Chapter 93

With the widespread use of gunpowder, the armory's production capacity has surged, and cannons have finally been mass-produced, marking the emergence of large-scale war machines.

A full one hundred vehicles set off, with sixty three-wheeled vehicles leading the way, mainly carrying snipers.

Behind them were forty of the latest four-wheeled vehicles. These vehicles were still quite rudimentary, but their transport capacity was already impressive, with a load capacity exceeding ten tons. The most eye-catching were the ten vehicles that towed a two-and-a-half-meter-long iron tube, as thick as a thigh—these were the cannons! With a caliber of 150 millimeters!

Upon realizing that gunpowder could no longer be monopolized, Li Xian immediately ordered the production of cannons. Now, ten cannons were ready to showcase their destructive power in this world. The thirty vehicles behind them were all loaded with shells.

This time, it was Liu Leigang's turn to chatter incessantly, "General Cheng Jiming, you must pay close attention later. From now on, these cannons will be common equipment, so you must observe carefully.

To take care of you, I specially requested from Young Master that you be the first to observe this. Don't waste this opportunity. It would disappoint both me and Young Master."

"Shut up!" Cheng Jiming's face was as red as an apple.

"I can shut up, but you must promise not to waste this opportunity."

"I promise! Can you shut up now?"

"Wait, there's more, I mean—"

"Enough!" Cheng Jiming jumped up and pinned Liu Leigang down, giving him a thorough beating. Being at the Golden Core stage, Cheng Jiming easily overpowered Liu Leigang, who was still at the Foundation Establishment stage, especially since Liu Leigang had a missing arm.

The convoy of vehicles soon arrived at the border of Cai State, a familiar route. Liu Leigang, with a black eye, looked around with a fierce expression, while the surrounding guards bit their lips to hold back their laughter.

Liu Leigang stopped about a mile away from Cai State's border defense wall, well out of the range of crossbows. Then, General Liu waved at the Cai State border soldiers: "Hi, how are you? I've come to see you!"

The Cai State border soldiers were furious. Some of them fired their crossbows, but they couldn't even scratch Liu Leigang, instead drawing loud laughter from the Anyang side.

After the greeting, Liu Leigang directed his subordinates to line up the ten cannons and issued the order for free fire. In essence, today was for testing the cannons and collecting data! Both inspection and attack were to be carried out simultaneously.

Everyone was still in the experimental phase. The ten cannons fired freely, but with the experience from using sniper rifles, the responsible officers naturally used a volley.

"Number 1 cannon, 45-degree elevation. Number 10 cannon, direct fire. The rest, decrease the elevation by one degree each. Countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0! Fire!"

"Boom!" The ground shook, a far cry from the gentle sound of firearms. The cannons immediately displayed their fierce nature. The 150-millimeter caliber produced a massive recoil, pushing the cannons back by half a meter. The smoke from the fired ammunition billowed like a cloud around them.

In the air, several whistling sounds were heard as the shells completed their attack in the blink of an eye.

Ten shells, the closest being the direct fire, exploded halfway through their trajectory. The sandy field in front of the city wall was torn apart, with dust and countless old bones flying into the air, remnants from some long-forgotten past.

The second shell landed precisely at the base of the city wall, causing a loud explosion that made the defensive array on the wall ripple like water.

The third and fourth shells hit the wall, the violent explosions causing the wall to shake slightly. The shockwaves from the explosions knocked many Cai State soldiers to the ground, leaving them dazed and disoriented.

The remaining shells all flew over the wall and landed behind it.

The tenth shell flew the farthest.

"General, it's bad! General, it's bad! Anyang is attacking again! It's those strange vehicles again!" A soldier ran in a panic to the residence of the Cai State border commander.

The current border commander was still Lu Chenggang. Unlike the Chancellor Yan Ze'an and the Imperial Guard General Yan Zhengqing, the border commander could not be easily replaced. So, Lu Chenggang was still in charge here.

But now, Lu Chenggang was in a dilemma. The new Chancellor had secretly indicated that he should surrender quickly, or he would join the former Chancellor in the underworld.

While he was deeply conflicted, Lu Chenggang heard the soldier shouting, "Anyang is attacking again!"

A surge of anger rose to his head, and Lu Chenggang jumped up, "They're back! Fine, I'll lead the army to crush Anyang!"

Suddenly, a guard shouted, "There are rocks in the sky!"

"Boom!!" Those weren't rocks, but shells! The tenth shell followed the soldier's footsteps and landed right in the center of the commander's courtyard, causing a central explosion.

The surrounding seven or eight guards were instantly thrown into the air, with a few being torn apart on the spot.

Caught off guard, these soldiers at the Qi Condensation stage were not much different from ordinary people. A few who were more alert managed to activate their true essence, but their internal organs were still displaced, and dark red blood spurted out uncontrollably.

Lu Chenggang, meanwhile, stared dumbfounded as a piece of shrapnel embedded itself in his shoulder. The pain finally jolted him awake, "What's happening? What's happening?"

Unfortunately, the soldier who had come to report was torn apart and scattered across the courtyard.

But there was no need for the soldier to relay the message. Soon, the second wave of shells landed. Unlike the first wave, the second wave concentrated on the city wall, causing several plumes of black and gray smoke to rise, accompanied by continuous explosions and screams.

The sound of these explosions was etched deeply in Lu Chenggang's memory!

Seeing the continuous explosions, the continuous screams, and the continuous plumes of smoke, Lu Chenggang felt both anger and fear!

Looking at the gruesome scene in the courtyard, his bleeding shoulder, and the scattered shrapnel, Lu Chenggang felt an indescribable terror! This terror was not just fear of the shells but also doubt about the past—decades of cultivation couldn't match a single bag of gunpowder!

True to his role as a border commander, Lu Chenggang finally steeled himself and led his guards to investigate. By the time he reached the city wall, the attack had already occurred five or six times. The defensive array on the wall was partially damaged, and the wall was littered with corpses and debris.

When Lu Chenggang reached the wall, the Anyang soldiers responsible for observing the situation shouted, "Lu Chenggang is here!"

"Ha, focus fire, focus fire, focus fire!" Liu Leigang was overjoyed. In just a short time, he had grown to love the feeling of making others tremble.

When Lu Chenggang stepped onto the wall and saw only a hundred vehicles and not a large army, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to encourage his men when a squad leader pulled him aside, "General, quickly hide, they're all aiming at you!"

"What?!" Lu Chenggang turned around and saw ten shells flying towards him.

The quick reflexes of a Golden Core expert kicked in. Lu Chenggang grabbed the squad leader and jumped off the wall. But the guards behind him didn't have the same reaction time.

"Boom, boom!" The ten shells exploded simultaneously, sending over thirty guards flying.

The ten shells landed on the already shattered wall. Not only did over thirty guards perish, but the wall itself could no longer withstand the abuse. The upper half of the wall finally collapsed with a loud crash!

Still in mid-air, Lu Chenggang's eyes turned red, "Li Xian! I will never rest until you are dead!"

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