Chapter 83

"Fire cannon?" Xu Ren expressed his confusion, "Does Young Master know about this?"

Li Xian didn't explain, he just said, "I originally wanted to make a fire cannon, but the explosive yield was too low, so I could only make a fire gun. A fire cannon is just an enlarged fire gun, with its power increased countless times."

"Increased countless times?" Xu Ren was startled by this statement.

"Oh... I mean a complete fire cannon. But their fire cannons seem too primitive, they don't count. Ha ha..."

Then Li Xian avoided some sensitive questions, and Xu Ren wisely didn't ask—after all, which cultivator doesn't have secrets? The two discussed the issue of the "fire cannon."

However, before they could finish their discussion, more scouts reported back—Cai State had actually demonstrated the fire cannon to the scouts!

"Actively displaying a secret weapon? Cai State is really generous," Li Xian was delighted. In fact, Cai State was trying to intimidate and scare them; they did a good job. Under normal circumstances, Anyang would have been terrified. However, the situation was not normal! The abnormality wasn't with Anyang, but with Li Xian. To be precise, Li Xian's background was not normal.

After watching Cai State's specially demonstrated "fire cannon," Li Xian finally smiled, "It gave me a scare, I thought it was a real fire cannon. It turns out it's not a fire cannon, but a fire gun, using gunpowder without a doubt. Moreover, the fire guns vary in size, completely unstandardized, without even a basic standard."

Xu Ren hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "Young Master, how do we avoid the attack of the fire cannon?"

"Spread out! The army shouldn't be lined up neatly as in the past; they should spread out and attack freely. However, the main focus should be on increasing the number of snipers and musketeers. The range of these fire guns is limited, and they are prone to exploding. We'll let the snipers take long-range shots. Also, transport several snipers on all war artifacts to snipe from the sky. Most importantly, these fire guns require a large amount of gunpowder. Find their gunpowder storage. Gunpowder will explode when hit hard or sparked. As long as we find their gunpowder storage, we can just play the sniper game."

As they discussed, more scouts reported back. Cai State was expected to mobilize an army of 100,000, with the intention of completely conquering Anyang. Moreover, this time, the Prime Minister Yan Ze'an was personally overseeing the troops, and the three generals Wang Qisheng, Yan Zhengqing, and Lu Chenggang were each leading their own forces.

"100,000 troops?" Xu Ren reviewed all the past data and finally reached a conclusion, "At most, there are 60,000, at least 50,000. But even so, it has mobilized 20% of Cai State's main military strength. Young Master, write to Lord Li Yulong immediately, persuading His Majesty to launch a northern campaign, and encourage all the northern prefectures and states to attack Cai State. This time, we will surely win a great victory. As long as the north moves, we will be as stable as a rock here. Otherwise, relying solely on Anyang to resist the entire Cai State, our chances of winning are slim, and even if we win, it will be a Pyrrhic victory."

In fact, there was no need for Li Xian to write the letter. When Li Xian was discussing, Li Yulong had already received the information. When Li Xian's letter was sent, the palace guard commander, Langzhongling Fu Minghui, had already personally selected 30,000 elite troops to rush north, and the three northern prefectures of Daxia State had actively requested to send troops—no one was foolish. Upon hearing this news, everyone realized it was an opportunity, a good chance to plunder Cai State and take revenge for the previous war.

No one expected that this war would escalate into a full-scale war between Cai State and Daxia State. But that's what happened.

When Fu Minghui led the troops north, on the Cai State side, Prime Minister Yan Ze'an was telling the three generals Wang Qisheng, Yan Zhengqing, and Lu Chenggang, "Generals, the time for this war is tight; we only have three days to fight. I believe Daxia State has already launched a northern campaign. If possible, I hope to break through Anyang and then cut off the rear of Daxia's northern campaign army, allowing us to occupy three to four northern prefectures of Daxia. However, if we can't break through Anyang within three days, we must cripple Anyang, making them lose their ability to advance, and then return to intercept Daxia's northern campaign army."

"Understood!" The three generals nodded immediately.

"Since you understand, go and prepare. Military matters, you decide on your own."

The three generals of Cai State immediately prepared, and by noon, the army, which was said to be 100,000 but was actually over 50,000, marched out of the border and charged towards Anyang.

Leading the way were over a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators, who used true essence to shape iron pipes and iron balls. Behind them were carts loaded with gunpowder and iron balls.

These young cultivators didn't need to light incense; they just rubbed their fingers, and a small spell could produce a spark to ignite the gunpowder.

However, when the Cai State soldiers confidently arrived at Anyang's border, they were suddenly stunned. They saw 40 war artifacts floating in the sky at about 60 zhang (200 meters) high.

"How familiar these war artifacts look," the three generals all had strange expressions.

"Where did Anyang get spirit stones?" Yan Zhengqing was the most shocked. He had led the previous war and knew the situation with war artifacts. Flying at 60 zhang required 10 spirit stones!

"Stop!" The army paused, still over two li away from Anyang's border.

But while they stopped, the war artifacts from Anyang moved! Leading the war artifacts was Cheng Jiming—just to command these 40 war artifacts, Cheng Jiming had even resigned from his position as the general of the archery brigade.

Standing high in the sky, Cheng Jiming was very pleased. Looking at the neatly lined-up Cai State army, he sneered inwardly, "Hmph, thank Young Master for the spirit medicine; I am now a Golden Core cultivator. Now, let me show you what true firepower coverage looks like! The new tactics Young Master has been explaining these past few days will definitely make you regret it!"

The war artifacts flew at 200 meters high, quickly advancing. On the war artifacts, newly designed powerful crossbows made entirely of steel were slowly drawn. These crossbows, which used a large number of springs and pulleys to store energy, were more than twice as powerful as the original ones made from demon beast bones and tendons.

Each Foundation Establishment cultivator became a strongman, and under their operation, the powerful, well-designed steel crossbows seemed like toys. An iron bolt as thick as an arm was shot out with a click, flying two li in an instant.

The 40 war artifacts simultaneously fired over 120 bolts. Facing the densely packed Cai State army, there was no need to aim.

Thud...

A sea of blood and flesh churned, and over 120 bloody paths appeared in front of the Cai State army, instantly shredding over a thousand soldiers.

Cai State immediately responded, and another 20 war artifacts flew up.