Above Pirate King - Chapter 129
Three days later, on the outskirts of Hall City:
The forces of the St. Martin Kingdom had slowed down their advance due to Leslie’s last-minute change in the attack strategy. Nevertheless, they had reaped rewards aplenty, encountering little resistance along the way and even receiving some welcome.
Even when the Second Army attacked the capital city of the Bell Kingdom, Bell City, they faced little resistance. After all, the entire army had been wiped out, leaving no room for resistance.
When the Third Army arrived at the last unconquered city on the island, Hall City, the Navy Admiral Leslie, Army General Joyce, and Mekk and Aldebaran were all present. Behind them stood a division of soldiers and a row of mechs.
“It seems this city is going to put up a fight,” Leslie said as he used binoculars to observe the army on the distant city walls, brandishing swords and knives.
In the three days since the slow advance of the Hall Kingdom, they had managed to muster some reinforcements, but it was only about five thousand people. Most of them were armed with swords since they had run out of bullets and shells due to the war.
“Great, let my mechs go in first!” Mekk’s eyes brightened. As a result of the island’s inhabitants surrendering along the way, Mekk’s mechs hadn’t had any chances to be tested. Now that they finally encountered some resistance, it was a perfect opportunity to test the mechs.
“Alright!” Leslie nodded in agreement.
Upon receiving Leslie’s approval, Mekk turned to the eleven mechs behind him, surrounded by young men in blue and white striped uniforms with well-built physiques, and said with a smile, “Alright, guys, do one final check of your mechs. You’ll be going into battle first!”
“Yes!” The group of young men responded nervously yet excitedly.
These young men were specially selected from the army to operate the mech units. Today was their first time going into battle, so they couldn’t help but feel both nervous and eager.
On the distant city walls of Hall City:
Hornby carefully observed the army of the St. Martin Kingdom through binoculars, his expression serious.
Their numbers were not significant, only four thousand soldiers! They hadn’t even managed to gather as many as they had in the last-minute reinforcements!
However, the strength of an army was never solely determined by numbers but by factors such as equipment, training, and coordination.
The four thousand soldiers stood tall and imposing, each a robust figure, dressed in uniform and wielding the same weapons. It was evident they were well-trained elite soldiers, far superior to the makeshift force they had assembled.
Hornby sighed deeply and put down his binoculars. He turned to a soldier nearby and asked, “How are the ships prepared?”
“General, the ships are ready to depart at any time!” The soldier replied respectfully.
Yes, Hornby wanted to escape.
In the three days of St. Martin’s slow advance, he had considered numerous options, including surrender, fighting to the death, seeking reinforcements, and so on, but ultimately rejected each one.
Surrendering? Impossible!
Perhaps other ministers in the kingdom could surrender, but he couldn’t. He was the husband of the queen, and if he surrendered, death would be inevitable for both of them!
Fighting to the death? Also impossible!
Now, the kingdom’s army had been nearly wiped out, and ammunition had been depleted. In this situation, how could they fight the St. Martin Kingdom with what was left?
Seeking reinforcements? Even less feasible!
Leaving aside whether they could even get reinforcements, even if they did, three days was not enough time for support to arrive!
So, in the end, Hornby chose to run away.
With his wife, Queen Duz Leah of Hall Kingdom, they would flee and start anew.
As a queen and a general of a kingdom, Hornby and his wife had some savings. Even if they went elsewhere, they could live a comfortable life without worries.
Hornby nodded and then turned to a tall man beside him, who was covered in clothing and wearing sunglasses, making it impossible to see his face. He said, “Uncle Wang, I’ll rely on you. We’re leaving first!”
This man was Duke Duz Schuffer . He was the ace up Hornby’s sleeve to deal with Wisp. Decades ago, Schuffer left the kingdom and embarked on an adventure in a great voyage, gaining some fame on the route.
Due to aging, he recently returned to the West Blue, intending to spend his retirement here.
Coincidentally, Hornby had been in a dilemma because of Wisp’s situation and had invited him to help for a substantial sum of money.
However, he didn’t expect that instead of Wisp, the forces of the St. Martin Kingdom arrived. As a result, Hornby changed the terms to ask him to stall the forces of the St. Martin Kingdom and let them escape.
“Don’t worry, leave it to me. But I can only hold them off for half an hour at most. I’ll leave as well by then!” Schuffer said in a low voice.
Although he had taken the money, he didn’t dare to genuinely go against the St. Martin Kingdom. Recently, he had learned of their impressive victories through the newspapers, and numerous powerful individuals had fallen at their hands, some of whom he knew personally.
He didn’t believe he had the strength to oppose the St. Martin Kingdom. Being able to delay them was already a favor to his relative, otherwise, if it weren’t for their kinship, he would take the money but wouldn’t get involved in this matter!
“I understand!” Hornby nodded, about to leave the city wall. At that moment, he seemed to think of something and paused, turning to a young man in military uniform beside him. “Pulitzer, after we leave, surrender to them!”
“General, you saved my life. So even if I die, I’ll help you stall them!” Pulitzer didn’t accept Hornby’s good intentions but looked at him with determination.
“You… sigh.” Hornby could see the determination and resolve in Pulitzer’s eyes and knew that no matter how much he tried to persuade him, it would be futile. He sighed one last time, giving up on trying to convince him, and turned to leave the city wall.
Just as Hornby was preparing to escape…
On the other side…
The young men of the mech unit all climbed into their mechs.
At the forefront was a mech specially designed by Mekk, standing twenty meters tall. The mech was equipped with Jet Dial at its back, capable of emitting powerful air currents for short flights. It also had the Wind Dial on its feet, enabling it to perform leaps.
The mech’s hands were cannons capable of firing shells, but due to ammunition limitations, each gun barrel could only shoot twenty rounds. Furthermore, the mech’s hands could switch to melee mode, retracting the gun barrels into its body and releasing the Eisen Dials on its hands, transforming into two laser swords.
Of course, these features were only available in the specially designed mechs. The mass-produced mechs also had Wind Dials but only had two at the back. The cannon on their hands could only fire ten rounds each, and in melee mode, they released iron swords equipped with Heat Dials.
“Boys, show them the might of our mech unit!” Mekk excitedly pointed at the walls of Hall City.
“Yes!” The young men in the mechs nodded enthusiastically and nervously.
Then…
“Rumble!”
With a sound, the mechs slowly started up.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”
Air currents burst out from behind the eleven mechs as their steel bodies lifted off the ground, heading straight toward the walls of Hall City.
Mekk, Leslie, Aldebaran, and Joyce watched the mechs fly past with curious eyes, eager to see the combat prowess of these mechs.
However, in the next moment, something that left them dumbfounded happened.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Before the eleven mechs even reached the walls, they crashed down to the ground, leaving behind large craters.
“What’s going on?” Watching this scene, Mekk muttered in confusion.
If the mechs had been attacked and shot down or hit by cannons, he could understand, but them mysteriously falling down like this left him puzzled.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew by.
With the breeze came a foul and putrid odor.
In an instant, everyone’s faces changed drastically.
The people of Hall City had released poisonous gas, and it smells horrible!
Mekk finally understood why the mechs had crashed down. Although the mechs had ventilation systems, they lacked air filtration and poison protection systems!
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