The few who had previously visited Taoyuan County and narrowly escaped sensed something was wrong and quietly retreated behind the crowd….

Jiang Hu swept his right arm outward, blocking his brothers, and shouted loudly toward the city wall. “What is the meaning of this! Why have you broken the wall!”

Low laughter rippled across the city wall.

At this moment, soldiers at the cannons were still loading ammunition.

Ao Chen cupped his hands into a megaphone and called out. “General! Our Taoyuan County walls are in disrepair. The walls are hollow, and the stone slabs aren’t secure!”

“With so many people entering the city today, the commotion might shake loose the stone slabs, so we removed them in advance to avoid startling you, General!”

What nonsense!

Jiang Hu cursed silently, then asked. “Then what are those objects behind the stone slabs?”

“Those are the wall supports! Please wait a moment longer, General. Once we clear the debris, we’ll open the city gate immediately.”

Supports? Jiang Hu frowned as he carefully observed.

Something wasn’t right. Something was definitely wrong. There must be a trap.

He turned and ordered his men. “Brothers, tighten formation and stay alert!”

Twelve cannons lined the city wall, all fully loaded. The artillery soldiers waited for Ao Chen’s command.

Ao Chen watched as the people below began to contract their formation and slowly opened his mouth wider.

These people really wanted to die quickly… they were making it too easy!

Seeing that the formation below had been adjusted, Ao Chen raised an arm expressionlessly.

Jiang Hu narrowed his eyes at the strange gesture and asked. “What are you doing? Why haven’t you opened the gate for this general yet?”

“FIRE!!!”

The artillery soldiers took up the prepared torches and lit the fuses.

In the next moment, thunderous sounds filled the skies above Taoyuan County.

Twelve tongues of flame shot out from the cannon barrels simultaneously!!

At such close range, even with poor accuracy, the cannons couldn’t possibly miss!

The twelve cannonballs scattered precisely and evenly among the formation of over a thousand men!

BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!!

When the cannonballs struck the ground, they exploded with shocking force.

Jiang Hu, who had no time to react, felt his ears go WHOOSH!

“!————”

His heart stopped for an instant! In the next second, he felt his horse go wild beneath him, throwing him into the air!

Falling to the ground, Jiang Hu had lost all ability to think, almost ceasing to breathe.

All he could see was a chaotic tangle of horse hooves… and the bodies of his brothers, their faces frozen in terror and agony.

And dismembered limbs… severed arms… blood and gore…

Boundless Merit… was this the Boundless Merit the prince wanted!?!

After several seconds, the buzzing in Jiang Hu’s ears and the sounds of wailing gradually grew louder. He struggled to prop up his upper body and called out pitifully to the crowd. “Brothers, run! Run!!!”

But no one responded. Everyone had been frightened out of their wits by this weapon that seemed like divine punishment!

In an instant, there was trampling and shouting, with screams of terror everywhere!

At this moment, artillery made its debut in this world, revealing for the first time the ferocious face it would wear throughout history!

BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!

The second round of cannon fire followed immediately!

Again, thunderous explosions erupted on level ground, and countless stone fragments shot out in all directions, piercing through innumerable fragile bodies.

The horses were no longer rideable.

Those who still retained their senses abandoned their horses and fled.

But their speed was much slower, and even if they could dodge the cannonballs, they couldn’t escape the stone fragments exploding from the ground.

Though Jiang Hu had thrown himself flat, several stone fragments still pierced his body.

Perhaps due to severe internal injuries, Jiang Hu began to cough up fresh blood.

Looking at his brothers still in panic, he called out painfully. “Run… quickly!! Hide under the city gate!! They can’t shoot us there…”

Hearing his command, some began to flee toward the city gate.

The commander was right!

Those black tubes clearly couldn’t target the area beneath the gate. As long as they hid there, they would be safe.

Even if they were captured, it didn’t matter anymore.

As long as they lived… and escaped this hell, anything would be better!!

Ao Chen watched as dozens, then hundreds of people swarmed toward the city gate and immediately shouted. “Explosive packages!”

He had anticipated this situation.

The area beneath the gate was a blind spot, beyond the cannons’ range, which was perfect for explosive packages to fill the gap.

As more and more people gathered below, the lit explosive packages began to rain down upon them.

Jiang Hu had given up struggling. He was fortunate not to have suffered too severe a direct hit, but one of his legs seemed to have been broken by a panicked horse, and his ears had been deafened again by the second round of cannon fire.

Watching his remaining brothers huddle together under the city gate, his eyes filled with sorrow.

How could this happen… how could this be!

They hadn’t even seen Taoyuan County’s soldiers, yet they were already routed… he had over eighteen hundred elite troops!

They were considered elites among elites in any regiment in the capital!

And they had been crushed to defeat in just moments!?

But before he could lament further, several fireballs appeared before Jiang Hu’s eyes.

His brothers, who had been huddled together trembling beneath the gate just moments ago, now all lay on the ground.

The thick city gate had been blasted ragged, with some parts completely blown through.

Countless splatters of fresh blood and organ fragments covered it, like a scene painted from hell…..

Xiao Tao covered her ears, turning her head away from the gruesome sight.

Ao Chen also swallowed hard. No one in the county had fought in a war before, and such a brutal scene was truly terrifying.

The explosive packages and cannonballs were incredibly powerful, with effects on human bodies beyond imagination!

But Zhang Biao remained impassive. Seeing that enough damage had been done, he quickly shouted. “Cease fire! Stop throwing explosive packages too!”

“Xiao Tao, stay up here and keep watch for me. I’ll take some men to clean up!”

The cannon fire stopped. Jiang Hu had survived by sheer luck.

But his eyes had lost their light. Through Taoyuan County’s damaged gate, his lifeless eyes could vaguely make out troops in formation waiting behind it.

Before long, Zhang Biao led his troops to Jiang Hu’s side.

Jiang Hu raised his head to stare vacantly at Zhang Biao looking down at him. His heart filled with grief and self-reproach, then suddenly he gave a self-mocking smile. “I’ve lost. If you want to kill me…”

Before he could finish, Zhang Biao stomped on his other good leg, breaking it.

Jiang Hu let out a howl and passed out…

Zhang Biao shouted loudly. “Brothers, quickly pursue those who escaped! Don’t bother with the wounded. Break their legs, leave them where they are, and we’ll deal with them when we return!!!”

“Yes!!!”

Watching the cavalry scatter to chase the fleeing enemies, Xiao Tao said solemnly to Ao Chen. “This is serious. Quickly interrogate those people. I need to return to the capital soon to report this to His Highness the Crown Prince. Continue to post guards, and repair the city gate immediately!”

Ao Chen nodded gravely.

Outside Haiyuan City.

Fang Zheng’s caravan had arrived….