Chapter 28: A Bloodshed Triggered by a Rock – Section 4

The shrill wails were almost enough to pierce human eardrums. Kurokami wondered how these weak little creatures could produce such terrifying sounds. But at this moment, he had no time to ponder. The massive meteorite was now less than a hundred kilometers away from them.

A hundred kilometers away—a meteorite large enough to be seen with the naked eye—its true size was obvious even without calculation. And because it could move in reverse space, he was the only one on this warship who had detected it earlier. Now, control of this giant ship was in his hands!

This was when a warrior’s combat skills truly came into play. Amidst the deafening wails, Kurokami’s expression remained calm. He precisely maneuvered the massive Moor ship to perform a sharp turnaround, flipping it upside down instantly. All the Octopus people were shocked to find themselves suddenly with their heads pointing downward.

This was a unique feature of the warship. To protect the crew from injury during intense battles, artificial gravity inside the ship would increase suddenly during sharp maneuvers, pulling all members to the floor and preventing rollovers. However, such extreme maneuvers were rare in ordinary battles.

But Kurokami had no choice. As the flagship of the fleet, he was the second to emerge from transit. Before him, another Moor ship had already left transit mode. Compared to the incoming meteorite, this nearby friendly ship was the real deadly threat! To avoid hitting the meteorite as well, this friendly ship had executed a sudden stop-and-lateral-maneuver. If he didn’t react immediately, he would collide with it!

Kurokami understood why the crew on that friendly ship hadn’t reacted—they had just left their hibernation pods and hadn’t returned to their posts yet. This maneuver was carried out by the ship’s automatic control system. But the problem was that he had to respond appropriately.

Normally, a sudden stop-and-lateral-maneuver was a common avoidance tactic for fleets. Its greatest advantage was that it allowed the fleet to maintain its formation while avoiding danger, keeping stability during combat. But using it at this stage just after emerging from transit turned it into the biggest hazard.

As is well known, a transition is like a door. Exiting a transition is the same. The entire fleet enters and exits in a line through that door. If the person blocking the door suddenly stops, the consequences are obvious. Kurokami now has to not only move aside the suddenly halted warship but also deal with that meteor!!

This is a technical challenge. If it were Earth’s fighter jets from the past, such a task might simply involve a basic evasive maneuver. But for the massive Moor giant ships, as huge as mountains, it’s quite difficult. At least for now, Kurokami finds it extremely tough. Despite using all his strength to stabilize the warship and choosing the simplest route, the two enormous Moor giant ships still collided inevitably. As Kurokami’s flagship flipped backward over its companion ship, the bridges of the two warships lightly brushed against each other. Instantly, a loud crash erupted, knocking all the crew who had just arrived on the bridge to the ground. Some of the windows around them shattered with a crisp sound, exposing the crew to the vacuum of space.

Moans turned into screams. Almost all of the Octopus crew instantly stretched out their tentacles, quickly grabbing anything within reach to prevent themselves from being sucked into the vacuum. The air inside the bridge was almost instantly drained, and everyone’s face showed pain.

However, this situation didn’t last long. The excellent defensive capabilities of the Moor giant ships became a lifeline for all the crew. Almost the moment the damage occurred, rows of dark partitions immediately sealed off the shattered windows, stabilizing the environment inside the bridge.

The cabin was in chaos. The Octopus crew lay scattered on the floor, all pale from the sudden upheaval, their bodies limp as if boneless (though they originally had no bones). The floor was covered in vomit of various colors. Aside from Ketsuho, who had just emerged from the hibernation pod, and Kurokami, who remained seated in the captain’s seat, almost no one could remain calm.

“Captain, what’s going on?” Ketsuho, still confused, asked anxiously, shaken by the violent shock and with sweat on his face.

As an old man who had followed Kurokami, he knew that Kurokami possessed the power to move freely in anti-space. If anyone on the warship understood the situation clearly at that moment, it was undoubtedly Kurokami alone.

Sure enough, upon hearing his voice, Black Hair finally opened his slightly closed eyes, glanced at him, then pouted toward the window. Blood Pupils immediately saw the growing meteor… her eyes widening in shock. “I… damn… it’s as big as an egg.” “Hehe.” Black Hair laughed, but it was a bitter laugh. Warships were not like mechs—they were much slower in movement. So despite the critical situation, they still had time to talk. But Black Hair had calculated that, no matter what, collision with the growing meteor was inevitable. It wasn’t that they couldn’t avoid it; they simply couldn’t. Black Hair realized he was right at the entrance where the entire fleet was emerging from warp. If he tried to avoid it, the giant meteor would enter hyperspace through the open warp channel, dealing a fatal blow to the fleet behind him! So the only thing he could do now was to face it head-on… collision against collision!! What annoyed Black Hair the most was that, since they were on the edge of an energy storm, he didn’t dare use artillery to destroy the meteor. Otherwise, the intense energy from the guns might trigger an even greater disaster. So he could only use the hull of this massive Moth ship as a projectile and confront the meteor head-on! Hopefully, this Moth ship’s hull was hard enough… Black Hair and Blood Pupils exchanged glances, both understanding each other’s thoughts. Their expressions darkened simultaneously. Black Hair quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, while Blood Pupils jumped into the nearest protective device. It sounded complicated, but it actually happened in an instant. Just as Blood Pupils jumped into a protective device, their Moth ship turned ahead of the previous allied ships. Without hesitation, Black Hair ordered the ship to accelerate forcefully. The engines at the rear of the warship burst out with dazzling blue light, and the entire ship seemed to be pushed forward as if by force. Its course was continuously adjusted in Black Hair’s mind, and in just an instant, it aligned with the meteor. “Pray! May the gods you believe in give you strength.” Glancing at the rapidly expanding meteor, Black Hair still couldn’t resist teasing Blood Pupils. “Oh, fine. Then you’ll have to stop that meteor first. I need to draw lots first to decide whom I’ll worship,” Blood Pupils retorted defiantly.

The Octopus Men, who had just woken up in the cabin, heard the conversation between the two and rolled their eyes in unison. But before they could understand the situation, an even more intense explosion, as terrifying as the end of the world, suddenly rang out in their ears. At the same time, a massive shockwave engulfed the entire warship, flinging it out like a rolling gourd.

If anyone were observing from space at that moment, they would have seen the giant ship Black Hair commanded resembling an arrow shot forward, colliding with the meteor in a tragic yet beautiful sight. Compared to the massive Moorish ships, the meteor was not far behind in size—both had roughly the same volume. Thus, this collision was like a magnificent fireworks display.

At the instant of impact, Black Hair and Blood Eyes finally began to consider the strength of the Moorish ships. They hoped that, as claimed in the empire, these ships were truly indestructible…

In an instant, everyone was plunged into an endless darkness akin to a nightmare…

It was a head-on collision, and neither Black Hair nor Blood Eyes intended to avoid it. So when the impact occurred, they were the only ones prepared mentally. Yet even so, the terrifying shockwave did not spare them. Amidst the deafening noise, everyone lost consciousness.

Debris flew everywhere, and the light was blinding. The raging energy storm around them seemed to spin even faster. The collision lasted an instant, yet it felt like eternity. Compared to the sturdy Moorish ships, the meteor, being a natural object, could not withstand the damage from the impact. It shattered into countless flying rocks amidst the loud noise, only to be instantly swept away by the raging energy storm into dust.

The Black Hair’s Moorish ship wasn’t much better off. Its bow was flattened in an instant, and its neatly arranged armor was compressed and deformed by the terrifying force, creating countless wrinkles before it awkwardly retreated. It then collided violently with another ship that had just stopped and turned sideways. The two giant ships became one tangled mass.

The energy halos of teleportation continued to flicker, and more and more Moorish ships emerged. But what greeted them was a scene of devastation, like after a tornado. When their crew members woke up from hibernation and saw the two ships crushed together and severely deformed, almost all the Blood Wolf pirates were stunned…

“The ship… Captain…”

“No… this can’t be real…”