Chapter 545: Like a Hot Knife Through Butter

When the Emperor of the Song State heard the news brought by his guards, he slumped helplessly into his dragon throne. Clearly, the succession of bad news was more than the Emperor could bear.

With a trembling voice, he said, "How is this possible..."

"My Song State holds no grudge or enmity with the Great Ming Empire. Why must this Imperial Grandson of the Ming attack my Song State?"

Evidently, the Emperor of the Song State had never imagined that the Great Ming Empire would launch a direct invasion without any prior warning.

"Immediately summon the officials! Also... summon the martial arts masters of the Song State. Have them come to the capital at once to deliberate!"

Now, with Wang Chongyang and Qin Hui both having been killed by the Great Ming Empire, the Emperor of the Song State had lost his pillars of support. Having reached this point, he could only rely on the strength of martial arts masters in an attempt to halt the invasion of the Great Ming Empire.

...

Meanwhile.

In the northern Song State.

Guo Zhen, the Commander of the Imperial Guards of the Great Ming Empire, was personally leading an army of fifty thousand, marching south in a grand, imposing procession!

In addition to these fifty thousand Imperial Guard soldiers, there were ten thousand Pterosaur Legions, ten thousand Tyrannosaurus Legions, and ten thousand Velociraptor Legions. Furthermore, the fifty thousand Imperial Guard soldiers were all fully equipped with modern weaponry.

It could be said that the strength of this army in this [Wuxia World] was such that they would slay gods and kill Buddhas!

Upon the Great Wall of the Song State.

Han Shizhong, a famous general of the Song State, immediately organized his troops to resist upon hearing that the Great Ming Empire was marching south.

Currently.

On this Great Wall, two hundred thousand troops of the Song State had already assembled.

"Listen to me, all of you! The combat effectiveness of the Great Ming Empire's army is extremely high; they once defeated the Jin State in only one month!"

"Now, this mysterious army has marched south. According to intelligence, they are only dozens of miles away from our Great Wall!"

"As the saying goes, 'Train troops for a thousand days to use them for a single moment.' Now is the time for you to serve your country!"

"As long as we can hold this Great Wall, this General will surely record a great merit for each of you!"

Under Han Shizhong's encouragement, there was no doubt that the soldiers of the two hundred thousand Song troops were filled with high spirits and fighting will.

However.

Before long.

A messenger on horseback rushed frantically toward Han Shizhong!

"Report!!"

"General Han, it's bad... the Great Ming Empire's army has arrived!"

To be honest.

When the messenger delivered this news, Han Shizhong was instantly startled.

He had never expected the Great Ming Empire's army to arrive so quickly.

It completely shattered Han Shizhong's understanding.

"What?"

"They've arrived so fast!"

"How is that possible? Didn't they say they were still twenty miles away?"

Just as Han Shizhong was filled with doubt, the entire sky suddenly darkened. Simultaneously, a series of shrieking sounds echoed from the high altitude.

Seeing this, Han Shizhong instinctively looked up toward the sky.

However.

The moment Han Shizhong raised his head, he was utterly stunned by the sight before his eyes.

It turned out that at this very moment, the high sky was filled with Pterosaurs!

They were so dense that they completely obscured the sky!

To be blunt.

Han Shizhong was completely dumbfounded upon seeing this sight.

"This... what is going on?"

Suddenly.

The Pterosaurs in the high sky charged toward the soldiers on the Great Wall like lightning. Seeing this, Han Shizhong immediately realized the danger.

"Shoot arrows!"

"Shoot arrows, quickly!"

"Shoot them all down!"

As Han Shizhong's voice fell, the Song defenders on the Great Wall naturally did not dare to hesitate. They drew their bowstrings and continuously fired toward the sky!

Unfortunately.

It was all in vain.

Because... the speed of the Pterosaurs was simply too fast, and having undergone training by the Imperial Guards, they actually possessed the ability to dodge.

Therefore, the arrows fired by the Song soldiers were fundamentally unable to threaten the Pterosaurs.

In the blink of an eye.

A massive number of Pterosaurs swarmed onto the Great Wall, incessantly tearing at the Song soldiers.

In an instant, the entire Song army fell into total chaos.

And not far from the Great Wall, the Velociraptor and Tyrannosaurus Legions had also arrived!

Of course.

There was also the Great Ming Empire's artillery legion.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

In an instant.

These large-caliber cannons rapidly fired shells, which accurately smashed into the walls of the Song State. The seemingly sturdy Great Wall of the Song State collapsed almost in a flash.

"Hmph, the Song State is nothing special."

"In fact, in this General's view, the Song State's military strength is even inferior to that of the Jin State."

As the Commander of the Imperial Guards, Guo Zhen's tone was filled with disdain upon seeing this scene. He continued to issue orders to the fifty thousand Imperial Guards behind him: "All units, heed my command!"

"Attack immediately!"

"Directly annihilate the defenders of the Song Great Wall!"

As Guo Zhen's words fell, the fifty thousand troops standing behind him naturally did not hesitate. They immediately took their orders and charged grandly into the Song Great Wall.

At that time, as the supreme commander of the Song Great Wall, Han Shizhong was quite shocked upon witnessing these scenes!

"How can this be?"

"This... the Great Ming Empire actually possesses such terrifying artillery?"

As the walls of the Great Wall were continuously blasted down by the Great Ming Empire's artillery, Han Shizhong fell into near-total despair. He knew very well that given the current military strength of the Song State, they were no match for the Great Ming Empire.

If they continued to defend to the death, the two hundred thousand Song troops would be completely wiped out, which was certainly not the outcome Han Shizhong wished to see.

Thus.

Driven by his love for his soldiers, Han Shizhong did not hesitate and immediately said to the messenger: "Notify the defenders to retreat immediately!"

"If we keep fighting, all two hundred thousand troops will die here!"

"Retreat, quickly!"

In an instant.

As the messenger issued the retreat order, the two hundred thousand Song troops on the Great Wall began to flee frantically like stray dogs.

In fact, these soldiers had no heart left for fighting; for them, they only wanted to escape with their lives!

At this time.

The Imperial Guard soldiers had already rushed onto the Great Wall. These soldiers, equipped with modern gear, held machine guns and submachine guns, firing wildly at the Song soldiers.

Suddenly.

The entire Great Wall became a living hell.

In just one hour, the Great Ming Empire's army occupied the northern Great Wall of the Song State without breaking a sweat. Looking as far as the eye could see, the Great Wall was covered with the corpses of Song soldiers.

Of course.

Because Han Shizhong had issued the retreat order in advance, many Song soldiers managed to break through the Ming army's encirclement...

However.

The Great Ming Empire held air superiority.

In the void above, the ten thousand Pterosaur Legion began to exert their strength. These Pterosaurs keenly sensed the direction in which the Song soldiers were fleeing.

Therefore... they were always able to kill them with ease.

At the same time.

Zhu Ying, riding a Quetzalcoatlus, slowly arrived at the Song Great Wall.

Upon seeing Zhu Ying's arrival, Guo Zhen immediately reported the latest military situation to him.

"Reporting to Your Highness, the Great Ming Empire's army has occupied the Song Great Wall. Currently, a total of fifty thousand Song soldiers have been captured, while the number of Song soldiers killed in action is one hundred thousand."

"Additionally, over fifty thousand Song soldiers have fled. However, please rest assured, Your Highness, I have already sent the Pterosaur Legion to pursue and kill them."

After hearing the military report from Guo Zhen, Zhu Ying was quite satisfied. Zhu Ying said unhurriedly, "Very good. I expect that after this battle, the Song court will certainly realize the might of the Great Ming Empire."

"Continue the advance!"

"Within one month, we must capture the capital of the Song State!"

After Zhu Ying finished speaking, the Imperial Guard Commander Guo Zhen immediately accepted the command!

"Please rest assured, Imperial Grandson! The Imperial Guards will surely complete the mission!"

Afterward, Guo Zhen pressed Zhu Ying further: "By the way, Your Majesty, how should we deal with the fifty thousand captured Song troops?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Ying said: "Let them go. Give these soldiers some travel money to return home. After all, the people of the Song State are also Han people."

"I shall grant them mercy!"

Once Zhu Ying finished speaking, Guo Zhen hurriedly responded in agreement.

...

At this moment.

Mount Zhongnan.

With Wang Chongyang and the Seven Immortals of Quanzhen all having been killed by Zhu Ying, the only expert remaining on Mount Zhongnan was the Old Mischievous Boy, Zhou Botong.

Zhou Botong was Wang Chongyang's junior brother, so naturally, his realm was quite high.

He was even at the same realm as Wang Chongyang—a peak Grandmaster.

"Martial Uncle!"

"Something terrible has happened! According to the Song officials, Master and the Seven Immortals of Quanzhen have all been killed by the Great Ming Imperial Grandson!"

When a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect told this news to Zhou Botong, the latter was instantly struck dumb.

"What!"

"Senior Brother was actually killed!"

"How is this possible! Senior Brother was a peak Grandmaster! In all the world, there are very few people capable of killing Senior Brother!"

Clearly, when Zhou Botong heard the intelligence that Wang Chongyang had been killed, his first reaction was disbelief.

Immediately.

Zhou Botong instantly mobilized the true qi within his body, attempting to sense Wang Chongyang's location as much as possible.

However.

No matter how much thick true qi Zhou Botong released, he still could not sense Wang Chongyang's aura.

At this moment.

Only then did Zhou Botong realize that his senior brother truly was no longer in this world!

"Senior Brother is really dead!"

"I, Zhou Botong, will definitely avenge Senior Brother!"

The usually frivolous Zhou Botong was naturally enraged upon learning the news of Wang Chongyang's death at the hands of Zhu Ying, and he even wished he could kill Zhu Ying immediately.

"Martial Uncle, the Emperor has issued an order. Please hurry to the capital to help resist the Great Ming Empire's army!"

...

Meanwhile.

Xiangyang City.

The Song soldiers also rushed to Guo Jing's presence!

"Great Hero Guo, things are dire. The Great Ming Empire's army has marched south and has already arrived near the Great Wall. A battle between the Song State and the Great Ming Empire is inevitable!"

"Furthermore, Taoist Wang Chongyang and Lord Qin Hui have both been killed by the Great Ming Imperial Grandson!"

Upon hearing this information, Guo Jing was also unable to calm down for a long time.

"What? Taoist Wang Chongyang is dead? If I remember correctly, Taoist Wang Chongyang was a peak Grandmaster. How could the Great Ming Imperial Grandson possess such powerful strength?"

Guo Jing looked panicked.

Beside him, Huang Rong said: "Brother Jing, have you forgotten? The Great Ming Imperial Grandson is in the Divine Ability Realm, even at the peak of the Divine Ability Realm!"

"Naturally, he can easily kill Taoist Wang."

"It seems the Song State is truly facing the disaster of national destruction this time."

To be honest, for Guo Jing and Huang Rong, they did not care about Qin Hui; after all, the entire populace of the Song State, the officials, and even the martial arts masters held great resentment toward Qin Hui.

However, when Guo Jing and the others heard of Wang Chongyang's death, they were naturally very saddened.

"Rong'er, tell me, what should we do now?" Guo Jing hurriedly pressed Huang Rong for an answer.

The latter did not hesitate and spoke urgently: "Brother Jing, the most urgent matter is to quickly gather the martial arts masters of the Song State and congregate in the capital!"

"Only if all the martial arts masters of the Song State work together can victory be achieved!"

After Huang Rong finished speaking, Guo Jing nodded repeatedly. He immediately said, "Rong'er is right! In that case, let us hurry to the capital! To protect the Song State together!"

...

A few days later.

The Great Ming Empire's army swept through the entire Song State like a flood or a fierce beast.

The Imperial Guards, the Cavalry Battalion, and various dinosaur legions were killing in all directions. In less than ten days, the Great Ming Empire had captured over a dozen cities in the northern Song State.

However.

After occupying the cities, the Great Ming Empire's army did not carry out massacres. After all, the people of the Song State were also Han people, so Zhu Ying required the soldiers to treat the civilians well.

In fact.

Zhu Ying even sent some scientists and workers into the occupied Song cities to help the Song people with infrastructure and to improve their quality of life.

At first, the Song people were full of hatred and strong resistance toward the Great Ming Empire's army. But when the people saw that the Great Ming army was not acting lawlessly and was even helping to build public facilities, their attitudes naturally changed significantly.

In fact, many Song people even welcomed the arrival of the Great Ming soldiers!

...

On this day.

Zhu Ying, leading the Wangwei Pterosaur Army, once again arrived at the frontline military camp to inspect the battle situation.

The Imperial Guard Commander Guo Zhen, the Cavalry Battalion Commander Lan Yu, and others naturally reported the battle situation to Zhu Ying in person.

"Reporting to Your Highness, according to the current progress, in five days, the Ming army will be able to occupy half of the Song State's territory, and in ten days, the Song State can be completely eliminated."

After Guo Zhen finished speaking, Zhu Ying nodded slightly and said, "Very good. However, you must ensure that the Great Ming Empire's soldiers do not massacre cities!"

"The people of the Song State are Han people and share the same bloodline as the Great Ming Empire. Therefore, you must treat the civilians well."

"Additionally, besides occupying the Song State as quickly as possible, you must also transform the occupied cities to allow the people to live better lives as much as possible."