Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest
Chapter 1088: 1088: Western Expedition (End)

Chapter 1088: Chapter 1088: Western Expedition (End)

As the bridgehead for Great Qin’s eastward invasion, Solid Gold Pass not only stationed an elite legion but had also relocated a large number of craftsmen, general hands, and slaves to serve the army.

Therefore, a large number of houses were built inside the fortress, already forming the layout of a city.

However, today this recently established fortress city is facing a catastrophic disaster.

Round after round of cannonballs whistled down from the sky, producing extremely violent explosions, one house after another was blown up and collapsed, countless soldiers and civilians were hit by the shrapnel flying in all directions, or buried under the ruins.

What’s more terrifying is that the flames generated by the explosion ignited the timber and hay stored inside Solid Gold Pass, quickly resulting in a widespread fire, causing even more casualties.

At this moment, whether ordinary people or martial artists, all were running around in panic, their screams, cries, and calls for help intermingled, resembling a living hell.

The people inside the fortress were enduring unprecedented torment and hardship, and the Qin soldiers guarding the walls were not faring any better.

After several rounds of bombardment, the artillerymen of the Western Expedition Army readjusted their firing parameters.

The shots became more accurate.

Their first targets were not the Qin soldiers but the cannons deployed on the city walls, which they methodically called out and targeted.

Having an immense advantage in range enabled these cannoneers to calmly demonstrate their expertise.

One continuous bursting shell after another exploded on the city wall, even though the rate of fire was not high, each shell contained terrible power, easily destroying the Qin Army’s cannons along with heavy crossbows and other weapons.

Many Qin soldiers also met with misfortune, getting blown up and suffering death or injury.

This bombardment continued for a good half two-hour session before coming to a temporary halt, as the cannon barrels had become overheated, and continuing could easily result in bursting.

But at this moment, Wang Chen took action again.

He stored the Divine Might Cannon into the Cangqing Ring and then took it out again, and instantly it returned to normal temperature.

Although this inevitably consumed some of the energy of the precious ring, it ensured that the Divine Might Cannon’s firepower output continued, leaving the Qin soldiers inside Solid Gold Pass no chance to catch their breath and subjected them to another severe blow.

The cannons deployed on the walls were destroyed in large numbers before they could be effective, and the casualties of the soldiers grew increasingly severe, to the point where the Qin soldiers hunkered down inside Solid Gold Pass could no longer endure.

The heavy iron gates squeaked as they were slowly lifted, and squads of Qin Cavalry poured out in single file, charging at the highest speed towards the artillery platform where Wang Chen was located.

They had no other choice but to fight to the death!

However, Wang Chen had long been prepared and had already deployed a defensive array in front of the artillery platform.

The tens of thousands of cavalry he commanded could not only ride horses to charge a thousand miles but also dismount to fight as infantry, each armed with a flintlock rifle and fully equipped for combat.

Moreover, there were dozens of field cannons within the formation.

As the massive force of Qin Cavalry charged, the field cannons were the first to fire solid cannonballs, plowing bloody furrows through their formations.

The second round charged was grape shot, essentially scatter shot.

Dozens of cannons fired in unison, and hundreds to thousands of Qin Cavalry fell as if mowed down by a scythe, collapsing in unison.

The extent of the casualties was so severe that it was unbearable to witness!

The Qin Cavalry, driven into desperation, were also incredibly valiant; the huge losses did not cause them to collapse but instead ignited a will to fight to the death, as they continued to charge while swinging their war sabers.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A whirlwind suddenly swept across the battlefield, plumes of blood burst forth from numerous Qin Cavalry, who screamed as they fell to the ground.

This was the assault from the firearm shooters.

The front row of soldiers finished firing and retreated, and those from behind took their places and continued firing, the warriors armed with flintlock rifles alternating in and out, shooting down all the approaching enemies in front of their positions.

Only a handful of Qin Cavalry who made it to the front managed to shoot feathered arrows at the enemy, but the sporadic fire posed hardly any threat.

They were clearly elite warriors of the Qin Army. Instantly abandoning their bows and arrows, they leapt off their horses and advanced toward the Western Expedition Army’s formation, using various agile maneuvers. They tried to reverse the tide of battle by relying on their strength.

These experts were immediately targeted and fired upon, with many being shot to riddled with arrows on the spot.

However, a few Qin people with extremely high cultivation levels charged to the front lines, and just as they were about to unleash a massacre with their sabers, several fifth-tier Martial Ancestors lying in ambush within the Western Expedition Army bravely struck out to stop them.

They were assisted by several hundreds of fourth-tier Martial Generals!

Even though the Qin Army had its share of fifth-tier Martial Ancestors, they could not withstand the Western Expedition Army, who rested and held an absolute numerical advantage, and were quickly surrounded and slain on the spot.

The attacking Qin Army was completely annihilated!

The battle did not last long, but in front of the Western Expedition Army, the Qin Army left behind thousands of corpses.

They suffered a crushing defeat.

As a result of this, the Qin Army inside Solid Gold Pass gave up their last delusions and no longer ventured out of the pass despite the bombardment of heavy artillery.

They closed the iron gates again and retreated from the city walls, remaining hidden within the city and no longer showing themselves.

Seeing this, Wang Chen ordered a cessation of the artillery fire.

He withdrew all the Divine Might Cannons and then led the Western Expedition Army forward.

Because the enemy’s cannons had been completely destroyed, this time the army set up an attack formation at a position only about a mile away from the city walls.

Wang Chen once again rolled out the Divine Might Cannons, aiming at the iron gates of Solid Gold Pass.

“Blow it open!”

The Divine Might Cannons roared again, sending solid shot after solid shot flying towards the gates.

The gates of Solid Gold Pass were made of refined iron and ironwood with a three-layer structure, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, and were normally impervious to attacks.

But under the relentless bombardment of the Divine Might Cannons, they were twisted and deformed, soon showing severe damage.

When the gates were on the verge of collapsing, Wang Chen ordered a halt to the bombardment.

Holding the Qijue Great Sword, he suddenly soared forward at breakneck speed, like an arrow released from a bow.

The next moment, Wang Chen struck the damaged gate heavily with his sword.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash that shook the earth, the massive iron gates, like the camel crushed by the last straw, burst apart in an instant.

The Qin Soldiers caught off guard behind the gates were struck and killed or wounded by the flying debris.

“Kill!”

Wang Chen was the first to storm into the fortress.

Behind him, thousands of Great Zhou Elite Cavalry swept in, forming an unstoppable torrent!

As this army rushed into Solid Gold Pass, the downfall of the Qin Army was irretrievable.

Although many Qin Soldiers showed enough bravery in the subsequent street fighting, their defeat was already sealed; a few courageous acts cannot withstand the firearms and war sabers.

The battle lasted from morning until deep into the night.

Later, it was counted that fifty-three thousand Qin Soldiers perished at Solid Gold Pass, and over seventy thousand auxiliary soldiers, general hands, and slaves were also slaughtered. In the end, not even one percent survived!

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