If the Machine Guns Don't Work, Use a Cannon
The bullets clattered against the Spiritual Qi shield, only creating tiny ripples of aura light. Although the Spiritual Qi shield was depleted, it remained as solid as a rock.
Zhou Kui chuckled inwardly. Just as he expected, this strange artifact looked imposing, but its actual power was only enough to shake the defenses of those at the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining. For him, with his cultivation at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining of Qi Refining, it posed no real threat whatsoever.
He held back no longer, his pace quickening as he charged straight at Huan'er —he would pick on the weakest of the weak first, then deal with the other two.
Seeing Huan'er the bullets were like tickles, and the enemy was charging closer and closer despite the heavy fire, Huan'er panicked and instinctively staggered backward, but dared not release the trigger, yet she could not stop the enemy's advance in the slightest.
Seeing the situation was not good, Xiao Mingshu, who was diagonally above, immediately unleashed a hail of bullets at Zhou Kui from the side.
Under the combined attack, Zhou Kui's Spiritual Qi shield finally weakened significantly, and its light dimmed somewhat.
However, his Spiritual Power foundation at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining was extremely profound. The Spiritual Qi he consumed was instantly replenished by the Spiritual Power in his body, and the shield maintained its complete form. He did not stop walking at all.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two sides had shrunk to thirty meters. Shen Jingchuan knew he couldn't wait any longer, and Huan'er's ammunition belt was almost empty. He immediately calmed himself down and pulled the trigger of the machine gun in his hand.
Almost simultaneously, Huan'er's gunshot abruptly stopped, the entire ammunition belt completely emptied. She paused for a moment, then immediately remembered the method Shen Jingchuan had taught her. She hurriedly pulled a new ammunition box from her waist Storage Bag, opened the lid, pulled out the end of the ammunition belt, and inserted it into the gun barrel with a click. In the blink of an eye, she had reloaded the ammunition and picked up her gun again to join the fire.
Three machine guns formed a dense barrage from three sides, completely surrounding Zhou Kui.
Even with his profound cultivation at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, he was still forced to move slowly. Before long, the Spiritual Qi shield around his body was torn apart layer by layer, and the remaining bullets all hit the Azure Gang Shield in his hand, making his tiger's mouth numb.
Zhou Kui was secretly alarmed. This thing was neither Law Artifact nor Technique Method, yet its power was even more troublesome than ordinary mid-grade Technique Method.
Just as Xiao Mingshu finished changing her ammunition belt and resuming firepower, Shen Jingchuan's ammunition belt was completely empty.
His eyes narrowed. Damn it, he's forcing me to use my last trump card.
With a light touch of his toes, he leaped onto the roof of the vehicle, and with a flick of his wrist, a twin-barreled 23mm aircraft cannon was pulled out.
These are parts salvaged from retired fighter jets that he collected earlier. The original electrically activated firing mechanism has been modified into a purely mechanical firing mechanism, which can be manually fired without electricity. It was originally an armor-piercing weapon for aircraft, capable of penetrating the armor of light tanks from the front.
He deliberately stored the cannons and shells in his Spatial Ring for a long time, so their power should be greater than before.
He bent down and inserted the cannon barrel into the universal slot on the cannon mount on the vehicle. The latch clicked shut, and the two dark cannon barrels were steadily aimed at Zhou Kui.
Zhou Kui caught a glimpse of the thick, long black pipe, and alarm bells rang in his heart, his sense of danger several times stronger than before.
He glanced around and saw Huan'er bending down to reload, while only the female cultivator in the sky was still firing. He immediately seized the opportunity, braving the hail of bullets from the side, and charged straight at Shen Jingchuan on the roof of the car—this kid is the most strange, I'll take him out first.
In the blink of an eye, the two sides were only a dozen meters apart. Shen Jingchuan pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Knock knock--"
The two barrels roared alternately, the deep, heavy sound of the cannons exploding with a force more than twice that of the machine guns.
The violent recoil slammed into the carriage, causing it to lurch backward. The wheels carved two deep grooves into the mud. Damn it, it wasn't secured.
"Little Black, Treading Snow, hold on!" Shen Jingchuan shouted sternly.
Upon hearing the sound, the two Whirlwind Horses immediately braced themselves on all fours, their muscles tensing, and stubbornly resisted the recoil. However, the cannon's recoil was too powerful, and the vehicle continued to slide backward.
Seeing this, Big Black immediately turned around and stepped forward, bracing its shoulder against the cart shaft. The hardwood shaft hurt its skin, and it grimaced, but it refused to loosen its grip even for a moment.
With the combined efforts of the three Whirlwind Horses, the carriage finally came to a steady stop.
Once the cannon was stabilized, the shells poured out with precision. The entire ammunition belt, consisting of fifty armor-piercing shells, was fired in rapid succession at an extremely high rate of fire.
Zhou Kui was terrified and used all his Spiritual Power to create a protective shield several times thicker, with the Azure Gang Shield placed in front of him to form a double defense.
The kinetic energy of armor-piercing projectiles is far greater than that of bullets. The first one hit the light shield and caused the barrier to dent violently. Subsequent shells followed one after another, tearing away at his Spiritual Power defense layer by layer.
In just a few breaths, his thick protective shield, Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, could not withstand the strain and shattered and disintegrated.
Without the outer cushioning layer, the remaining shells slammed solidly into the Azure Gang Shield, instantly creating numerous dents on the hard surface, with cracks spreading rapidly along the edges.
After unleashing a full fifty armor-piercing shells, the cannon fire abruptly ceased. Zhou Kui staggered back a dozen steps, his protective Spiritual Qi completely depleted. The Azure Gang Shield in his hand was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, yet it stubbornly remained intact.
Shen Jingchuan clicked his tongue in amazement while watching from the car, cursing inwardly:
What the hell is this material made of? It's tougher than tank armor! If it were a real armored vehicle, let alone a light armored vehicle, even a medium one, it would have been pierced and destroyed by fifty 23mm armor-piercing rounds long ago. This tattered shield can actually withstand a whole chain of shells.
While cursing, his hands moved swiftly, pulling a box of new armor-piercing ammunition belts from his Storage Ring and shoving the end into the cannon barrel.
After recovering from the shock that had made his Qi and Blood surge, Zhou Kui saw that his opponent had stopped and was probably renewing his strength. He wasn't about to let this opportunity pass, so he immediately pushed off with his feet and rushed forward.
It's not that he can't wield a sword, but Qi Refinement Realm cultivator needs to allocate nearly half of their Spiritual Power to maintain the sword and their body when wielding a sword, which inevitably reduces their offensive and defensive capabilities. It's far less reliable and stable than using Spiritual Power while standing firmly on the ground.
Only after Foundation Establishment and ensuring an inexhaustible supply of Spiritual Power can one maintain peak combat power while wielding a sword.
There were two broken things nearby that could attack him at any moment, so he could only rush down the ground and dared not float in mid-air to weaken his own defense.
He had only taken a few steps when the firepower from both sides pressed in again.
Huan'er had already changed the ammunition belt, and the machine gun in her hand was firing non-stop.
Xiao Mingshu, suspended in mid-air, also unleashed a hail of bullets at him from the side.
Zhou Kui could only grit his teeth and pour all his remaining Spiritual Power onto the shield, charging forward despite the dual attacks. The cracks on the shield were worn even deeper, but his steps did not falter.
In the blink of an eye, he rushed to within ten meters of the carriage.
Zhou Kui's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He suddenly drew up his Spiritual Power from his Dantian and shot towards the roof of the car like an arrow. The magic sword in his hand gleamed coldly, ready to cleave Shen Jingchuan in two.
Just as he leaped into the air, Shen Jingchuan finished locking the last section of the ammunition belt and slammed his fingertips down on the firing mechanism.
"Knock knock--"
The second chain of fifty armor-piercing rounds blasted head-on, truly hitting the Azure Gang Shield at point-blank range.
This time there was no room for maneuver. The violent kinetic energy exploded layer by layer along the shield. The Azure Gang Shield, which was already on the verge of its limit, only withstood a dozen or so blows before it shattered completely with a "crack," and fragments flew everywhere.
The remaining thirty-odd armor-piercing rounds, unimpeded, along with machine gun bullets sweeping in from both sides, all poured into Zhou Kui's body.
Although his body, at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, had been tempered by Spiritual Qi energy, he was not a body cultivator, so how could he withstand the tearing force of an armor-piercing bullet?
Zhou Kui only had time to let out a shrill scream before the enormous impact sent him flying more than ten meters away, crashing heavily to the ground and falling silent.