Chapter 37: Visiting the Empire, Section 6

The massive gale winds resembled a mountain range spanning the sea, hovering silently. On the ship’s hull, armor based on the cells of the Wandering Tribe writhed layer by layer, like fish scales. With each movement, a cannon emplacement rose from below. Its barrel, with a diameter of a thousand millimeters, was akin to the fangs of a beast, emitting a cold, glinting light.

The pirates in charge of fire support sat calmly in their positions, their eyes cold and expressionless. Their fingers resting on the control keys were dry and steady. Their indifferent demeanor suggested that what was about to begin was not a battle but rather a fireworks display.

This was the advantage of having extensive combat experience. Years of fighting and extremely low casualties had enabled the Black-Haired Blood Wolf warriors to accumulate rich combat experience. Though they often appeared carefree, they became even calmer in battle than the most elite warriors, surpassing them even in terms of mindset.

As seen now, the series of commands issued by the Black-Haired warrior were immediately understood by the soldiers as reflecting their leader’s intentions.

Since the environment was aquatic, the use of weapons was greatly restricted due to light refraction in water, rendering energy weapons nearly ineffective. Although the Gale Winds’ main weapons were hybrid systems, they too had to account for wear and tear. The heavy sniper rifles and armor-piercing bullets mentioned by the Black-Haired warrior were solutions tailored to such an environment.

Heavy sniper rifles possessed high kinetic energy and powerful firepower. Though their rate of fire was slow, their immense kinetic energy could counteract the constraints of water, maximizing their effectiveness. Among the Gale Winds’ hybrid weapons, only the armor-piercing jets had the highest kinetic energy, naturally meeting the needs of the current environment.

In contrast, no matter how powerful machine guns or high-explosive bombs might be, their effectiveness in water was reduced by at least 30%, and in some cases, they became completely useless.

Through the portholes, the Blood Moon and Sunset Mechs outside the Gale Winds stood proudly like ancient war gods, filling everyone’s eyes with confidence.

Perhaps to the shark-like creatures outside, the Blood Moon and Sunset Mechs seemed too small. But they knew that combat strength was not measured by size. These two mechs were the pinnacle of Death Star’s technology and the greatest achievements of humanity. Each one was worth more than a small warship. Though they couldn’t utilize their greatest advantage—short-range teleportation combat—at this moment, they remained the strongest support for everyone.

No one doubted that the Blood Wolves would win this battle. The water was clear, and even with just a glance, people could see the tiny creatures floating in it. They swam leisurely, seemingly unaware of what was about to happen. Suddenly, a current arose, and the fierce wind signaled a change in the water’s direction. Everyone’s heart tightened.

They’re coming!!

In the distance, a wave of dark shapes grew from small to large, soon appearing before everyone’s eyes.

It was a group of dolphins. Just as the holographic scan had shown, twenty-six of them—none more, none less. But unlike the blurred image from the scan, upon closer inspection, these dolphins were in even worse condition than expected.

All twenty-six dolphins were injured. Though there was no blood visible, it couldn’t be hidden from everyone’s eyes. Through their grayish-black skin, they could even see the muscles turned white from being soaked in seawater. Their blood-red eyes reflected not so much battle spirit as desperation in a corner.

With a whoosh, the Blood Moon and the setting sun in front of the fierce wind immediately dispersed to both sides, creating a wide gap. No one tried to communicate, nor did anyone react unnecessarily. Hundreds of mechs moved in perfect unison, as if under one command. After creating the gap, they raised their weapons at the same time—axes, gun muzzles, all gleaming with a cold light.

On one side was a sea of guns; on the other, a path of retreat. The Blood Wolf warriors, in effect, gave these dolphins a choice. If they dared to enter the passage under the watchful eyes of so many mechs, they were handing over their lives to the fierce wind. This gave them a chance to survive, but it also reassured everyone in another way.

Otherwise, even if they could bypass the fierce wind’s formation, Black Hair likely wouldn’t stop their pursuers. The line between life and death was so blurred.

Faced with such a formidable force, the dolphins charging toward them froze momentarily, slowing down. But as their pursuers closed in, the largest dolphin at the front trembled and finally emitted a series of urgent sound waves. Then it plunged headfirst into the Blood Wolf formation, with twenty-five other dolphins following closely behind. Each dolphin’s eyes were blood-red.

“They understand what we mean. These are highly intelligent creatures,” Monkey said softly in the cabin as he watched this scene.

“Mm. But now, those pursuers probably aren’t easy opponents either. It seems we’ve gotten ourselves into trouble this time,” Black Hair agreed, nodding before adding worriedly.

In these waters, the Blood Wolves are merely passersby. They shouldn’t casually get involved in conflicts with these local creatures, especially under such uncertain circumstances. Interfering recklessly could easily attract a horde of terrifying enemies for Li Feng. But Hei Fa really had no other choice. From the holographic images, the threat posed by those shark-like creatures was far too great. With Li Feng currently weakened, he couldn’t afford to let those creatures get close. Even if he didn’t care about the dolphins’ lives, he still had to confront those sharks. Was this a coincidence? In the cabin, Hei Fa narrowed his eyes. The shark-like creatures ahead were getting closer and closer. “Sunset Team One, 45 degrees to the left, flank them. Sunset Team Two, 45 degrees to the right, flank them. Center team, activate all auxiliary engines. Prepare for an attack!!!” A rough voice ordered loudly over the channel. Hei Fa knew it was one of Monkey’s subordinates. For this mission, he was the commander leading the front-line battles—and so far, he seemed quite competent. The Death Star grew larger, and the Blood Wolves grew stronger. The days when Hei Fa fought alone were long gone. Now, the Blood Wolf warriors were gradually getting used to fighting without him at the forefront. A batch of officers with experience in local combat had also emerged. Through the porthole, Hei Fa saw hundreds of Sunset machines responding promptly, forming three groups. Each Sunset machine carried a huge backpack on its back, comparable in size to a mecha. The backpack was pointed at both ends and rounded in the middle, resembling an olive enlarged countless times. Every time a Sunset mech moved, thick streams of water would be ejected from the ends of these “olives” to help propel them swiftly. These were water combat components. Satisfaction flashed in Hei Fa’s eyes. He knew well that underwater combat wasn’t like land or air combat. No matter how agile a mech was, if it didn’t follow the laws of water flow, it would be useless. And these water combat components were designed specifically for such an environment. Their olive shape minimized water resistance, while their large, rounded form provided crucial stability in underwater battles. As for the specialized water propulsion system inside and the 72 torpedoes hidden within, that was another matter. With such components, it was as if the Blood Rain and Sunset machines had fins and gills. Coupled with experienced and brave Blood Wolf warriors, Hei Fa didn’t believe—and didn’t think—there was anyone who could compete with him in the water. Even those shark-like creatures ahead were no exception.

Time passed by swiftly, and those shark creatures were incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, their silhouettes appeared in the distance. At that moment, the dolphins ahead had just crossed Li Feng’s blockade line and moved behind the warship. However, after gaining Li Feng’s cover, they did not continue to flee. Instead, they quickly gathered behind Li Feng, forming a circular formation with one end connecting to the other. The larger ones with less injury surrounded the weaker and more severely injured dolphins in the center, licking each other’s wounds with their tongues.

It was only then that streams of fresh blood began to seep from their wounds, spreading gradually into the surrounding water.

“Captain, we’re detecting some unknown sound waves—coming from those dolphins. It might be a signal from them asking to communicate,” a crew member in charge of communications reported loudly. On the screen in front of him, the sound waves kept fluctuating.

But Hei Fa seemed uninterested. He casually waved his hand. “Ignore those dolphins for now. Translating their language takes time, and we don’t have it. Pass the sound waves to the database for analysis. Everyone else, focus on the battle.”

“Understood,” the communications officer replied loudly before returning to his post quickly.

The sharks in the distance were getting closer. Through the portholes, people could even see their grotesque faces and their sharp teeth, gleaming in the light.

“Attack!!” The team leader who had given the order shouted loudly over the channel. At the same time, all the remaining sun rays seemed to pause. Behind them, the Blood Moon raised their heavy sniper rifles neatly.

“Pfft!!” Hundreds of bubbles burst simultaneously in the water. At the same time, an equal number of water jets appeared before everyone’s eyes. These dense streams of water acted like sharp spears, instantly overcoming the distance barrier and appearing in front of the distant shark creatures.

Those were bullets from heavy sniper rifles—equivalent to those from small ship cannons!!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The group of sharks in the distance suddenly halted. Then, patches of blood-red appeared before everyone’s eyes. Dozens of giant shark creatures twisted in pain, breaking away from their orderly formation and sinking rapidly. The other sharks clearly hadn’t expected to be attacked from such a distance and immediately became chaotic.

An opportunity!! The Blood Wolf warriors immediately recognized the potential benefits of this chaos. A cruel smile appeared on everyone’s face. They had all heard the voice coming over the channel.

“Sunset Center Forward, charge!! Left and right teams, block the retreat routes. Close combat, begin!!”