Chapter 574: Chapter 574. Breaching the Town’s Gate
With everyone moving at top speed, the twenty-thousand-strong First Demon Army arrived near Surly Gate Town in less than half a day.
During their journey, they saw something they had never seen before. A long metal cart was cruising over the land at high speed. Amon was less surprised by the sight. He saw the metal cart was moving along a railway. The lengthy cart was like the train of his previous world.
He had long heard about Khode’s superiority in advanced jobs, but seeing them directly still fascinated him. Although the train he saw appeared primitive compared to his old world, it was still remarkably advanced for this cultivation world.
Among the information he pried from Zhong Yuan, he learned that Khode had a special branch of job unavailable in other countries. The experts of this specialized job were called Tech Specialists. From how Zhong Yuan described these experts, they were what his old world called scientists and engineers.
Learning this, he was more motivated to conquer the country. He had a few ideas in mind where he could utilize these Tech Specialists. One of which he had shared with Zhong Yuan, who found the idea fascinating and was in the middle of researching it.
Amon stopped his army’s march once Surly Gate Town came into sight. He studied the terrain. It was as Zhong Yuan described to him.
The Surly Gate Town was originally built as a fort in a mountain pass by the Khode’s predecessors. It was a defensive facility to protect the country near the border. After Khode sealed itself from the outside world and installed automated defense to protect its border, this defensive fort lost its strategic value.
The officers in charge of the fort saw its potential, though. Its surroundings brimmed with natural resources, enough to support a large population. So, they stayed and kept developing the place until it became a large town. Its function had changed, but its terrain still offered strong defenses.
Before departing on this campaign, Amon asked Zhong Yuan for information on all Khode’s settlements closest to the border with Echos. Amon chose Surly Gate Town as his first target due to its terrain. With its defensive benefit, the town could serve as his army’s permanent base in this country.
"The place looks strong," Xin Wuming said after seeing the fortress town.
"That’s why we have to occupy it before Khode reinforcement arrived," Amon said. "This place will be more troublesome to defeat if it has enough soldiers to defend it. It should not be the case at the moment."
Amon turned to Zhong Yuan as he spoke his last sentence. Zhong Yuan responded, "Yes. Khode didn’t put much emphasis on developing a powerful army. They have no desire to fight other countries, and their period of seclusion has rendered them careless of an attack. However, you should find plenty of battle puppets that served as the town’s security."
"Battle puppets have controllers. The high officials of the town should have authority for their control," Amon said. "Wuming, Baili, tell everyone to capture instead of killing the enemy commanders."
"Roger that!" The two went to relay the command.
"So, how should we do this?" Wu Di asked. "The wall seems strong. Its protective barrier should be powerful. Can we break the barrier and enter the town before the enemy reinforcement arrives?"
"I will break the barrier. You all prepare to charge in when I give my signal," Amon stated.
"Huh? For real...?" Wu Di asked.
Amon didn’t bother explaining. He turned to Gao Xingzi and ordered, "Xingzi, follow me and have your Yao Bird cover the town gate."
Gao Xingzi nodded. She didn’t know how Amon did it, but he gave the same order when they breached the barrier at Bright Rock City. She figured Amon must have a secret technique to breach the barrier, which he didn’t wish the others to know. Even she couldn’t tell how Amon did it. Only the Yao Bird knew what was going on inside its black fog. Its beast mind was, however, too simple to convey the information to her.
While she was curious, she didn’t plan on prying into her superior’s secret. She had been trained to carry out orders without question.
After ensuring his army was ready, Amon climbed onto the Yao Bird and told Gao Xingzi, "Let’s go!"
Gao Xingzi sent her command to her tamed beast. The Yao Bird uttered a challenging shriek before it flew toward Surly Gate Town. The First Demon Army also continued its march toward the town, albeit at a slower pace.
*
Up there on the defensive wall above the town gate, Won Xulao was watching the incoming army. He was surprised after seeing the number of troops in the enemy army. Xuang Feng had given an estimate based on what was detected by the Faxien Radars in his message, but Won Xulao was still taken aback by the sight. Such a sight was rare because Khode rarely ever needed to mobilize a large army.
"Fire the Yuanxu Cannons!" Won Xulao commanded. A few Yuanxu Cannons were installed at the top of the wall as its defensive weapons. The town guards immediately carried out his command.
Soon, multiple glowing balls flew out of the defensive wall. They sped toward the incoming army.
Several soldiers flew out of the army. These soldiers seemed to have expected the shots. They defended against the glowing elemental balls, causing the balls to explode before they hit the army.
All the while, a Yao Bird approached from the sky. Two people were riding on it. Won Xulao couldn’t properly sense the cultivation of the two riders despite his Intermediate Spirit Stage cultivation. The two must have good concealment art and were most likely Spirit Stage cultivators like him.
Even so, he wasn’t too concerned. They were just two people and a spirit beast. They would be easy pickings while the enemy army was still far behind. He ordered the town guards to ready their bows. Along the defensive wall were also many battle puppets. These battle puppets aimed their arms at the Yao Bird, which had nozzles that shot energy bullets.
But before the defenders could unleash their assaults on the Yao Bird, the beast spewed out a massive cloud of black fog. The Yao Bird and its rider disappeared from the defenders’ view. No one could detect where the enemies were, not even the battle puppets.
"Damn it! They try to blind us," Won Xulao uttered. "Continue firing the Yuanxu Cannons even if you can’t see the enemy! With their number, they are bound to get hit even if we fire without aiming. Linzu! Call someone to bring more Yuanxu Cannon’s ammunition! We don’t have many cannons, but we have enough ammo. They won’t breach our barrier any time soon. We will bring down their number to give our reinforcement an easier time defeating them."
A female aide who stood by Won Xulao’s side picked a town guard. That guard hurried away to carry out the order.
Won Xulao snickered. "Stupid Echos. They got angry because Xuang Feng attacked them. They retaliate to show their fury, but don’t know what they are up against. Brute force won’t work against Khode’s defenses. They will learn this the hard way when they are besieged by our reinforcement while unable to breach our barrier!"
Another town guard came running after Won Xulao finished his monologue. He shouted in an urgent tone, and his face was pale. "Mayor Won! The Tech Specialists in the control room informed that a tear is opening in the barrier directly before the town’s main gate!"
"What?! How is that possible?" Won Xulao exclaimed. He didn’t see the enemy unleash a powerful attack. Even if the black fog concealed the attack, one so powerful as to cause a tear in the barrier would have produced a loud explosion.
"I... I don’t know. The Tech Specialists said they couldn’t mend the tear. I was told to convey this warning so Mayor Won can prepare a defense behind the main gate before the gate is breached."
Won Xulao was stunned by the warning but soon barked out orders. Town guards who were not manning the Yuanxu cannons rushed down the wall and ran to the gate. An explosive sound was heard when they were about to reach the gate.
*BOOM!*
The thick gate broke apart, its hinges were torn, and its door pieces were flung inward. Black fog soon seeped in from the huge opening previously blocked by the massive gate.
The town guards were shocked to a pause when they saw the gate blow up, but they quickly moved again. They lined themselves up before the black fog, which slowly advanced toward them.
They took one step back when the black fog almost touched them. They were unsure what to do. Suddenly, many small knives flew out of the fog. Each knife hit the fatal part of the town guards. Most were killed instantly, and the rest fell to the ground and bled helplessly from the wounds.
Several battle puppets accompanied the town guards. The flying knives didn’t target these puppets, but they soon joined the fate of the human defenders. A large, bald man with black eyes rushed out of the fog. It swung a yellow cloth that whirled in one circle. A black dagger was tied to the yellow cloth. After that one circle, the nearby battle puppets split in two and fell to the ground.
The man bellowed with a thunderous voice, "Surly Gate Town! Surrender now or face annihilation...!!!"