489: Colossus Cannon achieves success

“They’re starting the siege?!” Xu Yanran received the alert, her expression showing slight surprise; she hadn’t expected the enemy to launch the siege so quickly.

“Master Qing Yuan, what is your take on this?” she asked, looking at Master Qing Yuan beside her.

Master Qing Yuan stroked his beard and said slowly, “The underground battle is now approaching the 10-kilometer mark. We should first deplete their forces and prevent any surprise attacks from their experts. Once our flank battalions have finished assembling, we will seize the right moment to launch a counterattack!”

“Very well! You should all head to your respective posts!” Xu Yanran said.

“Indeed!” Master Qing Yuan nodded.

The people at the war readiness meeting were divided into three groups. Master Qing Yuan, Tang Zhenye, and Xu Chuanwei formed one group heading to the East City of the front battle line. Daoist Master Tianyi led a group to the northern battlefield, while Xu Chuanxin led another group to the southern battlefield. With their abilities and modern communication tools, they could basically achieve real-time communication. Furthermore, with Xu Yanran observing from the high tower and issuing commands from the center, along with warning personnel hidden on the mountains constantly observing and reporting, they could respond immediately to any emergencies.

Watching them leave one by one, Xu Yanran’s expression was somewhat heavy. She actually felt uneasy deep down. There was one thing she had only shared with a dozen or so high-ranking officials: the information fed back to her by Great Master Zhishen, which was that the Eel Clan leader, Mansong, was very likely already a Spirit Beast!

Given Great Master Zhishen’s supreme combat power, the fact that he could not easily win when fighting Mansong was an extremely serious situation, far exceeding the scope of Xu Yanran’s imagination!

One must know that Great Master Zhishen was one of the top combatants on the Ming side, yet Mansong was merely a leader of the Eel Clan. Furthermore, he still had to follow Nian Kuo’s commands, which clearly indicated that Nian Kuo’s combat power was significantly stronger than his.

However... the problem was that, according to the information received, the Catfish Clan to which Nian Kuo belonged was actually only a mid-tier power among the Sea Clans. The races stronger than the Catfish Clan had all gone to attack the Snow Eagle Country, the Flying Lion Country, and the War Bear Country this time. If those powerful races had attacked, the Ming Dynasty would likely be finished in an instant!

From this perspective, the Ming Dynasty was still quite lucky; at the very least, it hadn’t suffered such a sudden, catastrophic disaster.

But even for the three great Sea Clans—the Catfish Clan, the Eel Clan, and the Swordfish Clan—the pressure was already immense for the Ming Dynasty. Currently, only the Eel Clan and the Swordfish Clan had made a move, and it had already forced them to deploy Great Master Zhishen. If the Catfish Clan were to act, the pressure would likely be unprecedented. Xu Yanran did not believe that there were only these three experts among these Sea Clans. The population of each Sea Clan was enormous, and with such a massive base, they would certainly be able to produce more powerhouses. If they were to pour out in full force and attack crazily, there was a real possibility that Shanhai Pass could be breached!

“The enemy has too many top-tier experts, while the Ming Army only has four or five. The high-end combat power on both sides is completely unequal. Now, our only hope lies with the giant god cannon!”

Xu Yanran’s thoughts raced. Prince Zhao had told her that the giant god cannon could deal with experts at the Martial Commander or even Martial King level, and he had sent her three of them in one go. If the effect was truly as described, then the moment the enemy’s experts moved out would be the time for the giant god cannon to show its might!

But if the giant god cannon failed to unleash the imagined power when the time came, Shanhai Pass would likely be unable to hold out! And as for what the consequences of the city falling would be, Xu Yanran simply dared not imagine...

She watched the footage coming in from various parts of the front line and discovered that the Fusang People had already begun a desperate siege, and behind them, countless reptilian Sea Clans were swarming over like a dark tide!

“Not good! They also have the Shuttle Crab Clan, the Pistol Shrimp Clan, and the Horned Snail Clan...” Xu Yanran’s eyes narrowed, thinking to herself that this was bad.

These races might appear to have average strength, but in reality, they could not be underestimated. They possessed extremely strong climbing abilities; even if the city walls were sturdy and tall, they could climb up along them. Furthermore, they didn’t need to climb using ladders like the Fusang People, making them impossible to guard against!

Once they managed to get into the city, they would be as unstoppable as a locust plague...

“Immediately pour water to create ice! We absolutely cannot let the reptilian Sea Clans enter the city!” Xu Yanran gave the order immediately.

It was currently the dead of winter in the north, but it hadn’t snowed recently, so Shanhai Pass remained as it usually was. Fortunately, the Ming Army had experience and had long prepared for the ice-making process. This involved taking out pre-prepared cold water and splashing it onto the city walls. Once this water was splashed on, it would quickly freeze into frost in the frigid weather. The icy surface was smooth, creating significant difficulties for the climbing creatures. This was an excellent method to prevent them from climbing up.

Soon, water was being splashed to create ice all over the walls of Shanhai Pass. In addition to the weather helping out, those Xuan Practitioners with cold-based talents also exerted their power to accelerate the ice-making process. These ice layers extended from the top of the walls all the way down, layer upon layer. Before long, a smooth and dazzling ice fortress appeared before the eyes of Nian Kuo and his men. It shimmered with cold light and appeared incomparably sacred and noble under the afterglow of the setting sun!

“What?! How is this possible?!” Nian Kuo was also stunned. He had never expected the Ming Army to have such a trick; it was practically no different from a magic trick where a person suddenly appears out of thin air.

The ice fortress quickly showed its effect. The Fusang People’s ladders, which were intended to be set against the lower edge of the parapet, slid directly to the side because the wall surface was too slippery. A squad of soldiers was crushed, wailing and screaming in agony!

What left Nian Kuo even more speechless was that, since the Fusang People had already used up most of their artillery shells—if they still had shells, they could have utilized the heat from the explosions to deal with the ice surface—now they had to rely almost entirely on brute force to destroy it.

Watching those shuttle crabs, pistol shrimp, and horn snails struggling to crawl on the ice, falling down repeatedly, Nian Kuo’s eyelid twitched constantly, and he could not bear to watch.

He had originally intended to let this cannon fodder storm the city, or at the very least, pile up a slope of corpses under the city walls to allow his main force to enter the city smoothly. But now it seemed that these reptilian Sea Clans couldn’t even get past the base of the wall, let alone climb it.

“We cannot let this continue! Experts of all clans, follow me to the front to destroy the ice!” Nian Kuo roared, taking the lead.

Dozens of figures rose up and darted toward Shanhai Pass!

From this moment on, the high-end battle finally began...

“giant god cannons, ready! Lock on! Fire!!!” This was the moment Xu Yanran had been waiting for!

Boom! Boom, boom, boom!

The three giant god cannons poured out three streaks of fire at that moment, followed by one shot every dozen seconds or so. About three minutes later, the first round of artillery fire was completed.

“Ah—ah ah—ahhh—”

Dozens of Sea Clan experts who had soared into the air were caught off guard by the surprise attack from the giant god cannons. Just as they felt a hint of danger, some were already struck by the rapidly approaching giant shells, exploding into balls of astonishing fire!

Nian Kuo was a very arrogant person. At first, he didn’t take it seriously, thinking that a single punch from him would be enough to detonate the Mystic Cannon’s shell in mid-air. However, upon discovering that these shells were somewhat unusual, he hurriedly dodged, but was still hit in one leg. The tremendous power of the explosion threw his entire body dozens of meters away. He felt a sweetness in his throat and “waahed” as he spat out a large mouthful of blood. He felt dizzy and collapsed. It was quite a while before he slowly regained consciousness. After reacting and wanting to get up, a burst of intense pain caused him to collapse again. Only then did he discover that his right leg was already gone, and even the exposed bone was charred black...

“Damn it!!!” Nian Kuo roared, unable to even describe his mood at this moment.

A figure descended from the sky; it was Arrow Soar, the leader of the Swordfish Clan. Without a word, he grabbed Nian Kuo and darted away into the distance, simultaneously shouting, “Retreat!”

Countless Sea Clans began to retreat like a receding tide...