Chapter 156: It

"Attack the tribal guards directly in front of the platform!"

"Yes, my lord!"

With a rustling sound, the leather canopy was thrown open, and the bedcrossbow team began loading.

The winch turned, pulling the thick ox-hide bowstring taut; the loaders immediately inserted three-meter-long giant bolts into the grooves.

Two assistants adjusted the angle according to the squad leader's orders to aim.

Of course, the three hundred tribal guards stood densely packed—even without aiming, the bolts wouldn't miss.

But ritual must be observed, right?

"Bedcrossbows loaded! Bedcrossbows aimed!"

"Fire!"

Thud!

The trigger rope was pulled, and the bowstring snapped back violently.

A muffled boom echoed as the crossbow body shuddered slightly, launching a three-meter-long, two-finger-thick bolt.

"Look—what is that?!"

The heirs on the platform had been watching with interest, awaiting the annihilation of the noble soldiers below.

But now they too noticed the strange, oversized "longbow"—and when the thick arrow shot forth, several heirs stared in stunned silence.

The shaft bent to its extreme limits from the immense force, giving them their first-ever glimpse of the bowstring's power made visible.

Whoosh!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

After a piercing whistle, the massive bolt shot like a black streak into the tightly packed tribal guards.

Instantly, a line of blood formed among them.

One, two, three… eight!!

A full eight tribal warriors fell at once!

Whoa!

"What the hell is that?!"

"How can there be such huge bows and arrows?!"

"Yes, how could these nobles possess weapons this terrifying?!"

Interest turned to unease; the tribal heirs all paled.

Three hundred guards were among the tribe's most elite soldiers, yet this weapon took out eight with a single shot!

If a few more of these weapons appeared, could tribal warriors ever hope to stand against the nobles again?

"No retreat! Anyone who steps back will be executed on the spot—his entire family will be reduced to tribal death-slaves!"

At that moment, the personal guards' shouts snapped the heirs back to awareness.

The three hundred tribal guards had panicked at the sight of the terrifying giant crossbow.

After all, the weapon wasn't just powerful—the wounds it inflicted were horrific.

That iron blade, at least fifteen centimeters wide, could slice a man clean in half—let alone a warhorse.

The guards along that bloody line had been severed at the waist, filling the others with dread.

Fortunately, under the personal guards' threats and reprimands, the tribal guards were instantly cowed, forced to grit their teeth and stand their ground.

"Guards, don't fear! In ten minutes—no, five minutes—these damned noble soldiers will be wiped out by our sentries!"

"So hold your ground. When those noble soldiers are gone, we will reward you!"

"That's right, guards! Hold on! When the battle ends, all of you will be rewarded!"

To better calm the guards, the heirs shouted their promises louder.

With that, the last trace of fear among the guards was crushed.

"Looks like we need to add a little more spice!"

Gervas wasn't overly surprised—these guards serving as heirs' personal troops were naturally the tribe's most loyal, just like his knights and squires.

So he'd already planned how to deal with them!

Seeing the bedcrossbow's string fully drawn and the loaders preparing to reload with standard bolts, Gervas ordered: "Load 'Wrath of the Sea God'!"

The loader froze, then snapped to attention. "Yes, my lord!"

Immediately, the loader abandoned the bolt with a sharp iron tip and selected one capped with a smooth stone sphere.

After loading the bolt, he didn't stop—he swiftly opened a sealed wooden crate.

Inside the crate lay a pile of straw.

After fumbling for a moment, he pulled out a cylindrical iron tube.

The tube was over ten centimeters long, as thick as a human wrist, sealed at both ends, with only a tiny hole in the center and a thin cotton thread sticking out above it.

More puzzling still—if you looked closely, the tube's surface was covered in countless deep grooves.

These grooves were crude beyond reason—if meant for decoration, they made no sense.

After retrieving the tube, the loader carefully mounted it onto the bolt's midpoint.

For at that exact spot on the shaft, a small, sturdy wicker frame had been deliberately bound—perfectly fitted to hold the iron tube.

"Report: 'Wrath of the Sea God' loaded! Aiming complete!"

"Ignite! Fire!"

Thud!

Another muffled boom—the stone-headed bolt shot out violently.

Whoosh!

Puff!

This time, due to the altered head, the bolt lost its piercing power.

The stone-tipped arrow pierced only one tribal guard before lodging itself in his body.

The surrounding guards paused, confused, and crowded closer.

"The tip's made of stone? And it's round? Are these noble soldiers idiots?"

"Yeah, even without iron, they could've used bone! And they didn't even sharpen it!"

"Hah! This is better—if not, we'd all be dead just now!"

The guards chattered excitedly; those directly behind the bolt's impact site grinned with relief, thrilled to have survived.

Beyond the guards, the heirs on the platform had also witnessed this scene.

Each stared down in confusion, preparing to send someone to investigate.

But then one guard suddenly cried out: "Look! There's an iron tube here!"

"Hey! There's a cotton thread smoking on the tube!"

"Let me see! Let me see!"

Guards crowded around the tube, marveling and murmuring.

Just then, the cotton thread burned out and vanished into the hole.

"Huh? The thread's gone—what could this tube possibly be…"

A blinding flash of white light erupted—every guard's chatter cut off instantly.

Boom!

Moments after the flash, a deafening explosion thundered like a bolt from a clear sky.

When those nearby regained their senses and looked back at where the guards had stood, they saw seventeen or eighteen men lying on the ground.

Their condition was horrific—animal hides and leather armor torn to shreds, flesh and bone reduced to bloody pulp.

"This… this… what happened?!"

"I… I don't know! Was it lightning?"

"Impossible! The night sky has no clouds—how could lightning strike?!"

On the platform and below, everyone swallowed hard, staring dumbfounded at the gruesome scene.

The blinding flash and thunderclap had come without warning—they had no idea what had occurred.

Some suspected lightning, but tonight offered no conditions for it to form.

"Divine punishment! It's definitely divine punishment!"

"Yes! The gods' wrath! Run! The gods have unleashed their fury!"

At that moment, a shout erupted from the crowd of guards.

Amidst the shouts, the previously tight guard formation immediately collapsed.