CHAPTER 431: CHAPTER 418: PLAYING CATCH-UP

Just as the first round of firearm shots were fired, the scene on the battlefield made both sides stare in astonishment.

The soldiers atop the city walls were the first to bear the brunt,

their gaze uniformly shifted to the center of the battlefield following the volleys of firearm shots,

and what they saw there genuinely startled them,

for, at this very moment, those barbarian soldiers seemed to have suffered few to no casualties under the gunfire.

Perhaps saying no casualties is a bit far-fetched, but at the very least, after the round of firearm shots, the wooden shields only showed superficial marks.

The force of the numerous firearm shots only slowed their pace slightly,

but it didn’t truly stop their advance,

This spectacle indeed shocked the soldiers of You Country,

for the first time, they felt a sense of helplessness,

The firearms were originally supposed to be powerful, but now they seemed to have no impact on the battlefield, how could this not make them anxious?

If they were truly ineffective, how could the battle be fought?

It might be that the enemy seizes this opportunity to launch an assault, breaking through the city.

Once the city walls are breached, countless citizens behind them would be displaced and scattered.

It was these thoughts that came to their minds first, and their shock was of course shared by others,

like the barbarian soldiers, who, at the moment the firearms were discharged, couldn’t help but shudder,

A fear sprang from the depths of their hearts, but what they absolutely did not expect was,

as this fear approached and they walked forward amidst the loud crashing sounds,

they only felt a great force against their shields, pushing them back,

but they were backed by the sheer number of people behind them, who then forcibly withstood the impact.

After the force of the impact passed, they were astonished to find no injuries on themselves,

Yes, they were still standing there, unharmed by the enemy,

This realization filled them with disbelief, their minds completely overwhelmed with shock.

Good lord, the enemy hadn’t done anything to them, how was this possible?

This was the first occurrence of such an event after several battles.

Seeing this, Yelu Qi couldn’t help but pat his warhorse and burst into laughter.

His eyes were filled with an unrestrained gleam.

"Hahaha, I said this would work, hah, keep being arrogant, let’s see you do it again!

I have 100,000 archers here, and I refuse to believe that I can’t take down your insignificant Hangu Pass.

Bring me the drumsticks, I shall beat the drum to boost morale myself."

Upon finishing his words, someone immediately came forward and handed him the drumsticks for the war drum.

And so, Yelu Qi began to furiously pound on the war drum,

As the barbarian soldiers heard the drumming from the rear, they too began howling,

After the baptism of firearm shots, each one was filled with immense confidence,

It can be said that their lost confidence was now fully restored,

That intrinsic barbarian spirit of never admitting defeat once again coursed through their bodies,

They too began marching forward with frenzy, their howls resounding continuously.

Seeing such a situation, the soldiers on the city walls felt quite the opposite.

But Lin Yi didn’t regard this as a matter of concern at all,

And just then, the thunderous sound of the cannons reached them,

Followed by a barrage of cannonballs heavily smashing down on the dense crowd,

This time, the cannonballs struck directly upon those wooden shields,

And the very next moment, as the cannonballs hit, the wooden shields were instantly blasted into fragments and scattered.

That is to say, in the very first moment, a single cannonball had forcefully hurled that row of people backwards, instantly claiming dozens of lives.

Indeed, because the crowd was so densely packed, and the front was shielded by shields,

The cannonballs could authentically hit the shields and, with the shields in tow, barrel through towards the back.

Such destruction power was truly astonishing, completely unexpected by everyone.

This boosted the morale of the already somewhat dispirited soldiers of You Country!

These things were not invincible; they could be conquered!

Thus fueled anew, they set their spirits ablaze,

All eyes focused on the large cannons,

All hoping for the enemy to fire a few more rounds, to shatter that front wooden shield formation,

Once the frontline shield formation collapsed, those people would become live targets, and it would be their time to be busy.

However, after the cannonballs were fired, the enemy clearly anticipated this and had plans in place,

And with that column of people moving aside, a new wave of shield soldiers immediately filled in from behind, the gap was instantaneously closed.

Obviously, the speed of the cannon strikes could not keep up with the enemy’s replenishing speed,

After all, reloading a cannon took much more time than firing a firearm, it was quite complicated.

Seeing the enemy drawing nearer and advancing another 50 steps would bring them within the archery range,

For this reason, they didn’t have much time left.

But in such a critical situation, while everyone’s attention was on the central point of the battle,

They saw Lin Yi’s mouth curl into a smile, suddenly waving his hand towards his side.

Immediately afterwards, a small squad of soldiers carried out big wooden boxes and hurriedly ran out from the rooms, quickly arriving by the big cannons.

This move also made all the soldiers on the city walls stare in surprise, wondering what exactly was planned,

Unsure of what new trick General Lin had up his sleeve,

But when they saw Lin Yi’s face was not the slightest bit tense, they instantly understood that the esteemed Lin had something up his sleeve, a backup plan.

That thought was quite comforting.

Be it the firearms or the explosive bags launched by the catapults,

Or the thunderous cannons on the city walls,

They were all General Lin’s brainchildren.

Which of them hadn’t been terrifying to the enemies?

Which of them hadn’t overwhelmed them?

Now, in the face of such a crisis, for the esteemed Lin to come up with a new tactic was certainly no mere coincidence.

Because of this, their gaze turned collectively towards those big wooden boxes.

...End of Chapter...