom. They demand the immediate redemption of these warships."

Prince Duolun spat out another mouthful of blood and sank heavily back into the medical pod.

Gu Xiechen, hands clasped behind his back, smiled. He inclined his head and chuckled, "Oh? Their Majesties the Kings are already aware of the situation here? Hmm, in that case, I require a reasonable and justifiable price."

Before Fu Yaming could speak, Gu Xiechen hastily added, "I don't want the Star Alliance's hard currency, Starlight Silver. I want technical data—all sorts of technical documentation, of course, and it must all be unique. I am a mercenary, yes, but I am also a reasonably competent arms dealer, and I possess a profound understanding of the value of such technical intelligence."

The Yafeike Kingdom only held unique expertise in energy engines and high-energy shields; their research in other areas was merely standard. Gu Xiechen was highly interested and supremely confident he could pry some valuable assets from the thirteen kings, who were clearly boiling with fury. After all, only by drawing from the strengths of many could the finest armaments be forged. This principle had been studied and understood with utmost clarity back when he managed the corporate espionage division of the Gu Group.

He wasn't afraid that these kings would refuse to hand over valuable items. Three thousand Tier One battleships—spread across thirteen kingdoms—equaled the scale of three main space fleets for each realm. Consider that the Yafeike Kingdom’s "mighty neighbor," the Doko Federation, possessed a total of only three space fleets, amounting to 150 Tier One battleships. While the Lei Wu Kingdom and the other twelve nations were at the very apex of four-star civilizations in the Star Alliance, even the powerful Lei Wu Kingdom commanded only twelve space fleets, or 600 Tier One battleships. They truly could not afford such a catastrophic loss of military strength.

Leaping into the cockpit, he pulled the canopy shut and gazed through the transparent viewport at the distant small aircraft. Gu Xiechen sighed apologetically, "They must think they came to the wrong place. This duel was not exciting at all. Honestly, by my standards, it was completely underwhelming."

Fu Yaming stared at Gu Xiechen in astonishment, frowning as she piloted her craft out of the arena. "Not exciting enough? Thirteen princes utterly defeated, not to mention the colossal amounts of Star Alliance gold coins, corporate shares, and real estate they lost. You won three thousand Tier One battleships! Do you have any idea what that signifies? At least a hundred million people must have been stunned speechless today!"

"Hmm, what concept is that?" Gu Xiechen turned, his gaze falling upon the softly contoured profile of Fu Yaming’s face.

"If I purchase these three thousand Tier One battleships from you, the Yafeike Kingdom will instantly regain its status as the most militarily powerful nation among the four-star civilizations of the Star Alliance! Combined with the Yafeike Planetary Defense System, we could even contend with the formidable Mu Xing-level civilizations! Nearly a hundred surrounding four-star and three-star civilizations would henceforth have to pledge fealty to the Yafeike Kingdom." Fu Yaming’s cheeks suddenly flushed bright red, and she cried out excitedly to Gu Xiechen.

"Is that so?" Gu Xiechen lowered his head in contemplation, calculating for a moment. He smiled. "My father once told me that whether doing business or anything else, one needs an ally—a trustworthy ally. If I were to bestow these three thousand warships upon the Yafeike Kingdom..."

"What?" Fu Yaming shrieked, her hands jerking the flight control stick violently downward. The aircraft shot forward with a hiss, heading straight for a nearby mountaintop.

Gu Xiechen, startled, grabbed her hand and forcefully yanked the control stick upward.

Fu Yaming also let out a terrified scream as the underbelly of the aircraft scraped past the tops of several massive cedar trees on the mountain, kicking up a long plume of snow mist. Too flustered to correct the now-swaying aircraft, she yelled at Gu Xiechen, "You said—'bestow' these three thousand Tier One battleships upon me? Hmm, what are the conditions!"

"Share all of the Yafeike Kingdom's scientific research data, and in the future, train a batch of 'my' scientific personnel for me," Gu Xiechen quickly laid out his terms. If Fu Yaming agreed to his cooperation conditions, then a systematic, complete research framework would obviously be superior to piecemeal acquisition of various data from those thirteen kings.

Fu Yaming froze, then tilted her head seriously to look at Gu Xiechen. "What are you planning? The Yafeike research system is not as advanced as you might imagine."

Gu Xiechen looked at Fu Yaming with frankness. "I know Yafeike is only a four-star civilization, but for me, it's sufficient. Would a six-star civilization in the Star Alliance cooperate with me over three thousand warships?"

Shaking her head firmly, Fu Yaming replied with equal composure, "They absolutely wouldn't value these three thousand Tier One battleships. But I value them immensely."