Chapter 1087

Chapter 1087: Expedition to the West (Continued Four)

The next morning, Wang Chen departed from the main camp under the escort of a group of elite cavalry, making his way towards Gujin Pass.

His warhorse halted approximately five or six miles from the city walls, allowing him to carefully survey the imposing fortress ahead.

According to the local guide, this colossal fortress had been constructed in a mere two years, with Great Qin dedicating vast amounts of manpower and resources to its completion.

Beneath the walls of Gujin Pass lay the remains of countless Yan soldiers!

From a distance, the fortress appeared impregnable, flanked by towering snow-capped mountains that even monkeys would find difficult to scale. Its walls soared over a hundred feet high, dotted with defensive towers.

Each parapet was armed with heavy crossbows, and artillery pieces were strategically placed at intervals along the walls. Great Qin soldiers clad in black armor patrolled the area, halberds in hand—a scene of strict vigilance.

The Qin troops quickly detected Wang Chen and his men observing from afar and immediately sounded the alarm.

The sharp whistle reverberated in all directions.

Soon, several officers appeared on the city walls, pointing and gesturing towards Wang Chen.

Moments later, a cannon mounted on the wall erupted with a burst of scorching smoke, and a black cannonball was instantly launched toward Wang Chen’s position, whistling through the air.

“My lord, be careful!”

The cavalry surrounding Wang Chen turned pale with alarm, hastily maneuvering their horses to shield him.

This was the dreaded artillery!

Yet Wang Chen remained composed, standing still as he watched the cannonball land a mile ahead, bouncing and rolling forward slightly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

More cannons fired, but none of the projectiles came close to reaching Wang Chen and his men.

The group quickly deduced the range of these city defense cannons, and contemptuous smiles spread across their faces.

It was well known that the expeditionary force, or rather, the field artillery Wang Chen had brought, far outranged the enemy’s.

One cavalryman sneered, “How pitifully short and weak!”

The group erupted into laughter!

Perhaps their laughter was too loud, or perhaps the Qin soldiers atop Gujin Pass noticed their demeanor, but one of the Qin officers became enraged and personally loaded ammunition into a nearby cannon.

In an attempt to increase the range, he packed double the usual amount of gunpowder into the cannon.

The gunner beside him tried to intervene but was struck to the ground by the Qin officer, who then loaded a solid cannonball.

The officer seized a torch, lit the fuse, and with a deafening "bang," the cannon instantly exploded into fragments, sending debris flying and striking the nearby gunners, resulting in chaos and casualties!

The instigator, the Qin officer, despite his skill, could not escape unscathed, losing an arm in the blast.

Panic spread among the Qin soldiers on the walls.

Though the knights beside Wang Chen could not see the event clearly, they understood what had transpired and laughed even louder!

Wang Chen nodded.

While Great Qin had mastered the production of flintgun weapons and artillery, their craftsmanship remained rudimentary, with both power and quality being notably inferior.

They posed a threat to Great Zhou, but not a significant one.

However, Wang Chen would never underestimate his opponents, for when a massive empire fully commits to war, the energy unleashed is truly terrifying.

Just because they are not capable now does not mean they will always remain so. Once their craftsmen grasp the basic methods, they will undoubtedly continue to research and improve, eventually catching up to the technological level of Great Zhou.

This is the crucial reason why Wang Chen organized the expedition to the west; he cannot afford to give them too much time to develop new technologies.

Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

With this in mind, Wang Chen led his group back two miles to ensure sufficient safety.

Then he ordered his men to draw eight squares on the ground, evenly arranged and facing Gujin Pass.

Next came Wang Chen’s moment to shine.

He stood in the center of one of the squares, holding the Seven Ultimate Great Sword, and began to cast a spell.

In the next moment, the ground trembled, and the soil layer beneath Wang Chen slowly rose and solidified into a stone platform.

As Wang Chen continued to channel his spiritual energy, the stone platform grew higher and higher, eventually surpassing a height of a hundred feet!

This height was nearly equal to that of the walls of Gujin Pass.

The surrounding knights were all astonished, staring wide-eyed in reverence at Wang Chen, who stood on the high platform like an immortal, inspiring such awe that they wished to drop to their knees and worship him.

Such a miracle could only be created by the supreme Grandmaster!

But this was just the beginning.

From morning until afternoon, Wang Chen spent an entire day building eight high platforms.

The reason it took so long was that he needed to continuously recover his spiritual energy; otherwise, he couldn’t sustain the immense consumption.

To speed up his recovery, Wang Chen also took out the spirit gathering formation plates, using spirit stones to replenish his spiritual energy.

Since the area in front of Gujin Pass was flat and unobstructed, his astounding actions caught the attention of the Qin soldiers stationed on the walls.

Confused by what they saw but unwilling to take risks by exiting the hidden chamber, they could only watch helplessly.

In fact, if the Qin Army truly dispatched troops, they would inevitably face a storm of bullets and shells!

When night fell, Wang Chen ordered bonfires to be lit around the high platforms to guard against enemy ambushes.

It wasn’t until the next morning that he revealed the big guns.

Eight heavy Divine Artillery pieces, each weighing thousands of pounds, were carefully placed on the eight sturdy high platforms by Wang Chen!

Unlike the lightweight field artillery, these eight Divine Artillery pieces were specially designed for city defense, exceedingly heavy and powerful, with ranges that normal artillery could not match.

The Divine Artillery was not created for battlefield use due to the difficulty of transporting them; however, with the Cangqing Ring, Wang Chen could disregard all the disadvantages of these heavy cannons and bring them to the front lines of the war.

The eight Divine Artillery pieces were prepared specifically for attacking enemy fortifications.

Each Divine Artillery piece was manned by dozens of gunners.

At Wang Chen’s command, they skillfully adjusted the cannon positions and firing angles before loading ammunition.

“Fire!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Divine Artillery pieces unleashed their power suddenly, shooting hundred-pound cannonballs towards Gujin Pass.

Since all the artillery was stationed on high platforms, there was no problem with elevation. The first round of eight cannonballs saw three land accurately on the city walls, while the other five fell directly within the fortress.

Instantly, violent explosions erupted!

Even though the Qin Army was prepared, they could not stop the falling cannonballs, and screams and wails filled the air.

“Maintain fire, continue the attack.”

Wang Chen said in a deep voice, “Cavalry, prepare to intercept!”

He wanted to see how long the enemies huddled in Gujin Pass could endure under the bombardment of the eight Divine Artillery pieces!