Chapter 74: Tragedy

In the dead of night, a fierce battle erupted once again along the border as over forty thousand troops from the Cai Kingdom surged forward. The remaining thirty platforms of the war artifacts slowly ascended into the air, ready for bombardment.

At this critical moment, Zhang Hongtao reported to Li Liang, “Sir, we’ve exhausted all 2,000 bullets, with an accuracy rate exceeding seventy percent. Over 440 soldiers were killed on the spot, with more than a hundred seriously injured; the rest sustained minor injuries. Our targets were primarily the leaders within their ranks.”

Li Liang nodded and sent Zhang Hongtao and his team to rest. He gazed silently at the brutal battlefield, feeling the weight of the situation. The dual approach of the Cai Kingdom had indeed left Anyang in a passive position!

The war was merciless, with casualties reported every moment. Both magic and crossbows were deployed, adding to the chaos.

The thirty war artifact platforms clustered together, concentrating their fire on a section of the border wall. The relentless barrage of powerful crossbows and spells began to shake the wall; the protective formation was struggling to hold. Once the formation collapsed, they would be left with only ordinary stone walls, which could hardly withstand the assault of the cultivators.

The defense line was on the brink of collapse!

————

In the Huangshi Valley, Li Xian stood on a hilltop, commanding the battle with an imposing presence.

The muzzles of 144 guns fired continuously, primarily targeting the squad leaders and strategists.

The ambush had already caught the Cai Guo army off guard and thrown them into chaos. Now, facing such strange weapons, it was inevitable that panic would ensue as they witnessed over a hundred squad leaders inexplicably fall in the blink of an eye.

However, Wang Qisheng, the commander of the Imperial Guards, was not one to be underestimated. With a single command, all the soldiers formed a defensive line back-to-back, using their shields to protect themselves as they charged forward.

After several rounds of gunfire, Wang Qisheng shouted, “Charge! They have fewer than 150 men!”

The number 150 clearly spurred the soldiers of Cai Guo into action. No longer as afraid, they pressed forward, fighting with all their might. Although many fell around them, the loss of three to five hundred was inconsequential against an army of over four thousand.

A dozen or so small masters at the Foundation Establishment stage charged ahead, holding talismans. These talismans primarily consisted of various evasion techniques and illusionary arts, rendering the sniper rifles temporarily ineffective.

“Spare them, the most formidable among the sniper soldiers,” Li Xian said, looking down from above and making eye contact with Wang Qisheng from a distance.

The pitch-black night could not hinder the vision of the cultivators. Though it might be somewhat blurred, they could ultimately see clearly.

“Li Xian?” Wang Qisheng gazed over from afar.

Li Xian smiled broadly, “General, welcome to my humble abode. Is this reception satisfactory?”

“How did you discover us?” This was Wang Qisheng’s main concern.

Li Xian smiled slightly, “General Wang, are you familiar with the feigned retreat tactic? In fact, the Kong family hasn’t lost anyone; we merely killed a death row inmate!”

“The Kong family?! Impossible. If you received news in advance, how could you have so few men?” Wang Qisheng naturally didn’t believe it.

But the next moment, Wang Qisheng believed it about seventy percent!

The soldiers of Cai Guo who charged ahead ran into the ambush laid by Wang Jian and his men; then, a flash of light erupted. Without a doubt, it was the night lanterns; in this pitch-black dawn, they suddenly burst forth with the brightest radiance, momentarily blinding the soldiers of Cai Guo.

Most of the soldiers were merely at the Qi Refinement stage, their spiritual awareness weak; with their vision impaired, they could only…

Ahh…

In an instant, a chorus of screams erupted as five thousand elite soldiers surged out, and amidst the flashing blades, over two thousand souls were added to the count of the fallen.

In the next moment, the light of the sword flashed again, followed by a chorus of screams. The four thousand imperial guards of the Cai Kingdom were reduced to only seven or eight hundred in the blink of an eye.

The sudden change left Wang Qisheng dumbfounded; then the general shouted angrily, summoning a flying sword as a magical tool to attack Li Xian. The flying sword controlled by a Golden Core practitioner, in his fury, was not much slower than a bullet.

But Li Xian simply watched, unhurried and composed.

Wang Qisheng sneered…

Whoosh! A net flew out, trapping Wang Qisheng’s flying sword!

Li Xian rubbed his nose and said, “Sorry, General Wang. My cultivation is insufficient, so I can only resort to this desperate measure. Someone, bring General Wang a few pieces of candy.”

Candy? Of course, it wasn’t candy but armor-piercing shells! Although these armor-piercing rounds were quite primitive, the bullets were massive! A total of six large-caliber sniper rifles, resembling machine cannons, were aimed at Wang Qisheng.

In that moment, Wang Qisheng’s soul nearly left his body! A primal sense of crisis surged in his heart.

But it was too late; he could only watch as the gun barrels continuously erupted with flames, and massive projectiles surged toward him.

“Ah!” Wang Qisheng shouted, his Golden Core true essence reaching its limit. A blurry, transparent, glass-like shield of protective qi appeared around his body, the true essence squeezed out with all his might.

Bang! Bang! Bang…

The bullets struck the protective qi, causing it to tremble like jelly. Wang Qisheng’s face turned pale in an instant, and blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. Ultimately, the bullets did not completely penetrate the protective qi but became embedded within the layer of qi.

“Don’t stop! Everyone, aim at him!” Li Xian shouted loudly.

In the next moment, more gun barrels were aimed at Wang Qisheng.

“I will be back!” Wang Qisheng finally roared in anger, no longer caring about the lives of his subordinates. His figure flickered and disappeared. After all, he was a Golden Core practitioner; escaping was still within his capability.

The reason Kong Donghua from the Kong family didn’t escape last time was partly because he was too close and also because that guy didn’t even know how to unleash the protective qi—perhaps his cultivation was lacking.

Once Wang Qisheng fled, the remaining hundred or so soldiers of the Cai Kingdom finally surrendered, thoroughly terrified by the slaughter. In just this short time, from four thousand, only about a hundred remained; around them were shameless bastards continuously playing with their night lanterns.

“Damn, this feels so good!” Wang Jian shouted with excitement. “I’ve fought so many battles, and I’ve never had it this easy!”

Li Xian snorted, his tone stern: “Wang Jian! Count the personnel. Those who need medical attention, hurry up and treat them!”

“Uh…” Wang Jian, taken aback by Li Xian’s reprimand, smiled sheepishly and quickly began to tally the wounded. It turned out that only a few guys had charged too recklessly and twisted their ankles. This ambush had indeed been executed brilliantly.

The captured soldiers of the Cai Kingdom had their true essence sealed and were bound with iron wire. After everyone regrouped, Li Xian led the gunmen to the front lines, while Wang Jian quickly moved his team forward, with two men rushing along, dragging a prisoner.

Before long, the scene was left littered with corpses; after a while, night owls and vultures began to arrive for their feast.

—

Under the blood-red dawn, the battlefield was brutal! The rising sun in the east did not bring life but illuminated the horrific battlefield.

When Li Xian reached the border, the red sun had already appeared in the east; however, the fighting at the border had been ongoing since midnight. It had not ceased from midnight until now.

From afar, Li Xian could smell the nauseating scent of blood and hear the sounds of battle carried by the wind.

He even saw a soldier pierced by a crossbow bolt, blood spraying out as he flew off the Great Wall.

“Big Brother, I’m here!” Li Xian shouted as he led his men up to the city wall from the rear.

Once on top, Li Xian’s face turned pale. The walls were stained red, littered with arrows and fallen bodies that had not been cleared away; the battle raged on. In front of the border fortifications, the ground was a bloody mess; looking around, it resembled a scene from hell.

But what attracted Li Xian’s attention the most were the twelve war artifacts still flying in the sky! These twelve war artifacts were attacking a section of the wall, which was already crumbling, and a fierce struggle was erupting there.

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