Chapter 135 : Chapter 135

Chapter 135: Divine Might Bed Crossbows, Thunderbolt Trebuchets, and Divine Arm Bows!

【The host has trained troops skillfully and commanded subordinates well, displaying the overall standard of the Jinyiwei. Reward: Command Insights!】

The reward was issued.

A great deal of related knowledge appeared in Cheng Yu’s mind.

He gained many new insights into training subordinates and leading men in battle, and his understanding deepened considerably.

“What a pity. You have already lost your chance to leave behind intact corpses!”

The expressions of Prince Qing’s descendants turned even more ferocious as they looked at Cheng Yu.

“You dog lackeys of the False Court! You are courting death!”

Another Seventh Rank martial artist had died a miserable death.

And he had been killed in full view of everyone, even after the enemy had pushed into the Secret Realm’s defensive range.

If this continued, then by the time Prince Qing emerged from seclusion, there might not even be a few usable people left under his command!

While feeling this as a humiliation beyond all endurance, they also, at this moment, truly felt real fear.

If Xiao Teng did not emerge from seclusion, then relying only on them, who had failed again and again, there was simply no one left who could deal with the Jinyiwei!

Worry also flashed through Xiao Qian’s eyes.

The others could still hope for Xiao Teng to emerge from seclusion and reverse the battle, but she was different.

No matter which way things went, she would be the one in trouble.

She could only place her hands behind her back and force herself to look calm.

Then, gritting her teeth, she began issuing orders.

“All Descendants of Heavenly Fate are to focus fully on defense. Not one of you is to step beyond the mountain gate. If those dog lackeys of the False Court dare enter the gate, surround and kill them!”

“As long as we hold fast, once Father emerges from seclusion, he will definitely turn the tide!”

Though inwardly she had no wish at all to see Xiao Teng emerge from seclusion, for now, all she could do was stall for time.

Everyone accepted the order one after another and stared grimly at the aggressively advancing Jinyiwei.

The archers stood coldly behind the mountain gate.

If the Jinyiwei dared charge into range again, they could drown them beneath a rain of arrows.

Granny Wu looked at Xiao Qian worriedly.

“Your Highness, how goes the prince’s progress in breaking through?”

Ever since the day Xiao Qian had awakened and returned from entering the Secret Realm, she had claimed that the prince was in secluded cultivation, attempting a breakthrough, and that no one besides her was permitted to enter the interior of the Secret Realm.

No one else knew Xiao Teng’s true situation at all.

If Xiao Teng could not break through and emerge in time, then all this stubborn defense would be worthless.

“Granny Wu, Father he...”

The hand Xiao Qian kept behind her back trembled, but she forced out a calm smile.

“Father is on the verge of attaining the Grandmaster realm. He should break through and emerge from seclusion within a few days. We need only hold the line.”

Xiao Teng was about to become a Grandmaster!

“That is good!”

As soon as Granny Wu heard this good news, she relaxed and nodded.

“Holding the line is not difficult. With the Secret Realm’s power weakening those experts, this old woman can guarantee that those dog lackeys of the False Court will never dare act recklessly again!”

The person who had just died had fallen only because they had never expected the Jinyiwei to use a Joint-Strike Formation and had paid the price for carelessness and underestimating the enemy.

Now that they were prepared, they would certainly be able to hold out safely until Xiao Teng emerged from seclusion!

But at that very moment, someone nearby suddenly cried out in utter panic.

“Look! Look over there! Wh-what are those things?!”

Trembling, he raised a finger and pointed toward the Jinyiwei before the mountain gate.

Everyone’s gaze turned in that direction.

Then they saw that behind the Jinyiwei ranks, a line of gigantic black monsters had appeared.

They were like ancient beasts from a distant age, emanating an aura that struck terror into the heart.

Divine Might Bed Crossbows!

Thunderbolt Trebuchets!

The siege weapons Cheng Yu had previously obtained as a reward at Sword-Forging Manor had now appeared here.

Wheels as large as water vats rolled forward, and the ground trembled beneath them.

That shaking made the hearts of Prince Qing’s descendants tremble as well.

“How do they have things like that?!”

Such siege weapons belonged on battlefields for taking cities and seizing territory.

How had they ended up in Jiangnan, the very heartland of Great Qian?

And how had they ended up facing them?!

Beneath the mountain gate, Cheng Yu raised one hand high and coldly gave the order.

“Let these insolent rebels have a look at the martial virtue of the Son of Heaven’s personal army!”

“Attack!”

At a single command, the Divine Might Bed Crossbows—built from North Sea Ironwood and strung with the sinews of Great Demons—were operated by over a dozen Jinyiwei each. Huge crossbow bolts flashing with a cold gleam were drawn taut and ready.

Whoosh!

The bowstring exploded with force, and that immense thrust hurled forth crossbow bolts as thick as pillars. The sound of them tearing through the air thundered out.

At such terrifying speed, even a distance of a hundred zhang was no longer safe or reliable.

One moment, they had only just heard the bowstring explode and the air split apart.

The next, before anyone had even a moment to react, someone from Prince Qing’s line had already been pierced straight through by a giant bolt.

Those of weaker strength were instantly smashed into pulp, unable even to slow the bolt’s advance.

Blood and flesh burst apart all along its path.

Those who were somewhat stronger, with Hard-Body Training, were not crushed into pieces on the spot, but they were still pinned fast, their lives and deaths unknown.

“Take cover!”

Xiao Qian’s shrill cry rang out.

Martial artists of the Upper Three Ranks could still withstand those terrifying bolts.

If the rest were struck, it would absolutely mean certain death!

Already terrified out of their wits, the others heard this and began screaming as they fled behind cover.

With their lives on the line, they shoved and trampled each other, and the scene descended into chaos.

Some of the cover was not sturdy enough and was mercilessly pierced through and smashed apart by the bolts, causing fresh explosions of blood and cries of agony.

The others had only just managed to hide behind cover thick and solid enough, when another grating sound reached their ears.

Creak... creak...

The Thunderbolt Trebuchets, wound to their limit, broke free of restraint, and their massive throwing arms suddenly swung high.

Boom!

Huge stone balls wreathed in flames were hurled outward and slammed heavily into the gate walls of Iron Halberd Mountain.

A massive breach appeared, and broken fragments rained everywhere.

The hiding Prince Qing descendants felt the earth shake and the mountains tremble, and another wave of terrified cries erupted.

They had only just steadied themselves from the shaking

when they discovered that their cover had already been destroyed, and the sound of tearing air rang out once more.

The giant crossbow bolts came right after.

The Prince Qing descendants clustered together widened their eyes. For a moment, they had no time to dodge at all and were all reduced to mangled flesh.

The casualties were appalling.

The experts of Prince Qing’s line were busy dodging boulders and bolts, and when they saw the devastating losses among the weaker members, they began cursing bitterly.

“You dog lackeys of the False Court, may you die horrible deaths!”

This was the strength they had painstakingly accumulated over decades of lurking in the shadows, and now it was being harvested so madly!

The pain of it was unbearable!

“Thank you for the reminder, but you should worry about yourselves instead!”

Cheng Yu let out a cold laugh, showing no intention whatsoever of stopping.

He immediately gave another order.

“Switch to the Divine Arm Bows and fire the Soul-Chasing Arrows!”

At his command, hundreds of Jinyiwei took out finely crafted single-soldier crossbows engraved with auspicious beasts from behind them.

They planted them upright on the ground and stepped on the stirrups to draw back the powerful strings.

Then they pulled out strange dark-purple arrows from their quivers and loaded them.

Xiao Qian and the others widened their eyes.

What were Cheng Yu and his men about to do now?

The distance between those Jinyiwei and the mountain gate of Iron Halberd Mountain was a full hundred zhang.

At such a distance, how could bows and crossbows possibly inflict any damage?

Their question was answered in the very next moment.

Hundreds of Jinyiwei pulled their triggers at once.

A dense swarm of bolts shot out, accompanied by a sharp tearing sound.

Empowered by the exquisite structure of the Divine Arm Bows, the bolts barely showed any sign of dropping.

They easily crossed a hundred zhang and shot straight toward Prince Qing’s descendants.

Puchi!

“Ah!”

Wails mixed with the wet sound of arrowheads piercing flesh.

Quite a few people collapsed into pools of blood.

The rest cried out as they fled toward cover.

But to their utter shock, many of the incoming arrows suddenly made bizarre turns, curving around the cover and reaping one life after another behind it.

The Soul-Chasing Arrows had taken effect!