"Join forces?" Yu Tianheng sneered, pointing his whip at the cliffs on either side of Heavenly Star Pass. "Look at the depth to which the walls of Heavenly Star Pass are embedded in the mountain rocks; even the cracks are filled with glutinous rice lime mortar. And look at that twenty-zhang-wide moat in front of the pass; the bottom of the moat faintly reflects metallic light—those are iron spikes coated with deadly poison. If the Star Luo Emperor could build his defenses here, wouldn't he have left himself a backup plan?"
He paused, his voice turning somber, " The Spirit Hall Empire is eager to claim credit, so let them test the waters first. We'll remain inactive, both to conserve our strength and to see just how many trump cards Star Luo Empire has up its sleeve."
Before the words were even finished, a deafening roar erupted from the Spirit Hall Empire's camp.
Platinum Bishop Salas stood atop his gilded chariot, his fingers pounding the armrests. His crimson cloak swept across the magic-engraved wheels. "A bunch of trash! It's just a broken pass, look at your cowardly faces!" He suddenly raised his voice, his Soul Power carrying his words throughout the army, "Don't forget the covenant we made before we set out! Whoever breaches Heavenly Star Pass first will own the mines of three and five provinces in eastern Star Luo Empire! Now, attack!"
As the command flag fell, the first wave of attack surged toward the pass like a black tide.
Three hundred Power Attack System Soul Master, wielding massive shields, formed the vanguard, their shields glowing with an earthy-yellow Soul Power light, attempting to withstand the city's crossbow bolts. Behind them were five hundred Agility Attack System Soul Master, who leaped towards the city walls like swallows with a light touch of their toes, their speed enhanced by Soul Skill leaving afterimages in their wake. Further back, ten Soul Douluo- level powerhouses hovered in the air, their Soul Ring swirling as they prepared wide-range Soul Skill powerful enough to shake the city walls.
However, the city walls of Heavenly Star Pass were unusually quiet.
There was no expected rain of arrows, no shouts from the defending soldiers, only the mournful sound of the wind whistling through the battlements.
Just as the vanguard of the Spirit Hall Empire charged to within fifty paces of the pass, the thick city wall seemed to suddenly come alive—countless bricks quietly slid open, revealing black holes about two feet square, behind which the cold glint of metal could be faintly seen.
"What is that?" Salas narrowed his eyes, a sudden unease rising in his heart.
The answer was revealed the next moment.
"Whoosh--whoosh whoosh--"
The incredibly dense sound of something tearing through the air was like thousands of wasps flapping their wings at the same time.
From those dark holes shot not ordinary arrows, but short crossbows, each a little over an inch long, their heads gleaming with a dark blue light. They formed a barrage of metallic projectiles at an astonishing speed, raining down on the charging troops!
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
Screams erupted instantly. The Vanguard Soul Master's massive shield, seemingly sturdy, was easily pierced by the short crossbow bolts—the bolts were fired at a special angle, rotating to target the gaps and edges of the shield.
Just as a Soul King- level Power Attack System Soul Master was about to use his Soul Power to deflect the crossbow bolts, three short crossbow bolts pierced his chest. Blue venom spread rapidly, and he groaned before collapsing to the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably.
Even worse off were the Agility Attack System Soul Master, who had nowhere to gain leverage in the air and became easy targets.
The short crossbows followed closely behind like harbingers of death, the sound of them piercing through the protective Soul Power rising and falling in waves. The falling figures were like kites with broken strings, crashing heavily into the trench in front of the pass, stirring up patches of blood.
"They're Hidden Weapon! And they're Hidden Weapon that can be fired continuously!" the Soul Douluo in the air exclaimed. They tried to use their Soul Skill to defend themselves, but they found that there were too many of these short crossbows and they were too fast. The Soul Power Barrier was torn open with countless small holes as soon as it was set up.
On the city wall, the Star Luo Empire were operating their weapons in an orderly manner.
It was a repeating crossbow, with fine Tang Sect patterns engraved on the mechanism; it was the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow. The soldiers worked in pairs, one person responsible for inserting the quiver filled with thirty crossbow bolts into the mechanism, and the other person pulling the trigger. With each pull, ten crossbow bolts would whistle out, the rate of fire so fast it was dazzling.
All of this stemmed from the secret audience Tang San had when he joined Star Luo Empire.
When Tang San presented the blueprints and samples of the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow to the Star Luo Emperor, this emperor, who had spent his life on the battlefield, immediately smashed three teacups in his study—not out of anger, but out of excitement.
He personally tested the power of the repeating crossbow: it could penetrate three layers of iron armor at thirty paces away, and had absolute lethality against Soul Master below the Soul Ancestor within fifty paces. More importantly, it did not require the user to have strong Soul Power; ordinary soldiers could master it after three days of training.
"This item is a national treasure!" Star Luo Emperor immediately ordered the Royal Secret Workshop to be emptied, and dispatched three hundred of the nation's top blacksmiths and carpenters to move in. Raw materials were supplied with priority from the national treasury, and the construction of three warships was even suspended, all to ensure the iron needs for the repeating crossbow were met.
All the artisans involved in the production had their families taken away and placed in a royal estate to "enjoy life"—in reality, as hostages, with no one allowed to divulge a single word.
Within three months, five thousand Zhuge Repeating Crossbow and a million Cold Iron Crossbow Arrows were secretly transported to Heavenly Star Pass, becoming the Star Luo Emperor's trump card hidden in his sleeve.
At this moment, the killing move was finally unleashed.
The Spirit Hall Empire's offensive crumbled before the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow. Nearly half of the first wave of charging chariot soldiers fell, and the follow-up troops were firmly blocked at the pass, unable to advance or retreat.
Salas's face went from flushed to ashen, then to deathly pale. As he stared at the black holes that kept spewing death, he began to doubt the meaning of the word "foundation" for the first time.
Meanwhile, in a mountain hollow five miles away, Yu Tianheng was observing all of this through a specially made telescope. When he saw the power of the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow, he raised an eyebrow, seemingly lost in thought.
"Young Marshal, this... this weapon is terrifying," the lieutenant murmured.
Yu Tianheng lowered his binoculars, his gaze deep. "What's frightening isn't the weapons, but the people who manufacture them, and their desire to conceal them." He turned and ordered, "Retreat three li further. Tell the brothers, this battle is going to be long. We need to think carefully about how to attack Heavenly Star Pass next."
At Heavenly Star Pass, a blood-stained wind blew, and the Star Luo Empire Banners on the pass fluttered in the wind, as if announcing the start of a new mode of warfare.
The battle at Heavenly Star Pass reignited after a brief period of calm.
In the following days, Salas, like a caged beast enraged, repeatedly sent out the elite troops of the Spirit Hall Empire to launch attacks.
First, a commando team of a hundred Soul King attempted to forcefully tear open a breach in the city wall using their combined Soul Power; then, Soul Master skilled in digging tunnels was brought in to try and bypass the wall from underground.
However, there were always countermeasures on the walls of Heavenly Star Pass. Facing the Soul King squad, a large number of " Mother and Child Soul-Seeking Guts " were suddenly poured out from the city wall. These black iron balls exploded upon landing, and the flying fragments with barbs instantly tore the skin of the front-line Soul King. As soon as the tunnel reached the foot of the pass wall, it was detected by the " Ground-Listening Needle " that had been planted beforehand. Soldiers poured specially made thick smoke into the tunnel from the hidden opening at the base of the city wall, forcing the Soul Master who were digging the tunnel to crawl out in a panic. As soon as they showed their heads, they were shot into pincushions by the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow.