“What... what is that?” A soldier on the city wall gripped his spear, his voice trembling.
No one could answer him.
The next moment.
Luo Daoqing raised his hand and gave a light wave.
The fuses were lit, hissing as they burned.
Then.
The first blast rang out, shaking heaven and earth.
The entire wall shuddered.
In an instant, iron grit and gravel were swept together, slamming violently against the wall. Blue bricks shattered, and dust billowed everywhere.
Several soldiers standing by the crenels were knocked over by the shockwave, their ears ringing so loudly they could hear nothing.
“Get down!”
Shen Jue’s urgent voice exploded through the gunpowder smoke.
“Everyone, get down!” No sooner had he spoken than the second and third blasts followed in quick succession.
Cannonfire slammed into the wall over and over.
The resulting debris fell like rain, and the dust was so thick it choked them, making it impossible to open their eyes.
The long-dilapidated wall finally could not hold.
With a thunderous crash, fragments of blue brick poured down, and a gap was torn through the wall.
Someone began to cry.
Despair and fear gradually submerged them.
Their bows and weapons were utterly powerless against those bronze-cast monstrosities.
“An immortal... this is the power of an immortal...” A soldier slumped to the ground, staring at the bronze monsters visible below the wall. His lips trembled, his eyes filled with terror. “How can we mortals possibly fight an immortal...?”
These words were like a valve being opened.
Panic spread rapidly.
“The immortal has sent punishment!”
“How can we possibly win...?”
“This is heavenly retribution!”
The city guards instinctively dropped their weapons. The sound of metal clattering against the ground was exceptionally piercing in the atmosphere of despair.
More people fell to their knees, bowing incessantly toward Luo Daoqing and the cannons.
“Get up, all of you!” Shen Jue roared in a low, furious voice.
“Think carefully! When has the Divine Lady ever harmed the people of Xindu? This man arrived and immediately called the Divine Lady a witch. If he were truly an immortal, how could he not know her identity?”
“He is clearly a thief crying 'stop thief'!”
He gritted his teeth, his eyes nearly spitting fire. “As followers of the Divine Lady, why should we fear the sorcery of this demon!”
These words exploded in everyone’s hearts like a thunderclap.
The guards kneeling on the ground looked up. The confusion in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by suspicion and rage.
Indeed, the Divine Lady protected Xindu, repelled the locust plague, and granted Xindu a blessing, making the Nine-Ear Grain ripen early for a bountiful harvest.
Was every single one of those not a tangible grace?
Seeing that life in Xindu City was getting better day by day under the Divine Lady’s protection, yet someone wanted to forcibly destroy the good life they had worked so hard for—then whether he was an immortal or a demon, he was not worthy of their worship!
“General Shen is right!” Zhou Bai stood up abruptly, gripping his spear. “That fellow is the real demon!”
“Right! The Divine Lady has treated us with kindness as vast as mountains and seas. How can we betray her?”
“The Divine Lady once said that the potential of mortals can make the world anew, and we can surely win against fate itself!”
“Fight the demon to the death!”
“Protect Xindu City! Protect the Divine Lady!”
Angry shouts rose one after another.
The guards picked up their weapons, their eyes no longer showing fear, only a resolute will to fight.
The sound of cannons below the wall stopped at some point.
Luo Daoqing stood with his hands behind his back, his black Daoist robe fluttering in the wind. His expression was composed, bordering on arrogant.
He tilted his head slightly and waved a hand behind him.
Before long, two soldiers stepped forward, dragging a man covered in blood.
The man was in rags, his long hair covering his face. He was covered in whip marks and burns, almost being dragged along.
“Shen Jue.”
Luo Daoqing shouted toward the wall. “This man is named Zhao Erniu. You should recognize him, right?”
He reached out and brushed the man’s hair aside, revealing his face so Shen Jue could see him clearly.
“I caught him in a creek valley. There was even a wild temple dedicated to that witch there. To prevent the people from being further deceived by her, I leveled it to the ground.”
At this point, he remembered the half-dug sweet potatoes near the Divine Lady Temple. He truly hadn't expected that transmigrated woman to have even brought out sweet potatoes.
Unfortunately, this Zhao Erniu was incredibly stubborn. Despite two days of heavy torture, he still wouldn't say a single word.
He was so angry he almost wanted to kill him.
Only the consideration that he needed to keep him alive to extract the sweet potato planting method allowed him to suppress his killing intent and leave him with half a life.
He spoke again: “This is but a small punishment. If you remain stubborn, only death awaits you!”
A deathly silence fell over the city walls.
But this time, the silence was not one of fear, but a rage suppressed to the absolute limit.
Seeing this, Luo Daoqing thought Shen Jue and the others were completely intimidated by the power of the cannons. He felt quite smug.
The founding emperor was nothing more than this.
“Shen Jue, I give you two choices.”
“First, you commit suicide immediately and hand over the witch. I can guarantee the safety of the people of Xindu. Second—”
He pointed to the cannons behind him.
“I will continue to rain down heavenly punishment, turning Xindu City into dust, just like that temple in the valley.”
After several failed assassination attempts that Shen Jue had survived, he had to consider that Shen Jue might have some sort of destiny protecting him. If others couldn't kill him, he could only be made to kill himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, a heaven-shaking roar erupted from the walls.
“Bullshit!”
“I’d rather die today than surrender!”
“Open the gates! I’m going to fight this demon to the death!”
The crowd was furious, raising their swords and spears.
Not a single person retreated.
The guards, eyes bloodshot, stared fixedly at the Daoist in black below, wishing they could tear him apart.
The Divine Lady was their faith.
This man had destroyed the Divine Lady Temple, which was undoubtedly trampling on their faith. Who could swallow such an insult?
Shen Jue and Pei Du exchanged a glance.
Then, with bloodshot eyes, he gave the order, “Open the gates!”
The heavy gates slowly opened with the sound of winches. Shen Jue mounted his warhorse and drew the longsword at his waist.
The sound of footsteps behind him came like a rising tide.
“General Shen, we are willing to follow you to the death!”
“To the death! To the death!”
The cries shook heaven and earth.
Shen Jue felt his eyes burning and his throat tightening, which finally turned into a low roar: “Follow me and kill!”
He led the charge.
Facing those dark, bronze-cast monsters outside the gates, they launched a desperate charge.
The sound of cannons rang out again.
A cannonball landed on the left side of the formation, and the exploded earth and gravel showered down.
Several soldiers fell with agonizing screams.
Scalding blood soaked into the scorched earth.
Another cannonball exploded in the middle of the formation, the shockwave flipping seven or eight people. Some clutched severed arms and screamed, while others dragged mangled legs and continued to crawl forward.
No one looked back.
Everyone was charging forward!
They could not retreat. Their faith was in the city, along with their wives and families. They could not retreat even in death!
“Mere ants, trying to shake a tree?” Luo Daoqing’s eyes were filled with lofty contempt.
He raised his hand.
Prepared to give the order for the final round of shelling.
At that very moment.
The sky changed.
The clear sky was torn apart in an instant. Several bolts of purple lightning struck down from the Nine Heavens, hitting the cannons beside Luo Daoqing with unerring precision.
What was happening?
Could it be that heaven was truly helping Shen Jue?
Luo Daoqing turned pale with shock.
Rate on N.U.
