487: Chapter 487 The Despicable Central Plains People

Someone with sharp eyes noticed something falling from behind one of the war chariots.

At first glance, they were dark and round; one might have thought it was horse manure.

"Bullshit! Have you ever seen horse manure that big and perfectly round? Aren't those coal balls?"

"They didn't come out of a horse; they rolled out of the boxes!"

Some eagle-eyed observers immediately discovered that the engineers were manipulating some pull-ropes.

Through the rope mechanism, these black balls would drop from the back of the carriage.

Soon, white smoke began to billow from these black balls...

"Boom!!—"

Along with the first explosion, a ball of fire erupted from the black sphere!

The Khitan soldiers chasing the carriages were no different from wild beasts, possessing little to no reason.

Passing through the explosion sites, some had their legs blown off, while others were sent flying, their bodies turned into a bloody mess!

At this, the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army were completely electrified!!

"Mother of God! Has Lord Thunder manifested his power?!"

"What Lord Thunder! I know what that is. It's mentioned in military books; it seems to be called Poison Fire!"

"Poison my ass! Poison Fire has toxic gas. This thing just explodes; where's the poisonous smoke!?"

Perhaps the sudden explosions had awakened an instinctive fear.

After several Khitan soldiers were blown to pieces, their offensive slowed. Many stared blankly at the war chariots, unsure of what to do.

Seizing this opportunity, the Zhenbei Army managed to catch their breath and began to retreat.

They could tell now—the Engineering Corps wasn't here to slack off; they had the real deal!

"Retreat! Retreat!!"

Commander Bai Buhei didn't care about the embarrassment of being proven wrong and loudly ordered the remaining few hundred men to move toward the Tower of Ares.

Because Xie Yu had said that place was "safe," they could only put their trust in the Young Lord now.

Xie Yu was currently on the watchtower, observing the situation with the war chariots.

"Ah... so many of them didn't explode. Ignition really is still an issue; it's not mature enough..."

He found that relying on flint friction inside the mechanical boxes for ignition had a success rate that was far too low.

His master, Old Yu, was right. These "Thunderclap Bombs," inspired by Poison Fire, still needed to be tested in actual combat.

After all, the battlefield was too tense for precise ignition operations.

If it weren't for the fact that these Khitan people weren't very bright, they might not have hit many at all.

"If only I could use something to shoot these Thunderclap Bombs directly into their faces!"

Xie Yu calculated in his mind.

But Yelv Heqi clearly wouldn't allow the Engineering Corps to show off their prowess so smoothly.

"Preposterous..."

Seeing that more people had died since these strange war chariots appeared than during the attack on Hanyang, Yelv Heqi was incensed.

He turned his head and charged straight toward one of the engineering chariots.

"Stop him!"

The Ma Brothers reacted, rushing forward to swing their swords in a pincer attack from both sides.

But with a single horizontal sweep of his blade, Yelv Heqi shattered their sword qi with overwhelming force.

"Red Lotus of Karma!"

Seizing the moment, Su Wansha thrust her sword with all her might. A brilliant fire lotus bloomed, forcing Yelv Heqi back a step.

This Buddhist technique seemed to have a natural restraining effect on Yelv Heqi's cultivation, making him feel quite uncomfortable.

However, the gap in their cultivation realms was significant. A burst of true qi, even more violent than before, erupted from Yelv Heqi. He lunged forward, delivering two consecutive slashes with his twin blades.

"Bang bang!!"

The red lotus was instantly shattered. Su Wansha felt a sharp pain in her chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood!

Yelv Heqi followed through with a downward slash, intending to take Su Wansha's life!

"Clang!—"

A zither was thrust beneath the blade. Xie Juner arrived just in time, disregarding her own ancient zither to block the strike with all her strength.

As the zither snapped, Su Wansha narrowly escaped. The two women hastily retreated.

"Run! Go to my brother!"

Su Wansha felt a lingering fear. Though she felt sorry for Xie Juner's zither, they had to prioritize staying alive.

Like a black malevolent dragon, Yelv Heqi slashed down at the nearest engineer!

Although the engineer could withstand ordinary Khitan soldiers, he was no martial arts master, relying entirely on his armor.

When Yelv Heqi's scimitar fell, the man couldn't dodge in time and was decapitated.

"None of you are leaving!!"

Yelv Heqi's eyes were bloodshot with killing intent as he continued his pursuit.

Seeing this, the Engineering Corps, led by Colonel Liu Kun, scattered and fled.

"Scatter! Everyone scatter! Don't let him wipe us all out at once!!"

With the targets dispersed, Yelv Heqi could only fume in frustration; he couldn't exactly chase everyone like a mad dog.

He immediately set his sights on the Tower of Ares, as a large number of remaining Zhenbei Army soldiers and refugees were gathered nearby.

"Kill! Kill them all for me!"

Yelv Heqi waved his blade, and the remaining Khitan, numbering less than two thousand, sprinted toward the Tower of Ares.

Seeing this, Xie Yu was not afraid but delighted. He shouted urgently, "They're in range! Second floor, release arrows!!"

Three windows on the second floor swung open, and three ballistae loaded with dozens of sharp arrows were aimed outward.

Upon release, a dense rain of arrows shot toward the charging Khitan with no blind spots.

Crucially, as soon as one round was finished, they immediately swapped in a new box of arrows and continued firing.

In just a few breaths, over a thousand arrows were released. Hundreds of Khitan soldiers were hit and bleeding, with many falling.

"Third floor! Release the Thunderfire!"

Seeing the Khitan Army enter within two hundred paces, Xie Yu gave the order again.

On the third-floor platform of the Tower of Ares, three devices resembling small catapults used the lever principle to hurl ignited "Large Thunderclap Bombs."

The power of crude gunpowder was naturally no match for black gunpowder—it was far inferior—but they had quantity on their side!

When a large Thunderfire bomb landed in front of the Khitan, it killed several people within a ten-meter radius, with countless others wounded.

Xie Juner, Su Wansha, and the others, hiding behind the Tower of Ares, were greatly shocked by the battle unfolding before them!

When did the Arsenal build such powerful things!?

These "Thunderfire Bombs" were much more powerful than Kong Sen's Poison Fire!

Although this achievement wasn't massive against two thousand enemies...

...if one thought about it carefully, the Tower of Ares was filled with Militia members who had no martial arts skills, totaling fewer than twenty people.

That these people could kill so many fierce Khitan warriors in one go was already a miracle!

Moreover, this was just one Tower of Ares. What if there were a dozen of them?

Not to mention, it was originally a fortification, capable of both offense and defense!

Most importantly... this thing could actually move! It could be relocated wherever it was needed!!

"Despicable Central Plains people!!"

At that moment, Yelv Heqi finally flew into a rage.

He could not accept that his carefully selected Holy Water Army would be defeated by these strange contraptions.

The Old Shaman's face was ashen. He stepped through the air and, pouring in all his power, struck out two brilliant blade glows toward the upper levels of the Tower of Ares!

"Brother!—"

Xie Juner cried out in desperation.