In the heartland of the Great Cloud Dynasty.
The elite forces of the Great Cloud Dynasty were all annihilated on the battlefield of the Cang Wood Dynasty. The entire dynasty was utterly devoid of any capable ministers or generals. Qi Jiguang, leading the Kui Niu Legion, employed his lightning-fast tactics, dazzling the entire court of the Great Cloud Dynasty.
In less than half a month, the army had swept through and reached Xinping Commandery, one of the four major garrison cities of the Great Cloud Dynasty!
At this moment, the four city gates of Xinping Commandery were sealed shut. Qi Jiguang, leading the Kui Niu Legion, launched an assault on the city.
"Boom!!"
Three hundred thousand soldiers of the Kui Niu Legion, clad in azure armor, arrayed themselves in perfect unison.
"Screech!!"
Catapults, pushed by thousands of soldiers, appeared amidst the army and gradually advanced to the front.
On the city walls of Xinping Commandery stood Hai Feng, a cultivator at the first level of the Sky Fusion Realm and a marquis of the Great Cloud Dynasty – the only Sky Fusion Realm expert the Great Cloud Dynasty could dispatch. Beside Hai Feng was Qing Mu, a great general of the Azure Cloud Dynasty.
As soon as he led his three hundred thousand troops into the Great Cloud Dynasty, the situation had become precarious. Before he could react, Qi Jiguang had already advanced to Xinping Commandery. He had then rushed to command troops in Xinping Commandery, nominally to support the Great Cloud Dynasty and resist the Great Han!
"Brother Hai, what is that?"
Qing Mu gazed at the large, wooden-looking contraptions in front of the Great Han army. He couldn't comprehend what they were. The thirty thousand Great Han troops were arrayed beneath the city, not attacking, but instead dragging these extremely clumsy objects.
"Brother Qing, this marquis also doesn't know what this is. This is the first time such a thing has appeared since the emergence of the Eternal Heroes."
Hai Feng frowned. These catapults were a formidable weapon for siege warfare, greatly diminishing the enemy's advantages, honed and improved after the emergence of the Eternal Heroes.
"Look at those dark, clunky iron balls they are carrying," Qing Mu squinted. Ten Great Han soldiers were carrying the Fire Iron Balls with combined effort, placing them onto the catapults.
"Not good, defensive measures!"
Qing Mu instantly reacted. He didn't know what these things were, but he knew they must be potent weapons similar to arrows. Each Fire Iron Ball was covered in dense, meter-long iron spikes.
"Hiss!!"
Zhou Yuji, holding the banner of the Kui Niu Legion and mounted on horseback, galloped swiftly through the army, the banner fluttering. "Fire!!"
"Bang bang bang!"
"Whoosh... whoosh..."
Suddenly, the sound of explosions erupted. Dense iron balls, like meteors, streaked through the air. The immense friction instantly ignited the viscous substance on the iron balls, sending sparks flying, creating a blanket of fire that covered the sky!
"Kui Niu Legion!"
"Kui Niu Legion!"
"Kui Niu Legion!"
Zhou Yuji's roar thundered!
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Roar!"
...
As the Fire Iron Balls, ablaze with layers of flame, were launched, the outer layer of the flames suddenly shimmered with a radiance like the sun and moon. Thunder roared and wind and rain lashed out from the void.
Each Fire Iron Ball was imbued with the essence of a Kui Niu, depicted in azure, hornless, bovine form.
"Not good!"
"Evade!"
Looking at the sky-obscuring barrage, the iron balls, initially dark and shiny, were merely powerful projectiles like falling rocks. At most, they would shatter upon impact with the ground.
But then, the iron balls instantly burst into flames!
Now, they were enveloped in a power that could annihilate Spirit Venerable powerhouses. These unknown ferocious beasts, as they appeared, brought forth a myriad of celestial phenomena.
In an instant, the entire Xinping Commandery was engulfed in a towering cloud of dust and smoke, as if the sky had caved in and the earth had collapsed, vanishing from the face of the world. For dozens of miles around Xinping Commandery, a dense haze of smoke and dust prevailed.
A hundred miles away, on the city walls of the Great Cloud Dynasty's capital, the imperial guards shuddered. The direction of Xinping Commandery was met with an earthquake-like roar, followed by a colossal mushroom cloud of smoke and dust rising into the sky.
Inside the capital, from the Great Cloud Emperor down to the common folk, everyone held their breath, gazing at the massive mushroom cloud, their hearts filled with apprehension.
Following that, the mushroom cloud was instantly consumed by rolling flames, and tendrils of fire tore through the thick smoke.
"Roar!!"
A colossal demonic beast emerged from the smoke and dust, its entire body azure. Above its head, wind and rain raged, and lightning crackled.
This fierce onslaught was even more terrifying than the Vermillion Bird Legion's capture of Blood Mountain Pass. The Vermillion Bird Legion had not employed a military formation, relying solely on the energy of the Fire Iron Balls themselves. However, the Kui Niu Legion had augmented its attack with the Kui Niu military formation!
The violent roars, the dense smoke, and the occasional streaks of fire dragons shot forth. The Kui Niu thundered within the smoke, each roar like thunder exploding in one's ears. Even cultivators below the Spirit Venerable realm could hardly withstand this terrifying sonic assault.
After a moment, the Kui Niu vanished, the phenomena subsided, and the entire Xinping Commandery was in ruins. What had been tall city walls and a vast city moments before was now a scene of rubble, a sea of fire. Within the entire city, barely any intact buildings or houses could be seen.
Layer upon layer of flames intermingled, transforming Xinping Commandery into a nine hellish abyss. Even the two Sky Fusion Realm powerhouses, Qing Mu and Hai Feng, were nowhere to be found.
Qi Jiguang stood before the command tent, with Li Wenzhong, Chen Qiu, Li Shang, and Zhu Sheng arrayed to his sides. He surveyed the scene, but did not issue the order for the army to charge into the battlefield.
The sky was ablaze, and the Kui Niu Legion continuously hurled Fire Iron Balls. The continuous flames persisted until dusk.
The Fire Iron Balls had long since been exhausted. Even if a Sky Fusion Realm expert could withstand one volley, the continuous bombardment from the army-enhanced Fire Iron Balls would be difficult to endure. The relentless attack from dawn till dusk was too much, even for Sky Fusion Realm experts, who were bound to be crushed!
"Zhou Yuji, initiate arrow volleys!"
Beneath Qi Jiguang's calm demeanor, a killing intent flashed. This caused Chen Qiu and Li Shang, who had never experienced battle before, to break out in a cold sweat. They now understood the terror of the Great Han's formidable generals. Under this ceaseless bombardment, they too would have no escape.
"Army, heed my command!"
"Fire!"
Zhou Yuji waved his command, and a torrent of arrows filled the sky. Beneath the blood-red setting sun, azure streams of light painted a tragic, sanguineous sunset.
"Shuushushushu!"
The arrow volleys soared through the air, relentlessly plunging into the fiery purgatory!
...
That night!
The flames of Xinping Commandery illuminated the sky for dozens of miles. A pervasive aura of malevolence filled the air, and the stench of burnt decay lingered.
After this battle!
General Qing Mu of the Cang Wood Dynasty, who had entered the Great Cloud, achieved nothing!
His advance was halted at Xinping Commandery!
Qi Jiguang, treading on the corpses of the two Sky Fusion Realm powerhouses, Qing Mu and Hai Feng, and the annihilation of a million soldiers at Xinping Commandery, earned a reputation that echoed far and wide!
A Great Han commander at the Heavenly Martial Realm had single-handedly suppressed the many marquis of the southwestern region, forcing them into silence!