Chapter 959: Prologue (1/2)
The Li family elder muttered, “What if he can really flatten the mountain in this manner?”
The elder nearby laughed out loud. “Seriously?”
Another person gave it some thought. “Perhaps that mountain is hollow inside or there’s a tunnel.”
The first elder was skeptical. “Even if the mountain is empty, it’s not something ordinary heavy cannons can demolish. It’s hard enough to focus on one point and bore a hole through, not to mention a bombardment like this.”
The other person wasn’t satisfied, either. “Why would the seventh young noble bring so many cannons if they weren’t useful? For fun?”
The old man went mute. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to retort, but because Song Zining’s fame was too resounding and no one dared to treat him as a joke. That was the good thing about being famous—ordinary people would become a joke if they were to bombard a mountain, but Song Zining doing the same thing was considered part of a deeper plan.
Atop the holy mountain, there was no change at all in that serene courtyard. The rain of cannon-shells and earth-shattering explosions almost seemed nonexistent here. Just like before, the ancient trees in the courtyard swayed gently in the breeze and not a single leaf fell off of them.
Luo Bingfeng sat alone in his study, reading intently from an ancient scroll. There was a glass of tea on the desk in front of him—the liquid was clear, with a smear of rejuvenating green akin to sprouting buds in spring. A wisp of hot steam curled upward, spreading a faintly discernible fragrance throughout the room.
An apocalyptic scene was raging outside of the windows. Cannon shells rained down like shooting stars, filling the air with dust, smoke, and gravel. Despite that, not even the smallest bit of dust entered the courtyard, so much so that the smoke would disappear long before it reached the courtyard walls. The thunderous explosions never made it to the place, either.
The entire holy mountain was trembling, but the small courtyard was like an island in the stormy seas, blessed with the tranquility of being isolated from the world.
Luo Bingfeng’s slender fingers flipped a new page on the book. It was at this time that his brows rose up, and he finally emerged from his world of calmness.
Du Yuan was staggering into the courtyard when the shockwave from a nearby explosion threw him to the ground. To an expert at this level, heavy cannons were like toys. He should’ve been completely fine even if struck squarely, let alone suffer from shockwaves.
Du Yuan was in such a miserable state because he had expended too much origin power and was like an arrow at the end of its flight.
Luo Bingfeng didn’t stand up. “Why are you so miserable?” His pleasant voice penetrated all the explosions and arrived beside Du Yuan’s ears.
Luo Bingfeng wasn’t that worried. As he saw it, Du Yuan’s constitution was amply powerful despite being highly exhausted. No origin imbued heavy cannon could wound him.
Du Yuan, on the other hand, wasn’t that calm. Hearing Luo Bingfeng’s voice, he screamed at the top of his lungs, “City Lord, go… go to the madam!”
The ancient scroll in Luo Bingfeng’s hands fell to the ground as he shot to his feet and vanished from the room.
On the desk, the cup of clear tea staggered briefly before toppling over and spilling hot tea all over.
Luo Bingfeng’s silhouette flickered through the seemingly small courtyard and arrived at one of the side buildings. There, he reached out to push the door open but they simply wouldn’t budge.
Luo Bingfeng was surprised to find that the doors had been sealed by many layers of origin arrays, all of them in place to stop him from entering. Overcome by a bad feeling, he channeled his origin power and pushed forcibly, effectively dispersing the arrays and opening the door. He was utterly startled upon entering the room.
Outside of Tidehark, Song Zining was gazing at the fire drenched holy mountain. The outer walls of Tidehark had been drowned in a sea of flames—there was fire everywhere and thick smoke was rolling up into the air. The airships in the sky poured a stream of steel onto the city walls, completely suppressing the defending army. The attacking mercenaries were already approaching the walls. According to normal imperial strategy, these soldiers would push on steadily, relying on the superior aerial firepower to destroy the enemy troops and fortifications. They were also waiting for the experts from each side to start exchanging blows.
The mercenaries from the neutral lands, however, were used to their old ways. Maintaining military order up to this point was already their limit. Some of these soldiers lost their nerve the moment the exchange of fire began, opting to leave their squads to charge up the wall and fight the defenders in fierce melee.
With someone taking the lead, more people began surging toward Tidehark, and the entire attack formation soon broke down. Smily wryly, Song Zining pointed at Tidehark City. “All out attack!”
A scarlet war-banner rose up on the flagship, followed by a series of bugles on the ground. The fully-equipped mercenaries became red in the eyes as they charged valiantly for the kill.
The airships raining suppressive fire on the city walls had no choice but to target the interior of the city, instead, lest they hit friendly forces.
At this point in the battle, the defense system in Tidehark had been largely shattered and the defenders, segregated. Effective resistance was no longer possible. The first wave of mercenaries was already fighting against the defenders on the wall as a steady stream of soldiers joined the fray. Most importantly, the attacking mercenaries had completely suppressed the defenders in terms of equipment and thus their casualties were much smaller.
At this rate, the collapse of the defending force was a matter of time. The citizens who could’ve served as a defensive force dared not act rashly under the gaze of the overlooking warships.
However, everyone knew that this was just the beginning. Victory wasn’t certain even if they could occupy the entire Tidehark City.