Chapter 270: The Partial Deity Favors His Own Again
Chapter 270: The Partial Deity Favors His Own Again
The bomb exploded!
With a deafening roar, the explosion’s fiery light and flying rubble churned outward amid surging heat waves. Unfortunately, this bomb was Xu Dafu’s experimental creation based on older concept designs. It contained no small steel pellets nor was it wrapped in sheet metal, so there was no such thing as ‘shrapnel’.
Still, black powder’s explosive force was considerable even without shrapnel. Anyone caught directly in the blast faced a gruesome fate.
The two bandit soldiers at the epicenter were blown into the air, while those nearby were also violently thrown back. Thick smoke billowed, dust swirled, engulfing the bandit forces in a dense shroud.
On the city walls, Liang Shixian and Fang Wushang stared in stunned unison. The militia, local gentry, and common citizens, however, erupted in cheers: “Impressive!”
From within the bandit ranks enveloped in smoke, curses flew thick and fast.
“What the hell was that?”
“Gunpowder! They wrapped gunpowder in a big black ball and tossed it over.”
“Damn it, that ain’t new. Just a rudimentary bomb. If our supply lines weren’t cut, we could toss those too.”
“The problem is, we don’t have supplies right now.”
“Damn it, what do we do now? Can’t just lie here and get blown up!”
Captain Wolf, standing behind the formation, scowled fiercely. The enemy actually dared use two exceptionally strong, long-armed warriors to hurl bombs.
Bombs were hardly rare or formidable weapons. Their limited throwing range and insufficient power made them practically useless; border armies generally didn’t bother with them.
But now he was the rebel leader, short on equipment. Essential gear like “shield carts” for blocking firearms? He didn’t have a single one.
Without shield carts to protect against firearms, any volley from the Three-Eyed Divine Firearms would force his soldiers to hit the dirt or crouch down, halting their advance until the volley ended.
But how should they deal with bombs falling out of the sky while they were pinned down?
Enraged, Captain Wolf roared: “RUN! CHARGE!”
Only the last twenty-some yards remained. Charging soldiers would close the gap swiftly.
Just then, Cheng Xu also bellowed an order: “Light the fuses on the remaining seven Three-Eyed Divine Firearms! Big Fool, Reckless Bull! Keep throwing the bombs!”
The two simpletons, Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu, immediately produced another pair of bombs. Soldiers beside them lit the fuses and simultaneously ignited the match cords on the seven Three-Eyed Divine Firearms.
The match cord crackled and burned, but this time, the bandits couldn’t see it.
Their formation was still engulfed in swirling yellow dust from the previous two explosions. Moreover, they were preoccupied with the fear of more bombs falling. Though not overwhelmingly powerful, what if one landed right on their heads?
Screw it, charging was better.
The bandit forces roared savagely as one and surged forward.
This headlong charge propelled them straight into the “effective range” of the Three-Eyed Divine Firearms, where their lethality became all too real.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Seven Three-Eyed Divine Firearms spat out twenty-one lead balls. Several bandit toughs leading the charge fell immediately. Then, the two simpletons swung their arms, hurling two more bombs into the heart of the advancing bandit horde.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two more detonations shattered the air; two more plumes of dust and smoke erupted. Bandit soldiers at the hypocenter were hurled skyward, while those nearby were sent sprawling.
The bandit formation descended into utter chaos.
A disordered formation was disastrous. They were now within spear-thrust reach of the enemy – the critical moment for spear formation combat. The disordered side, naturally, its spear formation would also be in disarray, handing a significant advantage to the unbroken side.
The militia’s forest of spears stood erect toward the front, radiating intimidating might.
Fearing another humiliating bomb attack, the rebels had no choice but to charge forward recklessly.
The opposing spear formations clashed immediately.
Witnessing this, Li Daoxuan’s heart tightened involuntarily. It was time to intervene.
His little people were merely an inexperienced militia local gentry. In a head-to-head clash against a spear formation, they stood no chance. He brought them here to gain combat experience, not to die.
Therefore, when it was necessary to activate the golden hand to assist, he would do so.
For now, he didn’t wear gloves. He inserted his bare hand into the box and gently brushed aside the rebels’ forward-extended spear formation with his fingertip…
Those spears were as slender and small as hairs on a caterpillar. When Li Daoxuan’s finger brushed against them, the immense force immediately tilted all those thin, delicate spears uniformly to one side.
The militia, panic-stricken by the wall of spears thrusting toward them, suddenly realized every enemy spear had veered askew…
“Huh?”
“Huh your mother!” Cheng Xu bellowed. “Attack!”
The militia snapped out of their daze, hurriedly thrusting their own spears forward with force.
The iron spear tips slammed into the front ranks of the rebel soldiers, producing sickening “pfft pfft” sounds. If they struck armor plates, penetration was impossible, but the force still knocked enemy soldiers to the ground.
If thrusts landed where the armor offered no coverage, they tore through thick cotton cloth directly into the enemy’s flesh.
The rebels shrieked in agony; the entire first rank crumpled instantly.
Watching from the rear, Captain Wolf froze in utter disbelief. “Why? Why did you suddenly make your spears swerve aside?”
He wasn’t the only one bewildered; the observers in the city were equally stunned.
Even Liang Shixian, who knew nothing of warfare, remarked in surprise, “These rebel band in Guyuan seem worse at fighting than I am. Even I know spears should point at the enemy. Why would they suddenly tilt all their spears sideways in unison?”
Fang Wushang chimed in, “Makes no sense!”
Of course, one person understood. That was Gao Yiye.
She explained to those beside her, “The Deity acted just now. The venerable one extended His hand and nudged Captain Wolf’s spear formation aside.”
“So that’s what happened!”
The devout followers around her rejoiced, “I wondered why the rebels suddenly acted so foolishly! So it was the Deity intervening. All hail the Deity!”
“The Deity protects us!”
The pious men and women quickly began spreading the news through the crowd.
“Did you hear? The rebel spear formation suddenly tilted because the Deity gave it a little push.”
“The Deity’s great hand descended just now. He used an invisible method, so ordinary people couldn’t see it.”
The news swept across the city walls with astonishing speed, spreading like an infection.
Below, the battle between militia and rebels raged fiercely. As the opposing spear formations thrust and parried, Li Daoxuan continued his relentless sabotage with the very tip of his finger.
One rebel had just raised his spear to thrust when an enormous force tapped it. His spear instantly sagged downward. Seizing the moment, an opposing militia soldier drove his spear forward, toppling the rebel.
Another rebel had his spear knocked away by Li Daoxuan. Drawing his waist knife, he tried to fight on. Li Daoxuan gave the knife a light flick with his fingertip. The blade flew from the man’s grip. The militia opposite capitalized, thrusting a spear that sent this foe sprawling too.
With such unscrupulous aid, the battle naturally tilted overwhelmingly in one direction!
The militia held the upper hand clearly.