Chapter 39: The Competition Festival, Section 1

Kurokami stayed in Duke Ziyuan’s castle for fifteen days.
To be honest, that wasn’t a very long time. Yet for Kurokami, the things he saw far exceeded what he had encountered at the Seven-Six Three-Star Station back then.
Just as when he first arrived, Duke Ziyuan maintained an indifferent attitude toward Kurokami throughout those fifteen days. Most of the time, he spent with Miss Wei Li. As a result, Xiget almost became Kurokami’s personal guide. The two explored every corner of the castle, even the towns outside the castle that resembled commercial markets. Along the way, Xiget talked nonstop, introducing everything to Kurokami. And at such times, Kurokami was his best listener.
From Xiget’s proud expression, Kurokami knew this was something he took great pride in. He couldn’t and didn’t want to interrupt this generous man’s boasting. Though in Kurokami’s eyes, it still fell far short. Of course, what he looked forward to the most was to see Duke Ziyuan’s military forces.
Kurokami had already gotten a rough idea of Duke Ziyuan’s fleet when he first arrived. But that was just a quick glance in the universe—far from a proper understanding. Now that he had such a great guide like Xiget, how could he pass it up? Clearly, Xiget was extremely proud of this, and as soon as Kurokami expressed interest, they hit it off immediately. Xiget took Kurokami aboard his own flagship and flew out of the castle.
The fleet assembly area of the First Expeditionary Army was a vast expanse of stars. When Kurokami arrived, all he could see were countless ships of various sizes, along with hundreds of sphere-like objects. These spheres were huge, each one as large as three giant ships. They floated quietly in space, with dense tubes, resembling tentacles, extending from their rounded bodies. Numerous giant ships were connected to each other through these tubes, centered around them.
“That’s the fleet’s supply system,” Xiget said, seeing Kurokami staring at those spheres. A proud smile appeared on his face as he straightened his chest and laughed loudly. “It’s unique to our First Expeditionary Army. The name is rather crude—‘Hens’!”
“Hens??” Kurokami was amused by Xiget’s sudden use of that word and almost choked on his drink. “Cough, cough… Indeed, it’s a fitting name. Looking at how they connect the warships, they really do resemble hens.”

“Of course!!” Siget’s voice grew louder. Perhaps because he could show himself in front of the black-haired man, his excited bald head seemed to glow. “Hens are truly special! I’ve said it before. This is a supply system unique to the First Expeditionary Force. It’s fundamentally different from the supply systems used by other imperial legions!!”
“Oh?” The black-haired man showed interest. “What’s the difference? Tell me.”
“Of course, it’s their extremely powerful multi-supply capabilities and flexible mobility alongside the fleet…” Siget glanced at the black-haired man as if he were looking at a monster. “You can’t possibly not know this? The importance of supplies for warships is a basic lesson for every commander.”
“Oh, our Mother Goddess Tia.” The black-haired man slapped his forehead hard. He was defeated by Siget’s exaggeration. “I certainly know how important supplies are. But I really can’t see what’s so special about them. It’s just multi-supply and mobility alongside the ship. Is that really considered a major feature?”
“What!? Is that not special enough?” Hearing the black-haired man’s reply, Siget’s eyes widened dramatically. He sized up the black-haired man from head to toe, making him feel uneasy, before slowly shaking his head.
“If I hadn’t fought against you personally, I really wouldn’t believe you’re from the Moor Empire.”
“Hm? Why?” His heart tightened suddenly, and the black-haired man’s gaze sharpened. Fortunately, Siget turned his head away at that moment and didn’t see it. He turned his head back and admired those hens for a while before answering with a smile.
“Beck, you used to be a pirate too. Don’t you know how difficult it is for imperial warships to get supplies? These huge war machines, though possessing unmatched combat power, are extremely demanding when it comes to energy sources. They require the purest energy, and the delivery process must remain undisturbed.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. I used to command neither giant ships nor anything like that—just some modified vessels. I really don’t know much about this.” The black-haired man scratched his head, pretending to be apologetic. “But I still don’t understand. Is the purity of energy that important? Don’t such large ships carry their own purification devices?”

As he said this, Kurokami’s mind recalled Li Feng’s self-sustaining factory, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. After all, the technology from his hometown was truly superior. That perfect self-sustaining system could almost simulate a small ecosystem, reducing the need for supplies to an absolute minimum. Unless long-distance voyages required several resupply stops, such ships hardly needed external energy sources. Even stray particles in space or solar energy could provide abundant energy options for Li Feng.

After all, warships were weapons designed for warfare, and environmental adaptability was extremely important. If they were so delicate as to require strict choices even about what to eat, Kurokami really saw no practical value in the Moth Giant Ships.

Of course, in front of Xigait, he would never dare say such things. He simply waited quietly for the bald man’s reply.

It didn’t matter whether the Moth Giant Ships were delicate or not; Kurokami was only concerned whether this was another weakness—and whether that weakness could be exploited by him.

“Heh, so you used modified junk before. No wonder. Well, let me explain. It’s not that hard to understand. Since Imperial Giant Ships are so large and have numerous weapon platforms, standardizing the energy frequency of their weapons becomes a major issue. As a commander, you should know that to maximize the power of an energy weapon, its required fixed frequency must be achieved, right?”

“Yes, I know that,” Kurokami nodded, looking like a diligent student, which greatly satisfied Xigait’s desire to show off.

“What more questions are there? To standardize the frequency, interference must be reduced. And such huge ships require astronomical amounts of energy. If impure energy is used, with all those mixed frequencies, the interference alone could render 30% of the ship’s weapons ineffective. How can they fight like that? Do you still think those junk ships can use just any energy source?”

“No wonder… I see now…” Kurokami nodded again, his gaze shifting toward the window.

It was like only seeing the thief eating meat while ignoring the punishment he suffered. Beneath the seemingly exaggerated combat power of the Moth Giant Ships lay such fragile weaknesses. According to Xigait, these massive ships were probably extremely picky about their energy sources, to the point where not only the purity of the energy but also the surrounding environment had to minimize interference.

In that case, the ships’ supply needs would surely be severely limited. No wonder Xigait was so proud of those supply systems nicknamed “hens.”

“Well, if that’s the case, those hens are truly amazing. They can maintain a steady supply even in complex environments. Who designed them? What a genius.”
“Hehe, obviously. We all know he’s a genius! There’s no one more outstanding in this universe than him. No, not even Goddess Thea…” Siget’s voice suddenly stopped. As if he thought of something, he held back the rest of his words.
But that was enough. Black Hair nodded secretly. Sure enough, as one of the Purple Rock Duke’s most trusted subordinates, Siget also had access to these high-level secrets. Even in future operations, this brave warrior might become the Purple Rock Duke’s vanguard?
Yet despite these thoughts, Black Hair didn’t show them. He simply smiled faintly and nodded, as if unaware of Siget’s slip of the tongue, showing interest instead in another term.
“Wait, you said ‘the old man’. Could that genius be…” He paused, trying to keep his voice low.
“The Purple Rock Duke?”
“Nonsense!!” Siget seemed displeased with Black Hair’s questioning tone, his eyes widening. “Who else but our father could be such a great genius, capable of changing the strategies of the empire’s military operations? With these hens, our First Expeditionary Force can ignore any environment and always be at the forefront of battle, without worrying about supply issues. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Of course it is!” Black Hair responded with equal enthusiasm, nodding vigorously. “It’s absolutely fucking amazing. The Purple Rock Duke is truly a genius!!”
“Exactly!” Siget laughed heartily and nodded in satisfaction. His relationship with Black Hair seemed to grow closer instantly as he casually put an arm around Black Hair’s shoulders.
“Come on, Brother Beck! I’ll take you to see those warships up close. They’re under our father’s strict protection. Ordinary people can’t even get close, let alone observe from afar. But since it’s you, Beck, that’s fine. Let’s go.”
“Okay!!” Black Hair replied in a similar casual manner, though he suddenly felt a bit guilty.
Was he deceiving this straightforward man? Even though he was also his enemy, this feeling… it seemed like guilt.

With these thoughts in mind, Kurokami felt a slight tremor beneath his feet as the scenery outside the porthole began to recede. As time passed, the distant warships gradually grew larger in front of him. Their majestic hulls were as huge as small mountains. On the surface, they didn’t differ much from the massive Moorish ships he had commanded before. But on both sides of their hulls, there were numerous hemispherical structures.
Seeing these unknown objects, Kurokami felt puzzled. Just as he was about to request to take a closer look, he suddenly heard an urgent report.
“Report, General Siget. News from the castle—Lord Beck is urgently summoned back. The Grand Duke wants to see him.”