Chapter 44: Counterattack, Section 1

Eliminating the Grand Duke Ziyuan’s elite pursuit force—what an incredible achievement that must be!
You see, the fleet under the Grand Duke Ziyuan is nothing like those rebel armies in the main battlefields. They are all highly trained elites. Even back in the Moor Empire, the Grand Duke Ziyuan was renowned for his exceptional military leadership. His fleet faced no shortage of talent—every commander was the finest among the finest, and every crew member was battle-hardened. On the main battlefields, they could easily hold their own against hundreds of enemies! With the strength of a hundred giant ships, they dared to challenge the imperial army’s massive fleet of a thousand warships.

Yet, such a fleet was reduced by half in a direct battle by Viscount Beck. It’s almost unbelievable. Although Viscount Beck also paid a heavy price for it, not a single person in the entire empire thought that cost was unworthy.

As mentioned earlier, the world today is no longer a competition of productivity but a battle for talent. With today’s technology, any noble, even one with just a few mining planets, can build warships with ease. Producing a single imperial giant ship takes only a few days.

But talent is different. Moors have long lifespans, and a mature commander must accumulate experience and grow naturally over hundreds of years—a reality that no means can change. Thus, although the rebel fleet eliminated by Black Hair was small in number, each member was top-notch. Based on these achievements alone, he could rival half of the entire imperial army!

If that wasn’t exaggerated enough, the battle reports that followed were even more astonishing.

Four months after Black Hair left the empire, when the fleet’s supplies had reached their limit and everyone thought he would return, a shocking news broke. Whether Black Hair was truly lucky or utterly unlucky, on his way back to the empire, as he entered the nebula belt, he encountered the Grand Duke Soya of the rebel forces!

This Grand Duke Soya was nothing short of formidable—far more powerful than Marquis Dassar, whom Black Hair had defeated a few days earlier. Marquis Dassar was famous for his cunning, while Grand Duke Soya was renowned for his patience.

Hunter Soya—such was his nickname—revealed his prowess from the very beginning. Before the high-ranking dukes rebelled, he was in charge of all pursuit missions in the Moor Empire. Together with Duke Deathdust, who handled defense, they formed the imperial emperor’s security barrier. While Duke Deathdust focused on defense, Soya specialized in hunting. No matter how cunning or elusive the fugitive, none could escape Soya’s gaze. Even at the ends of the earth or the farthest reaches of the universe, Soya would not give up. It was said that in one extreme case, he pursued a fugitive for over 200 years without ever stopping. His terrifying patience and unyielding spirit shocked the entire empire.

Blackhair’s encounter with this duke was nothing short of fateful. In this massive imperial rebellion, Soya was also one of the participants. Along with Duke Deathdust and twenty other dukes, he was among the founders of the Smo Empire. Blackhair had been causing trouble everywhere in the Smo Empire, earning the duke’s deep hatred. Until recently, pursuit missions had been handled by Duke Ziyuan, so he couldn’t interfere. But now that Blackhair had destroyed Duke Ziyuan’s pursuit fleet, how could he pass up this opportunity?

As a professional hunter, akin to a public security officer on Earth, Soya’s vision was far beyond that of ordinary people. From the start, he noticed this giant nebula belt that spanned both territories. Though he wasn’t sure yet if Blackhair had passed through here, he was determined not to let it slip away.

When it came to patience, no one in the entire universe could surpass him. So from the moment Blackhair destroyed Duke Ziyuan’s fleet, he stationed his own fleet near the nebula belt, like a group of silent hunters patiently waiting for their prey.

Unluckily, the prey came right to them.

Blackhair and Duke Soya met at the entrance of the nebula belt. According to the battle reports, it was either the successive victories that made Viscount Beck lose his guard or Duke Soya’s extreme cunning—Blackhair failed to detect Soya’s presence at all. He didn’t realize Soya was there until he entered the enemy’s encirclement and came under attack.

But by this point, it was too late. Although the Grand Duke Soya’s fleet was not as strong as the Black-Haired Royal Guard, it was still an experienced fleet that had fought countless battles. Moreover, since the failed attempt to assassinate the emperor last time, the Smo Empire’s efforts to develop non-energy weapons had begun to bear fruit. His fleet was equipped with numerous real-ammo cannons, which gave him an immediate advantage in the first exchange of fire. Poor Black-Haired’s nearly thousand leech warships were destroyed in large numbers without even having a chance to unite. Those that remained were mostly damaged and battered.

After the battle, Black-Haired suffered heavy losses—nearly three-quarters of his warships were wiped out. Fortunately, he sensed the danger and used the super-strong defensive capabilities of the Gale to rush into the nebula cluster, taking advantage of the Grand Duke Soya’s reluctance to pursue him recklessly and escaping back. Upon checking later, it turned out that fewer than two hundred of his leech warships had survived!

It was like a thunderclap—the news of Black-Haired’s defeat shocked the entire empire, delivering a harsh slap to everyone who had become complacent due to the favorable war situation. It even nearly knocked the Grand Duke Taro unconscious.

After all, Black-Haired had played the biggest role in his reaching his current position. If anything went wrong, he would likely be the first to suffer. So as soon as he heard the news, he abandoned everything he was doing and rushed to the imperial military headquarters, insisting that the fleet be sent out at all costs to rescue Black-Haired. Not only that, but his personal fleet was also dispatched simultaneously, with everyone sharing one goal: to find the empire’s rising star, Viscount Beck.

Though it sounded simple, it was actually very difficult. The universe was vast and seemingly boundless. Even though the Moore Empire had countless outposts, finding a small fleet in the cosmos was no easy task. Moreover, Black-Haired’s latest reports indicated that they were forcing their way through that terrifying nebula belt. No one was sure whether those severely damaged warships could make it through.

Thus, the situation became complicated. The imperial military headquarters realized the severity of the situation and immediately sent search teams. Together with the Grand Duke Taro’s personal fleet, they began intensive searches. The emperor himself issued orders, insisting that the task of finding Viscount Beck be given top priority—even at the cost of slowing down the advance at the front lines.

But even so, there was still no result. The search team wandered around the nebula region for a whole month without finding the target. Hei Fa, that is, Viscount Beck of the Empire, seemed to have disappeared without a trace, as if he had never existed at all.
“Bang!” A wine glass was thrown violently onto the floor, shattering into pieces. The maids outside the room were instantly shocked and looked at each other in dismay.
“This is already the eighth one, right?” a young maid said timidly, sticking out her tongue.
“Yes. The Grand Duke is in a very bad mood now. We need to be careful in serving him,” replied an older maid in a low voice, her already pale face turning even paler.
Two months had passed since Viscount Beck disappeared, and still no news. The Grand Duke of Taro became increasingly irritable, living in constant anxiety. Since Beck’s disappearance, the Smo Empire seemed to have regained its footing, focusing all its efforts on the front lines. With a large number of warships deployed, they even managed to push back two star systems. The unfavorable situation on the front lines only made the Grand Duke’s mood worse, leading him to drink excessively these past few days.
As a result, the maids serving him suffered greatly, living in constant fear of making a mistake that might anger the Grand Duke. Especially after one maid was beaten to death for accidentally dirtying the Grand Duke’s clothes a few days ago, their lives became even more unbearable.
With these thoughts, the maids’ faces grew paler and paler. They stole glances at the door not far away and dared not speak again. Just as they were terrified, a voice suddenly rang out.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, it’s Miss Wei Li.” The older maid was shocked and quickly bowed. “Good day, Miss.”
“Good,” said Miss Wei Li as she walked slowly from the other end of the corridor. Seeing the maids’ fearful expressions, she frowned.
“What exactly happened? You all look so scared.”
“Nothing, really,” the older maid denied repeatedly, her face growing paler by the moment.
Although Miss Wei Li had always enjoyed a good reputation among the servants, this was a critical time, and she didn’t dare speak carelessly. If she said something wrong and angered the miss, her fate might be even worse than that of the maid from a few days ago. The imperial hierarchy was no joke.

But just because they don’t say anything doesn’t mean Veri can’t see. In fact, she’s not in a good mood lately either. Seeing the pale faces of the maids, she seemed to understand something. “Oh, it must be Father. Is he drinking inside?”
“Yes, miss,” the maid replied obediently. “His Highness the Grand Duke won’t let us in. He said we need to rest properly.”
“Oh, I see. You may go now.” Veri nodded indifferently. Then she glanced at the burly figure beside her.
“Thunderstorm, come with me.”
“Yes, miss,” General Thunderstorm replied cheerfully with a nod.
The two passed by the maids and quickly reached the door. As soon as it was opened, a pungent smell of alcohol hit them. It made Veri feel nauseous. Through the dim light, she saw her father sprawled over the table, still holding a wine bottle in his hand, snoring loudly.
“It seems he really has drunk too much. It’s all because of that Baker.” Miss Veri shook her head with a bitter smile, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.
Baker, where are you now? Do you know that the household is in chaos because of you?