Chapter 18: Black Prison, Section 7

Airborne operations—a term that sounds quite impressive. Yet in reality, it comes with numerous risks.
As everyone knows, the key to airborne operations lies in surprise. But if the defenders are prepared in advance, the attackers often pay a heavy price. At its core, it’s a matter of the suitability of mechs.
After all, airborne operations usually begin in space, and there’s a vast distance between there and the planet’s surface. Therefore, mechs chosen for these operations are typically space-specific models, designed to maintain agility during high-speed descent and ensure the safety of the pilots. However, this choice also presents some drawbacks. Once they land on the surface, space-type mechs inevitably lose some of their combat effectiveness, falling behind ground-specific models in terms of equipment.
This is an inherent flaw of mechs, one that no one can avoid—not even Black Hair. Yet he still made efforts to compensate for it.
The mechs involved in this raid were specially modified at the Death Star Factory. None of them were space-specific models but rather general-purpose types suitable for various environments. With large short-range flight devices added to their backs, they became the main weapons for this airborne operation.
Although general-purpose mechs still lag behind specialized models in adapting to certain environments, they are far better than completely sacrificing certain combat capabilities. Coupled with the short-range flight devices, these mechs were perfectly suited for this raid. So when he saw Blood Pupil recklessly choosing to attack head-on, Black Hair wasn’t overly surprised.
You have to put a horse to the test… I’ve long heard about the prowess of these Bone Guards. Now, it’s time to see it with my own eyes.
Suddenly, the skies over Black Prison Planet became a truly stunning sight. A sea of blood-red mechs descended like thunder from the sky, while the dense clusters of spike-covered peaks on the ground were just as formidable. Both sides rushed toward each other at insane speeds. The distance between them shrank rapidly, and a violent collision was imminent.
“Ohaha… Boss Blood Pupil, teach them a lesson! Let these brats see the power of our Blood Wolves!!”
“Boss Blood Pupil, we admire you!!”
“Roar…”

The public channel was filled with howls as the excited pirates continued to follow Black Hair along their descending trajectory, eagerly anticipating the impending collision. Yes, a massive collision. With such high speeds and the opposing force charging toward them, if they didn’t collide, it would be impossible; once they did, it would be an unimaginably violent impact. The extraordinary speed made even shooting uncontrollable, and the mechs’ bodies trembled. The engines roared, and even the cape behind Blood Eye’s mech seemed on the verge of being torn apart. Time seemed to stand still, and at that moment, all the Bone Guards took a surprising action. While maintaining their charging speed, they all lowered their heads simultaneously, their bone spikes on the back changing angle to point forward. With a chilling “whooshing” sound, the dense spikes erupted forth, shooting upward like an ancient siege of arrows. Oh, God! That was terrifying!! The Bone Guards’ spikes were already astonishingly thick, but when they shot out together, it was even more exaggerated. Almost immediately, they covered half of the sky, forming a dark cloud that rushed toward Blood Eye and the others. The high-speed spikes scraped against the air, emitting a terrifying “hissing” sound. It was visible even to the naked eye—the trails they created as they disrupted the air!! “Danger!” All the pirates shouted at once, mixed with some bizarre howls. “Be careful not to get your butts pierced!!” “Huhu… Blood Eye won’t have his butt pierced; at most, a few more spikes…” “Hahaha…” Laughter filled the public channel. Even with the spikes raining down like a storm, it couldn’t suppress these pirates’ wild spirits. Meanwhile, Blood Eye demonstrated skills that filled the pirates with pride. He turned sideways, swung his right hand, and his large cape was flung forward like an iron plate, tearing away from his back. Then, spinning, he hurled it at the spikes ahead. The screeching sound as it cut through the air instantly filled the sky, and from Black Hair’s side, one could even see the air ripples caused by the cape’s rotation. Immediately after, Blood Eye gave a whistle. All the Blood Wolf mechs following him raised their right hands simultaneously, grabbing a pull cord on their back-mounted thrusters, and pulled hard all at once. “Whoosh!!”

Under everyone’s gaze, the Blood-Pupil squad suddenly performed a grotesque rolling motion, just like gymnasts on a gymnasium floor. Their extremely high speed, combined with the turbulence systems of their flight devices, propelled them outward in a scattered pattern. In just an instant, their dense charging formation turned into a highly dispersed formation. Some mechs were so close to their companions during the roll that there was barely enough space for an egg—truly astonishing.

Such a swift formation change caught the Bone Guardians by surprise. Their fierce attacks became useless, as if the ears of deaf people. After a barrage of attacks, the frontal targets were disrupted by the cloaks, and most of the remaining shots missed, leaving only a few scratches on the edges of the Blood-Pupil squad’s mechs. The only losses were two pirates who were too slow and had their flight devices shot off, causing them to fall straight down.

“Great!!” The pirates cheered in unison!

Hearing their cheers, Blood-Pupil’s large mech swayed proudly, then stretched out his right hand and suddenly pulled out a narrow weapon from his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. A visible red beam shot from the tip of the weapon, aiming straight at the dense charging formation of the Bone Guardians.

“What’s that!?” The pirates’ expressions changed at the sight of it, and the mechs following closely behind Blood-Pupil staggered, quickly pulling back from him.

“The leader said… if you don’t give back, it’s not right… You all, die!!”

With a loud shout, Blood-Pupil pulled the trigger.

“Click!” With a soft sound, a blinding flash swept through the air, forcing everyone to squint. But instead of any attack, Blood-Pupil had already thrown away his weapon, as if nothing had happened.

“Hehehehe… It was just a scare tactic.” The Bone Guardians’ squad leader laughed weirdly and waved his hand, causing the scattered team to regroup. But before they could finish moving, a glowing spot appeared thousands of feet above all the Bone Guardians. Seeing this, the squad leader froze.

“No good!! It’s a ship cannon!!!”

“Boom!!!!”

It’s too late. No matter how fast he is, his speed can’t compare to that of a ship’s cannon. In an instant, a dazzling white beam shot down from the distant sky and engulfed them all. A massive roar, like thunder, erupted, and the area around the landing point of the red light emitted by Blood Pupil turned into an ocean of white light within nearly a kilometer. The ground was torn apart, and the soil was scorched. Everything was instantly reduced to its most primitive particles. Even the dense acid rain clouds in the sky were ripped open by this beam, creating a huge circular void!

Terrifying! Absolutely terrifying!!

With just one attack, the surface of Black Prison was devastated as if hit by an asteroid, forming a huge crater. All the Bone Guards within range didn’t even have time to scream before they were completely destroyed. Compared to the terrifying power of the ship’s cannon, their mechs were as fragile as tofu. The large group immediately scattered in all directions. What was once a squad of nearly a hundred mechs now had less than 30% left!!

But even these 30% were doomed to destruction. During this brief delay, Blood Pupil’s squad descended like tigers from the sky and crashed heavily onto them.

Collisions! Sword strikes! Blades flying everywhere! In that instant, the pirates fully utilized their skills in plundering. Though their movements were unrefined, their attacks were highly efficient. Almost every pirate abandoned their firearms and took out combat weapons from their backpacks, laughing loudly as they tore through the enemies’ armor with a piercing sound. Huge axes and massive hammers—weapons that were completely unsuitable for mech combat—showed their terrifying side. The Bone Guards’ sturdy armor couldn’t withstand even a single strike from these giant weapons. In an instant, countless fragments of armor and limbs flew into the air. It was nothing short of a massacre!!

It wasn’t that the Bone Guards weren’t strong enough; it was simply that their squad leader was too arrogant. His reckless use of Bone Spine attacks not only failed to achieve the desired effect but also forced Blood Pupil to use the warship’s positioning system. This strategic weapon, beyond ordinary combat tactics, disrupted their entire strategy and pushed them to the brink of disaster. Moreover, the super-heavy combat weapons commonly used by the pirates far exceeded the Bone Guards’ expectations. Their armor was practically useless against such heavy weapons.

Yet even so, the Bone Guardians still showed their ferocious side. Almost all of those that survived the ship’s cannons did not choose to flee but instead fought bravely against the pirates. They used the bone spines left on their bodies to attack and slash. Amid the flying fragments of armor, their eyes glowed red, looking extremely monstrous.
No one noticed… as they fought, behind the Blood-Pupil squad, the ground suddenly trembled slightly, and mounds of earth quietly emerged…