novelraw Chapter 77 : Please Enter the Urn (1/9)
Chapter 77 : Please Enter the Urn (1/9)
Chapter 77: Please Enter the Urn (1/9)
Canglong Pass, the Ridge of the Burial Dragon.
This mighty fortress, spanning the enormous rift within the Burial Dragon Mountain Range, resembled a slumbering primordial dragon, exuding an eternal majesty and a chilling aura of slaughter.
The fortress stretched twelve li in length and five li in width. Its walls were not made of ordinary bricks or stones, but quarried from the profound Gang Rock deep within the Burial Dragon Mountains.
The entire surface bore a cold, heavy shade of iron gray.
The walls rose to a height of two hundred and sixty zhang, almost piercing the leaden clouds that hung low in the sky.
The battlements, sharp as dragon’s fangs, were lined with grim shooting holes and lookout slits.
At this moment, on the inner-facing walls of Canglong Pass, smoke and fire already filled the sky as the sound of battle shook the land.
Thunderous explosions resounded one after another—these were the Hongyi Cannons purchased from Anxi Prefecture, built according to the blueprints provided by Xu Guangqi, now roaring in fury.
Their cannon barrels were engraved with intricate crimson runes. Each time they fired, the cannonballs shot out at blinding speed.
When the projectiles struck the Jin soldiers, they crushed them into pulp before detonating violently, with blazing flames instantly devouring all the nearby Jin troops.
Under the Fortune-Appraising Treasure Mirror, countless specks of fate light filled its mirrored surface.
At a more concealed position before the ridgeline lay the “Carriage Camp,” that terrifying war beast.
Seventeen thousand gryphon riders had folded their wings, their sharp eagle eyes piercing through gaps in the leaves, locking firmly on the movements above the valley.
They were like prehistoric beasts lurking in the shadows, waiting for their prey to step into the range of their trap.
Then, with their unmatched weight and strength, they would crush all enemies attempting to charge directly through or flee down the main road.
They tirelessly harassed and wore down the defenders’ stamina and the will of Canglong Pass’s garrison, all to await the moment of that fatal strike from within the fortress.
A full thousand modified Hongyi Light Cannons engraved with the armor-piercing runes of Yue Fei stood ready.
Heavy troops also lay hidden on the left hillside.
They were the Pacifying Rebels Army’s seventeen thousand Giant Elephant Cavalry.
A murderous aura surged skyward; even the howling wind seemed to skirt around the edges of the army formation.
And within the mirror, fifty li northeast of Canglong Pass, hundreds of thousands of fortune auras were lying in wait.
Those massive figures were clad in specially forged composite rune armor several inches thick.
The air was thick with the acrid scent of burning and gunpowder.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhaoming said in a deep voice, “The enemy scouts are approaching. Let General Yue conceal the smaller detachments first—but remember to leave some ‘flaws.’”
Despite suffering heavy casualties under the terrifying fortress firepower, the Jin soldiers’ Golden Body generals showed not the slightest hint of sorrow.
The cannon barrels glimmered with a cold light beneath the blazing sun. The gunners held their breath, waiting for the command.
On both sides rose hills covered in dense, frost-resistant woods.
Beneath what appeared to be tranquil slopes, killing intent had already been silently laid.
Forty thousand Black-Armored Cavalry, one hundred seventy thousand Guan Ning Iron Cavalry, one hundred thousand Queshe soldiers, and one hundred seventy thousand armored riders of the Pacifying Rebels Army—all hidden there.
Before the runes, Jiang Zhaoming suddenly opened his eyes, drawing out the Fortune-Appraising Treasure Mirror.
A great stream of fortune light was breaking away from a smaller unit, rapidly speeding toward Canglong Pass.
Instead of charging recklessly, individual martial experts launched wide-range attacks or created chaos, precisely holding down the commanding generals atop the fortress.
Moments later, the rune chains shattered, unleashing raging thunder serpents that scattered in all directions, paralyzing and slaying the foes nearby.
Yet the Jin army’s assault surged like a flood tide—wave after relentless wave.
More crucially, deep within the winding, narrow mountain road that allowed only a few riders abreast, over seven hundred thousand of the finest armored troops were silently concealed behind the undulating terrain.
Facing inward, toward Canglong Pass—
Every ten zhang along the inner wall of the fortress stood towering “Star-Shattering Crossbow Towers.”
The valley formed a massive “V” shape, its mouth opening inward. At its center lay a relatively open barren plain, littered with rocks and dry grass.
The wasteland was deathly silent; only the whisper of wind over withered grass and the muffled booms from the fortress could be heard.
They were the hunters of the skies, ready to swoop down at any moment, tearing through the enemy ranks with talons or dropping deadly alchemical fire bombs.
They were waiting—waiting for their prey to retreat fully into the pocket, waiting for the signal of thunderous annihilation.
The warhorses’ mouths were bound shut, the soldiers crouched low, only a few pairs of bloodthirsty eyes gleaming coldly through their visors.
Spears stood like a forest, blades drawn half an inch; the killing intent was so dense it seemed to freeze the very air.
The eight Golden Body–realm Jin generals took turns striking without directly assaulting the fortress walls.
Whenever Li Chong and his two vice generals tried to focus their strength to reinforce the defensive formation or suppress specific Jin elites, those enemy generals would cling like maggots to bone, forcing them to divert their attention.
The rune-engraved command banner fluttered above the hidden tide of cavalry, snapping sharply in the icy wind.
Behind the lines, the Yili Army’s commander Huang Fan and several Myriad Phenomena–realm commanders of Canglong Pass stood with hands on their sword hilts, their auras as deep as the sea.
The white cannon mouths had long been calibrated, aimed precisely at the valley entrance and the central wasteland.
Within the dense forest canopy lower on the hills, enormous shadows glided silently across the dim light.
On the crossbow arms coiled rune chains crackling with lightning; the bolts fired were not ordinary arrows but “Sky-Rending Bolts” infused with unstable thunder energy.
They glowed like lightning, all eyes fixed on the valley entrance.
Those keen eyes locked firmly on the distant horizon—upon the prey soon to appear, the so-called “Golden Ones.”
On the shadowed slope of the right hill, the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry’s “Infantry Camp” had already built simple but sturdy fortifications.
At the mouth of the “V”-shaped valley, near the wide front leading toward Anxi Prefecture, lay the true core strike force of this ambush.
Soft breathing and faint metallic scraping were perfectly concealed beneath sparse, withered trees.
Beneath the towers on the elephants’ backs stood rows of Hongyi Light Cannons, or Blood Refining–realm warriors with fierce fire lances slung over their shoulders, their eyes cold as ice.
The rune-engraved commander nodded, leading a few cavalry units back into concealment.
At this moment, the central barren plain within the “V”-shaped valley seemed deceptively empty.
It was where forty thousand Yili troops and seventy thousand elite Canglong Pass soldiers—all Blood Refining–realm warriors—were stationed.
Once the Sky-Rending Bolts struck, they first unleashed a violent shockwave.
Only two forces remained motionless near the base of Canglong Pass, standing like immovable boulders in the cold wind.
Their faces held no fear—only a calm, ritualistic composure.
The air was taut like a fully drawn bowstring—war was about to erupt!
Atop the towers of steel and blackwood were mounted massive bed crossbows that required five Blood Refining–realm soldiers to wind.
In stark contrast to the chaotic carnage within the fortress, the vast valley facing inward was shrouded in an eerie silence.
Between the joints of their armor glimmered faint halos of earthy yellow light, granting them even greater defense.