Munitions Empire

Chapter 607: Inside Manor 566

King Jiang Xian of Qi sat in the room, his face already full of displeasure as he listened to the gunfire outside. He had never imagined that one day, his enemies would be so close to him.

He had always thought of himself as a good king, and took pride in controlling the court, leaving his ministers without the slightest ambition.

He really never dreamed that one day he would be driven to such a sorry state by the southern neighbor, because just over a year ago, that neighbor was the weak Zheng Country!

That Zheng Country, which had been ground into the dust by the Shen Country, its national strength exhausted and its people suffering, was on the verge of being divided between his Qi Country and the more southern Chu Country.

But now, in less than two years, this weak Zheng Country had just changed its national title and damn it, turned from weak Zheng into strong Tang!

How could anyone accept this? How could that incompetent King of Zheng be compared to him, Jiang Xian?

Just as his head was full of these thoughts, a sudden explosion nearby almost knocked him off his chair.

But before he could steady himself, another explosion sounded, frightening him once again into trembling all over.

“What’s going on?” Already feeling oppressed in his chest, he could not bear it any longer and shouted angrily. He wanted to mask his fear with rage, but no matter how one listened, there was a strong undercurrent of cowardice in his voice.

Before anyone could answer him, an even more brazen explosion shook the earth, making Jiang Xian feel like even the stool beneath him trembled with the ground.

His face turned the color of clay, and his breathing felt heavy. He clutched his chest, his icy and cruel eyes fixed on the door like a wild beast.

No one knew what had happened. The Prime Minister standing beside Jiang Xian was also panicked. He hadn’t expected that those detestable Tang People could attack so near the estate.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” Captain Ma, responsible for the estate’s security, stumbled into the room with a pistol, looking somewhat disheveled.

His actions frightened the maids hiding in the corner and the eunuchs to tremble with fear, and some of the more cowardly had already begun to cry out.

Realizing that he might look intimidating, Captain Ma quickly composed himself and knelt on one knee before Jiang Xian: “Your Majesty! The enemy has blown up the garden wall, and the palace guards are almost unable to hold on, you must leave now!”

“Would the road be definitely safe?” The Prime Minister also wanted to leave, but what he feared most was that Jiang Xian would not be able to return to King City.

“I don’t know whether the road is safe or not, but I do know that if we delay here much longer, it will surely be unsafe!” Captain Ma replied with a gloomy face.

He had been quite sure that they could hold the place for a while, at least for a few hours to see the situation clearly before deciding on the King’s departure.

But he had never imagined that the enemy forces would be so formidable, reaching near the garden wall in less than 20 minutes.

What was more terrifying was that the Tang Army had machine guns with ferocious firepower and exceptionally good individual soldier quality; he felt they were the elite of the Tang Army.

In fact, he had guessed right. These paratroopers were indeed the precious ones of Tang Mo; they were all highly educated recruits with complex and intricate training, selected according to the standards of officers.

Were it not for the intention to train the troops and block the bridge to end the war quickly, Tang Mo would not have even been willing to send this unit into battle.

“If that’s the case, Your Majesty should set out quickly!” The Prime Minister, with gritted teeth, decided he must live up to Jiang Xian’s trust and cultivation: “I will stay here, no matter what, and ensure that the troops do not pursue Your Majesty!”

Jiang Xian was moved by the words of the Prime Minister. There’s a saying that adversity reveals true friendship, and for the Prime Minister to step forward to take responsibility and make a last stand during such a crisis was truly the act of a loyal minister.

So, Jiang Xian took the Prime Minister’s hand, his voice choked with tears, “There’s no need for this! This place is dangerous, leave a general…”

His words made all the officers around him tense up; being appointed to stay behind to cover a retreat usually meant a likely death for the nation.

Seeing many officers avoiding his gaze, Jiang Xian felt even more that the Prime Minister’s action to face the difficulty was truly precious.

Sometimes, such things are awkward; those willing to stay behind aren’t commanding enough to reassure him, and those truly valuable and capable generals he was reluctant to lose if they volunteered to stay…

As Jiang Xian agonized over the decision, closer gunfire rang out. It seemed that the nearby area would soon become a battlefield.

“Captain Ma! Go and hold them off! Do not let the Tang People get close to His Majesty!” The Prime Minister, in turn, grasped Jiang Xian’s hand and tugged him toward the exit with force.

A group of officers and ministers surrounded Jiang Xian on both sides, and seven or eight Guards pulled out their Thompson submachine guns, produced by Shireck, creating an extremely chaotic scene.

On the other side of the estate, Xiang Ziyu had already crossed the garden wall. Clutching his submachine gun and moving step by step forward, he then saw a paratrooper kneeling on one knee, checking a fallen comrade.

“Shot in the head, there’s no saving him.” The paratrooper stood up and saw Xiang Ziyu, shaking his head.

The paratroopers who had burst in had already taken control of the courtyard; nearby were the corpses of Qi Army soldiers everywhere, with the squad leader guarding the gate and the rest of the men organizing their ammunition.

“It’s chaos outside! I’m not sure how many Qi soldiers are there! In any case, be ready for battle!” The squad leader caught sight of Xiang Ziyu and commanded, “It’s going to get very messy, just stick with me!”

“Okay!” Xiang Ziyu nodded and picked up his weapon, signaling that he was ready for battle!

“Kill!” The squad leader, holding a Thompson submachine gun, charged out of the courtyard and began to spray bullets towards the Qi soldiers outside.

The Qi soldiers who were prepared began to return fire. Bullets hit the wall behind the squad leader, leaving marks and sparking.

Xiang Ziyu and the other paratroopers also rushed out, holding their weapons and firing, their firepower instantly overwhelming the Qi soldiers on the other side, who fled in disarray, some even raising their hands to surrender.

Xiang Ziyu ignored the surrendering Qi soldiers and charged forward, while another paratrooper who passed by shot one of the surrendering Qi soldiers, killing him on the spot.@@novelbin@@

Charging further, Xiang Ziyu suddenly had a clear view; there were military vehicles parked around, with maids, servants, officials, and their families crowded next to them.

There were many Qi soldiers, and everyone was in disarray; some were moving valuable things onto the trucks, while others, deemed lowly, were being forcibly dragged down from the vehicles by soldiers.

At that moment, a few Qi soldiers carrying a large wooden box happened to pass by; they saw Xiang Ziyu with his submachine gun, and he saw them too.

“Tang People!” The Qi soldiers were startled, shouting as they dropped the wooden box. The wooden box shattered on impact, and Gold Coins scattered about, many rolling on the ground.

Xiang Ziyu didn’t even glance at the glaring Gold; he pulled the trigger and began to open fire at everyone in front of him.

He knew that in situations like this, mercy was not an option—who knew which of these officials or ladies might have a pistol hidden in their pockets for self-defense?

He feared death, so he insisted on making the enemy die first, allowing him to live just a little longer!

“Tatatatat!” The submachine gun’s muzzle spit out tongues of fire, and the Tang people in front fell chaotically.

The officials who were just fighting over a car screamed like pigs being slaughtered, clutching their chests. The once arrogant Qi officers toppled over, crashing heavily to the ground off the trucks.

The scurrying servants bloomed with crimson flowers of blood, and the screaming maids were instantly silenced as the bullets hit them.

The scene instantly changed from one kind of chaos to another, and as more Tang Army paratroopers joined in the firing, there were hardly any people from the Qi Country left.

Xiang Ziyu, having emptied his magazine, flung it away and pulled a new one from his chest to insert into the gun. This time he didn’t bother to pick up the spent magazine, knowing that if they really won this battle, they’d have plenty of time to retrieve their dropped gear.

“Advance the attack!” The squad leader, holding his weapon, stepped over the body of a Qi soldier and headed toward the gate on the other side.

The paratroopers, having reloaded, immediately followed suit, and Xiang Ziyu also trampled over bodies to get through the courtyard bloodied with deaths and corpses.

Passing by a car imported from the Ice Cold Empire with the Ice Cold brand, the driver sat in the driver’s seat with his eyes wide open, a gaping wound in his chest still bleeding.

The car was riddled with bullet holes, and many maids’ bodies lay haphazardly beside it. Just before, many Qi soldiers had used them as human shields.

Xiang Ziyu went all the way to the doorway without finding any survivors; he leaned against the wall and could hear even more commotion from the courtyard next door.

What he didn’t know was that just a few walls away, King Jiang Xian of the Qi Country was being helped to flee by the Prime Minister, heading toward the carriages. The straight-line distance between them was actually less than fifty meters.

“There are a lot of people next door too!” Xiang Ziyu said to the squad leader on the other side of the door, “They are waiting for us!”

“Then let the grenades take a look first!” The squad leader pulled out a hand grenade, and Xiang Ziyu did the same.

The paratrooper facing the gate also pulled out a grenade, the three of them exchanged glances, simultaneously pulled the pins, and then released the safeties.

Xiang Ziyu stepped back two paces, and with a bit of force, threw the grenade to a further distance. The paratrooper facing the gate took a running start and threw his grenade as far as possible.

The squad leader didn’t throw hard, just lobbed the grenade over the other side of the wall; they tried to spread out the three grenades to cover more ground.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The three grenades exploded almost simultaneously on the other side, and at the same time, both the squad leader and Xiang Ziyu kicked the wooden door open.

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