Chapter 43: Chaos, Section 10

Black Hair’s idea surely wasn’t any good—otherwise, Monkey wouldn’t have laughed so slyly. Yet both of them moved with extraordinary speed. In just a short while, everything was taken care of. Black Hair turned and left the bar, while Monkey chuckled and drank up the remaining red wine.

The supply work was tedious, but thanks to the Grand Duke of Tarot’s special instructions, it was completed efficiently. Five days later, Black Hair bid farewell to the Grand Duke of Tarot once again and left the castle with his fleet, soon disappearing into the vast universe.

No one could have imagined that Black Hair would vanish without a trace after leaving.

For two months, Black Hair never reappeared. Neither were there any reports of the fleet’s return nor any news of hunting successes. The entire fleet seemed to have disappeared overnight. At first, the Empire remained indifferent. After all, Black Hair was directly under the Emperor’s command and not under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Army. Moreover, his ability to remain hidden during the competition had already made him known for his patience. So, not many people paid much attention.

But as time passed, the Empire began to sense something was wrong. Even if hiding was necessary for war, it didn’t have to last this long. Moreover, since Black Hair left, there had been no reports of any successes. In those two months, the Empire’s frontline forces had even advanced several star systems. How could he, as a bloodthirsty weapon, achieve nothing?

Among them, the Grand Duke of Tarot was the most anxious. Black Hair’s absence was a torment to him. After all, his current status relied almost entirely on what Black Hair had earned for him. From what he knew about Black Hair, he wasn’t worried about him rebelling. But what if something went wrong?

For a time, the Grand Duke of Tarot was utterly desperate, with no solution in sight. After telling his younger daughter, Veli, about Black Hair’s words, Veli not only didn’t lose hope in him but also came to see him as honest and considerate of her feelings—a trustworthy person. Her heart became even more firmly tied to him. Now that she heard there had been no news of Black Hair for two months, how could she not worry? She followed the Grand Duke of Tarot everywhere, driving him crazy with concern. Watching his already frail daughter grow weaker day by day, he felt deep pain in his heart.

But what else could he do? Blackhair was directly under the emperor’s control, and in a sense, might even be three ranks higher than him. Moreover, he held real power. If Blackhair didn’t want to be found, it was likely that no one in the entire empire, except the emperor, could locate him.
But waiting idly wasn’t a solution either. As time passed, Grand Duke Taro finally grew impatient. He went straight to the imperial military headquarters, hoping to use the military’s resources to search for Blackhair. Yet as he stepped through the headquarters’ doors, he found the massive command room utterly silent.
What was going on?
Grand Duke Taro was puzzled. After all, the imperial military headquarters was usually a very bustling place. The Moorish conquests never ceased, and their work was always intense and busy. Moreover, with rebels rampant throughout the empire, they should be so busy they didn’t even have time to eat—so how could it be so silent?
With doubts in mind, Grand Duke Taro headed straight for the command room. As the person who had taken over from Grand Duke Deathdust to oversee the empire’s security, he had the authority to do so. He wanted to see what had happened to make those always busy and arrogant men so quiet.
As soon as he entered the command room, Grand Duke Taro was shocked. The huge room, covering nearly a thousand square meters, was packed with people, yet not a single voice was heard. Everyone had their heads raised, staring intently at the large screen on the wall. Following their gazes, Grand Duke Taro was stunned.
On the massive screen in the center of the command room was a live broadcast of a fierce battle. One side was the empire’s proud battleships, while the other side consisted of small, pitch-black ships. They seemed extremely ordinary, with only a huge number of them.
But it was these small ships that Grand Duke Taro could never forget. They were clearly the emperor’s personal guard! During the assassination attempt at the competition, their appearance was like that of death itself, terrifying everyone who saw them. With their sea-like numbers, terrifying combined abilities, and beams that could search for enemies on their own, they could become a nightmare for any enemy.
And most importantly, these warships could absorb enemy fire. The thought that the Moorish Empire’s proud battleships were like lambs in front of them sent chills down Grand Duke Taro’s spine.

It could be said that whoever commanded these warships controlled the empire’s most powerful forces—a supreme authority. To this day, only His Majesty the Emperor has possessed such armed forces. The Moorish military not only doesn’t possess them but isn’t even allowed to take a glance or study them.

Yet, the battle before them was clearly not the one recorded in the last competition. Grand Duke Taro was instantly confused. Could this be another move by His Majesty the Emperor? His enemy… the rebel… Marquis Darsal!!!!

His eyes widened in shock. Grand Duke Taro could hardly believe what he saw. That symbol on the imperial warship that had just been destroyed—wasn’t it the mercury cross unique to Marquis Darsal? How was this possible? How could Marquis Darsal’s warships appear here, even engaging directly with His Majesty the Emperor?

Overwhelmed with excitement, Grand Duke Taro lost all sense of propriety. He grabbed a young officer standing nearby, who was staring in awe, and pointed at the large screen with his right hand.

“What’s going on?”

“That’s the record of the rebel Marquis Darsal’s fleet being destroyed,” the young officer replied hastily, startled and realizing it was a grand duke who had pulled him over.

“I know, I know!” Grand Duke Taro said, his face turning red with urgency. “I’m asking when it happened, and who the commander of the other side was—His Majesty?”

“It was just reported. The commander wasn’t His Majesty but Baron Beck.”

“What…?”

Hearing this answer, Grand Duke Taro almost jumped up. His eyes were wide as bells. “Are you sure? Beck? That so-called lucky one… no, that so-called Ghost of Darkness? Baron Beck?”

“I’m absolutely sure!” The young officer grew anxious when Grand Duke Taro didn’t believe him. “I swear by my honor as an imperial soldier!”

Sure enough…

Grand Duke Taro released the young officer, his expression blank like that of a puppet.

Beck had indeed done something—though not something bad. It was actually excellent news. He had killed Marquis Darsal! That rebel who was known as the most cunning and elusive among them. The most trusted right-hand man of the rebel Grand Duke Ziryan, the prime minister of the Smo Empire!!

What an incredible feat!!

For a moment, Grand Duke Taro felt his throat tighten; he couldn’t help but swallow.

Marquis Dassar—nothing less than the Marquis Dassar. The guy nicknamed “the Fox.” He was already notorious throughout the empire for being extremely difficult to deal with. After rebelling, he became a major threat to the empire. So many imperial commanders had been troubled by him. And Beck actually managed to kill him? Moreover, from the records just shown, Grand Duke Taro realized that the warship he had handed over to Beck was actually the Emperor’s personal guard fleet!!

Damn it, that kid is so lucky. He even managed to get hold of the Emperor’s personal guard fleet.

Though shocked, he felt extremely pleased. Watching the large screen on the wall approach its end, Grand Duke Taro stood frozen for a moment before turning and leaving the command room.

Since Beck wasn’t missing, his purpose here was fulfilled. It was better to return to his own castle and wait for that kid to return. He believed that this time, Beck would surely bring him generous spoils. And the Emperor would surely grant him precious rewards as well.

With these thoughts, the smile on Grand Duke Taro’s face grew wider, until he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

As he had expected, Beck truly struck when he did—making a huge impact with his first move after disappearing for over two months. His first message after reappearing was that he had killed Marquis Dassar, the most cunning chancellor of the rebel forces, shocking the entire empire. Leaving aside the public’s reaction, even the rebel suppression forces at the front lines gained immense prestige and advanced by two star systems in no time, forcing the rebel Smo Empire’s fleet to retreat continuously. The Emperor issued a special commendation, promoting Blackhair to viscount and granting him five star systems as fiefdoms.

But no one expected that this was just the beginning.

In the following month and more, Blackhair continued to surprise everyone one after another. His presence was felt across almost all of the rebel territories. Taking advantage of the small size and high speed of his leech-like warships, he perfected guerrilla tactics. In just one month, as many as twenty minor nobles lost their lives at Blackhair’s hands, and over thirty star systems were left in ruins. Yet Blackhair grew stronger and more audacious with each battle. Eventually, he even engaged in direct conflicts with the Smo Empire’s fleet pursuing him.

That was the pursuit fleet directly under Duke Ziyan, composed entirely of imperial warships—numbering as many as three hundred, resembling an ancient giant beast. It was always regarded as the strongest force in the Rebel Legion. Yet in that encounter, it was utterly defeated by the Leech Warships under Black Hair’s command. Of those three hundred warships, only half managed to escape; the rest were all destroyed. Black Hair also paid a heavy price for this—over 30% of the Leech Warships granted to him by the emperor were consumed in the battle.