Chapter 105: Bizarre Climbing Species
At this moment, even some of the pirate captains failed to understand what was happening.
Or rather, they simply refused to believe that this many people had “infiltrated” the conference.
Their first thought was:
Maybe these people stood up to show their support for Kansidang?
It was like when two pirate groups were trying to devour each other. Before the fighting began, there would always be people standing behind the captains to serve as a show of force.
But once they realized that their own “crewmates” had also stood up, the pirate captains could no longer cling to any wishful thinking.
What shocked many captains most was the realization that everyone in their entire pirate group except themselves had stood up.
What was going on?!
They sat rigidly in place, not daring to move an inch, terrified that even the slightest movement would get them run through.
All the pirate captains could do was stare at Kansidang in shock and silently plead for help.
Since he had been able to declare that there were “rats” among the Pirate Conference attendees, and had done so with such absolute confidence, as though he had already prepared for everything, he must have had a countermeasure ready, right?
Kansidang: “……”
Kansidang had indeed made preparations.
But his preparations were meant to deal with the entire Thorn Pirate Group.
Ever since acquiring this domain, Kansidang had lived here continuously and never left. Every pirate who wanted to join the Kansidang Pirate Group had to present a token of allegiance, so he knew very well that if one of his enemies wanted to find an opportunity to kill him, the only possibility was to make use of the Pirate Conference.
So Kansidang had prepared long in advance.
He had specifically prepared a blood-testing artifact to screen the pirates attending the conference.
However, the blood-testing artifact could only be used for large-scale screening and couldn’t pinpoint specific individuals, so Kansidang had carefully prepared all kinds of additional detection methods.
According to his plan, he would first try to bluff them into revealing themselves.
Most likely, they wouldn’t take the bait.
Then, at that point, Kansidang would give an enigmatic smile and recount a few incidents from the past, prompting the pirates below to prove one another’s identities—or prove their own innocence.
Once he had enjoyed the spectacle enough, he would clap his hands and have his people bring out food that no ordinary person would ever eat.
Game over.
On Green Billow Star, pirates had a habit of cannibalism. That custom had originated with Kansidang.
Strictly speaking, this was also one of his methods of screening people.
There were always some people who, even in the apocalypse, clung to certain principles and refused to cross that line.
But to the Kansidang Pirate Group, anyone willing to cross that line was someone who could become an ally. This method had therefore become the best way to distinguish between people who shared the same objectives and those who did not.
For humans, even pirates, eating their own kind was fundamentally different.
Once someone crossed that moral boundary, they would become increasingly willing to cast aside their principles. Those were exactly the kind of people the Kansidang Pirate Group needed.
And anyone opposed to the Kansidang Pirate Group would never do such a thing.
According to Kansidang’s carefully laid-out plan, once the “food” was brought to the table, all he had to do was stand atop the high platform with a calm smile and watch how everyone below reacted.
Those rats who had infiltrated the conference might force themselves to swallow it despite their disgust, desperate not to expose themselves.
Or perhaps they would reach their limit and simply flip the table.
Either way, he had convinced himself that he was fully prepared.
But how had things turned into this?!
He had only tried to bluff them!
He hadn’t even deployed his next move yet!
How had so many people stood up?!
The Blue Sea residents, meanwhile, were thinking:
Who cares about all your this-and-that?
The moment they saw that Kansidang’s method of making an example of people was to have his guards wait for someone to say something inappropriate, then step forward and stab them to death, they knew that Kansidang did not have the authority to expel residents.
Otherwise, why would he need to demonstrate his authority this way?
So why wait?
They had already made it inside.
Time to fight!
Kansidang’s momentary distraction caused him to miss his chance to issue orders in time.
The Blue Sea residents had already begun moving swiftly. While they were still sitting down, they had already picked out their respective targets.
Only a few seconds after everyone stood up, they suddenly erupted into action. Taking advantage of the guards being stunned by the sheer scale of the situation, they moved swiftly—attacking with one hand while snatching weapons with the other. Their movements were remarkably smooth.
The only thing that wasn’t quite so smooth was that one particular guard was targeted by several people at once, and when everyone attacked, they nearly hit one another.
They quickly adjusted their tactics, however, switching from one-on-one combat to coordinated group attacks.
To the members of the Kansidang Pirate Group, this territory was absolutely safe. Many of the guards had seemed quite formidable when facing the pirates, but once an actual fight broke out, their reactions were somehow even slower than those of the pirate captains hiding beneath the tables.
The unarmed Blue Sea residents rapidly acquired all kinds of weapons.
In an instant, the situation was completely reversed.
“Woohoo!!!”
The dozens of members of the Thorn Pirate Group barely had time to react before they were swept up into the crowd.
What did several million people even look like?
Being mixed in among them was as easy as a drop of water disappearing into the ocean.
Some people around them simply grabbed tables and chairs and charged forward. Others waved the weapons they had just seized and shouted, “Woohoo!” Still others had a clear objective and yelled:
“The armory is over there! Anyone who wants to grab more weapons, follow me!!!”
Crash!
The enormous crowd immediately split into three clearly defined groups.
One group moved to attack the guards and pirate captains.
Another group, having acquired weapons, charged straight into the “Imperial Palace.”
The third group headed directly for the armory.
Of course, not every guard was taken out immediately.
Kansidang was a cautious man. He had required everyone coming to the “Imperial Palace” to climb up rope ladders specifically to exhaust them.
For an ordinary person, climbing such a long rope ladder would leave them sore and weak in the legs for quite some time. Even ability users would be left aching and exhausted.
Anyone who had come intending to cause trouble would have found it difficult to do much of anything after that.
Additionally, aside from the guards stationed below, there were layer upon layer of guards positioned atop the surrounding “walls,” occupying the high ground.
Attacking from above was deadly. With firearms, obviously, they could kill plenty of people—but even with bows and arrows, they could still take down a considerable number.
That was why the Thorn Pirate Group hadn’t planned to charge in head-on at the beginning. Their original plan had been to blend into the pirates, find an opportunity, and use their abilities to quietly infiltrate Kansidang’s “Imperial Palace.”
Instead, these people had simply started fighting outright.
Fine, they’d started fighting.
But despite having just climbed the rope ladders, every single one of them was still bouncing around energetically, showing no sign of tired legs whatsoever. They were running at top speed.
Even in the face of the towering walls surrounding them and the terrifying barrage of firepower from above, these people acted as though they were made of steel and iron. They grabbed onto the walls with both hands and simply started climbing straight up.
Wait—what?!
Those walls didn’t look like they had anywhere to put their feet at all!
Are you people human or spiders? How are you climbing up that fast?!
The members of the Thorn Pirate Group watching from below were merely stunned by the sight.
But to Kansidang’s guards above, this scene was no less terrifying than a sea monster coming ashore and biting people.
“What the hell are they?!!”
“They’re coming up!! They’re coming up!!”
“Quick!!! Open fire!! Lay down heavy fire!!!”
—Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
The entire floating farmland erupted with gunfire.
The Blue Sea residents climbed with one hand, sometimes scrambling upward at incredible speed like spiders, sometimes moving like frogs and leaping from one point to another across the sheer vertical walls.
With their other hands, they lifted one corner of their “shields.” Bullets struck them with a series of metallic clinks and clangs.
Some of the shields were tables taken directly from the banquet.
Others simply used plates as makeshift shields.
And some carried nothing at all, relying purely on their incredibly agile movement to evade the gunfire.
The number of guards stationed atop the walls was limited—only a few thousand at most.
But there were hundreds of thousands, even millions of people charging through the gunfire and scrambling all over the walls like some kind of bizarre climbing species.
If even one person managed to climb up, several guards would inevitably be knocked off.
The Kansidang guards soon discovered something horrifying: these people seemed completely immune to pain.
They could clearly see bullets hitting them, yet the people who were shot didn’t fall.
Instead, they simply grinned, stared straight at the person who had shot them, and climbed even faster.
“Hahahahahahaha! I’m coming! I’m coming! I’m coming!!!”
One Blue Sea resident dug her fingers firmly into a tiny hole in the wall—so small it was almost invisible—and scrambled upward at incredible speed.
She had been shot.
But before the pain came, she felt the blessing of the great Creator God.
Warmth. Strength. Power!
Our God is watching me!!!
She was absolutely certain of it, and as a result, she felt utterly blissful.
Every Blue Sea resident knew that if they were shot during battle, the first thing they had to do was eliminate the enemy.
Only then would they have the safety and breathing room to rest temporarily and wait for a priest to heal them.
Someone who lost the ability to fight after being shot could easily be finished off by the enemy while they had the advantage.
And if the bullet hit the head, there truly was no saving them.
That was why the Kansidang guards were horrified to discover that the Blue Sea residents who had been shot were actually climbing the walls even faster.
And below them were even more Blue Sea residents, climbing upward with wildly excited expressions, using extreme movements that no ordinary human could possibly achieve.
The moment they reached the top, they would move with astonishing agility, rapidly closing the distance and taking down the nearest guard in close combat.
Then they would pick up the guard’s gun and immediately unleash a barrage on the other Kansidang guards along the same section of wall.
More and more Blue Sea residents followed, scrambling up and rapidly taking control of one position after another.
—Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
The Kansidang guards initially responded with a furious barrage.
Then they realized that the heavy firepower wasn’t working.
So they switched tactics and began focusing on the Blue Sea residents who had already climbed up.
Only to discover that their opponents were even more formidable.
For a while, they attacked one side, then the other. They struck in every direction—front, back, left, right—until they were trembling with tension, hyperaware of their surroundings.
And yet, out of nowhere, a Blue Sea resident would suddenly pounce down from above and clamp a hand around their throat.
“AAAAAAAH!!!!”
One Kansidang guard watched in horror as the people around him fell one after another.
He aimed at a Blue Sea resident who was climbing up the wall.
He fired.
But the Blue Sea resident simply leaped sideways along the wall, jumping from left to right and dodging the bullet.
Were these even human beings?!
Could humans actually do this?!
They were even laughing after being shot!
The guard trembled all over.
Then, suddenly, he threw down his gun and turned to run.
“What are you doing?! Are you trying to surrender?! Do you want His Majesty Kansidang to have you hanged?!!”
The captain cursed him furiously.
After cursing for several seconds, he lowered his head.
Below them, hundreds of thousands of Blue Sea residents were rapidly closing in.
His face went blank for a moment.
He saw it.
The terrifying smiles on the faces of those even more terrifying people.
The next second, he threw down his own gun and turned to run as well.
Once the captain fled, the other guards naturally followed.
In less than two hours, this entire area had been completely taken over by the Blue Sea residents.
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