BATTLE FOR STARS

Balk stood there in complete disbelief, staring at Belina. He knew exactly how powerful an electromagnetic cannon was. That thing was meant for space warfare. One shot could punch a massive hole through any structure here, and there was no telling who might get caught in it.

But then Belina pointed toward one side of the private booth. Only then did Balk realize that she had already gathered everyone else to one side, while he and the two pig-faced guards were standing on the other.

“I think this space is just enough for the electromagnetic cannon to do its job,” Belina said calmly. “It can punch straight through the booth, and then we’ll all fall into the lake together. Of course, the fighters from the warship can reach here within two minutes.”

She paused slightly and added:

“Oh, and by the way, I know how to swim. I’m pretty confident I can survive for two minutes.”

“You... you’re going to blast through the Dome?” Balk asked in disbelief. His voice was actually trembling a little.

“What? Is that not allowed?” Belina looked at him with fake confusion. “It’s not my Dome anyway.”

Of course Balk knew she was doing it on purpose.

The Dome was the primary structure maintaining the atmosphere for every region on the planet. A small breach caused by an electromagnetic shell might still be manageable, but if a fighter dozens of meters long smashed through it and flew inside, that would be an entirely different matter.

The hole would instantly allow huge amounts of radiation to pour in. Massive air leakage would follow, and the entire district would immediately enter emergency lockdown status. Even if Planet Boman’s automatic Dome repair system could seal the breach quickly, the resulting losses and consequences would still be enormous.

Balk wasn’t worried about the money. To him, money was just numbers.

What he feared was something else entirely.

His father, Emperor Hogan, was currently on this planet as well. If a massive public incident broke out over something this trivial, his father would absolutely tear into him regardless of who was right or wrong.

Balk feared no one.

Except his father.

“I don’t believe you’d actually dare do it.” Balk still refused to believe Belina would go that far. After all, she was only a guest here, and this wasn’t even her country.

“You two, move! Throw that Ding Yufei down there!”

He decided to gamble.

“Honestly, you’re not the only person in this world who fears nothing.” Belina raised her hand as she spoke, her eyes fixed on Balk.

Balk knew exactly what that meant.

The moment her hand dropped, an electromagnetic shell would punch through the floor beneath them. Even if he managed to jump back into his own booth in time, with Belina’s personality, there was no way she would let him off easily.

In an instant, countless stories about Belina from years ago flashed through Balk’s mind.

That lawless princess had never behaved much better than he had.

At the same time, what surfaced in Ding Yufei’s mind was the first time he met Zhou Weiyang(Belina's name on Earth) at the university freshman reception desk. Back then, she had slammed an upperclassman she disliked straight onto the ground without saying a word.

Belina had changed a lot over the past two years. She had become much more mature.

But tonight, it felt as if that reckless little girl had suddenly returned.

Without realizing it, sweat had already formed on Balk’s forehead. In his eyes, Belina’s raised hand seemed to be slowly descending.

“Stop! Stop!”

Balk finally shouted at the top of his lungs.

But when he turned around, Belina’s hand was still raised in the air. It had never moved.

“I was just joking with you.” Balk instantly switched to a smiling face.

He had figured it out.

If Belina dared mobilize a starship over a planet belonging to another nation without permission, then she absolutely dared fire that shot too.

But he had no intention of facing his father’s fury over something like this.

So in the blink of an eye, he acted as if nothing had happened at all, chatting and laughing with Belina naturally.

“Right, I still have some business to deal with. I won’t disturb the princess any longer today. We’ll meet again another time.”

As Balk spoke, he returned to his own booth. The booth quickly moved away and soon vanished into the night.

Ding Yufei turned to look at Belina.

He never imagined she would go this far just to protect him.

Feeling both touched and excited, he walked over with a smile.

“Honestly, even if they’d thrown me down, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. My swimming’s pretty good.”

He said it half-jokingly. He didn’t want Belina making another enemy because of him.

“You idiot.” Belina laughed and pinched his nose lightly. “You think he was targeting you? He was targeting me. If I don’t put him in his place a little, he’ll only get more arrogant later.”

With that simple gesture, she also eased the guilt Ding Yufei had been trying to shoulder himself.

Lina, Mor, and Little Chubby slowly walked over as well.

“I really didn’t expect... you’re actually a princess,” Lina said quietly.

In the vast star systems, plenty of people carried the title of princess. Many autonomous or semi-autonomous planets still operated under hereditary imperial systems. This was extremely common not only in the Resk Empire, but also in places like the Kramic kingdom and the Hania Federation.

These autonomous planets attached themselves to one of the four great interstellar powers according to their own interests and goals. Those four nations had eventually formed today’s the Confederation in order to resist the Hill Empire.

But to casually summon one’s own starship over Planet Boman of the Resk Empire without permission, and even openly confront the Emperor’s son...

There was only one princess capable of doing that.

The sole princess of the Kramic kingdom — Belina.

As for why only Belina could pull this off, the answer was simple.

The other major powers didn’t even have royal princesses because of their political systems. Meanwhile, the smaller autonomous kingdoms that did have princesses were far too weak to oppose General Balk.

Of course, Lina and the others didn’t fully understand all those political differences. But regardless of where she came from, a princess was still a symbol of power and status.

Far beyond anything a slave could ever compare to.

“It’s fine. Princess or not, we’re still friends,” Belina said with a smile.

“Then... which kingdom are you the princess of?” Little Chubby asked curiously.

“The Kramic kingdom.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

That was the last answer they had expected.

The group chatted for a while longer, but the atmosphere was clearly no longer as relaxed as before.

Ding Yufei glanced at the sky. Night had fully fallen now, and numerous floating light orbs had risen into the air to illuminate the surroundings.

After discussing it briefly with Belina, they decided to end the dinner gathering and head back to the hotel to rest.

While everyone was saying their goodbyes, Belina quietly pulled Lina aside.

“Lina, there’s something I want to tell you,” Belina whispered.

“What is it?”

“That Emperor’s son we met today... Balk...” Belina carefully chose her words, trying to make herself as clear as possible. “He’s the kind of person who holds grudges very deeply. He can’t retaliate against me... but sooner or later, he’ll come after you instead.”

“Oh.” Lina had actually thought of that already. She just hadn’t said it aloud because she didn’t know how to bring it up.