The instant Yang Ying shouted the halt, forcing the storm of bullets to cease, the machine gunners were already reloading their magazines.

Herman Tower was riddled with holes, its exterior glass completely shattered, leaving the interior rooms entirely exposed.

"Go! See if Herman is dead. If there are any pirates alive, finish off the worthless ones with a single shot, and bring the valuable ones to me." Yang Ying waved his hand, and a squad of Ghost Agents stepped out from the troops to sweep the building for remaining enemies.

Everyone within a one-kilometer radius who could see Herman Tower with the naked eye was stunned into silence by the building's ruin. The reality unfolding before them forced a complete reassessment of their perception of the legendary Trane Mercenary Group's machine gunners.

That was a level of efficiency that even professional demolition crews couldn't match; in barely one minute, a structure went from intact to a miserably ruined skeleton.

Shortly after, the Ghost Agents reported that Herman's office was empty, but they had located a man in the basement calling himself Eisen, one of Herman’s top lieutenants.

The Ghost Agents brought Eisen before Yang Ying. This powerful subordinate of Herman was utterly terrified by the tower’s destruction; his steps were unsteady as he walked, and the moment he stood before Yang Ying, his legs buckled beneath him, and he dropped to his knees, pleading, "Commander Yang, spare my life! It wasn't my desire to join the pirates and commit atrocities; Herman forced me!"

"Where is Herman?" Yang Ying, temporarily unconcerned with the man's character, immediately asked the question that mattered most to him.

"You won't kill me?" Eisen cautiously watched Yang Ying's expression, trying to gauge his situation—life or death.

"As long as your intelligence is valuable enough, you live," Yang Ying replied, entirely indifferent to the man's fate; as long as he served a purpose, he would be kept alive; when he no longer did, he would die.

"You have to make your men promise not to kill me either," Eisen pressed, grasping for further security before speaking, reasoning that if he revealed everything now, he would have no leverage left to ensure his survival.

"What a waste of time," Yang Ying muttered, unwilling to offer further promises. He opted instead for the common technique used by Psions, employing mental suggestion: "Tell me, where is Herman?"

"He is at the Manor." Eisen's eyes instantly glazed over. While exceptionally strong-willed commoners could resist the suggestion arts to some degree, it was clear Eisen’s willpower was lacking.

"What is the Manor, and why did Herman go there?" Yang Ying continued his interrogation.

"The Manor is the codename for Herman's oldest and most heavily fortified sanctuary. Weapons here at the tower were too scarce, making defense extremely difficult. Upon learning of your mercenary group's movements, Herman relocated to the Manor for safety." Under the enchantment, Eisen revealed everything without reservation.

After extracting the necessary details about the Manor, Yang Ying ordered two Ghost Agents to take Eisen to the Grey Port office.

As Herman’s general, Eisen knew many of Herman’s secrets. Yang Ying concluded by using the suggestion art to command him to divulge everything he knew, to which Eisen readily agreed.

Subsequently, Yang Ying left a small contingent of troops behind to clear the debris of the tower. The main force then mobilized once more, advancing toward Herman’s Manor.

Along the route, news of what Yang Ying’s troops had done to Herman Tower spread like wildfire. It proved that even without communicators, information among pirates remained notoriously swift.

The road leading toward Herman's Manor was deserted; not a single fly stirred. The streets were as empty as a wilderness, occasionally disturbed by a scrap of old newspaper lifted by a faint breeze from the air purifiers, creating an atmosphere of profound desolation.

The Manor was not far from the tower by a direct line. Under rapid marching conditions, the troops reached a vantage point where they could see the estate within five minutes.

The entire Manor covered nearly ten thousand square meters, enclosed by high-voltage electrified fencing. At the center stood a three-story villa, fronted by a four-meter-high fountain, with a wide avenue leading from the villa entrance to the main gate.

The areas around the villa that should have been lawn were now occupied by various fortifications. These structures were built from alloy, possessing extremely high defensive capabilities. Behind the emplacements, besides manned guards, stood ten antiquated artillery pieces capable of firing both high-explosive shells and armor-piercing rounds.

Numerous traps were also buried between the positions. Coupled with hundreds of alert robots dotting the lawn, the estate resembled an impenetrable iron fortress, defending the central villa flawlessly.

"Herman really spared no expense in developing this place, even employing such a dense defensive formation," Yang Ying observed the estate from a distance, positioned safely outside the range of any weapon within the compound.

"Huh?" Yang Ying noticed several Power Armor soldiers peering out from behind the fortifications. They wore pure black power armor, sporting small horns protruding from their helmets. The armor bore numerous scars, suggesting it was somewhat aged, its design clearly deriving from the original Devil Type-Three armor.

"I recall reading intelligence that Herman re-equipped a Devil Squad Two using discarded Devil Type-Two power armor. Their weapons use lower-power plasma—not as fast as our machine gunners' Gauss—but they have a substantial number," Yang Ying mused. "And judging by the thickness of the alloy bunkers here, Herman clearly learned his lesson; the countermeasures against the machine gunners’ Gauss rifles should be sufficient now." He shook his head and smiled faintly. "Though, a Ghost Agent's sniper rifle could still pierce them with a single shot."

He calculated the trajectories from his position and realized that if he relied solely on infantry, breaching the villa would incur significant casualties. He glanced back at his troops. "Fortunately, I brought the tanks. Tank advances are the key to breaking through dense defenses. Today, the tank cannons will carve a path for me!"

The tanks' siege mode offered extreme firing range. Although the current distance was outside the immediate assault range of the estate’s smaller weapons, it was more than sufficient for the tanks to unleash their full power.

"Tank units, deploy stabilizers and enter siege mode! Target: The Manor gate!" Yang Ying pointed toward the estate and shouted.

Instantly, four formations of tanks extended stabilizing struts from above their treads, firmly anchoring themselves to the ground to secure the cannon mounts against recoil. Then, their rear-mounted 120mm 'Thor's Hammer' high-angle cannons lifted, aiming toward the Manor.

"Fire!"

Upon Yang Ying’s command, the muzzles of nearly fifty cannons spat fierce fire and thunderous roars. Massive fireballs erupted at the Manor gate, casting bright, burning red light.

The Manor gate was instantly engulfed in flames. When the fire subsided, only a deep crater remained where the gate had stood. A few embers flickered in the pit, but everything else had vanished, vaporized without a trace.

Inside the Manor, Herman watched the gate’s devastation on the closed-circuit television, his mouth agape, struck speechless. Only one thought dominated his mind: This—this utterly destroys the balance!

Yang Ying, pleased with the result, roared his approval. He then commanded, "Extend the barrage! Wipe out every emplacement on the lawn!"

Boom!

Every synchronized blast from the tank cannons projected an aura of absolute annihilation, like the Hammer of Thor, crushing gods and Buddhas alike.

Herman’s subordinates hastily returned fire with their few ancient artillery pieces. However, the tanks were too far away, well beyond their effective range. The armor-piercing rounds they fired fell short, impacting the ground long before reaching the tanks’ position.

The tank units proceeded with the pre-planned extended barrage, starting from the Manor gate and determined to slowly plow over the entire estate.

To eliminate Yang Ying’s armored threat, Herman dispatched Devil Squad Two, accompanied by over a hundred alert robots, charging out from the now-vanished main gate toward the tanks’ location.

Yang Ying pointed at the charging Devil Squad Two. "Change targets! Focus fire on the charging unit! Prepare—Fire!"

The tank cannons adjusted their aim slightly, and another unified blast swept across the street, targeting the enemy racing before the former gate.

Devil Squad Two, clad in Devil Type-Two power armor, was instantly smothered by the violent explosions. Members caught in the splash radius were instantly pulverized into scattered limbs and mangled torsos; the rare power armor proved utterly useless, shredded by the intense cannon fire.

The alert robots, being unliving and only half a man's height, possessed simple structures, reliable speed, and utilized uranium-slug guns for attack, relying on sensors to track enemies. Yet, under the tanks' area-of-effect bombardment, these robots were either vaporized or blown to fragments, becoming scrap metal.

A single volley covered an entire street, annihilating the Devil Squad Two and over a hundred alert robots combined!

Those manning the fortifications inside the Manor collectively swallowed hard. To them, the consequences if such a barrage landed nearby were unthinkable—only death, no other outcome was possible.

It was true that great reward drew desperate men; these were all outlaws willing to risk their lives for coin, and Herman had offered massive bonuses to see them through this crisis.

But the firepower displayed ignited the innate fear of death within them. None of these men truly courted death for money; they were all hoping to survive by sheer luck and earn enough to enjoy a better future.

If they had no future life to look forward to, what use was money?

Just then, the tanks fired again in unison. Nearly fifty fireballs ripped up a large section of metal bunkers. Dirt, dust, fragments of alloy, and pieces of men and machines scattered everywhere. The sight of shattered limbs and broken bodies crushed the pirates' last vestiges of morale. They broke spiritually, fleeing their cover and sprinting toward the central villa, desperate to put distance between themselves and the artillery that brought forth their most terrifying nightmares.

The tank barrage continued to extend, blasting every trap, hidden enemy, alert robot, and potential threat across the lawn into dust.