Chapter 49: The Identity of Zhu Kang
Just as Song Chao was about to deliver the final blow to completely shatter the silver-armored warship's energy shield, a communication request from the Azure Sky suddenly came through.
Hesitating for a moment, Song Chao did not answer immediately. Instead, he firmly pressed the firing button.
By this point in the battle, he was well aware that the background of this silver-armored warship was by no means simple. To possess a purple-quality engine component and a main ship-mounted cannon that was suspected to be of purple quality as well—such a figure could hardly be an unknown in Jiangyuan City.
The reason he still chose to fire was simple: the Azure Sky beneath his feet was already at the end of its tether. If he didn't rout the enemy first, once the "armor-piercing effect" expired, he would be the one left at the other's mercy. Song Chao would never allow himself to fall into such a passive position.
Boom!
The main cannon at the bow of the Azure Sky roared once again. The next instant, the outer energy shield of the silver-armored warship shattered completely, accompanied by significant damage to both its hull armor and the main structure itself.
At this stage, the opponent's communication request grew increasingly urgent, and this time, Song Chao did not refuse.
When the connection was formally established and the opponent's projection appeared before him, Song Chao's expression remained unchanged, but his heart sank to the bottom.
He recognized the man—or rather, he had seen him in the core intelligence dossiers of the various faction leaders in Jiangyuan City. Although he had already guessed that the silver-armored warship had an extraordinary background, seeing the young man's face still slightly exceeded Song Chao's expectations.
If he remembered correctly, the young man was named Zhu Kang, around a hundred years old, and had advanced to a Tier 2 Pyre Captain over a dozen years ago, possessing formidable strength.
Of course, none of this was the main point. If the opponent were merely a Tier 2 Pyre Captain with decent potential, Song Chao would not have taken him to heart. The crucial factor was Zhu Kang's father—a man who practically covered the sky with one hand in Jiangyuan City.
Zhu Yaokui, the principal of Jiangyuan First Pyre Academy and the only Tier 3 Pyre Captain in Jiangyuan City. The cruiser-class psionic warship under his command possessed enough firepower, when fully unleashed, to suppress an entire low-tier starry sea floating land.
This Zhu Kang was precisely the fourth son of Zhu Yaokui. Although not the most favored, he was ultimately the direct descendant of a Tier 3 Pyre Captain. Should anything happen to him, it was impossible that Zhu Yaokui would not intervene.
Though he and Shen Wenjie had tried their best to conceal their identities and had operated quite covertly, if a Tier 3 Pyre Captain went all out to investigate, it would only be a matter of time before they were uncovered. Jiangyuan City was, after all, only so small, and with so few Tier 2 Pyre Captains, tracing them would be far too easy.
Song Chao quickly made up his mind. He would not kill the opponent, but neither did he plan to let him off so easily.
Although he couldn't take his life, there were plenty of good things on Zhu Kang's flagship. Managing to get his hands on even two of them would be a substantial harvest.
Seeing that Song Chao had deliberately put on a mask in advance, concealing his true face, the gloom in Zhu Kang's eyes deepened by a fraction. Yet he was not entirely foolish; knowing that his current predicament could no longer support his inner pride, he said coldly in a flat tone:
"I don't know who you are, but as long as you are from Jiangyuan City, you should not be unfamiliar with me. Winner takes all. I will no longer interfere in the matter of the titanium-crystal vein henceforth. How about it?"
beneath his mask, Song Chao's lips curled into a smile. Zhu Kang's words attempted to effortlessly distance himself from the matter, and naturally, Song Chao would not agree.
"Zhu Kang, for your father's sake, I can let you leave. But don't try to use the titanium-crystal vein as a bargaining chip. It was never even a micro-vein to begin with, with reserves that won't exceed three hundred pieces. Besides, our side discovered this vein first; what does it have to do with you?"
Zhu Kang's gaze turned gloomy as he gritted his teeth and said:
"Then what else do you want?"
Song Chao hesitated slightly: "Simple. Hand over two ship-mounted components of blue quality or above as the price of your defeat!"
"That's impossible." As soon as Song Chao finished speaking, Zhu Kang roared out. Clearly, this demand exceeded the bottom line of what he could bear.
Seeing this, Song Chao did not hold back, and the Azure Sky opened fire once more.
Soon, the hull armor damage on Zhu Kang's Silver Blade exceeded 70%, and the damage to the hull itself surpassed 40%.
Yet Song Chao's heart was not entirely at ease. Zhu Kang's attitude was exceptionally firm, seeming certain that Song Chao did not dare to commit murder, and he still refused to agree.
In the end, Song Chao had no choice but to stop. If he continued to pour firepower into it, Zhu Kang's flagship would likely sink completely. In that case, even if Zhu Kang survived, Zhu Yaokui would inevitably intervene, which was not an outcome he wished to see.
Two minutes later, a hint of smugness appeared on Zhu Kang's face. The opponent indeed did not dare to continue the attack.
However, as his gaze shifted to the battlefield on the flank, anger surged in his eyes once more. He saw that after halting his attack on the Silver Blade, Song Chao had actually shifted his target to another escort ship.
That escort ship, the Zephyr, was merely a most ordinary vessel, yet its captain was a personal retainer chosen specifically for Zhu Kang by Zhu Yaokui. The two had grown up together, and that person was his most loyal subordinate. If the ship were destroyed and the man killed as a result, it was something Zhu Kang could never accept.
A few more minutes passed. Under the combined attack of the Azure Sky and the Bronze Halberd, the Zephyr quickly lost its energy shield. Seeing that even its hull armor was about to be completely destroyed, Song Chao finally received another communication request sent by Zhu Kang.
At this, Song Chao smiled faintly, put his mask back on, and answered the call.
Zhu Kang's expression had darkened to the extreme, but when all was said and done, he ultimately yielded to Song Chao's demands, producing two blue-quality ship-mounted components.
Twenty minutes later, the four escort ships returned to the Tianyu Mining Area. Realizing that the battle had reached its conclusion, the twelve psionic airships also quickly ceased their melee. The psionic airships belonging to the Black Mountain Guild clearly showed some reluctance, but judging from the outer hulls of the four escort ships, Zhu Kang's side was in all probability the loser.
At the thought of this outcome, Scar's heart instantly turned ice-cold.
Originally, reporting the titanium-crystal matter was meant to thoroughly latch onto the largest powerhouse in Jiangyuan City, but right now it was clearly a case of losing the bait without catching the fish. Next, he would likely have to endure Zhu Kang's wrath—how could Scar possibly remain at ease?
Ten minutes later, Zhu Kang departed with his fleet in complete silence, while Song Chao and his party resumed their mining operations.
This titanium-crystal vein was a micro-vein, with previously estimated reserves of 1,000 to 2,000 pieces. After this period of extraction, the confirmed reserves had increased slightly and would most likely exceed 2,000 pieces. Therefore, mining it entirely would still take some time.
As for why he had previously dismissed it to Zhu Kang as a depleted residual vein, it was naturally to minimize the overall value of the titanium-crystal deposit as much as possible. Otherwise, once the news of more than 2,000 titanium crystals broke out, it would be difficult to prevent Zhu Yaokui from being alerted.