Volume One, Chapter 17: The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry Battles the Qing Eight Banners! The Demon Qing's Deception!
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Yet, before the Blood Moon Shaman could finish speaking, her brow suddenly furrowed as her gaze fixed upon the horizon. There, a colossal figure was hurtling toward them from afar at a speed akin to a shooting star. Everyone’s attention snapped to the approaching black object against the sky, their hearts filled with confusion.
Dorgon’s brow knit tightly as he muttered in puzzlement, “That... looks like a cannonball?”
Daishan snorted disdainfully, “What nonsense cannonball? With so many of our strong warriors here, we could crush it with a wave of a hand…”
But before he could finish, the projectile slammed violently into the ranks of the demon army beyond the Shanhaiguan Pass.
With a deafening explosion, the entire world seemed to shudder. A surge of tremendous energy burst forth from the bomb, instantly tearing apart the surrounding space, leaving behind abyssal black cracks like monstrous maws devouring everything nearby.
Following the nuclear blast, a colossal mushroom cloud rose, blotting out the sun and sky. The terrifying radiation seemed poised to reduce all existence to nothingness. The heavens and earth were rent asunder by this overwhelming force.
Dazzling light and violent energy waves swept through the demon army. Millions of demon soldiers perished in an instant beneath this cataclysmic power. Faces once fierce and fanatical twisted into expressions of torment and despair under the bomb’s might. Their bodies were consumed by the fiery inferno or shredded by the shockwave.
Though the demon elites, bolstered by profound cultivation, withstood the direct impact, they suffered grievous radiation poisoning, writhing in agony as their demonic power and vitality drained away. Those who survived wailed across the battlefield, their flesh blackened by the burning radiation, life fading as though Death’s hand gripped their throats.
The Blood Moon Shaman, clutching her crimson divine staff, swiftly conjured an impregnable barrier before Huang Taiji and the others. Countless strange runes and energies intertwined to form an airtight shield, isolating the bomb’s horrid energy and radiation from within.
Her face grave as frost, she fixed her eyes on the ever-expanding mushroom cloud, murmuring incantations as if performing a secret ritual. A faint blood mist began to emanate around her, gleaming with eerie runes and light that seemed to connect to another realm.
Suddenly, the mist condensed into a vast illusory mirror, reflecting not the devastation before them, but the stunning scene of the nuclear bomb’s launch from the Imperial Capital of Shengming. The bomb rose slowly from its launcher, streaking across the sky to unleash its devastating strike, the entire process vividly displayed within the mirror.
Witnessing the bomb’s launch, Huang Taiji stared in disbelief, eyes wide: “This thing actually flew from the Imperial Capital of Shengming, tens of millions of miles away? How is that possible? Since when did Shengming possess such a fearsome weapon?”
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The Blood Moon Shaman stared intently at the mirror’s scene, whispering, “Interesting, interesting... this seemingly settled gamble appears to be quietly shifting.”
“Shengming, Emperor Chongzhen, to undertake such a shocking act…”
“Well then, so be it. I shall intervene personally!”
...
Meanwhile, in the Western Garden Martial Arena of the Imperial Capital of Central Shengming, the second wager was about to commence.
The emissaries of Yaoqing bore cold smiles. The elite warriors they had sent strode into the center of the arena with overwhelming momentum. These eight were the finest of the Yaoqing Eight Banners.
Mounted on colossal Mountain-Shaking Elephants, their massive forms resembled towering mountains, their hides as hard as iron.
The emissaries of Yaoqing regarded Shengming’s side with contempt, their faces twisted in derision.
“The last round was nothing but your lucky break, Shengming!”
“Indeed, if not for the Moists secretly upgrading your firearms, how could you have won?”
“Our Yaoqing Eight Banners’ cavalry and combat prowess are unmatched in the world! This round, your defeat is certain!”
The ministers of Shengming, witnessing the formidable lineup sent by Yaoqing, all wore grave and worried expressions.
“These Mountain-Shaking Elephants are top-tier demon beasts, possessing immense strength and incredible defense. Our cavalry has long since declined—how can we hope to contend with them?”
“Moreover, the eight warriors Yaoqing dispatched are the cream of their Eight Banners, formidable beyond doubt. It will be difficult for Shengming to claim victory in this contest.”
“Alas, it seems our only hope rests on the third round.”
Yet Zhu Youjian, seated high above, maintained his calm and composure. He spoke softly, “We can only say Yaoqing is simply out of luck this time.”
First round was a firearms duel?
Zhu Youjian had the backing of the System Military Factory, championing the path of technological national rejuvenation!
Second round was a cavalry battle?
Under Zhu Youjian’s command stood 100,000 Great Snow Dragon Riders, capable of crushing mountains and rivers, invincible in battle!
Just then, Sun Wukong’s eyes flashed with a sharp gleam.
“Master, I must remind you, these foes are not living beings.”
Zhu Youjian frowned slightly upon hearing this.
“Not living beings? Great Sage, do you know what exactly they are? Could they be reanimated corpses?”
Sun Wukong’s Fiery Eyes could discern all things in the world, able to perceive truths hidden from ordinary sight.
“They must be creations of that girl’s witchcraft, infused with strands of malevolent energy.”
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After hearing Sun Wukong’s warning, Zhu Youjian allowed no hint of complacency in his heart.
“System, summon one thousand Great Snow Dragon Riders at once to bolster the ranks.”
[Beep! One thousand Great Snow Dragon Riders successfully summoned!]
Immediately, a thunderous clatter of iron hooves filled the air, like ten thousand horses thundering, shaking mountains and rivers.
The atmosphere in the entire arena seemed to freeze as all eyes turned instinctively toward the source of the sound.
Over a thousand Great Snow Dragon Riders appeared from thin air. They wore silver armor, brandishing gleaming long spears, astride majestic Great Snow Heavenly Dragon steeds.
The Yaoqing Eight Banners, previously sneering and mocking, were stunned into silence upon seeing the Great Snow Dragon Riders.
“Who… who are these divine warriors?”
“Unknown, but their aura… is terrifying!”
“When did His Majesty cultivate such a powerful cavalry?”
“Does Shengming truly possess such divine troops?”
The Shengming ministers whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with shock and admiration.
At that moment, Zhu Youjian, seated atop the arena, narrowed his eyes slightly and flicked his fingers leisurely.
“Kill them for me!”
Eight Great Snow Dragon Riders surged forth like eight bolts of silver lightning tearing across the sky.
In an instant, the Great Snow Dragon Riders clashed fiercely with the Yaoqing Eight Banners. Spears and blades intertwined in a deadly dance.
The riders stood like peaks, their long spears gleaming with chilling light. The Yaoqing warriors, mounted on their majestic Mountain-Shaking Elephants, wielded blades that flashed coldly, refusing to yield.
Suddenly, a deafening roar rent the sky as a Yaoqing warrior was pierced through the chest by a Great Snow Dragon Rider’s lightning-fast spear strike.
Yet astonishingly, no blood flowed from the wound—instead, black mist dissipated from the warrior’s body.
At the same time, another Great Snow Dragon Rider, agile as a mighty eagle, leapt skyward. With a spear strike brimming with colossal force, he cleaved down upon the massive head of a Mountain-Shaking Elephant.
With a thunderous boom, the colossal beast collapsed, raising clouds of dust that blotted out the sky.
Although the Yaoqing warriors seemed strangely unaffected by pain, the relentless onslaught of the Great Snow Dragon Riders gradually turned the tide against them.
After fierce and protracted combat, the Yaoqing Eight Banners’ warriors were systematically unseated by the Great Snow Dragon Riders.