Chapter 889: One Arrow

(Plans always fail to keep up with changes. I had no time to write at all today, and tomorrow I have to accompany my wife to look at range hoods, so I'll extend the delay again.)

The Green Dragon Army's position stood in solemn silence. Suddenly a burst of drumbeats sounded, and tens of thousands of troops let out a tsunami-like battle cry, their terrifying momentum shrouding all directions like storm clouds pressing down.

Wen Fangliang's face darkened, and he shouted, "Fire rockets!"

All observation officers, observers, and rocket squad leaders of the light and heavy rocket battalions shouted in unison, "Fire rockets!"

Each igniter immediately lit the fuse and lead of every rocket. The fire lines suddenly hissed and burned fiercely. Amidst flying sparks, the leads burned to their ends, and suddenly thick flames spewed from the tail of each rocket, then great billows of dense smoke enveloped the area around the rocket launch troughs.

Propelled by the powerful fiery thrust, first one hundred light rockets weighing thirty to forty jin each soared into the air. After flying out of their launch troughs, they spun rapidly under the effect of the inclined tail plates, then emitted a shrill, piercing shriek that tore through the air.

Even a volley of a thousand cannons could not match the spectacle of a hundred rockets fired at once, for solid iron cannonballs have no smoke or fire, while the hundred rockets in the sky all trailed long, enchantingly beautiful tail flames, like shooting stars falling from the heavens, giving one an indescribable sense of awe.

Trailing brilliant flames, they emitted heart-stopping shrieks in the air, like falling meteorites, howling as they descended toward their targets.

Wen Fangliang and the others watched those specks of orange-red firelight fall, like cluster bombs. From the bandit army's formation, enormous bursts of flame and thunderous explosions continuously erupted. Clusters of flame mushroomed upward, and they could clearly see the scene of wolves fleeing and boars charging — panic and chaos.

Clearly, just a volley of a hundred rockets had achieved an exceptionally good effect.

The bandit old camp had previously eaten few rockets. Relying on a spirit of arrogance, they believed themselves invincible, but facts proved that no one could resist the power of such firearms, especially the pseudo-elite troops of the bandit old camp.

"Fire!"

The previous hundred rockets had just hit the ground when the next hundred rockets from the rear rocket battalion fired in unison. The sky seemed to darken for a moment, then turned bright again. With another shrill howl, a hundred rockets once more screamed upward into the sky, trailing long tail flames.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

The sky was filled with trails of smoke and fire. Rockets fell like rain, and the flames covering the horizon seemed about to set the sky ablaze.

Rockets streaked across, and over there it looked a patch of crimson, like fiery clouds at sunset. The sky was full of falling shooting stars. The bandit side had fallen into complete chaos. Countless men and horses ran and roared. This unprecedented power terrified them to the point of despair, plunging them utterly into madness and bewilderment.

"Fire!"

This time it was a volley of two hundred rockets.

"Fire!"

The heavy rockets howled as they soared into the air.

The choking smell of gunpowder smoke assaulted the nostrils and suffocated. The loaders had all stripped off their shirts. They carried rocket after rocket, swiftly loading them into the launch troughs and firing them off. The observation officers occasionally issued commands, directing each rocket launch trough to adjust its angle.

However, facing such a vast and extensive military formation target, not much precision was needed; only saturation coverage was required.

"Meteor summoning."

Wang Dou watched that magnificent scene with intoxicated fascination. This was truly a weapon of mass destruction. Rockets were the natural enemy of dense military formations. Especially faced with such a sudden and sharp strike, few armies could withstand it.

Just like the machine guns of yesteryear, when first used on a large scale, several hundred German guns swept randomly, and the British army suffered sixty thousand casualties in a single day.

By conservative estimate, if the blasts hit well, a volley of a hundred rockets could sometimes even inflict one to two thousand casualties on the enemy. The Green Dragon Army had fired two thousand rockets in one breath here. The exact number was hard to say, but it was certain that the bandit old camp's casualties exceeded ten thousand.

This was an extraordinary result, for the bandit old camp was very hard to kill, because they were too good at running.

They might be no good at fighting, but their skill at fleeing was world-class.

The Crown Prince Zhu Cilang clenched his fists tightly, his face turning purple-red with excitement.

Chen Xinjia fiercely said to Ji Shiwei beside him, "We must build more rockets, build a hundred thousand, no, a million rockets."

The others, Hou Xun, Feng Shikong, Lin Rirui, and the rest, watched with dazzled eyes and shaken spirits, all letting out sighs of satisfaction.

The shrill howls were like soul-reaping talismans. The earth trembled amidst the explosions. Surging blast waves spread in all directions. Everywhere, mules, horses, and soldiers lay fallen in pools of blood. Wreckage and corpses, the smells of char and blood assaulted the nostrils directly.

Yang Shaofan's face was ashen. He had come driving the musket battalion forward with a sliver of hope, but never expected such a result.

Watching the people around him scurrying and shouting like headless flies, and his trusted aides yelling something at him, Yang Shaofan kept a cold face, ignored everything, spurred his horse, and thus vanished into the chaotic crowd.

Old Hu's mouth hung open. His right flank was not the key area targeted by the Jingbian Army's rockets, but it was not without rockets falling. Explosions that seemed to shatter mountains and split the earth, madly screaming and shouting horses and men, the increasingly thick smoke, dust, and heat waves, the overturned corpses of men and horses visible everywhere, and the scattered fragments of armor, banners, and insignia.

So these were the weapons of the Jingbian Army. When they were far away earlier, he hadn't felt it, but now with their close-range saturation fire, it felt like being thrown into purgatorial flames.

He and Kong San exchanged a glance, both nodding. Old Hu instructed Batiao, "Raise the flag in a moment, and tie white cloths on your arms, so we don't get killed by mistake."

Then they fiercely spurred their horses: "Hyah!"

Over a hundred riders, the most elite warriors of the Mountain Patrol Camp, galloped like a whirlwind toward Dongsheng Ridge. Every face bore determination. They were all peripheral personnel developed by Kong San and his men. Perhaps they had hesitated earlier, but seeing the bandits' current state, they were finished, ten times out of ten. If they didn't earn merit and switch sides now, when would they?

When they reached Dongsheng Ridge, Li Zicheng was staring blankly at the wilderness filled with wailing and chaotic crowds. Everywhere, wounded horses neighed, everywhere, old camp horse troops struggled to flee. The ground was covered with the corpses of men and horses. The black smoke on the earth had not yet dispersed, and more soul-reaping shrieks fell from the sky.

The sky full of fiery meteors even fell heavily into his central guard troops, blasting them into wolves fleeing and boars charging, their wails filling the sky. It was over. His tens of thousands of old camp troops, finished. The elite he had sifted out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Perhaps his leaving the capital to fight, even coming to the capital region, had been a fatal mistake.

Ridiculously, he had initially thought he still had the strength to fight, and had even felt satisfied with the army's formation speed. Now it seemed the Jingbian Army had not exerted much effort. Perhaps they simply wanted to get closer.

The collapse of the great army was imminent, but Li Zicheng was powerless. He felt a bone-deep despair. Everything he had was finished.

At that moment, hoofbeats sounded. It was Li Guo rushing over, with only a few dozen riders around him, all in a wretched state.

With a tearful voice, he said, "Uncle, go quickly... let's return to the capital immediately..."

Liu Zongmin had already gone down the ridge to command the central guard troops. Li Yan was still on the ridge. He watched the chaotic battle lines below, the earth-shattering cries, the army's collapse imminent, and no one could possibly restore their reason or discipline. He said dejectedly, "Great King, as Marquis of Bo says, withdraw the troops and return to the capital. Perhaps there is still a chance to fight..."

At that moment, the clatter of hooves sounded chaotically. It was Old Hu and Kong San, their faces full of panic, arriving with over a hundred riders. Li Guo was overjoyed and said, "Tadilong, you've come at the right time. Quickly gather the troops and protect the Great King on his return to the capital."

Old Hu did not speak. Kong San swept his gaze around and said, "Not informing the Chief Sentinel, Lord Liu?"

Li Yan looked over suspiciously. Suddenly he shouted, "Watch out!"

Li Zicheng looked over, stunned. With a whoosh, an arrow pierced his right eye. Blood immediately sprayed out. Li Zicheng let out a great cry and instantly tumbled off his horse.