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Chapter 39: How Dare You Kill My Horse?
Sparks from the ignited fuse fizzed into the cannon, unleashing a loud explosion amidst a puff of white smoke.
Pasha Callerga wanted to burst into laughter.
So what if he’s a Khitan?
So what if he has the blood twin-headed eagle flag?
So what if he’s the Priest King?
So what if he has an impeccable battle record?
You might have crushed my elite army, but what does that count as? In the end, you still fell for my trick and blasted into bits!
The positions of the pits were carefully calculated to ensure the cannons were on mark. No matter how strong the other party was, there was no chance of him surviving the bombardment. He would surely be blown into bits!
Pasha Callerga could already imagine what would happen next.
With the Khitan Caesar dying in the bombardment, the Khitan cavalrymen would spiral into a panic and become easy targets for their cannons, arrows, and ballistas. Then, he would become the first person to defeat the never-before-defeated Khitans!
Then…
“GAHHHHHH!”
A sharp scimitar was suddenly raised, reflecting a blinding, white light that hurt the eyes of anyone who dared look at it.
“Wu!” Pasha Callerga and the surrounding soldiers quickly covered their eyes, as tears flowed unstoppably down their cheeks.
When they finally opened their eyes once more, what they saw left them utterly stupefied.
“NO!!” Pasha Callerga cried like a wounded beast. “That’s impossible! True God above, have You really chosen to abandon us, your people? Why must you make us confront a demon like that?!”
The white smoke at the foot of the city walls dispersed, revealing deep pits caused by the earlier cannon firing… but the problem was that there were two of them!
The two pits were located next to Shu Yichao, who was still in a sword swinging stance.
Shu Yichao’s face was blackened, and his clothes were tattered, but he was still standing with his back upright.
He had sliced the incoming cannonball into two!
Everyone on the city walls, from the nobles to the slaves, were appalled!
This is impossible! How could such a thing happen?!
Pah!
Some of the more cowardly ones fainted with their eyes rolled up.
【Oooh, my host! Your performance must have been a resounding success!】
System 12345 exclaimed.
【Everyone is shocked by your performance. Hehehe, I told you that we’d surely make it as long as we take it slow! Woah, so many people fainted with tears in their eyes!】
【My host, what are you waiting for?】
System 12345 began snickering licentiously.
【You don’t know how fast the hearts of the Second Imperial Consort and her big brother are beating. This is your opportunity to win them over!】
【If things go well, the Second Imperial Consort might just be yours tonight… Gehehehe!】
Kacha!
The scimitar cracked before shattering into countless fragments.
Shu Yichao spat out a mouthful of soot as he swung his numb hands with a darkened face.
Damn, I nearly got done in.
He didn’t think there was anything incredible about slicing a cannonball with a sword—this was a basic maneuver in Beacons of the Otherworld. Besides, the enemy was merely using a small cannon.
A true pro player, with the exploitation of bugs, can do far more than this!
What truly pained him was…
“MY HORSE!!!” Shu Yichao cried in sorrow.
His steed let out a sneeze before collapsing to the ground. It breathed its last a second later.
A steed was a cavalryman’s second life.
This saying was true for Beacons of the Otherworld’s players too. It was not just because a good steed was necessary for players to solo kill an army, but that any damage suffered by a cavalryman would first go to their steed before being passed on to the cavalryman.
That was the reason Shu Yichao was still alive and kicking now.
“My 300 speed war steed!!” The more Shu Yichao thought about it, the angrier he felt. “You fucking terrorists! How dare you kill my horse?!”
He glared at those standing on the city walls. Despite his ravishing appearance, those on the city walls only felt utter fear.
“Quick, fire again!” Pasha Callerga, who was so nervous that he was at risk of popping a vein, anxiously urged the soldier beside him. “Blow him up! BLOW HIM UUUUP!!!”
The soldier didn’t move.
Pasha Callerga turned over and saw that the soldier had collapsed to the ground, with foam flowing from his mouth. In his moment of daze, he seemed to see the Death God grinding his teeth at him.
When he finally turned back to the battlefield, he saw Shu Yichao wielding a gleaming bow embedded with jewels.
His limbs turned cold. He couldn’t find the energy to move. His mind had completely gone blank.
Whoosh!
A sharp arrow pierced into his eyes, mashed his brain up, and popped out from the other side of his skull.
With a crisp tok, Pasha Callerga was pinned onto a flagpole and swayed along with the wind.
“Little horsie,” Shu Yichao murmured, “I have avenged you!”
Just then, an Elite Horse Archer led a new steed over for Shu Yichao.
Shu Yichao leaped onto the horse and galloped along the city walls. With each arrow he shot, an Ottomain cannoneer or archer was sent into death’s embrace. Just like that, he removed the threat of the cannons and ballistas on the walls.
Any Ottomain soldier who approached those tools would receive a complimentary one-way-ticket to hell.
Shu Yichao was single-handedly suppressing the enemy’s long-ranged offensive prowess on the city walls!
The Ottomain soldiers fell into despair.
“He’s the devil!”
“Run! He’ll slaughter us all!”
“The Khitans are monsters!”
Following cries of despair, the Ottomain soldiers began fleeing in a fluster. Some were so frightened that they even leaped right down the walls, fearing that a second’s delay would spell their deaths.
The Ottomain soldiers on the walls still had a chance, but the Morean soldiers outside the walls didn’t even have a chance to escape. Having lost their cover, they could only watch helplessly as the monster who sliced a cannonball into two approached them with a vile smile…
The splattered blood resembled the hues of the evening sun.
Just like that, the main force of the Morean army, who had rushed over in hopes of benefitting from the Ottomain’s internal strife, was wiped out by Shu Yichao.
“Attack the city!” Shu Yichao ordered under the darkening sky.
At this point, there was no one to guard the city anymore.
【My host, is the performance over?】
【Many people have left… though the Second Imperial Consort is still around. She must be waiting to discuss the screenplay with you!】
【Ooh, she’s crying at the moment!】
System 12345 shared what it had sensed despite the black screen to Shu Yichao.
【Quick, go and console her! You must watch your tone though. She might just have your tongue cut off if you accidentally cross her.】
“Hm?” One of the Elite Horse Archers dragged out the Second Imperial Consort, who was crying so hard that she was short on breath. “Khan, there’s one hiding here.”
“Hm?” Shu Yichao grabbed a spear from his subordinates. “She looks like a key target.”
Psh!
A body fell lifelessly to the ground.
【…】
【My host, didn’t I just tell you not to cross her? Why did you still provoke her? Her favorability for you just got zeroed out!】
【Oh? But it doesn’t seem like she has any intention of punishing you?】
System 12345 noticed Shu Yichao slowly walking away from the Second Imperial Consort and fell into deep thought.
【She’s letting you go just like that? When did she become this magnanimous?】
【But my host, I still don’t think it’s safe. You should flee as soon as you walk out of the door, lest she has second thoughts and sends someone after you!】