Chapter 1195: Fights (2/2)

Qianye’s figure appeared at the bow of the ship, where he saw a ballista bolt half-nailed into the outer plate of the battlecruiser.

As a veteran, the captain had adjusted the airship’s body as soon as he saw that evasion wasn’t possible. The armor on this part was the thickest on the entire airship.

Qianye went forth with East Peak and cut off the protruding bit. The bolt was extremely solid inside. If it was a homing explosive bolt like the Empire’s newest model, the explosion would have blasted away the armor on the airship’s bow.

The battlecruiser might be able to take this attack, but the other airships couldn’t!

At this point, three more turrets rose up, their top ends opening as they each fired a homing ballista bolt.

The first bolt shot toward a corvette, the next at the battlecruiser, and the last one flew toward the back.

Qianye had no time to think. His silhouette flickered as he appeared beside the corvette. East Peak slashed six times, cutting the incoming projectile into pieces with Sweeping Calm. The battlecruiser shook violently after it was struck once again. Fortunately, this bolt pierced the thickest part of the ship’s armor as well.

Qianye’s expression shifted as he looked back. The last ballista bolt was aiming for the transport at the back! The slow airship naturally couldn’t get away from firing range—the bolt shot through the vessel and flew a thousand meters into the air before falling back down.

A large defect appeared in the mid-section of the airship, ejecting flames and human silhouettes. Alarms rang loudly on the transport as it fell in a nosedive.

Just as the airship was about to be destroyed, one of the cabin doors popped open amidst a gush of steam. It was apparently forced open from the inside. The transport then began to spin, throwing out one mercenary after the other.

Only at this point did Qianye heave a sigh of relief.

This response was the wisest choice. Those on the airship were elite mercenaries with no lack of those at rank five, six, or even higher. Most of them would only be injured and not die after falling from such a height. The alternative was staying in the burning airship that would soon turn into a coffin of raging flames.

To be able to fling out the mercenaries while avoiding the potential explosion radius, this captain was definitely quick-witted.

Once the mercenaries were on flat ground, Qianye would have no worries about their fighting power. No one was better than these mercenaries in urban warfare.

Next was Dark Flame’s turn to fire.

Even the high-power cannon turrets from the main cities of Great Qin couldn’t fire very quickly. The reloading time for these four cannon towers was even slower. The battlecruiser captain had already started preparing for an attack after the first maneuver, and now, he was ready. The rumble of the main cannon was quickly followed by the destruction of half a cannon turret.

The battlecruiser kept turning without confirming the outcome of the last shot, and was soon aiming at a different turret. The three corvettes in the air were also in combat positions. They charged from a high-altitude, guns blazing, and drowning the third cannon turret in a sea of flames.

Only the final cannon turret was left. Another ballista bolt had just appeared from the inside, and a big cloud of steam drowned out the tower as the gears accumulated kinetic energy. This time, its target was no longer the battlecruiser, but one of the corvettes instead.

In the blink of an eye, the tower had completed the accumulation process. The giant ballista was trembling and rearing to fire when, all of a sudden, Qianye appeared above it. He rammed a steel beam into the cannon, jamming its cartridge and mechanical parts.

How could the officer in charge react to the sudden changes? After completing a series of adjustments, he stepped down on the firing pedal out of instinct. However, the giant ballista was jammed, leaving no space for the kinetic power to escape. Soon, the energy reached critical levels and the steel casing of the turret bulged up visibly.

The turret exploded amidst the desperate cries of the soldiers and officers. The massive energy flung metal parts—some weighing several tons—hundreds of meters into the air! How could the human body withstand such a force? The soldiers inside never made it out and died without even a corpse left.

Qianye returned to the bridge of the battlecruiser to find the captain issuing orders nervously. He gestured for the man to continue, and that he didn’t need to ask for instructions.

The captain issued a constant stream of orders, commanding the massive warship to circle around the city. This maximized the firepower of its side cannons as they destroyed the city’s smaller turrets.

With the four main turrets gone, there was nothing left in Expansive that could pose a threat to Qianye.

The defenses in the city were more powerful than expected, so Qianye decided to be patient. He watched as the battlecruiser circled above, clearing away one street block after the other.

After an entire hour, when there was no more cannon or ballista fire in the city, Qianye ordered the land forces to enter.

Qianye himself made a beeline for the city lord’s residence, silencing the guards with Life Plunder. As he entered the main hall, he saw a powerful-looking old man with white hair on the throne. The old man slowly stood up and hoisted a large battle axe over his shoulder—it would seem that he was waiting for Qianye.

The latter didn’t attack immediately. As such, Qianye spoke, “Nan Ruohuai will make for a good king of Zheng. Why can you not see this? You should know that you don’t stand half a chance.”