Chapter 43: Chaos, Section 4

His mind was like a turbulent ocean, and in an instant, Hei Fa could barely control himself. His thoughts were filled with the emperor’s seemingly casual words from earlier.
“If you wish, I can share some of those external forces with you. How about that?”
Was this a temptation? Or a test?
Hei Fa’s brows furrowed even more tightly, yet he released the wine glass he was holding.
Yet upon seeing his expression, the emperor smiled. He shook his head and sat down in front of Hei Fa.
“Are you worried about that statue?”
“Hm?” Hei Fa was taken aback; he hadn’t expected the emperor to still remember that statue.
“Hehe, don’t worry. I’m not holding it against you,” the emperor waved his hand, seemingly misunderstanding Hei Fa’s expression. “As I’ve said before, everything has been under my control from start to finish. Do you really think I wouldn’t know it was Zi Yan’s trick?”
“…” Hei Fa’s brows relaxed as he remained silent. He knew that since the emperor had mentioned the statue, there must be more to it.
Sure enough, seeing his reaction, the emperor nodded in satisfaction. He stretched out a finger and pushed the red wine on the table toward Hei Fa.
“It is said that you enjoy drinking wine greatly, yet you’ve never gotten drunk. You also avoid women, lead a regular life, and are very disciplined. You’re bold in battle command and often surprise your opponents, managing to defeat larger forces many times over. You’re a rare tactical genius. Especially that first battle when you appeared in the empire—Black Hand suffered a huge loss but couldn’t complain. It was truly astonishing.”
“…You’ve investigated me?” Hei Fa felt a sense of dread, his expression darkening.
Just as the emperor said, everything was under his control. If he could even keep track of Duke Zi Yan’s plans, investigating his own past must be a piece of cake. Hei Fa didn’t think his origins could hide from such a shrewd man. After all, his identity was just that of a descendant of a fallen noble, but even the most fallen nobles should have some records in the empire.
However, the emperor’s next move wasn’t as Hei Fa had expected. He simply stared at him for a while before revealing a faint smile.
“That kid Taro did quite well this time. He finally found a true talent for the empire.”
“Boom!” In the distant starry sky, another imperial warship exploded. The intense flames shone through the shielding, casting fluctuating light on the emperor’s face. This gave Hei Fa a moment to breathe easier. His expression relaxed slightly as he poured himself a glass of wine.

Facing this imperial emperor, one really cannot be careless at all. Unconsciously, Hei Fa had already placed this emperor on an equal footing with himself, making it impossible to underestimate him anymore. It seems one hurdle has been passed. From the emperor’s words, it seems he still hasn’t suspected him. So, should he take on this troublesome task?

Leech warships are specialized weapons designed for use within the empire. Why did the emperor hand them over to him?

For a moment, Hei Fa was unsure what to do, but he didn’t show it on the surface. He quietly stared into the emperor’s deep eyes. After a long while, he spoke in a low voice.

“Duke Taro is a true Moor.”

“Hmm,” the emperor replied briefly, acknowledging Hei Fa’s guess. By now, he too had realized that gaining the loyalty of this outstanding commander wasn’t easy. Since Hei Fa had already guessed that Duke Taro was his secret pawn, there was no need to hide anything.

“It is an honor for us to serve under Duke Taro,” Hei Fa said after a brief silence before adding, “Rest assured, no one will think you are vain. By taking on this position, you will still be under Duke Taro’s command.”

“Very well. Then I am willing to resolve all your troubles for you,” Hei Fa said readily, standing up respectfully and bowing. “But I have one more request.”

“Speak,” the emperor said, raising an eyebrow.

“I want full authority. Only I shall command the fleet assigned to me. As for the number, that is up to Your Majesty.”

“Give you three hundred leeches. You must resolve the chain of reactions caused by this incident. If my guess is correct, chaos will soon erupt within the empire. Although I know most of the rebels, there might still be secretly hidden false Moors. You must eliminate them all.”

“Five hundred,” Hei Fa replied succinctly.

“Agreed,” the emperor’s eyes gleamed as he raised his assessment of Hei Fa even further.

Others might not know, but he was very clear. Leech warships had a highly unique structure, and their combined strength was far more than just the sum of their parts. The difference between three hundred and five hundred, when converted to ordinary warships, meant the difference between a small fleet and a large one—a significant gap.

Five hundred leeches could combine into fifty black crystal giants, exactly the optimal number to maximize the combat power of such warships. This Beck truly had sharp insight.

Seeing that the emperor had fulfilled his request, Black Hair placed his right hand on his chest again and gave a military salute.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Your troubles will be resolved soon.”
“I believe so,” the emperor said with a faint smile, raising his wine glass. “In three days, the list will be on your desk. Starting today, you will be the captain of the First Company of the Royal Guard. You’ll report to Taro, who will take over from Death Dust. He’s not good at commanding fleets, so you’ll need to take care of that.”
“Don’t worry. I will keep my promise,” Black Hair replied calmly, also raising his glass.
“Clang.” The two glasses collided.
The artillery fire outside grew more intense. Through the porthole, Black Hair could even see the slow-motion destruction of the rebel fleets. The massive Moorish warships resembled severely wounded, dying mammoths, emitting pained groans as they slowly split in half. Their huge hulls, like two small mountains, gradually separated. Flames still burst forth from their hole-ridden decks, illuminating half of the star system.
Duke Purple Rock’s rebellion suffered a setback in its first battle. Black Hair only learned of this when he returned to Duke Taro’s side later. In that battle, Duke Purple Rock had deployed nearly 2,000 imperial warships—along with his own private forces and some ships from the Empire’s First Expeditionary Force. Under the pretext of suppressing a rebellion, they were sent right under the emperor’s nose, only to become prey for the Black Crystal warships. None of the 2,000 warships or hundreds of thousands of crew members survived.
Yet this also showed Duke Purple Rock’s audacity. The strength of those 2,000 warships had nearly depleted half of the First Expeditionary Force. After his entire army was destroyed, this long-restrained warlord proved to be decisive, immediately declaring independence within the empire. Taking his own territory as the center, he declared the surrounding 32 star systems as his domain and proclaimed himself the emperor of the Smo Empire.
The news spread rapidly, causing a huge uproar within the empire. As the Moorish emperor had expected, from the moment Duke Purple Rock announced his independence, other rebels emerged one after another. Duke Death Dust, who had already realized he was exposed, was one of them. Besides him, more than 20 nobles also declared their separation from the empire and allegiance to Duke Purple Rock.

In just seven days, the entire Moor Empire fell into chaos. No one could have imagined that such a rebellion, on such a large scale, would occur at a time when the empire was at its peak of power. Among the nobles who followed Duke Ziyan in declaring independence from the empire were two grand dukes and five marquises! Each of them possessed vast territories, with the total number of star systems reaching over a hundred. Moreover, most of these territories were connected, accounting for one-third of the empire’s total land!

With such a large area seceding suddenly, the reaction within the empire was needless to say. The changes among the common people were astonishing. Many races that had been forced to submit under the empire due to the Moorians’ conquests took the opportunity to cause chaos. Abandoning their homes in the Moor Empire, they rushed to the Smo Empire in droves, creating wave after wave of displaced people. The empire’s strength plummeted dramatically.

Faced with such chaos, the empire’s response was rather sluggish. Although Duke Taro was the emperor’s true confidant, his abilities were somewhat inadequate, resulting in a delayed response to the rebellion. It took a full week after the emperor’s assassination before he sent orders to suppress the rebellion to the Moorian military.

The Moorian military proved efficient. Though the orders came late, their fleet mobilization was astonishingly fast. In just three days, 3,000 imperial warships were divided into several fleets and deployed along the borders of the Smo Empire, ready to launch an attack at the slightest command.

On the other side, the rebels led by Duke Ziyan were no less determined. The private armies of over twenty nobles, combined with the 3,000 imperial warships, andplus Duke Ziyan’s own resources, totaled more than 5,000 ships! Duke Ziyan immediately brought these fleets to the front line to confront the imperial warships.

The silent starry sky remained calm, but beneath it, the two sides were like fire and water. The massive Moorian warships radiated hostility, aiming their menacing cannons at what were once their allies. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, with war on the brink.

The empire’s chaos had finally begun… And no one could have imagined that among the empire’s fleets sent to restore order was a peculiar figure—like a wolf hidden in the shadows, silently watching the rebels’ cold cannons, expressionless. Next to him were not the familiar imperial warships, but narrow, dark ships…

Chaos is an opportunity…

Hei Fa stared quietly at the star chart before him, a cold smirk suddenly appearing on his calm face.