Chapter 42: Emperor Moore, Section 10

In the vast starry sky, thousands of giant warships were converging from all directions. Their deadly artillery fire was like a storm. Just the first salvo shattered the Flying Saucer Space Station beneath the warships into pieces. The spectators inside the station fled in panic, and the chaos of ships of all sizes moving about resembled the end of the world.
No one knew where these warships came from, nor why they were attacking their own people. But everyone understood this was no joke, nor a dream. In that single salvo, hundreds of civilian ships had been blown to pieces. Their broken hulls, falling like meteorites, burned as they descended.
The entire barbaric star region was now in complete chaos. There were already many participants in the competition, and countless ships filled the sky. As panic set in, the situation deteriorated dramatically. Ships crashed into each other frantically, like headless flies. Many collided mid-flight due to shared flight paths, exploding in the air.
Yet the black-haired man in the garden seemed utterly unfazed by the tension.
The imperial emperor’s vessel was undoubtedly the most advanced. And though the garden appeared elegant, it was clearly designed and reinforced with high technology. The explosions of distant ships appeared muted in his eyes, lacking their blinding intensity. He couldn’t even hear the sounds, making it feel like watching a silent movie.
The floor beneath his feet was stable, but he knew the situation outside must be terrible. The explosions of hundreds of ships alone would generate shockwaves capable of turning the surrounding space into chaos. The swirling energy currents could even trigger a small storm, crushing anything within its range.
But compared to this potential storm, the black-haired man was more concerned about the imperial warships racing toward him. As time passed, he could even make out the patterns on their armor.
Yet he wasn’t in a hurry. The transparent dome above the garden was clearly specially designed—it even served as a viewing screen. So although he could see those warships visually, the actual distance remained enormous. To attack the emperor’s vessel, they would need to break through at least two more lines of defense.

Black Hair had already seen these two lines of defense. They were all composed of the latest models of imperial warships, numbering around three hundred in total. They were safeguards prepared by the Imperial Emperor from the very beginning of the competition. Yet no one had expected that what was initially meant as a precaution would now become a lifeline in everyone’s eyes.
If these two lines of defense were breached, the consequences would be…
Black Hair glanced at the Imperial Emperor beside him and saw him gazing intently at the distant stars with great interest. His handsome face showed no trace of anxiety, instead bearing a faint smile. Dressed in his magnificent robes, he appeared as elegant and noble as if he belonged to another world.
Had he really not suffered the slightest injury just now? Black Hair retracted his gaze and thought to himself. Was the so-called “clash of extremes leading to destruction” just a joke? Or did this emperor already possess a way to deal with such situations?
Black Hair didn’t know how the emperor had done it. But suddenly, he remembered the moment the gladiator rushed at him—a smooth, round palm that effortlessly pierced his chest. This seemingly elegant emperor was actually a true master. At that moment, Black Hair could hardly believe his own eyes.
Deception. He was deceiving. Then surely the Imperial Emperor was doing the same?
Suddenly, an epiphany struck Black Hair, making him relax. His brows gradually smoothed, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
Interesting. Since everyone was deceiving, then it would be a matter of seeing who could hide their true nature better. Facing such an opponent was surely an honor for him.
As his mind settled, Black Hair’s mood improved. He followed the emperor to the pavilion and sat down leisurely. He then picked up the wine glasses on the stone table, filled them for himself and the emperor, and raised them gently.
“To Your Majesty’s safety. Cheers.”
“Hehe.” Seeing Black Hair’s calm composure, the Imperial Emperor laughed, his eyes showing admiration. “An interesting little guy. Well, for the entertainment to come, let’s drink.”
“Clink.” The two glasses touched together.
Above them, countless warships were engaged in fierce battles, their energy cannons lighting up half of the starry sky…
Indeed, Duke Ziyan was truly cunning. He must have spent a long time preparing for this rebellion, as could be seen from the precision of his actions.

First, there was a killer exposed in the open, then another gladiator hiding in the shadows. Add to that the statue in Black Hair’s arms—everything was intricately linked. One wave hadn’t subsided when another arose. By the time Black Hair finally managed to break free, before he could even catch his breath, he launched a massive assault.

By this point, the assassination attempt on Duke Ziyan could almost be considered a failure. After all, fleet battles were different from close-quarters assassinations. If the Imperial Emperor was prepared in advance, it would be very difficult to kill him. Moreover, the better a ship was, the more advanced its personnel protection systems were. Thus, the Imperial Emperor was now almost invincible.

Even if his ship were completely destroyed in the ensuing battle, Black Hair was sure this elusive man would escape unscathed. All that would await Duke Ziyan afterward was hopeless destruction.

Of course, Black Hair also had a vague sense that Duke Ziyan wasn’t that simple. Perhaps he had prepared adequate contingency plans alongside this fleet battle. With nearly a thousand years of experience, he might have already sown countless seeds within the empire. Once unleashed, they would instantly grow into a forest, plunging the entire empire into unprecedented chaos.

The better the chaos, the better.

Black Hair sneered inwardly. Unexpectedly, before he even had to create it, chaos in the Moor Empire had arrived on its own. Was this the choice of invisible fate?

Just then, a voice suddenly shattered the tranquility of the garden. It was a hoarse voice, its origin unknown. Even as Black Hair concentrated, he couldn’t locate its source.

“Your Majesty, the rebels have broken through the first line of defense and are attacking the second. Duke Sichen asks me to convey that he can hold out for at most half an hour. The rebels’ firepower is too strong; more than half of hisescorts ships have been lost.”

“Oh, I see. Tell Sichen not to strain himself. Half an hour is more than enough to do many things,” the Imperial Emperor replied indifferently, lazily looking up at the sky. Then he turned to Black Hair and winked.

“Young man, if you’re bored, why not come watch a play with me? You know, sometimes life is like a drama. It’s better to watch others perform than to perform oneself.”

“As you wish, my Majesty,” Black Hair replied with a smile. Then he followed the emperor to his feet and strolled through the garden. Soon, they reached the edge of the garden, where a transparent barrier separated them from the starry sky outside. Looking into the distance, the intense fleet battles seemed to be right beside them.

The battles outside were indeed fierce. In just a short while, Kuroha saw that one-tenth of the invading ships had already been destroyed. Yet for the defenders, the Grand Duke of Death Dust suffered even more staggering losses. The first line of defense had been completely shattered. Across the vast starfield spanning tens of thousands of kilometers, there were remnants of destroyed warships everywhere. Fiery flames burned on their hulls, resembling burning planets.

At this moment, the invaders had reached the second line of defense. From Kuroha’s perspective, he could even see them charging into the defense lines. Realizing the urgency, the invaders this time had no intention of advancing slowly. Instead, they launched a full-scale assault, using the extremely sturdy hulls of their Moor giant ships to break through the defenses, followed by destruction from the artillery fire of their rear fleet.

Undoubtedly, this was a highly effective tactic. Although they suffered heavy losses, with high odds of being destroyed themselves, their progress accelerated significantly. Just five minutes after Kuroha observed the battle, they had advanced thousands of kilometers, cutting through half of the defense line.

However, the Grand Duke of Death Dust’s fleet was by no means weak. These defense lines, composed entirely of the latest imperial giant ships, didn’t possess strong offensive firepower. On the contrary, their defense was astonishing. The armor of each warship was more than twice as strong as that of current giant ships. Ordinary energy artillery simply couldn’t harm them; only under concentrated fire might they suffer casualties.

Seeing this scene, Kuroha suddenly remembered that mysterious voice earlier. These must be the frigates he mentioned. Truly remarkable.

Bursting flames and violent explosions created a picture akin to hell. At that moment, Kuroha suddenly felt as if he were a god standing high above, watching the fighting below with an indifferent gaze—neither pity nor sympathy in his eyes. No matter how intense the battle, it had nothing to do with him. This strange feeling almost made him vomit blood.

“Is it hard? Feeling so detached, ignoring life and death?” A gentle voice sounded beside Kuroha—it was the Emperor of Moor.

“You get used to it. I went through the same thing too. But I must say, once accustomed, this feeling is quite pleasant. Once you control everything, they become ants. Isn’t it interesting to watch ants fight? The funniest part is that these ants think they’ve taken control of the situation and become gods themselves.”

“I am an atheist. I believe in nothing but the Goddess Tia,” replied the dark-haired man softly. At that moment, the situation below changed again. The fierce invaders had broken through the second line of defense and were rushing toward them at high speed. Meanwhile, that hoarse voice sounded once more in the garden.
“Your Majesty, Duke Deathdust asks me to inform you that the second line of defense has fallen. For your safety, he asks you to leave immediately. He will buy you some extra time.”
“Duke Deathdust is truly loyal,” murmured the dark-haired man, vividly portraying the feelings of a nobleman. When it came to disguise, he truly wasn’t afraid of challenges. Yet, to his surprise, the emperor suddenly laughed after hearing his words.
“Loyal? Hmm, not bad. I think so too. Then let’s keep watching—the real show is about to begin.”