Chapter 39: The Competition Tournament, Section 7

For Adjutant 57, this was a highly exciting battle. As a young officer who had just graduated from an elite military academy, he, like other officers of the empire, was filled with passion for war and a desire to conquer. Coincidentally, a once-in-a-century competition tournament was being held, and he managed to get involved through his family’s influence.

But unlike Blackhair, this adjutant was a pure Moor. Thus, he knew quite well about the Tebisk pirates, a pirate race that existed only around the Moor Empire. In fact, he even secretly thanked the Goddess Tiamat for giving him such an easy task to start with in the preliminary rounds.

Weren’t the Tebisk pirates a typical barbaric civilization? They followed ancient barbaric rules, and even their ships were simple and primitive. Though they had a strong desire to attack, it was mostly just for show. In reality, compared to the massive warships of the empire, their ships were nothing but toys.

Five standard battleships—according to 57’s understanding—were enough to destroy hundreds of Tebisk warships. Coupled with the Tebisk pirates’ strength in attacking but weakness in defending, 57 almost saw victory within reach.

A textbook-style surprise attack—let the tournament organizers see my strength!
That’s what Adjutant 57 kept thinking to himself along the way…

But in reality, he had underestimated the cruelty of the empire’s officials. The preliminary rounds were virtual battles, so naturally, the enemies were also virtual. The so-called Tebisk pirates could be as many as one wanted. So when Blackhair and the others arrived at the designated coordinates, they didn’t see the hundreds of warships 57 had expected. Instead, there was a vast fleet, dense as ants—thousands upon thousands…

“I… pfft…” Adjutant 57, who was drinking coffee at the time, spat it out in shock. Staring at the dense array of lights on the display terminal, he was too stunned to speak.

“Now, do you need to change your plan?” Blackhair asked calmly, smiling indifferently.

“The Tebisk pirates are good at attacking and follow barbaric traditions, but their defense is weak. One assault should be enough. Adjutant 57, shall we continue? The reconnaissance part of this mission is already complete. All that remains is the battle. My dear adjutant, please fulfill your duty.”

“……” He continued to stare blankly at the terminal. Officer Moore seemed not to hear Black Hair’s question. This repeated several times before he suddenly exclaimed, standing up in confusion. His once cold face was now completely red.
There was nothing he could do. Though 57 considered himself the best student in the elite academy, scoring full marks in all subjects, he had never actually been to a battlefield. Naturally, he was unprepared for such an unexpected situation. It was already difficult enough for him to stay calm—how could he possibly talk as confidently as before?
In fact, from the moment he saw those dense fleets of warships, this self-proclaimed elite adjutant had been utterly panicked, so much so that he didn’t even notice Black Hair’s greeting. Now, faced with Black Hair’s direct question, he was stunned.
All of this was observed by Black Hair. He wasn’t angry. Instead, he merely smiled slightly and shook his head.
This was the difference between novices and veterans. This Officer Moore was capable, and his suggestions had initially suited Black Hair’s preferences. But his mindset wasn’t stable enough. The moment things went beyond his expectations, he panicked. On a real battlefield, he might even lose his life. But now, it wasn’t a big deal.
Everyone goes through such phases, so Black Hair wouldn’t look down on him or ignore his role. There was only one thing he needed to do: complete this mission with the most surprising performance possible.
“Very well, Adjutant. Since you can’t determine whether the plan needs to change now, I will exercise my authority. Pass on my orders immediately!”
“Ah… Yes!!” The young Officer Moore jolted and quickly stood up to respond.
“Scouting Ship Number 6 shall conduct reconnaissance as planned and return after completing its mission. Standard Warships Number 1 to 3 shall prepare for an ambush, ready to attack at my command. Warship Number 4 and my flagship shall follow behind Numbers 1 to 3, but are not allowed to engage in combat.”
“Um…” The adjutant was clearly puzzled by Black Hair’s orders. But this time, Black Hair wouldn’t give him time to explain—he immediately displayed the authority of a commander.
“Hurry up and go.”
“Yes, Commander.” Officer 57 jolted and immediately got to work.
From then on, it was Black Hair’s show alone.

Tens of thousands of Tverisk warships. But that’s just the surface. Black Hair knew well the composition of the fleet. If you removed nearly half of them—supply ships and repair vessels—there were actually only about two thousand ships left that could be used for combat. With such a number, although he still didn’t have an advantage, it was still possible to hold out for five or seven days.

Some said the Tverisk pirates were good at attacking but not at defending, so attacking was more advantageous than defending. But that was nonsense. How could there be any talk of attacking without even basic defense? The reason the Moorish giants were the strongest warships in the universe was precisely because of their formidable defense systems. Back then, even when his three Storm Raiders collided with one of those giant ships, they could only inflict serious damage on it. Just imagine how strong their defense would be if they focused solely on building one.

Black Hair didn’t know. But he knew that Deputy 57’s suggestion for a surprise attack was largely driven by a desire for glory—he wanted a decisive, almost perfect victory.

In that regard, he wasn’t any different from him. The only difference was that he wouldn’t give up as easily as the other man.

Just two thousand warships. Perhaps that was already a threat to that Moorish officer, but for him, it was far from enough. On the way here, Black Hair had already observed that not far from there was a gathering point for storms—a relatively small cosmic storm. Under normal circumstances, few would pay attention to it. But now…

It was a place worth exploiting.

He had assigned only three giant ships as the main force, intending to give the enemy enough room to maneuver. He had calculated that with the combat power of the Moorish giants, three ships would be enough to exert considerable pressure. And to deal with such pressure, the enemy would surely send out all their forces!!

As expected, things turned out exactly as Black Hair had planned.

The provocation from the three Moorish giants immediately stirred up the arrogance of these Tverisk pirates. Before Black Hair could carry out his subsequent tactics to draw them in, those so-called barbaric Tverisk warships rushed out in droves. Looking at those ships, dense as ants, Black Hair was speechless.

These ships were very crude. Roughly speaking, they resembled giant wooden stakes. Their surfaces were covered with bumps of various sizes, ugly and pockmarked. Yet each ship had a prominent ram at the bow, highlighting their strong desire to attack.

The three Moorish giant ships immediately prompted the enemy to launch a full-scale attack. There was no chance to show bravery anymore. Before Black Hair could give any orders, those three ships turned around at once and fled back without hesitation. The Ship No. 4 and Black Hair’s flagship, which had been gathered behind them, became their best cover.

Seeing this, Adjutant 57 finally understood the purpose of Black Hair’s initial orders. His gaze toward Black Hair also changed. But before he could further ponder the meaning behind Black Hair’s orders, Black Hair issued another command that shocked him greatly.

“Ships No. 1 to 3, ignore us. Retreat immediately and gather at a range beyond normal firing distance. Ship No. 3, level its hull. All crew members abandon the ship. At the same time, set the warship on self-destruct mode, to be remotely controlled by the flagship.”

“What… what?” The young Moorish officer could hardly believe his ears upon hearing such orders. But in war, opportunities are fleeting. While he was stunned, the three Moorish giant ships had already perfectly carried out Black Hair’s orders, gathering together at the back to form a small battle formation. Then, Ship No. 3, like a coffin, silently turned sideways. Its massive hull floated quietly in space, resembling the most obvious target.

By this point, Black Hair no longer needed to worry about anything. He immediately ordered his flagship and Ship No. 4, which had been protecting him, to abandon their cover. Before the overwhelming enemy force arrived, they swiftly turned around and began to flee.

The Tebisk people were good neighbors of the Moors. Over the long years, they had made a living by plundering Moorish ships. How could they give up so easily? Seeing Black Hair’s flagship flee, they didn’t hesitate at all and charged forward. Two thousand ships accelerated to full speed, determined to hold on tight!

Thus, one fled while the other pursued. In the blink of an eye, they reached Ship No. 3 left behind by Black Hair. But Black Hair didn’t even bother to take a look. He simply left this brand-new Moorish giant ship to the wolves behind and flew away with the remaining ships toward the coordinates he had already calculated.

He knew that there, a small cosmic storm had already formed, like a ferocious beast with its maw wide open, waiting for their arrival as prey.

Thirty seconds later, a violent shock suddenly occurred in the cabin. Everyone was jolted violently, almost falling over. Deputy Commander 57 quickly turned around and found that behind them, the abandoned giant ship was exploding with a loud roar. Its massive hull disintegrated in the explosion, forming a huge ball of light resembling a small sun. Visibly, hundreds of Tebesk warships caught off guard were instantly swallowed up by it.
“Such a setback should provoke these guys’ anger, right? Guess if they’ll chase us forever?” A murmuring voice came from beside him. The young Moorish officer turned around in shock, only to see a sinister smile on the black-haired man’s lips…