Above Pirate King - Chapter 126
“Counterattack! Pay attention!”
“The front line becomes the rear line, and the rear line provides cover for the retreat!”
“Don’t rush, watch your step, don’t make a wrong move!”
“You bastards from the Hall Kingdom, stop right there!”
“Halt, don’t run!”
“I will avenge my brother!”
The Hall Kingdom’s army retreated in an orderly manner, while the Bell Kingdom’s army relentlessly pursued, causing a chaotic scene.
The two sides chased each other, and soon the Hall Kingdom’s army evacuated their camp, with the Bell Kingdom’s army hot on their heels, entering the camp.
And then…
Just as the Hall Kingdom’s troops had withdrawn from the camp and were not far away, they suddenly stopped, turned around, formed a defensive formation, and repositioned their cannons.
As they watched the advancing Bell Kingdom’s troops, the people from the Hall Kingdom remained unfazed, even showing a hint of excitement.
“Fire!”
At Hornby’s command, the cannons fired one after another.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The artillery shells rained down like droplets, heading towards the direction of the camp. However, they didn’t hit the Bell Kingdom’s troops but instead landed on the tents within the camp.
“Boom!”
The shells exploded within the tents, causing even more violent explosions. The blast radius affected the surrounding tents as well.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
This was followed by a continuous series of explosions. All the tents in the camp were ignited, and the entire camp went up in flames.
“Help!”
“Ah, it hurts!”
“Save me!”
Not far away, the Bell Kingdom’s troops, who had not yet charged into the camp, were also affected by the explosion. Limbs and body parts flew everywhere, and the battlefield was filled with blood.
This wave directly killed thousands of people from the Bell Kingdom, and thousands more were affected by the explosions, rendering them unable to fight. In total, over ten thousand soldiers lost their combat effectiveness.
“You used our desperate counterattack mentality and placed a large amount of explosives in the tents. Then, using the artillery to detonate them, is that your hidden move?” Dukeford slowly walked into the battlefield as he witnessed this scene and murmured, “Well, now it’s time to see my hidden move!”
“Bring the shields!” Dukeford stretched out his hand towards the side and roared angrily.
Several soldiers beside him handed him a massive rectangular steel shield, about three meters wide, five meters long, and twenty centimeters thick.
Dukeford casually took the shield, effortlessly propping up the hundreds of kilograms of steel in front of him, as if it were a toy.
“Where is the suicide squad!” Dukeford roared again.
“Here!”
The three hundred burly men behind him immediately responded.
“Raise the shields!”
In an instant, the three hundred men simultaneously lifted the steel shields they had been carrying on their backs and held them in front of themselves.
“Charge!”
After Dukeford’s thunderous roar, he rushed towards the Hall Kingdom’s army, wielding his shield. In a matter of seconds, he crossed the entire battlefield and charged at the forefront.
“Charge!”
The three hundred burly men also roared, dispersing as they ran through the Bell Kingdom’s troops. Following Dukeford’s lead, they charged towards the Hall Kingdom’s army.
Witnessing this, the miscellaneous troops of the Bell Kingdom also revealed a crazed expression and followed these formidable men in their charge.
“Fire all weapons! Attack!”
Hornby saw this scene and remained calm. He drew his large sword from behind and pointed it at the charging Dukeford, shouting. Although ammunition was scarce, this was not the time to conserve it.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The Hall Kingdom’s army opened fire in unison.
Bullets and shells covered the entire battlefield. The charging Dukeford at the forefront and the three hundred burly men behind him were the first to be hit.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
However, the bullets were ineffective. Some were deflected, and some embedded themselves in the shields. Although the shells had an effect, the three hundred men were running at such high speed that only a small portion of them were brought down.
Those who were hit exploded with a loud “boom,” affecting those within several tens of meters around them.
“Hmm!?”
Seeing this scene, Hornby’s expression froze as he realized something was amiss. How could the artillery shells have such a powerful impact?
Unfortunately, before he could figure it out, Dukeford had already charged ahead of the Hall Kingdom’s troops.
To prevent him from wreaking havoc, Hornby had no choice but to grab his large sword and leave the formation of the Hall Kingdom, meeting Dukeford head-on.
“Mountain Splitter!”
Hornby held his large sword and leaped more than ten meters high. Descending from above, he viciously struck Dukeford’s enormous shield.
“Clang!”
The collision between the two caused a tremendous metallic sound, sparking a few sparks. The steel shield even bore a shallow scar from the strike.
“Hornby, I didn’t expect you to still be so powerful. This strike is as forceful as ever!” Dukeford, with a ferocious expression, remarked as he felt the immense power transmitted through his shield.
“How can I grow old before defeating you?” Hornby gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice. While speaking, he swung his large sword with force, relentlessly attacking Dukeford.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
Dukeford effortlessly blocked all of Hornby’s attacks with his massive shield.
“Heh heh, you’ll never have the chance to defeat me!” Dukeford chuckled.
“I will defeat you this time. Look at your miscellaneous troops; there’s barely half of them left. In a while, they will all be wiped out!” Hornby said fiercely.
As the two spoke, the battlefield grew more intense. Although the Bell Kingdom had more powerful firepower, they were still a disparate army after all. After the massive explosion in the camp, their remaining force of less than twenty thousand lost over three thousand soldiers within a short time, while the Hall Kingdom’s casualties were less than a thousand.
“Let’s wait and see!” Dukeford roared, forcefully pushing Hornby back ten meters with a push of his hands.
“Whirlwind Shield!”
Dukeford gripped the shield handle with both hands, exerted force upwards and downwards, and the shield rapidly spun, charging straight at Hornby.
At the same time, the three hundred burly men from the Bell Kingdom also charged into the Hall Kingdom’s army.
“Seek revenge!”
“Kill!”
“Hall Kingdom bastards, let’s die together!”
Roaring with shields held high, the three hundred burly men didn’t stop their charge even after entering the battlefield. They made no attacking motions, rushing deep into the enemy’s territory.
However, this charge exposed their backs, and they were promptly shot by the soldiers from the Hall Kingdom behind them.
“Heh heh!”
“Brother, I’m joining you!”
“Art is an explosion!”
The fallen burly men showed no fear. Their eyes revealed a crazed and desperate madness as they took out matches from their pockets. They then pulled up their clothes, revealing their bodies covered in explosives. Grinning, they lit them up.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
With each intense explosion, these burly men detonated within the Hall Kingdom’s position, taking dozens to hundreds of soldiers with them.
“Bastards!” Watching this scene, Hornby’s eyes were bloodshot. He finally understood why the burly men hit by the artillery shells had such powerful explosions.
But it was too late.
With each explosion, all three hundred burly men perished, and the Hall Kingdom’s army was left with less than five thousand soldiers.
At this moment, the disparate troops from the Bell Kingdom also charged towards the battlefield.
*On a desolate small island not far from the islands of the Hall and Bell Kingdoms.*
An island that usually saw no visitors was now densely packed with soldiers in military uniforms.
Next to the small island, six warships emitted black smoke.
Yes, all these soldiers belonged to the Kingdom of St. Martin.
On this island, there were two divisions of the army and two divisions of the navy from St. Martin, totaling over 16,000 troops. This was the largest force that the Kingdom of St. Martin could deploy.
In addition to these forces, there were officials in charge of managing the island and ten mass-produced steam mechs brought by Mekk for field testing, along with one specially made steam mech.
At this moment, aboard one of the warships, Aldebaran, Leslie, Joyce, Uesugi, the four division commanders, and Mekk were formulating the strategy for the upcoming battle.
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