CHAPTER 823: CHAPTER 501: A CENTURY AHEAD IN FIREPOWER

"Judging by the attire, if there are no surprises, it should be Tang Ping, the son of the Duke." The strategist calmly speculated.

The Duke... Prince Heng snorted coldly, his heart sinking again, and he suddenly said:

"It’s said that Zhao Douan conducted a significant firearms exercise at the Divine Mechanism Camp last year, but the specific process is unknown to outsiders."

The strategist nodded and said:

"Indeed, the Empress took that military exercise seriously, but according to the information we have, it was just some minor improvements to old-style firearms. The focus was on a type of musket, which may work wonders against people, but a few bullets are no stronger than arrows and certainly cannot threaten our Tusk Beast war chariots."

Another civil servant laughed in agreement:

"What kind of firearms are praised as formidable, yet when have they ever become mainstream in real battle formations? Even the Divine Mechanism Camp is still mainly composed of infantry, which speaks volumes."

For this group of Qingzhou people, their impression of firearms remains in the past.

The Yu Country has been at peace for a long time, with few bandit troubles mostly on the southwest, northwest borders, or the Marine Road, rarely using firearms.

Therefore, not only these civil servants and strategists, but even Ning Xianzong, who is commanding below, lacks sufficient alertness towards the new-style firearms of the Divine Mechanism Camp.

The greatest assumption of them is no more than a strengthened version of bows and crossbows. And if so, the Evil Tusk war chariots are sufficient to deal with it.

At this moment, the battle drums on both sides grew louder, and the two military formations, under the watchful eyes of their leaders, slowly approached each other.

"Commander, the other side doesn’t seem to have an intention to actively attack." On the battlefield, a Qingzhou general turned his head and looked at Ning Xianzong.

Ning Xianzong, armored and holding a sword, stood on a high platform, with Qi Mechanism infused into his eyes, enhancing his vision to glimpse the Divine Mechanism Camp soldiers ready for battle.

Tang Ping, at the forefront, lowered his long spear, sitting on his horse with a stern expression.

"Release the war chariots, a frontal charge!" Ning Xianzong decisively ordered, suspecting the enemy was stalling for time and not intending to give them more preparation time.

"Order! Charge!"

"Charge!"

"Charge!"

Excited shouts resounded through the military formation, and the Qingzhou soldiers, with high morale, had dispelled their myth of the "Capital Camp" through the previous three battles. Now, amidst the stirring war drums, their blood surged, and they shouted in unison:

"Charge!"

With these words, a dozen or so Tusk Beasts at the front of the formation, as if receiving a signal, exerted themselves simultaneously, spewing foul air. Their near-invulnerable bodies pulled the war chariots with a thunderous roar, charging towards the Divine Mechanism Camp, while the Qingzhou soldiers, in squads, followed behind.

The chariots thundered, shaking the earth.

In the Divine Mechanism Camp’s array, Tang Ping sat proudly on his horse, unmoved like a mountain, witnessing the enormous war chariots approaching from afar and entering the central buffer zone of the battlefield. Yet, he still refrained from ordering a charge, nor did he command a defensive formation, merely saying in a low voice: "Cover your ears!"

The drumbeat abruptly changed!

The infantry of the Divine Mechanism Camp moved in unison, taking out cotton from their person and plugging their ears.

This scene fell into Ning Xianzong’s eyes, causing him to be momentarily stunned, followed by a strong sense of unease.

The term firearm suddenly leaped to his mind, yet within his line of sight, he didn’t see any firearms at all.

Unless...

Ning Xianzong suddenly looked up sharply at the battlefield sky, the dense clouds barely revealing a distant hilltop, seemingly populated by ant-sized figures.

Zhao Douan felt the faint sense of observation, spat out the pear core in his hand, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, glanced at the pale and frightened faces of the gathered Five Army Camp generals around him, and smiled: "Cover your ears."

"What?" Yuan Feng and the others were taken aback, not understanding. But the next second, a massive blast suddenly erupted in a nearby ravine, followed by endless thunder that drowned out all other sounds on the battlefield.

...

On the hidden hill, Chen Gui, head of the Firearms Bureau, stroked his beard, his sharp eyes flashing on his lean face, shouted loudly: "Divine Might Cannons, fire!"

Behind this military artisan and officer, nearly twenty of the latest model Divine Might Red Coat Cannons, already uncovered from their waterproof covers and angled correctly, sat silently like black beasts, crouching on the ground. The astonishingly wide black barrels were raised high, with complex engravings inscribed on each barrel.

With a single command, the reloading soldiers moved the shells from the straw-lined ammunition boxes, pushed them into the muzzles, and the artillerymen in the back rotated the wheels to secure them, igniting the fuses with flint.

Amidst a strange, low humming noise, the engravings on the barrels lit up in sequence, brewing a powerful agitation. Finally, accompanied by the first roar, a beast that didn’t belong to this world let out a unique low growl of firearms.

...

In the enemy camp, Ning Xianzong saw clusters of firelight suddenly flare up in the dense forest on the horizon. These flames were exceptionally intense, like lightning before a storm in the sky.

But at this moment, with his Qi Mechanism-enhanced eyes, he saw another scene:

In the suddenly ignited flames, dark "projectiles" rose with terrifying speed, tracing a precisely calculated parabolic trajectory, crossing hundreds of yards and accurately plunging into the central area of the battle between the two armies, towards the charging war chariots.

"Not good—"

Ning Xianzong had just uttered the words when a huge explosion drowned out his voice.

The first shell, wrapped in the powerful force of gunpowder, carrying a hot airwave, accurately smashed onto a Tusk Beast’s head.