As Great Qin's bridgehead for its eastern invasion, Gujin Pass not only housed an elite legion, but had also relocated large numbers of craftsmen, laborers, and slaves to serve with the army.
As a result, a great many houses had been built inside the fortress, and it had already taken on the layout of a city.
Yet today, this newly built fortress city faced a catastrophe that would wipe it out.
Shell after shell screamed down from the sky, erupting in incomparably violent explosions. House after house was blasted apart and collapsed, while countless soldiers and civilians were struck by flying fragments or buried beneath the ruins.
Even more terrifying, the flames produced by the explosions ignited the timber and fodder stockpiled inside Gujin Pass, swiftly creating widespread fires and causing even more casualties.
At this moment, ordinary people and Martial Artists alike ran about in panic. Screams, cries, and pleas for help intertwined, as though this were hell on earth.
While the people within the fortress endured unprecedented torment and suffering, the Qin troops guarding the walls fared no better.
After several rounds of bombardment, the Western Expeditionary Army's gunners readjusted their firing parameters.
Their shots became more accurate.
Their first targets were not the Qin troops, but the cannons the latter had deployed atop the walls, calling them out one by one.
Holding an overwhelming advantage in range, these artillerymen could calmly display their skills.
Explosive shells burst one after another atop the walls. Though the rate of fire was not high, every shell contained terrifying power, effortlessly destroying the Qin cannons along with heavy crossbows and other weapons.
Many Qin soldiers were also caught in the blast, blown apart, killed, or wounded.
The bombardment continued for more than half an hour before it was temporarily halted, because