Chapter 19: Secrets, Section 10

Silence…
Absolute silence…
Below the peaks, the dense swarm of Bone Guards resembled a black ocean. Yet not a sound was made. That deathly silence gradually turned into pressure, weighing heavily on the hearts of everyone who saw them.
These Bone Guard mechs were clearly different from those Black-Haired had encountered before. Not only were they larger in size, but they also had more bone spines, darker in color. The pitch-black bones writhed as if they were alive. In each Bone Guard’s eye sockets burned two pulsating red flames, which grew brighter with the appearance of the warship!!
“Lord Commander, the enemy has appeared. Please give orders,” a voice suddenly rang out among the Bone Guards. If anyone paid attention, they would notice that it was a mech different from the ordinary Bone Guards—one with an inclined pattern of bone spines painted on it with special pigments; clearly a squad leader’s mech.
And there were dozens of such mechs among the Bone Guards!!
As soon as he spoke, the swarm parted slightly, revealing a giant figure behind them! Dark armor, a massive frame, and a broad cape—wasn’t that the leader of the Bone Guards, Mari, who had fought against Black-Haired before!?
“There’s no need to capture them. Their existence threatens societal harmony. Based on the principles of purity and strength, they must be utterly eradicated. Now, erase them all!!”
“Understood!!” The Bone Guards replied in unison, emitting a series of hissing sounds like venomous snakes. Then, the shadows all over the mountains writhed simultaneously and rushed toward the peaks!!
No one could imagine that overwhelming wave of darkness, no one could imagine the ferocity of those Bone Guards. But everyone on the warship knew one thing for sure:
They… were about to be erased…
“Boom… boom… boom…” Suddenly, the sound of ancient war drums echoed from the warship, striking everyone’s heart like distant thunder. invisibly, people’s eyes lit up. They cast aside despair and fear, crawling toward their posts using hands and feet. Those operating weapons and controlling the warship seemed to transform in just fifteen minutes—no longer showing any hesitation, replaced instead by unwavering determination.
Eradication? Then let’s perish together…
Perish together!!

“Crack!!” The armor plates on the surface of the warship rose simultaneously, revealing the dark gun barrels beneath. Before the Bone Guards could even notice the change on the warship, those barrels already spewed deadly flames.
“Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!”
The giant-caliber cannons roared deafeningly! Bright red trails cut through the sky. In an instant, waves surged in the dark Bone Sea. The ground cried out in agony. One after another, the Bone Guards were blasted to pieces! Massive fragments of bones flew everywhere, like a sea of white waves. Visibly, countless gaps of varying sizes appeared among the dense crowd of Bone Guards—huge craters formed before everyone’s eyes.
Terrifying power!!
The pirates of the Blood Wolf Squad immediately took a deep breath, and their gazes toward those prisoners changed as well.
It was unimaginable. These people, who had neither proper clothing nor enough food, could create such terrifying weapons. With each firing of those crude, powder-propelled cannons, the mountains shook violently. Large chunks of soil were lifted into the air. The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder. In contrast, dozens of Bone Guard mechs were also blown to pieces!
Yet, the number of Bone Guards was still far too great. Moreover, they feared death not at all. Despite the fierce bombardment, it couldn’t stop them in the slightest. The hissing sounds filled the air. Everywhere one looked, those terrifying red eyes were visible. They crossed ditches and rushed toward the mountains, stepping on their comrades’ corpses. Sparks flew everywhere as the mechs moved.
Suddenly, with a cry that seemed to come from nowhere, a dark cloud appeared above the warship!!
Oh no!! Those were Bone Spines!!
Those who were observant immediately started shouting. They realized that it wasn’t a cloud at all, but countless thick Bone Spines, as thick as bowl rims. Their sheer number meant that when they were fired, they covered the sky densely, blocking out even light!!
“Fire suppression!!” Madaro shouted hoarsely. But his voice was immediately drowned out by the endless cannon fire.
Over a hundred rapid-fire cannons turned their barrels at once, instantly creating a dense web of fire above the warship. Upon contact, countless Bone Spines were destroyed mid-air. The exploding debris resembled sudden clouds of black mist, visible everywhere in the sky.

But the number of bone spines was truly enormous. Even with the intense fire from rapid-fire cannons, it was merely a trivial obstacle to them. Before Madaro could issue another order, these bone spines, carrying unparalleled kinetic energy, slammed violently into the warship!!
“Ding ding ding ding…”
A continuous series of sharp noises filled the air. In just an instant, the warship on the mountain became a hedgehog covered in spikes. Dozens of cannons also stopped firing, greatly reducing their offensive power!!
Yet this giant warship was the culmination of all the prisoners’ efforts. Its defense was terrifyingly strong. Even the bone spines that could easily tear through alloys could only penetrate its armor by about twenty centimeters—far from breaking through even the first layer of protection, let alone causing any damage to the prisoners. Their only effect was to induce a little panic.
On the other hand, once the prisoners stabilized, the artillery fire became even more intense. The repair teams, already prepared, fixed the cannons as quickly as possible, allowing them to emit deafening roars once again. If someone could observe from above, they would see the warship’s artillery fire resembling rows of bright red waves radiating out in waves. All the Bone Guards within range were thrown to the ground and instantly torn to pieces by the scorching onslaught.
“Oh… I hope Lord Blackhair can hurry up. This can’t go on!!” Inside the warship, Madaro was drenched in sweat, so nervous he was on the verge of fainting.
Indeed, although this giant warship was as powerful as the Stormbringer, the Bone Guards were still Bone Guards. Their fearsome reputation wasn’t earned for nothing. In just a short while, the black Bone Sea had advanced dozens of kilometers, reaching the foothills of the mountain. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before they reached the warship.
What was even more troublesome was that these Bone Guards were utterly fearless. No matter how intense the warship’s artillery fire was or how many Bone Guards were destroyed in an instant, they showed no fear at all. Those massive black figures resembled demons from the depths of the earth, rushing wildly from all directions. From Madaro’s perspective, he could even see the bone carvings on their mechs.
At the same time, at the rear of the battlefield, Bone Guard commander Maridi frowned deeply. A groaning whisper suddenly came from his cockpit.
“Why… why aren’t these prisoners afraid… why aren’t they running?”

“Commander, it’s not that they don’t want to run—they simply can’t. Our troops have surrounded them completely; any attempt to take off or use teleportation will result in a thunderous attack. You know that well. In such a situation, warships have no defense at all. They are doomed!” A squad leader beside Mari immediately spoke up.

“Is that really the case?” Mari pondered in silence for a moment before suddenly exclaiming, “No!! Their main force hasn’t shown up yet!! This is a trap!!”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Behind us!!” Mari shouted loudly and turned around abruptly.

As the commander of the Bone Guards, Mari truly lived up to being the strongest warrior. His keen intuition finally allowed him to grasp the Black-Haired man’s intentions. At that moment, he realized that the enemies who had once caused such heavy losses to his subordinates were targeting none other than himself!!

They wanted to eliminate him directly to shatter the faith of all the Bone Guards!!

It had to be said that this plan was extremely ruthless. Mari was well aware of how important his status was to the Bone Guards. Though he was considered the strongest among them, any incident could have cascading consequences. At the very least, his subordinates would instantly fall apart!!

But it was too late!!

The moment he turned, a thunderous explosion erupted. With him at the center, the ground within hundreds of meters was violently lifted into the air by an unimaginable force, sending Mari and some Bone Guards flying. Before the surrounding Bone Guards could react, a bright red wave surged up from below!!

First to appear were those heavily armored elite mechs. Their massive, solid bodies acted like giant walls, blocking the view of all the Bone Guards the moment they appeared. These huge machines wielded giant shields in one hand and battle axes in the other, charging headlong into the nearest group of Bone Guards. With a flash of the axe, they shattered the Bone Guards around them into pieces!! Soon after, dense bursts of fire erupted from behind these giant mechs. The second wave of heavy artillery mechs had also come into action!!

Indeed, they were the strongest mechs meticulously designed by the prisoners. As soon as the Blood Wolf Pirates appeared, they gained an overwhelming advantage locally. The Bone Guards’ bone spikes caused minimal damage to the mechs’ giant shields, while the artillery mechs unleashed waves of gunfire that were barely inferior to those from warships!!

“Hmph!! You want to defeat me already? You bunch of trash, damn fools!! You underestimate the power of Harmony!! Even if you can trap me, we are still the commanders of the squad leaders!! Your plan is nothing but a joke!!” High in the sky, Manager Mari suddenly let out a wild laugh.
But before he could finish laughing, there was a sudden loud bang, and one of the squad leader machines closest to him staggered violently, its head being ripped off from its neck!!!
“Huh!?” Mari’s pupils contracted sharply as he saw some special mechs emerging from the cave below. Without exception, they all held huge, cannon-like…
Giant kinetic sniper guns!!