Chapter 29: Harmony of Light and Darkness, Section 3

No one pities anyone.
That is reality—the cruelest reality. Blood-Pup understood Black-Hair’s meaning, so he remained silent.
He continued his work in silence, boarded the mech in silence, and entered the pitch-black tower door in silence.
The tower was enormous.
Though it was built entirely of large rocks, its interior was surprisingly spacious. More than thirty mechs led by Black-Hair moved inside without any sense of crowding. As soon as they entered the gate, they were greeted by passages filled with debris.
Undoubtedly, that war dealt a fatal blow to the Rock People—not only had the dead city turned into ruins, but even this core tower was no exception. The external damage was one thing, but the internal injuries were just as severe. These debris were clearly stripped off by violent explosions, suggesting that no one inside the tower could have escaped. Whether there was anything Black-Hair and the others wanted behind those instantly sealed passages was unknown.
Construction mechs quickly arrived, breaking apart and transporting huge rocks. As work progressed, the passages were gradually dug out. It was then that Black-Hair and the others realized—the tower actually had no stairs!
A tower without stairs? What kind of design was this? What could such a tower be used for? Everyone was confused by the Rock People’s strange architecture. From the war visions earlier, they already understood the significance of this tower to the Rock People. But why would such an important place lack even the most basic stairs?
Did the Rock People use flight to maintain this place?
Well, if there were no stairs, Black-Hair and the others could rely on the mechs’ power to fly up briefly. But there had to be a path first! Yet the passages before them clearly weren’t designed that way. In this tower, aside from the entrance hall where Black-Hair stood, everything above was sealed off. The passage filled with debris didn’t lead upward—it led straight downward!
Staring at the dark passage entrance, everyone fell silent.
But despite their confusion, the exploration continued methodically. Once they realized this dead city wasn’t some kind of horror, the Blood Wolf Pirates also relaxed their tension. Instead, they developed a very special mindset.
This mindset could be described as… remembrance.

Mourning the legacy left by an ancient yet incredibly glorious civilization. Mourning a race that once fought against immensely powerful enemies. Everything here, though made of cold stone, seems to come alive. Every crack and scar seems to tell a story.

The passage is very long… so long that Hei Fa can hardly imagine it. Their elite mechs have been in the passage for over half an hour, yet all they see is utter darkness. In the silence, only the creaking of the mechs’ ankles and the flickering of the searchlights ahead can be heard, but nothing is found—just stone. The walls are stone, the stairs are stone, the ceiling is stone. Everything here is stone. Aside from stone, the passage bears not a trace of civilization. There are no religious symbols or records of civilization as imagined. Looking at the bare walls around them, if it weren’t for the images of the war they had just experienced, the Blood Wolf Pirates would think they were entering a dungeon—a dungeon buried deep underground.

But no one speaks. The entire exploration team consists of Hei Fa’s loyal subordinates, experienced Blood Wolf Pirates. They know when to offer their opinions and when to follow orders without hesitation. This is the latter case. The longer the passage, the farther they are from the surface. And the deeper underground, the stronger the protection. Given the importance of this tower, the secrets it holds must be earth-shattering.

Of course, they are also more dangerous. Everyone knows this, but no one speaks up. Two mechs ahead of them have already been replaced. The intense tension keeps every pirate on edge. As they go deeper, they become even more alert.

Until they passed a corner. That was more than half an hour after entering underground. The passage suddenly changed direction, turning from a straight downward spiral into a very sharp bend. Just as the vanguard mech ahead of Hei Fa passed the corner, an angry roar suddenly came through the common channel.

Everyone was shocked. Xue Tong reacted fastest, accelerating sharply. The impact modules under the blood-red mech emitted a chilling friction sound as it immediately overtook the mechs ahead, then performed a brilliant drift at the bend, revealing the scene ahead.

“Rock Warriors!!” A low shout came from Xue Tong’s mouth.

What? How could it be Rock Warriors?

Everyone could hardly believe their ears. From the war footage just now, they certainly understood what the Blood-Eyed one meant by “Rock Warriors.” Those enormous warriors, even larger than mechs, wielding giant stone axes, left a deep impression on everyone. In such a narrow passage, encountering such a terrifying giant was simply unimaginably frightening.

But the question was: how much time had passed? How could Rock Warriors still exist? Could they have survived such a horrific disaster?

However, the current situation didn’t allow them to ponder further. In just an instant, the lead mech had already engaged in battle.

Its enemy was indeed a Rock Warrior over three meters tall.

This Rock Warrior stood on the other side of the curve, right at the turn. So unless one got closer, it was impossible to detect it. Its body wasn’t the grayish-white of ordinary Rock Warriors seen by Black Hair and the others—it was pitch black, like ink. In this equally dark passage, it was the perfect camouflage. If it didn’t move, it could almost be mistaken for part of the wall.

But now, it had become the most terrifying enemy.

Although the passage was spacious, a Rock Warrior over three meters tall, wielding its giant axe, was enough to block every inch of space. Due to its strategic position, the lead mech was already very close when it detected it. Through the light from the searchlight, the Blood Wolf Pirate inside the mech could even clearly see the cracks on the Rock Warrior’s body!

And there was also that blinding flash of the axe heading straight for them!!

“Clang!!”

A deafening crash. In an instant, the Blood Wolf Pirate demonstrated excellent combat skills. Instead of dodging the sudden attack, he sharply pulled back the control lever. His elite mech immediately turned sideways, with the shield in its left hand meeting that blinding axe strike!! The sound of metal colliding with stone echoed like thunder in the silent passage, shocking everyone behind him.

To improve the team’s survival chances, Black Hair had stipulated that only heavily armored defensive mechs could serve as the vanguard of an exploration team. Now, this rule undoubtedly saved everyone’s lives.

The Rockmen are a race that revere strength above all; their massive axes, even the smallest ones, are as big as door panels, and swinging them can easily tear through the armor of mechs. If the mech at the front were an ordinary combat mech or a shooting mech, its fate would be inevitable. Thankfully, it wasn’t…
Fortunately, it wasn’t.
The shrill sound of metal grinding echoed continuously, with dazzling sparks flying everywhere. Under the terrifying power of that Rockman warrior, the heavy mech at the front was crushed down by half. One of its legs suddenly knelt on the ground, sparking violently. The shields held high above its head were bent out of shape in just one swing!?
“Good!” Seeing the performance of the Blood Wolf Pirates at the front, Blood Eye, who had rushed up behind them, immediately shouted. With a motion of his hands, two long multi-barreled machine guns appeared in the red-armored mech’s hands. The mech kept moving forward at full speed and rushed behind the mech at the front. As the impact modules beneath its feet sparked, the two long machine guns passed through the shoulders of the front mech and struck straight at the Rockman warrior’s chest. The sparks generated from the collision between the cold gun barrels and the hard stone made the Blood Wolf Pirates behind them jump in shock.
Damn, no way… Boss Blood Eye, are you doing this again?
“Bang bang bang bang…” The crisp sound of the machine guns filled the passage immediately. Blood Eye’s temper was truly fierce. Influenced by the combat style of the black-haired warrior, he became even more brutal in battle. The two long heavy machine guns were fired only after being pressed against the opponent’s body. High-temperature, high-speed particle jets erupted instantly, turning the entire passage red with their fiery trajectories.
The power of the multi-barreled rotary machine guns was proven once again. Amidst the barrage of bullets, the Rockman warrior opposite was instantly riddled with holes. Anger-filled roars and pained cries filled the passage, but he no longer had even a chance. In just an instant, Blood Eye’s two machine guns fired tens of thousands of particle jets, instantly shredding the Rockman warrior to pieces. Broken stone fragments flew everywhere, hitting the surrounding walls and sparking further.
It might sound complicated, but it was actually just an instant. When the mech at the front stood up, it immediately realized that the Rockman warrior who had attacked it was gone. All that remained was a stone leg, with thin smoke slowly rising from it, as if still accusing Blood Eye’s brutality.
“…” The Blood Wolf Pirates were speechless. Their gazes toward the blood-red mech had changed completely.

Just then, a roar like the convergence of countless voices suddenly erupted from the darkness of the passage across from them.
“Doropuya!!”