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But the more it seemed like that, the more the Yue Emperor distrusted the Black Dragon Country.

If the Black Dragon Country were to deploy troops against Great Jue at this time, Great Jue would send forces to the northwest border. By then, if North Country's remnant forces from the defeat of Great Wu were to flee into Great Jue's territory, and a conflict erupted between Great Jue and North Country, it would be extremely disadvantageous for Great Jue.

The Yue Emperor was still not certain if his plan had succeeded. If Murong Xue'er had already taken down the North Prince, already controlling the North Prince, then the North Prince would be an excellent pawn for her.

If the loss implied that the North Prince was not under control, and North Country deployed troops against Great Jue at this time, it was highly likely that Great Jue's army would not be a match for that of North Country. Great Jue would have no way to cope with those mysterious weapons of North Country. .net

What followed would depend on whether the main force of Great Wu could attack into Yan County and whether Murong Xue'er could control the North Prince.

...

Meanwhile.

Zhan Hong and Xu Xingwen were still completely oblivious to the events that had transpired in Yongan County; they had entered North Country proper through Great Jue and had arrived at Yingyang County near Great Jue.

There were not many cities in Yingyang County, only one key city, Cloud City. Once Cloud City fell, the main force of Great Wu could drive straight in, attacking directly into the core territory of North Country.

For North Country, the fall of Cloud City would practically leave Yan County exposed to the main force of Great Wu.

Arriving outside Cloud City, Zhan Hong and Xu Xingwen were still entirely unaware of what was about to happen. Looking at the tightly shut gates of Cloud City, Zhan Hong laughed and said to Xu Xingwen, "General Xu, how long do you think it will take us to capture Cloud City?"

Xu Xingwen glanced at the crumbling earthen walls of Cloud City and then replied, "Three days!"

Zhan Hong chuckled and said, "Three days? You're giving the North Country's garrison too much credit. In my opinion, it will only take one day to take Cloud City!"

Having said this, Zhan Hong then ordered the troops behind him, "Set up camp immediately; we attack at dawn tomorrow!"

As Zhan Hong's words fell, the soldiers of Great Wu began to set up camp.

At this moment, on the watchtower of Cloud City, Song Xuelin and Dongmen Feiyue looked emotionlessly at the distant army of Great Wu. They harbored no fear in their hearts for the army of Great Wu. Although they had only two hundred thousand troops, twenty thousand fewer than Great Wu, they possessed cannons and howitzers prepared for them by North Country.

Before the army of Great Wu had arrived at Cloud City, Dongmen Feiyue and Song Xuelin had soldiers familiarize themselves with the use of firearms. Although they had yet to develop specific tactics, bombarding the enemy with cannon fire would surely throw the enemy forces into disarray, negating the need for any tactics.

At this moment, Dongmen Feiyue remarked, "I wonder where our king got such terrifying weapons. These don't seem like they belong to this world."

Both came from the polar regions, and they were not particularly familiar with firearms. After witnessing the terrifying power of firearms, they were both awed by their might.

As Grandmasters, they were actually somewhat resentful inside because the appearance of such firearms significantly impacted their status as martial artists.

Therefore, the two simply let themselves be targets during the cannon testing to see how they fared. After their tests, they discovered that although the cannons could not directly kill a Grandmaster, they could suppress their attacks. In the face of the cannons, they had to exert all their strength just to withstand the bombardments, making it difficult to counterattack.

After their assessments, they eventually came to accept the facts. They thought to themselves that cannons were, for the time being, only possessed by North Country. They would be the ones bombarding others with cannons, not others bombarding them. Therefore, they had no need to be too concerned.

Moreover, with the use of such weapons as cannons, their king could unify the world much faster. From this point of view, as his subjects, they should not harbor negative opinions about cannons.

Hearing Dongmen Feiyue's words, Song Xuelin said indifferently, "Who cares? For now, only North Country has such weapons. By the time other kingdoms or powers acquire these cannons, our king may have already unified the entire continent."

Dongmen Feiyue sighed at that moment, "With such powerful weapons, we won't be as important to our king in the future."

Hearing this, Song Xuelin laughed and then said, "General Dongmen, why worry about such things? Weapons are just weapons, no matter how powerful — they still need people to operate them. Our king needs to expand his territory, to unify the entire continent, and he will still need us. How can you think that we will become less important?"

Dongmen Feiyue answered, "That's true."

After Song Xuelin's reassurance, Dongmen Feiyue felt somewhat better. A few days earlier, during the cannon tests, Dongmen Feiyue was so shellshocked by the cannons that he lost all temper, and it greatly impacted his morale.

During the tests, the cannons were operated by ordinary people, not even martial artists. Yet there he was, a Grandmaster, struggling to even defend himself in front of ordinary folks, which led to some negative thoughts, such as whether the North Prince might no longer need Grandmasters.

Song Xuelin, looking at the distant soldiers of Great Wu, said, "Those must be Great Wu's main forces. Let's launch a preemptive strike tonight and strive to end this battle soon."