Chapter 42: Emperor Moore, Section 8

“Puf!”
A soft thud. The statue gently landed on the emperor’s chest under everyone’s stunned gazes. It was like a stone thrown into water, creating ripples. Waves of soft halos suddenly appeared and then spread rapidly, turning the entire dining room into a dreamlike realm in an instant.
Everyone’s eyes widened further, their expressions blank as if they were idiots.
It was no wonder they were so stunned. The dining room was simply too magnificent at that moment.
The halos created by the statue initially resembled rings, but as soon as they left the emperor’s chest, they dispersed into countless tiny particles. Each particle resembled a star in the night sky, emitting an endless glow of mistiness. In an instant, there were tens of billions of such particles in the dining room—seemingly filling the entire space. Those inside felt as if they were in a dream, with everything appearing hazy.
With such a beautiful sight, it was no wonder everyone was mesmerized. Yet, with the deadly assassination still fresh in their minds, the sudden change in scene left them utterly bewildered.
But Blackhair, who was also there, felt his heart sink.
Unlike the others who saw only a beautiful dreamlike scene, he witnessed something entirely different.
Though the particles floating in the air were as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, they were not without patterns. To Blackhair, they seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand, actually moving slowly. If someone could trace their paths and connect them, they would be shocked to discover that it was an almost infinite vortex.
In front of this vortex, the air seemed to warp. People could no longer see the emperor’s face, only his still magnificent and radiant robes.
“When opposites meet, destruction follows.”
Blackhair remembered the emperor’s words from earlier. He hadn’t understood their true meaning back then. He thought that destruction from the meeting of opposites was nothing more than an explosion—powerful, but still something that could be dealt with. But what he saw now overturned all his previous assumptions.
This was no explosion—it was spatial compression!!

Those endless particles. That seemingly magical vortex was creating a strange force field. Within this force field, any material would be ravaged by the distorted space and drawn in, eventually being crushed into powder. Unluckily, the emperor of the empire, the one who needed to protect his people, was right at the center of the vortex!!
Damn it. In an instant, glistening beads of sweat appeared on his black-haired forehead. He was finally nervous.
If he had once had confidence in the emperor’s ability to protect himself, seeing that vortex made him lose all hope. The spatial compression was different from both black hole attraction and ordinary destructive methods—it was extremely difficult to overcome. Other than immediately moving away from the compressed area, Black Hair couldn’t think of any other solution.
It might sound complicated, but it actually happened in just an instant. From the assassin throwing the statue to the strange change in the emperor’s chest, it was only two or three seconds. By the time the glow appeared, Black Hair was already powerless to do anything. His spirit plummeted, and his right hand moved to his left wrist.
There, Black Hair also wore a small wristguard. Unlike the monkey’s, it could only be used for communication. But if he sent a signal now, the monkey in the other room would immediately bring out a mech and rush here to escape together. By then, Black Hair would no longer be able to hide his identity, and his mission to the empire would be a failure.
It was the last resort. Though Black Hair had great ambitions, he couldn’t afford to have no backup. Hundreds of millions of residents on Death Star still needed his help to survive. His death might not matter much, but the arrival of the Moor army would be a disaster. And aside from himself, Black Hair really couldn’t find any commander who could rival the Moor giants.
Yet, even with a sliver of hope, Black Hair wasn’t willing to give up. This mission to the Moor Empire had been full of difficulties, and he had invested a great deal of effort. It would be a shame to give up now.
With that thought, Black Hair hesitated no longer. Taking advantage of the chaos among the others, he shifted his feet slightly and vanished from his original spot. When he reappeared, he was right behind the assassin disguised as a gunnery champion. Reaching out with his right hand, he grabbed the assassin’s neck.
What a skilled assassin. Truly worthy of being carefully selected by Duke Ziyan. As soon as Black Hair moved, the assassin reacted instantly. With a flip of his left hand, he picked up the gun he had just fired and shot at Black Hair.

But this time, Black Hair would not give him another chance. Earlier, he had let the opponent succeed only to avoid revealing his full strength. Now, surrounded by an impenetrable aura, what need did the emperor have to worry? On one side of his miraculous body, he somehow managed to dodge the opponent’s bullet. Not only did his speed remain unchanged, but his right hand also grabbed the opponent’s neck. With a slight force, a faint crackling sound was heard.

“Crack.”

The assassin’s pupils widened dramatically, filled with disbelief. Then they quickly dimmed as his head tilted and his body slumped limp. His neck, twisted beyond recognition by Black Hair’s grip, was no longer in its original shape. Before he could fall to the ground, Black Hair had already left behind him.

The next target: the gladiator.

Moving at high speed, Black Hair was like a fierce wind sweeping through the room, making it impossible for anyone to see his figure clearly. Everyone only felt a powerful whirlwind pass by before Black Hair appeared beside the muscular gladiator. Without a word, his right hand reached for the opponent’s neck just as before.

Black Hair harbored deep hatred for this man who hid his true abilities so well. If not for him, he would have had plenty of time to intercept that statue in mid-air. But he had been deceived by this man’s pretenses, wasting a great opportunity and allowing the situation to slip out of control once again. Acting now, he naturally showed no mercy. His movements were even faster than before. His right hand was like iron tongs—once it touched someone, there was likely only one outcome.

Yet he never expected that this gladiator was fundamentally different from that cannon champion. His strength lay not in shooting but in fierce close combat. In fact, as soon as they clashed, Black Hair realized he was even better than Siget!! His own swift movements were effortlessly dodged by a neat little spin from the gladiator, who then swung a fist the size of a pot at his temple with great force!!

How was this possible? Weren’t Siget and the First Warrior under the Prince of Purple Rock renowned for their prowess?

Black Hair was shocked, but his actions remained swift. As the gladiator’s deadly counterattack neared at an increasing speed, he shifted his feet slightly and managed to execute a brilliant small step while still moving at high velocity. He reappeared behind the gladiator, with the distance between them remaining exactly the same as before—no difference at all!! At the same time, Black Hair raised his right foot and snapped at the back of the gladiator’s knee!!

“Thud!” With a muffled sound, the wrestler’s mountain-like body suddenly shrunk, one of his legs forcing him to kneel. A dull thud echoed as his knee touched the ground, and visibly, cracks appeared on the floor.
What incredible strength!!
The wrestler was horrified; his once-proud expression turned pale instantly. Severe pain in his right knee made his face twist in agony.
To be honest, he wasn’t completely ignorant of Black Hair. As a member of the Purple Rock Duke’s secretly hidden assassination squad, his actual combat skills had long surpassed those of the publicly known Xiget. He had also conducted thorough research on Lord Beck, who had once defeated Xiget, and concluded that their fighting abilities were roughly equal. That’s why he had been able to easily dodge Black Hair’s first attack and launch a timely counter.
But he never expected that the so-called lucky Lord Beck was even more formidable than what he had studied!!
Changing direction mid-high-speed movement wasn’t particularly rare. But being able to so keenly identify the opponent’s weaknesses after launching an attack and maintain a delicate balance between the two was quite extraordinary. Black Hair’s kick completely shattered the wrestler’s arrogance, making him realize the gap between himself and the opponent.
It was a completely different level of combat skill!!
In an instant, the wrestler’s face turned pale, with large drops of sweat sliding down his forehead. Yet he dared not wipe them away even slightly. In a duel between skilled fighters, victory or defeat often hinges in an instant—just a single thought can mean life or death. He couldn’t afford any mistakes. Since the fate of the Emperor was still uncertain, the wrestler refused to give up.
With this thought, the burly man suddenly let out a fierce roar. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his pale face turned blood-red in an instant. A powerful aura burst forth from him. Behind him, Black Hair, who had just tried to end his life, suddenly felt a tremendous force hit him and was flung away involuntarily!
In mid-air, searing pain swept through his body. Black Hair frowned tightly, gritted his teeth, and looked back at the wrestler—only to witness a truly astonishing sight.
The originally three-meter-tall giant now seemed twice as tall, his muscles bulging as if he were a giant. Beneath his blood-red skin, countless muscles writhed together, and in just a short moment, he had transformed into a terrifying monster!!
“Die!”

The monster roared. It stopped in its tracks and, with unimaginable force, charged at the black-haired figure still in the air. Along the way, the floor was torn away by the terrifying wind, leaving the entire hall in chaos…