Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

Every fearful and desperate soldier looked up and saw the beautiful and valiant Coral Palace Ryuka, their eyes following her cloak as she moved forward, watching the sparks fly as her spear streaked across the ground.

"What are you all hiding for? Do you think hiding will make you untouchable? Do you think hiding will save you from surviving?!"

"So, the army's morale is crumbling just because people have died? Are we just going to sit here and take the beating? Stand up! Counterattack!"

As she walked, Ruka Coral Palace kicked and slashed, even mercilessly sweeping her spear across the demoralized soldiers, shouting, "Get the hell up! Are you all less than a woman like me?! Lying on the ground is just waiting to die! Get up! Gather together! Counterattack! Shields! Load the ballistae!"

The beatings and insults forced everyone to pull themselves together again.

The soldiers gritted their teeth and endured the pain as they continued to get up; they were absolutely unwilling to lose face in front of Coral Palace Ryuka!

No man can be mocked as being inferior to a woman. Even the current human goddess priestess continues to fight in the most dangerous place, so there is even less reason for others to back down! As long as Coral Palace Ryuka is still on the city wall, the morale of these people can be maintained!

Even if it's only temporary.

Shen Liang roughly understood the tactics of the Shogunate army.

The ground engagement with Goro was merely a feint; the real objective was to use the cannons from Kamui Island to destroy the eastern wall of Tengdou Fortress. Once the wall was completely destroyed, the main force would advance straight through and capture the entire Tengdou Fortress.

As for the ground forces of the Coral Palace, the shogunate never took them seriously.

Fujito Fortress only had 1,400 men, while the main force of the shogunate army probably exceeded 10,000. As long as there were no walls, no matter how strong the soldiers of the Sangokushi Palace were, they could be easily crushed. You alone could not possibly defeat ten people.

"Tactics," "formations," and "strategies"—these things simply did not exist in this war.

It means using cannons to shatter all your defenses, and then launching a raging offensive. This is overwhelming force, the absolute advantage of power, and the absolute way to bully the weak.

The shogunate army didn't take the Sangoku-no-miya (Coral Palace) seriously at all.

They couldn't take down Tengdou Fortress simply because they didn't want to suffer too many losses. And once the cannons were produced, they didn't even bother with any pretense with Coral Palace; they directly issued a challenge, telling you, "I'm going to beat you up."

Then I'll obliterate you into dust.

--------

The central camp of the Shogunate army.

Kujo Sara put down her binoculars, and a slight smile finally appeared on her beautiful face, which had always maintained a cold and stern demeanor.

"The artillery fire on Kamui Island was very effective. The magistrate has done something good, and this money is well worth it." She muttered to herself, then shook her head slightly. "However, the entire Haiji Island may not be worth the cost of this war, tsk."

An advisor beside him laughed and said, "This battle has been quite fruitful. It seems that Coral Palace Ryuka is on the city wall. If she dies in this bombardment, General Sara will have accomplished another great feat. At that time, your prestige in the army will be comparable to that of your eldest and second eldest brothers."

"Shut up." Kujo Sara's pretty face turned cold. "I have no intention of competing with my brother for prestige. If you say such things again, you will be expelled from the Heavenly Territory!"

The staff officer, having been given the cold shoulder, slunk away.

This was his first time visiting Kujo Sara's army. At first, he thought she was just another daughter of the Kujo family sent to the army by the Tenryō Magistrate to gain prestige. Kujo Sara was a woman, and one of the most beautiful among the many second-generation officials of the shogunate. Most of these women were just pretty faces; they might be good at navigating the officialdom, but on the battlefield, they were laughable.

But he hadn't expected Kujo Sara to be so exceptionally good at managing troops; besides Kujo Takayuki, she was the most prestigious member of the Kujo family. Although she was currently only the vice-general of the Tenryo magistrate, everyone could see that she was only one step away from becoming the general-in-chief.

However, Kujo Sara was not Kujo Takayuki's biological daughter, but rather his adopted daughter. From this perspective, it was impossible for Kujo Sara to succeed as the Supreme Commander of the Tenryo—but the Kujo family had an excellent reputation and the children had a very close relationship, so Kujo Sara probably didn't care about such things.

At this time, Kujo Sara was still not slacking off.

She knew that Sangokyuu wouldn't give up so easily. On the other side, Sangokyuu Ruka was the renowned "War Priestess." Kujo Sara was eager to see how she would respond in this desperate situation.

If Ruka Sangokumi ultimately despairs and charges into the battlefield with her own strength, then there are few in the Shogunate army who can stop her.

At that time, Kujo Sara will have to take the field.

As the wielder of the Thunder God's Eye, blessed by the Thunder God, Kujo Sara is quite confident in his personal combat abilities.

"The eternal way is vast, and the resounding spirit is eternal."

She sat upright in the center, awaiting the Coral Palace's reaction.

Chapter Fifty: The Dying Man

"Shoot!" shouted Coral Palace Ryuka.

On the city wall are emergency-operated ballistae. Each ballista required many people to operate and was a terrifying weapon in the era of cold weapons. This type of ballista had another name, "Eight-Ox Ballista," meaning that it took eight oxen to draw it.

Such an astonishing power requirement results in astonishing destructive power; even on Earth, the kill radius of a ballista is over a kilometer.

In Teyvat, ballistae are adapted for warfare and can shoot up to ten miles away. If elemental power is infused into the arrows, this distance can be extended even further!

Under Coral Palace Ryuka's command, the ballista was fully charged, the bowstring twanged, and then it was fired at the location of a Kamui Island cannon!

Now is the loading period for the Kamui Island ballista. Each loading and firing takes about ten minutes. These ten minutes are the time to test the power of the ballista!

The arrow, carrying the hopes of all the soldiers on the city wall and the immense water elemental power of Coral Palace's Liuge, swooped down like a falcon. The soldiers craned their necks in anticipation, even Shen Liang squinted his eyes.

then.

A rock wall rises from the flat ground.

The arrow struck the thick rock layer. Although the enormous impact caused it to penetrate the rock and hit the cannon on Kamui Island, the distance was too great. The arrow, with most of its power depleted, posed no threat when it hit the alloy-made cannon.

The Kamui Island Collapse Cannon is designed to withstand the raging lightning elemental power and the enormous recoil after firing, so it is made almost entirely of metal, making it incredibly sturdy and weighing tens of tons.

Furthermore, the range is too long; it takes at least ten seconds for an arrow to travel from launch to impact. This reaction time makes it far too easy for the Eye of God wielder, who is constantly monitoring the ballista's position, to raise their defenses.

There is no way to save the day.

But before despair could be felt, the second round of shelling began.

One explosion after another, accompanied by screams.

Shen Liang no longer knew where Liu Ge of Coral Palace had gone. She should go to other places to provide support and try to restore morale.

He was carried by the witch Sihe and hidden inside the wall, where a large shield was used to cover his body to avoid being injured by flying stones and iron pieces.

The shields thudded under the constant impact. Their shields were far superior to the others', since neither the priestess nor he possessed any fighting ability. The shields pressed heavily against him, and he couldn't tell if the shields were covered in rubble; he only felt the endless roar of cannons.

damn it.

The shogunate army deliberately fired artillery piecemeal, one piece at a time, so that the bombardment would continue indefinitely, constantly putting psychological pressure on the people on the city walls.

This weapon is inherently more of a deterrent than a lethal weapon. If it keeps firing, people will be forced to hide and tremble in fear. Over time, fear will spread and grow, and morale will crumble.

Fortunately, the soldiers knew that they couldn't just wait to die. Every time the shelling stopped, they would stand up and continue to operate the ballistae and even bows and arrows to try to teach the enemy a lesson.

Shen Liang simply crouched down at the foot of the city wall, covering his head in defense, alongside the helpless witch.

Shen Liang himself felt ashamed.

This was his first time experiencing war. He thought he was mentally prepared, but he didn't expect to be stuck in a defensive position with his head in his hands the whole time. All he felt was humiliation and disgrace.

He had two Desert Eagles, but what was the use of Desert Eagles?

In a war of this magnitude, killing a few people is meaningless. He was merely an insignificant individual, a nobody in the Shogunate army who probably hadn't even heard of him, a grain of sand in the great wave of war.

Perhaps the shogunate army will spare him if they capture this place, since he looks like just a child, harmless and doesn't even know how to use a sword or spear.

The Shogunate army wouldn't even despise you, because they can't see you, they can't see anyone here.

This is the war of the losers.

People don't care at all.

"Damn the Shogunate," Shen Liang muttered, "Try firing another shot, and I'll really like to rent an atomic bomb to kill you."

"Keep bragging! Keep bragging!" A tough-looking old soldier, who was also hiding behind the city wall, laughed loudly upon hearing this. "You little punk, can you get out of Sihe's arms first? Don't act tough if you haven't been weaned yet!"

The other soldiers stationed on the city wall burst into laughter, their teasing remarks filling the air.

At this moment, there's nothing offensive, and even foul language doesn't matter. Even Sihe doesn't blush. Instead, she hugs Shen Liang tightly and retorts, "You bunch of old bastards want me to hug you, but I won't! Liangzi is so fragrant and comfortable, how can you rough old men compare! Envious, huh? If you could kill seventeen or eighteen of those Japanese devils, I'd hug you too, you can hug me!"

"Alright! Sihe, you said it! Whoever kills seventeen or eighteen Shogunate soldiers, you'll throw yourself into my arms!" The old soldier, who was quite fierce, laughed heartily. "I accept! But I don't want you. You're a shrine maiden, and it wouldn't be good if I ruined your purity! I want that little guy in your arms. He doesn't matter if he's a man or not. Goodness, he's even prettier than you. I wouldn't lose out if I hugged him!"

Shen Liang was stunned, while the surrounding veterans laughed even more unrestrainedly.

He turned around and discovered that the tough old soldier was actually the same old soldier who had initially misunderstood him as a girl and lectured him.

"I know you! You fucking planned this all along!" Shen Liang didn't back down either, glaring at him fiercely. "Dream on! I'll kill seventeen or eighteen of you sooner or later, so you better get the hell out of my sight!"

The veterans burst into laughter again.

The fierce old soldier grinned and said, "Good lad, you look like a young master, and your temper is quite to my liking. Not tall, but big-mouthed. If you can kill that many Shogunate soldiers, I'll be convinced! I'll only acknowledge you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Liang saw the city wall behind him shattered by a sudden meteor. The enormous impact struck him from behind in an instant, and Shen Liang and Si He watched helplessly as the meteor shattered the wall. They didn't even have time to raise their shields.

But almost simultaneously with the impact, the veteran instinctively pushed his shield forward, knocking Shen Liang and Si He down. Shen Liang only saw violent purple lightning streak across both sides of the shield, with scorching stone and metal fragments mixed with half a mangled body sparsely hitting the shield.

Someone was screaming something in a shrill voice.

Shen Liang froze, then threw away his shield and instinctively lunged forward to find him.

But where the veteran once stood, all that remained were the breached city wall, stones and rubble, and blood and flesh scattered everywhere.

There were no last words or a final farewell.

Shen Liang touched the blood on his face—there was a lot of blood on his face, he didn't know whose it was, but now there was a lot of it, all of it was from the old soldier in front of him.

He felt very confused.

He kept telling himself that if the war really got to the point where he was in danger of dying, he would just pull open the light barrier and leave, even if it exposed the existence of the teleportation.

He always had a trump card. Unlike the others in this war, he wasn't actually in that much danger, nor did he have that much of a sense of involvement.

He has no reason to risk his life for Haiqi Island. Haiqi Island is not his homeland, nor does it have any family members there.

But at this moment, Shen Liang's mind was in turmoil.