Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 134 Meteor Shower-like Shells

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Multiple shells streaked across the night sky, falling into the city like a meteor shower—a beautiful sight, but one that brought death.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Shells exploded one after another. Only three shells landed in the crowd this time; the rest landed in the houses. The houses near the south gate had been bombed, and everyone had fled; the bombs only destroyed the empty houses.

Although the hit rate was low, all three shells exploded successfully, unsurprisingly plunging the already orderly crowd into chaos once more. The militia could no longer withstand the pressure, screaming and running around with their heads in their hands, and no amount of suppression from Sun Tianbiao's personal guards could quell them.

Disaster unfolded along the long street: those who were pushed to the ground could not get up again, and countless feet trampled over them, killing them instantly; those who trampled others to death were tripped by the corpses and suffered the same tragic fate. People were like headless flies, running around in all directions, some fleeing backwards, some running towards the city gate, and some breaking open the doors and windows of houses along the street to hide inside. The entire area near the South Gate was in complete chaos.

The shelling continued, with occasional explosions landing among the crowd; some detonated, some didn't, but it no longer mattered. Panic spread like a plague through the crowd. Everyone had long forgotten about leaving the city to capture the bandits and collect the bounty; only one thought occupied their minds: escape. The more crowded and chaotic the place, the more blind and fearful people became. Those unable to move in the throng began to pick up knives, guns, and clubs, hacking at their companions in an attempt to carve a bloody escape route.

Once the first person took action, more people followed suit. Desperate for survival, no one cared about anything else. Even those who didn't want to fight were forced to take up arms in self-defense. People began killing each other, and more and more people fell in pools of blood. Even after the shelling had stopped, the fighting continued.

Sun Tianbiao had been squeezed in the city gate for ages, almost suffocating, and didn't even have the strength to shout. As the crowd slowly crept forward, he didn't know how much time had passed before finally the surroundings loosened, and a cool breeze rushed in, and he found himself outside the city.

He glanced ahead; in the darkness, the enemy's position opposite him was ablaze with fire, firing cannons. But the distance wasn't the few hundred paces he'd seen during the day; it was a full two miles. A chill ran down his spine, and he couldn't help but curse again, "Damn it!" When had these bandits moved their position? Had the defenders on the city wall not noticed, or if they had, hadn't promptly notified the night raiding force? How were they supposed to fight now?

Whether he liked it or not, Sun Tianbiao could only move forward, not backward. If he retreated, he would either be trampled to death or beheaded by the governor.

"Kill the thief!"

Sun Tianbiao let out a hoarse shout and charged forward with his personal guards. With the commander shirtless, how could the rest not follow? The government troops also shouted and charged forward, followed by a dense crowd of militia acting as extras.

The defenders on the city wall seemed to only then realize what was happening when the Hongyi cannons began to fire, the shells flying over the heads of the crowd and heading towards the enemy's position.