Chapter 54: The Shattered Hall – Section 5

Behind the massive floating pattern lay a bottomless passage. The fleet of black-haired individuals quickly entered this passage all at once.
The passage was extremely long, and no one knew where its end lay. Yet this did not dampen their confidence. In the silent passage, the fleet moved swiftly, with solemn expressions on everyone’s face. The atmosphere inside the ships grew increasingly oppressive.
To put it plainly, the scenery of this passage was even more astonishing than the virtual corridor they had passed through last time. It consisted of one golden ring after another, with vibrant colors that created a strong sense of fantasy and excitement.
But in contrast, Black Hair felt no interest at all at this moment. Or rather, he couldn’t muster any interest, no matter how hard he tried. He was simply too tired.
Perhaps others didn’t understand, but he was fully aware that this so-called passage was actually of the same type as the virtual corridor—a man-made structure that connected opposite spaces. From the memories of the Tarot Grand Duke, he knew that to open such a passage, a key was required.
Black Hair didn’t have a key, so he could only resort to forceful methods. Fortunately, the Tarot Grand Duke’s memories also mentioned such a method: by knowing the nodes of the opposing passage, one could force it open using energy infusion. This was precisely Black Hair’s strength.
As someone who excelled at controlling energy, it was effortless for him to infuse a little energy. But Black Hair hadn’t realized that the energy mentioned by the Tarot Grand Duke wasn’t just one type.
Damn it! He had hidden the fact that mental energy was required to open it.
Mental energy wasn’t a new concept. Ever since humanity entered the Magic Age, mental energy had been well-known. It was even used in the operating systems of magic mechs. But that didn’t mean it was ordinary. On the contrary, for anyone, mental energy was an invaluable asset.
Because compared to ordinary energy, obtaining mental energy was extremely difficult and slow.

Spirit is a product of humanity itself. Spiritual energy, therefore, must also originate from within humans. By the standards of Black Hair, a normal adult can generate around 0.76 calories of spiritual energy per day, and this amount does not increase with age—it only decreases. Meanwhile, human survival also consumes this energy, keeping the total at roughly the same level throughout the day. Only highly trained warriors might be able to produce about 0.12 calories more spiritual energy than ordinary people, and this spiritual energy is key to controlling magic mechs.

Black Hair is a very strong warrior, so his spiritual energy production far exceeds that of ordinary people, reaching around 3.36 calories per day. If his body is considered a machine, his spiritual energy storage can reach 16 calories.

However, during the recent activation, most of the 16 calories of spiritual energy he had painstakingly accumulated was consumed in an instant. Now, less than one-third remains. Such excessive consumption directly affected his mental state, leaving him extremely tired.

It should be noted that restoring spiritual energy is not simple. The so-called meditation does not exist in this world. The only way to recover spiritual energy is through rest—complete rest. Otherwise, just the daily consumption would be enough to offset Black Hair’s total daily spiritual energy output. Though powerful warriors produce more spiritual energy, their consumption is equally astonishing. This is precisely why spiritual energy is so precious—no one can generate it without consuming anything in return.

So when the fleet entered the passage, Black Hair immediately handed over command to Monkey and left the room. He needed rest.

In the silent passage, Black Hair’s fleet moved silently forward. As time passed, the crew became indifferent to the magnificent surroundings. Seven days had passed since they followed Emperor Moore here, and during those seven days, the only thing they could do was sail.

It was a difficult time. Although the fleet only needed to sail in such a passage, no one dared to relax their vigilance due to Emperor Moore, fearing another ambush at any moment. Fortunately, even the most boring journey eventually comes to an end. On the eighth day of sailing, they finally saw hope.

The splendid golden passage gradually widened.

What does “open space” mean? It means that ahead, not far away, there will surely be a large, flat area—a place for warships to line up and prepare. No matter what kind of corridor it is, such a space is often designed near the exits!

Noticing this change, the spirits of all the crew members were lifted. They immediately became more energetic. The dullness caused by the long voyage vanished. The fleet also changed its formation, shifting from cruising to combat mode. At the same time, Kuroha stepped out of the room.

Seven days of rest had greatly improved Kuroha’s complexion. Although he still felt a bit tired, it was no longer a serious issue. When he returned to the command room, he saw Monkey busy at work. These past few days had kept the kid extremely busy. Previously, as a combat member, Monkey had only commanded small-scale skirmishes at most. But now it was an entire fleet—plenty of chaotic matters to keep him overwhelmed. Seeing Kuroha walk in leisurely, he seemed to see a savior.

“Boss, you’re finally back.” Monkey’s eyes were filled with tears; he almost threw himself at Kuroha, startling him and making his face turn pale again.

“What? Did something happen?”

“Something happen?!?” Monkey exclaimed in shock, almost collapsing to the ground.

“Boss, Commander Kuroha, please don’t scare me. Even if nothing’s wrong, it’s enough to drive me crazy. You want something to happen? Hurry up. Please take your seat. I’ll hand over command right away. From now on, don’t bother me anymore. Goodbye…”

Seeing Kuroha’s indifferent expression, Monkey kept urging him, pushing him onto the captain’s seat in a hurry, then gave a perfect salute before running away without a trace. His panicked demeanor was as if he feared someone might pull him back, drawing amused glances from everyone.

Kuroha could only smile helplessly.

There was nothing he could do. He needed rest, and someone had to command the fleet, right? Kenpou was always too lazy to worry, and Baroka was careless. Among those around Kuroha, only Monkey had the capability. Though he was also a pure combatant, he had been with Kuroha the longest and had learned through observation.

After reflecting for a while, Kuroha finally composed himself and glanced at his subordinates, who were still laughing. The crew members noticed his expression and immediately quieted down. Only then did Kuroha nod in satisfaction.

“What’s the situation?”

“We predict we’ll reach the destination soon, Lord.” The officer in charge of reconnaissance quickly replied seriously.

“Good. What about the fleet?”

“Fully prepared for battle. Mechs, supplies, personnel—everything is in place. Ready to engage at any moment.” This time it was the officer in charge of equipment.
“Hmm.” Black Hair nodded, showing satisfaction. He could tell that despite his absence these past few days, Monkey had done an excellent job. He had considered almost everything that any commander would need to think of. The fleet was now in top condition.
It seems I’ll need this kid to help me in the future, Black Hair thought silently, a sly smile appearing on his face.
“Very good. Then issue orders to the fleet—we’ll leave this corridor immediately.”
“What!?” It was now the officers’ turn to be surprised. They asked urgently, “Lord, aren’t we going to chase to the end?”
“Of course not,” Black Hair replied firmly. “I don’t know where the end is, nor if there are any ambushes. But if it’s the Moor Emperor, I won’t underestimate him. It’s best to leave now, while there’s still some distance to the end.”
“But… Lord, leaving here might cause us to deviate far from the end.”
“That’s not a problem. As long as we stay within a certain area, it’s fine. With the scanning equipment we have, we can fully understand the situation at the end.” Black Hair answered patiently. Finally, he asked kindly, “Are there any other questions?”
“Yes, Lord,” said a young officer standing up. “How are we going to leave? There are no exits here.”
“That’s simple,” Black Hair nodded, glad someone had asked the key question. “Break through this corridor.”
“Ah!?” The officers were stunned.
Break through the corridor? They had never heard of such a thing before. They didn’t even know how the corridor was structured or how it was built, let alone how to break through it. Should they use ship cannons?
“That’s right—use the ship cannons,” Black Hair said, staring at the astonished officers, dropping another bombshell.
“I’ve done some research. This corridor is made up of countless energy rings, which repel other spaces. Although we still don’t know the exact mechanism, one thing is certain: our ship cannons can have an effect on them.”
“But the outcome is still unknown,” the same young officer interjected.
Black Hair glanced at him in surprise at his sensitivity, but still nodded. “Exactly.”

“My lord, that’s far too dangerous. Do we really need to take such a risk?” The officers were still hesitant. But seeing that Blackhair had made up his mind, they eventually began preparations.
Soon, all the cannons on Blackhair’s fleet slowly extended from the ship’s hulls. As the fleet sailed swiftly, they aimed in the same direction.
Three minutes later, a burst of intense white light erupted in the passage…
“Boom!!”
In an instant, the ground shook violently!!