Breaking Pan Household Manor

Shen Jingchuan rode Dahei out of the city, wearing only Big Black short-sleeved shirt. Since his cultivation reached the Qi Refining Second Layer, ordinary swords and arrows in the mortal world could hardly hurt him, and armor was just a burden. He only put horse armor on Big Black, after all, it was just an ordinary horse and could not stop stray arrows.

Following the directions on the parchment, before it was completely dark, he found his target—a wooden sign at the entrance of the village, clearly displaying the three characters "Pan Household Manor".

Next to it was a grove of withered trees. In the drought, the leaves were all dry and curled up, and a thick layer of dead leaves had accumulated on the ground, making a rustling sound when you stepped on them.

Shen Jingchuan turned into the woods, dismounted, patted Big Black's neck to let it wander around nearby, found a flat rock to sit on, took out a Qi Nourishing Pill, swallowed it, closed his eyes, and began to meditate and circulate his Qi.

Just as one cycle was completed, the sound of light footsteps could be heard in the distance.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, stood up, and followed the sound out of the woods. After a few steps, he heard Hu Tieniu's low voice, muttering, "Hey? Big Black's here," followed by a lowered call, "Young Master? Young Master, where are you?"

"Stop shouting, I'm here." Shen Jingchuan stepped out from behind the tree.

Hu Tieniu quickly moved closer, followed by a large group of soldiers, all crouching low and silent.

"Young master, everyone has arrived, and the cargo wagons delivered by the escort agency are all safely hidden in the woods behind."

"Everything else is fine, but you've seen the village walls yourself. They're made entirely of large bluestone and bricks, very high and thick. The gate is also encased in iron; it's hard to climb or break down. You see..."

"Alright, listen to me." Shen Jingchuan interrupted him, leading his men forward more than two hundred steps until they found a wide, flat open space.

Since acquiring the Storage Ring Ring, he no longer needed to hide it. With a thought, a dark 23mm aircraft cannon, along with its iron mount, landed heavily on the ground with a "thud," shaking the dust beneath his feet.

Then he took out four thick steel spikes and a large iron hammer, and handed them to Hu Tieniu: "Nail this frame to the ground."

Hu Tieniu and everyone else were dumbfounded, staring at the iron contraption they had never seen before falling from the sky. Their eyes were full of doubt, but they dared not ask any questions. They took the hammer and swung their arms around, hammering the four steel spikes into the ground in a few quick strokes, securing the cannon mount firmly.

The surrounding soldiers craned their necks to look, but no one knew what this black iron lump was for; it just looked menacing.

Shen Jingchuan ignored their curiosity and pointed towards the gate of the manor:

"Listen up, everyone! Form a line and move forward quietly. Remember, don't block my path; leave the middle clear. Once I blast open the gate, you rush in. Anyone who resists will be killed instantly. Let's finish this quickly."

He paused, then glanced at the line:

"Don't forget the protective gear you're wearing. Ordinary swords and arrows can't penetrate it. Don't panic. Follow the formations you've practiced. Understand?"

"Understood!" everyone replied in unison, lowering their voices.

Hu Tieniu immediately turned around and gave orders. Eight hundred crossbowmen led the way, followed by two hundred spearmen, leaving a clear passage in the center for the cannons. The group, wearing crimson helmets and black protective gear, crouched low and made their way silently toward the village wall, trudging through the dry grass.

Although they had trod very quietly, when they were still dozens of steps from the gate, the guards on the wall still heard the noise. A sharp shout from the top of the wall, filled with vigilance, pierced the night:

"Who goes there?! Take one more step and we'll fire our arrows!"

The farmhand peered down from the top of the wall. It was dark and he couldn't see clearly, but the soldiers' uniform crimson helmets stood out conspicuously in the darkness.

His heart skipped a beat, and he opened his mouth to shout "Enemy attack!" But before he could utter the word "enemy," several crossbow bolts from the crossbow formation below simultaneously pierced the air, instantly turning him into a pincushion. Before he could even finish a groan, his body swayed and he fell off the wall.

Seeing that he had been exposed, Shen Jingchuan no longer hesitated. He held the cannon barrel, aimed at the heavy iron gate, and pulled the firing mechanism. A whole box of pre-loaded ammunition belts were stacked next to him, and they were smoothly fed into the cannon barrel through the feed port. 23 mm shells poured out in an instant.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of deafening explosions rang out, blinding flashes of light shot from the cannon muzzles, and the immense recoil sent dust swirling around them.

However, the three-inch-thick iron-clad wooden door could not withstand such power. After a few shots, it was blasted into pieces, the door panels shattered into countless pieces of wood that flew everywhere, and even the door frame inlaid with blue bricks was torn and collapsed. A huge gap was blasted in the huge gate.

The commotion echoed throughout half the mountains and fields, startling even the roosting birds in the woods into taking flight.

Hu Tieniu and his soldiers were stunned by this earth-shattering power. Hu Tieniu was the first to recover, and he suddenly swung his steel saber, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Brothers, charge!"

The troops immediately sprang into action, charging forward in their usual drill formations—eight crossbowmen paired with two spearmen formed a squad. The spearmen, wielding their long spears, protected the flanks and the front, while the crossbowmen spread out to find and fire at the enemy. Their coordination was seamless, and they surged into the breached gate like a tidal wave.

The village guards, still terrified by the cannon fire, rushed out in a panic, grabbing their knives and spears, only to be met with a barrage of crossbow bolts.

Their bows and arrows had a short range and weak power, unable to penetrate the enemy's armor; but the powerful crossbows of Azure Cloud Stronghold could pierce through with a single arrow, felling a group in the blink of an eye. Occasionally, some fearless individuals would charge forward, only to be stabbed down by spears before they could even raise their swords.

The village was filled with shouts of killing, screams, and the clash of weapons, but the Azure Cloud Stronghold soldiers maintained their formation perfectly. The squads covered each other as they cleared out each courtyard and house, resulting in a one-sided rout.

In just half an hour, the shouts of battle in the village gradually subsided, leaving only sporadic shouts and footsteps.

Shen Jingchuan took out a black cloth and covered half of his face. He went forward to tidy up the aircraft cannon, but he couldn't move it.

Four steel spikes were driven deep into the ground, very firmly. He took out a crowbar and pried the steel spikes out one by one with a little force. Then he put the aircraft cannon, the gun carriage, and the remaining ammunition into his Storage Ring.

He had no intention of entering the estate. Hu Tieniu was already very familiar with such trivial matters as counting spoils and dealing with prisoners, so there was no need for him to personally handle them.

He whistled, Big Black trotted over following the sound. He took out an apple from his ancestral Ring and fed it to Big Black, then leaned against the edge of the woods and waited quietly.

Another half hour passed, and the inventory and moving of goods in the manor were completed. The pre-prepared carriages came in handy, and bundles and boxes of grain, cloth, silver, and the manor's stockpiled miscellaneous goods and valuables were all loaded onto the carriages and piled up to the brim.

Hu Tieniu ran out of the village, his brow beaded with sweat, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement. From afar, he clasped his hands in a fist salute to Shen Jingchuan.

"Young master, we've struck it rich! Everything's taken care of!"

Shen Jingchuan asked, "Where is he?"