Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 373 A barrage of bad news, the nation on the verge of collapse.
A row of imposing Tian Ce soldiers, clad in armor, marched with steady steps that produced a deep and rhythmic clang, like the arrival of death itself, weighing heavily on the hearts of all the Annamese soldiers in Hue.

Behind them stood 30,000 Tian Ce soldiers, all dressed in the same style of black armor, silent as mountains.

Their footsteps pounded on the cracked mud, in perfect unison, heavy as if the earth itself were moving, each step causing the walls of Hue to tremble.

Banners fluttered in the wind, and drums and horns suddenly rose.

As this suffocating torrent of blood, carrying the will to crush everything, silently pressed down.

All the Annamese soldiers witnessed the final fate of Annamese.

"boom--!!!"

A deafening roar, far more terrifying and violent than all the previous thunderclaps combined, exploded out!
Like a furious thunderbolt, a visible, condensed blade of energy suddenly erupted! The energy, thick as an angry dragon, tore through the air, producing a deafening sonic boom, and with an unstoppable, all-crushing force, it slammed into the massive city gate!
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

The next moment, the heavy city gate, made of century-old giant wood, covered with thick copper sheets, and said to be able to withstand ten impacts from a battering ram, exploded like a paper toy amidst the teeth-grinding twisting of metal and the cracking of wood!

Countless massive chunks of shattered wood, twisted copper nails, and broken door bolts, mixed with dust pulverized by the impact, shot wildly toward the inner city like a volcanic eruption!
Smoke and dust billowed into the sky from the city gate, and rubble rained down, causing the entire Hue city wall to shake violently under this earth-shattering blow!
Before the smoke and dust had cleared, Zhu Jianqiu's deep and resonant voice, like muffled thunder rolling across the battlefield, clearly reached the ears of every Tian Ce soldier and struck the hearts of every Annamese garrison soldier like a heavy hammer:

"Enter the city!"

"Yes!" The 30,000 Tian Ce soldiers responded in unison, their voices merging into one, even more powerful than the loud noise of the door being breached earlier, soaring straight into the sky!
With the city gates breached, how can the mere city of Hue possibly prevent the Tian Ce soldiers from entering?

The garrison in Hue had already heard the commotion, but they were no match for the enemy.

……

Annam, Thang Long Imperial City.

Deep within the palace, in the Cool Hall, the ice basin emitted a slight chill, yet it did nothing to dispel the restlessness and panic that permeated everyone's hearts.

The Ming Dynasty's imperial cavalry marched out of Yunnan, sweeping across the land.

In a short period of time, the entire territory of Myanmar fell.

The Ava and Pegu dynasties, which were locked in a stalemate in Myanmar, almost simultaneously declared their demise.

Right now, that formidable Ming army has its sights set on Annam.

"Report! Hue... Hue has fallen! The Ming army has swept through the city and the city has been overrun!" The messenger practically crawled into the hall, his voice hoarse and shrill, tinged with tears. After uttering the last word, he collapsed to the ground, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"Report! Qinghua...Qinghua City's garrison commander...is...dead in battle! Fourteen thousand soldiers have shed their blood in Qinghua City, pleading for reinforcements!" Another scout, covered in blood, staggered in and collapsed to the ground. Blood seeping from the gaps in his armor quickly spread a small, glaring dark red on the polished gold bricks.

"Report! The vanguard of the Tian Ce Army... has passed Yi'an! Along the way... all the fortresses along the way... have surrendered at the mere sight of them!" The third urgent report was like a death knell, completely shattering the last shred of hope of the Annamese king and his officials in the hall.

"Clang!" A gilded imperial cup slipped from the trembling hands of King Le Duy Chang of Annam, crashing onto the cold, hard gold bricks and shattering. Warm tea spilled out, soaking the hem of his bright yellow dragon robe.

Unaware of his surroundings, he suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes filled with near-collapse panic, and roared hoarsely at the equally pale-faced officials below: "Thirteen cities! More than sixty thousand of my fine sons of Annam, in one night! In just one night! They... they conquered thirteen cities and slaughtered tens of thousands of my sons of Annam."

"This battle report is utterly absurd to me!" "Where are the courageous sons of Annam? Where are the mighty passes of Annam?!"

A formidable pass?

The assembled officials in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment.

Do they have that kind of thing in Annam?

As for Annam's spirited men? Of course they are.

Throughout history, sacrificing one's life for one's country, even dying on the battlefield, has always been considered the best way to die.

However, they couldn't withstand the overwhelming force of the Ming Dynasty!

Below the steps, an old general with white hair and beard, wearing tattered armor, struggled to step forward.

He was the only general in Annam who, through generations, clearly understood the terrifying power of the Ming Dynasty.

He knelt heavily, his forehead pressed against the cold gold brick, his voice trembling violently with fear and grief, “Your Majesty… it’s not that the soldiers are not brave, it’s not that Annam lacks courageous men! It’s just that the Ming army… that is not an army of humankind!”

"The Ming army that invaded Annam... not only were they all wearing armor, but they were also impervious to swords and spears, as if they were wearing golden armor, and arrows could not penetrate them!"

"Our swords and spears struck them like they were striking steel forged to perfection, sparks flew everywhere, and not even a white mark was left! But their swords... their swords..." The old general's voice suddenly rose, filled with a blood-curdling despair, "They were so fast that we couldn't even see them! One strike, and man and armor were chopped apart like firewood... just... just shattered!"

Tears streamed down the face of the old Annamese general as he pounded his head on the ground in anguish, as if trying to release all his bitterness and fear: "Your Majesty, they are in the Vajra Realm. At that level, their physical bodies are tempered and refined, as if cast from copper and iron."

"The Thirty Thousand Vajra Realm!"

"A full thirty thousand Vajra Realm experts!"

"They...they don't even need to besiege the city. With a single step, they can rise dozens of feet into the air! They can cross the moat in one stride and leap onto the city wall in one bound! Our city...our city wall, in front of them...is no different from paper!" By the end, the old general was sobbing uncontrollably, and he collapsed to the ground, trembling like a candle in the wind.

“Thirty thousand Vajra Realm? Thirty thousand…” Li Weichang murmured repeatedly in a daze, his body swaying. If it weren’t for the eunuch behind him who caught him quickly, he would have almost collapsed on the throne.

As the ruler of Annam, Le Duy Truong was naturally aware of the different levels of martial arts.

The nine ranks of martial arts masters are: Vajra, Finger of the Mysterious, and Celestial Phenomena.

Annam is a tiny place, and although martial arts have been passed down, they are far inferior to those of the neighboring Ming Dynasty and the surrounding countries.

In the Annamite martial arts world, the Vajra Realm was already at the pinnacle, moving with incredible speed and skill, and he didn't even need to give face to the emperor or the Annamite court!

Even if the entire nation of Annam were to exhaust all its resources, how many could they possibly find? Ten? Twenty? At most!

But now, the army sent by the Ming Dynasty has a full 30,000 men, and every single one of them is at the Vajra Realm!
An army composed of 30,000 unparalleled masters?
The thought flashed through their minds, making Le Duy Chang and all the officials of Annam feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave. Fear shot up their spines and up to the top of their heads, making them feel cold all over and their teeth chatter uncontrollably.

(End of this chapter)