Chapter 41: Imperial Stars – Section 1

The battle progressed very slowly, yet with exceptional tension. As the final moments approached, the spectators grew increasingly anxious. A month had passed, and the finals of the competition were nearing their end. Fewer than twenty contestants remained, with the ultimate victor potentially emerging at any moment.

Every minute and second saw the spectators outside the arena living in anxiety. They were well aware that the next minute could see the outbreak of a battle that would determine the empire’s future stars. It could also be the moment when many who had struggled to the end were tragically eliminated. But the finals were reality—there would be not a single tear shed for the losers. All they wanted was the glory of that final moment.

In this regard, Kurokami shared the same thoughts as the spectators.
He had already paid a huge price for this final moment.
One-third of the fleet assigned to him at the beginning had already been lost. Relying on recent hunts, he had barely managed to assemble a basic attacking force. A giant ship that was not fully manned was his last resource.

By now, the role of stealth ships had become increasingly insignificant. To determine the ultimate victor, Kurokami would eventually have to engage in a head-on confrontation with his enemy. In such a direct battle, even the best stealth ships would not play a decisive role—unless Kurokami intended to hide forever.

But would Kurokami, like a cowardly turtle, be content to stay hidden forever?
The answer was simply too obvious: That was absolutely impossible!

As a human from Earth, every drop of Kurokami’s blood carried the spirit of aggression. No matter how difficult the circumstances, he would never give up the desire to attack. In fact, if he hadn’t been under siege from the start of these finals, he wouldn’t have chosen stealth ships—ships with extremely low combat effectiveness but high costs!

So now, he had begun to consider his final strategy for this battle…
The killing move.

At present, aside from four stealth ships, he still had one imperial giant ship with 70% of its attacking capacity left. This was his greatest military strength. But when it came to investment, Kurokami considered it insignificant.

His true assets were the three thousand Mosquito-style reconnaissance planes and Eagle-Dove ships. Those were his real strength.

Different from people of this era, Kurokami places great emphasis on reconnaissance. His focus on this aspect has already surpassed that of any commander. Perhaps the mighty military force of the Moor Empire is the foundation of their nation. Yet in Kurokami’s eyes, the value of a single giant ship is far less than that of these three thousand small but highly agile Mosquito-type reconnaissance planes.

With these reconnaissance planes, coupled with Eagle Crow’s exceptional secondary command abilities, Kurokami essentially has countless eyes at his disposal. Every move of his enemies is within his sight, while the enemies know nothing about his actions. This advantage is incredibly significant for him.

For example, he can easily intercept enemies along their routes and form a perfect formation, waiting for them to fall into his trap. Or he can retreat when enemies are at their strongest, staying out of reach so that they can’t even detect his presence.

In short, through these three thousand Mosquito-type reconnaissance planes, Kurokami is in an invincible position. Unless he chooses to engage the enemies head-on, no one can do anything to him. In such a vast wilderness galaxy, it’s easy to hide a fleet, and those bulky Moor giant ships can hardly search every asteroid belt or storm zone.

So he knows exactly how many enemies he still has to face and what their configurations are.

Unlike other contestants who can only blindly search for enemies based on vague information provided by the tournament, Kurokami has already used the three thousand Mosquito-type reconnaissance planes and Eagle Crow to screen out all the remaining contestants. His understanding of them is likely even greater than theirs own.

There are still seven competitors left.

In the cabin, Kurokami gently set down the glass in his hand and rubbed his slightly stiff face.

He must admit he was quite tired. After seven days of intense hunting, he had only slept for five hours. His highly activated cerebral cortex gave him tremendous energy, but it was also draining his spirit. At this moment, he was truly exhausted.

However, the final tasks were almost complete. Through a series of searches, Kurokami had just obtained detailed lists of the military strength of the last seven competitors, along with information about their factions and locations. Gathering this intelligence took a lot of time. Even with Eagle Crow’s help, it was still laborious. So when he got the reports, he really wanted to take a good sleep.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t. In the cabin right now, there were still several pairs of eyes watching him expectantly, waiting for him to unveil his final plan. At this critical moment that would determine victory or defeat, Kurokami had no reason to relax.

He didn’t know if the other contestants were as exhausted as he was. But he didn’t have much time to think about it. He raised his head and glanced at the dark starry sky outside the window, revealing a faint bitter smile.
Hope. Would this effort yield enough reward?
“Are they all here?” He held up the report in his hand, his dark-haired voice somewhat hoarse.
“Yes, Commander. They’re all here,” replied Adjutant 57, still standing at attention. He too had been extremely tired these past days, having lost weight and looking more like a skeleton. Yet his spirit was highly charged, his small eyes fixed intently on the dark-haired man, flashing sharp glances from time to time. The Moorish people’s warlike nature was fully reflected in him. So the hardships of these days were more of a catalyst for him rather than a burden. Perhaps after this competition, he would grow into a truly excellent adjutant, one that all generals would desire.
But none of this had anything to do with the dark-haired man. At that moment, he simply stared quietly at the report in his hand, remaining silent for a long time. It wasn’t until his adjutant thought he might be falling asleep that he slightly raised his head and glanced at the young adjutant.
“Seven contestants, four of whom are the officers who once besieged me. What do you think—is this a coincidence? Perhaps in the vast universe, there truly is some invisible force guiding fate, giving me this chance for revenge?”
“It has nothing to do with fate,” the adjutant replied calmly. “According to intelligence, the remaining contestants are all elites. They’ve shown command skills befitting their status in this final round. The fact that you can see those four means they’re very strong. Moreover, perhaps because of you, they’ve remained united as a small group so far. To be blunt, if we don’t join the other side right away, it’s only a matter of time before they win.”
“Is that that important?” the dark-haired man asked softly, with a faint smile.
“Of course. If they defeat the other three contestants, it means you—no, we—will have to face that group alone. And against a team with four excellent commanders, no one, not even you, can claim victory lightly,” the adjutant said expressionlessly, as if stating a fact.
But the dark-haired man was already used to his expressionless demeanor, so he paid no mind to it. Instead, he turned his head and glanced at the chubby boy beside him.
“Hmm, do you think the same, kid?”

“I’m a prisoner; according to the rules of the conference, I’ve already been defeated. So I can’t give any opinions!” the chubby boy replied loudly, puffing out his round chest with a proud expression.
Kurokami was speechless.
A prisoner? It seems like you don’t even have the awareness of being a prisoner, do you?
Rubbing his brows, Kurokami shook his head in amusement and finally gave up on further questioning. But unexpectedly, the chubby boy spoke up again.
“Well, I’m a prisoner. I can’t express my opinions. Sister, let’s go. We’re not needed here. As for agreeing with that Uncle Moore’s idea, I just won’t tell him.”
“Yes, we definitely won’t tell him. I also won’t tell him that I’ve already calculated that the small team can still retain two-thirds of their combat strength after the battle. Brother, let’s go,” the chubby girl Qixi echoed loudly, hopping along as she followed the chubby boy away.
Behind them, Kurokami stood stunned.
Was this… some kind of alien version of covering one’s ears while stealing?
These siblings were truly… fascinating.
Coughing awkwardly, Kurokami glanced at the Moorish officer beside him and saw that even his skeletal-looking face showed shock, clearly still not recovering from the siblings’ behavior. Hearing Kurokami’s cough, he jolted and quickly stood at attention.
“Commander, please issue your orders.”
Waving his hand, Kurokami signaled the young officer not to be so nervous. However, the smile on his face gradually faded. He snapped his fingers, and the lights in the cabin dimmed, revealing new images on the large screen in front of them.
It was an extremely complex meteor vortex. Before them, countless meteors of various sizes collided with each other, going through a cycle of creation and destruction every moment.
The adjutant recognized this place—it was the most terrifying area in the Barbarian Star Region, known as the largest meteor belt, the Meat Grinder, located right at the center of the region. Before the war began, he had conducted detailed investigations there and found that even the empire’s most heavily defended warships couldn’t survive in that vortex for more than fifteen minutes.
So, why did the commander suddenly show them this scene?
The adjutant was shocked, a thrilling sensation surging up from deep within him, causing his face to turn red.
Near his ear, Kurokami’s voice was soft and gentle.

“I think we indeed need a few temporary allies, but it should be we who choose the battlefield. Right? My dear adjutant… Now, let’s arrange the most splendid stage for those elites of yours.”
“I hope they have a good time in the game…”