Chapter 681: Not to be Messed With

Several years passed in the blink of an eye.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

An angry roar from behind made the trio, who were huddled together secretly plotting some mischief, shudder.

Moira Lynch hadn’t expected this.

She had only stepped out for a moment to submit her latest research to Ellers, only to return and find someone trying to steal the weapon she had just finished building.

‘As I thought. Some people just can’t be coddled.’

Moira Lynch crossed her arms, a mocking glint in her eyes as she looked at the three of them. “Have you completely forgotten you’re Marshals?”

‘And another thing, could they be any louder when they’re plotting to steal something? Are they *trying* to get caught?’

“We weren’t!”

“Moira, you must have misheard. I didn’t do anything! This has nothing to do with me. It was these two—yes, that’s right, it was both of them. I’m innocent.”

Caught red-handed, Jeanette Norris decisively chose to throw her friends under the bus to save herself, selling out her two rivals without a moment’s hesitation.

“Is that so?” Moira lifted her chin, her eyes fixed on Jeanette. Her look seemed to say, ‘And you think I believe that crap?’

Jeanette faltered under Moira’s gaze, her confidence wavering. She finally lowered her head. “Alright, we were wrong.”

The other two didn’t speak, but they also hung their heads, putting on a good show of admitting their mistake.

Seeing this, Moira glared at the trio, not the least bit moved by their supposedly sincere apologies.

‘It’s always the same. They’re always incredibly sincere when they apologize, but they never change.’

‘Good thing I came back when I did.’

Moira walked over to the machine she had just finished, inspecting it carefully. Only after confirming nothing was wrong did she let out a sigh of relief.

‘Thank goodness, it’s fine.’

“Alright, spill it. What are you really here for this time?”

At her words, Dustin Foster rubbed his hands together and chuckled sheepishly. “Well, you know, it’s been a while. We missed you, so we thought we’d come see you.”

“If you wanted to see me, you would have gone to my house. What are you doing in my workshop?”

Moira looked at Dustin, her expression clearly saying, ‘Who do you take for a fool, me or you?’

Under the pressure of Moira’s blatant stare, Dustin caved. “Alright, alright, I’ll tell the truth. We heard you’ve developed a new weapon and are planning to apply for an interstellar patent, so we came to take a look.”

Ever since Ellers brought Moira into the research institute a few years ago, it was as if a whole new world had opened up for her.

Ellers had been right: Moira Lynch was a genius.

Her powerful spiritual power, in particular, allowed her to turn mere ideas into reality.

Hearing Dustin’s words, Moira replied frankly, “I have indeed created a new weapon, but it’s not for you. It’s for Caelus.”

Her voice was cold as she spoke.

Seeing her reaction, Dustin knew Moira was displeased with them. He apologized, “We are truly sorry about what happened with Myriagon.”

“You don’t have to apologize. After all, back then Caelus was still weak in your eyes. Offending the entire Royal Family for a minor race wasn’t worth it. Besides, from your perspective, the demands the Royals made weren’t excessive, were they?”

Moira’s words silenced Dustin.

A major incident had occurred in the Federation two years ago.

Three of the most powerful Royal Princes had suddenly brought a case against Caelus and the entire Human Race before the Federal court.

They vehemently accused the Caelans of being selfish and stubbornly traditional, pointing out that they forbade their people from intermarrying with other races—an act of blatant discrimination.

In the end, they demanded that Caelus abolish all such restrictions and permit Caelans to intermarry with other races.

Beyond that, they also demanded that the Caelans must select fifty of their most gifted women annually and send them to the Royal Court to “perpetuate their superior bloodline.”

When news of this and the Royals’ conditions reached Caelus, the entire planet erupted in fury.

They were used to seeing unfair treaties, but one so shameless was a rarity.

If they agreed, Caelus would predictably become a breeding ground for all the other races. How would that be any different from the fate of the Merfolk Tribe Moira had rescued on Javell?

But what was even more disheartening was that, at the time, very few stood with Caelus.

Caelus was at an extreme disadvantage. It was then that Moira Lynch stepped forward.

Well, “stepped forward” might not be the right way to put it.

The Royals were just testing their reaction. If Caelus gave an inch, the Royals would take a mile.

That being the case, Moira decided to play hardball.

Moira recalled how she had once saved the pirate leader, Raoul, in a game and had received a token from him.

She had learned from Ellers that while Raoul was an interstellar pirate, he was different from the rest. His crew was more like a band of chivalrous rogues, often robbing the rich to give to the poor.

In fact, it was Raoul who had previously leaked the news when the Royals were targeting Caelus.

So, Moira used the token to find Raoul. Only after she promised to supply him with weapons, Medicine, and other resources did he agree to help Caelus.

The pirates’ methods were simple and brutal. They directly dispatched forces to attack everyone involved in the lawsuit, with the Royals bearing the brunt of the assault.

After a series of swift attacks, the Royals suffered devastating losses.

The Royals sensed something was amiss and once again took their case to the Federal Government, accusing Caelus of colluding with interstellar pirates.

But neither Caelus nor Raoul would admit to it. In fact, Raoul turned the accusation back on them, claiming the Royals were the ones who had hired his crew. He alleged they had a contract to attack Caelus, but the Royals had refused to pay the final installment, forcing him to take drastic measures.

That was Caelus’s cue to step up and play the victim.

In the end, with the interstellar pirates muddying the waters, the whole affair fizzled out.

After that incident, Moira reduced her cooperation with the Interstellar Federation, instead sending more of the weapons she developed back home to Caelus.

The sphere behind her was the very Invisibility device Moira had just finished developing.

Its function was also very simple: it could render a planet invisible.

However, Moira hadn’t perfected it yet.

Right now, the sphere could, at best, hide a small asteroid. It was still a long way from being able to conceal the entirety of Caelus.

Jeanette Norris and Dustin Foster didn’t say anything more after sensing Moira’s clear rejection.

Of course, even if they were truly unhappy, they didn’t dare show it.

After all, the incident from two years ago had taught them a lesson: Caelus was not to be trifled with. They were actually daring enough to fund pirates.

Besides, unlike other races who had been tormented by pirates for years and were their mortal enemies, Caelus had no prior quarrel with them.