The cannon fire had dwindled to almost nothing.
After each shot, several seconds passed before the next could be heard.
The Artillery Battalion at Pudora Kingdom Port had all but exhausted its ammunition reserves.
Only a dozen or so cannonballs remained.
Standing on the raised platform, Commander-in-Chief Leweir waved a hand casually and said, "Cease fire!"
"After all the cannonballs we fired, I refuse to believe the Chris Pirates could still be unscathed!"
Hearing this, the Artillery Battalion commander immediately ordered his men to stop firing.
With a pained expression, he clicked his tongue and said, "We've used up all the Artillery Battalion's reserves!"
"That was several years' worth of stock."
"With that many cannonballs raining down on them, no matter how capable the Chris Pirates are..."
"They must have suffered some damage!"
Deputy Commander Grant looked at the lingering black smoke ahead and said softly, "Unfortunately, the Chris Pirates are still hidden in the smoke."
"For now, we don't seem to have any way of knowing what condition they're in."
"But they don't seem to be making any moves."
The black smoke from the bombardment lingered for a long time.
Even with the sea breeze blowing, it would not dissipate completely so easily.
Leweir rested his hand on the railing, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said, "That's exactly what we want!"
"It means our bombardment had a considerable effect."
"It looks like we've finally broken through the Chris Pirates' invincible defenses."
Deputy Commander Grant smiled faintly as well, his expression relaxing with relief.
He said softly, "As long as we can break through the Chris Pirates' invincible defenses, we've succeeded."
"At least our troops won't have so many fears holding them back when they face the Chris Pirates."
Leweir and Grant had gone to such lengths precisely to inflict