Chapter 1026: Chapter 1026: Dragon Soaring Through the Nine Heavens (Part 2)

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One after another, cannons spewed out scorching flames, firing solid shots weighing several dozens of pounds each.

From nearly five miles away, they heavily bombarded the walls of Dongwang City!

Before this battle broke out, in the warfare between nations of the Cangqing Domain, attacking cities was undoubtedly the most arduous and brutal operation.

To conquer a sturdy city, it often required continuously sacrificing lives or enduring a long siege until the defender ran out of ammunition and food. Either way, it was time-consuming and strenuous, putting both attackers and defenders to a severe test.

But now, under the fierce bombardment from the cannons, the walls of Dongwang City were blasted with gaping holes, and countless pieces of debris flew chaotically while the defending soldiers wailed incessantly.

The batch of cannons that Wang Chen first deployed was specifically designed for sieging, having large calibers and containing a larger amount of gunpowder. The cannonballs used were several times the size of ordinary field artillery, and both their range and power were far superior.

To transport these cannons, they used up five hundred packhorses, along with thousands of gunners and auxiliary troops!

At this moment, they unleashed their firepower fully, also heralding the arrival of a new era of warfare.

After one round of cannon fire, the eastern wall of Dongwang City was already severely damaged, and a corner of it had even collapsed, causing heavy losses to the weapons such as cannons and crossbow carts deployed on the wall.

The defenders from the Yan Army also attempted to retaliate with cannons. However, their cannons were inferior even compared to the initial models used by Wang Chen, firing solid shots only two to three miles away and thus, posing no threat to the West Liang army.

Consequently, the Yan Army suffered hundreds of casualties under the bombardment of West Liang’s powerful cannons.

Not only that, but the morale of these defenders was also directly shattered.

Only those who have personally experienced cannon fire could truly understand the terror of such weapons. As the ones being attacked, their spirits and will were subjected to an unprecedented shock.

They hid beneath the city walls, not daring to show their heads again.

If the West Liang army took this opportunity to attack the city, it might have been very effective.

However, Wang Chen harbored no ideas of taking risks or being impatient for success. He ordered the Firearm Artillery Camp to continue the bombardment until the city walls collapsed and the gates were breached!

Thus, the thunderous noise of the cannons soon rang out again, subjecting the already damaged walls of Dongwang City to a new round of testing.

Anyone could see that it was only a matter of time before this wall was breached!

The defenders from Yan State could no longer sit still.

Right after the second round of cannon fire ended, shadowy figures suddenly appeared at the top of the city wall.

They abruptly leapt down, landing steadily on the ground, and then like arrows released from bows, they swiftly darted toward the position of the Firearm Artillery Camp at an astonishing speed.

This was clearly a suicide squad set up by the Yan Army for the West Liang cannons, utilizing a tactic of sudden decapitation strikes!

The suicide soldiers charging at the front had all reinforced themselves with Gang Sha Armor and were also wearing it for added protection.

These vanguards were undoubtedly the main force for breaking the formation!

However, how could Wang Chen be unprepared for such a maneuver from the Yan Army?

Beep~

Accompanied by a loud whistle, the firearm shooters guarding around the artillery camp immediately raised their long guns.

“Fire!”

Rapid gunfire ensued, bursts of white smoke rose, and bullets rained down like droplets on the approaching enemies.

After the first wave was fired, a second wave followed closely. Teams of firearm shooters alternated forward, forming a relentless stream of firepower!

Those Yan Army suicide soldiers at the forefront immediately faced the first round of interception.

Their Gang Sha Armor indeed functioned, miraculously withstanding bullets packed with terrible kinetic energy, but it also caused them to pause, significantly slowing their advance.

Then came the second round of bullet rain.

“Ah!”

The piercing screams suddenly erupted–someone’s defenses were breached!

Responsible for protecting the artillery camp, the Firearm Shooters wielded specially made heavy flintlock guns, targeting precisely the enemy’s strong experts.

The dead squad of Yan Army experts withstood the first and second rounds, but couldn’t bear the onslaught of the third and subsequent rounds of bullet rain; they were knocked flying, stirring up violent gusts of blood and gore.

The killing power of the heavy flintlock guns was astonishing, able to easily pierce through heavy armor and create horrific wounds in the bodies they penetrated; if not fatal, victims were grievously injured on the spot.

This elite Yan Army group was almost entirely annihilated within a mere dozen breaths of time, leaving behind over a hundred gruesomely mutilated corpses.

They were also the closest to the artillery camp, yet still over two hundred steps away.

They didn’t even come close to reaching it!

And such a result was clearly what the defenders of Dongwang City least wanted to see.

They seemed to have also fallen into despair, no longer sending out a second suicide squad, only silently enduring the bombardment from the Firearm Artillery Camp.

The problem was that this was just the beginning.

After the wall of the Eastern City in Dongwang City was bombarded to rubble and the city gates were shattered, the West Liang army did not seize the opportunity to attack, but instead extended the gunfire into the city.

And they used explosive shells!

This threw the hundreds of thousands of military and civilians inside Dongwang City into even greater agony and despair.

As bombs exploded within the city, blasting buildings into rubble, countless people went into a frenzy; they screamed and ran about in utter chaos, many getting trampled to death in the pandemonium.

The Yan State’s defending forces disintegrated completely; many officers were killed by the blasts on the spot, completely unable to mount any kind of organized defense.

Everyone realized that the fall of Dongwang City was inevitable!

When the West Liang army’s new round of bombardment ceased, a flag of surrender was immediately raised high upon the city walls.

The Yan Army surrendered!

From start to finish, they had held out for less than two hours–a fortress built by Great Yan with tremendous resources and effort had simply and easily fallen.

Actually, one couldn’t blame these defenders for being incompetent, because what they faced was the West Liang Firearm Artillery Camp that had been preparing for two years, equipped with weapons and advanced tactics far beyond this era.

Most importantly, the commander-in-chief of Dongwang City’s defense had already died in battle.

Died on the charge towards the West Liang artillery camp!

West Liang army was victorious!

They captured this Yan State city without losing a single soldier.

Everyone’s gaze towards Wang Chen brimmed with endless admiration.

“Enter the city!”

Wang Chen entrusted the task of taking over the city to his subordinate generals.

Although he personally led the expedition west this time, he did not want his generals to develop a dependency on him.

West Liang still had a long road ahead to conquer the world.

And the very first step had been notably successful.

The takeover of Dongwang City went smoothly, although there was sporadic resistance which was quickly suppressed.

As for the captured Yan Army, along with the city’s civilians, they were relocated to Hanhai City, supervised and settled by Wu Zhao, eventually assimilating into part of West Liang.

As for this scarred city, it too was to be thoroughly demolished!

——

Second update delivered.