Dragon Canon

In the southern reaches of the realm of Qingming, a massive Western Jin army had already formed its battle lines. They looked well-disciplined and terribly formidable. On the other hand, a force that numbered only half as many of their own stood on the opposite side.

In the middle guard, several generals and commandants were gazing into the distance at the ragtag bunch of misfits opposite them, their expressions a mix of disbelief and astonishment. One of the commandants couldn’t help but remark, “General Hsu, are we sure this is the Qingming garrison that has repelled the Shamans multiple times, and not a bunch of beggars?”

The general surnamed Hsu narrowed his eyes slightly and replied slowly, “Wei Yuan is definitely underestimating us all right.”

The two opposing armies stood face to face. The Western Jin forces, led by General Hsu, were well-organized and 15,000 strong. They were equipped with both infantry and archers, as well as several hundred mounted skirmishers. The core of this force consisted of his loyal personal guard, with only five thousand being local troops transferred from the military forts that formed the blockade.

In contrast, the force advancing from the realm of Qingming numbered only 8,000. Each soldier was clad in ragged clothing, and their weapons were a motley assortment. Many of them were carrying steel rods with long blades tied to one end[1], while another steel rod hung from their waists.

They were formed into three ranks, with a group of archers in red robes and armor standing on one flank. There were roughly 800 of them, and they were unbelievably conspicuous and scattered. Even if they were standing in a loose formation, many of them had slumped postures. They were clearly lacking in military discipline.

While other armies went to great lengths to ensure their archers didn’t draw attention, Qingming did the exact opposite—who knows what fit of madness was gripping their commander today?

In the middle guard, Wei Yuan was feeling rather exasperated at the sorry state of his troops as well. What Qingming lacked most at the moment wasn’t food, but clothing. When a resident’s clothes tore, they had nothing to replace them with and could only patch them up. Currently, the only fabric available within the realm was crude hemp cloth made from natural hemp and tree bark. Naturally, clothes made from such materials were barely better than fishing nets.

Despite what their appearances might suggest, this unit really consisted entirely of veterans who had more or less fought multiple major battles and survived until now. While they might be lacking in raw combat prowess, they were extremely experienced and strong-willed. There had been instances where they continued fighting to the death even after suffering over sixty percent casualties. Now, fully equipped with new guns and armor, their combat effectiveness had risen once more.

When empowered by Life is a Flash, they turned into reapers who harvested lives.

Within the Western Jin army, the general surnamed Hsu reached out to perceive the surrounding environment for a moment. He then remarked, “In the end, nothing can beat the Pure Realm of Humanity. Standing here is so much more comfortable than Willow Ash Town. At the very least, it’s cool, dry, and doesn’t make you feel like you’ve been soaking in water all day long.

“We’re currently fighting within the enemy’s domain, but perhaps they’ve forgotten that we are humans too—the Pure Realm of Humanity empowers us as well. If we still fail to win this battle despite all the differences, then I, Hsu Li, will lay down my arms and return to farming!”

Wei Yuan and Cui Yu were observing the Western Jin army. Suddenly, Wei Yuan remarked, “I can’t believe they dare to meet us in Qingming’s domain—it seems they didn’t think much of its power at all!”

Cui Yu replied, “We are all humans, so the Pure Realm of Humanity blesses us all equally—that’s probably what he’s thinking.”

Wei Yuan exhaled lightly. The Pure Realm of Humanity might bless them all equally, but the same could not be said for Life is a Flash. Within the realm of Qingming, the effects of Outlawed by Heaven and Earth were several times greater as well. An ordinary realm stone would not have possessed these capabilities, but the one that had established this realm was the immortal stone, Qingming.

Amid the blare of bugle horns, the Western Jin army began marching forward. The archers drew their bows and nocked their arrows, and the next second, an arrow rain consisting of thousands of arrows tore through the sky straight toward the strikingly conspicuous targets ahead.

There was no helping it—the enemy archers were simply too conspicuous. That patch of red amidst this verdant landscape was so vivid that even a blind man could see it[2].

This Western Jin army had brought 3,000 archers with it, every one of them highly trained. Thus, this volley of arrows was both accurate and ruthless, targeting the entire archery unit.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side, a man within the archery unit was staring intently at the incoming hail of arrows and shouting a countdown, “Three, two, one!”

In that instant, an indescribable energy surged in from the void and appeared in their bodies, making every archer feel as though they were ablaze. Their vision extended farther, their reactions grew sharper, and the incoming arrows seemed to slow by three beats!

This was the result of Life is a Flash and Outlawed by Heaven and Earth acting on a person at the same time. The Cui clansmen in the archery unit had already experienced this sensation of power before, but their battlefield experience was virtually zero. That was why they were staring intently at the arrows in the air, preparing to dodge or block. The same could not be said for the veterans who had participated in numerous battles, though. Not only were they exceptionally composed, they even had the leisure to return two arrows to the enemy before finally deflecting or evading the descending barrage.

The captain of the archery unit barked out a series of orders, and the archers immediately responded with a five-arrow volley before the second wave of arrows arrived!

The Cui clansmen were initially flustered, but Cui Yu’s rigorous training had ultimately paid off: they just barely kept up with the veterans’ pace and released all five arrows as per order.

When the second volley of arrows rained down, more than a dozen agonized screams rang out from the ranks. Unfortunately, some of the Cui clansmen ultimately panicked and scrambled haphazardly for cover as the arrows approached, only to be struck and killed. Two unlucky men were pierced through their helmets by heavy arrows and killed on the spot.

For this battle, the veteran archers and the Cui clansmen had been deployed in a one-one ratio. Therefore, the deaths of two Cui clansmen had no effects whatsoever on the veterans. They remained perfectly composed as they returned another round of five rapid shots, then calmly waited for the third arrow rain to arrive.

Three waves of arrows later, the Western Jin vanguard infantry had closed in on the enemy. But to their surprise, they did not receive any cover fire from their archers. When the commandants looked behind them, they realized that their own archery unit was in utter disarray. Five or six hundred men had already fallen in battle. Even a captain in the Dao Foundation stage had several arrows sticking out of his body. He was still standing, but he was dead.

Suddenly, a continuous rumble of thunder erupted from Qingming’s front line, and vast clouds of smoke swirled into the air. The next thing they knew, their frontline soldiers started collapsing in droves like rice plants being harvested.

Moments later, outside Qingming’s domain, Hsu Li watched in a daze as his soldiers gradually fled back to his side. Of the 15,000 troops who had set out, only 6,000 returned. Perhaps there were a few thousand more who had become separated during the retreat, so he assumed that he still had 10,000 troops left.

It was a swift, crushing defeat. Worse, he had no idea how it had happened.

At the moment, all Hsu Li could think of was that final moment where his most elite soldiers had successfully broken through the enemy’s mysterious weapon’s line of fire and reached the very front of their ranks. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, as if possessed by the gods and devils, Qingming’s soldiers slaughtered all of them almost instantly. That was the moment where morale collapsed, and his army was forced to retreat.

Fortunately, the enemy did not give chase. Otherwise....

Meanwhile, Wei Yuan had arrived at the eastern border of the realm. Here, thirty thousand youngsters stood ready for battle. They wore gleaming breastplates and wielded guns that were shaped like steel pipes. They also carried five short sticks wrapped in oiled paper at their waists.

The earth trembled as countless elite cavalrymen clad in light gray armor emerged from the distant horizon, advancing slowly. At the center of the cavalry unit, a great banner bearing the name “Yue” fluttered in the wind. Despite its obvious weightlessness, it felt as heavy as a mountain.

This was the iron cavalry upon which Yue Jinshan relied to dominate the northern frontier!

Both sides radiated overwhelming army auras.

On one side, the army aura of the northern frontier iron cavalry rose like gray mountain ranges, soaring dozens of zhang high as they slowly advanced. Their momentum felt as unstoppable as a mountain!

On the other, wisps of black qi rose into the sky and cast a shadow over the surroundings, making it seem as though they were no longer part of this world.

In the center of the Northern Frontier Cavalry, a general radiating a murderous aura coldly surveyed the distant formation. He nodded slightly and said, “Not bad, their army aura certainly looks like something. But who gave them the gall to deploy only five ranks of troops against me, Luo Bingtian? Or do they have a death wish?”

A general with a gnarly face standing beside him was also asking, “Commander Yue gave us ten thousand cavalry. Isn’t that overestimating them? In my opinion, five thousand or even three thousand is too many.”

Beside Wei Yuan, Cui Yu also felt uneasy. “Five ranks is too few, isn’t it? We still have troops; why don’t we add a few more ranks of spearmen? We’re facing ten thousand elite cavalrymen from the northern frontier! There’s no way we’ll be able to stop them without at least fifty thousand men!”

Wei Yuan replied calmly, “All our steel and gunpowder for this month is right here, so don’t worry. We can’t lose.”

Try as Cui Yu might, he couldn’t. He, too, had read all the materials written by Xu Wenwu. However, could he really trust the writings of that ignorant and incompetent fool?

1. THE PROPHECY (from Chapter 1) HAS COME TRUE! IT’S BAYONET TIME, BABY! ☜

2. Shame, it would’ve been perfect if the author had used “color-blind” instead of blind. ☜

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