Chapter 677: Chapter 671: Who will Annihilate Who – Part 2

The man’s words instantly silenced the entire bridge, and Wind Martin was momentarily stunned. In his mind, a stampede of ten thousand imaginary mud horses trampled his thoughts into a frenzy. He was terrified. 130 billion star credits! This astronomical figure was right out of a horror tale; there had never been a bounty this terrifying.

They all understood the harsh reality of this world – humans die for wealth and birds die for food. As galactic pirates, it was obvious what the staggering amount of bounty meant. The consequences were clear to everyone.

Wind Martin suddenly regretted his actions. He knew the pirates and major mercenary groups had backing from some nobles, even royal families. But, such support was never explicit. Any tangible link could lead to collective ostracism from the entire Galactic Federation.

So, even though their actions impacted these pirate and mercenary groups, the scale of the impact depended on the stakes. A 130 billion star credit bounty implied that even attempts by influential families wouldn’t stop the onslaught. Essentially, they had walked into a dead-end.

A dead-end where they were pummeled to death by the weight of money. With the issuance of that bounty, their pirate groups had virtually no other outcome.

He never expected Finn Lewis to have such wealth. After all, Lewis was merely a desolate member of the royal family. Where had he amassed so many star credits, or was this a plot specifically targeting their pirate group? Wind Martin shivered at the thought. The Koller Family had worked hard through generations to climb up from being refugees. Was he about to lose everything?

However, it seemed improbable. Their backers had no qualms with them. In fact, the group had taken care of plenty of their troubles. They were a significant force capable of overcoming issues, and there was no real threat to the backers. The latter had no reason to scheme against them for no apparent reason.

The atmosphere on the bridge was tense. Heibear Lincoln came over and suggested anxiously, “Maybe we should run?”

Heibear Lincoln wasn’t clueless. The Mercenary Association was in an uproar. They were aware of what it meant. Even combined, their two pirate groups were no match for the opposition. Moreover, unity within the Galactic Pirates was never really sturdy.

Knowing the exorbitant bounty, Heibear Lincoln didn’t have to think twice about the pirates ready to hunt them down. Given the bounty, any evidence of destroying a base or fleet was enough to claim it – even the small mercenary group could do so. As long as they presented their evidence unchecked, they could collect the bounty.

“Running wouldn’t change anything unless the bounty was withdrawn. We seem to have offended someone we shouldn’t have. Now, our only opportunity seems to be capturing and killing that person. Ending his life is the only way out – we could even bag a chunk of the money. We could dismantle the fleet and obtain a new one later,” Wind Martin quickly explained, gritting his teeth.

Heibear Lincoln’s eyes lit up. “That’s a plan, Wind! I’ll contact our backers right now.”

“Spread the word discretely. Right now, our aim should be to catch the guy. Even if the mercenary groups want to harm us, they need time to gather forces and reach us. We need to be careful at our homes too,” Wind Martin ordered.

“Yes, I’ll contact them now.”

The entire Galactic Federation was abuzz owing to the Mercenary Association’s bounty. Even the Bureau had to increase control, despite having no power to initiate direct attack. Although the Bureau had significant influence, they were accountable and needed sustained funding.

They didn’t have any profit-generating project. So, the entire space surrounding Finn Lewis’s location was politically unstable, but Lewis was oddly calm, knowing the intensity of the pursuit that was to follow.

The only way out for them was to eliminate him. Moreover, groups like the Bloody Lion Mercenary Group had their bases. Nobody knew their specific coordinates.

Still, based on Jasmine Davis’s intel, both the mercenaries had their planets as headquarters. With all their fleets drawn out, their homes had no defenses. Their actual location wouldn’t be difficult to find.

Outsiders might not know, but there must be insiders among the Galactic Pirates who did. Even if they don’t know the specifics, they’d certainly be aware of general coordinates. Couldn’t these two pirate groups be housing spies from other groups? If word got out, the outcome wouldn’t be surprising.

However, Finn Lewis wasn’t worried. Even though Jasmine Davis’s battleship wouldn’t stand a chance against the opponent’s fleet, escaping wasn’t that difficult. They need to evade at least for two days, ensuring their jumping pattern remained undisclosed.

Despite the situation appearing to be in their favor, Finn Lewis wasn’t relaxed. It would take at least a week for the mercenary groups to arrive. Maybe longer for the ones farther away. Only the Bloody Lion Mercenary Group was aware of their exact location, but Finn was unsure of how soon they could get to them.