Chapter 41: Imperial Stars – Section 2

Kuroda took action.
Under the watchful eyes of countless spectators, he finally moved—fast as lightning.
In just three hours, under the name of contestant 336, he contacted the remaining three contestants and quickly reached an agreement. After a brief meeting, the four commanders split up again. The three contestants immediately set off from various corners of the star region, racing toward each other. Five hours later, at the heart of the Barbarian Star Region, a fleet composed of three contestants and twelve warships took shape.

Of those twelve warships, only five were imperial giants; the rest were outdated ordinary ships. Such military strength was clearly inferior to that of the other four contestants who were enemies of Kuroda—after all, they had seven imperial giants of their own.

Yet, whether it was because Kuroda had showcased the fame of contestant 336 or because they realized they were at a point of no return, there were no difficulties in his interactions with the other three contestants. All three agreed to his proposal of a temporary alliance and quickly united.

It must be said that after the brutal competitions, these remaining commanders were all battle-hardened elites. Despite being exhausted, they could still assemble so swiftly—their fighting spirit even surprised Kuroda.

Thus, the situation became clear: the three remaining contestants united, wielding twelve ships to position themselves at the center of the Barbarian Star Region. For the other four contestants to win, they had no choice but to launch a direct attack. With the final round now underway, only one battle remained.

In this battle, the winner would be the champion; the loser, a thief!

So where was Kuroda? As the proposer of the temporary alliance, where was he? And at what cost had he convinced the other three contestants to follow his lead?

Kuroda was listening to music.
Wearing headphones and with his eyes closed, he sat on an invisible warship in the silent starry sky, swaying his head to the music. Beside him, adjutant 57 continued to work expressionlessly, collecting and analyzing complex star maps. On the main screen of the flagship, a fragmented image was gradually being restored.

After some time, adjutant 57 finally stopped what he was doing and gave a soft call.

“It’s almost ready, Commander. The meteorite icon for the meat grinder is complete. Based on this icon, we should be able to find a few short routes inside. If used properly, our survival time could reach about five hours.”
“That’s enough.” He opened his eyes. The dark-haired man reached out and removed the headphones from his head, then shook his head as if the aftereffects still lingered, before smiling happily.
“Five hours is enough for the battle to come to an end.”
“Yes, Commander, there’s no doubt about that,” replied the young Moor officer calmly.
“Then, have our allies already learned of our plans?”
“Yes, they’re quite satisfied with this plan. They originally intended to make a final strike but gave up the idea after hearing we needed to enter the meteorite belt. Perhaps they think the danger of entering the meteorite belt is greater than fighting head-on. After all, they don’t have as many reconnaissance planes as we do and can’t figure out the patterns of the meteorite belt’s movement.”
“That’s only natural. No one wants to put themselves in danger; they prefer others to take the risks. It’s human nature. I just feel sorry for those Mosquito reconnaissance planes. Half of them have been used just for such a simple star chart. With my limited resources, I’ll run out sooner or later.” The dark-haired man sighed deeply, shaking his head in regret.
“If no decision has been made by then, even if none of our Mosquito planes are lost, it won’t help at all.” The young adjutant wasn’t moved by the dark-haired man’s sighs; instead, he remained indifferent.
“There’s just one thing I don’t understand.”
“Oh?” The dark-haired man was surprised. “Go ahead.”
“In your plan, achieving the goal requires a huge cost. I did some calculations just now—even if we win, we’ll hardly have any strength left to fight further. In that case, aren’t we just paving the way for those temporary allies? They’ll easily reap the final victory.” Adjutant 57 still had no expression on his face, but his words seemed to carry a hint of dissatisfaction.
The dark-haired man had only revealed his plan to him just now, and he had even made a quick calculation in his busy schedule. But the final result really didn’t reassure him. No matter how he calculated it, the outcome was the same: the dark-haired man and his forces would suffer heavy losses, and if things went wrong, they might even be completely wiped out.
After putting in so much effort and hiding for so long, to fail at the last moment—it would be a lie to say he wasn’t upset. That’s why the young Moor officer felt some resentment in his heart.

He didn’t want to, nor was he willing to use his own hard work to make wedding dresses for other contestants. He believed that Kurokami must be clear about this idea. So he hoped Kurokami could give him an answer here. Even if it was a hypocritical excuse for the greater good, he was willing to believe in this person who kept creating miracles. Unfortunately, however, Kurokami showed no intention of revealing anything. Not only that, but he wasn’t even bothered to explain—only letting out a long sigh. “If even you think so, those temporary allies certainly won’t be an exception. I’m finally relieved. Well, enough talk—the plan is in your hands; execute it immediately.” “Understood, Commander.” The young adjutant snapped to attention and resumed his duties. As an excellent adjutant, he would never ask anything the commander didn’t want to say—that was good professional ethics and his duty. So now, Adjutant 57 could only wait, waiting for the final moment to arrive. For some reason, a voice in his heart kept reminding him that Contestant 336, who kept creating miracles, would never let himself suffer a loss. Meanwhile, in the heart of the Barbaric Star Region, the figures of the other four contestants finally appeared. It was an extremely strange starry sky. Among countless shining stars, a huge meteor belt that covered everything was clearly visible, moving slowly. Countless meteors of various sizes rotated and collided within it, turning into cosmic dust with the slightest carelessness. Every moment here witnessed a cycle of birth and death—new meteors were born and destroyed in fierce collisions. The meteor belt was so vast that it was impossible to bypass in a short time. Even warship teleportation couldn’t get through it. That’s why no one had ever tried to approach this place—it simply wasn’t a suitable battlefield. But if you really got close to the edge of the meteor belt, you would witness a wonderful sight. The edge of the meteor belt was circular. That seemed like nonsense. But if you saw that the edge of this circle was so clearly defined, it was no longer nonsense.

In the vast universe, the edge of this meteor belt appeared eerily sharp, as if cut by a knife. Beyond this edge, not even the closest meteorites could be seen passing by. Nature’s craftsmanship was truly miraculous. This invisible boundary was like a clearly defined wall, completely separating the chaotic meteorites from the tranquil starry sky. As long as one did not cross this boundary, even if their warship was right next to the meteor belt, it would not suffer any damage at all!

At this very moment, right beside this enormous boundary, across the vast starfield, a fleet of twenty warships was speeding through. If anyone were watching, they would notice that these warships were all heavily damaged. Whether they were the empire’s most powerful warships, ordinary combat vessels, or fragile supply ships, their hulls were covered with dents of various sizes. The armor on many warships was cracked in places, and flames could even be seen bursting from within.

These were the four contestants who had held on until the end.

As members of the temporary alliance that had besieged contestant No. 336, they were the strongest among them, having survived the brutal series of battles. By now, they were on the verge of exhaustion. Not only were their warships severely damaged, but their commanders were also utterly drained, capable of collapsing at any moment if necessary.

Yet they were extremely excited. Because just two hours earlier, they had received a message from the organizers. The message informed them that the remaining contestants were gathering right beside that so-called “meat grinder” meteor belt.

They were tired, extremely tired. But it no longer mattered. From the moment they received the message, everyone knew that the final moment had arrived. The fact that their opponents were gathering undoubtedly signaled to them that they too could hold on no longer. Instead of continuing a protracted struggle, it was better to engage in a decisive battle. Right beside that chaotic meteor belt lay the battlefield they had chosen.

Good. Very strong.

Apart from when they besieged contestant No. 336, the four contestants had never been this excited. Despite their exhaustion, none of them showed any sign of retreating. So, they gathered all their strength and rushed frantically toward this battlefield.

The balance of power was already clear. Those gathered contestants, although they had formed a temporary alliance with them, were clearly too late. Too many separate battles had already drained their strength significantly. Even if they still had a few warships left, they were likely not enough to withstand a single strike from the four-person alliance.

The Four-Person Alliance was utterly confident in this regard. For even after such brutal losses, they still retained their ultimate trump card: a fully equipped, undamaged new imperial battleship. At this critical moment, its presence alone was enough to determine the outcome!!
Time was passing by rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the Four-Person Alliance had arrived at the location specified in the announcement. With just one glance, they saw their opponents and assessed their combat strength.
Only twelve battleships? Indeed, victory belongs to us!
The commanders of the Four-Person Alliance all smirked viciously and issued the attack order.
The battle erupted in an instant……