Chapter 547: Suppression

After Han Shizhong informed everyone of the weapons used by the soldiers of the Great Ming Empire, the expressions of the martial arts masters changed to profound shock.

"If the Great Ming Empire truly possesses such powerful weapons, then the Song Kingdom has absolutely no chance of victory!" Hong Qigong said in a tense tone.

Sitting upon the dragon throne, the Emperor of the Song Kingdom, Zhao Gou, had long since been frightened out of his wits upon hearing this.

Zhao Gou hurriedly pleaded with the martial arts masters before him: "I implore you, great heroes, to save the Song Kingdom! If you can repel the invasion of the Great Ming Empire, I shall divide the world among you all!"

It was palpable that Zhao Gou was truly terrified.

At that moment, Guo Jing also hurriedly said to the Song Emperor, "Your Majesty, the most urgent matter is to dispatch troops to resist the Great Ming Empire's offensive."

"Only in this way can there be a possibility of victory!"

"Currently, the Great Ming Empire's army is on the verge of reaching the city walls! If we do not defend, given the strength of the Great Ming army, I fear they will breach the capital immediately!"

After Guo Jing finished speaking, the Song Emperor naturally did not dare to hesitate. He hurriedly turned to Han Shizhong and asked, "General Han, how many defending troops are currently within the capital?"

Facing Zhao Gou's inquiry, Han Shizhong blurted out, "Reporting to Your Majesty, there are currently a total of three hundred thousand troops in the capital; this is the main force of the Song Kingdom."

To be honest, when Zhao Gou heard that as many as three hundred thousand troops had gathered within the city, the heavy stone hanging in his heart finally settled.

Zhao Gou spoke with confidence, "Three hundred thousand?"

"If there are three hundred thousand, we can naturally resist the Great Ming Empire's offensive! General Han, lead these three hundred thousand troops to garrison the city walls immediately!"

"Under no circumstances must the Great Ming Empire's army enter the capital!"

However, after Zhao Gou finished speaking, Han Shizhong took the initiative to say, "Your Majesty, although there are currently three hundred thousand troops in the city... it is far from enough!"

"This general has already said it; the weapons of the Great Ming Empire are quite terrifying. Forget three hundred thousand—even three million would be unable to withstand the Great Ming Empire's onslaught."

Clearly, the Song Emperor, who had been wearing a confident expression just a second ago, became instantly panicked after hearing Han Shizhong's explanation.

He immediately pressed, "Could it be... that my Song Kingdom is already at a dead end?"

Han Shizhong shook his head helplessly and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this general is not fearmongering. According to my intelligence, the people of the Song Kingdom in many regions have even actively welcomed the Ming army into their cities!"

"Some even joined the ranks of the Ming army... to attack our Song capital together. Currently, the people of the Song have lost their hearts."

"Even if we move the capital, it would only be a matter of lingering on in misery!"

To be fair, although Han Shizhong was the Great General of the Song Kingdom, it was precisely because of this that he had completely lost faith in the Song Kingdom at this time.

He had, after all, witnessed the strength of the Great Ming Empire with his own eyes. Therefore, Han Shizhong knew very clearly that if he used these three hundred thousand troops to fight the Great Ming Empire, there would be only one result: the total annihilation of the three hundred thousand troops.

Han Shizhong naturally did not wish to see such a scene.

Therefore... in Han Shizhong's view, the only way currently was for the Song Kingdom to surrender.

As the Emperor of the Song Kingdom, Zhao Gou clearly guessed Han Shizhong's thoughts, and thus he immediately cursed, "Han Shizhong! You are a general of the Song Kingdom! Naturally, you must fight to the end for the Song!"

"Immediately lead these three hundred thousand troops to meet the enemy!"

At this time, Guo Jing also said to the martial arts masters before him, "Great heroes, now that the Imperial Court is in trouble, we must naturally contribute our strength!"

"Furthermore, the Imperial Grandson of the Great Ming killed Taoist Wang. If this grudge is not avenged, it will bring shame to the reputation of the Song Kingdom's martial arts!"

"I ask the great heroes to join General Han on the battlefield to kill the enemy!"

...

At the same time.

The vanguard of the Great Ming Empire, the Cavalry Battalion, was about to arrive at the Song capital.

"Report!"

"General Lan!"

"The Song capital is only five miles ahead!"

When the messenger delivered this news to Lan Yu, a look of excitement appeared on the latter's face.

"Very good!"

"Issue orders immediately! The army shall attack the city directly!"

"Within half a day, we must breach the Song capital!"

With Lan Yu's command, twenty thousand cavalrymen immediately set off in a grand procession toward the Song capital.

Meanwhile, inside the Song capital, Han Shizhong finally accepted the Song Emperor's request. He had already led the 300,000 Song defending troops to the city walls of the capital.

To be honest, Han Shizhong was still very uneasy in his heart, because he knew very well that with the current strength of the Song Kingdom, attempting to oppose the Great Ming Empire was like hitting a stone with an egg; there was absolutely no chance of victory.

Fortunately, in addition to the 300,000 defenders, the group of martial arts masters from the Song Kingdom had also arrived at the city walls. They were determined to live or die with the Song capital.

Although the combat effectiveness of the Song soldiers was average, the strength of this group of martial arts masters within the Song Kingdom was quite formidable. Especially individuals like Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Hong Qigong, Zhou Botong, as well as Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, and Xu Zhu—they were all highly powerful martial arts masters.

In Han Shizhong's view, if they provided assistance, perhaps there might still be a fight.

Just then, a soldier suddenly shouted to Han Shizhong, "General Han, look! The Great Ming Empire's cavalry has already charged to the foot of the city!"

As the soldier's voice fell, a trace of killing intent appeared in Han Shizhong's eyes. Sure enough, the 20,000 cavalry of the Cavalry Battalion had already rushed beneath the capital.

Seeing this, Han Shizhong did not hesitate and immediately ordered, "All troops, prepare for battle! Fire arrows!"

Following Han Shizhong's command, the 300,000 troops raised their bows and arrows and fired frantically at the cavalry below the city.

Unfortunately, the 20,000 cavalry led by Lan Yu were all wearing armor. When the Song arrows hit the armor, they had no way of penetrating. In other words, this attack posed no threat to the soldiers of the Cavalry Battalion.

The 20,000 cavalry did not stop their advance but continued to press toward the capital.

To be fair, when Han Shizhong saw this scene, he seemed to recall the images of the battle against the Great Ming Empire at the Great Wall not long ago.

Han Shizhong knew very well that relying solely on the strength of soldiers would be impossible to defeat this group of Great Ming cavalry.

Thus, Han Shizhong spoke to the group of martial arts masters beside him, "I ask the great heroes to lend your assistance."

At this moment, Guo Jing was the first to step forward.

Guo Jing cupped his fists toward Han Shizhong and said with great confidence, "General Han, please rest assured. Guo Jing will certainly protect the mountains and rivers of our Song Kingdom."

After Guo Jing finished speaking, he immediately unleashed his peerless martial arts, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.

Guo Jing mobilized the True Qi within his body and struck directly toward the 20,000 Great Ming cavalry below the city.

In a flash of lightning, this surge of True Qi directly swept over the cavalry.

It proved that Guo Jing's strength was indeed very powerful.

At this moment, many cavalrymen were directly injured by the True Qi released by Guo Jing.

Simultaneously, Han Shizhong immediately ordered, "Open the city gates!"

Subsequently, Han Shizhong personally led 50,000 troops out of the city to engage in a fierce battle with the soldiers of the Great Ming Cavalry Battalion.

The fighting on both sides was quite tragic.

However, the soldiers of the Cavalry Battalion were, after all, better equipped. They held modern weapons and continuously fired at the Song soldiers. Although the Song soldiers had a numerical advantage, because the gap in weapon strength was too large, these 50,000 Song troops were quickly defeated.

Before long, the 50,000 troops were reduced to only a few hundred men. Seeing this scene, Han Shizhong was immensely shocked. Without hesitation, he immediately led the remaining few hundred men back into the city.

Not long after, the Great Ming Empire's follow-up troops arrived.

Guo Zhen, the commander of the Imperial Guard, led 100,000 Imperial Guards in a grand procession toward the foot of the capital. In addition to the Imperial Guard soldiers, there was also a 20,000-strong Dinosaur Legion.

Of course, there was also an artillery corps of approximately 10,000 men.

At this time, Lan Yu walked up to Guo Zhen unhurriedly and said, "Commander Guo, you must be careful! There are martial arts masters present atop the Song capital."

Upon hearing this, although a trace of surprise appeared on Guo Zhen's face, it quickly vanished.

"General Lan, even if there are martial arts masters here, what of it? With their strength, they cannot possibly block the offensive of our Great Ming Empire."

Clearly, Guo Zhen was full of confidence in the strength of the Imperial Guard.

In the next second, Guo Zhen said in a high-pitched voice, "Pass my command: attack the city immediately! Let these Song people taste the power of modern artillery first."

After Guo Zhen finished speaking, the artillery corps also prepared for battle.

Thousands of large-caliber cannons were aimed one after another at the walls of the Song capital.

On the city walls, seeing this scene, Han Shizhong hurriedly said to the group of martial arts masters before him, "Great heroes, you must be careful. The power of the Great Ming Empire's artillery is staggering; do not let yourselves be harmed by it."

Just as Han Shizhong finished speaking, in a flash of lightning, bursts of massive cannon fire roared toward the sky.

At the same time, a large number of cannon shells flew directly toward the walls of the Song capital.

At this critical moment, Guo Jing stepped forward once again.

Guo Jing once again mobilized the True Qi within his body and unleashed the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.

In an instant, countless dragons formed from True Qi erupted from Guo Jing's body, and these dragons charged directly toward the incoming cannon shells.

Then, a massive explosion occurred.

Guo Jing forcibly used the True Qi in his body to collide with the cannon shells in mid-air, resulting in a violent impact!

"BOOM!!!"

Guo Jing succeeded.

He used his True Qi to block the first wave of artillery attacks from the Great Ming Empire.

Seeing this, Han Shizhong immediately praised Guo Jing, "As expected of Great Hero Guo! The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms are indeed divine and mighty!"

However, before Han Shizhong could finish, the second round of artillery attacks from the Great Ming Empire arrived.

This time, it was Hong Qigong's turn to act.

After all, during the previous exchange, Guo Jing had consumed too much True Qi; at that moment, it was difficult for Guo Jing to use the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms to block the Great Ming artillery's onslaught again. Hong Qigong naturally noticed this, so he stepped forward personally.

In this manner, Hong Qigong also used the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms and his internal True Qi to block the impact of the Great Ming artillery.

Below the city!

Seeing that two rounds of artillery attacks had failed to cause any substantial damage to the Song capital, a hint of surprise appeared on the face of Guo Zhen, the commander of the Imperial Guard. "It seems the strength of these Song martial arts masters does indeed have some substance."

Just then, the sky darkened once more.

Accompanied by several loud, piercing shrieks.

Han Shizhong on the city wall grew tense, for he understood that the true test was about to arrive.

The Wangwei Yilong Army, led by Zhu Ying, had also arrived in the skies above the Song capital.

A moment later, Zhu Ying, riding a Quetzalcoatlus, slowly descended before the generals such as Guo Zhen and Lan Yu.

"This general greets His Imperial Grandson Highness. May His Imperial Grandson Highness live for ten thousand years."

Upon seeing Zhu Ying's arrival, everyone naturally bowed in salute.

"Everyone, rise."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After the generals stood up, Zhu Ying unhurriedly inquired, "What is going on? Why has the Song capital not been breached yet?"

Facing Zhu Ying's inquiry, Guo Zhen was the first to speak, "Reporting to Your Highness, there are many martial arts masters on the Song city walls; they used True Qi to block the artillery's offensive."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ying's face did not show any sign of blame; instead, he looked quite excited.

"Interesting."

"I didn't expect the martial arts masters of the Song Kingdom to possess such patriotism."

Zhu Ying remarked coldly, "In that case, it seems I must personally intervene."

As Zhu Ying's voice fell, he used his True Qi to soar directly into the high sky.

At this moment, atop the Song capital, the various martial arts masters also sensed Zhu Ying's presence.

"It must be the Great Ming Imperial Grandson! What powerful True Qi!"

"Indeed, this person's realm has at least reached the Divine Ability Realm."

"We must kill this Great Ming Imperial Grandson. As long as we kill this fellow, our Song Kingdom will be saved."

For a time, these Song martial arts masters were in an uproar.

However.

Suddenly, when Zhu Ying appeared before this group of martial arts masters, everyone was struck with shock!

Because... the thick True Qi released from Zhu Ying's body brought them an immense sense of pressure!

"You... you are the Great Ming Imperial Grandson!" At this moment, Zhou Botong suddenly roared at Zhu Ying.

Zhu Ying nodded and then said, "Correct, I am the Great Ming Imperial Grandson!"

"I didn't expect the martial arts masters of the Song Kingdom to all be gathered here in the capital. Very well, then I shall kill you all!"

After Zhu Ying finished speaking, Zhou Botong completely lost his composure!

He shouted at Zhu Ying, "Today, I, Zhou Botong, must avenge my Senior Brother!"

With that, Zhou Botong immediately mobilized the True Qi in his body and charged toward Zhu Ying... (End of Chapter)