Chapter 42: Emperor Moore – Section 1

A shrill noise, explosive roars, and dizzying cheers all erupted through the channel at that moment. In an instant, the entire Barbarian Star Region seemed to explode. Fleets as vast as oceans fired salutes simultaneously, with hundreds of millions of energy blasts tearing through the starry sky. Even while inside the shuttle, Hei Fa could clearly sense the frenzied atmosphere. The floor beneath his feet trembled, and the surrounding stars swayed. At that moment, Hei Fa even felt a bit dizzy.
Was this the most insane celebration of the Moore Empire? For their hero, their so-called new hero figure?
It might be utterly irrational and crazy, but Hei Fa could still understand it.
The Moore Empire had been built on overwhelming military strength for countless years. They dominated the universe with unchallenged might. Their greatest challenge wasn’t conquering enemies but maintaining that relentless fighting spirit. After all, for any nation, the greatest enemy wasn’t one present before them but the endless passage of time. No matter how brave a warrior, their sharpness would inevitably fade over the years.
In this regard, the Moore Empire had been extremely successful. The century-long competition events were the most outstanding example. With such events, the empire’s martial spirit would never cease. All its citizens went mad trying to become heroes, which was like installing an engine that would never stop.
But for him now, this situation was clearly not favorable. It only made his actions more difficult, shrinking his hopes of overthrowing the empire.
If not for Duke Zi Yan’s rebellion, Hei Fa might not have even found the empire’s weaknesses. But now… things were different. Duke Zi Yan had given him a huge gift.
Turning his gaze away from the window, a faint smile appeared on Hei Fa’s face. Soon, he would meet the emperor of this greatest empire. What kind of person was he? One who could make a nation and a race become the rulers of the universe—surely he must be extremely special too?
The shuttle moved quickly but did not head straight to the giant ship above the pyramid. Instead, it circled several times above the vast square of the Flying Saucer Space Station. After receiving salutes from almost all the warships, it then drifted slowly toward the pyramid. In Hei Fa’s eyes, the magnificent structure grew rapidly larger, and soon they reached the top of the pyramid.

At that very moment, a deafening roar suddenly sounded. Centered around the pyramid, tens of thousands of lights suddenly radiated out from the UFO Square. These lights turned on one by one, forming countless intricate columns of light. After interweaving a few times, they all converged on the location of the shuttle. Meanwhile, the giant warship with black hair on top opened a huge hatch in its belly, releasing a thick red beam of light that tightly enveloped the shuttle. At the same time, Black Hair suddenly felt as if he had lost his weight, floating lightly like a feather.

Gravity control.

In the blink of an eye, Black Hair understood the meaning of that red beam. It was something similar to a warship’s landing tunnel. But unlike ordinary warships, this giant warship’s landing tunnel relied on gravity control as its mechanism.

Realizing this, Black Hair was utterly astonished. Just think—what an enormous technological gap! While gravity control wasn’t particularly difficult, achieving perfect precision was practically impossible. That’s why ordinary warships usually used mechanical mechanisms for their landing tunnels. But this warship clearly surpassed that category. It could be inferred that its technology was even an entire era ahead of that of ordinary imperial warships.

What a huge gap. Black Hair couldn’t fathom it. But one thing was certain: with this warship around, the Emperor of Moore’s safety was guaranteed. No fleet could hope to conquer this giant warship and kill the emperor. And if a fleet were to be sent, how massive would it have to be? It would be foolish of the emperor not to be alert.

In other words, if Duke Ziyan really wanted to assassinate the emperor, he could only do it from within! But the question was—who was the assassin?

Thinking of this, Black Hair raised his head and fixed his gaze on the face of the only Moore officer in the cabin.

“Have the other victors arrived?”

“Yes, Lord Baker. They’ve all entered the sanctuary. You’re the last. Because of your outstanding achievements, the assembly requires you to receive honors from all the spectators before entering the sanctuary. His Majesty is already waiting there,” replied the Moore officer with a slight bow.

“Oh, so we’ll all receive our awards in one place?” Monkey interjected casually from the side.

“Yes. But there is a sequence, and it happens at the end. His Majesty will personally summon those with outstanding achievements, including you, to receive individual praise.” Officer Moore continued to answer with great respect. As soon as these words were spoken, Black Hair and Monkey understood. They exchanged a glance, then Black Hair slowly spoke up.
“Is it a private meeting? Then who are the others?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t answer that question. There’s a dedicated person in charge of His Majesty’s meeting list. But one thing is certain—only a few people will receive this honor. Probably including you, it won’t exceed five. They are all elites of the empire, sources of pride. That’s why His Majesty plans to reward them personally.” At this point, Officer Moore raised his head, his eyes filled with admiration.
Five… five people!!
Black Hair’s heart tightened. He could now be sure that at least half of those five were assassins sent by Duke Ziyan. And that so-called private meeting was their chance to carry out the assassination!
Thinking of this, Black Hair’s eyes narrowed slightly. He needed to ask more questions. If not observed closely, one might think he had fallen asleep. But only Monkey knew that Black Hair was actually more dangerous now than during battle. Seemingly calm, he had heightened every sense of alertness, like a viper ready to strike, waiting only for the moment to attack!
From now on, they would face all kinds of dangerous challenges. The journey ahead would be fraught with peril.
Fifteen seconds later, the shuttle trembled slightly before coming to a stop. Then, led by Officer Moore, Black Hair and Monkey stepped out of the cabin.
A brilliant light filled the air. As soon as they stepped out, Black Hair and Monkey felt as if they had entered a grand hall. They found themselves in a vast, spacious area, resembling an ancient domed palace. Huge chandeliers above cast dazzling light, while tens of thousands of lamps around illuminated the entire hall in exquisite detail. Under such bright lighting, Black Hair could even see the textures of the reliefs on the walls and the fibers of the carpet beneath his feet.

Is this the Temple mentioned by Officer Moore? Indeed, it’s extremely magnificent. Without drawing attention, Hei Ba had already taken in the entire environment of the hall. It was a vast space, roughly a kilometer square. At the center of the hall stood a splendid throne. A red carpet stretched from beneath the throne all the way to his feet, with hundreds of warriors clad in full armor on either side. Their faces were completely hidden beneath their helmets, and their armor was adorned with exquisite patterns without exception. Their scarlet cloaks added to their grandeur—truly more imposing than the empire’s generals. These warriors formed two rows, creating a corridor wide enough to be a hundred meters. Hei Ba found himself at one end of the corridor, while at the other end, hundreds of victors were neatly lined up, waiting for the emperor’s arrival.

Hei Ba was among the last group of victors to step onto the red carpet. So, after he stepped out of the shuttle, the shuttle immediately descended and vanished from the hall. A section of floor slid up from below, sealing off the entrance through which the shuttle had entered. Then, the warriors lined up on both sides stepped forward together, raising their firearms!

Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in Hei Ba’s eyes. With a gentle motion of his left hand, he silently stopped the Monkey from approaching. Although the actions of those two rows of warriors seemed threatening, he knew it was likely just a formality. If they really wanted to eliminate him, there was no need to wait until now—Monkey’s reaction was completely unnecessary.

Sure enough, the fully armed warriors did not aim their firearms at Hei Ba. Instead, they tapped their guns together in unison, producing a rhythmic sound. With a graceful motion, they reached for the knives at their waists. Hundreds of ceremonial knives were raised simultaneously, forming a corridor entirely made of knives!!

The Knife Ceremony!!

This was the empire’s way of showing respect to warriors!! Only the bravest fighters deserved such honor. Undoubtedly, the emperor placed great importance on Hei Ba, even going so far as to use such a ceremony for him.

Hearing this rhythmic sound, many of the victors in front turned their heads toward Hei Ba. Hei Ba could even see the envy in their eyes. In an instant, he became the center of the entire hall!!

At that moment, a beam of white light finally appeared beside the throne at the front of the hall. Then, an elderly figure slowly stepped forward. He first glanced at the contestants below, and only after seeing their respectful gazes did he show a satisfied expression and nod slowly. Then he spoke softly, “All contestants, please return to your seats. His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!” The Emperor of Moore? He appeared right away? Hei Fen was shocked; his steps stopped instantly. He looked up and stared at the throne ahead, where a gentle sphere of light was slowly expanding, gradually coming into view for everyone…