Chapter 28: A Bloodshed Triggered by a Stone – Section 5

By the time the fleet arrived at the target star system, a month had passed since they set out. After 36 standard jumps, Black Hair and his subordinates had endured tremendous hardships. The dangers they encountered along the way were beyond description. Aside from that near-fatal collision, they also faced six cosmic storms and twelve meteor showers, at the cost of two Moth Giant ships. If the Moth Giant ships hadn’t truly been as sturdy as the Moor Empire claimed, they would likely have become mere debris in space by now.

Still, Black Hair now had only six intact Moth Giant ships and the five Swan Ships that had been carefully protected left. Using such forces to destroy a race wasn’t impossible, but it would be quite difficult. More importantly, after all these disasters, the crew members of the entire fleet were somewhat demoralized.

This was even the result of Black Hair, an experienced veteran, as commander. If it were an ordinary Moor captain, they might not have even retained this much strength. The Moor Empire had never launched an expedition against this unshakable race, which explained why.

But now, Black Hair and his subordinates had finally reached their target. What greeted them was a star map so complex it made their heads spin.

“No way… How can there be so many planets in this star system? Miss Wei Li’s star map didn’t show this!” Staring blankly at the results scanned by the ship, Blood Pupil’s eyes were fixed, his face pale.

It wasn’t surprising he was shocked. But the results before him were truly beyond his expectations. No, this was simply something that shouldn’t exist in reality!

Their fleet was currently stationed on the outskirts of the target star system. Even without relying on the ship’s scans, just by eye, they could see that the number of planets in this region was astonishingly high—so dense that they filled almost every inch of the starry sky. Roughly estimated, there were at least over a million!!

Yet, Miss Wei Li’s star map accurately indicated that the actual number of major planets in this region was less than twenty!!

What did this mean?

A mistake in intelligence?

Black Hair and Blood Pupil wouldn’t be foolish enough to think the Moor Empire could get such obvious data wrong. There was only one possibility: the rulers of this region had already discovered the Moor Empire’s intentions and were prepared!!

Nearly a million planets. With only eleven warships at Black Hair’s disposal, no matter how fast they go, it would take an eternity to search this entire area. More likely, it might take a lifetime with no results. How could such a peculiar rock-like race have such defensive measures? It’s truly astonishing.

Yet, despite the amazement, this situation posed a huge challenge for Black Hair and Blood Eyes. After all, the Moth Giant Ships, due to their massive size, were equipped with built-in supply factories to support long-distance voyages. But the crew members weren’t machines. Prolonged confined travel without any respite could easily lead to various problems. Added to this was the severe environment they had faced on their journey, which had left the Octopus crew mentally exhausted. So, in reality, Black Hair didn’t have much time left.

“This is… an illusion, right?” Looking at the dense cluster of planets ahead, Black Hair wasn’t sure.

“Illusion? You mean these planets are all virtual?” Hearing his speculation, Blood Eyes was surprised. She immediately ordered one of her warships to fly toward the nearest planet. Once the target was within range, a blue light flashed from the bow of the Moth Giant Ship, and a test beam of energy was fired.

The blue light quickly struck the planet. Visibly, a ring of energy rapidly expanded outward. Bright arcs could be clearly seen on the ship’s projections. When the energy ring dissipated, a huge visible crater appeared before everyone’s eyes.

“It’s real! Not an illusion!!” Blood Eyes’s mouth widened in shock, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Watching this, Black Hair simply shrugged indifferently. “Try the next planet.”

More blue lights followed. At Black Hair’s command, three more Moth Giant Ships fired those terrifying beams. Yet the result was the same every time—the targets all showed signs of being destroyed by energy, forming craters! Coupled with the scan results from the ships, there was no doubt: all the planets before them were real!

“We’ve gone too far…” Blood Eyes opened her mouth but was speechless.

They were now like a gang of robbers ready to commit a crime. But when they arrived at the victim’s house, they found that all the information they had gathered during their reconnaissance was false. The victim was fully prepared—not only were the doors tightly shut, but they might even be waiting for them inside. In such a situation, even a bold and fearless man like Blood Eyes couldn’t help but feel a chill deep in his heart.

“Perhaps this time, even if we wanted to be executioners, we can’t. Head, let’s… just go back.” Blood-Pupil shook his head with a bitter smile and sighed.
Black-Hair frowned. His fleet was currently stationed at the edge of this star system, and returning empty-handed was unacceptable from any perspective. And most importantly, he himself was also deeply interested in what that Rock Race possessed—a thing of utmost importance to the Moor Empire!
To get it, before the Moor Empire…
With that thought, Black-Hair hesitated no longer. He waved his right hand. “Enter the target star system. Engage combat ships immediately. Grant all captains full authority to attack. Spare no energy—probe every approaching celestial body. Let’s try one more time. Finally…” He hesitated for a moment, showing slight reluctance, but still gritted his teeth. “If the target planet has signs of life… ignore them all!”
“Understood.” This time, Blood-Pupil agreed readily. Soon, this somewhat ruthless order spread throughout the entire fleet. The massive Moor warships accelerated instantly, forming a formation like arrows, and plunged headlong into the endless starry expanse below.
The vast starfield was pitch black. Black-Hair’s fleet rushed swiftly into the star system occupied by the Rock Race. As the fleet moved forward, the densely packed celestial bodies in the distance grew larger and larger. They had now arrived among countless stars. From Black-Hair’s perspective, he could even directly observe the surface structures of these stars—mountains, barren plains, and craters dense as dots. Without exception, the soil of these planets was a deep brown, as if corroded by something. Black-Hair doubted how intelligent life like the Rock People could exist on such planets.
Yet his fleet wouldn’t abandon Black-Hair’s orders because of the desolation of these planets. In no time, dozens of blue beams were fired by the Moor warships. These terrifying energy weapons, which Black-Hair had seen before, were incredibly powerful. With each blue beam, a violently expanding ring of energy formed on the surface of the target planet. Where the energy spread, mountains were flattened and land was uplifted. The deep brown soil melted due to the high temperature, then was pushed into massive crater shapes by the terrifying energy. As they continued sailing, more and more such giant craters appeared. But the result was the same everywhere…
Absolute silence, like death.

Under the onslaught of the Moorish giants, these celestial bodies trembled as usual, their surfaces covered with craters that resembled terrifying scars. Yet, Kuroha still detected no abnormalities. In such a bizarre situation, the entire fleet could only attack the surrounding stars while gradually moving deeper into this region of space. The starry sky around them remained unchanged, but everyone felt as though a face was mocking them.

This situation continued for five hours.

At that moment, one of the Moorish giants emitted blue light, leaving a massive scar on a nearby star. Before it could return to the fleet formation, Kuroha, who had been sitting in the captain’s seat with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

“Wait!”

“What is it, Captain?” Kenmei reacted quickly. Unlike the other Octopus crew members, this experienced assassin had long been accustomed to working with Kuroha. Ever since the fleet entered this region, he had been prepared for any possible anomalies.

And indeed, the anomaly occurred faster than he had expected. Almost the moment Kuroha spoke, the image of the star that had just been attacked by the Moorish giant suddenly flickered and vanished without a trace!!

“That’s impossible!!” All the Octopus crew members cried out in shock.

The scene before them was utterly bizarre. That was a planet—a huge object—how could it disappear so suddenly? Facing the emptiness left behind by the vanished star, almost all the Octopus crew members felt their throats dry and swallowed hard.

Could these stars really be virtual illusions? Then what about the results of the attacks earlier?

For a while, an eerie atmosphere filled the entire fleet. The Octopus crew members looked at each other, seeing nightmares in one another’s eyes.

At that moment, their captain, the silent Kuroha, finally spoke…

“The 173rd one…”

“What bad luck.”