C24 Victory in the First Battle

"Haha, these foolish Great Qian folks, they actually think they can outshoot us?"

"When we began firing guns, these guys were still swinging swords and spears. Where they're getting this confidence from is beyond me."

"They'll be lucky if they manage not to shoot one of their own."

Many soldiers from the world's great powers nearly burst into laughter upon seeing the Qian Empire's military setup.

These armies had clashed with the Qian forces for centuries. The Qian had snagged a few victories, sure, but those were mostly thanks to the terrain working in their favor. On this flat battleground, they believed they could take out the Qian troops blindfolded.

Eighty meters...

"Load your rounds."

Third Wang could feel a tremor in his voice.

The young master had declared he was destined to make history, so steadiness was key.

With a forceful jerk of his left hand, Third Wang steadied his trembling right hand.

The ratcheting noise of bolts being pulled back finally settled Third Wang's nerves. They were approaching the ultimate line of defense, and the young master had strictly forbidden crossing that line.

After endless drills and countless bullets spent, the young master had invested heavily in this army. Failure to make a mark with the first volley would brand Third Wang a traitor to the Marquis Mansion.

"Listen up! You need to fire off your eight rounds as quickly as possible, then roll back and reload. Don't fuss over accuracy; just aim for their crowd, and you've done your job. Speed is of the essence."

Third Wang barked the orders, echoing the instructions from Gao Shaoyi.

The soldiers below were on edge, foreheads beaded with sweat. Though they were the cream of the King Protector Army, this combat strategy was new to them.

Meanwhile, the enemy troops strolled forward in a relaxed formation, clearly underestimating the Qian Empire's forces.

Bang! Bang!

Damn it, who gave the order to fire?

A couple of jittery soldiers, having just reached the defensive line, had already squeezed their triggers.

Upon hearing the gunfire, the other soldiers didn't have time to wait for commands from their officers. The first row of soldiers immediately opened fire toward the enemy.

The King Protector Army's halt puzzled the opposing forces. With such a vast distance between them, what purpose did it serve to stop there? But soon, the harsh reality dawned on them—their adversaries' firearms had a longer range. The realization came at a bloody cost as their comrades fell around them, disbelief etched on their faces. Weren't their firearms the most advanced in the world? How could they be hit when they were still two hundred meters from their own firing range?

"Move back, move back..." Third Wang shouted, as many soldiers in the front row had exhausted their eight rounds and stood frozen in place. He had to yell and prod them to retreat, making way for the second row to engage without interference.

The international troops suffered over two hundred casualties in the initial volley, a small number against their thousands. Yet, as they marched on to the beat of drums, the ease on their faces had vanished, replaced by creeping fear.

Gao Shaoyi was clearly not pleased with the casualty rate. The King Protector Army had trained well, but the battlefield demanded more experience. He admitted to himself that he might have been too eager. Nevertheless, the toll taken on the embassy guards was sufficient.

The second row of brothers soon took their shots, hitting their marks with much-improved accuracy, now that they had steadied their nerves.

As the international troops continued to fall in droves, they were still eighty meters from the firing point, with many commanders down. If they pressed on to the eighty-meter mark, it was likely all two thousand would perish there.

"Third row..." Third Wang commanded the third row to step up. By now, the first row had reloaded, their earlier panic replaced by resolve.

"Take your men and seize the high ground," Gao Shaoyi instructed, giving Wang Wu a firm pat on the shoulder.

The decision to not seize the high ground earlier was deliberate; they didn't want to alarm the enemy. But with the first wave of casualties dealt with, it was now our turn to take control of the vantage point.

Shabarov had commanded over three hundred troops to secure the high ground, yet there they stood, gaping at the unfolding chaos on the battlefield. The charging force, initially more than two thousand strong, had already suffered eight to nine hundred losses—and we hadn't even fired a single shot.

Casualties are a given in battle, but such losses against the Qian Empire's army were far from normal.

First Wang, with his few hundred men, surged forward with the ferocity of a wild tiger.

"They're advancing on us—open fire!"

The formidable armies quickly took note and began sniping at First Wang's troops from their advantageous position.

"Grenades!"

With a cold chuckle, First Wang launched five or six grenades in quick succession. To the enemy, grenades were a luxury, and even those in possession couldn't match the quality of the King Protector Army's arsenal.

Following the blasts, the high ground was shrouded in black smoke, obscuring the soldiers' vision of the battlefield below.

The King Protector Army soldiers, having thrown a pair of grenades, quickly pocketed another two and advanced another twenty meters before unleashing another volley. The marquis had ensured they were well-stocked.

With merit points, a box of forty grenades could be had for a steal—why not use them generously?

The soldiers from the major powers could only blindly fire into the smoke, leaving their accuracy to fate.

Using grenades to clear their path, the troops swiftly closed in to a thirty-meter range.

Each member of the assault team was armed with a pistol. While Gao Shaoyi couldn't arm every soldier with a sidearm, equipping the elite assault team was no issue—they were akin to a special forces unit, after all.

Within thirty meters, the pistol reigned supreme. Any enemy head that dared to emerge was met with a rapid barrage of gunfire.

Many soldiers from the powerful armies were still trying to make sense of the situation when their heads were suddenly and violently taken off.

At this moment, they were utterly baffled, unable to comprehend how the King Protector Army had acquired such an abundance of repeating pistols.

Moreover, their rifles were devastatingly powerful. By the time we managed to fire a single shot, they had already unleashed four.