Lin Zhan stood on the city wall with a host of ancient kings and three tribal leaders, gazing at the skeletal horde outside.
Xiang Yu slung an arm around Liu Bang’s shoulders. "Brother, it's been ages since you and I fought side-by-side. In this war of myriad races, we brothers must once again have a good kill."
Liu Bang nodded. "Isn't that the truth, Big Brother? The last time we two brothers were hacking people together was when we were rebelling against Emperor Zheng. Turns out, Emperor Zheng's second son was a disappointment. Before we could even get to him, he annihilated himself, and incidentally, deleted Emperor Zheng’s Great Qin."
Bai Qi, Wang Jian, and Meng Tian, standing nearby, couldn't help but glance over at the pair upon hearing their words.
Xiang Yu’s eyes flared. "What are you looking at? Three old bastards. Don't look at us with those eyes, the three of you. Dynastic change is in accordance with the Mandate of Heaven. Emperor Zheng himself didn't say anything, so what grievances do you three have?"
Liu Bang nodded in agreement. "My Big Brother speaks the truth. Don't you three old geezers get cocky. If it truly came down to a fight, my Big Brother and I could take you down in minutes."
Meng Tian, enraged, was about to retort, but Wang Jian quickly held him back. "Why bother with those two lunatics? One's a highway robber, the other's a street brawler. You think you can out-scoundrel them?"
Bai Qi also chimed in, "Exactly. The key is, these two guys are still..."
Lin Zhan scanned the crowd behind him.
He noticed that the younger generation seemed somewhat nervous.
As for the old rogues, they didn't take the allied forces of the myriad races outside the city seriously, still bantering and laughing.
Yet, their gazes were subtly fixed on the allied forces of the myriad races beyond the walls.
Lin Zhan was certain that the moment the allied forces of the myriad races launched their attack, these old fellows would instantly appear by his side, leading the soldiers to strike back fiercely against the invading enemy.
Lin Zhan turned to Zhang Dabiao. "Prepare rapid-fire cannon regiments one through thirty to open fire. Heavy artillery regiments one through ten to calibrate targeting parameters for artillery fire extension."
Lin Zhan's artillery units were organized by regiment.
A rapid-fire cannon regiment consisted of 2,500 men and 500 rapid-fire cannons.
A heavy artillery regiment also comprised 2,500 men and 100 heavy cannons.
Thirty rapid-fire cannon regiments meant 15,000 rapid-fire cannons. They began firing at full power as soon as the skeleton soldiers entered the fortress's 2000-meter range.
Lin Zhan's rapid-fire cannons were fundamentally different from traditional energy cannons.
The parallel rapid-fire cannons combined the properties of formations and physical damage.
The formations of the Wind and Thunder elements carved onto the cannon barrels, along with the Thunder element formations carved onto the shells, created a magnetic kinetic energy that propelled the shells forward.
As for the rapid-fire shells, they utilized an outer casing of intermediate alloy, with fire crystals and cold ice stones within, separated by metal plates engraved with explosive formations.
Coupled with a small piece of lightning crystal acting as an igniter, and the lightning formations on the shell, the fire crystals would detonate upon impact.
The alternating cold and heat generated by the cold ice stones would cause explosions, and the fragments of the metal shell would provide a secondary physical impact.
The parallel rapid-fire cannon was composed of two barrels, each capable of firing 20 rounds per minute, with a maximum range of 6,500 meters.
Each side was equipped with a 200-round ammunition box to supply the rapid-fire cannons.
The principle behind the heavy artillery was similar, but its power far surpassed that of the rapid-fire cannons.
One was a 420mm heavy howitzer, with shells weighing nearly a ton and a maximum range of 16 kilometers.
The other was a 220mm caliber city defense cannon, with a maximum range of 14 kilometers.
Upon Marshal Lin's command, 15,000 rapid-fire cannons and 800 city defense cannons began to harvest the skeletons below the city.
The 200 heavy howitzers in the rear had also determined their coordinates under the guidance of the Leng family observers.
"Boom, boom, boom."
The artillery roared, smoke billowed, and clouds of shells descended upon the skeletal sea, blowing the skeleton army below into a gruesome scene of flying bone fragments.
The Demon Race Imperial Son, dumbfounded, watched the bone fragments being blasted into the sky and asked the Demon Race staff officer beside him:
"What is this? When did humans get such weapons?"
The Demon Race staff officer shook his head, looking bewildered. "Never seen them before."
"Imperial Son, what do we do now? If the humans can use this kind of weapon for an extended period, our skeletal horde won't be able to advance."
Snow Demon Race Commander Xue Feng shook his head.
"Cousin, even if the humans have many such weapons, look closely. These cannons are different from energy cannons. Each time they fire, they shoot out an iron projectile, meaning these weapons have a limited supply of ammunition."
Upon closer inspection, the Demon Race Imperial Son chuckled. "Heh, though these cannons are formidable, their ammunition is not endless. This is a good opportunity to let the Undead Race expend a wave of them."
"Issue a decree. From now on, attack once every two days. I want to see how many shells the humans have."
"Also, record the battlefield situation and the humans' new weapons. Send someone to the God Race Imperial Daughter. Whether she shows it to Rommel is her own business."
Everyone nodded in agreement with the Demon Race Imperial Son's words.
After all, how could such powerful weapons be used continuously day and night?
Whether it was maintenance or logistical supply, the more powerful the weapon, the more troublesome these two aspects would be.
Letting the Undead Race's cannon fodder deplete the humans' resources was a fitting strategy.
The Skeleton Mage Commander stood beside the Demon Race Imperial Son, smiling. "Imperial Son, your insight is profound. Within two days, I will dispatch 200 million of the skeletal horde to attack the human fortress."
"When the humans are depleted of their momentum, Your Highness the Imperial Son can lead the main army to launch a full-scale assault."