Chapter 29: Harmony of Light and Darkness, Section 10

The smile on Blood-Pupil’s face vanished instantly. He froze in the cockpit, with only one thought in his mind…
“Damn it.”
At that moment, in that environment, a loud alarm suddenly sounded throughout the fleet. Other than the Rockmen, Blood-Pupil could think of only one possibility—and it was the very thing his fleet least wanted to see. Even the Rockmen seemed far more tolerable by comparison.
There was no doubt—it was the fleet of the Grand Duke of the Dark Hand.
When Blood-Pupil rushed onto the bridge, he indeed saw the image of a fleet on the display terminal, along with Black-Hair’s bitter expression.
“What’s wrong, boss? What happened…?” Despite seeing the image of that fleet, Blood-Pupil still asked. Deep down, perhaps he still hoped his guess was wrong.
But that hope was clearly shattered. Black-Hair merely glanced at him, pointed at the display terminal, and said nothing more. Soon after, a stern voice rang out in the cabin.
“This is the Fifth Mixed Fleet under the direct command of the Grand Duke of the Dark Hand of the Moor Empire. We are here on a mission. The approaching fleet, identify yourselves and stop moving—wait for inspection. Repeat: stop immediately and wait for inspection. If you resist, we will attack!”
The voice was cold, somewhat formulaic, but even a fool could hear the contempt in it. Instantly, silence fell over the entire cabin. Every Blood Wolf pirate was filled with rage, their fists clenched tight.
Damn it, they were all survivors in a harsh world—so what if they were tough? Ever since joining Black-Hair, his crew had never encountered anyone who dared speak to them in such a tone. Especially now, since they were disguised as subordinates of an empire—didn’t they realize such an attitude could easily lead to misunderstandings?
But no matter how angry they were, they had to hold back. Because the fleet they faced had an astonishing number of fifty warships!
Fifty sheer Moor giants. Although many of them bore scars from traversing cosmic storms, and many had damaged hulls that required protection among the fleet, their numbers were still overwhelming. With the combat strength of Moor giants, fifty of them were likely stronger than a thousand human warships. Such a fleet was definitely not something Black-Hair and his group could afford to provoke.
This Grand Duke of the Dark Hand was truly a war fanatic. His military strength was extraordinary. No wonder the Grand Duke of Tarot feared him so much.

Looking at the dense array of giant warships on the display terminal, all the crew fell silent. The timid octopus people were terrified beyond measure, their bodies trembling. Their gazes toward Black Hair now carried a pleading tone. Clearly, in their simple minds, they still hoped that Black Hair could resolve this conflict. To them, since they were all part of the same empire, they were, in some way, allies—there must be a peaceful solution. But Black Hair knew it was impossible… Given the feud between the Grand Duke of Tarot and the Grand Duke of the Black Hand, along with his own past actions, in this distant and unfamiliar galaxy, if he revealed his identity, he would likely be killed before he could even explain himself. After all, they had fifty warships—far stronger than his side. He had originally thought that obtaining the Stone of Light and Darkness first would solve everything, but now it seemed he had been naive. As he pondered, Blood Pupil silently approached Black Hair. “Leader, go ahead.” “Hm?” Black Hair raised his head and glanced at Blood Pupil. “Many of their ships are damaged, so their combat strength won’t be very high. If we strike quickly to disrupt their formation, we’ll have a chance to scatter them. Besides, their flagship is just an ordinary Moorish warship. With my rocket launchers, I doubt it can hold out for long.” Blood Pupil grinned, revealing his snow-white teeth. “I don’t mind letting them experience the power of the magic machines.” “Let them experience the power of the magic machines!” Hearing Blood Pupil’s words, the pirates around him immediately echoed in unison, raising their fists with bloody eyes, like a pack of hungry wolves. This scared the octopus people nearby, who shuddered in fear, their gazes filled with dread. The power of the magic machines! Even Black Hair was tempted by this call. Despite facing fifty massive Moorish ships, he trusted his tactical insight even more. What Blood Pupil said was exactly his own old belief! Using elite mechs in small teams to penetrate the enemy fleet could not only cause chaos but also serve as deadly weapons. Theoretically, as long as the mechs’ weapons were powerful enough, no matter how strong the enemy ships were, they couldn’t escape destruction! Looking at the fifty giant ships outside the window, Black Hair suddenly felt filled with passion! Perhaps now was the time to test this tactic!! But… they lacked luck. In just a moment, the enemy fleet suddenly stopped. Then, several more dots appeared on the scanner in front of Black Hair. “That’s…”

“Reporting to the captain, another fleet has appeared. There are about twenty ships. The type… Moor Giant!”
What!?
The black-haired man’s pupils constricted sharply; he could hardly believe his ears.
How could so many Moor warships appear in this damned place? What faction was this new group? Didn’t Veli say that only the Dark Hand Duke and himself were assigned to this mission?
The black-haired man was right—this fleet also belonged to the Dark Hand Duke.
Even Miss Veli probably wouldn’t have expected this. After being thoroughly outwitted by the black-haired man last time, the Dark Hand Duke was so enraged he nearly fainted. As a result, he deeply remembered the name Beck of the Por people. It was because he heard the black-haired man would be present that he dispatched an unprecedentedly large force for this mission.
Some so-called Fifth Mixed Fleet was actually just a combination of his two fleets, and their number was far more than the seventy the black-haired man had seen before—it was a terrifying 100!! Apart from the 20 lost during the space storm, another 10 warships were now above Hahatuul, the destination of the black-haired man’s journey!
These lucky bastards had somehow stumbled upon the core planet of the Rock People just by guessing. If the black-haired man found out, he’d probably be furious too.
But now, he had to worry about the opponent’s growing strength. Clearly, with those 20 Moor Giant ships joining, he had lost his advantage. Even if he used his planned tactics, success would be impossible.
The mech assault tactic also depended on the opponent’s strength. If the power gap was too large, the black-haired man wouldn’t be a moth flying into a flame.
What he didn’t know was that the opponent also didn’t want to clash with him here.
With five Swan-class ships of unique design and six Moor Giant ships, even if the black-haired man remained silent, the opponent’s commander could easily guess who he was facing. So while the black-haired man was pondering, that stern voice rang out again.
“It’s Lord Beck over there, right? Why don’t you respond?”
Hearing this question, the black-haired man could only sigh deeply. He signaled to establish a connection. “I am Lord Beck. I’m here to carry out a mission assigned by the Empire. Please convey my regards to the Dark Hand Duke. As for your request to stop and inspect our ship, I must decline.”

“Heh, it’s indeed Lord Baker,” a stern voice suddenly let out a light laugh, its tone shifting. “I’ve long heard that Lord Baker is a tough character—turns out to be true. Well. We’ve received your identification. But from now on, this mission is taken over by our Fifth Fleet. Please return immediately. Lastly, please convey my regards to Miss Veri. Tell her that her fiancé, Viscount Jiri, misses her very much.”
Huh? The other party’s words immediately caught the Black-Haired man’s attention. He exchanged a glance with Blood-Pupil beside him, both seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.
Viscount Jiri? Miss Veri’s fiancé!?
Haha, what news! Who would have thought the son-in-law of the Tarot Grand Duke would actually be a subordinate of the Black Hand Grand Duke? Could this be the saying that enemies meet when destined to do so? If his group were to clash now, wouldn’t it be a huge joke?
No… Even if that’s the case, the other party shouldn’t let them go so easily. And given the Black Hand Grand Duke’s temper, how could his fleet give up the chance for revenge?
The Black-Haired man keenly picked up the flaws in the other party’s words. Yet he pretended not to know, responding with some resentment, “I understand. But this mission is ours. If I go back empty-handed, I’ll definitely be punished by Miss Veri. Are you Lord Jiri? Please forgive my boldness—could you share the information your fleet has obtained with us? That way, I can have an explanation to give her.”
“No!” The reply came quickly, with a hint of impatience. “Allowing you to leave is already a great concession. I’m sure Lord Baker is a smart man and knows well our Black Hand Grand Duke’s attitude toward you. This time, I only agreed out of consideration for Veri. I hope you won’t put me in a difficult position. One last time—leave immediately. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee your safety going forward.”
“Understood…” Hearing the other party’s growing impatience, the Black-Haired man pretended to be aggrieved and accepted this refusal. The moment the communication was cut off, he turned to Blood-Pupil and ordered, “The fleet should turn around right away, but not go too far. Find a place behind a planet to hide, shut down all engines, and enter stealth mode. Go prepare and bring a few brothers to join me. I want to see what they’re hiding.”

“Understood, captain!” Blood-Pupils replied excitedly. Looking around, he saw that the pirates around him were already gearing up, their faces flushed with excitement. Those bloodthirsty eyes made all the Octopus crew members shiver with fear.