Chapter 44: Counterattack, Section 2

No one knew where Beck was. Yet since his crushing defeat, the rebels’ attacks had become extraordinarily fierce.
Having rid themselves of the Black-Haired’s harassment, the Smo Empire, led by Duke Ziyuan, clearly shifted its focus. For some reason, the Smo Empire resorted to a nearly suicidal tactic at this moment. Vast resources spanning hundreds of star systems were rapidly converted into warships—hundreds of imperial giants were produced every day, only to be sent to the battlefield moments later and shattered by the Moor Empire’s artillery.
It was an extremely cruel act of self-destruction. The Moor military never expected Duke Ziyuan to employ such desperate measures. Although the empire possessed equal resources and production capabilities, it lacked Duke Ziyuan’s resolve to go all out. As a result, on the very first day of the Smo Empire’s fierce counterattack, two entire medium-sized fleets were destroyed. The wreckage of these massive warships spread over dozens of light-years, adding countless meteorites to the universe.
But it wasn’t the empire’s losses that caused them pain—it was the people who piloted those warships! Two medium-sized fleets meant over 500 warships, with nearly a million crew members, not to mention experienced captains. In just one battle, the empire lost centuries of accumulated strength. How could the military not be devastated?
Of course, as the attacker, the Smo Empire also suffered heavy losses. But the empire’s military never imagined this was precisely Duke Ziyuan’s ruthless strategy. All the crew members of his fleets were slaves, and the captains were novices who had never even experienced war. Each warship was manned with the minimum possible crew. From the moment they left the launch pads, they had no intention of returning. He sacrificed twice as many resources to drain the Moor Empire’s elite talent—this was Duke Ziyuan’s true goal.
It must be said, he succeeded.
His suicidal tactic cost the Moor Empire millions of lives, instantly weakening its military power. The balance of power between the two sides returned to its initial delicate state.
So when the battle report reached the empire’s military headquarters, almost everyone was stunned. After a brief moment of shock, agony erupted. The young commanders, unable to contain their fury, demanded that the military dispatch new fleets to the front line immediately—Duke Ziyuan, the cruel executioner, must pay the price!

It can be said that years of success have made the Moors arrogant and utterly unable to accept failure. Although the Duke of Ziyuan’s actions were insane, they were equivalent to slapping these self-proclaimed invincible Moors in the face. Thus, after a brief silence, the imperial military indeed reacted with extreme intensity. Two more medium-sized fleets were immediately deployed to the front lines. All external campaigns by the empire came to a halt, and every resource of the empire was mobilized, like a giant machine, targeting the Duke of Ziyuan himself.

In the eyes of all imperial subjects, this highly accomplished duke was no longer the respected elder of the empire but rather a butcher whose hands were stained with the blood of the empire’s people. His once kind face now resembled that of a demon, evoking hatred. Now, to make this bloodthirsty demon pay for his crimes, the empire was willing to pay any price—even if it meant using the power of its vassal races!

The idea casually mentioned by Duke Taro and Hei Fa during a casual conversation had now become reality. After some deliberation, the Moorish military came up with a newmilitary operation plan: they would mobilize all the empire’s vassal races to form a massive fleet, using their strength to compensate for the Moors’ shortage of talent.

Within just a month, hundreds of thousands of vassal race fleets were assembled by the imperial military. These fleets, composed of various races of varying quality, were like a deck of cards—ranging from small private warships the size of shuttles to massive armed fortresses comparable to imperial warships, with everything in between. There were an astonishing number of vassal races, totaling hundreds.

This alone demonstrated the power of the Moor Empire. After thousands of years of conquest, their reach spanned nearly half of the universe, and they had conquered countless races with their mighty ships and artillery. Under normal circumstances, these vassal races would be considered third-rate beings, and even their rulers would have to treat an ordinary Moor with deference due to their low status. But now, the empire intended to use them to fuel its flames of revenge.

Of course, as Duke Taro had feared, the loyalty of such a large number of vassal races was a problem. Under normal circumstances, the Moors could suppress them with their superior military strength. But now, with so many talents depleted, the Moor Empire’s deterrence power had greatly diminished, and they were no longer as unrestrained as before.

But the Imperial Military Command wasn’t too worried. After all, these vassal races had long been on the list of expendable forces in their plans. They didn’t need to worry about their loyalty at all. Dead people couldn’t rebel—everyone knew that. All they had to do was wait quietly for the rebels and vassal races to exhaust each other’s strength, then reap the rewards.
A wonderful outcome, isn’t it?
Yet no one knew that the Imperial Military Command’s strategy had already been mentioned months earlier by Grand Duke Taro during a casual conversation. Even worse, the person sitting in front of Grand Duke Taro at that time was Blackhair.
The Imperial Military Command acted swiftly. Just a month later, hundreds of thousands of vassal race fleets were sent straight to the front lines to engage in a decisive battle against the Smo Empire. The vast expanse of space was filled with fleets lined up in perfect formation—a sight that could only be described as terrifying. The scan screens were covered with dense clusters of lights, making it impossible to count them at a glance.
On the other hand, perhaps due to the intense and prolonged fighting, the Smo Empire had relatively few fleets at the front lines—even fewer than when it first split. In that vast combat zone, there were less than two thousand giant ships, giving them a clear disadvantage in terms of strength.
But that wasn’t the most important thing. What truly mattered was that the two sides were not on the same level at all.
The so-called Smo Empire was actually the result of rebels like Grand Duke Ziryan forcibly splitting the Moor Empire. Their territories, technology, and even weapons were all identical to those of the Moor Empire. If the Moor Empire could conquer those races back then, it was only natural they could do the same. To this day, the power of Moor giant ships remains undeniably the best in the universe (with the Leech Ships as an exception—they were directly under the Moor Emperor’s control and naturally counteracted Moor giant ships).
From the start, the battle took on a overwhelmingly one-sided trend. Despite the huge number of vassal race fleets, their actual combat performance fell far short of what the Imperial Military Command had predicted. Under the assault of the Smo Empire’s giant ships, their formations were scattered from the very beginning. The vast combat zone was divided into five sections, each under the bombardment of Smo Empire ships. Soon, the entire battlefield descended into utter chaos. The Imperial pacification fleets stationed in the rear never expected such a situation and panicked instantly.

“Damn it, how could this happen!! Press forward, don’t scatter, don’t scatter!!” A white-bearded Moorish elder on one of the giant flagship ships at the rear was shouting frantically, waving his arms. He was the commander of the Moorish front lines. Despite the chaos around him, he continued to issue orders. As a veteran general of the empire, he had an absolute faith in its strength. He didn’t believe the empire would fail, nor did he accept the idea that tens of thousands of allied tribes could be defeated in just one encounter.

“Yes, Commander. The orders have been given,” said a group of young Moorish officers working desperately beside the elder. All of them were drenched in sweat. This was the empire’s front lines, and they all knew full well that this mission had been directly ordered by the military high command. Failure would mean severe punishment for each of them.

But it was already too late. The empire’s military high command had overestimated the strength of these allied tribes. If they had joined the attack from the start instead of waiting idly, things might not have turned out this way. But they didn’t. Instead, they retreated behind the front lines as ordered by the empire’s high command, serving only as supervisors.

Opportunities lost can never be regained—especially on the battlefield. It was unclear what the Smo Empire was thinking. The fleet they sent this time consisted almost entirely of experienced veterans, a stark contrast to the expendable fleets that had attacked the empire a few days ago. Their combat capabilities were worlds apart—one in the sky, the other on the ground. In just three hours, they completely disrupted the allied tribes’ formation, controlling the situation at will. The massive empire ships charged through the allied fleets as if unimpeded. Their dazzling energy beams were like storms, and the destroyed allied warships could be seen everywhere across the vast starry sky!

It could be said that by now, this was no longer a mere battle but a massacre—a one-sided slaughter by the Smo Empire against the Moorish allied tribes. The tens of thousands of ships painstakingly gathered by the Moorish military not only failed to fulfill their role but also hindered their front-line forces, leaving them as mere spectators. In contrast, the Smo Empire’s elite fleet could act recklessly, wiping out the forces the Moorish military had so hard to assemble.

This was a situation no one had ever imagined. By now, the war had completely slipped out of control. Watching the chaotic battlefield outside and the Smo Empire’s massive warships charging around, the old general on the flagship slowly closed his eyes.
“It’s over… Order the fleet to prepare for retreat. This time, we’ve lost.”
“Boom!!” Another ship of the vassal clans was turned into a ball of fire mid-air. Its huge hull shattered, and amidst the flames, the Smo Empire’s warships resembled demons emerging from hell, terrifying the vassal clansmen who were struggling to hold on. Over the public channel, the crew of one of the warships let out a panicked scream, and the remaining ships immediately turned around.
A rout! A scene that only existed in ancient times on Earth finally unfolded in this universe.