Chapter 712: Misfire
[V7C029 – In Life and In Eternal Rest]
The airship hadn’t gone far when one of the cannon turrets suddenly opened fire at an unbelievable rate. It spat out a stream of flames that whipped at the airship’s body, setting it ablaze and causing airship parts to fly off in all directions. The vessel lasted only a while before staggering toward the ground and bursting into a ball of flames.
The turret turned toward a different direction and lashed at yet another airship. This time, the effects were even more evident, causing the target to explode in the air!
However, the destruction of two airships couldn’t turn the tide of the entire battle. There were dozens more airships in the air above Blackflow City, including large gunships with thick armor. They hovered beyond the turrets’ firing range, bombarding targets within the city with their ten-meter-long cannons.
Within the Dark Flame Headquarters, Duan Hao and Song Hu were gathered in front of the defensive map with serious expressions. Explosions echoed ceaselessly outside the window, sometimes causing the entire main building to shake from the impact. Occasionally, dust and debris would fall from the ceiling.
The defensive map was already filled with markings. Those familiar with the map could see from these symbols that Blackflow City’s defenses were full of holes and just barely hanging on—the only intact defensive line was the one around the Dark Flame Headquarters.
At this moment, a soldier charged in and shouted in a hoarse voice, “The eastern cannon tower has been destroyed! There are no more turrets in the entire eastern sector, the defenses won’t last long like this!”
Duan Hao’s brows locked into a frown. “I’ll head over with the reserve unit!”
Song Hu dragged Duan Hao back and said while shaking his head, “This is the last reserve squad we have! It must stay at the headquarters, and you can’t go, either.”
“But their men will charge in if the eastern sector falls!” Duan Hao roared.
Song Hu was fairly calm. “Didn’t you notice that their airships have no insignias on them? They’re unwilling to reveal their identity. This means they’re either here with a big army, prepared to level the entire Blackflow City, or they only brought a limited number of soldiers and will leave after plundering their targets. If it’s the former, you won’t make a difference even if you go. If it’s the latter, you don’t need to go.”
“You mean…” Duan Hao said with a frown.
Song Hu said in a serious tone, “They need to pass through the greater part of Blackflow City to reach us. There are so many hunters and mercenaries in the city right now. It’s time to borrow their strength to resist the enemies; even those civilians can play a role. I’ve already ordered the men to distribute weapons.”
Duan Hao replied, “Those hunters are little more than mobsters, and the civilians have no fighting power at all. The casualties will be tremendous if you pit them against those elites and private army soldiers. Our own men are more reliable at such a time!”
Song Hu banged the defense map and said, “What does their casualty rate have to do with us? We only need to defend the Dark Flame Headquarters. It’ll be our victory if we can hold out until the Seventh Young Master returns.”
At this moment, the sky outside the window lit up abruptly as an orange-red cannon shell shot into the air and struck an armored gunship high up in the sky. The vessel tilted from the impact and began smoking from its rear side. It didn’t get the time to flee before another projectile blasted its body. Finally, the airship could no longer maintain flight and slid sideways toward the ground outside the city.
This cannon’s firepower was simply too great and its shells, too eye-catching. Immediately, all the airships in the sky turned toward its source and, despite the heavy defensive fire, began attacking it at all costs.
Song Hu’s expression changed. “It’s Blackmoon and Miss Nangong! Go and protect them!”
Duan Hao crashed through the window and made a beeline for the cannon tower.
The hidden turret was covered in explosions and flames from the concentrated fire, but its heavy cannon kept on firing at an extraordinary speed. It had blasted over ten times in a short while and downed two more airships; its accuracy was well-over fifty percent. Nonetheless, the number of battleships in the sky were simply too great. In the end, the cannon tower collapsed with a boom, no longer able to withstand the incoming barrage.
Two fair silhouettes rushed out from the blaze as Darkmoon fled the sea of fire with Nangong Xiaoniao in tow. Duan Hao rushed over, protecting the two with his origin power as they retreated back to the Dark Flame Headquarters. The two didn’t stay long after retreating to the main building and, instead, ran to a different place via a secret underground tunnel.
Moments later, another of Dark Flame’s turrets received a sudden boost in firepower, increasing both their firing rate and power by half. The fierce cannon-fire immediately destroyed an airship, and by the time the turret was destroyed, it had downed at least four enemy vessels.
Song Hu added a stroke to the defense map, striking out yet another eye-catching cannon tower symbol. The pressure in his heart increased further as he observed the dwindling number of special symbols.
At this moment, in an airship hovering outside of Blackflow City, the atmosphere was just as serious. A middle-aged man was standing in the command room with his hands behind his back. There was nothing resembling a smile as he looked down at the burning city, and all the other people in the chamber held their breaths in silence.
An officer walked in at this moment. There was a hint of sweat on his forehead as he said, “Fleet Commander Xu sends word. Blackflow City’s defenses are much fiercer than expected, and the fleet has suffered severe losses. Requesting permission to retreat and reorganize.”
The middle-aged man in front of the window replied coldly, “Denied! Have him continue the attack until the very last ship!”
The officer left with the order. The middle-aged man observed the battle for a while longer before turning back slowly. “This is your so-called taking the city with a flip of the hand? This kind of firepower, these special cannons, you probably won’t find a lot of them even in the imperial capital. Why is there no news of them at all? What were all the spies you sent into the city doing? Don’t tell me you can’t collect any information without Nanhua?”
The group lowered their heads, not daring to utter a word.
The middle-aged man said calmly, “Concentrate the assault! Break open a segment of the city wall and send all the squads in. There’s no need to return if you can’t take Blackflow City.”
No one dared disobey the order at this moment. Moments later, dozens of transport ships flew toward Blackflow. They landed outside the city despite the defensive fire and unleashed the squads within.
In the blink of an eye, the flames of war rose up high and spread throughout Blackflow City. The soldiers who had been ordered to fight to the death had nothing left to fear and fired at virtually everything alive. Meanwhile, the mercenaries, hunters, and civilians struggled desperately to resist them. Fights broke out everywhere in a brief moment, and the battles were incomparably fierce.
At this point, an officer walked into the command room and said, “General Lu sends word. He’s taken down Wolf City and wiped out the defending forces. Currently, he’s investigating the mines in the city, lest the remnant soldiers destroy it.”
The middle-aged man’s countenance recovered only after hearing this news. Before long, however, another officer ran into the room. “Urgent report! The defense forces in Wolf City have blasted the mines. General Lu is trapped inside, his fate unknown!”
The middle-aged man was visibly moved. “They collapsed the mine!?”
“Yes, sire.”
The middle-aged man’s eyes twitched. He said through gritted teeth, “What a man this Song Seven is, so ruthless!”
Everyone here knew how valuable the mine in Wolf City was, and it was precisely the reason for their surprise attack. It could be said that the mine was a priceless asset that would be cherished and protected. No one had expected Song Zining to actually collapse the mine because the explosion would very likely destroy the ore vein inside. His ruthlessness regarding this matter filled everyone’s heart with a hidden chill.
The middle-aged man suddenly became restless, feeling as though something was about to happen. It was at this moment that a ball of flames rose up over the distant horizon as a reconnaissance airship fell to the ground. He could vaguely make out, through the flames, several airships flying toward Blackflow City, and judging from their silhouette, these were the imperial military’s cutting-edge models.
It was clear that these battleships weren’t friendly. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have destroyed the scouting vessel on sight. Although the airships surrounding Blackflow were greater in number, they were a mish-mash of many different types, and most of them had been damaged by the restraining defensive fire. There weren’t many airships that could contend with the fast-arriving vessels in terms of individual fighting power.
As the battleships closed in rapidly, the flames lit up the insignias on their hulls. The people in the command chamber gasped. “Ningyuan Heavy Industries!? Those are Song Seven’s ships? How come he has so many battleships?”
It wouldn’t be too surprising for him to have numerous old model airships. However, these were the empire’s newest types, and not many people could maintain such a fleet. Being able to assemble such an airforce went to show that Ningyuan Heavy Industries’ current state had far exceeded everyone’s expectations.
After the initial shock, the middle-aged man quickly became alert. The outcome would be unimaginable if they were flanked by this fleet. He immediately issued an order, “Send a signal, order all the battleships to retreat from Blackflow City and assemble at the designated locations. Move the flagship forward and intercept Song Zining’s fleet!”
The orders were passed rapidly. The flagship turned around first and faced off against Song Zining’s fleet with three other airships.
Song Zining appeared at the helm of the first battleship, but he didn’t launch an immediate attack. Instead, he let out a burst of laughter, his voice reverberating throughout the battlefield. “Which sire is so enthusiastic as to visit Blackflow City personally? Why not show yourself and allow Zining to welcome you personally?”
The middle-aged man in the flagship pondered for a moment before walking out onto the deck. “Seventh Young Noble’s wisdom is akin to the seas. Your meticulous planning makes one sigh in admiration. But this is the vampire Qianye’s estate where remnants of his race might be hiding. I wonder how you are associated with them? I heard you had a close relationship with Qianye in the past. Could it be that you’re colluding with vampires as well?”
Song Zining sized the man up and said, “So it’s the Kong family’s third elder. I’ve long since heard that you have great aspirations and are unwilling to lag behind others. Meeting you today, however, I feel somewhat surprised. With your status and identity, how come your airship has no insignias on it? Don’t tell me there are other people inside apart from the Kong family.”
The third elder’s expression shifted slightly. “Of course not. We’re all from the Kong family.”
Song Zining sneered, “That might not be the case! As I see it, there might be a fair number of bandits and ruffians committing outrageous crimes in the name of the Kong family. It’s fine if I didn’t see them, but now that I’ve run into such lowlifes, I naturally cannot let them be! The Kong family’s innocent reputation must not be sullied!”
“The Kong family’s honor is my business, there’s no need for the Seventh Young Noble to trouble yourself.”
Song Zining nodded. “That works, too. There are surely vampire remnants here, and I’m going to clear them out. So, I won’t delay the third elder’s business anymore, farewell!”
The third elder had a bad instinctive feeling. Without even waiting for him to say anything, several powerful ballista bolts shot through the air in a burst of light. Judging from the radiance around the bolts, they were armor-piercing projectiles made to sink battleships!
Shocked out of his wits, the third elder flew upward and evaded the ballistae. He could do that, but the same couldn’t be said for the flagship behind him. After suffering three consecutive rounds, explosions rang out one after the other amidst the dense smoke, and the vessel’s speed slowed down significantly.
Song Zining’s voice arrived from the distance. “You bumbling idiots! How can you cause the ballistae to misfire!?”