After Evan Chu and Selena met with General Roland Lowell, Evan told him about the Sea Dragon Empire’s possession of the Skyshaker Bombs. Roland’s face instantly went pale with shock.
“Are those Skyshaker Bombs really as terrifying as you say?” Roland asked, still unwilling to fully accept it even though he believed them.
“If you want to know how deadly they are, General, just test them yourself. I’ve said all I can—believe it or not is up to you. Also, Selena and I have a secret mission these next two days. When we’re back, we’ll give you a real surprise.” Evan said.
Roland looked troubled and said to the two, “Of course I trust you, but there’s less than two hours till dawn. It’s already impossible to withdraw the entire army into the city. Besides, that would devastate morale. I honestly don’t know how to handle this—do you have any other ideas, Evan?”
Roland looked at Evan with hope—this was a matter of life and death. Evan shook his head, “This is the only way. If you order the retreat now, you might save over half your troops. If you don’t, you could lose most of them, and then the city will fall without a fight.”
Selena added, “Evan’s right. You can withdraw half your forces back into the city and leave the other half to hold off the enemy. We only need to buy two days—by then, we’ll be back. Also, try to spread your soldiers out as much as possible to reduce unnecessary casualties.”
If every soldier carries a water skin, that could reduce casualties even further. The Skyshaker Bomb’s explosion is terrifying, but it only kills those within a ten-meter radius. The real danger is the flying flames after the blast. Those flames are its true weapon, refined from a black, oil-like substance extracted from deep underground.
The flames burn at extremely high temperatures, almost like hellfire. If you get set on fire, a water skin can cool things down—some people might even survive.
Roland frowned deeply and sighed, “Alright, I’ll follow your advice. Get as many people inside the city as possible. I just don’t understand why we need to hold out for two days. What exactly are you two going to do?”
“We’re going after the Skyshaker Bombs. Keep this strictly confidential. When we return, it’ll be time for the enemy to taste their own weapons. Once the army charges out of the city gates, we’ll smash them to pieces—they have no fortress to hide in, so just hold out for two days, no matter what.” Evan said.
“Alright, I trust you. Two days should be enough to hold out. No time to waste—I'll go withdraw the army now. Good luck to you both.” Roland said.
“We’re heading out too. Don’t tell Gavin Wei, or he’ll worry. Protect that brother for me.” Evan finished, then left with Selena.
Roland immediately gave the order to withdraw all three armies stationed outside the city.
Meanwhile, in the Sea Dragon Empire’s marshal tent, Feiqing Yun was hearing a scout’s report about the Heavenly Dragon army withdrawing into the city.
Feiqing Yun’s face darkened as he turned to Yuetian Wu. “Second Brother, why would Roland make such a move? Has he realized our plan and learned about our Skyshaker Bombs?”
“You’re overthinking it, Big Brother. Roland’s move just drives the Heavenly Dragon Empire’s soldiers into a corner. The ones left outside will be slaughtered—after that, his forces won’t be worth fearing.” Yuetian Wu replied.
If he hadn’t ordered the retreat, our Skyshaker Bombs would kill at most tens of thousands. They could still fight us head-to-head. But if we wipe out the troops left outside now, you know what comes next.” Yuetian Wu said.
Feiqing Yun thought it over and realized the logic, then laughed. “Fine, since Roland made this choice, let’s make him regret it for life. The Heavenly Dragon Empire will be wiped out! Pass my order—press the attack! The whole army must advance to within five hundred meters of their city before dawn.”
On the Heavenly Dragon side, no one understood why the army had left the city only to be ordered back in so quickly. Everyone was full of doubts.
To get as many people inside as possible, Roland ordered all Heaven Martial Realm experts to help carry soldiers back into the city by flight. Ladders were lowered from the walls—every method was used to minimize casualties.
By dawn, Roland had managed to withdraw over seven hundred thousand troops, leaving just over two hundred thousand outside the city. If Evan saw this, he’d be shocked at how well it worked.
For those two hundred thousand outside, Roland had twenty thousand water skins thrown down from the walls. He also had the power and dangers of the Skyshaker Bomb explained to every commander, then down to every squad leader, and finally to every soldier who hadn’t made it inside.
No one blamed Roland for not getting everyone inside in time; they knew it was a race against the clock, not an order to use them as cannon fodder. For the empire, dying in battle was a great honor. Fired up, the soldiers swore to take out at least one enemy before falling.
As daylight broke, war drums and horns sounded from the enemy side. The Sea Dragon army rolled out siege weapons just beyond arrow range.
Among them were two strange contraptions mounted on giant war carts—huge round tubes about a meter thick, radiating an air of mystery.
Roland and the others saw them from afar atop the city wall. “Are those the Skyshaker Bomb launchers? So that’s the secret weapon,” he muttered.
Just then, one soldier below saw the enemy pressing in and roared, “You bastards! I’ll die fighting you!” His shout was deafening—clearly, he was a battle-hardened fighter.
Maybe it was his roar, but the other soldiers, already burning with adrenaline, surged forward, eyes blazing with battle intent, ready to carve a path through the enemy ranks.
Leading the two hundred thousand was General Nathan Namgong—a fiery-tempered commander. Seeing his troops itching for battle, he bellowed, “Heroes of the Heavenly Dragon Empire—charge!”
As his voice rang out, a thunderous roar erupted from the ranks. Instantly, the soldiers broke formation, weapons gleaming as they charged headlong at the Sea Dragon army.
On the Sea Dragon side, the enemy soldiers were just as fired up. A middle-aged man in golden armor shouted, “Use the secret weapon! Let those Heavenly Dragon dogs taste our power!”
Immediately, several huge fireball-like projectiles shot out from the giant black tubes on the war carts, hurtling toward the charging Heavenly Dragon soldiers…
(Author’s note: Updates are only possible at the internet café these days, so no midnight chapters—please understand, dear readers! Xiaoxiao is doing her best!)