When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1099 Sailing Towards Freedom
The crimson sun, like blood, dyed the black rock walls of the Governor's Private Harbor a mixture of gold and red.

Above this gold and red, however, were countless arrows and spears flying everywhere.

In the morning sunlight, the vampire guards' fighting power decreased significantly.

Their enemies, however, were the gladiators who had fought countless battles in the arena.

These gladiators would be completely unqualified for military formations, but they would be quite suitable for special operations.

"For freedom! Break them!"

Sukkos was the first to climb the wall using the ladder, his hoarse roar tearing through the morning mist.

He had just finished shouting when he immediately picked up his longsword and slashed it at the guard's shield.

Behind him, a torrent of thousands of gladiators and over eight hundred slaves was crashing into the walls of the private harbor.

Centaur slaves wielding long axes, vampire deserters carrying giant hammers, and human pirates gripping spears and scimitars.

Their armor was tattered, their swords and spears rusted, yet that did not hinder their superhuman killing skills.

The battle line was pushed from one side of the wall to the other, and as the guards retreated step by step, the iron gate of the wall finally collapsed.

"Squeak-"

However, to everyone's surprise, what lay behind the door was not a bright future, but a putrid stench.

"I knew it," Sukes said through gritted teeth.

Although most of the guards were there to protect Governor Monica at the Governor's Palace, the private harbor, as the Governor's last escape route, must have been guarded by enough soldiers.

There are no vampire soldiers, and no zombie soldiers either?
Contrary to everyone's expectations of emptiness, what poured out from behind the door was a dense horde of zombies.

Their skin is grayish-green, and rotting muscle hangs from their bones.

Some were missing arms, some had broken legs, yet they somehow found the strength to wield long knives and spears.

What's even more chilling is that these zombie soldiers can quickly form dense formations.

Those in the front row raised their shields, while those in the back row pointed their spears diagonally, forming a moving wall of corpses that blocked the entrance.

"That's Warwick, the governor's captain of the guard!" Someone with sharp eyes spotted the young vampire standing under the black umbrella behind the zombies.

He was dressed in black and silver armor, and with a slight movement of his fingertips, the zombie soldiers changed formations like marionettes.

Manipulating zombie soldiers is also a skill, and not all high-ranking vampires possess it.

"What should we do?" Sukes asked the person next to him helplessly.

A gladiator glared and shouted, "What else can we do? Charge!"

"charge!"

"Pfft-"

The first few gladiators to reach the wall of corpses were pierced through the chest by spears, and their round shields clattered to the ground.

The zombie soldiers opposite were also decapitated and impaled by axes and spears, but they only swayed slightly before continuing to fight.

The gladiators behind immediately filled the gap, the muffled thuds of giant axes chopping, the crisp cracking of bones, and the roars of zombie soldiers intertwined.

The noise and stench assaulted everyone's senses at the same time.

"Don't stop! The dock is just ahead!"

While a fierce battle raged outside, deep within the private harbor, the largest ship, the "Shadow," was moored beside the main pier.

Inside the main cabin, Commissioner Khafari clutched a silk handkerchief, his knuckles turning white from the effort.

Looking out at the chaotic battle, he asked the governor's confidant beside him in a trembling voice, "Sir, can we really stop them?"

The governor's confidant was polishing the ruby ​​dagger with a piece of chamois leather: "Just a bunch of lowly slaves. Before long, they'll become new zombie material."

"That's fine, that's fine."

Hafari slumped limply in the velvet chair, the chair legs screeching against the floor.

However, what Hafary didn't know was that on the shallow waters not far from the Shadow, a group of dark figures were rising and falling in the cold sea.

When it comes to naval warfare and ship capture, Danio has extensive experience from the Battle of the Thousand Rivers.

Frogman tactics were a subject widely trained by naval units such as Ichikawa-shu in Thousand River Valley.

From the very beginning, Danio deduced that the Governor's Private Port must contain such zombie soldiers and high-level vampires.

Danio had heard about this from the captured border knight instructors in the military lecture hall.

The best counter to the "skull horde" tactic is a decapitation strike.

Why do riders train so hard to improve their mobility?
A large part of the reason is that as long as the knight can get close to the vampire, he can just stab him to death with one shot.

No tactics were needed afterward; the skeleton army collapsed on its own.

So the most important thing is not how to defeat the zombie army, but how to lure out that high-level vampire.

Slowly, slowly, leaning on the barnacle-covered pillars of the pier, Danio led a dozen or so Holy Alliance sailors to the vicinity.

One has to commend the gladiators' tenacity; they actually held out until Danio got close.

Closer, closer, just thirty meters left.

The vampire named Warwick seemed to move, tilting his head slightly towards the pier.

Can't wait any longer!

"It's now!"

Danio gave a low shout and grabbed the wooden stakes of the pier first, climbing up like a monkey.

The wooden planks on the pier creaked from years of disrepair. He almost lost his footing, but quickly regained his balance.

The gunners behind him followed closely, leaping up and raising their wind-up muskets.

"Release!" "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A barrage of gunfire erupted in the morning mist, as a dozen lead bullets whistled through Warwick's armor.

Sparks immediately flew from the armor, and blood and flesh flew everywhere.

But Warwick acted as if nothing had happened, and even subconsciously spread his wings and tried to take off.

Fortunately, one of the dozen or so lead bullets pierced his back and went straight through his heart.

Warwick's body jolted violently, and his scarlet eyes suddenly went dark.

He didn't even have time to let out a scream before he fell straight down into the horde of corpses.

With their commander dead, the zombie soldiers instantly descended into chaos.

They were like puppets with broken strings; some spun around in place, while others swung their knives at their companions, rotting flesh and broken bones flying in the formation.

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Sux pointed his longsword sharply to the sky: "They're in disarray! Charge!"

The gladiators surged forth like a burst dam, instantly overwhelming the zombie soldiers' defenses.

Despite the excruciating pain from their wounds that made their vision blur, they gritted their teeth and held on—freedom was within reach.

The view of the dock gradually became clear.

More than fifty ships of varying sizes were moored by the pier, some were cargo ships, some were cruisers, and there was also a magnificent three-masted sailing ship, which must be the governor's ship, the "Shadow".

Gladiators swarmed forward, and the guards were slashed and cut down like vegetables, or shot down by clockwork guns.

Seeing that things were not going well, many others simply scattered.

Many of them had never touched a ship's rudder before, yet they instinctively turned the steering wheel, causing the ship to rock clumsily, eager to leave.

Fortunately, under Danio's command, experienced sailors were quickly selected and began to stumble and struggle to manipulate the ropes.

Laughing, he jumped onto the deck of a cargo ship, completely unaware that a splinter had pierced his palm.

With a broad smile, he shouted at Ezuan, "Ship materials! Don't forget the royal court's ship materials! They're right at the innermost pier!"

Lifting his helmet, Ezuan wiped the blood from his face: "Don't worry, I've sent someone to set sail for the ship carrying the ship materials!"

Danio then turned to the gladiators behind him and shouted, "Take everything you can—food, fresh water, weapons…this is our spoils!"

The gladiators roared in agreement and began loading bundles of silk and chests of spices onto the ship.

Amidst the chaos, there was an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.

They were no longer slaves to be slaughtered, but masters of their own destiny.

Danio strode toward the Shadow, the gangplank swaying slightly beneath his feet.

As soon as I stepped into the main cabin, I bumped into Khafari, who was huddled in a corner.

Beside him, the governor's confidant lay prostrate on the ground, a jeweled dagger, polished to a gleaming shine, embedded in his back.

The commissioner's silk robes had been torn by the gladiators in the struggle, and his hair was disheveled and stuck to his sweaty forehead.

The moment he saw Danio, his teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.

He never expected that a merchant from the Holy Alliance could be so full of martial virtue.

They not only breached the gladiatorial prison, but also persuaded them to breach the private port.

Now, it's all over.

Upon seeing Halle, Sux immediately whispered something in Danio's ear.

Danio was taken aback at first, then a ferocious look appeared on his face: "So you're called Hafari?"

"You...don't come here..."

Danio didn't stop; his saber slashed across the floor, leaving a glaring mark.

Hafari jerked backward, his back slamming against a magnificent wooden crate.

The wooden crate tipped over with a crash, spilling out countless gold and silver jewels, precious porcelain, and works of art.

"You're quite the conman, aren't you?" Danio's disgust deepened as he raised his military knife.

“No, it wasn’t me.” Khafari waved his hands repeatedly. Seeing the jewels, he seemed to realize something. “I have crucial information; I can buy my life!”

Danio pressed his saber against Hafari's throat: "No intelligence can buy your life..."

Khafary's lips trembled as he pointed to a box beside him: "In that box is the Governor. I know how to subdue her..."

“The Governor?” Sux pressed down on Danio’s arm. “Governor Monica? Wasn’t she dead?”

"No, I was just seriously injured..."

…………

At the dock, several gladiators swung their giant axes together, hacking at the thick iron chains that were used to moor the boat.

"Clang-"

The deafening crash of the chains falling into the sea echoed through the harbor, as if severing the invisible shackles binding everyone.

The first to set sail was the three-masted sailing ship, its sails billowing in the morning sun like a giant bird breaking free from its cage, heading towards the sea.

As the sun fully rose above the sea, its rays bathed the surface, turning the white sails a dazzling gold.

The gladiators stood on the deck, raised their weapons, and cheered.

As they gazed at the ever-receding Black Tower Harbor, many of them suddenly crouched down and covered their faces.

Although gladiators are said not to shed tears, tears still flowed uncontrollably from between their fingers.

Starting today, they are finally free.

(End of this chapter)