Dragon Canon

Wei Yuan didn’t notice the change in Lee Zhi’s expression. His divine thought twitched, and ten Dao Foundation stage warriors appeared within the army.

As soon as these Dao Foundation stage warriors appeared, they took up the banners of their respective units, and all units immediately began to follow their commands. When the charge horns sounded, the army began to advance!

As the two armies closed in, Wei Yuan summoned the jade mountain once more and hurled it at the mountain Dwellers’ central command. Standing at a full thirty zhang tall, the manifested jade mountain instantly threw the five Mountain Dweller Avatars into a mad scramble!

Immediately afterward, Wei Yuan empowered the Dragon Wings Army with Outlawed by Heaven and Earth. 5,000 iron cavalrymen braved the rain of arrows and punched straight into the Mountain Dwellers’ ranks. Amid the thunderous cracks of gunfire, thick plumes of gunpowder smoke billowed out like clouds, and the Mountain Dwellers were mowed down in droves. Wei Yuan had pierced through the enemy’s rank and sliced their formation open in the blink of an eye!

Without pausing for a moment, Wei Yuan turned his horse around and led the cavalry back into the fray. This time, the cavalry opened fire before even entering the formation, sending the Mountain Dwellers tumbling from their horses. Wei Yuan himself was continuously casting the Skyfire Spell. Wherever the streams of fire landed, utter chaos ensued.

No sooner had the Mountain Dwellers’ Avatars evaded the jade hill than a scholar appeared on the battlefield. In his hand, a multi-barreled flying-sword cannon roared incessantly and countless flying swords swept across the Avatars and threw them into a panic. One Avatar was targeted by Feng Tingyu, while another was chased by the cat through the sky and the earth, literally. The remaining two had to contend with Wei Yuan’s Skyfire spell while also guarding against pursuit from other opponents. For a time, all of them were in life-threatening danger.

In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan once again broke through the Mountain Dweller’s formation and charged back in.

By now, the infantry had caught up. Wei Yuan led the cavalry to turn and charge, breaking through the enemy lines for the third time! The infantry advanced steadily, firing volleys that mowed down the Mountain Dwellers like grass. When the Dragon Run Army also charged into the formation, the Mountain Dwellers finally routed and fled into the mountains and valleys.

Of the five Avatars, only one managed to escape. They had all intended to flee, but Wei Yuan immobilized three of them with an Embers of the Former Dynasty. Then, Feng Tingyu and Wei Yuan each swiftly killed one Avatar, while the cat pursued a third Avatar alone and killed them as well.

After that, Lee Zhi watched as Wei Yuan traced continuous circles with his sword, firmly pinning down the last Avatar while a group of Dao Foundations lined up to take turns striking them and reaping their Heaven Merits. The Mountain Dweller Avatar struggled for a long time before finally dying in bitter resentment—it was unclear whether it had been killed or had died from sheer frustration.

While Wei Yuan was busy distributing the Heaven Merits, the infantry and cavalry followed their respective banners to pursue and annihilate the remaining enemies on their own. They required no command from him whatsoever.

Lee Zhi and his generals were all dumbfounded. They wondered how this battle had come to feel like child’s play under Wei Yuan’s command.

Tens of thousands of Mountain Dwellers were routed in this battle, though the majority still managed to escape. With insufficient troops, a rout was the best Wei Yuan could achieve.

When Wei Yuan returned, Lee Zhi stared at the firearms in the hands of the Dragon Run Army and asked, “What is this? May I take a look?”

Wei Yuan immediately took a firearm from one of the soldiers, retrieved a few rounds of ammunition, and handed them to Lee Zhi. Lee Zhi had already become familiar with firearms during the previous battle at Qingming, but at the time, he had found them to be cumbersome, with limited range, slow firing rates, and insufficient firepower. That was why he hadn’t given them much thought.

Lee Zhi had always advocated for an elite force strategy, and firearms were clearly suited only for ordinary mortals and low-level cultivators. Consequently, he had little interest in them and viewed them only as a stopgap measure Wei Yuan had devised to counteract his shortage of elite troops. On the battlefield, an elite force capable of shooting thirty consecutive arrows in rapid succession was clearly far more effective.

But this time, with Wei Yuan personally commanding the battle, the Great Realm bolstering his forces and his sentient Dao Foundation stage warriors providing synchronized commands, the 20,000-strong army had moved as a single entity. They had advanced steadily and unleashed a relentlessly barrage of gunfire that crushed the Mountain Dwellers with sheer firepower. It was only now the true terror of firearms was revealed.

Lee Zhi had witnessed with his own eyes and ordinary soldier firing dozens of shots in rapid succession without breaking a sweat; a feat that would have left an elite archer completely exhausted.

Finally, Lee Zhi took firearms seriously for the first time.

Later, Wei Yuan handed a flying sword gun that used sword boxes as magazines to Lee Zhi. After firing several rounds using both guns, he gained a much clearer understanding of how they worked. He immediately asked Wei Yuan, “Do you have any extra flying sword guns like this? If so, I’d like to purchase a batch.”

Wei Yuan looked somewhat surprised and replied, “These guns are quite cumbersome to use; anyone below the Dao Foundation stage wouldn’t be able to use them at all, not to mention that the flying sword ammunition is very costly. In terms of military combat effectiveness, they’re far inferior to the basic steel barrel guns. I think you should stick with the steel barrel guns.”

“Steel barrel guns are merely weapons for ordinary soldiers, and they offer no greater advantage than powerful bows or crossbows. The flying sword guns suit me better.”

“Fine. How many do you want?”

Lee Zhi thought it over for a bit before answering, “Three hundred for now.”

“And how many flying swords do you want? Per gun, I mean.” Wei Yuan asked again.

Lee Zhi paused for a moment before realizing this was the same as asking how many bolts came with a crossbow, so he replied, “One hundred.”

Wei Yuan memorized it and said, “I’ll have them delivered to you in ten days.”

“What about the price?”

Wei Yuan said, “This batch is a gift to you, as a token of gratitude for your help in the battle against the Xu Clan last time.”

Lee Zhi shook his head immediately. “That won’t do. I already accepted your cuirasses last time. For the long term, let’s discuss a price.”

It wasn’t easy to set a price for these flying sword guns. Wei Yuan thought for a moment before answering, “How about this: I’ll still give you this batch for free, but in the future, each gun will be five hundred taels each, and the flying swords will be five taels each.”

“That’s a very fair price.”

The deal was settled, and by then, the battlefield had nearly been cleared. The Mountain Dwellers had left behind a large amount of supplies, but Wei Yuan didn’t touch any of it, choosing to leave it all to Lee Zhi. Once the general had returned to his territory, he would naturally send his men to collect it.

Wei Yuan gave Lee Zhi a final embrace. Just as he was about to lead his troops back, he saw a dust billowing in the distance as two military units appeared, advancing at a leisurely pace. Judging by their uniforms, armor, and banners, they appeared to be the border troops of Zhao.

When Lee Zhi noted that the two forces combined only totaled to just over 10,000, his expression darkened. Never mind that they’d arrived only after the battle was over, even if they had arrived on time, what good would just 10,000-odd men do? The Mountain Dwellers numbered over 100,000; this meager force wouldn’t even be enough to fend off a counterattack.

Wei Yuan, too, was sizing up the Zhao border troops and silently assessing their strength.

The force was led by two chief commanders. As soon as they spotted Lee Zhi and Wei Yuan from a distance, they cautiously ordered the army to halt and form ranks, then rode forward themselves at with a small contingent of personal guards.

“This humble general Chen Jian (Wang Quan) greets you, Lord Military Commissioner!” The two generals performed their courtesies with great deference, a display that filled Wei Yuan with a touch of envy.

As a military commissioner himself, Wei Yuan had mostly encountered officials who were sarcastic, openly provocative, and backstabbing. Even after the situation had improved, people like Yuan Qingyan and Niu Jinbao paid lip service to Wei Yuan only because they had no other choice. In this regard, he could never hope to compare to Lee Zhi, where people naturally and wholeheartedly treated him with the utmost courtesy wherever he went. Frankly, he felt like a mere upstart.

Meanwhile, the two commanders were casting suspicious glances at Wei Yuan. Wariness flashed in their eyes as they watched the ranks of Qingming soldiers marching northward.

After exchanging courtesies, the two commanders explained that as soon as they received Lee Zhi’s distress letter, they had mustered their troops, left camp, and rushed here day and night without rest. However, due to their limited authority, they could only mobilize this many troops.

Wearing a smile that didn’t reach the eyes, Lee Zhi replied, “Generals, I will forever remember that you traveled ten thousand li to come to my aid. I will surely reward you generously in the future!”

“Then we’ll escort you back to your base, General Lee?”

Lee Zhi nodded and said, “Please give me a moment. I would like to have a few words with my brother first.”

The two chief commanders tactfully returned to their troops to wait.

Once they had gone far enough, Wei Yuan remarked, “These two know how to command their troops. Their timing was perfect—they had arrived just as you were being forced to break through the encirclement.”

Lee Zhi chuckled mirthlessly and said, “They’ve both served in the military for over fifty years and spent most of their lives at the border. How could they not know how to fight?”

“The thing is, judging by the types of troops they’ve brought, they don’t seem geared toward dealing with the Mountain Dwellers. Rather, they’re meant to handle elite cavalry from Southern Qi like yours. If I hadn’t come, you wouldn’t have had many men left after breaking through the encirclement, while they would have had more than enough forces to deal with your remaining troops.”

A flash of murderous intent crossed Lee Zhi’s eyes, but he replied calmly, “I’m well aware of that. I’ll devise a plan once we return.”

Wei Yuan asked, “How about we send some horse bandits to your territory?”

Lee Zhi pondered for a moment before replying, “That wouldn’t be wise. I can’t act as freely as you do, my worthy little brother. It would be easy for my enemies to use the matter of horse bandits against me. Don’t worry, since they want to kill me, I won’t hold back either.

“Do they really think that Queen Dowager Xiao’s money is that easy to take? Hmph. It won’t be long before I have the King of Zhao cut off their heads!”ℴ