Chapter 40: The So-called Unlimited Rules, Section 5

The pitch-black universe remained silent. The competing fleets continued their journey. Yet, the hearts of all the spectators could not find peace.

Through the portholes, the massive, shattered hull of the Mother Nest was clearly visible. Its countless holes and the flames still bursting from them served as proof of the brutality of the recent battle. Debris of all sizes floated around in the silent universe, waiting for the event staff to collect them.

The battle losses had already been counted. Contestant No. 336 lost a full 40 points in the attacks by the seven competitors, nearly being crippled. In contrast, the opposing team suffered only minor damage to one of their giant ships—losses that were practically negligible.

It was cruel. Utterly cruel.

Just as they entered the combat zone, right before the eyes of countless spectators, one contestant was besieged and brought to the brink of collapse. The flames from the destruction of the massive Mother Nest and the heroic sacrifice of dozens of assault ships deeply shocked every spectator’s heart. They had never experienced war from such close range. Now, it seemed far less glorious than they had imagined.

As subjects of the greatest empire, they were accustomed to its invincibility and the bravery of its warriors. But who had ever thought that beneath that aura of endless glory lay such tragic scenes?

War meant death; war demanded a price. Whether victors or losers, this rule always applied. The empire’s subjects had thought their empire’s strength had long broken this rule. But after what they had just witnessed, they realized the rule was right before them.

Only this time, the price paid was all too real—and right before everyone’s eyes. For a moment, all the noise vanished without a trace. In the silent channel, even the sound of a needle falling could be heard.

After a long while, someone shouted, “Great!!”
“Great!!”
More spectators joined in, wildly waving their items and throwing them into the air. Twisted faces, bloodthirsty eyes. Perhaps, in that moment, they had realized the cruelty of war. But could the Moor tribe’s innate bloodthirst be changed by such tragic scenes? In a way, their personalities must have been distorted by countless battles.

Although the recent ground battle was cruel and real, everyone’s attention had already shifted away from it. The audience chattered excitedly, eager for the other battles to begin. No one wanted to pay any more attention to contestant Number 336, who had once been everyone’s hope. After all, that battle had taken place right before their eyes—too real to be imagined. A contestant whose strength had been halved before even officially entering the competition—his fate was almost predictable. What was there left to focus on?

But was that really the case?

No one knew. Still, many people refused to give up on the lucky name associated with the black-haired man in the Moor Empire. Among them were naturally the Grand Duke Taro and his daughter.

At that moment, on the highest stand of that flying saucer space station, the old man narrowed his eyes, watching the chaotic battlefield below. From his vantage point, he could see the entire battlefield clearly. He had witnessed everything that had happened just now. When he saw the damaged remains of the mothership being dragged away by the event staff, he finally let out a sigh.

“It seems Beck won’t fail so soon.”

“Mm. You’re right,” said Miss Veli beside him, her face tense with seriousness. “But at such a great cost… Beck is truly ruthless. That mothership, worth 20 points—probably already prepared to be sacrificed when he allocated it?”

“That’s correct,” nodded the Grand Duke Taro. “I’ve seen his list too. To be honest, it’s probably his only choice. When it comes to withstanding damage, even the empire’s strongest warships can’t compare to motherships. Though their armor is thin, they have the largest volume. From being attacked to finally collapsing, there’s enough time for Beck to take advantage of.”

“Then why does he still need to sacrifice 40 assault ships? Those ships may be cheap, but they still represent a significant force. It’s a shame to discard them so early,” Miss Veli said disdainfully, curling her lips.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t give up such an important force.”

“That’s why you’re not as good as Beck,” sighed the Grand Duke Taro. “It’s not easy for people to truly know when to give up and when to hold on. If he hadn’t sacrificed those 40 assault ships, how could he have created an opening in the enemy’s encirclement? How could he have made it impossible for others to detect where he disappeared? Just 40 assault ships can buy enough time and the chance to switch from light to dark. It’s definitely worth it. If it were me, I probably wouldn’t have a better option either.”

Faced with the Grand Duke of Tarot’s earnest teachings, Miss Veri was momentarily stunned before lowering her head in deep thought. It turned out the Grand Duke of Tarot was right. The black-haired man indeed disappeared without a trace from everyone’s sight, just as he had said. Over the next five days, despite the hundred-member team that had initially harbored hostility toward him searching tirelessly, they were unable to find him at all. Contestant No. 336 vanished like a cloud that never existed, disappearing into the vast expanse of the Wild Star Region.

In contrast to his low-key demeanor, the other contestants began fierce battles in this complex star region. As the dedicated venue for the Imperial Competition, the Wild Star Region was naturally enormous. Moreover, due to its complex environment, many planets still retained primitive ecosystems and some lower-level intelligent civilizations. Thus, the battles among the contestants immediately brought catastrophic destruction to these lower civilizations. In just five days, in a mere corner of the Wild Star Region, three civilizations were devastated by the fighting. Trillions of lives were erased from the universe by the Moors.

Of course, no one cared about the fate of these lives. After all, the Moors were a warlike race that revered the cosmic truth of survival of the fittest. They never showed any sympathy for races weaker than themselves, let alone those lower-level intelligent beings who didn’t even have the ability to leave their planets. All they cared about were the extremely intense battles of these days. It was absolutely thrilling. Before the competition, the audience thought it would follow the usual pattern—a long period of inactivity before the battles began. But that wasn’t the case at all.

Perhaps it was a chain reaction triggered by the seven contestants’ successful siege of the black-haired man. This final round lacked the usual calmness. All contestants were emboldened by that successful siege and started fighting from the very beginning. Every day, every second, the Wild Star Region was filled with intense battles. Countless ships, large and small, shuttled through the region like bloodthirsty beasts, devouring their prey at will.

Surprises, ambushes, long-range maneuvers, and coordinated attacks on small scales—within just five days, the contestants showcased their skills, coming up with endless tactics that thrilled all the audience. And because of the Wild Star Region’s extremely complex environment, even more tactics continued to emerge. Some contestants even used the gravity of planets as weapons. They found several planets with extremely strong gravitational fields in close proximity and used them as bases to wipe out enemies who accidentally got caught in their path.

Obviously, this tactic was identical to the one Black Hair had used earlier by taking advantage of cosmic storms. Seeing this, everyone naturally thought of contestant No. 336, who was the first to use such a tactic. Yet, it seemed this contestant had firmly decided not to show up. With the battle having escalated to such an extent, affecting half of the star domain, he remained completely absent. The remaining four stealth warships and thousands of reconnaissance planes simply vanished without a trace, as if they had turned into air.

It was only then that everyone understood the true intention behind contestant No. 336’s ration list back then. It turned out he had long prepared to stay hidden in the background. Although those four stealth warships weren’t very combat-effective, they were experts at disappearing completely. The remaining 3,000 Mosquito-class reconnaissance planes and Eagle-Dove reconnaissance ships, known for their small size, were also completely gathered up and taken away by him.

However, no matter how advanced stealth techniques may be, they will eventually be exposed. Moreover, as the owners of stealth warships, how could the Moors not have means to counter such ships?

In fact, among the ration lists provided by the conference, there were indeed many ships with anti-stealth capabilities. Among them, Black Hair’s Eagle-Dove was by far the best. Additionally, reconnaissance ships with a reconnaissance level of five or higher also possessed this ability to some extent.

A reconnaissance level of five wasn’t a high requirement. So, after failing in their first search, those commanders hostile to Black Hair quickly turned their attention in this direction. As many as 600 reconnaissance ships were sent out by these united contestants, forming an invisible net that covered half of the starry sky.

In front of this net, any attempt at stealth was futile. Black Hair’s enemies believed they would soon catch that cunning contestant No. 336. Eager for action, they even imagined playing around with that contestant like a cat playing with a mouse.

Their plan sounded good, but reality was often hard to believe. After searching the entire Barbarian Star Domain, they were shocked to find that they couldn’t locate Black Hair anywhere. In such a vast star domain, had contestant No. 336 really disappeared?

Confusion quickly turned into fury. Eventually, the enraged enemies could no longer bear the anger of being deceived by Black Hair. They jointly submitted a petition, demanding that the conference impose the harshest punishment on this contestant who had left the competition star domain without permission. Their strong demand immediately caught the attention of all the spectators.