Chapter 1013: Chapter 113: The Great Battle at Hanhai Pass (Part 2) Chapter 1013: Chapter 113: The Great Battle at Hanhai Pass (Part 2) Woo~
The desolate sound of the bugle horn spread across the entire battlefield. The Yan army, who were braving the arrow rain and stone projectiles to desperately charge at Hanhai Pass Wall, suddenly retreated as if granted a general amnesty.

As for the few trebuchets and siege towers that were pushed to the frontline with great difficulty, they naturally abandoned them and watched as they were smashed to pieces by the rain of stone bullets.

Although the cannons arranged on the city wall had ceased their attack, for these soldiers of the Yan army, the battle they had just endured was a nightmarish horror.

Even if they could make it back alive, they would be haunted by this nightmare for the rest of their lives!

Truly terrifying.

Within two miles in front of Hanhai Pass, countless bodies of the Yan army lay, many dismembered; the deep red blood had soaked the soil, promising lush green grass next year.

In stark contrast were the remnants of several dozen large trebuchets and siege towers.

These expensive siege weapons had cost the Yan state’s army great effort to transport here and assemble, yet before they could play any significant role, they were destroyed by the artillery fire of the Hanhai army.

Cries and calls for help filled the battlefield, numerous injured Yan soldiers lay in the pools of blood, helplessly begging for their lives.

But what they received were feathered arrows raining down upon them!

The first round of confrontation between the two sides came to an end.

Cheers erupted on the walls of Hanhai Pass as countless Hanhai soldiers raised their weapons high, celebrating their hard-won victory.

Not only had they successfully repelled the enemy’s attack, but the victory was also particularly brilliant.

Most importantly, their own losses were minimal.

This boosted the morale of the Hanhai army tremendously, no longer fearing the encirclement of hundreds of thousands of Yan forces.

Many cast their gaze towards the cannons that had contributed to the victory.

Without these powerful new weapons, even if they could defeat the Yan army, they would not have achieved such remarkable results.

Due to continuous firing, the barrels of the seventeen cannons had almost been heated red, and the gunners were using wet cloth to cool them down.

Joy of victory was evident on everyone’s face.

Shangguan Wuji, who personally oversaw the wall, exclaimed, “These cannons truly can be considered divine weapons of the nation.”

He had previously witnessed the testing fire of the cannons, but a single cannon firing a few rounds compared to the sight of more than a dozen cannons firing simultaneously on the real battlefield was worlds apart.

The power of the cannons had been fully displayed in the battle that had just ended!

If Guan Shangguan Wuji originally held reservations about being forced to swear loyalty to Princess Qingyun, such thoughts had largely dissipated at this moment.

The commander of the Hanhai army began to seriously consider the possibility of assisting Princess Qingyun to ascend the throne.

“These are just prototypes.”

Wang Chen said indifferently, “There will be better ones in the future!”

Since these cannons were hastily crafted, they still had many issues and much room for improvement and enhancement.

With the skill of the military foundry craftsmen, casting more powerful cannons in the future was not a problem.

And those future cannons would not be limited to just defending cities.

Moreover, Wang Chen had not even brought out the firearms yet!

While the Hanhai army was jubilant and triumphant, gloom and despair hung over the Yan army.

The atmosphere inside the central military tent of the Yan Army was oppressively stagnant, with many generals hanging their heads low, not daring to take a deep breath.

Fearing becoming the target of displaced anger.

In fact, for the vast Yan Army, the previous losses were not significant and entirely within their tolerance.

The key issue was that nearly a third of the trebuchets and siege towers had been destroyed, and the morale of the Yan Army had been heavily struck by the thunderous sound of cannon fire.

The seventeen cannons mounted on the city walls were of tremendous power; their cannonballs not only had a long range, but even martial artists of the fourth and fifth tier could not withstand them, and ordinary soldiers were even more likely to be killed or injured upon contact, leaving no means to counter.

And how could Hanhai Pass be taken down without dealing with these powerful weapons?

Everyone was pinning their hopes on the three Martial Venerables.

The figure sitting in the commander’s seat, clad in silver armor, was Yan Xiaoyun, one of the three great Martial Venerables of Great Yan. He was not only the commander of this Yan State military expedition but also a member of the Yan royal family.

Yan Xiaoyun stared at the three large iron balls laid on the ground, his eyes seemingly containing storms.

These toys, weighing dozens of pounds each, had actually blasted through the formations of the Yan Army’s elite vanguard, and smashed dozens of the trebuchets and siege towers painfully assembled by the Yan Army.

And greatly demoralized the Yan soldiers!

“State Preceptor…”
His gaze turned to the refined-looking man sitting beside him and he asked in a deep voice, “Have you ever heard of such a weapon before?”

This refined-looking middle-aged man, who was actually over seventy, was the State Preceptor of Yan State, Ji Shanhe, a sixth-tier Martial Venerable.

Ji Shanhe, the least powerful in cultivation level among the three Martial Venerables, excelled in strategic planning. His presence at the attack on Hanhai Pass was out of necessity; under normal circumstances, he orchestrated affairs from his position in the Imperial Capital.

Ji Shanhe was in charge of Great Yan’s intelligence network, with the most astute sources of information.

“Unheard of!”

To Yan Xiaoyun’s question, Ji Shanhe answered decisively: “I have never received any information about this type of weapon. It must be something that Great Liang, or rather the Hanhai Army, has only recently developed. Otherwise, there would have been intelligence reports.”

Great Yan had stationed many spies within the territory of Great Liang, including the Imperial Capital and Hanhai City.

“This is troublesome.”

Yan Xiaoyun’s expression grew even more somber: “The Hanhai Army’s Military Foundry Camp has many craftsmen, and Hanhai Prefecture is rich in iron mines. I’m worried that more of these weapons will keep appearing!”

Just seventeen cannons had already caused extreme headaches for the Yan Army. If the number increased to dozens or even hundreds, deployed across the entire Guan Wall, the thought of such a barrage frightened this commander of the Yan Army.

In reality, he was perhaps worrying too much, because even if the Hanhai Army’s foundry could produce such a large number of cannons, they lacked sufficient gunpowder to bring out their full power.

The raw materials needed to make gunpowder–charcoal and saltpeter–were fine, but sulfur was not produced in Hanhai Prefecture and had to be sourced and purchased from other regions.

Most of the gunpowder used by the Hanhai Army was made from materials brought by Wang Chen!

Under these circumstances, the Yan Army could completely hold out until all the gunpowder was exhausted before launching a major attack on the city.

However, Yan Xiaoyun was not aware of this. He was worried that if Hanhai Pass could not be quickly conquered, once the Great Liang reinforcements arrived, and another one or two sixth-tier Martial Venerables joined in, they could forget about taking this strategic fortress that strangled the throat of Great Yan!

It is known that Great Liang openly had four sixth-tier Martial Venerables, one more than Great Yan.

At present, Great Yan’s greatest advantage was having all three great Martial Venerables gathered here!

The three exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously.

The longer this war dragged on, the more disadvantageous it was for Great Yan, so they had to make a desperate attempt!

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The first update is delivered.