There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

Chapter 455 The Longest Day (Part 1)

Sabre Bay is the only outpost of the Godkiller Pirates in the Riegomi Bushland, responsible for controlling the vital waterway between East and West.

The towering, sprawling Ciora Mountains to the east blocked the progress of trade routes across the continent, allowing the blue hermit crab grasslands in the Far East to be preserved as a reserve for indigenous tribes, thus protecting the natives who had lived and thrived on this planet for generations from the frequent wars on the planet.

Similarly, because the mountains and the sea form a self-contained shrubland, it has become a vital passage for merchants and travelers.

Since its establishment, Sabre Bay has been a coastal base built of concrete, filled with the languid feeling of coconut palms and waving waves, and the bloodshed of swords drawn.

Rum, cigars, chaotic streets, and addictive drugs are the unchanging atmosphere of this base, like a shameless rogue roaming the market, recklessly squandering a meaningless life every day.

The crescent-shaped cluster of buildings built along the coast is likely the origin of the name "Saber Bay". On the headland at the edge of the coast stands a huge lighthouse, shining day and night as a coordinate for passing ships and even spacecraft.

The most ironic thing is that this base, established by greedy pirates, has gradually become a stopover point and market for merchants due to its long-term stable existence.

The people of the wilderness have a unique perspective on civilization.

Many remember that in the heart of the Miam Desert, encompassing the Riegomi Bushlands, the Ciora Mountains, and the Noga Mountains, there once stood an extremely advanced city, possessing complete pre-nuclear technology and just one step away from spacefaring capability. Under the rule of a great lord, this magnificent city achieved a level of glory never before seen on the planet.

Unfortunately, after the glory came endless division and turmoil, until the city's survivors were abandoned in the helpless desert, and began to become merchants, herdsmen, serfs and bandits, continuing to live numbly on this land.

Prosperity and unity are only temporary; chaos and conflict are eternal—this is the consensus reached by the people of this planet.

Most major powers have unanimously relocated and dispersed their populations, expanding their territories in multiple locations. They have proactively divided any potential large cities into numerous small city-states in order to learn from past mistakes and prevent internal strife and infighting.

A fondness for chaos is a trait deeply ingrained in the very bones of pirates.

These space pirates who descended from the sky were merely lower-ranking members of an interstellar pirate crew, exiled to this land to hone their combat skills, cultivate their cunning nature, and be selected like venomous insects to weed out the most vicious thugs.

They cursed the loader's leader countless times through gritted teeth. Because this territory had divided their power, many caravans that were originally honest and law-abiding began to calculate the difference in protection fees between the two sides and cunningly evaded the "protection tax".

The equally warlike territorial cavalry were a nightmare for pirates for a long time. These equally shameless adversaries would gather in large groups, charging down from the plains like a tsunami, hunting down lone pirates with shotguns and scimitars.

But the good news came very suddenly.

The well-informed pirates had already learned from the flattering or pleading words of the merchants that there was an unimaginable figure who had single-handedly riddled the loader's head with bullets, plundered a large number of manpower, established a large market in the south, and created an extremely suitable opportunity for them to attack.

The pirate leader—who was also the most cunning among them—immediately dispatched his elite troops to launch a surprise attack, the results of which far exceeded their expectations.

The loader's commander was not only extremely weak, but could only rely on cavalry of twenty or thirty men to charge in waves. Even when they reached the city walls, the fortress cannons, which were originally a nightmare for the city, fell silent and lost their power.

Pirates are not warriors; they have neither a sense of honor nor discipline, and no one would be the vanguard without a stake in the outcome.

Therefore, after ascertaining the true situation, the pirate leader, at the very moment the enemy fiercely resisted in their territory, ordered a full retreat, pulling the battle line back to the open wilderness. The pirates intended to use the long-standing battlefield as a meat grinder, wearing down every inch of their old adversary's flesh and blood in endless attacks.

But starting that morning, strange things began to happen.

First, pirate henchmen and scavengers who had left the city kept reporting that they had been attacked by the enemy outside the city. The enemy's firepower was extremely fierce, resulting in heavy casualties among those who went out, and cries of sorrow filled the air.

The pirates assumed that privateers from the Loader's Territory had appeared and were trying to intimidate them at dawn. This had happened many times before, so no one took it too seriously.

Then the pirate swordsmen and gunmen assembled and left the city, ready to have a big fight with these incredibly fast mud-covered men. However, they started from the west of the city, circled around to the south, and then entered the city again, saying they saw nothing but a group of pirates who had been beaten to death.

Therefore, no one paid any attention to this accident.

After settling the injured wretch, they left the city again, heading to the wilderness to collect protection money from lone caravans, or to find a troublemaker and leave him with nothing but a needle and thread.

By noon, the pirate vagrants and pirate scavengers, having confirmed their safety, also left the city one after another, departing from the shacks of Sabre Bay to spend the day foraging for food in the fields.

These people were the least capable members of the pirate crew. Neither their physique nor their intelligence could support them to live a decent life, thus making them the lowest-ranking members of the pirate group.

But soon, alarms about attacks outside the city came back.

A group of unidentified armed men ambushed a group of scavengers and homeless people in the woods outside the city. According to those who survived, these men possessed exceptional archery skills and ghostly speed, moving with ease through the woods to kill them, but deliberately refraining from killing them, seemingly only wanting to drive them away.

This incident finally alerted the pirates. The air was thick with the scent of conspiracy, and no one could bear the pain of being passively caught in a trap. So the heavily armored pirates and pirate snipers once again went out of the city, attempting to contact the pirate force that had left at dawn and launch a coordinated counter-encirclement operation from two sides.

These people were gone for an hour, and around three o'clock in the afternoon, a panicked caravan rushed into the city, generously paid three times the protection fee, and left all their goods, begging Sabre Bay to spare their lives.

This caravan was a member of the northwestern Hisistan group, which had long traveled between the wasteland and Hisistan Bay, transporting important ores and... people plundered by pirates for the towns. They were also "old friends" of the pirates.

"It's terrifying outside... There are corpses and dismembered limbs everywhere. Their hands and feet are broken, tied behind their backs to the trees by the roadside, and their tongues have been gouged out. They are making muffled noises without any ability to resist..."

Upon hearing the news from outside, the pirates grinned smugly, reaffirming that ruthless and cruel methods were the key to survival.

The caravan leader looked at them in panic, as if he had just escaped death. He inquired about what had happened in the territory that day and spoke tearfully.

"Please spare us... We're willing to pay, please don't treat us like this... Our team member was even so frightened he fainted, please allow us to stay here and take care of him for a moment..."

The pirates generously agreed to let the man on the stretcher stay, but took the caravan leader's valuables.

Even now, they all look very satisfied.

Until the sounds of the attack outside the city were deafening.

Chapter 456 The Longest Day (Part 2)

Eaton and his men had been lying in ambush in the woods outside Sabre Bay overnight, ordering everyone to refrain from fire and make any noise, and to wait for the opportune moment in his mind.

The mosquitoes and flies in the dense forest are rampant. They not only swarm around living people, but also hover over their heads like a squadron of bombers, whistling past at any time.

All exposed parts of the body will swell and ache from the bites. Even the most docile camel will close its eyes and wail incessantly from its throat because of the mosquitoes.

However, these strangely-looking bald soldiers remained oblivious to their surroundings, mindlessly munching on barley cakes, conserving their energy for any potential battle.

During their miserable lives as slaves, living amidst mosquitoes and flies was the norm. Therefore, they were skilled at preparing mud, applying it to their bodies to reduce bites, and then holding their breath to avoid attracting mosquitoes.

These people all had their own methods, but the fat man was already rolling on the ground in agony, and even the bald man came up to him and asked, "Eton, if this continues, we won't last long before we're drained dry... Why don't you attack?"

Eaton said expressionlessly, "We can't act rashly. They outnumber us. If we provoke them first, it will only provoke their ferocity and lead to a violent counterattack. We must be like these mosquitoes, approaching stealthily, sucking their blood suddenly, leaving behind unbearable pain and itching, driving these pirates mad..."

The bald man's eyelids twitched, and he whispered, "I don't know if they're crazy or not, but you've been bitten all over and look like a pig's head. It's driving me crazy just looking at you..."

Eaton nodded: "...No wonder my face feels a little numb. My back is a little itchy, but I can't scratch it myself. Could you scratch it for me?"

Is this the place?

"Hiss... Ah... Yes, this is it, thank you."

"You're welcome. Actually, I think Burnett also took on this pig's head before."

…………

Their initial plans went very smoothly.

First, they shifted the blame eastward, using a privateer attack tactic familiar to Eaton to create a dubious attack that lured part of the pirates' main force out of the city ahead of time.

By feinting and allowing a portion of the main force to leave, they created an illusion of peace and lured more pirates out of the city.

All of this was intended to weaken the city's forces, draw the pirates' main force into conflict with the Loader's Territory, and inflict sufficient casualties to damage enemy morale. With this calculated strategy, Eaton carried out these covert attacks almost without sustaining any damage.

But Eaton's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, showing no sign of pride in his victory.

Subsequently, Eaton organized an extremely unusual attack, throwing his troops into a battle against the main pirate force. At the start of the initial attack, a hail of arrows flew from the forest, striking the unsuspecting pirates in the back and causing chaos.

Soon, the pirates demonstrated astonishing combat skills. The experience gained in life-or-death battles allowed them to skip the initial panic and immediately launch a counterattack.

They used stones, trees, and even the corpses of their companions as cover, firing their rifles continuously. The bandits with knives also crawled closer, preparing to attack the attackers in the dense forest.

But even amidst the hail of bullets, the Reverse Lightning Legion still demonstrated formidable combat power. Although inexperienced, they were extremely calm and composed, with stern faces, firing with unwavering focus, ultimately annihilating most of the smaller pirate force, with the remainder fleeing into the wasteland.

"Alexander, the opponent's condition is not right..."

Eaton began to mutter to himself, pointing at the fleeing pirates, and said in a low voice, "The first batch of pirates has been gone for a long time... According to my plan, they should have found nothing in the wasteland and eventually returned to Sabre Bay to spread chaos..."

"According to the master's plan, the loader's leader should have noticed the anomaly here... What exactly went wrong..."

The bald man, puzzled, said, "But we won, didn't we? Wouldn't it be more dangerous for those people to go back to the city? What's the point?"

Eaton remained silent for a moment, then suddenly ordered three of his twelve squads to break up and infiltrate the wasteland to gather information and investigate the problem as quickly as possible.

The remaining teams will take further drastic action.

They will abandon covert attacks and launch a frontal assault on Sabre Bay!

.........

When things escalated to a point beyond the bald man's expectations, he finally understood what Eaton meant by being troublesome and terrible.

Sabre Bay is a town without walls. They neither need nor believe that walls have any significance.

Therefore, during the massive siege, the pirates poured out of the alleys from all directions, shouting battle cries, and launched a frenzied attack based on the defenses.

Normally, troops would experience varying degrees of morale decline after falling into a trap or having their main force redeployed, but these negative effects were nowhere to be seen in the pirates. Their fighting spirit was at an astonishing level; it seemed that only by tearing apart the attackers in front of them could they quell their inner resentment.

If you look closely, you'll see that these people took out suspicious powders and pills and started taking them. Then, with bloodshot eyes, they climbed out from the roof and started shooting with guns in their hands.

Many were killed by the flying arrows, but many more managed to gain their footing and began a tug-of-war between the two sides.

The bald man stared dumbfounded at the pirates attacking without any strategy or reason, and muttered, "Eaton, are these pirates really this reckless in battle? It's a bit like... like Lord Seven's style..."

Eaton was speechless for a long time before finally saying, "What you said makes a lot of sense, but I suggest you forget about it. All-out attacks relying on superior equipment are this kind of tactic..."

Under the pressure of attacks from all sides, the Reverse Lightning Legion gradually compressed its original spindle-shaped formation into a triangular attack formation, with the supply train protected in the middle. Arrows and ammunition were transported to the attacking troops at the front of the triangle, releasing firepower in a fan-shaped pattern.

A lithe and drug-addicted pirate, relying on his fearless attack, successfully approached the front-line Reverse Lightning Legion warriors, but was shot down by a single bullet.

In reality, he only pretended to be shot and fall to the ground. When the triangular formation advanced to his vicinity, he suddenly jumped up, pulled out the hidden pistol, and fired at the front of the formation.

The turn of events happened so suddenly that almost no one had time to react before he fired three shots and rushed into the crowd, picking up a military knife from the ground and starting to brandish it.

Seeing this, the pirates' morale soared, and they began to seek opportunities for close-range attacks, frantically assaulting the enemy's formation.

The skinny, bald soldier at the front was suddenly shot, staggered, and was about to fall, but was held up by his teammates behind him. Two other soldiers nearby even stepped forward, shielding themselves from the intruding pirates' slashes.

Such a brave and fearless act was unbelievable even to the fanatical pirates. They hesitated for a moment, and before they could even cut into the other man's body, the advancing soldiers slit his throat with daggers.

Then, the soldiers, whether shot or stabbed, returned to their ranks without a trace of pain, silently picking up their crossbows and hunting rifles and continuing their advance. Only through the gaps in their tattered dark robes could one glimpse a bright, silvery-white metallic sheen.

And coincidentally, a spaceship was anchored on the sea, and the target seemed to be within reach.

Chapter 457 The Longest Day (Part 2)

Even the pirates, obsessed with drugs, noticed something amiss during their relentless attacks.

Even though the bullet had struck the attacker's body, tearing through the clothing without resistance, it seemed as if an invisible force blocked it. The wounded man's frail body swayed slightly, like a thin but resilient bamboo shoot, springing back to its original posture, and then drawing the bow and firing again, just as before.

These warriors, dressed in overly heavy and tattered clothes, formed a stable square formation. The formation spread slightly to the flanks, and they continuously drew their bows and fired arrows, launching fierce attacks on the pirates with wooden bows that were either large and heavy, long and thin, or delicate and skillful.

On the plains, pirates would have a thousand ways to toy with these primitive armies, but near Sabre Bay, the town's naturally crooked and chaotic, unplanned community space severely affected the range of gunfire, and countless sprawling buildings also obstructed the sniper's line of sight.

Therefore, the battle was brought to a close range of about one hundred paces, a distance at which both bows and guns could exert their power, and also the most suitable distance for close combat.

The pirates clearly wanted to engage in hand-to-hand combat.