Alira looked at her screen and crossed her arms. "Leave immediately. Don’t you know you people picked the wrong ship?"

The scarred man burst into laughter the moment he heard her. "Hahaha! You idiots hear that? The little rich girl’s threatening us!"

The pirates behind him laughed even louder, feeding off their captain’s reaction.

But Alira kept speaking anyway, like she hadn’t heard a single word.

"You are currently blocking the route of a registered private ship operating under the authority of the Cosmic Terminal Territory."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Your actions already qualify as illegal interception, territorial harassment, attempted robbery, and unauthorized targeting of a protected vessel."

Garion raised an eyebrow from the side. To think she could stay this calm... expected of someone working under the Manager.

Meanwhile, the scarred pirate clicked his tongue impatiently. "What registered ship? I don’t care. Stop babbling and hand over y-"

Before he could even finish, Alira cut him off coldly. "If you retreat now, I can still file this incident as a minor border conflict. But if you continue blocking me..."

Her expression sharpened as several warning symbols suddenly appeared behind her hologram.

"I will legally classify your fleet as hostile pirates and destroy every ship present."

The entire private ship crew fell silent briefly. Even Garion looked surprised.

Damn... she talks way more aggressively than I expected.

And to finish it off, Alira added one final sentence in an icy tone. "And trust me... nobody’s gonna care if a few space pirates disappear."

The scarred man’s expression instantly darkened, and the pirates behind him stopped laughing.

One of them slammed his weapon against the wall angrily. "Boss, this bitch is looking down on us!"

Another growled, "Forget negotiating! Let’s just blow them apart already!"

The scarred man’s face twisted viciously before he pointed directly at Alira through the screen. "You think one tiny private ship can threaten the Black Fang Pirates?!"

He slammed his fist onto the control panel and shouted loudly, "Fine then! If that’s what you want, then let’s fight! Attack them!"

---

The entire pirate fleet began to move as massive black ships spread outward through the space surrounding Alira’s vessel.

Warning alarms immediately echoed throughout the ship as countless signals appeared across the control panels.

[WARNING!]

[HOSTILE ENERGY SIGNATURES DETECTED] 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

[LOCK-ON DETECTED]

[WEAPON SYSTEMS CHARGING]

Garion leaned forward slightly in his seat, staring through the massive window ahead.

The black pirate ships were already closing in, and glowing cannons had begun appearing from their hulls.

Several smaller assault ships also detached from the main fleet and rushed toward them at terrifying speed.

Garion grinned excitedly. "So this is what real cosmic piracy looks like..."

Meanwhile, Alira remained completely calm despite the situation.

She placed one hand over the control console while countless holographic screens surrounded her.

"Three medium-class pirate ships," she muttered calmly. "One modified heavy ship... and around fourteen assault vessels."

Garion blinked. "You can tell all that from those screens?"

Alira nodded once. "Of course."

Then she glanced at him briefly. "Let me show you how battles in the Cosmic Universe actually work."

Garion immediately sat properly in his chair like an excited kid about to watch a movie. "Good. I’ve been curious about that too."

Outside the ship, several pirate cannons suddenly glowed brightly.

The next moment...

BOOOOOOM!!!

Massive beams of crimson energy tore across space directly toward them.

The surrounding darkness instantly lit up red.

Garion’s eyes widened slightly.

The attacks looked more like gigantic laser cannons than cultivation techniques.

But before the beams could even touch the ship, a massive transparent barrier suddenly appeared around them.

BOOOOM!! BOOOOM!! BOOOOM!!

The energy blasts exploded violently against the shield, sending enormous shockwaves rippling through space.

Yet Alira’s current ship barely moved at all.

Garion looked genuinely surprised. "That energy shield’s insane."

Alira calmly continued operating the controls. "This is Manager Paren’s private ship. Its defensive systems are naturally far beyond ordinary civilian vessels."

Another barrage slammed repeatedly into the shield.

BOOOOM!! BOOOOM!!

Yet the barrier only flickered slightly.

Garion laughed. "Hahaha... poor bastards."

Meanwhile, inside the pirate fleet, chaos immediately broke out.

"What the hell?!"

"Our attacks aren’t penetrating!"

"That shield isn’t normal!"

The scarred pirate captain’s expression darkened. "That’s no ordinary private ship..."

Back inside Alira’s vessel, Garion crossed his arms while watching the battlefield outside with growing interest.

"So most space battles are basically ship technology versus ship technology?"

Alira shook her head lightly. "That’s only the beginning."

Several new holograms appeared before her.

"Cosmic ships are extremely important. Even though powerful cultivators can travel through the universe themselves, they still need something to support and protect them in deep space."

She pressed several commands across the console.

"Technology, formations, energy reactors, weapons, shields, navigation systems... all of it matters."

Garion nodded slowly.

It actually made sense.

Space was more like Earth for cultivators than people usually imagined.

Powerful cultivators could survive there naturally, move through it, even travel across the stars with their own strength alone.

But surviving wasn’t the same as living comfortably.

Ships, formations, energy systems, navigation tools... all of it made travel safer, faster, and far less exhausting.

Without support, crossing the endless universe was still dangerous, inconvenient, and lonely as hell.

Even peak cultivators didn’t casually wander through infinite space with nothing but their own bodies unless they absolutely had to.

Just as he finished thinking that, several pirate assault ships suddenly accelerated toward them.

Their weapon blades unfolded while strange energy engines ignited behind them.

"They’re attempting close-range boarding," Alira said calmly.

Garion immediately became even more excited. "Oh? Now we’re talking."

Alira glanced at him briefly. "Sit properly."

Garion blinked. "Why?"

The corner of Alira’s mouth lifted slightly for the first time. "Because this part might shake a little."

The next moment, her fingers pressed down onto the main control panel.

The ship instantly roared with power.

VVVVVVVMMMMMM!!!

A gigantic blue energy circle suddenly expanded beneath the vessel.

Garion’s eyes widened. "What the hell is that?"

Alira’s calm voice echoed through the cabin.

"Cosmic weapon systems."

Then the entire ship suddenly moved.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The ship shot forward through space at terrifying speed like a silver comet, instantly crashing straight into the middle of the pirate formation.

The pirates’ shocked screams immediately echoed through the communication channels.

"IS THIS WOMAN INSANE?!"