The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 453 Wenhua Hall

Firearms, since Li Miao began his journey in the martial world, have never appeared in any battles. This weapon, which the imperial court has held tightly in its hands, is being drawn for the first time in over a hundred years, and that is within the Forbidden City.

boom!
Gunpowder exploded inside the cannon barrel, and the immense pressure propelled the head-sized iron ball out with a thud, carrying a deep hum as it traveled hundreds of feet to crash into the crowd!

An Qisheng had already reacted, and his protective true energy instantly spread out, transforming into a transparent wall to block the crowd.

Clang, clang, clang! —

Several shots rang out, and the shells were violently deflected, flying in all directions and shattering floor tiles and walls.

An Qisheng took a step back.

His blood rushed to his head, and his face turned flushed, but he forcibly suppressed it.

He couldn't stop it.

At least it cannot block all directions or protect everyone.

But... he is the lord of Yingzhou, and also the warrior of Bolangsha.

He may not be good at protecting, but he is very good at killing.

The protective aura transformed, converging at the side into a giant claw that grabbed a red-hot cannonball from the ground and slowly moved it behind him. His left leg stepped forward, his right leg tensed, and his upper body tightened like a fully drawn bow.

boom! boom! boom!
The second round of shelling came again. Without An Qisheng's obstruction, the head-sized shells crashed directly into the crowd. Every limb in the path of the shells was pierced, and severed limbs flew everywhere, splattering blood.

A shell grazed An Qisheng's cheek, singeing his hair, but his eyes remained unmoved.

The bowstring was pulled to its limit.

The next instant—whoosh!!!

As if history from a thousand years ago were repeating itself, the giant claw formed by the protective true energy was like a long whip, and the cannonball was suddenly flung out!
As if the process had vanished, hundreds of feet away, a cannon exploded with a deafening roar, sending metal fragments flying and tearing apart the Imperial Guards who had fired the cannons.

An Ziyang dodged the metal shards aimed at his face, but was still grazed by other shards, and a huge wound was torn open on his side as blood splattered.

"Oh shit."

The intense pain surged into his mind the next moment, and An Ziyang's body went limp, causing him to kneel on the ground.

"Old monster, this works too!"

An Ziyang hastily stuffed his clothes into the wound and pulled his belt up sharply!
"Well!"

Everything went black before his eyes, and he almost lost consciousness.

"No, this arrangement ends here."

An Ziyang struggled to his feet.

Only then did some of the Imperial Guards who had recovered step forward to help him up.

"Qianhu, you—"

"Never mind me, keep releasing them!"

An Ziyang shook off the Imperial Guard.

“If An Qisheng wants to fight back, he can’t protect the crowd. Trade with him and see how many lives you can save—keep firing. When An Qisheng gets within thirty feet, you all run for your lives!”

Having said that, he staggered down the city wall and walked towards the back.

An Ziyang's vision blurred. No matter how many tricks he had up his sleeve, he was only at a first-rate level and could not regenerate flesh and blood like a celestial being. The huge gash on his side had almost torn his internal organs apart. Blood soaked through his belt and dripped onto the snow, forming a trail of blood.

He forced himself to walk forward, silently counting the time.

When I counted to three hundred, a loud bang came from behind me.

He looked back and saw the city tower where the Hongyi cannons were placed collapse with a roar.

This means that An Qisheng has broken through the Zuo Shun Gate.

An Ziyang turned back and continued forward, but suddenly stumbled and fell forward.

"Brother An!" Mei Qinghe rushed over and supported him, then turned and shouted.

"Offer this artemisia to heal your wounds!"

Then one of the retainers flashed over, pinched An Ziyang's pulse point, and channeled his true energy into him.

An Ziyang reluctantly looked up and glanced around.

The team that had just gone to assassinate Liu Jin was also all wounded, but fortunately, no one was lost. Apart from Hong Chou, who was already unconscious, they were all still capable of fighting.

"How is it?"

An Ziyang asked in a hoarse voice.

“The cannons killed many of them. An Qisheng still has about 270 or 280 men left, but…” Mei Qinghe paused for a moment, “The high monks of Shaolin died in battle, and Senior Wudang fell into An Qisheng’s hands, his fate unknown. The Imperial Guards and the Imperial Army who were guarding Zuoshun Gate were almost all killed in action.”

An Ziyang said calmly.

"Understood, go to the Wenhua Hall."

Mei Qinghe nodded vigorously, then carried An Ziyang and sped off.

A few breaths after the group left, An Qisheng stepped into the plaza in front of the Wenhua Hall. The desperate battle between the two celestial beings from Wudang and Shaolin only left him with a few wounds that healed quickly. Apart from his disheveled hair and tattered clothes making him look somewhat disheveled, he was completely unharmed.

But his face was extremely gloomy.

Because the crowd behind him had thinned out considerably.

Liu Jin prepared 378 "supplies" for him, but after crossing the first pass, only 280 remained, a reduction of a quarter of his personnel.

"Are there things with such power besides martial arts?"

Having lived for over a thousand years, Anqi possessed the martial arts skills to counter anything Li Miao's side could muster. However, these Hongyi cannons were the one thing he had no way to deal with.

If another hundred cannons were to arrive, the "supplies" would likely be completely wiped out.

An Qisheng was frowning in thought when he heard Liu Jin speak.

"You don't need to worry, that was all."

He turned his head and looked at Liu Jin's clone.

Just now, a shell had narrowly missed Liu Jin, shattering his left arm. Now, he was pale, hastily wrapped the wound with a strip of cloth, and his tone remained calm as still water.

"Most of the Hongyi cannons in the capital are stationed in the Shenji Battalion, which is why I chose to plant a spies there... The only ones they could hastily deploy in the city were those few from just now."

"It would be better if some of them died."

Liu Jin gestured backward with his hand.

"The cannons are a tool of the imperial court, that much is certain. People have no markings and it's hard to discern their stance, but cannons do. Now they're convinced the court wants to kill them... Can you sense whether their minds and emotions are more unified and more suitable as 'supplies'?"

"Now, even without using any methods to influence their minds, they are willing to follow us."

An Qisheng closed his eyes, sensed it for a moment, and nodded.

"In this way, exchanging quantity for quality is not too much of a loss. However, I need at least 170 or 180 people's 'resources'; any less and it will be difficult to achieve perfection."

Liu Jin nodded.

"The Wenhua Hall is right in front of us."

“My Eastern Depot agent, who was hiding in the crowd, has been exposed and there is no need to hide any longer. You can go to the Wenhua Hall first. The Wudang and Shaolin agents are dead, Zhu Shoujing has fled with the Yingzhou agents, His Majesty is still seriously injured, and the other side has few bargaining chips left. I should be able to handle things on my side.”

An Qisheng nodded, and his figure suddenly blurred and disappeared from the spot.

A few breaths later, he stepped into the Wenhua Hall.

As soon as he stepped inside, his gaze was fixed on the figure standing in the center of the hall.

Emperor.

(End of this chapter)