Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

"Ugh—!"

A deep and desolate bugle call suddenly rang out above the ruins, tearing apart the originally lifeless sky of Yanqi City.

The city wall collapsed, and the gate was shattered.

But the remaining Yanqi defenders still tried to make a last stand.

They staggered to their feet from the billowing dust, brandishing their scimitars, their eyes gleaming with a desperate and crazed light.

"Let's fight these Han Chinese!"

"This is our home! Even without walls, we still have our scimitars!"

Several hundred elite Yanqi soldiers roared like a pack of wolves cornered on a cliff, launching a chaotic and suicidal charge.

They believed that even without the protection of the city walls, as long as they could charge into the Tang army, they would still have a fighting chance, relying on the fierce physique that the people of the Western Regions had developed on horseback since childhood.

However, what awaited them was neither the blades of the Tang cavalry nor the steel forest of the Mo Dao troops.

Instead, it was a chilling, perfectly synchronized sound of footsteps.

"Click, click, click."

Three thousand musketeers from the Shenji Battalion, clad in dark green light armor, each carried a long, early flintlock musket bearing obvious signs of handcrafting.

They stopped with remarkable composure a hundred paces away from the charging Yanqi soldiers.

"All troops, form ranks! First rank, rifles raised!"

Mo Ju stood at the very front of the formation, waving a command flag in his hand, his voice as calm as that of an emotionless machine.

"Splash!"

The first rank of a thousand musketeers knelt in unison, their dark muzzles held horizontally, resembling a deadly jungle.

The Yanqi soldiers were still running wildly, one hundred paces, eighty paces, fifty paces...

They grinned maliciously, as if they could already smell the blood of the Han people.

"Are these Han Chinese stupid? Trying to stab us to death with fire pokers?"

A Yanqi commander at the forefront, laughing wildly, raised his scimitar and was about to charge into the Tang army's ranks.

"put!"

Mo Ju suddenly swung the command flag downwards.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Gunshots, like popping beans, instantly rang out across the sky, continuous and unending.

A thousand plumes of white smoke rose in front of the position, forming a despairing fog of death.

The dense barrage of lead bullets, like a violent rain, slammed into the bodies of the Yanqi soldiers who were still charging forward, accompanied by a piercing shriek.

"Pfft pfft pfft!"

Blood splattered—that was the cruel sound of lead bullets piercing flesh.

The laughing centurion didn't even have time to scream before a lead bullet blew his skull open.

Red and white substances sprayed all over the ground. His body remained in a charging posture, propelling him forward a few steps due to inertia before collapsing heavily into a pool of blood.

Then, it was like harvesting wheat.

The hundreds of elite Yanqi soldiers who had been charging forward with great momentum were instantly killed by this volley of fire, with more than half of them falling down!

The screams and wails instantly drowned out the shouts of battle that had just been heard.

Those who were lucky enough to survive were completely dumbfounded when they saw their companions instantly riddled with holes.

What kind of sorcery is this?

Why do Han Chinese fire sticks spew fire? How can they kill someone from such a distance?

"This...this is divine punishment! This is sorcery!"

The remaining Yanqi soldiers were so terrified that they dropped their scimitars with a clatter.

They wanted to turn and run away, but their legs were too weak to move.

"Second rank, advance! Raise your guns!"

Before they could recover from their shock, Mo Ju's icy voice rang out again.

The first rank of musketeers, who had just finished firing, quickly got up and retreated to the rear to reload their ammunition.

The second rank of one thousand musketeers, who were already prepared, stepped forward with firm strides to fill the gaps.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Another round of even more intense gunfire erupted.

This round didn't even spare those who tried to turn and run away.

This was a predictable, one-way execution.

Faced with the absolute range and terrifying destructive power of firearms, the so-called bravery and fearlessness of the cold weapon era are as fragile as ice and snow under the scorching sun, leaving not even a trace.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The once dry Gobi Desert outside Yanqi City has been completely stained red with blood.

Hundreds of corpses lay scattered on the ground, none of them intact.

On the Tang side, apart from a few new recruits whose shoulders were numb from the recoil rubbing their arms and crying out in pain, not a single person was injured!

As Huo Qubing rode on the "Sa Lu Zi" horse and watched this scene, he, who had originally planned to charge into battle, could only helplessly hang his plum blossom spear back on the saddle.

"This is so boring."

Huo Qubing pursed his lips, looking like he hadn't had enough.

"The Divine Machine Battalion is really ruthless in stealing credit; they won't even leave us Great Snow Dragon Riders a drop of soup."

Bai Qi, standing to the side, watched with great interest, a strange light gleaming in his cold eyes.

"This is a good thing... Although this musket is a bit noisy, it's much more efficient at killing people than digging a hole and burying them alive."

Bai Qi stroked his chin, seemingly seriously considering whether he should equip the Iron Eagle Warriors with this thing in the future.

At this moment, Li Chengqian, sitting in the comfortable and luxurious Iron-Eating Beast Carriage, was holding a steaming cup of milk tea, watching the scene on the battlefield with a bored expression.

He sighed softly and shook his head.

"Boring, so incredibly boring."

Li Chengqian toyed with the glass cup in his hand, his tone carrying an extremely irritating Versailles vibe.

"This is what they call a dimensional reduction attack."

"It's like a fully armed adult bullying a group of three-year-olds who are holding sticks."

"This is no war; it's a one-sided massacre."

As Li Chengqian spoke, his gaze swept across the desolate ruins in the distance.

His gaze gradually became deep and cold.

"However, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Why did they have to be so blind and run into the Tang Dynasty's guns at this time?"

"Since you've chosen to be a bandit, you have to be prepared to be blasted to smithereens by even stronger bandits."

Just as Li Chengqian was lamenting the loneliness of life, as desolate as snow.

A figure covered in dirt and blood was carried to the front of the palanquin by Huo Qubing like a chicken.

It was the same Turgesh, the king of Yanqi, who had just fallen down the city wall and was completely disoriented.

That old fellow was lucky; when he fell, he landed right on a few unfortunate ministers, and he only broke one leg, not quite dead yet.

"Crown Prince of Tang...please don't kill me! I'm willing to surrender! I'm willing to offer up all my treasures!"

The Turgesh lay on the ground, spitting out blood and frantically begging for mercy.

He looked at the muskets still emitting white smoke not far away, and the fear in his eyes was deeper than if he had seen a ghost.

Li Chengqian glanced down at him and waved his hand dismissively.

"Alright, stop howling."

"I am a reasonable person. Since you are so sensible, I will spare your life."

Upon hearing this, the Turgesh were overjoyed and were about to kowtow in gratitude.

Li Chengqian's next words, however, made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"I've heard that your Yanqi Kingdom is famous for its fine horses? And that you also grow grapes?"

"Perfect timing, my Great Tang Dynasty is in dire need of farmers to cultivate the land."

"Take him along with the prisoners from Gaochang and send him to Yinshan to mine coal."

"Oh, and remember to set his broken leg. If he dies, I'll have lost a strong laborer."