Chapter 39: The Competition Festival, Section 4

The night was deep, and Hei Fa walked quietly through the castle courtyard. The strange trees around him swayed gently in the evening breeze, emitting a rustling sound.
No one knew that by the time Hei Fa left the living room, his back was already drenched in sweat.
Their conversation had been simple—like any ordinary chat between Hei Fa and Duke Zi Yan. But only Hei Fa understood how perilous it had been. In fact, when his identity was suddenly exposed, he even felt the urge to kill. At that moment, Duke Zi Yan was less than five meters away from him. Hei Fa believed he could snap the other man’s neck in an instant if he chose to.
But he couldn’t.
Not to mention how many unknowns still lurked in that living room. Even his current responsibilities prevented him from taking any risky actions. If Duke Zi Yan knew his origins, he surely also knew about his sphere of influence—the other races that relied on him for survival, as well as the people protected by the Blood Wolves. Those were Duke Zi Yan’s bargaining chips. As he said, it would take no effort for him to eliminate them all.
Being caught off guard felt helpless and exhausting. That’s why his back still felt cold even now. Thinking back to their conversation filled him with fear.
Hei Fa wasn’t afraid of death, as he had long lost all feeling for it. But he didn’t want his negligence to cause the loss of those who relied on and trusted him. The Blood Wolves might not be powerful, but every part of their strength came from the blood of Hei Fa and his companions, accumulated bit by bit.
“Tch!” He spat bitterly. Hei Fa had never felt such rage as today.
He hated the one who betrayed his identity.
There was no need to doubt or guess. Hei Fa knew this was definitely not an accidental oversight—it was the most despicable act imaginable. There was only one reason Duke Zi Yan could have learned his identity so quickly: betrayal!
Betraying his information in exchange for some gain. Such things were common in human history. Compared to that, who exactly had betrayed him didn’t really matter to Hei Fa.
Was there still a need to guess? Few people knew about his infiltration plan. His companions, of course, were excluded. Besides them, only Marshal Wick and Duke Poseidon were aware. Of course, it was possible he hadn’t appeared in human territories for some time, giving others a chance to guess. But that probability was too low, so Hei Fa didn’t bother considering it.

The most likely place for the traitor to hide is within this hastily assembled human expeditionary force. If Black Hair remembered correctly, the expeditionary force was still lurking in the Chaotic Star Region near Station 76-3. That place, once a pirate haven, had become a human frontline base after he led his troops to purge it. A large number of warships were stationed there, and the organization was extremely chaotic—there were Marshal Wick’s interstellar fleets, as well as the noble armed forces of Duke Poseidon. There were even private fleets belonging to various scattered nobles and small factions. In such a chaotic situation, finding a traitor was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Thinking of this, Black Hair let out a long sigh, stopped in the courtyard, crossed his arms, and looked around. All he saw were dense tree shadows—where could a single person be seen? “Why are you sighing?” A voice suddenly came from behind Black Hair. He didn’t need to think to know whose voice it was, so instead of answering, he asked a question back. “Do you know everything that just happened?” “Obviously. I was on the ceiling of the living room at that time. The old guy’s guards were hiding less than eight meters away from me. Your voices weren’t loud, but you know how quiet it is there. Do you think I wouldn’t hear you?” the figure behind him complained, moving his shoulders. “I’m saying, next time before doing something like this, give me a heads up. You left me with no time to prepare. Do you think sneaking into that old guy’s living room takes no time? What would I do if he attacked me as soon as I entered? Carry your body out?” “That situation shouldn’t arise. And even if it did, you wouldn’t be carrying my body,” Black Hair replied jokingly. “Do you think our skills have declined? Want to have a fight here right now?” “No need,” the figure behind him shook his head repeatedly. “Don’t mess with me. You always use such clichéd excuses and beat me up every time. When will you come up with a new excuse? Fighting is just a way for you to vent. I’m tired of listening to it.” “You brat,” Black Hair shook his head amusedly. “If I didn’t keep teasing you, how would you have improved your skills? It’s like a dog biting someone—it never knows good intentions.” “Enough, enough. Stop!!” The figure behind him immediately panicked, raising his hand in a frantic gesture to stop him. “Boss, I didn’t come out to discuss getting beaten. I wanted to ask you what you plan to do about that old guy’s suggestion.”

“What else can I do? Just eat it raw!” The black-haired man shrugged. His gaze drifted into the distance. Through the tree shadows, the starry sky in the far off remained bright. Dots of starlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, casting specks of light on the grass in the courtyard. It was beautiful, yet illusory.

“He’s hit my weakness. I have no choice now. Besides, I’m really curious to see what this competition is like. Since he values it so much, there must be plenty of interesting things involved.”

“Really going all out? Maybe you can even become an earl.” The figure behind him sneered. The starlight fell on his face, revealing a Porlan’s features. Wasn’t that a monkey?

“It’s not that easy to become an earl.” The black-haired man shook his head with a bitter smile. “But if such an opportunity arises, I won’t let it slip by. After all, in this empire, people only care about your strength. It’s far more practical than any other power structure. As long as you have enough leverage, you can get what you want.”

“That’s true, but it’s still working for someone else. Don’t forget, that old bastard holds our lifeline in his hands.”

“Only temporarily.” The black-haired man waved his hand. “I won’t let him keep it for long. Those who dare to threaten me must pay a price. But before that, you need to do something for me.”

“What?”

“Inform Bloodpupil that there’s a spy among us. Have him look into it. If he finds one, that’s great. If not, we still need to raise the alert level. Check every place we’ve overlooked before. This kind of thing can happen once, but I don’t want to go through it again.”

“Understood!” The monkey nodded firmly, his expression turning serious. Seeing that the black-haired man had nothing more to say, he slowly retreated. After a few leaps, he disappeared into the dense trees.

“Really, what an uneasy start.” The black-haired man stood there, staring in the direction the monkey had disappeared, with a faint bitter smile on his face.

Just as Duke Ziyuan had said, the competition was held soon after.

Perhaps because it was a once-in-a-century event, this competition was arranged with great pomp. It was said that just choosing the location took extensive coordination and investigation by several major forces. In the end, it was decided to hold it in a barbaric star region about thirty-eight standard jumps away from where the black-haired man was.

It was called barbaric because it hadn’t yet been conquered by the Moors. Although this region was within the territory of the Moor Empire, it was well-protected. Since the establishment of the Moor Empire, this region had retained its primitive ecosystem, and no one had ever been able to enter it.

This star system is not large, with only twelve planets in total, but it has two stars. As a result, its environment is extremely complex. The seasonal changes on each planet follow no pattern—just one moment it might be sunny, and the next, it could be snowing heavily. Moreover, there are three storm clusters and as many as fifteen giant meteor belts within this barren star system, all adding endless variables to its environment.

Since the competition takes place here, one can imagine how strict the requirements for participants are. In fact, not only fighting but even simply surviving in this star system is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Even a fleet might get trapped inside and never be able to escape.

Yet no one disputes this.

The Moors rule their country through martial strength, valuing bravery and fearlessness. Those who hesitate or seek easy gains have no place in the empire. This is why they can dominate the universe and command respect everywhere. According to the empire’s ancient traditions, during the competition, rank and race matter not at all. As long as you can prove your strength, you can obtain anything you desire—even an audience with the emperor. Thus, every competition is a grand event for the Moor Empire. Many down-and-out warriors and commanders watch intently, hoping for a chance to stand out.

A complex environment is no problem, nor are dangers and difficulties within a warrior’s considerations. For the subjects of the Moor Empire, this competition is everything. For that reason, they would even pause external campaigns if necessary.

So, just five days before the competition began, fleets of thousands of ships from various parts of the empire gathered here from all directions. The three temporary space stations prepared by the empire for the event quickly became overcrowded. The entire star system was bustling with ships coming and going.

Black Hair and Miss Wei Li arrived on the seventh day. By then, all the space stations were already full, and the star system was filled with wandering warships. They had no proper place to stay and could only rest on the warships. Through the windows of the giant ships, Black Hair saw three new temporary space stations being hastily built, likely to be ready for use soon.

“What a bustling competition. But I’m puzzled—why such a huge effort just to watch a few warriors fight? It’s such a waste of resources,” Black Hair said with a shake of his head, amused.

“Of course not, Lord Baker. What’s wrong with you today? You keep saying strange things. Don’t you know that competitions in these tournaments are comprehensive? Gladiatorial fights are just one part of them.” Miss Veri, who was by his side, frowned upon hearing the dark-haired man mutter to himself, her eyes filled with confusion.