Anthony paused for a moment, his finger resting lightly against his jaw as though he were genuinely considering the proposal, which caused the Space Pirates to smile, they appreciated individuals like Anthony, those who appeared intelligent enough to understand their situation and simply "knew their place" in the grand scheme of things.

Bryan, Bringer, Tiara, and Rider could only shake their heads as they prayed in silence for these bandits; they knew Anthony far better than these Space Pirates did and understood that Anthony was probably thinking about something entirely different and not their proposal in the slightest.

And indeed, Anthony wasn’t thinking about their proposal; to Anthony, this felt like a perfect moment for a roleplay. He could play the arrogant Young Master and start shouting words like: "Do you know who I am?" "Do you know who my parents are?" "Courting death?" "My master will wipe out your family!" "Commoners and peasants!"

Such words passed through his mind vividly, but sadly, he couldn’t play such a role because of Tiara, Bryan, Bringer, and Rider; he had already built an image of some sort of omnipotent being, and he couldn’t suddenly start shouting such ridiculous words at this moment without completely ruining that image.

’Maybe another time,’ Anthony mused to himself, a faint trace of amusement lingering in his thoughts.

"I have a better deal," Anthony finally spoke, his tone calm yet slightly playful, "how about I give you four of them, in exchange for something?" he suggested casually.

His words left Bryan and the rest stunned; they hadn’t expected such words from Anthony. After a brief moment, they simply shook their heads, Anthony was most likely joking, as usual.

"In exchange for what?" the octopus-headed one asked, his tone narrowing slightly as curiosity flickered in his gaze.

"Four of your own guys; seems like a perfect trade," Anthony replied with a shrug, as though proposing something entirely reasonable.

Rider, Bringer, Tiara, and Bryan immediately burst into laughter; what did they expect? This was a classic Anthony move, completely in character.

"It seems we have nothing to talk about, sigh," the octopus-headed one spoke as he shook his head, letting out a low sigh filled with faint disappointment.

"Then come get them," Anthony stated flatly, his tone laced with quiet amusement.

But even as those words left his lips, none of the Space Bandits made a move; they remained within their ship as they stared at Anthony with unhidden killing intent, their gazes sharp and calculating.

A few minutes passed in silence, the tension thick yet unmoving, but the silence eventually shattered as Rider couldn’t help but ask, "Why aren’t they coming? I thought they would attack immediately."

The rest nodded as well, sharing the same curiosity and confusion.

"That’s because they can’t come over here, look around you," Anthony stated flatly without breaking eye contact with the Space Pirates, his voice steady and assured.

Tiara and the others glanced around, and realization dawned on them almost instantly; they had been standing near black holes, quasars, nebulae, and various other destructive astral phenomena, if these Space Bandits stepped into this region, they would simply be annihilated on the spot without resistance.

"But shouldn’t that tell them that you are strong, since you are able to withstand this with your mere mana alone?" Tiara asked, her question logical and well-placed.

Anthony shook his head slightly as he replied, "If you see a pig flying, would you believe it, or would you suspect someone is aiding it somehow?" he asked calmly.

"The latter," Tiara replied without hesitation, but the moment those words left her lips, understanding struck her immediately. In this scenario, Anthony was the pig, and whatever was aiding him, at least in the eyes of the Space Pirates, was likely an artifact.

Seeing Tiara and the others grasp the meaning behind his words, Anthony nodded slightly and continued, "They’ve only seen so many weak Humans, probably those below their level in combat prowess, so their minds can’t possibly accept the reality of someone like me existing. Well, not that I blame them," a faint smile appeared on his lips, carrying a trace of quiet confidence.

He then turned to Bryan and the rest as he spoke, "Put on the glasses; I’ve temporarily upgraded them to the Planetary level so that you can watch. My mana will also automatically react to my movements so you can follow the battle, even if we leave this area," and without another word, he shot forward, flying towards the Space Bandits with effortless speed.

Bringer and the others couldn’t help but wonder when exactly Anthony had upgraded their glasses, but after a brief moment, they simply accepted it and put them on. The instant they did, Anthony’s mana reacted and pulled them forward slightly, syncing their perception as the battle was about to begin.

Anthony came to a stop a kilometre away from the Space Pirates’ ship; he didn’t need to act first, there was no way the Space Bandits would see him and not attack immediately.

The bandit with wings was the first to move; he crossed the distance within a split millisecond, his sword screaming towards Anthony’s throat with lethal precision. But Anthony simply raised a hand and caught the sword between his index and middle fingers, stopping the attack with extreme ease, as though it carried no weight at all.

The winged Pirate’s eyes widened in shock, disbelief flashing across his face, but before he could even speak, Anthony’s hand blurred as he slapped the Pirate to the side with effortless ease. The Pirate’s body snapped violently, turning into a streak of white as a catastrophic blast followed, his body smashing into a distant star. He vomited blood upon impact, the star itself cracking and becoming unstable as though it might explode at any moment.

In the next instant, two more closed in with terrifying speed. The octopus-headed one’s tentacles streaked towards Anthony in countless waves, their numbers reaching into the hundreds, while the shark-physique Pirate unleashed jet streams of water that sliced through space itself with terrifying sharpness.

But Anthony already knew these attacks were merely distractions; as those two engaged him, the remaining four Space Bandits raced towards Bringer, Rider, Tiara, and Bryan. This had been their true objective all along, the supposed artifact that allowed Anthony to stand freely near a black hole was secondary for now.

Anthony smiled faintly at their tactic; space twisted around him as he opened four portals, which instantly swallowed the incoming tentacles and water jet attacks without resistance. In the very next moment, four additional portals opened directly in front of the bandits rushing toward Tiara and the others, forcing them to abruptly halt their advance and block their team’s redirected attacks, disrupting their momentum entirely.

In a blur, Anthony vanished.

He reappeared before the stunned shark-physique bandit, his movement so fast it seemed nonexistent, and in that instant, his foot slammed into the man’s chest with the force of an exploding war drum, carrying star-shattering intensity.

The impact was devastating, the bandit’s body tore backwards violently, colliding with a nearby moon, which fractured upon impact as though it were made of glass, his body drilling into it as if reaching for its very core, the surrounding space trembling faintly from the sheer force of the strike.