Chapter 1032

Chapter 1032: Return (Part 2)

On August 26, the sky was overcast.

Ling Zhiyuan led three hundred and fifty thousand soldiers of the Xiliang Army into battle against five hundred and eighty thousand troops of the Yuanjing Army to the south of Shangqiu.

In this battle, the Yuanjing Army not only held a numerical advantage but also had the strategic stronghold of the mighty Guang’an City, which provided them with a geographical edge.

Most crucially, the Yuanjing Army had a formidable reinforcement.

This was the fifty thousand strong Qingzhou Iron Cavalry from the Great Qi!

The Qingzhou Iron Cavalry was renowned across the world for their valor and unmatched combat prowess, boasting an undefeated record. For centuries, they had repeatedly raided Dayan and the Da Liang Kingdom, claiming the lives of countless soldiers from both nations.

Emperor Yuanjing had paid a hefty price to secure an agreement with the Great Qi, borrowing this elite cavalry.

The battle between the two sides initially unfolded across the vast plains.

The Divine Machine Troops of Xiliang naturally took center stage in this conflict, deploying hundreds of field cannons and one hundred thousand flintguns from the outset to shatter the formation of the Yuanjing Army.

Indeed, the Yuanjing Army also possessed a considerable number of cannons and numerous imitation flintguns, and they had even established their own Divine Machine Camp in imitation of the Xiliang Army.

However, when the impostor met the real deal, the well-equipped and rigorously trained Xiliang Divine Machine Troops effortlessly swept aside their adversaries, striking directly at the main camp of the Yuanjing Army.

Compelled to act, the Yuanjing Army prematurely deployed their cavalry in an attempt to outflank the Divine Machine Troops.

Yet, under the barrage of explosive shells and shotgun shells, they crumbled, suffering tens of thousands of casualties without achieving their objective.

Even more exasperating was that when the Xiliang Army, holding the upper hand, launched a full-scale assault on the demoralized Yuanjing Army, the Qingzhou Iron Cavalry, who should have joined the fray, instead retreated back to Guang’an City.

Furthermore, they sealed the city gate, cutting off the Yuanjing Army’s retreat!

This bizarre maneuver by the Qingzhou Iron Cavalry undoubtedly hastened the collapse of the Yuanjing Army, which disintegrated in less than half a day. Countless soldiers perished not from cannon fire but from being trampled by their own comrades.

The ground was soaked with blood, and the plains were littered with corpses. For decades to come, the area south of Shangqiu became a forbidden zone for ordinary folk, as tales of restless souls unwilling to enter reincarnation haunted the land.

More and more soldiers wept, casting aside their weapons, kneeling on the ground to surrender and beg for their lives.

Emperor Yuanjing had ascended under dubious circumstances, and in recent years, his relentless militarism had amassed a vast army. However, the poor quality and low morale of his troops were among the reasons for this catastrophic defeat.

In just one day, the Xiliang Army secured a victory that would determine the fate of the Da Liang Kingdom.

Post-battle statistics revealed that nearly two hundred thousand of the five hundred and eighty thousand Yuanjing Army soldiers had perished, over three hundred thousand had surrendered or been captured, and only a handful had escaped the battlefield.

Subsequently, the Xiliang Army encircled Guang’an City, trapping the fifty thousand Qingzhou Iron Cavalry and thirty thousand Yuanjing troops within.

Due to the overwhelming number of captives, the Xiliang Army did not immediately lay siege to this illustrious city of the Great Qi.

Instead, the Qingzhou troops dispatched envoys, offering Guang’an City in exchange for their safe passage.

Having witnessed the might of the Xiliang artillery and not fighting for the Great Qi, the battle intent among the Qingzhou troops was notably low.

Nevertheless, they still bore the pride of the Great Qi.

Ultimately, Ling Zhiyuan resolutely rejected their offer and summoned the siege artillery from the rear, commencing a relentless bombardment of the city day and night.

Although Guang’an City’s walls were armed with various artillery pieces, they proved ineffective against the seventy-two Earth Fiend God Cannons personally forged by Wang Chen, succumbing to the intense barrage.

The towering, robust walls of Guang’an City were breached, resulting in heavy casualties among the defending Qingzhou and Yuanjing troops.

That day, Ling Zhiyuan personally led the charge into Guang’an City, slaying the commander of the Qingzhou Iron Cavalry, the sixth-level martial honor Gao Yuan, and annihilating the enemy forces to seize this crucial city.

With this, the path to the capital of Liang, Daye, was fully opened.

This battle once again resounded across the world.

With the main force of the Yuanjing Army completely annihilated, after a three-day rest in Guang’an City, Ling Zhiyuan led his troops northward without encountering any resistance. The county governments along the way surrendered without a fight.

The Xiliang Army marched northward smoothly and successfully arrived at Daye!

By this time, Daye had plunged into utter chaos. The desperate Emperor Yuanjing, having lost all reason, began indiscriminately slaughtering court officials and palace concubines, even threatening to burn the entire city to the ground.

His tyrannical actions only hastened his downfall. The powerful families within Daye united to open the city gates, ushering the Xiliang Army into the imperial capital.

That very night, Emperor Yuanjing ignited gunpowder within the palace, blowing himself and his children into the sky!

After seizing Daye, Ling Zhiyuan dispatched troops to reclaim four counties.

Thus, with the exception of the three northern counties previously ceded to Great Qi, the entire territory of Da Liang Kingdom fell under the rule of Wu Zhao.

【Luck +15000】

In the hidden chamber of Hanhai Dao Palace, a vast surge of luck suddenly descended upon Wang Chen.

He glanced at the striking notification that appeared in his vision, then closed his eyes once more, sinking into deep meditation.

In that fleeting instant, Wang Chen touched the world’s essence once again, delving deeper than ever before!

In his perception, the world’s essence of Cangqing remained an endless chaos, not yet condensed into a true world consciousness.

This was to be expected, for if Cangqing had developed its own consciousness, Wang Chen, with his Golden Core cultivation level, would have no hope of entering this realm.

Even if he somehow managed to descend, he could be crushed at any moment by the Heavenly Dao—the world consciousness itself!

Indeed, only such small worlds could potentially be controlled by Wang Chen.

He might even refine it into the foundation of his grand ambitions!

However, even though the world’s essence was still in a state of chaos, it was beyond Wang Chen’s current reach. His only option was to use the Great River and Mountain Formation as a vessel, burning his luck as a price, to gradually project his will into it.

His goal was to infuse the world’s essence with his own aura.

In a sense, Wang Chen was like a virus!

While Wang Chen was engaged in closed-door cultivation at Hanhai Dao Palace, the outside world was once again in turmoil, with the tides of fate shifting dramatically.

First, Queen Wu Zhao of Xiliang announced the relocation of the capital to Daye, where she ascended the throne and changed the name of the kingdom from Da Liang to Great Zhou.

After the establishment of Great Zhou, contrary to many expectations, they did not send troops to reclaim the northern territories. Instead, they stationed a heavy military presence at the borders, adopting a defensive posture.

Meanwhile, Ling Zhiyuan led one hundred thousand Divine Machine Troops southward to wage war against the southern barbarians.

Compared to the previously massive Yuanjing Army, the southern barbarians proved far more troublesome.

Ling Zhiyuan spent over half a year sweeping through the southern mountains and forests, destroying countless barbarian towns and caverns, and suffering over fifty thousand casualties before finally eradicating this centuries-old threat to Da Liang.

The exact number of barbarians who perished in this war remains a mystery.

The few survivors became villagers known for their singing, dancing, and warm hospitality.

At this moment, Wang Chen triggered the opportunity for his return ahead of schedule!