Chapter 1088.
As the bridgehead of Qin’s eastward invasion, the Solid Gold Pass not only stationed an elite legion, but also relocated a large number of artisans, handymen and slaves to serve with the army.
As a result, a large number of houses were built inside the fortress, and it had already formed the pattern of a city.
However, today, this fortress city, which had not been established for a long time, was facing a catastrophe.
A shell whistled down from the sky, generating a violent and incomparable explosion, one house was destroyed and collapsed, and countless soldiers and civilians were hit by the flying shrapnel or crushed underneath the houses.
Even more terrifying was that the flames from the explosions ignited the wood and grass that were hoarded inside the Solid Gold Pass, quickly causing widespread fires that brought even more casualties.
At this time, no matter if it was ordinary people or martial artists, all of them were running around in fear, screams, cries, and cries for help were intertwined, as if it was hell on earth.
The people in the fortress were enduring unprecedented torment and tribulation, and the Qin troops guarding the walls were not feeling well either.
The gunners of the Western Expeditionary Army had readjusted their firing parameters after a few rounds of shelling.
The shots were more accurate.
The first thing they dealt with was not the Qin army, but the latter’s artillery deployed on the city walls, naming them one by one.
Since they had a great advantage in range, these artillerymen could display their skills as comfortably as possible.
One after another, the shells exploded on the city wall, and although the frequency of firing was not high, each of them contained terrifying power, easily destroying the Qin’s cannons and heavy crossbows and other weapons.
There were also a lot of Qin soldiers who were killed or injured by the bombardment.
The shelling lasted for half an hour before it was suspended, because the chamber of the cannon was overheated, and it would easily blow up if the shelling continued.
But at this time Wang Dust struck again.
He put the Divine Might Cannon into the Cang Qing Ring before taking it out again, and the former instantly returned to its normal temperature.
Although this inevitably consumed some of this precious ring’s energy, it ensured the continuous firepower output of the Divine Might Cannon, allowing the Qin troops inside the Solid Gold Pass to catch their breath before they were dealt another painful blow.
The cannons placed on the walls were destroyed in large numbers without working, the casualties of the generals were getting heavier and heavier, and the Qin troops cowering inside the Solid Gold Pass finally couldn’t hold back any longer.
The heavy iron gate creaked and slowly lifted up, and a group of Qin hussars came out, rushing towards the heavy artillery platform where Wang Chen was located as fast as possible.
They had no choice but to fight to the death!
However, Wang Duan was prepared and had already deployed a defense array in front of the high platform.
He led tens of thousands of cavalry troops, who could either mount their horses and run for thousands of miles, or dismount and act as foot soldiers, all armed to the teeth with long cannons.
Moreover, there are dozens of field artillery in the array.
When the Qin hussars attacked in force, one of the field artillery was the first to fire a solid shell, plowing a bloody path through the former’s ranks.
The second shot was loaded with grapeshot, or loose shells.
Dozens of cannons fired in unison, and hundreds of Qin hussars fell in unison like wheat swept by a scythe.
The casualties were so gruesome that it was unbearable to witness!
The Qin Hussars who were forced into a desperate situation were also brave and courageous, the huge casualties did not make them collapse, instead, it aroused the will to fight to the death, and one by one, they waved their swords and continued to charge.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A whirlwind suddenly blew across the battlefield, and a spray of blood soared out from the bodies of countless Qin riders, who fell to the ground with screams.
This was the blow from the cannons.
The front row of soldiers finished firing and retreated, and the ones at the back continued to fire, one by one, the warriors with flint cannons alternated back and forth, killing all the attacking enemies in front of the formation.
Only a few Qin riders who rushed to the front shot arrows at their opponents, but they were sparse and not much of a threat at all.
They were obviously the strongest experts in the Qin army, who immediately threw down their bows and arrows, jumped down from their horses, and utilized all kinds of flexible stances to approach the Western Expeditionary Army, trying to turn the tide of the battle by virtue of their own strength.
These experts were immediately caught in the crossfire, and many of them were shot into a sieve on the spot.
However, there were also a few Qin people with extremely high cultivation who rushed to the front of the formation and were about to wield their swords to start a massacre, when a fifth-ranked Martial Sect lurking among the Western Expeditionary Army blatantly attacked and blocked the attack.
Hundreds of other fourth-ranked generals assisted them!
Although the Qin army did not lack the existence of fifth-ranked Martial Zongs, it was not possible for the Western Expeditionary Army to wait for the enemy to come, and also occupied an absolute advantage in terms of numbers, and was soon surrounded and killed on the spot.
The attacking Qin army was completely annihilated!
The battle didn’t last long, but the Qin army side dropped thousands of corpses in front of the Western Expeditionary Army.
The loss was a complete mess.
And the result of this made the Qin army inside the Solid Gold Pass give up their last delusion and stopped coming out of the pass even though they were bombarded by heavy artillery.
They re-closed the iron gates, and all of them withdrew from the city walls, cowering inside the city and no longer showing their heads.
Seeing such a scene, Wang Duan ordered to stop the shelling.
He put away all the Divine Might cannons and then led the Western Expeditionary Army forward.
Since the enemy’s artillery had all been destroyed, this time the army once again set up an attack formation at a position just about a mile from the city wall.
Wang Chen once again unleashed the Divine Might Cannon and aimed it at the iron gate of the Solid Gold Pass.
“Blast through it!”
The Divine Might Cannon roared once again, and a solid cannonball flew towards the gate.
The gate of the Solid Gold Pass was made of fine iron and ironwood, with a three-layered structure in the front and back, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, and was impossible to breach under normal circumstances.
However, under the repeated bombardment of the Divine Might cannons, it was continuously twisted and deformed, and soon suffered serious breakage.
When this gate was about to collapse, Wang Dust had the cannons stopped.
Holding the Seven Extremities Great Sword, he suddenly pranced forward and swept out, his speed as if he was an arrow out of the string.
In the next moment, Wang Chen swung his sword and heavily chopped at the broken gate.
Boom!
Only an earth-shaking roar could be heard, and the huge iron gate was like a camel crushed by the last straw, instantly bursting apart in pieces.
The Qin troops guarding behind the gate were caught off guard, and were instantly killed and injured by the shattered gate that flew in backwards.
“Kill!”
Wang Dust was the first to kill his way into the fortress.
Behind him, thousands of Great Zhou elite cavalry swept in, forming an irresistible torrent!
When this army rushed into the Solid Gold Pass, the Qin army’s defeat was irrevocable.
Although many Qin soldiers showed enough bravery in the alleyway battles that followed, the defeat had already taken place, and the valor of a few could not withstand the cannons and swords.
The battle lasted from morning to late night.
Later on, after counting, 53,000 Qin soldiers were killed at the Solid Gold Pass, while more than 70,000 auxiliary soldiers, handymen and slaves were slaughtered, and in the end, not even one percent of them survived!