Dimension Demon's Chat Group

Chapter 233 Where is my Italian cannon?
Looking at the young man earnestly refining medicine in front of him, the old doctor felt extremely gratified.

He was naturally quite satisfied with this disciple he had unexpectedly taken in. Even without that interdimensional artifact, with Xiao Yan's exceptional talent and tenacious character, he would surely become a world-renowned powerhouse!
Unfortunately, Wutan City is still too small and not worthy of Xiao Yan now.

Furthermore, since the Burning Technique has not yet absorbed the strange fire, its cultivation progress is slow and it urgently needs to evolve.

The old apothecary pondered that once the affairs of the Xiao family were completely settled, he would have to urge Xiao Yan to go out and gain experience.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but turn his head and look at the Nine Dragon Cauldron that was radiating red light in front of Xiao Yan.

"This rootless fire is indeed powerful. If I could absorb it using the Burning Technique, I wouldn't be in such a hurry..."

That being said, the old doctor knew that such things were just something to think about.

After all, Xiao Yan had already told him the origin of this fire. It was a secondary sub-fire of the eternal fire of another world. Its intensity and quality were comparable to the strange fire, and it burned eternally, almost endlessly.

Such a powerful flame would certainly be difficult for Xiao Yan, a Dou Zhe, to consume.

Don't even think about touching it until he refines a pill that helps him devour flames!
Thinking of this, the old doctor couldn't help but show regret.

Sometimes, having too much support isn't always a good thing. If that otherworldly powerhouse could have lowered his standards and replaced it with a weak flame that Xiao Yan could just absorb, that would have been much better...

Just as Yao Lao was thinking this, Xiao Yan finally finished refining this batch of pills.

After storing the pills in the prepared jade bottle, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the densely packed jade bottles in front of him, a smile of satisfaction appearing on his handsome face.

"Another two thousand bottles of blood-clotting powder, plus the goods sent over before, enough for the family to sell for a long time!"

Xiao Yan thought to himself.

The old apothecary examined the quality of the pills and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction: "Not bad. In the last two days, your success rate in refining Blood Clotting Powder has reached 95%."

"Even a highly experienced second-grade alchemist would not have a success rate as high as yours when it comes to Blood Clotting Powder!"

Xiao Yan sighed, "There's nothing special about it, it's just a matter of practice!"

For more than half a month, he was like a nuclear-powered ox, frantically producing blood-clotting powder.

The medicinal materials consumed during this period were worth millions. Under such circumstances, let alone a genius like him, even an ordinary alchemist with mediocre talent would be fed into becoming an expert in blood clotting powder!

After accepting Yao Lao's praise, Xiao Yan habitually opened the chat group and began his daily chat session.

Since discovering the difference in time flow, he has consciously closed the chat group and used the five-fold difference to cultivate, so as to improve his strength faster and catch up with those group members who joined earlier.

Now, more than half a month has passed since the Battle Through the Heavens world began, and the chat group has only been around for four days.

In these four days, apart from Xiao Yan, the new group member, the hottest topic was undoubtedly the burly Liu Shimin.

Indeed, after preparing for an entire winter, the ultimate enhanced version of Shu Han finally launched a new round of Northern Expeditions.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will be Li Shimin's last Northern Expedition with Shu Han.

The group members were very excited. Many of them, who had already connected to the Samsara Pavilion, couldn't wait to enter the Shu Han world and prepare to personally participate in this unprecedented war.

Even Xiao Yan was extremely tempted.

After all, he was a time traveler, so he naturally admired historical figures like Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun.

If possible, he would love to visit the world of Shu Han. Even if he doesn't want to participate in the war himself, he would at least want to meet his idol.

Unfortunately, the time flow in the Battle Through the Heavens world is too different from that in other worlds. If he stayed in Shu Han for three days, half a month would have passed here.

Xiao Yan still remembered his three-year agreement and didn't want to waste his time on such a thing.

There was nothing he could do but be an observer, following the progress of the Northern Expedition in the group chat every day.

Just as he opened the chat group, he discovered that a member had started a live stream.

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he quickly switched to the [Group Live Stream] interface.

After seeing the live stream clearly, his expression suddenly turned strange.

Looking through the live stream camera, one could see group member Li Shimin sitting imposingly on a high platform, wearing a gold-colored armor adorned with dragon patterns, his dark eyes as deep as the night sky, staring directly at the battlefield ahead.

Beside him stood two tall, imposing figures.

The figure on the left was wearing green and gold power armor shaped like a blue dragon's head. Although the weapon in his hand was a normal Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, the blade was glowing with a blue-green light, clearly a particle energy blade.

The figure on the right was similar, except that his armor was painted in a gold and red color scheme, and his weapon was not the Azure Dragon Blade, but a deep red energy spear.

Without a doubt, these two were Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, who served by Li Shimin's side!

Since Lin Yu brought back the heroic spirits of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, Zhao Yun, Guan Xing, and Zhang Bao's strength has increased by leaps and bounds, and ordinary weapons and armor can no longer meet their needs.

Left with no other choice, Li Shimin had to spend a large sum of money to have He Jingfeng specially customize equipment for them.

Not only that, he also purchased a large number of mass-produced power armors and distributed them to his personal guards and the elite vanguard troops responsible for the first assault on the city.

At this moment, dozens of guards stood scattered around the high platform.

They were all clad in deep red powered armor, wielding energy rifles clearly made by Chitauri technology, and solemnly guarding Li Shimin on the high platform. Ironically, the most conventionally dressed and contemporary figure on the entire platform was Su Haoming, who had started a live stream.

...This scene doesn't seem to be what he imagined!

Xiao Yan's expression was strange. After pondering for a moment, he sent a comment: "Brothers, where are we in this fight?"

Upon seeing his comment, Su Haoming immediately replied with a smile, "Chen Cang!"

Because Li Shimin's army descended like a divine force during the last Northern Expedition, turning the tide and seizing the five prefectures of Longyou, this time the Northern Expedition could proceed directly out of the Longshan Mountains without leaving the valley.

As a result, Chencang, which was originally blocked by the mountain pass, was no longer as important as it was in history.

Even so, Li Shimin still did not let the city go. Instead, he personally led a large army to the city gates, preparing to take on this tough nut that Cao Zhen valued so much.

Speaking of this, we must mention the military force deployed by Shu Han in this Northern Expedition.

Unlike the second Northern Expedition in history, Shu Han only dispatched 20,000 troops this time.

Even with this mere 20,000 troops, Li Shimin still decided to divide them into two routes: he would personally lead one route to Chang'an, while Zhuge Liang would lead another to attack Luoyang.

This troop deployment demonstrates Li Shimin's confidence in his new-style army.

Indeed, that was the case. When Su Haoming turned the camera around with a grin and looked at the battlefield ahead, Xiao Yan's first notice was not of the Shu army equipped with bayonets and rifles, but of the massive steel behemoths at the very front of the formation, lined up in a row, reflecting a metallic luster in the sunlight!
Upon seeing those steel behemoths, Xiao Yan's expression became even more peculiar.

The reason was simple: this thing wasn't the tank or armored vehicle he had imagined at all; it was a hundred-ton behemoth with thickened armor and an alloy ram welded to its front...

Don't say it, don't say it!
On the battlefield of this era, a 100-ton king is indeed enough!
The vast technological gap was undoubtedly an insurmountable obstacle for both Wei and Shu, much like the droplet in "The Three-Body Problem," which, even as just a probe, was an absolute overlord in the face of the Earth fleet.

Xiao Yan couldn't imagine what kind of being in this world could pose a threat to the heavily armed Hundred-Ton King.

Moreover, let alone this world, even Xiao Yan in his current state would probably find it difficult to withstand the full force of this thing's impact.

Dozens of steel behemoths, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, lined up below the city, undoubtedly a heavy psychological blow to the Wei soldiers defending the city walls.

Seeing that the soldiers guarding the city were all pale and trembling, Li Shimin raised his hand and waved his hand. Immediately, a personal guard flew away to convey his order.

Before long, a 100-ton truck arrived at the foot of Chencang City.

The scholar in the carriage cleared his throat, raised the megaphone in his hand, and began to persuade the city's garrison commander to surrender.

Just as in history, the garrison commander of Chencang was still Hao Zhao, while the scholar sent by Li Shimin was Hao Zhao's fellow townsman, namely Jin Xiang, a surrendered general of the Wei army.

Facing his fellow townsman Hao Zhao, Jin Xiang earnestly persuaded him to abandon the city and surrender.

Unfortunately, despite being terrified of the steel behemoths below the city, Hao Zhao suppressed his fear, his face pale, and resolutely refused to surrender.

"You know the Wei family's laws and regulations, and you also know my character!"

"Now that our family is of utmost importance and we have received the nation's favor, the only way to repay it is with our lives!"

"You should thank the Han emperor; there's no need for further words!"

Upon hearing the shouts from the city wall, Jin Xiang looked regretful.

As the 100-ton truck slowly reversed, Li Shimin soon received a response from Hao Zhao.

"Pity……"

"Since Hao Zhao has vowed never to surrender, then I will grant him his wish to uphold his loyalty!"

As he spoke, Li Shimin stood up, his eyes fixed intently on Chencang. His gilded armor gleamed in the sunlight, and he slowly uttered a sentence:
"Where is my Italian cannon?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan almost lost his composure.

The group members in the live stream chat instantly went wild, flooding the chat with cheerful comments.

But no matter how funny this statement may be to them, in the context of the current battlefield, it is a death declaration stained with gunpowder and blood!

With a thunderous roar, the Shu army, under Li Shimin's command, launched five massive steel behemoths gleaming with metallic luster.

These five steel behemoths all have the paint scheme of Yanhan, with thick and long gun barrels and heavy gun carriages with open legs behind them. They are the Italian 1935 howitzers!

This was the best artillery piece Italy produced during World War II, and its performance was comparable to that of other large-caliber artillery pieces of the same period.

Germany continued to produce this artillery piece even after Italy's surrender, which is enough to prove that its performance was excellent.

It has an exaggerated 210mm caliber, and the shells come in two models: a light 101kg and a heavy 131kg. The muzzle velocity can reach 560 meters per minute, and the range is up to 15.4 kilometers.

In this era where cold weapons reigned supreme, a range of thirty li was undoubtedly a number that would drive any enemy to despair.

Looking down at the five unfamiliar steel behemoths, Hao Zhao on the city wall felt a sudden, inexplicable fear rise within him.

Li Shimin quietly watched the Shu army loading cannonballs, then suddenly sighed softly and said in a low voice:
"Tell Hao Zhao that this is his last chance, for the sake of the people of Chencang."

"Open the gates and surrender, or... we'll raze you to the ground!"

(End of this chapter)