Munitions Empire

Chapter 610: 569 come out quickly

“Your Majesty!” the Prime Minister of Qi Country, gripping Jiang Xian’s hand, ceaselessly called out on the rocking carriage. Behind them, the sound of guns from the Tang Country Paratroopers had already begun to ring.

“There are a lot of officials here!” a Tang Country Paratrooper observed Jiang Xian’s carriage and also the disorderly crowd following behind it.

Among them were Qi Country’s high-ranking officials, as well as the Princess of Qi Country, and there were also palace maids and attendants… With colorful attire, it was obvious that there were VIPs present.

Since there were VIPs, naturally, they were targets to either be killed or captured. Their forces were limited; they only needed Jiang Xian.

As for the lives of these others, they might as well be dog lives—useless to kill with one bullet, or maybe two.

“Chase them down!” Xiang Ziyu, who had unconsciously charged ahead, held his submachine gun and ran forward, throwing caution to the wind.

Ahead of him was Jiang Xian’s carriage, and if he could catch up, he might capture the King of Qi Country!

While the idea of capturing Jiang Xian alive was running through his head, a bullet flying straight towards him suddenly yanked him back to reality.

The sound of bullets whizzing past his ears made Xiang Ziyu stagger, and he fell forward to the ground.

The bullets that zipped past him also startled the squad leader running beside him; only then did he remember that those around the King were guarded.

The equipment of these Qi Country Guards wasn’t the Shireck Model 1 rifles that required one to pull the bolt after each shot!

These Qi Country Guards were armed with the infamous Shireck Model 1 semiautomatic pistols—also known as box cannons, breechloaders! The renowned Mauser pistol, capable of semiautomatic firing!

Clearly, the Qi Guards, now with no evident disadvantage in terms of firepower, had finally made the Tang Country Paratroopers realize the danger.

Many Tang Country Paratroopers who had been charging forward without any care were now frantically searching for cover—they were all human, how could they not fear death?

“Ratatat!” While dodging, a Tang Army Paratrooper continued to spray bullets. He drew the attention of the Qi Guards, with several of them aiming and firing at him.

Bullets hitting near his feet kicked up a cloud of white smoke. Others whizzed close by, striking the distant courtyard wall behind him, leaving a trail of bullet marks.

But these masters of contouring the human target with at least a dozen bullets, managed not to hit the paratrooper, allowing him to finally find a flowerbed to hide behind and slide to avoid the rest of the attack.

Having tumbled to the ground, Xiang Ziyu had finally managed to fire again. Lying flat on the ground, he used the body of a Qi official as cover and emptied his magazine at the carriage not far away.

Bullets hit the wheels of the carriage, and the splinters that flew up ripped off the mudguard, while a ricochet hit a nearby Guard.

The Guard was hit in the ribs, his breechloader falling from his grasp. Clutching his wound, he looked towards Xiang Ziyu, the one who had injured him.

At that moment, Xiang Ziyu was busy reloading his magazine. His squad leader was right behind him and took the opportunity to fire another round at the unfortunate Qi Guard.

The Qi Guard was hit by a bullet in the chest. He reached out to lean on the carriage, but as it slowly moved forward, he stumbled and lost his balance, falling to the ground.

Having reloaded, Xiang Ziyu opened fire again at the distant carriage. This time, he didn’t aim for the carriage but instead swept his gun across the group of people beside the carriage.

A group of Qi concubines and maids were struck by the bullets and fell in heaps, along with the officials’ female family members and some attendants.

Of course, there were also men clad in Qi official robes—when struck by the bullets, they lost all their usual scholarly refinement and pride.

The people hit screamed in misery as they fell upon those in front of them; blood splattered everywhere amid the crowd, some people ran for cover while others knelt begging for mercy, the noise chaotic like a marketplace.

The courtyard had become a true battlefield, not the kind where attractive girls in sailor uniforms amiably brandish knives.

Here, everyone was armed with guns, and at the slightest disagreement, they might even pull out a grenade to resolve the issue. Although there were women present, they were essentially human shields or merely props for slaughter.

Xiang Ziyu, unwilling to let the carriage so close within his grasp escape, got up from the ground once again. His squad leader shared the same sentiment and thus led the charge forward.

A Paratrooper following behind them was struck by a bullet and shuddered before collapsing. However, he didn’t die immediately, as the bullet had only hit his shoulder.

No one had the time to tend to him now; everyone was seeing red. The Qi Guards fought fearlessly, constantly firing near the carriage while also being taken down one after another by the incoming bullets.

Compared to Tang Country Paratroopers who could find cover to take shelter, the Qi Country Guards were clearly more passive, for they had to protect the carriage behind them and thus could only stand in front of the carriage to serve as flesh shields.

If possible, they really wanted to pull the women and officials trailing behind the carriage forward to serve as human sandbags, but they didn’t dare to, nor did they have time to do so.

So, they quickly began to thin out, from dozens of Guards originally surrounding the carriage, now only three or five remained, barely returning fire.

“Shoot the horses! Take down the horses!” Finally realizing they should disable the carriage’s “engine” first, the squad leader shouted loudly.

Xiang Ziyu didn’t hesitate, emptying another magazine in the direction of the carriage’s horses. Over a dozen bullets hit the high-headed horses pulling the carriage from a slanted rear angle, the noble steeds, obviously of great value, neighed and fell in the bloody mist.

With this, the carriage, which was already not moving fast due to traveling within the courtyard, came to a complete stop. Around the carriage, the Qi Country Ministers at this moment were few and far between.

Most were shot dead on the road, some had taken cover in other corners of the courtyard, and the road was littered with the bodies of Guards, while the coachman, terrified, had dropped the reins and run towards the gate.

He had only run halfway when a Guard shot him in the back through the heart, collapsing in front of the gate where many Qi Country Soldiers were rushing in with rifles, trying to block the Tang Country Paratroopers who were approaching the carriage.

“Stop them! Take His Majesty away! Take His Majesty away!” Among the remaining few Guards, one covered in blood shouted loudly at the incoming Qi Army.

He knew that now, with just their Guard’s strength, it was impossible to safely escort King His Majesty out of this dangerous place.

While he was still desperately shouting, a Tang Country Paratrooper had already rushed up behind him and shot through his head.

The Qi Country Guard fell straight down, the remaining Guards having basically run out of the bullets they carried; now they were merely targets to be slaughtered before the Tang Army.

There was no way around it; who could carry hundreds of bullets in their pockets while on duty beside King His Majesty? Everyone was neatly carrying a revolver, and including the bullets hidden in their pockets, they had, at best, thirty or forty rounds in total.@@novelbin@@

Such a quantity of ammunition was barely enough for a brief engagement. To their deaths, these Guards never imagined they would one day face enemies equipped with submachine guns in a head-on firefight.

The disparity in firepower between semi-automatic pistols and submachine guns was fully demonstrated in this battle: in close-range combat, submachine guns are always stronger than pistols.

“Bang!” A Qi Country Soldier rushed to the side of the carriage, raised his rifle, and took a shot at the distant Tang Country Paratroopers.

A Tang Country Paratrooper fell, shot in the abdomen, losing his combat ability instantly.

But Xiang Ziyu, who had already reached the carriage, immediately fired seven or eight bullets at the Qi Army hiding behind another horse.

Some bullets hit the horse, some hit the Qi Country Soldier, and in the end, both man and horse struggled and fell, while the remaining Qi Country Soldiers recklessly charged forward, seeming determined to recapture the carriage that was of such importance to them.

The Tang Country Paratroopers were not to be outdone, pressing in with their submachine guns. The clear sound of the Chicago Typewriter rung out, and the Qi Soldiers who had charged over instantly fell.

“Listen up, those inside! You’re surrounded! Come out and surrender!” Seeing the carriage was now under his control, the squad leader excitedly shouted to the people inside.

Accompanying his shouts, the few remaining paratroopers had already rushed to the front of the carriage, taking position on either side of the courtyard gate, on guard at the perimeter.

Xiang Ziyu cautiously held his submachine gun at the other side of the carriage, truly worried that the people inside would start firing out without notice.

The carriage already had its share of bullet holes, including ones from Xiang Ziyu and the Tang Country Paratroopers who hadn’t deliberately avoided the carriage. They weren’t special forces trained for hostage rescue and hadn’t undergone such training.

What they drilled every day, ingrained in their muscle memory, was to eliminate all threats, kill all enemies capable of firing, protect their lives as much as possible, and accomplish the core mission after parachuting!

So, to them, capturing King Jiang Xian of Qi alive and killing King Jiang Xian of Qi made no difference at all. Even when it came to being recognized for their achievements, there would be no difference.

“Come out quickly! Or I’ll start shooting!” While shouting, Xiang Ziyu wisely changed positions. He had called out to the enemy during training before and was “shot” through the door by the enemy.

The instructor eventually ruled he had been killed through an obstacle, a lesson he remembered vividly and dared not forget. It was such experiences that made him even more cautious.

“Creak…” Accompanying Xiang Ziyu’s shouting, the carriage door was slowly pushed open from the inside.

———

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. Two chapters today, updates will continue tomorrow.

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