The Times Had Changed
After Taiheng established the ranks of the Lineage, he immediately issued a decree ordering the ninth-rank Lineage to go to the battlefield and contribute to Taiheng.
At this point, the cultivators who had tried to take advantage of the situation realized that they had been tricked.
However, the Ninth-Rank Noble Families have little influence, and since the Aristocratic Clan above them Subordinate First Rank to the eighth rank, are not involved in the matter, they naturally won't speak up for the Ninth-Rank Noble Families.
The power of the Aristocratic Clan has actually been divided!
Qu Heng was overjoyed. He went to Deep Blue Knows and recharged Hua Manlou's account with a large sum of money, and then began to command the battle.
He had always believed that the reason the Ming Dynasty was in such dire straits was entirely because he couldn't enter the Ming Dynasty and personally command it.
So this time, he's going to the battlefield in person!
Of course, it's impossible for him to personally participate in the battle. Currently, cultivators at the Spiritual Law Realm cannot open their inner vision, which means they are at risk of perishing, such as being hit by a hydrogen bomb.
Moreover, he disdains bullying the weak.
Even with 40 million ninth-grade Aristocratic Clan, drawing one out of three, they still managed to produce 300 million cultivators!
There are 180 million cultivators at the Body Refinement Realm and 120 million cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage.
With such a massive force, they could sweep through any terrain without fear.
However, once on the battlefield, Qu Heng discovered that the nature of warfare had changed, and the number of people was no longer the deciding factor in the outcome of a war.
When the Great Xia Dynasty unified China, firearms only appeared occasionally, and the eight thousand tanks were on the battlefield for the first time. The main methods of warfare relied on the bravery of the soldiers, the strength of the military formation, and the command skills of the generals and marshals.
But in less than half a year, the war has evolved to an era where everyone carries a gun, large troops can run, and tanks have been formed into regiments!
These rebels have only been cultivating for a little over ten years; just improving their cultivation level takes up a lot of time, so where would they find the time to cultivate Divine Ability?
However, with guns in hand, there's no need to cultivate Divine Ability, because even Qi Refining Tenth Level cultivator would die from a single shot!
"These are bullets used by the rebel army?" Qu Heng held a bullet that was 6 centimeters long, with a scarlet tip and a golden body, and squinted as he examined it.
"Yes, the rebels call it the Immortal-Slaying Martial. Not only can Qi Refining Tenth Level withstand it, but even Spiritual Law Realm 2 cultivator who has cultivated Indestructible Body cannot withstand it!" said the disciple acting as Qu Heng's secretary.
Qu Heng known as "Immortal-Slaying Martial," was somewhat taken aback.
If he remembers correctly, firearms only appeared seven years ago.
Zhang Chulan killed a Qi Refining First Level cultivator with a gun.
Back then, firearms couldn't penetrate the protective Gang Qi of the True Gang Realm cultivator.
Later, the disciples of the Tianyi Sect improved the firearms, increasing their power to a level that could threaten cultivators at the third level of Qi Refining Third Layer.
Then, a cultivator from the Sun Sect invented a double-barreled shotgun and killed Sun Sect elder.
Later, an anonymous person invented the Electromagnetic Rifle, and someone else invented a technology to engrave runes on bullets, transforming them into Spirit Artifact.
From then on, firearms could pose a threat to cultivators at the Supernatural Power Realm.
That's how his son, Qu Bai, died.
From then on, no one dared to fight in the sky on the Great Xia battlefield anymore, and it was at this time that the disciples of the Aristocratic Clan completely withdrew from Great Xia.
After all, everyone wants to take advantage of a bargain, but no one wants to die so easily from a single bullet.
Moreover, the one who pulled the trigger might just be a cultivator at the Body Refinement Realm!
To die at the hands of a cultivator in the Body Refinement Realm is too shameful.
Later, when the war to unify the Great Xia Dynasty broke out, no one paid attention to news about firearms anymore. Moreover, this thing rarely appeared on the Great Xia battlefield, leading many to believe that perhaps it was only suitable for assassination and not for large-scale army battles?
But a few days ago, the Eastern Victory taught the Tai Heng Army a lesson.
Three thousand men, three thousand guns, pressed down on tens of thousands of Taiheng disciples, making them unable to raise their heads. It took them two days to conquer a mountain, with more than 30,000 deaths!
"This bullet is undoubtedly made of Spirit Materials, but the strength of the Spirit Materials alone is not enough to kill a disciple at the tenth level of Qi Refining. Its power comes entirely from the rune array inside the bullet!" Qu Heng scanned the bullet with his Divine Sense and discovered the rune array that was crumpled up inside.
He was very familiar with this thing; it was just like the one used in mobile phones!
It was discovered by Jiang Boming, improved by Yang Ning, and then used in mobile phones.
How come this thing appeared inside a bullet?
Has anyone, like Yang Ning, deciphered the secrets of Jiang Boming's manuscript?
I tried inputting Law Power, and the Law Power circulated within the rune array. Then, a strange aura spread from the bullet.
"Breaking the restriction, breaking the law, breaking the wind, silencing the sound, and some others I don't even recognize." Qu Heng frowned.
There's also Law Power tracking, specifically targeting cultivators.
There are also Curse, which can Indestructible Golden Body of a cultivator at the second Spiritual Law Realm to some extent; even if you can't kill them, they'll still annoy you.
If it weren't for the fact that spatial methods are no longer feasible, this bullet would probably have incorporated Space Element.
This is what weapon designers are like; their thinking has always been geared towards slaying gods and destroying saints.
Qu Heng halted the war less than a week after it began.
The casualties were too great.
Because firearms didn't exist in this world before, and because dragons, although mages, also relied on Divine Ability combat, all of Taiheng's current Divine Abilities and Sorcery and Peerless Divine Abilities, are mid-to-close range Law Technique, with a maximum casting distance of only a dozen kilometers.
Those who can control flying swords to behead people from thousands of miles away can also do it, but they can only behead mortals. Killing those of the same realm or even those several realms lower than themselves is difficult.
Unfortunately, the further the casting distance, the greater the Law Power decay.
Facing a gun that can fire 20 kilometers away, you're really just waiting to be shot.
However, he did nothing but pass on the message that firearms were for sale in the mall.
It's impossible to get him to buy it; 300 million worth of firearms is an enormous expense!
That can only be done by the Aristocratic Clan themselves. If they don't want to die, they will naturally buy guns themselves.
Not only do they have to risk their lives fighting, but they also have to pay for their own weapons. That's just unbelievable!
A week later, with 300 million weapons in hand, Qu Heng ordered his troops to continue their eastward advance.
But Heavenly Queen, they stopped.
They discovered that the enemy's bullets were very powerful and could kill people, while their own bullets often failed to penetrate defenses.
I asked the shop owner and found out that the person was wearing Bulletproof Vest and a helmet.
What can you do? Buy it.
Firearms, bullets, Bulletproof Vest, and helmets are all products made from Spirit Materials and enhanced with rune arrays, reaching the level of Spirit Artifact.
Spirit Artifact naturally require Spirit Stone to pay for.
If Taiheng were to pay for this, Qu Heng would immediately sense that something was amiss.
However, this debt was divided among 45 million small Aristocratic Clan, so everyone felt it was expensive, but not unaffordable.
With guns, spying, Bulletproof Vest, they should have been able to win by now.
It still doesn't work.
The opposing side has been upgraded from border guards to regular troops, and they not only have firearms, but also artillery and tanks!
Firearms can be purchased by individuals, but artillery and tanks are something that small Aristocratic Clan simply can't afford; they're just too expensive.
It's not that I can't afford it, but buying something that can shoot 100 or 200 kilometers is useless. This thing can only be used in large-scale battles on the battlefield. If it's for private use, it's impossible to hit an opponent of the same level!
Moreover, cannons and tanks all require shells, and this thing is priced like Spirit Artifact, yet it's a disposable item.
Destroying 60 Spirit Artifact in a minute—how could Ninth-Rank Noble Families withstand that?
The scions of the Aristocratic Clan were unwilling to buy, and also didn't want to be bombed, so they could only shrink back and remain idle.
Qu Heng had no choice but to return to his sect.
Since the sect doesn't have a war budget, if he wants to allocate a portion from the sect's funds, he has to hold Elder Council to discuss it.
War is inevitable, but the sect has to pay for the cannons and tanks, which is painful for the elders.
But not going out is not an option either.
It's tough now, but if Eastern Victory, Western Splendor, Northern Plains were to establish their own states like Southern Forest, the future would be even tougher!
The cannons and tanks we bought at a high price have arrived, but it will take another half a month just to get them familiar with how to operate them.
They had barely started moving when the rebel army on the other side deployed something new.
Suicide drones, designed to target artillery and tanks.
Looking at the day's battle losses, Qu Heng sighed, "Damn it!"
A gun costs 500 Spirit Stone, a bullet costs 20 Spirit Stone, a cannon costs 2,500 Spirit Stone, a shell costs 120 Spirit Stone, and a tank costs 30,000 Spirit Stone.
The battle lasted only one day, yet the amount of Spirit Stone lost was over ten million!
He didn't want to fight anymore.
What's wrong with this era? In the past, wars only required the lives of disciples, but now they even require the sect's money to fight!