Martial Arts vs. Guns

"More than four hundred states have raised their armies, with an enemy force of over a hundred thousand cavalry."

"At this time of national crisis, it is the summer of the fourth year of Hong'an."

"No matter how terrifying the situation, our Dongyang men are here."

"Under the banner of righteous and decisive action, we roar to the world!"

A very loud song, sung by the mouths of Dongyang soldiers, gave people a feeling of upliftment and excitement, a sense of awe for the unknown.

Those who didn't understand the lyrics and their meaning were confused, while those who did understood had angry expressions on their faces, filled with rage at the distorted truths, sophistry, and beastly logic within the unlucky military song.

This force of wolves and tigers, marching in formation, immediately plunged the entire city into panic.

War was coming.

What a terrifying thing.

War meant burning, killing, looting, rivers of blood, broken families, displacement, separation of loved ones, and even the potential destruction of this prosperous city, turning hundreds of thousands or even millions into disaster victims overnight, worse than beasts.

How could anyone not be afraid?

Not to mention that the ones taking action were foreign armies.

Every rustle of wind, every shadow of grass, made them feel like soldiers.

Without any need for urging or driving, the citizens who realized there was impending military disaster near the International Journalists' Club packed their belongings and fled overnight. This, however, made the Army Company Captain Kashu Ryuji somewhat annoyed.

The soldiers under his command hadn't had a chance to vent for some time.

He had intended to punish the rioters while also relaxing and relieving stress, just like his predecessors at Lion's Mouth, which not only relieved stress but also boosted morale. However, his plan had fallen through.

Kashu Ryuji could only offer empty promises.

All the main roads near the International Journalists' Club were sealed off. The surroundings were quiet, and not a single Star Han person could be seen.

"The despicable and shameless Chinamen sneak-attacked and bombed our warships. Dongyang men! What do you say we do?"

"Chop off their heads!" came the organized reply.

"Excellent! Full of spirit!"

"They all say the Chinamen's gods are inside!"

"Gods that can sink warships and hurl thunder, haha!"

Kashu Ryuji drew his katana and swung it with dramatic flair, his tone exceptionally frenzied. Clearly, this Captain Kashu Ryuji had not personally witnessed Lan Yi's divine might yesterday, nor had he seen his feat of flying over the city. Arrogant and conceited, he simply did not believe the timid and fearful words of some of his colleagues.

Some of the soldiers had seen it.

But in this strictly hierarchical collective, where speaking incorrectly before battle could mean death, the soldiers, who had been transformed into rigid killing machines, wisely chose silence.

The smart ones thought to themselves.

Even if they can fly, they might not be able to block bullets.

If they can block bullets, they still have this many people.

Inside this journalists' club, apart from that somewhat dangerous Thunder God, no one else possessed the power to resist the army. They would first avoid the Thunder God and kill the others, and if that didn't work, they would retreat.

The smart ones were right; the hastily assembled observation group of foreign powers nearby thought the same way.

They should be safe.

"Prepare to attack!"

"Kill all the attackers inside!"

"Thoroughly search for any collaborators in the vicinity. Within one day, you can relax freely!"

This was Kashu Ryuji's final step in boosting morale, the most effective method for officers in the feudal imperial era to encourage their fierce soldiers. Once the target was captured and the resistance was wiped out, even if they committed massacres, the empire would ignore weak condemnations and protests.

If protests were effective, why would they need machine guns and cannons?

"Barbaric yellow-skinned monkeys."

An officer in the observation group, holding binoculars, commented in a detached tone.

"Hey, Mr. Marco, want to bet how long it will take these Dongyang people to take the club?" another officer whistled.

They understood this magical club better than the reckless and arrogant Dongyang people.

Apart from that mysterious Thunder Angel.

There were also some individuals inside who were very fast, very strong, and whose bodies were almost impervious to pistol bullets. They called themselves Martial Artists. These individuals would require rows of rifles, heavy machine guns, and cannons to deal with.

That Thunder Angel seemed to have encountered some trouble.

After several probes in the latter half of last night, his figure had not been seen.

"I bet an hour," Kent, who was mixed in with the observation group, suddenly said.

"An hour? This Dongyang army has decent discipline, and their weapons are top-notch. I think twenty minutes should be enough," Marco shrugged.

"Maybe the Dongyang people will fail..." Albert casually voiced the thought that everyone acknowledged in their hearts but hesitated to say due to face and other reasons. "...The Dongyang people are attacking, huh, hey, wait, what is that, a leopard? How did he manage to jump so high!"

The Dongyang people had just launched their attack on the club's main gate.

The first row of a dozen or so Dongyang soldiers, holding rifles and charging bravely, suddenly went mad.

Screaming like ghosts, as if encountering unseen horrors, they fired their guns wildly in all directions, killing many of their own comrades on the spot!

This was like a signal.

As soon as the Dongyang soldiers at the front went berserk, people burst out from many high places, blind spots, eaves, and even directly from within walls, appearing as if by magic, a great number of them surging forth!

Fast!

Extremely fast!!

Faster than leopards! More ferocious than tigers! More berserk than stampeding elephants!

The Dongyang soldiers, who hadn't even had time to turn their gun barrels, were instantly in trouble.

Stones? Bricks?

No, no.

The berserk Qi Cultivation Practitioners were hurling entire walls through the air! The lined-up Dongyang soldiers were instantly crushed into meat paste, and even the stones that merely grazed them easily tore away human flesh and bone!

The sight of bodies exploding into bloody mist from being hit by bricks and stones was truly gruesome!

The first wave of attacks by Qi Cultivation Practitioners, even those who had achieved great success in Qi Cultivation, had almost wiped out over forty men in this Dongyang squadron!

The flanks on the frontal direction were ravaged beyond recognition.

The Dongyang soldiers on the high ground were even more unlucky.

After they had just aimed and fired twice, suppressing the surging figures below, who moved as fast as flying birds, they were immediately targeted.

What targeted them were the small stones that the Martial Artists crushed from bricks and held in their palms.

No aiming was needed.

With the strength of Qi Cultivation Practitioners, within fifty meters, these rough, sharp fragments, when thrown with force, could deeply embed themselves into flesh and blood even through clothing!

Over a dozen Dongyang soldiers on the high ground.

Facing hundreds of fragments casually thrown by Qi Cultivation Practitioners, these unlucky souls were almost instantly surrounded and brutally dismembered, then rolled down and smashed onto the road.

"They're so fast! I can't see their movements at all!"

"My God, I just saw someone get shot, and he just fell down and got back up!"

"The building! They're pushing the building down!!"

Albert exclaimed, as if he had arrived on a battlefield of madness, everything before his eyes defying common sense.

Rat-a-tat-tat!!

The heavy machine guns blocking the street roared, and the roaring Dongyang soldiers moved their cannons, finally organizing a systematic counterattack.