Though the bombs weren’t sophisticated, their destructive power was immense. One explosive flew toward William Wang Jinling, and everyone around him was wounded. If Serena Feng hadn’t reacted quickly, William and his group would have been injured too.
Gunpowder bombs had never appeared in the Nine Provinces Realm before. The deafening explosions and sheer killing power sent everyone present—commoners and officials alike—into a panic. People scrambled in all directions, desperate to escape, not knowing where was safe. They shoved and collided, turning the crowd into chaos.
“Young Master! Young Master!”
“Yulang, Yulang, you mustn’t get hurt!” The guards outside the city gate who were escorting William Wang Jinling saw the turmoil inside and rushed in without hesitation, making the gate even more chaotic.
“Don’t come in!” William Wang Jinling shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the explosions.
People shoved and struggled, everyone terrified, afraid the next bomb would explode right beside them and send them flying. The city gate was a mess. Even the guards were useless at this moment—no one knew if another explosion would go off, or where.
Right now, everyone was thinking only of survival—their own lives. Serena Feng was no exception. She had the heart of a healer, but more than that, she was just an ordinary person with her own fears.
In this moment, her only focus was protecting William Wang Jinling and herself. She’d planned her landing spot before leaping from the window, even though her jump was forceful.
After tackling William Wang Jinling, Serena used her momentum to crash them into the center of the crowd. With people cushioning their fall, neither of them was hurt. Serena buried her head in William’s chest and shielded his head with her hands.
“Jinling, don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”
Amidst the cries and chaos, Serena Feng’s voice wasn’t obvious, but William Wang Jinling heard her clearly.
“I’m not worried, as long as you’re safe.” In all this chaos, William Wang Jinling didn’t show the slightest panic. He only lost his composure for a moment when Serena jumped down, and that was it.
“We…” Serena Feng didn’t have time to finish before a black object flew toward them.
Boom—a huge explosion sounded right next to them.
“Careful, everyone get down!” Of everyone present, Serena Feng was the most sensitive to bombs. As soon as the explosive flew in, she grabbed William Wang Jinling and rolled away, shouting loudly to those nearby.
The bomb’s blast radius was huge. Standing there made you more likely to be hit by the shockwave, but no one believed Serena Feng’s warning—except Lance Quinn…
He’d originally rushed toward Serena Feng, but when he heard her shout, he dropped to the ground, dodging the shockwave. The people near him weren’t so lucky—hit by the blast, some lost arms, others were left with bloodied faces.
“What is that thing? It’s so powerful.” Lance Quinn’s eyes flashed with seriousness.
Faced with this kind of weapon, even the greatest martial arts were useless. This was beyond human strength. If someone possessed such weapons, would wars even be necessary?
He had to admit, Lance Quinn was tempted by the power of this weapon.
"Jinling, don't get up, stay down!" Their position was awkward—William Wang Jinling was sprawled on top of Serena Feng, all his weight pressing down on her.
"Serena, your injuries..." William worried he might crush her.
"I'm fine," Serena gritted out through clenched teeth.
She really was fine, but if a bomb hit them, that would change. She and William had avoided the blast center, but the shockwave from the explosives was still powerful. Both of them took some damage, but it was better than losing limbs or their lives.
Fire burst everywhere, the smell of gunpowder filled the air. The street, lively just moments before, turned into hell on earth—cries and screams echoed from every corner.
Serena's heart ached as she listened. For a moment, she felt dazed, as if back on the battlefield—back in that era of war, running through gunfire with a medical kit.
"Could there really be someone like me, from another time-space, who created these bombs? Don't they know that bringing such things into this world only brings suffering to ordinary people, chaos to the land? In a cold-weapons era, gunpowder is nearly invincible—it breaks all the rules, it destroys lives." Serena had loved the battlefield in her past life, but also hated it; life there was far too fragile.
And today, she was seeing it all over again.
Against explosives, life was so easily shattered. People who'd come out happily to watch the spectacle were ruined in an instant—the innocent always paid the price when disaster struck.
Tears shimmered in Serena's eyes.
"Serena, what are you saying?" Serena's voice wasn't quiet, and William, so close, couldn't help but hear. He hadn't panicked at the explosives, but now he was truly afraid.
From another time-space? Gunpowder? Cold weapons? None of it made sense to him.
Suddenly, William realized Serena seemed far away. Panicking, he hugged her tight: "Serena, don't scare me!"
Lance Quinn, who'd rushed forward, stopped in his tracks, staring in disbelief at Serena slumped in the corner.
Gunpowder? Serena actually knew what it was. Another time-space? Who was she really? Wasn't she General Feng's daughter? But she didn't seem like just that...
Lance could accept that Serena knew about gunpowder—her hidden weapons were strange enough, maybe they were related. But 'another time-space' left him stunned, so much that he forgot to wonder if Serena could make explosives herself.
For a moment, that talk of 'another time-space' made Lance Quinn pause, forgetting to wonder: if Serena Feng knew about these things, could she also make them herself?
William was panicking, and so was she. She wanted to dodge the issue, but couldn't. After hesitating, Serena decided to only explain the bombs—but just then, Dominic Zhai and Simon Sun, who'd been searching everywhere, spotted them and rushed over.
Dominic Zhai and Simon Sun hurried over, but at that moment, several more black bomb-packs flew through the air.
"Serena, Jinling, thank goodness you're alright—you scared me half to death!"
Dominic Zhai and Simon Sun rushed over, but just then, several more black bomb-packs flew through the air.
"Get down, everyone!" Serena shouted.
The bombs were thrown straight into the crowd. Serena, William, and Lance Quinn hid in a corner and escaped the worst of it. Lance saw Serena didn't need saving—in fact, she could protect William herself—so he stayed hidden in the crowd instead of intervening.
When the explosions finally stopped, Dominic Zhai and Simon Sun scrambled over to join Serena and William.
"What the hell are those things? Scared me half to death! Jinling, Serena, let's get out of here—it's way too dangerous!" Dominic Zhai pulled them up and tried to rush forward without a second thought.
"No, Dominic, I can't leave. There are too many wounded here—I'm a doctor, I have to stay." Serena ran a few steps, then shook off Dominic's hand, her face resolute.
In the heat of battle, she could be selfish and only protect herself—after all, she hadn't had the ability to save others then.
But now that she'd survived, she wouldn't forget her duty. She was a military doctor; after securing her own safety, she had to do everything she could to save wounded soldiers and civilians.
That was her responsibility!
As a doctor, surviving meant she could save more people; rushing blindly into the fray would only let her save a handful at most...
This was her duty!
She was determined to stay on the front line—because she was a doctor, she couldn't leave.