Chapter 41: Imperial Warlords, Section 3

The flames of war, ravaged by storms.
It was merely a brief encounter, without even a greeting. The attacks from both sides intensified in an instant. In the vast starry expanse, beside a massive meteor belt, over thirty warships of various sizes split into two groups, each forming its own formation, with the empire’s most formidable warships leading the way. Their cannon fire swept like streams, while energy beams as thick as buckets served only as accompaniments. Main guns with diameters of hundreds of meters were everywhere. In less than thirty seconds, all the debris between the two sides was completely destroyed. The energy fluctuations in the vast starfield were like raging tides.
The intense cannon fire alone revealed how anxious both sides were. After a long war, when everyone was exhausted, even the best commanders could no longer hold back. Perhaps at that moment, they all harbored a strange thought: rather than prolonging the conflict indefinitely to achieve ultimate victory, it would be better to settle it quickly. The winner would get everything, while the loser would be spared further suffering.
This was a form of self-indulgence born of extreme fatigue, an unconscious tendency shared by every intelligent being. A true strongman can overcome such temptations and secure victory. But remember, in this world, true strongmen are a mere minority.
The Moor race’s competition strictly followed the law of survival of the fittest in the universe. The remaining commanders were indeed elites among elites. Yet, there was still a world-of-difference between them and true strongmen. Thus, anxiety and irritability had become common emotions among these remaining contestants.
So, what was the difference between them and beasts at this point?
Attack after attack. Ignoring their own injuries, they attacked with all their might—this was the only thought in the minds of all the remaining contestants. At this stage of the competition, it was no longer a matter of skill or command; it was a pure struggle of will! Whoever held on the longest would become the king.
For a moment, the cannon fire erupting in the barbaric star region seemed almost solid. Through the competition’s specialized screens, every spectator could feel the fierce killing intent. Both sides’ firepower was intense. The massive imperial warships split into two groups, lying sideways like giant walls, with countless cannons firing in unison, creating waves of explosions. On these walls, dazzling bursts of light appeared from time to time, as huge pieces of armor were torn off and scattered everywhere.

Those are imperial warships the size of meteorites. To put it bluntly, even a fleet from an ordinary race wouldn’t have half the combat power of such ships. The Empire has dominated the universe for countless years precisely thanks to these incredibly powerful weapons. With just the strength of their warships, they have no rivals in the entire universe!

Yet now, these weapons that once enabled the Empire’s supreme dominance have fallen to a state worse than even the most ordinary ships. Even the airships used by ordinary Empire citizens for travel are in better condition than them.

The reason is simple: their enemies are, in effect, themselves.

As participants of the Empire’s competition, almost everyone was equipped with these most formidable warships. And which of the remaining participants hadn’t gone through trials of blood and fire? At this moment, with full force unleashed, all restraint was cast aside. Whether it was the four-person alliance that had originally besieged the black-haired man or the three-person group he had temporarily joined, they all shed their false masks, revealing their savage true nature. Naturally, both sides spared no effort in deploying their warships, bringing out everything they had.

As a result, the battle naturally turned into a clash between the Empire’s warships.

After all, compared to these strongest Empire warships, other ships could be described as trash. How could they remain intact in fierce combat? So within just five minutes, all the ships other than the warships were completely destroyed, reduced to cosmic dust under the Empire warships’ extremely lethal fire. All that remained were the strongest armed forces on both sides.

Under such circumstances, it was only inevitable that the Empire’s strongest armed forces would end up as worthless trash.

But behind this inevitability lay a cruelty too harsh to bear.

In just ten minutes, both sides ended up in a mutually devastating situation. The five Empire warships of the three-person group were all severely damaged. One of them was even split in half by a single attack, its massive hull swaying in space before gradually disintegrating. The sight of such a huge ship collapsing like a meteor terrified all the spectators. As for the other four warships, they were in equally pitiful condition—their hulls pockmarked from enemy fire, with many gun turrets melted away. Countless blue flames burst from these wounds, enveloping the four ships in flames from afar.

But in contrast, the four-person alliance that had once besieged the black-haired warrior also suffered the consequences. Although they had a much larger number of warships—seven in total—having endured countless battles, they were already on the verge of exhaustion. Entering intense combat suddenly, the results were inevitable.
Under the nearly frenzied attacks from the three-person team, two of the empire’s seven warships were hit in their rear engines, causing massive explosions. The other five were not in a better situation either; their already damaged hulls suffered further damage, with one even having half of its gun turrets melted away.
Yet despite this, neither side showed any intention of retreating. Instead, they intensified their attacks. Their reckless behavior clearly signaled to all observers that they were fighting desperately.
Desperately? Whose lives at the cost?
The spectators found it amusing. At this point in the battle, what good was fighting desperately? Anyone could see the situation—those five warships in the temporary three-person team had already lost one, and the balance of victory was tilting heavily. There was no doubt left—the temporarily formed trio numbered 336 would surely lose!!
It was an inevitable outcome. Seeing this, all the spectators sighed in relief. The long final round was finally coming to an end. Though it wasn’t entirely satisfying, what needed to end must end, and everyone was ready to welcome the ultimate winner.
As for contestant number 336, who had remained hidden in the shadows… the spectators frowned. If he didn’t want to show up, then he might as well stay hidden forever. At this point, even if he were a true imperial hero or a genius, he couldn’t change the huge disparity in combat strength between the two sides. No strategy could overcome such a vast difference in power!!
In the Flying Saucer Hall, the spectators’ chatter continued nonstop. But none of them noticed that the course of the battle had quietly changed amidst their discussions.

The change wasn’t that significant. It was still the four-member alliance pressing down on the three-member team. But no one had a clear plan, and unbeknownst to them, the positions of their fleets had already shifted. Perhaps under excessive pressure, the three-member team’s fleet retreated while fighting, tracing an invisible arc through space. In contrast, the four-member alliance, needing to maintain its offensive intensity, also altered its course along this invisible arc. At first, this shift was barely noticeable, but as the battle intensified, the deviation grew larger and larger. Eventually, even the entire battlefield was displaced.

As the attackers, the four-member alliance found themselves suddenly led in a half-circle. They were facing the enemy head-on, but their backs were completely exposed to the most terrifying environment in the Barren Star Region—the Meteor Belt, known as the meat grinder!!

It was a peculiar situation. Both sides moved imperceptibly, bit by bit, making it extremely hidden. But to say no one noticed was not entirely true. At least a few imperial elders in the audience sensed the shift in the battle situation acutely. However, since the change seemed too natural, they didn’t give it much thought.

Didn’t they? The gap in strength was already obvious. Even if the positions of both sides changed, their actual power wouldn’t alter. It was only a matter of time before the four-member alliance won this competition. Unless that mysterious contestant number 336 suddenly appeared behind them and launched a fatal attack.

But was that possible? Behind the four-member alliance was the violent Meteor Belt, known as the meat grinder of the Barren Star Region. If anyone could hide in an environment where countless meteors collided every second, these imperial elders would be the first to doubt it. To them, it was no different from seeking death.

Of course, with the super-strong defenses of imperial warships, hiding for a while wasn’t entirely impossible, but the battle had already lasted over half an hour. If someone could still hide in the Meteor Belt without coming out, then they weren’t human at all!!

Perhaps only the gods or demons in imperial myths had such abilities?

With these thoughts, none of the imperial elders spoke. But just as they settled in to wait for the final outcome…

A sudden change occurred!!

A burst of white light appeared suddenly in the Meteor Belt behind the four-member alliance, followed by a thunderous explosion heard on all channels!!

“Boom!!”

Under everyone’s gaze, that meteor belt suddenly experienced an extremely violent massive explosion. In an instant, time seemed to stand still. The white light first contracted violently before expanding wildly. Countless fragments were scattered everywhere as it expanded, with force comparable to that of shells!! Then, a huge ship’s bow suddenly appeared before everyone’s astonished eyes.
An imperial battleship!!
There was actually an imperial battleship hidden in that meteor belt!!!
Stunned, the audience was in an uproar…