However, they were armed with deadly weapons. Some were even equipped with electromagnetic and beam weapons. Although these weapons were only infantry weapons, they were still able to cause David some trouble if they concentrated their fire on him.
Stoned struggled to get himself back up due to the stunned status effect. The three hits that landed on him did not shave off much of his health, but they had given a bunch of electric jolts. He had underestimated his opponent. Never would Stoned have thought that David, with a body covered in some sort of diamond armor and, was able to use mental attacks… Not that he would have been able to block it anyway.
However, Stoned believed that he now had a clear understanding of David's strength. He was a tough opponent that was no weaker than the The Cybernator!
Stoned welcomed these kinds of blood-boiling fights, yet as he was about to join the fray, another pirate's voice suddenly sounded over the communicator.
"Boss! This ship's approaching the patrol zone, and we don't have much time left. Be careful of spending too much time on strong enemies, and go straight for the control room!"
Stoned frowned, but he still managed to calm himself down and gave out the necessary command. "Concentrate fire!"
The lackeys then went all out with their attacks, putting David under even more pressure.
Stoned lifted his hammer and wanted to use this opportunity to circle around David.
Once he captured the main control room, he would be able to shut off the ship's shields, allowing the pirates outside to directly destroy the ship. Once that was done, the ship's personnel would most likely surrender as it was either that or utter destruction.
David was pinned down by heavy fire and could not get out quickly. However, his eyes flashed, and four Sonic Spheres flew out, blocking Stoned's path while they gave off faint shockwaves in the air.
To protect the control room, David had to basically plant himself in front of the door, and this meant that he could not counterattack. Yet, David did not panic—he knew that the Kirkard and the citizens were already on their way. It was only a matter of time before his helpers arrived, and he would then be able to take care of Stoned himself.
Stoned was not a pushover, and David could not just ignore him. However, turning his full attention onto Stoned would mean leaving the path open to the other pirates. The only other option was to activate that ability, but it had a seven-day cooldown period.
The current situation was not that desperate yet, so David did not want to reveal this trump card. He decided to keep on delaying the enemies while waiting for reinforcements.
The control system of his machinery was directly connected to his nerves, and this allowed him to fight on multiple fronts at once.
The flying blades and the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades danced through the air like butterflies. They were like a group of annoying wasps to Stoned, as not only did they hurt a lot, Stoned could not seem to get his hands on them. He had also tried to just rush through; however, he was blocked by David despite the heavy fire from the pirates.
Stoned was furious, and he swung his hammer around, finally destroying a couple of the machines.
Boom boom boom!
Time ticked by, and the diamond skin durability was constantly going down. David did not really mind this as he had almost infinite energy. He planted himself in front of the pirates and entered full defensive mode. With the diamond skin defensive capabilities, he was like an immovable steel wall.
"Boss, time is running out. We can't take over the main control room!" the voice sounded once again.
"Shut up!"
Stoned got even angrier, and he bashed his hammer all over the place. When he saw that David's skin seemed to be getting more and more damaged, he started to think that he was close to beating his opponent.
"Boss, calm down. Our objective is the Kirkard. We don't have much time left, and the ship's loot isn't worth it anymore. Let's give up on the control room and go look for the Kirkard instead. We will be able to earn much more money from our client if we can hand him the Kirkard!"
"Aren't Beast Hoof and his men looking for the target?"
"They have already searched half the ship, but they still couldn't find the Kirkard. The ship is too big, and they don't have enough men!"
Stoned furiously cursed before picking up his hammer and backing off. "Let's go. Don't mind the control room anymore. We will go capture the Kirkard!"
The pirates hurriedly retreated, and Stoned had to give up on the control room that was right in front of his eyes.
David then finally realized the pirates' goal.
The pirates' target is Kirkard?
David felt like there had to be more behind this!
"Send out the message. The plan has changed. Everyone is to now give up on all other tasks and look for the Kirkard. Cesoly, take the hostages back to our ship. These hostages will still be worth some cash. Everyone else, look for the target!"
Seeing that their chance of capturing the vessel was close to none, the pirates decided to change their strategy and go for their target instead. Once they have gotten hold of the target, they could then escape with the pirate ship that was still flying right by public spaceship.
After giving out his orders, Stoned glared at David, as if telling David that he was letting him go this time.
At that moment, the other side of the passageway exploded in a burst of yellow, and the shadow of a spear danced through the air as it pierced through multiple pirates. The pirates that got hit all fell on the ground.
Loade had finally arrived. He held the Kirkard battle spear in one hand while holding a golden energy shield on the other, standing in the pirates' path.
With David behind them, the pirates were pincered between the two.
"Kirkard!" Stoned could not have been happier. He never would have expected the prey to show up all by himself.
Stoned quickly took stock of the situation, and as if realizing something, he turned back to look at David. "So, you're with the Kirkard. Do you think just you two are enough to take us on? I will have to thank you first for handing me my target on a platter!"
This development was just what Stoned wanted. He no longer had to waste time searching through the ship—all he had to do was defeat the Kirkard and take him with them.
Stoned roared and ran to him with his war hammer in hand.
Boom!
Kirkard held up his shield to block. However, he appeared incapable of withstanding Stoned's brute force and had to take a few steps back after the impact.
Just as Stoned was about to follow up with another blow, over a dozen citizens suddenly appeared behind Kirkard. They were all filled with energy, and it was obvious that they were all battle-ready Supers. The pirates suddenly lost their numerical advantage as that number of Super could easily destroy them!
Stoned's expression underwent a drastic change, as the rage was suddenly replaced with shock and despair.
How were there so many Supers travelling on this low-level spaceship‽
The pirates had already made a rough estimate of the Short Horn Star's fighting strength before they made the ambush, and there should only have been a couple of grade C Supers on-board. This was because any of the stronger Supers would usually either travel using their own ship. Even if they wanted to save money, they still would not go for this cheap civilian transport. A ship like the Short Horn Star was like a public bus while the more expensive travel agencies were like high-speed railways.
The The Cybernator was already surprising enough, let alone the sudden appearance of this group of grade C Supers.
Which rock did these Supers even spring out from? They're even teaming up!
What a disaster!
David chuckled and said, "I also have helpers."
However, the smile disappeared from his face the next instance, and he said in a cold voice, "Go!"
David and Kirkard's group rushed toward the pirates, who were stuck in the passageway, and began the one-sided massacre.
The situation suddenly turned around!
Cr*p! Boss is screwed! Cesoly shuddered, as if a gust of cold wind went up his spine. He was currently taking the group of the hostages back to the pirates' ship.
What do we do now? We can't save the boss. Let's return to our ship first!
Cesoly felt that things had gotten way out of control, and he was also extremely worried. His only concern at that moment was getting back onto his ship safely. He also was not exactly betraying his boss as his original order was to escort the hostages back onto their ship.
However, the thought of reinforcing Stoned not once crossed his mind. Pirates were a selfish bunch, and loyalty was basically non-existent among them. The only thing that Cesoly cared about was getting himself out of harm's way.
"The boss wants me to take the hostages back to our ship. Move faster…" Cesoly tried to hurry his underlings along.
Just as he was getting to the middle of his sentence, he suddenly stopped and stared at the corner of the main hall.
In the corner that had been empty just a few moments ago now stood over a dozen people. Hao Tian, Sleepy Winter, Rainy Kim, Bun-hit-dog, and several other citizens who had promised each other to play some Galaxy after finishing dinner had come online together.
The citizens were flabbergasted as they took in the drastically different surroundings.
Hey hey hey! What's the situation‽ Why have the passengers been taken hostage? Who are those people pointing their guns at us? Why is the spaceship shaking nonstop? There are even sounds of gunshot from far away. Are we under attack‽
The pirates in the main hall all had their tongues tied to the back of their throats as they stared at the newcomers.
They had already carefully checked all the rooms when capturing the passengers. Where did these people come from? Were they ghosts‽
The two sides stared at each other with widened eyes for a moment.
As more and more of the pirates pointed their guns at the citizens, Hao Tian and the others finally understood the situation.
What were they still waiting for? Kill!
Energy burst forth from the group of citizens as they released their abilities, crushing the pirates under their feet in a matter of seconds.
Cesoly completely lost his cool.
"How despicable! You would even resort to ambushing?"