Chapter 119: What's Flying Over?
Sacred Monday, Twelfth Update
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“What is that?”
The bandits turned their heads to look, only to see two strange objects soar from Bai Family Fortress, streaking across the sky, flying straight towards their position.
No one believed they were cannonballs!
Even Old Lu, a veteran of the border army with extensive combat experience, didn't think they were cannonballs.
Everyone just watched, dumbfounded, as those two strange objects flew and flew, soaring over the walls of Bai Family Fortress, past a stretch of cracked farmland, over endless rolling sands, until they landed on the Huanglong Mountain slope...
“Boom! Boom!”
The two massive objects hit the ground, landing on the hillside at least thirty yards away from the bandit troops, felling two large trees.
Double-Winged Tiger, living up to his name, moved swiftly. He darted towards where the two colossal objects had landed, laughing loudly as he ran, “I’ll go see what those things flying over are.”
Bu Zhan Ni even cautioned him, “What if they're giant birds? Be careful not to get pecked.”
Double-Winged Tiger roared with laughter, “I’m a tiger, why would I fear a bird? That Bai Yuan of Bai Family Fortress, he's just a bird; I'm definitely going to devour him.”
“Hahahaha!” A chorus of laughter erupted from the bandit group.
Meanwhile, inside Bai Family Fortress, Cheng Xu was using his hands to gesture towards where the projectiles had landed. He splayed his index fingers and thumbs to form a square frame, using it to frame the hillside where the projectiles struck, then looked around. He turned his head and shouted into the courtyard, “Turn the missile a tiny bit to the left, lower the nose a tiny bit... yes... yes, yes, yes... just like that... hehehe, just like that...”
“All adjusted?” Cheng Xu burst out laughing. “No test shots this time. All eight, fire all eight missiles at once.”
“Understood!” Villagers, armed with massive iron hammers, swung them down, Pum-pum-pum-pum, four consecutive strikes, engaging four mechanisms in quick succession.
Eight missiles, one after another, soared into the air.
Meanwhile, Double-Winged Tiger had just reached the landing site of the two strange objects. He squinted, realizing two enormous, pipe-like objects, taller than two men, lay on the hillside. He reached out and touched them; their material was bizarre, neither metal nor iron.
He genuinely couldn't fathom what these things were.
He turned and roared, “Brother, these aren't giant birds! I don’t know what strange objects they are; they might even be meteorites from beyond the heavens.”
Bu Zhan Ni asked, “Meteorites from beyond the heavens? Landing right before us? That’s a good omen!”
Since ancient times, when an Emperor's Star appeared, hadn't meteorites often fallen from the sky?
No sooner had he thought this than his subordinates cried out again, “They’re coming again...”
Bu Zhan Ni turned his head, and from the direction of Bai Family Fortress, eight more strange objects soared, streaking across the sky, flying defiantly towards their position.
Old Lu suddenly bellowed, “Take cover...”
It turned out that Old Lu, seasoned by countless battles, could tell from the objects' flight angle and speed alone that this time, they were going to land right on their heads.
Only then did he finally realize these things might actually be cannonballs. However, he had never seen such enormous cannonballs before, nor had he heard any sound of cannons firing from the enemy's side, which was why he hadn't reacted sooner.
No sooner had Old Lu thrown himself to the ground than the eight strange objects rained down. The first one slammed into the mountain path, where a large group of bandits was queuing to descend the mountain, forming a long, snaking line. The massive projectile plunged into their midst with a deafening crash, sending several men flying simultaneously.
Then came the second, the third...
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Eight consecutive projectiles hammered into the hillside, sending the bandit horde scattering in chaos.
Cheng Xu was overjoyed. “Hahahaha, the angle's right! Don't just stand there, fire the other two missile launchers! Quick, quick, quick, launch them!”
Villagers standing by the other two Block Missile launchers also swung their massive hammers, engaging all the mechanisms in quick succession.
Sixteen missiles simultaneously soared upwards.
This time, Cheng Xu didn't even bother to check if they hit their targets. He loudly commanded, “Reload! Reload immediately! Quick, quick, quick!”
Twenty-four groups of villagers, already prepared, hoisted the massive projectiles and rushed to the missile launchers in turns, stuffing them into the firing tubes...
One villager tripped, falling with a loud thud. His entire group tumbled down with him, and the projectile threatened to crush them. Several officers nearby dashed over instantly, supporting the projectile and preventing it from injuring their own men.
“Faster! Faster! Faster!”
Inside Bai Family Fortress, a fervent, bustling atmosphere prevailed.
Meanwhile, the bandit forces on the hillside were in dire straits.
Three thousand men were descending the hillside along several winding paths, with little space between them; many were even tightly packed on the narrow trails. Suddenly, enormous projectiles rained down continuously from the sky. Who wouldn't be terrified out of their wits by that?
The mountain path instantly devolved into chaos. Some scrambled for cover in the woods on either side, others burrowed into piles of dry grass, some huddled behind large rocks, while still others ran forward or backward. Pushing and bumping on the narrow path, some lost their footing, fell, and began tumbling down the slope.
More people continued to fall, a large mass of them sliding and rolling together.
The mountain path was a tangled mess, as massive projectiles continued to fall, sending dirt flying. Some were hit directly and died instantly, others were thrown by the impact, not killed on the spot, but severely injured.
Those tumbling down the slope and colliding with their comrades led to a stampede. The entire hillside was instantly filled with cries of terror and pain, a scene of utter pandemonium.
Old Lu roared, “Don’t panic! Hold your formation! Don’t panic! Take cover behind large rocks in an orderly fashion!”
But no matter how he shouted, it was useless. These weren't elite border troops with the ability to remain calm in a crisis. They were merely farmers who had just picked up blades, a tiny fraction having participated in local militias, but most were only skilled at bullying the weak when they outnumbered them.
“They’re coming again, they’re coming again! So many projectiles flying over!”
“Aaahh! So many more are coming!”
Seeing another volley of projectiles launched from Bai Family Fortress, the bandit troops shrieked in terror. Many even soiled their trousers.
“Boom! Boom!”
Another wave of projectiles rained down relentlessly. This time, there were twenty-four of them, filling the hillside with dust and debris.
“What cursed place is this? Why are there such hellish things?”
“Wuwu, Mama, I want to go home!”
“I’m never coming to Bai Family Fortress again!”
Old Lu took one look and understood immediately. Morale had collapsed; they could no longer fight.
He tumbled across the ground, rolling to Bu Zhan Ni and Zuo Guazi's side, and quickly urged, “My two brothers, we must retreat! We can’t fight anymore, morale has shattered. If we force everyone to charge down the mountain and attack Bai Family Fortress in this state, Cheng Xu will easily rout three thousand of us with merely a hundred men.”
Bu Zhan Ni and Zuo Guazi, currently hiding behind a large rock, had their hearts pounding frantically with fear, terrified a massive projectile might land on their heads. Hearing Old Lu’s words, both men, without a moment’s hesitation, immediately ordered, “Retreat! Back into the mountains! Everyone, retreat!”
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