Chapter 249: Defeat

Chen Feihu was scared out of his wits upon hearing this voice! It turned out that Anyang had already prepared in advance and had even set up a trap!

Without a second thought, he fled backward. After retreating three zhang from his original position, he emerged from underground and deactivated his escape technique. Looking around, he gasped in shock.

In front of Anyang’s border wall, at the foot of the city wall, thousands of people stood scattered, holding magical treasures and wearing full sets of enchanted armor, resembling heavenly soldiers.

Ahead of these people, there were many soldiers from Nanyang County, but some had already become corpses.

After a quick assessment, Chen Feihu found that the entire front of Anyang’s defensive line was enclosed by the “Earth Fiend Vajra Formation,” stretching beyond sight in both directions. Here, not only was escape magic useless, but even ordinary invisibility spells lost their effect.

“How many spells must have been used for this! If this was done through formations, how many jade talismans would it take to engrave them all?” Chen Feihu was so shocked by Anyang’s overwhelming preparation that he was left speechless.

It was truly astounding—just a rough estimate suggested that at least ten thousand talismans had been used!

While Chen Feihu was in shock, Anyang’s elite forces were not idle. These Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately drew their swords and charged. Facing Chen Feihu were three late-stage Foundation Establishment experts, their magical flying swords exuding a chilling sharpness, while countless talismans rained down, instantly rendering Chen Feihu immobile.

Just as Chen Feihu thought he was about to die, an Anyang soldier suddenly spoke: “Judging by his attire, he’s a general. Capturing him alive is more useful than killing him! The rewards are also greater!”

“Right, capture him alive. But first, cripple his limbs and seal his Zifu true essence.”

Chen Feihu, unable to move, could only let them do as they pleased. His limbs were broken—not a fatal injury for a cultivator—but his true essence was sealed. He was then haphazardly bound by several soldiers and thrown aside. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he prepared to find a way to escape. However, before he could act, supervisors stationed on the city wall flew down and grabbed him.

“Deng Chengyuan, Zhuang Bi, and Wu Yong have captured an officer. His exact identity is yet to be confirmed.”

“Damn it, Anyang is keeping track of their military achievements while fighting! How can they handle so much at once?”

Chen Feihu cursed endlessly in his heart, but it didn’t change the fact that he had become a prisoner. Soon, he was “processed” by someone with even higher cultivation, then hung from a rope in front of the watchtower for everyone to see his face.

Chen Feihu wanted to die from shame, but no one spoke to him. Just as he was about to curse, they sealed his mute acupoint. Now, dangling mid-air, he could only make muffled baby-like noises.

With Chen Feihu captured, his personal guards were almost entirely wiped out. Only a few quick-witted and fast-running soldiers managed to escape—for now. But as long as the war continued, even they wouldn’t be able to run forever.

At the rear, Nanyang County’s commander, Nangong Zhi, sighed heavily. He had made a crucial mistake! If they had attacked just one hour earlier, things would have been different. But in that single hour, Anyang had fully fortified its defenses. This was a textbook example of “hesitation leading to disaster.” The Nanyang County Prefect, Kong Donglai, had hesitated too long, causing Nanyang to lose too many advantages—perhaps even its chance at victory!

Gritting his teeth, Nangong Zhi finally made a ruthless decision. As a commander, sometimes he had to be merciless.

“All soldiers, accelerate! Charge up Anyang’s walls! Do not hesitate—hesitation only allows Anyang to continue their long-range attacks while we remain passive targets.

Charge! Get up there!

Supervisory troops, kill any who retreat! If three soldiers in a squad fall back, execute the squad leader!”

The ferocious supervisory troops, wielding broad ghost-head sabers wrapped in red silk, patrolled behind the ranks, driving all soldiers forward—whether they were elite warriors or temporary conscripts—forcing them to charge to their deaths.

And the human wave tactic worked. As the main force slowly approached Anyang’s defenses, the cannons on the city walls became less effective. Seeing this, many Nanyang soldiers cheered with hatred and rage in their hearts, preparing to break through Anyang’s border defenses, unleash a massacre, and reap military achievements!

However, just as most of the soldiers reached thirty zhang from the city wall—entering the Earth Fiend Vajra Formation’s range—two hundred machine guns were suddenly deployed on the city walls.

Tatatata…

The flames of death leapt forth as rows of bullets pierced through the soldiers’ defenses and their chests.

Anyang had sold military weapons such as planes and cannons to others, but they had never sold firearms—let alone machine guns. Moreover, Anyang’s guns used a more powerful yellow explosive instead of gunpowder. This yellow explosive even contained traces of liquid spiritual energy as an additive, further increasing its power.

As soon as the machine guns opened fire, a bloodbath ensued. Unlike the thunderous impact of cannons, machine guns were like the scythes of the Grim Reaper—relatively quiet, yet devastating.

Nanyang’s soldiers fell like wheat in the fields, one row after another. Some bullets even pierced through three people in a row! The attacks from the heavy machine guns were so powerful that even Foundation Establishment cultivators were torn apart!

Hanging from the watchtower, Chen Feihu saw everything clearly—standing high… no, hanging high gave him the best view.

On the Anyang border defense line, three or four people operated a machine gun, firing rows of bullets as thick as a finger. The machine gunner could empty a small box of bullets in just three to five minutes. Behind them, people carrying ammunition and boxes could hardly stop moving. Further back, Foundation Establishment cultivators used spells and talismans to transport ammunition.

A single machine gun required more than a dozen people to operate, but its killing speed was equivalent to that of hundreds. This was not war—this was a massacre!

With a single burst of gunfire, a wave of Nanyang County soldiers charging forward would collapse in unison. A box of bullets could carve a gaping hole in Nanyang County’s formation.

After realizing the situation, the soldiers of Nanyang County began advancing while relying on spells and magical artifacts for protection. However, the machine gun’s relentless firepower was unstoppable—spells and artifacts might block one or two attacks, but they could not withstand continuous barrages.

Whenever a group managed to hold off the bullets, Anyang would respond with Golden Core cultivators launching flying sword attacks, sniper rifles picking off key targets, or even small cannons providing pinpoint strikes. Within the machine gun’s range, there was also support from machine cannons.

At this moment, life was utterly worthless—cheaper than weeds!

The supervisors in the rear of Nanyang County were still forcing soldiers to attack. Grand Marshal Nangong Zhi had yet to realize the deadly impact of the machine guns and had not rescinded the attack order.

About fifteen minutes later, Nangong Zhi finally sensed something was wrong. The soldiers at the rear continued to charge forward, but the front lines barely advanced.

Bracing against his magical artifact (as he had no spiritual treasures available) and his true essence shield, Nangong Zhi flew into the sky for a better view. What he saw instantly drained the color from his face!

“Retreat! Fall back! Use all spells and talismans without hesitation—use as many as possible to save your lives! Rear troops, cast spells towards the front lines—use ice-based or earth wall spells to block the attacks. Do not use fire, wind, or rain spells!”

Nangong Zhi, as expected, quickly grasped the characteristics of modern weaponry. Under his command, the Nanyang County soldiers finally managed to catch a brief respite and began a slow retreat.

But retreating was easier said than done. The machine gun’s effective range was not just 100 meters—it extended over 400 meters! That meant Nanyang County’s soldiers had to traverse a 300-meter death zone before they could escape.

Furthermore, 400 meters was only the precise and effective kill range—it did not mean that beyond 400 meters there was no lethality. In reality, these machine guns had a maximum range of nearly 1.5 kilometers. Within one kilometer, they could still kill ordinary people. The machine cannons had an attack range of up to three kilometers.

Besides the machine guns, nearly every Anyang soldier carried a firearm. With 50,000 elite troops and 150,000 reservists, a single volley meant 200,000 bullets fired. Even with just a one-third hit rate and a one-in-twenty kill rate, each volley would still result in dozens falling. And as spells failed, talismans were exhausted, true essence ran dry, and bodies were wounded, the death toll only continued to rise.

As for Nangong Zhi, he could only grit his teeth and order with a dark expression, “Retreat! Keep retreating! Fall back to our border defenses!”

By now, Nanyang County’s army was in complete disarray, unable to mount an effective defense. Continuing the battle under such circumstances was pointless—the only option was to retreat to the county’s border. In truth, it was less of a retreat and more of a total rout.

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