Chapter 53: A Shocking Sound

The gunpowder had been improved on for many years.

Now, it was much more powerful than before.

In fact, its destructive power had been multiplied many times.

Apart from the gunpowder, they also had kerosene on hand.

They kept refining the kerosene according to the method provided by the emperor. The most flammable kerosene was collected for military use.

After many years, they had a large storage of kerosene in storage.

“Sir, it seems the army of the State of Qi is building scaling ladders.”

“I know! Just let them do it. We need to be cautious about the enemy’s attack from inside,”

An Mu said.

Because of that, they had suffered many losses during the war against Clan Zhao.

Many soldiers and officers surrendered to Clan Zhao at crucial moments.

Some of them even switched sides on the battlefield.

Because of the great loss caused by that, An Mu had intensified the troops’ loyalty training in these last few years.

Three days went by quickly.

Bum! Bum! Bum!

The borderline was filled with the sound of battle drums.

Led by members of the Dark Yin Sect, over one million soldiers began to press onward.

They were emboldened by their larger numbers and even tried to attack and occupy the barriers, even though they were guarded by around 100,000 soldiers.

Two weeks later, the invaders, who had suffered heavy casualties, failed to occupy even one barrier.

It seemed that their attack would soon end in failure.

But the Dark Yin Sect mobilized another two million soldiers.

A month later, these soldiers arrived at their attacking positions.

On one particular day, the soldiers were about to occupy a barrier. Some Dark Yin Sect’s Warriors who were at the Spirit Manipulation Realm opened their bloody mouths and rushed towards the barrier.

Several Warriors at the Saint-level also rushed out to help.

“Hah-hah! Finally, we can enjoy their flesh at will.”

Puff!

Countless drums of oil were opened.

Instantly, the entire barrier was filled with a bad smell.

Sticky oil turned the barrier into an oily swamp.

Almost immediately, several fire arrows flew into the oil swamp.

Boom!

The entire area was instantly covered in roaring flames.

A large area around the barrier turned into a sea of fire.

Only the Saint-level experts at the rear, who had hesitated a bit and didn’t step into the explosion range in time, managed to run back.

After putting out the flames on their bodies, they were totally dumbfounded as they watched that horrible sea of fire.

“Those are invincible flames from the heaven…”

“I…I’ve never…”

The blue sky was quickly obscured by the dense smoke.

In the sea of fire, countless creatures were screaming in pain.

Over two million soldiers and numerous Warriors of the Dark Yin Sect were being devoured by the flames.

Then, the sea of fire started to move forward. In a short while, a large area with a radius of 50 kilometers was covered in fire and smoke.

The fire only went out after three days and three nights.

The survivors couldn’t control their emotions anymore when they heard the screams of those who were about to die.

They wailed.

They screamed.

They lost control of their bladders and bowel movements.

A lot of survivors went mad on the spot.

Among two million invaders, only less than 10,000 survived.

The survivors of the Dark Yin Sect looked deathly pale.

When the fire went out, many stone mountains around the barrier collapsed.

The army of the State of Great Xia came back to the barrier to clean up the battlefield three days after the extinction of the fire.

But it turned out that they almost had nothing to clean up.

After the fire, everything had been burned down to ashes, apart from the hard rocks and stones in the field.

After this fire attack, the State of Qi would never be able to gather three million soldiers again.

The Dark Yin Sect had lost almost all its mid-level Warriors.

“Sh*t!”

In the palace in the Luoshen Mountain.

Zhao Seven shouted as he looked at the battle report in his trembling hands.

“My lord, since those low-level Warriors are so incapable, why didn’t you ask us to join the attack?”

“You know nothing! There is a Swordsman Cultivator who is a tier three Perfected Person in the State of Great Xia.”

After saying that, Zhao Seven paused a bit. Then, he continued to say, “That issue happened 25 years ago.”

“My lord, you mean the guy who eliminated the Xuan Sect?”

“Yes!”

Gasp!

Then, the entire hall dropped into dead silence again.

The guy who eliminated the Xuan Sect was a Swordsman Cultivator.

For so many years, that guy was just like a nightmare in these people’s hearts.

“My plan was to wipe off the State of Great Xia. We could get a lot of nutrients. Also, we could test that Swordsman Cultivator’s attitude towards our invasion and his real strength. I didn’t expect to be defeated by the State of Great Xia’s border army!”

“My lord, you can’t blame us. People of the State of Great Xia are too crafty. Also, it is impossible for us to defend against that sea of fire.”

When the fire was mentioned, the main hall became silent again.

The fire had lit up half the sky.

Horrible…

would not even describe it.

Because of that sea of fire, these Perfected Persons were still shaking in their hearts.

Indeed, those flames seemed to have come down from the heaven.

After this fire attack, the entire State of Qi was lost in sorrow.

Ordinary people and members of the big families didn’t want to talk about the attack of the State of Great Xia again.

Funerals were held in all cities in this nation for many days.

But only personal effects of the deceased were buried in the tombs.

In the audience hall of the State of Great Xia, Liu An punched his chair after reading the report of victory.

“Great!”

We won with such a resounding victory with just the kerosene!

If I call my bluff, I guess the entire South Continent will be conquered by us soon.

Maybe it was not enough!

There were a lot of big families and sects on the South Continent.

Most of those sects had many experts.

Liu An could keep this plan in his heart. But this plan would only be ended in a blind alley if he tried to contend for resources with those sects and families.

“Congratulations, your Majesty!”

All the courtiers knelt down in front of him.

They all looked very excited.

It had been so many years!

They had never scored such a great and easy victory like this in the foreign wars.

“Congratulations!”

“Your Majesty, could you tell me something about that kerosene? How is it so destructive?”

“This is my secret. Stop asking about it.”

In the Shouning Palace, under a peach tree.

On the recliner, Li Mu opened his mouth and bit off half of a peach on a branch.

It is within easy reach! Kerosene…Liu An is really a smart guy.

Li Mu had built an oil lamp because the lamp in the Shouning Palace was too dim and smokey.

Liu An spent a lot of time reading books under that oil lamp when he was young.

Why didn’t he acquire the skill of making this recliner from me? It’s so comfortable!

Crunch!

Crunch! Crunch!

The peach in his mouth was very juicy. Soon, the yard was filled with the sweet smell of peaches.

One year passed by.

The Dark Yin Sect had once again mobilized a big army to attack the State of Great Xia.

This time, all the soldiers were equipped with fireproof clothing. Soon, the first line of defense was broken.

Boom!

When the invaders started to attack the second line of defense, the entire battlefield was turned upside down. A part of the mountains collapsed on them.

Countless soldiers and Warriors were buried alive.

The war had ended again.

In the Underground Palace in the Luoshen Mountain, Zhao Seven was sitting by facing a stone wall.

Behind him, an elder who was in a black robe said reverently,

“My lord, all the spies that we sent to the State of Great Xia have disappeared.”

“You don’t need to search for them. I bet they have already been eliminated by Liu Rui. We won’t get any useful information no matter how many spies we send into this nation.”

Zhao Seven’s mouth and eyes were twitching.

“My lord, should we continue to collect information about their gunpowder?”

“Let’s take a pause now.”

Zhao Seven’s lips trembled a bit as he waved his hand.

Several million soldiers had been killed again.

Now, he had lost almost all the mid-level Warriors in the Dark Yin Sect.

Also, over 100 Warriors at the Saint-level were also killed by the explosion.

The loss was equivalent to one and a half Xuan Sect.

“I can’t afford any more losses like this!”

Zhao Seven said bitterly.

So many soldiers…so many Warriors…

If these soldiers and Warriors were used for nutrients, they would have cultivated a lot of Perfected Persons.

Even Zhao Seven could also reach the Upper Level of the Perfected Person.

“I guess I am not able to recover the cost even I can get rid of the State of Great Xia.”

Zhao Seven was quite entangled.

He went back to his room and opened that mirror.

“Master, I’ve done my best. But I failed! I lost a lot of experts this time. Master, do you have any idea?”

“No, I don’t have any idea! You didn’t come here to save me with your underlings. Does it mean you are planning something else?”

Zhao Seven was not able to see the expression of the shadow in the mirror clearly.

“Master, please don’t wrong me. You know my underlings remain friendly with me on the surface but they are estranged at heart. Some of them even blame me for turning them into demons. If I took them to save you, they might help me when everything goes smoothly. However, if we meet with setbacks…”

“That’s enough! I know that. I noticed your test today. Those people are afraid of a single Swordsman Cultivator! What a group of cowards.”

“Master, you used to be a prime demon. Do you have any idea about saving me?”

“I am trying to work out a solution these days. But a guy keeps popping in my head. If I can absorb his Cultivation Achievements and blood, I will be able to come out. Then, all your problems will be solved.”