Chapter 39: The Competition Festival, Section 6

As the deadline approached, the Barbaric Star Region grew even more bustling. Ships from all directions arrived like swarms of ants moving house, bringing in astronomical amounts of supplies. Three new star stations were built within half a month. Soon after, large numbers of construction fleets began assembling a peculiar structure.

It was called peculiar because it didn’t fit into Blackhair’s understanding at all. The structure was enormous—about three to five times the size of a planet—oval in shape and slightly flattened. In general terms, it resembled a giant flying saucer suspended in space. Its material was the extremely precious Transparent Stone Essence, with a special steel framework inside, making it both strong and lightweight.

Undoubtedly, this flying saucer must be the so-called spectator area. Such a huge structure could probably accommodate the entire population of a medium-sized race. Spectators who came from all over could enjoy each contestant’s matches in a safe and comfortable environment.

Of course, as the ones being watched, the competition contestants wouldn’t have it easy. According to the rules, every contestant, no matter what event they were in, would be monitored at all times by at least one or two surveillance devices. Apart from some highly private matters, they were almost always under the spectators’ gaze during the competition, ensuring fairness and transparency while also safeguarding the contestants’ safety.

There was only one exception to all these rules: Blackhair, the fleet commander who had signed up.

It was undeniable that fleet command was the foundation of the Moor Empire, so it was always given top priority. Moreover, fleet command often involved a high degree of deception, with the entire process filled with scheming. Revealing a contestant’s intentions too early to the spectators wasn’t beneficial—it might even lead to cheating by the audience. Therefore, in this competition, contestants were not required to expose all their actions to the audience, to prevent their strategies from being revealed in advance. What ordinary spectators could see were only the actions permitted by the contestants. Except for actual battles, which were required to be broadcast, whether anything else was shown was up to the contestants.

Of course, granting such broadcast permissions also required skill. Revealing too little would only make the spectators increasingly bored, eventually leading to a large loss of audience. Revealing too much, however, would be disadvantageous to the contestant themselves. This had always been a challenge for competitors in this event.

But obviously, Blackhair was not included in this category.

As a complete beginner, he had no reputation whatsoever in this competitive field. The number of spectators didn’t matter at all. All he pursued was victory, so he was in a very relaxed state of mind.

Registration had already closed. There were still fifteen days of selection ahead. During this time, commanders from various sectors of the Empire would engage in virtual battles on the officially provided platform, fighting against each other until the most outstanding commander was chosen to participate in the official competition. This period of competition was when all spectators were happiest, as the contestants would interact extensively with the audience to gain more popularity. Almost any spectator could request to fight against their favorite contestant at any time outside of competition hours, and the contestants would rarely refuse—it was almost a rule.

Kurokami was assigned to Group 18. Since it was still the preliminary round, they didn’t receive dedicated battle fleets but instead a virtual mental terminal each, similar to a human mech’s mental operating system, only more advanced. Once connected, the user’s mind would directly link to the competition server, where a virtual large-scale Moor fleet waited quietly for their command.

The virtual terminal was provided by the Empire and used encryption technology equivalent to that of an Empire-class fleet, so there was no need to worry about it being hacked. In fact, if someone could crack the encryption of an Empire-class fleet, they would likely be recruited directly by the Empire without even needing to compete.

Quietly locking himself in a small room, Kurokami refused everyone else from entering. He calmly put on the virtual terminal system, which resembled glasses. After a slight dizziness, he found himself in a new space—a standard Moor giant ship command room. He appeared next to the captain’s seat. Before his arrival, dozens of people had already been working anxiously. Upon seeing Kurokami, they all stood up in unison and gave a standard Moor military salute.

“Group 18, Fleet 336. Welcome, Commander.”

“336? Is that my designation?” Kurokami waved his hand subtly, signaling the officers to return to their posts, before asking in a low voice.

A young Moorish officer immediately stood up again and replied respectfully, “Yes, Commander. 336 is your designation. Under this number are five standard battleships and one small reconnaissance ship. During the competition, you will be the supreme commander here.”
“Very good. What’s your name?” Black Hair asked lightly.
“I am your adjutant, designation 57. You may simply refer to me by my number.”
“Oh?” Black Hair was momentarily stunned. “You also have a number. Does that mean…”
“Yes, Commander. I am not part of the virtual system; I am a competitor as well. I participate in auxiliary events, so my official role is that of an adjutant. I will participate in all my events in this capacity, with my performance tied to yours. If you fail, I will face the same fate,” the Moorish officer replied with calm dignity, his thin frame straight as a telegraph pole.
“Auxiliary events…” Black Hair smiled faintly and was about to ask further when he suddenly realized the inadequacy of his disguise and quickly stopped. He changed his tone. “You participate in such events, yet your performance is tied to mine. Don’t you find that unfair? If you fail, I’m unaffected. If I fail, you’re dragged down as well. That seems rather absurd.”
“It isn’t absurd, Commander. That’s the purpose of an adjutant’s events. For an excellent adjutant, I believe he has the power to change the course of battle. If the commander he assists still fails, it can only be attributed to the adjutant’s shortcomings. In that case, I won’t feel regretful.”
“Nonsense,” Black Hair said, unable to accept the theory of this Adjutant 57. He didn’t want to argue further either. Turning around, he sat down on his captain’s seat and then spoke slowly, “Well, since you’ve become my adjutant, it’s up to you to decide how to proceed. I can’t change the arrangements for the events. But out of courtesy, I’d like to introduce myself again. Lord Baker, commander of the guard fleet under the Grand Duke of Tarot.”
“57. Adjutant of Fleet 336, Group 18,” the young Moorish officer replied crisply, yet still revealing no personal information. This surprised Black Hair, but he quickly assumed his role again. “Very good. Then, Adjutant 57, I need to know my mission for this time and information about my opponent.”
“Understood!” The young Moorish officer replied promptly. Then, with a gesture of his right hand, a small notebook magically appeared in his hand.

“Competitive tournament, fleet commander preliminary round. Task 336, eighteen groups.”
“On the second of this month, a group of Tobisk pirates invaded this barbarian star region and established a forward base in the stormy area of the region. The task requires Fleet 336 to go to that base, conduct reconnaissance, transmit the gathered information back to headquarters, and lie in ambush nearby. If necessary, hold off those pirates for five to seven days until the main fleet arrives. Performance will be evaluated based on task completion, duration of resistance, and loss ratio.”
“The intelligence isn’t accurate enough,” Blackhair said coldly after listening to Officer Moore’s report.
“If that’s all, I suspect this is a suicide mission. Reconnaissance is understandable, but demanding us to hold our ground without even knowing the enemy’s combat strength is simply absurd.”
“The Empire never plays around with war. Whether this is a competition or not,” the young Moorish officer replied coldly, snapping his notebook shut expressionlessly. His aloof demeanor made it seem as though Blackhair was meeting him for the first time. After studying him for a long time, Blackhair finally chuckled.
“Well, what suggestions do you have, my deputy?”
“The task coordinates have been entered into my central system. It will take at least five days to reach there from here. I suggest setting out immediately. The Tobisk are a typical barbarian civilization, and their warships generally possess extremely strong offensive capabilities. If combat is inevitable, I don’t want to be on the defensive side.”
“You mean launching a surprise attack?” Blackhair asked suddenly after listening to his deputy’s words calmly.
“Yes, sir. The Tobisk’s defensive capabilities are very low. If we launch a surprise attack, our chances of winning will be much higher,” the deputy replied, maintaining his stern expression and speaking slowly.
“But doing so might go against the mission objectives,” Blackhair said, pretending to ponder. “Don’t forget, our task is merely reconnaissance and holding out.”
“That’s what ordinary commanders think. But as I’ve said, an excellent deputy has the ability to determine the outcome of a battle. For this task, I’ve put forward what I consider the most suitable suggestion. Whether to adopt it is your responsibility, Commander 336,” the young Moorish officer replied promptly, giving a military salute.
“Have I ever told you that you’re an excellent deputy?” Blackhair asked suddenly, blinking.
“Not yet, Commander.”

“Very well. I’ll tell you. Fifty-seven. You are an excellent adjutant. At least better than most I’ve met.” The dark-haired man nodded solemnly. “I’ll follow your advice. Please arrange the fleet’s itinerary right away.”
“Understood, my lord!!” The young officer snapped to attention, gratitude and pride showing in his eyes for the first time.