Chapter 2314: Bitter (1/2)

The Larkinson Clan finally achieved victory!

After disabling as many superweapons as possible, forcing thousands of pirate mechs to retreat and overcoming an artificially-induced anomaly with all of the horrors that followed, the attackers finally won the long and exhausting day.

Certainly, around 3000 pirate mechs had retreated into the secure mech hangars at Ulimo. The mechs of the Dry Snakes, Xona Stalkers, Farmund's Own, Hapid Qlinters and the Ulimo Militia successfully rode the artificial anomaly out in their protective hideouts.

Yet compared to an inexplicably powerful god-like apparition, these palty pirate mechs seemed completely inconsequential to the Larkinson Clan.

They aimed to wipe out the remainder of the pirate mech forces with as little losses as possible. Speed was of the essence.

”Don't let these pirates group up again!”

Reacting quickly, Major Verle ordered the hundreds of Penitent Sister mechs to storm the mech hangars and wipe out everything inside before the pirate mechs had time to emerge back into space.

Stuck in their hangars, the third-class mechs of the various pirate groups were not only highly concentrated, but also boxed in by their environment! The ranged Hexer mechs of the Penitent Sisters easily slew them without incurring any meaningful damage!

Of course, there weren't enough Penitent Sister mechs to cover every mech hangar, but the surviving pirate combatants experienced several hindrances due to several reasons.

First, the pirates lacked critical direction at the top. The unexplained absence of Grand Protector Roshaw took out a critical authority who possessed a complete overview of every pirate asset. Due to the strict hierarchical structure of the pirate command authority, none of the surviving pirate commanders possessed enough authority to issue orders to everyone.

What was particularly detrimental to the pirates was that the missing pirate lord closely grasped every secret and trump card at Ulimo Citadel! Due to a perennial lack of trust, the Grand Protector never shared many of these secrets to his subordinates. Now that he was gone, every secret measure that hadn't fallen victim yet to the Larkinson Clan remained completely unused because no one learned of their existence!

Of course, with sufficient communication, the pirates might be able to overcome these issues in time.

It was too bad that their enemies did not intend to give the remaining pirates the time to reorganize their ranks!

”The Grand Protector is dead and every major threat to the Larkinson Clan is taken care of. This is our best opportunity to redeem ourselves!”

Even if the pirates were still capable of fielding 3000 mechs, now that they were dispersed and stowed in many different mech hangars strewn across Ulimo, it became critical to stop them from consolidating together.

Though the Xona Stalker defectors that accompanied Ketis and Lucky to the shrine had perished, there were many hundreds more compatriots spread throughout the core sections of the pirate stronghold! Stationed in critical positions, they surreptitiously or overtly sabotaged many critical power or communication nodes!

With many mech hangars cut off from communications or losing power entirely, it became more and more difficult for the pirate officers to understand what they needed to do or understand what was happening elsewhere.

The Mirror Raiders also stirred some trouble. They turned their weapons against the other pirate outfits in the Ulimo Militia and rapidly wiped them out at close range while their victims were completely caught off-guard!

”Ahh! What the hell?! What are you doing!?”

”Damnit, these black-and-white mechs are on the enemy's side!”

It had become clear that while the artificial anomaly had not inflicted significant harm to the core pirate forces, almost every pirate was left in the dark about this measure. Perhaps the Grand Protector himself never really thought that any opponent of the Hallowed Abyss Temple was able to overcome its ritual!

Through this backdrop of chaos and uncertainty, the Larkinson Clan vigorously crushed the disorganized pirate forces. Thousands of pirate mechs never had the chance to showcase their might after being taken out while they were still attempting to deploy into space!

Even the elite mechs of the Dry Snakes tragically missed the opportunity to make their last stand. The Penitent Sisters were grief-stricken after the anomaly caused them to lose hundreds of their mechs and sisters. They vented all of their rage at their inability to defeat the grey apparitions at the pirates!

Even if many of their mechs were running a bit low on energy and ammunition, the endurance and energy capacity of their second-class machines was not comparable to lesser products.

Against unusual threats such as the grey abominations or the avatar of the Unending One, the Penitent Sisters might not have any effective answers.

That did not mean that they were weak! When facing purely conventional products of technology, their Hexer heritage gave them a decisive edge! Not even the rare bridge mechs fielded by the pirate elites posed a significant hindrance!

”Wipe out these filth as much as possible! We must avenge our fallen sisters!”

Within just two hours, the pirates lost all of their mechs. Even so, the pacification of Ulimo Citadel had just begun.

Spanning multiple underground levels and complexes, Ulimo Citadel encompassed a lot of territory. The ordinary pirates who were in charge of managing many critical systems such as power generators, life support systems and more slowly learned that their side had lost the battle in space!

Without the crucial support of mechs and with all of their remaining fixed defenses taken out of commission, these pirates reacted in different ways.

Some despaired and collapsed in place.