Chương 67: Chapter 67: Bountiful Rewards
When the Storm Fleet arrived at the battlefield, the radar-generated images showed a scene of devastation: ten T3 interstellar transport ships were surrounded by the wreckage of countless starships.
"Storm Fleet, clear the battlefield swiftly. T4 Scorpion Tail, remain on reconnaissance duty," Feng Mo commanded.
Despite their surprise, the captains dared not ask questions. They directed their starships to deploy tractor beams, collecting every bit of valuable debris.
"Hua Qin, establish a video connection with the T3 transport ships," Feng Mo instructed.
"Yes, sir!"
Hua Qin promptly connected the video feed, and soon, the call was answered. The screens revealed ten pale-faced, sweat-drenched captains. Feng Mo addressed them calmly, "I'm sure you've exhausted all your options for calling reinforcements. Your backup will take time to get here, so your lives are currently in my hands. If you wish to live, order your crew to surrender. I might consider sparing you."
Terrified, the captains quickly agreed, some even attempting to pledge their loyalty to Feng Mo. He didn't believe a word of it. He knew that opportunists were often the most dangerous, and in his mind, these captains were already as good as dead.
"Hua Qin, instruct Feng Tianyi to lead the mecha squadron and detain all the captains and crew from the T3 transport ships. Place them in three T3 Mantis-class ships for centralized management. Once we leave interstellar space, they'll be dealt with."
"Deploy our personnel to take control of the transport ships. Once the battlefield is cleared, we'll return home together."
Feng Tianyi led the mecha squadron and rounded up the captains and crew without resistance. The Bai Family's captains and crew were all too cooperative.
An hour later, the battlefield was cleared, and the Storm Fleet, fully loaded, began its return journey. Four hours later, they passed through the U5 stargate to the U3 stargate, then through interstellar space back to the Storm System.
The entire ambush operation, from the initial setup to their return, took less than two days. Feng Mo could only imagine the chaos now erupting within the Bai Family.
Sure enough, the Bai Family was in turmoil. Their starship trading company had already been crushed under market pressure, and their resource planets in the U5 System were struggling with extraction delays. Now, even their last profitable venture had been ambushed.
When it rains, it pours. A series of misfortunes had driven the Bai Family to despair. They had exhausted all possible solutions to no avail. It felt as though an invisible hand was steadily pushing them into ruin.
After repeated setbacks, depleting reserves, and paying compensations, the Bai Family could no longer sustain their T4 fleet solely on territorial income. They were now living off their savings, and dividends for the family's heirs were a distant dream.
If things continued this way, the Bai Family would face bankruptcy within six months. Without funds to support the fleet, no one would be willing to fight for them. Sentiment wasn't worth much.
Desperate, Bai Yanbing, the Bai Family patriarch, made a final attempt, contacting their backers, the Tianqi Qiao Family, via video.
The Qiao Family was well aware of the Bai Family's plight. As soon as the call connected, a Qiao Family elder spoke first, "Old Bai, our families go way back, so let me give you some advice: it's time to humble yourself. After discussions within our family, we've decided not to go to war with the Tianqi Yue Family or the illustrious Chu Family on your behalf. The best we can do is arrange a meeting between you and Earl Feng Mo under our name."
Bai Yanbing had no choice. Even his strongest allies were advising him to surrender. What else could he do but comply? He had to bow to Feng Mo and try to save his family, hoping to preserve some strength for future revenge.
"Old Qiao, my request is simple. The Bai Family is willing to pay any price to end this. We're prepared to sign a non-aggression pact with Earl Feng Mo," Bai Yanbing declared.
If Feng Mo had been there, he might have scoffed and said, "If only you had realized this sooner."
But Feng Mo was busy overseeing the registration of the rescued slaves. As he had anticipated, each of the ten T3 interstellar transport ships carried about 34 million people, totaling 340 million new residents.
This was a massive gain. In the interstellar era, vast territories and large populations were the foundation of any star system's development.
It took seven days to register and allocate the population across various planets. Two hundred million were settled on Storm Prime, while 140 million went to White Elm Star.
As for the Elven Homeworld, Feng Mo kept it exclusive to the elves, valuing their pure lineage and not forcing integration.
Hua Qin, having worked tirelessly over the past few days, came to report, "Commander, the population distribution is complete. The majority of the slaves are humanoid, with beastmen making up four-fifths of the total. The remaining fifth includes humans, interstellar dwarves, interstellar succubi, interstellar elves, and defeated interstellar demons."
"There are only about a thousand dwarves. I've assigned them to Alisa to build a dwarven city on the southern border of Storm Prime."
"Seventy thousand elves have been sent to the Elven Homeworld. The queen asked me to convey her gratitude and mentioned a future favor, which she said you would understand."
"The ten or so interstellar succubi have been enrolled in the captain training program, like the 'three little ones.' Once they graduate, they'll serve as fleet captains."
"The beastmen and humans have all been registered as citizens of the Storm System. They'll take a general examination in seven days to identify talents for various positions."
"Lastly, we have three million interstellar demons. They are a powerful and diverse group. How should we handle them?"
Feng Mo reviewed the report and asked, "Does Ai Er have any thoughts on the matter?"
Hua Qin chuckled, "I knew you'd ask about Ai Er's opinion. She said these demons aren't the ones who rebelled with her; in fact, most of them fought against her during that war."
Feng Mo nodded. That made things simple.
"The resource planets need more laborers. Distribute the interstellar demons among the planets as miners. Instruct our soldiers to keep a close watch and eliminate any who resist."
The interstellar demons, being large and strong, were perfect for mining. Feng Mo planned to promote some experienced miners to oversee the demons.
"Yes, sir!"
Hua Qin left, and moments later, Feng
Mo's smart terminal rang. It was Chu Yunjian, inviting him to a video call.
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