World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 673: Zhi Wei suffers a crushing defeat! Zhi Ning has a child!_3

Chapter 673: Zhi Wei suffers a crushing defeat! Zhi Ning has a child!_3

"Boom, boom, boom..."

In a short period of time, thousands upon thousands of barrels of oil were smashed down.

Countless barrels of oil crashed against the city walls and the ground, violently shattering and the crude oil inside splattered out.

In just a moment, the entire ground beneath the city walls was covered with a thick layer of oil.

Nearly every soldier in Zhi Wei’s besieging army was splashed with the pungent oil.

Then, thousands of small to medium-sized gunpowder bags were thrown down.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The intense explosions ignited all the tens of thousands of oil barrels that had been dropped earlier.

Boom, boom, boom!

A cataclysmic fire blazed uncontrollably!

Millions of pounds of oil were ignited, resulting in a startling inferno!

The damage from the gunpowder explosions was instantaneous, but the burning of the oil was continuous.

All of Zhi Wei’s tens of thousands of besieging troops, crowded under the city walls, were suddenly engulfed and consumed by the entire sea of fire.

The area beneath the four-mile-long city wall had turned into a terrifying purgatory.

"Ah... ah... ah..."

Ear-piercing, agonized screams filled the air.

Countless soldiers screamed in agony, struggled, and tried to escape within the great fire!

The most lethal weapon for defending a city was boiling oil.

But in the age of cold weapons, boiling oil was poured down in amounts of at most several ten-thousands of pounds, and this would take several days with countless pourings.

However, after Suo Lun discovered an oil mine, the resources of oil for the battlefield had become virtually limitless.

In one go, tens of thousands of barrels of oil were dropped, exceeding a million pounds.

Watching the hellfire burning fiercely below,

"Continue launching..." Suo Lun roared!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Countless strong men, from the holes in the city walls, furiously hurled barrels of oil.

Literally adding fuel to the fire...

On the four-mile stretch of ground, several millions of pounds of oil were poured, creating a sea of fire over a hundred meters wide and more than two thousand meters long.

Duke Zhi Wei’s tens of thousands of troops, all buried in this inferno spreading over two to three hundred thousand square meters.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

At this moment, the Super-Giant Stone Projectors on the Fenglei Fort Defense Line launched their fifth volley.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom..."

Meanwhile, Zhi Wei’s Giant Crossbow Battleground and the giant stone projector positions were devastated, after two hundred thousand pounds of gunpowder carpet-bombed the area, leaving no complete stone projector or giant crossbow to be found.

Duke Zhi Wei trembled, feeling ice-cold in his arms and legs!

At this moment, the entire battlefield was shrouded in thick smoke. Below the city walls, a sea of flames.

"Father, sound the signal to retreat quickly, otherwise, our eighty-thousand strong army is going to perish beneath these walls," Prince Zhi You shouted.

As if suddenly awakened, Duke Zhi Wei roared, "Retreat, retreat!"

Immediately, countless gongs were struck within the army of Zhi Wei.

This was the signal to retreat!

Afterward, Duke Zhi Wei waited in the thick smoke, to see how many of the army would successfully return.

...

He didn’t know how long he waited!

The smoke dissipated, and the fire died out!

"Father, only slightly more than three thousand men, have successfully returned," the Princely Heir Zhi You reported.

Of the total of three waves of attackers of the eighty-thousand-strong army, only three thousand returned, the rest all died in battle.

Adding to this the casualties of over five thousand from the Giant Crossbow Battleground and the giant stone projector positions.

In just four hours, Duke Zhi Wei’s army of 150,000 suffered casualties of 85,000 men, leaving only a little over 60,000.

Over half were lost, yet they didn’t even manage to scale the walls of Wind Thunder Fortress.

Not only that, but the casualties on Suo Lun’s side were negligible.

He traded astronomical amounts of oil and gunpowder for this shocking outcome.

Standing on the command platform, Duke Zhi Wei looked toward Suo Lun, high in the distant castle, two kilometers away.

But Zhi Wei felt that Suo Lun was laughing!

In just half a day, over half of his 150,000 strong army had been lost while Suo Lun’s forces were unharmed.

Duke Zhi Wei had never suffered such a crushing defeat!

He shouldn’t have been so rash, so eager for quick success. He should have waited steadily for the arrival of the Turing Tuo Army.

That way, the defeat wouldn’t have been so devastating!

Zhi Wei first felt a sharp pain in his heart, then as if a tremendous force were tearing apart his internal organs, his stomach suddenly cramped, and hot blood surged up from his guts and violently into his throat.

"Pfft..." The hot blood violently spurted out.

Then, Zhi Wei felt darkness before his eyes, his body turned cold, and he felt dizzy.

"Bang!"

Duke Zhi Wei’s tall figure suddenly fell to the ground, completely unconscious and unresponsive!

...

Meanwhile!

In a manor in the Capital of the Flame Empire!

From the onset of labor pains to now, Princess Zhining had been in agony for a full three hours and still hadn’t given birth.

Complicated labor!

The baby was strong, but the position was incorrect!

Princess Zhining’s screams were utterly hoarse and exhausted.

Outside the room, Prince Ji Min listened with a heart full of dread and soul scattered to the winds.

One moment he covered his ears, unable to stop, the next he knelt on the ground, praying desperately.

Midwives, maids, and Medical Daoist Monks bustled in and out of the room.

Buckets of bloody water were thrown out one after another.

Female Medical Daoist Monks from the Dragon Temple had arrived in three groups.

Four midwives sent from the Flame Empire Palace also came.

But still, the baby was not born!

Commandery Princess Zhining’s screams had gone from hysterical at the beginning to barely alive toward the end.

Toward the back, Princely Heir Ji Min knelt down continuously praying, praying!

"Whether it be dragons or demons, or any deity, I beg you, I beg you, spare Zhining, keep her safe and sound, protect her and her child!"

"Heavens, protect Zhining, protect Zhining!"

"Suo Lun, I will kill you, I will kill you!"

"I, Ji Min, am willing to shorten my life by ten years, no, twenty years, thirty years! Just to guarantee Zhining and her child’s safety!"

"I beg you, beg you, beg you..."

Prince Ji Min knelt on the ground shivering, talking to himself, continuously praying!

Suddenly...

"Ah..." Commandery Princess Zhining let out a piercing roar!

"Wah, wah, wah..." Then, resounding cries of a newborn echoed from inside the room!

At last, the baby was born!

Outside the room, Princely Heir Ji Min’s legs gave out, and he collapsed on the ground, drenched through and through.

"Wuu..." Then, he covered his face and sat on the ground, weeping loudly!

...

Note: The second installment of 5,000 words is here, with a total of 9,000 words in two installments today. I plead for your support!

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