Chapter 1013

Chapter 1013: The Great Battle of Hanhai Pass (Part 2)

Woo~

The mournful horn sound spread across the battlefield, and the Yan army, desperately charging towards the Hanhai Pass wall under a rain of arrows and stones, suddenly felt a sense of relief and began to retreat.

As for the few catapults and siege engines that had been pushed to the front lines with great difficulty, they were naturally abandoned, crushed under the rain of stone bullets.

Although the cannons positioned on the city walls had stopped firing, for the Yan soldiers, the recent battle felt like a horrifying nightmare.

Even if they survived to return home, they would be haunted by this nightmare for the rest of their lives!

It was truly terrifying.

Within a two-mile radius of Hanhai Pass, countless Yan soldiers’ bodies lay scattered, many of them mutilated, with bright red blood soaking the ground. The grass would surely grow lush next year.

In contrast, there were the remains of dozens of large catapults and siege engines.

These heavy siege machines were costly, requiring tremendous effort from the Yan army to transport and assemble here, only to be shattered by the Hanhai army’s cannons before they could be of much use.

The battlefield echoed with cries of anguish and pleas for help, as many injured Yan soldiers lay in pools of blood, helplessly begging for their lives.

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

The first round of battle between both sides had ended.

Cheers erupted on the walls of Hanhai Pass, as countless Hanhai army soldiers raised their weapons high, celebrating the victory they had just achieved.

Not only had they successfully repelled the enemy’s attack, but the results were also quite glorious.

Most importantly, their own losses were minimal.

This led to a surge in morale among the Hanhai army; facing several hundred thousand Yan soldiers, they felt no fear.

Many turned their gazes towards the cannons that had played a pivotal role in the victory.

Without such powerful new weapons, even if they managed to drive back the Yan army, they wouldn’t have achieved such outstanding results.

After continuous firing, the seventeen cannons were nearly glowing red from the heat, and the operators were using wet cloths to cool them down.

The joy of victory radiated from everyone’s faces.

Shangguan Wuji, who was personally overseeing from the city walls, remarked, “These cannons can truly be considered national treasures.”

He had seen the cannons during trial firings, but firing a few rounds from one cannon was nothing compared to the sight of over a dozen cannons firing simultaneously on the real battlefield.

The power of the cannons had been showcased to its fullest in the recently concluded battle!

If Shangguan Wuji had previously harbored some lingering resentment about being forced to swear loyalty to Princess Qingyun, at this moment, such thoughts had faded significantly.

The Hanhai army commander began to seriously consider the possibility of assisting Princess Qingyun in ascending to the throne!

"These are just prototypes."

Wang Chen said lightly, "There will be even better ones in the future!"

Since these cannons were hastily crafted, they still had numerous issues, with many areas for improvement.

With the skills of the craftsmen in the military manufacturing camp, creating even stronger cannons in the future would certainly not be a problem.

At that time, the cannons would not only be used for city defense.

Moreover, Wang Chen had not even revealed the flintguns yet!

The Hanhai army was jubilant, while the Yan army was shrouded in gloom.

The atmosphere in the Yan army’s central command tent was stifling, almost frozen in tension. Many generals hung their heads low, scarcely daring to breathe.

They feared becoming the targets of misplaced anger.

In truth, for the vast Yan army, the recent losses were not substantial and were well within their capacity to endure.

The critical issue was that nearly a third of their catapults and siege engines had been destroyed, and the morale of the Yan army had been severely shaken by the rumbling sounds of cannon fire.

The seventeen cannons mounted on the city walls were extraordinarily powerful; their projectiles had an impressive range, and even fifth-level martial artists could not withstand them. Ordinary soldiers faced almost certain death or grievous injuries; there was simply no way to counter such weapons.

Without neutralizing these formidable armaments, how could they possibly take Hanhai Pass?

All hopes were pinned on the three martial honors.

Seated in the commander’s position was the silver-armored warrior, Yan Xiaoyun, one of the three martial honors of Dayan. He was not only the leader of this Yan army force but also a member of the Dayan royalty.

Yan Xiaoyun gazed intently at the three large iron balls on the ground, his eyes stormy with emotion.

It was these heavy objects, weighing over ten pounds each, that had shattered the formation of the Yan army’s elite vanguard and destroyed dozens of catapults and siege engines that the soldiers had painstakingly transported and assembled.

They had also dealt a devastating blow to the Yan army’s morale!

“Grandmaster…”

He turned to the refined man seated beside him and asked in a deep voice, “Have you ever heard of such weapons before?”

The man, who appeared middle-aged but was actually over seventy, was Ji Shanhe, the Grandmaster of Yan Kingdom and a sixth-level martial honor.

Though Ji Shanhe had the lowest cultivation level among the three martial honors, he excelled in strategy. His presence with Yan Xiaoyun at Hanhai Pass was a last resort; under normal circumstances, he would remain in the imperial capital, orchestrating plans from afar.

Ji Shanhe controlled Dayan’s intelligence network, making him exceptionally well-informed.

“Never!”

In response to Yan Xiaoyun’s question, Ji Shanhe answered decisively, “I have received no intelligence about such weapons. They must have been recently developed by Daliang, or perhaps by the Hanhai army; otherwise, we would have heard of them.”

Dayan had numerous spies stationed throughout Daliang, including in the imperial capital and Hanhai City.

“This is trouble.”

Yan Xiaoyun’s expression darkened further. “The Hanhai army has many skilled craftsmen in their military manufacturing camp, and Hanhai County is rich in iron ore. I fear that more and more of these weapons will be produced!”

Just seventeen cannons had already thrown the Yan army into disarray. If their numbers increased to dozens or even hundreds, lining the entire city wall, the thought of all those cannons firing at once sent a shiver down the spine of this Dayan army commander.

In truth, he was overestimating the situation. Even if the Hanhai army could produce that many cannons, they lacked the gunpowder to fully utilize them.

While the materials needed to make gunpowder—charcoal and saltpeter—were readily available, sulfur was not produced in Hanhai County and had to be sourced from other regions.

Most of the gunpowder used by the Hanhai army had been made from materials brought by Wang Chen!

Under these circumstances, the Dayan army could hold out until the gunpowder ran out before launching a full-scale assault on the city.

However, Yan Xiaoyun was unaware of this. He worried that if they did not swiftly capture Hanhai Pass, once the Daliang army arrived with reinforcements and possibly one or two more sixth-level martial honors, seizing this crucial fortress controlling Dayan’s lifeline would become impossible!

It was worth noting that Daliang openly boasted four sixth-level martial honors, one more than Dayan.

At present, Dayan’s greatest advantage was having all three martial honors gathered here!

The three exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

The longer the war dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for Dayan. They had no choice but to take a bold gamble!