Chapter 501: Chapter 501: Surprise
The initial intention to leave was halted for Hua Jin, especially when she saw those somewhat immature faces. Her steps simply couldn’t proceed.
The families of these young people are likely eagerly awaiting their return.
Knowing that the gunpowder and its formula she sent out would cause the upcoming battle to undergo a drastic transformation, the Beicang army is powerful, but how could flesh and blood possibly withstand the might of gunpowder?
She believes that creating gunpowder with the strength of a single city would not be an issue. The destructive force of various disasters is immense, but some resources do not disappear due to destruction.
With it, victory is only a matter of time. Yet, thinking about the wounded soldiers in the tent, Hua Jin still sighed heavily.
Being soft-hearted is a problem that needs fixing! But that is a matter for the future.
After avoiding the patrol army and crossing the wall to select a secluded place, Hua Jin entered the space.
There were quite a lot of materials in the space, enough for her to make another batch of gunpowder, especially the more potent Thunderfire Missiles.
Before leaving, she planned to present a substantial gift to the Beicang army!
But before that, she needed to satisfy her hunger.
Little did Hua Jin know that while she was feasting in the space, the things she left had caused a significant stir. The patrol soldiers on the street suddenly increased, and torches were everywhere, evidently searching for something.
Several generals incredulously looked at the neatly arranged items in the wooden box: Thunderfire Missiles, Sky-Breaking Cannons.
Hmm, names Hua Jin gave casually, emphasizing domineering presence.
"Is the letter true?"
Why does it feel so hard to believe? Sun Tan looked at Li Qi.
"This is the gunpowder mentioned in the letter, but just this little bit?" Ma Shuai shook his head.
"But how did these things appear in the tent? We were all here, weren’t we?"
Liu Tong couldn’t help but shiver; they were so many, yet none discovered anything—if it were enemies, who could escape?
"Any suspicious personnel discovered?" General Li did not speak but turned to the deputy general who had been guarding the door.
"Reporting to General, there’s still no clue, but everyone is searching thoroughly."
The deputy general outside the door broke into a cold sweat. Someone placed so many things under their noses in the commander’s tent, and they failed to notice. Fortunately, nothing went wrong. Had anything happened to the generals, Lingyun State... just thinking about it was terrifying.
"The letter... can I see it again?" Sun Tan looked at the handwriting on the paper in General Li’s hand and felt increasingly familiar. Suddenly enlightened, he hurriedly spoke.
"Did you discover something?" General Li hurriedly handed the letter to Sun Tan.
"I’m not too sure," said Sun Tan, receiving the letter and carefully examining the notes, nodding. Then he whispered a few words to the deputy general Bai by the door, who quickly ran out.
"What exactly did General Sun discover?" Ma Shuai, who has always been somewhat impatient, couldn’t help but ask, watching Sun Tan read the paper repeatedly.
His question was precisely what the other two were wondering.
"Don’t worry, we’ll know for sure once Deputy General Bai returns with the item for comparison." Despite saying this, Sun Tan internally was eighty percent sure already.
The paper and handwriting were almost identical to those left in a letter a year ago by the heroic figure who delivered supplies from the Western Mountain.
Deputy General Bai was swift, and given that the distance between the generals’ tents wasn’t far, he came back quickly with a letter in hand.
"General," Deputy General Bai handed the letter to his general.
"The same paper," exclaimed Ma Shuai.
As experts, the generals immediately noticed the similarity upon the letter’s arrival.
At this moment, the paper in hand was owned by very few people, especially of the same texture, which was a cause for contemplation.
"General Sun, hurry up," Liu Tong couldn’t wait to personally open it.
Even though how General Sun had the same textured letter was unknown, but that someone entered the camp suddenly with such items without clues was too peculiar. A breakthrough was hard-won, and impatience was high.
Sun Tan also wished to quickly ascertain whether it was as he suspected. He promptly opened the letter without speaking.
Internally, he was thankful for not discarding this letter, else there’d be truly no hint left.
Under the lights, two identical sheets of paper, with identical notes, were evident, even to those who couldn’t read could tell they were written by the same person.
Everyone turned to Sun Tan, awaiting his explanations.
Sun Tan: "Do you remember, during the scorching heat last year, we managed to endure due to the heroic act of a patriot?"
General Li’s eyes suddenly widened: "You mean..."
"Yes, this letter was left by that patriot at the time."
Ma Shuai: "So, if the texture and notes of both letters are identical, it means..."
"It means it’s the same person!"
As Liu Tong’s voice landed, everyone’s eyes simultaneously rested on the two letters of identical texture.
Ma Shuai’s tension completely dissipated, his eyes lit up: "So, this person bears no malice; they truly came to assist us."
"If it’s the same person, then that should be the case," Sun Tan visibly relaxed; he grasped the letter even tighter.
"Then regarding these boxes of items..." yet everyone’s gaze was transfixed on the large boxes on the ground, with blazing fervor reflected in their eyes.
General Li said, "Should we not know by trying?"
"Right..." The others nodded thoughtfully.
"Come here..." General Li called.
"No need; we’ll do it ourselves," Sun Tan and Liu Tong interrupted General Li, cautiously lifting one of the boxes.
The letter mentioned these were flammable and explosive items, requiring careful handling.
Though not knowing the exact power, trusting the letter was correct, as it was good for them at least.
General Li hurried forward to assist; several men gently lifted a box, while adjacent deputy generals and soldiers wishing to help were stopped by them, ordered to guard the camp. They carried the box to an open area of the camp.
Before testing, they carefully reread the note multiple times, strictly following its instructions.
As a Sky-Breaking Cannon was ignited and forcefully thrown, a loud boom woke all the soldiers in the camp, who almost all scrambled upright, thinking Beicang had breached, dressed quickly, and rushed towards the source of the sound.
"It’s real..." Ma General was the first to shout, eagerly running towards the explosion site, watching the ground’s stone slab blasted into pieces, with excitement like a child, grinning widely, picking up stone fragments, stroking the crater on the ground.
There was only one feeling... the Sky-Breaking Cannon was simply incredibly powerful.
The hard stone slabs were blown away; how could a person survive?
Not only him but everyone else shared wide-eyed disbelief, then ran to witness the explosion firsthand.
"General..." Deputies were amazed, joyful, with a hint of incredulity, looking at their generals.