Iron Dynasty Chapter 1025
Previously on Iron Dynasty...
“Zanpu, see, that object hovering over us hasn't vanished yet.”
Dengba pointed toward a dark speck in the heavens as he spoke. His vision had always been sharp, and lately, he'd been spotting these shadowy specks drifting high above them constantly.
Zaxi Donzhu kept a wary eye on the enemy cavalry ahead. With irritation in his voice, he snapped, “Idiot, aren't you tired of babbling about it these last few days? Focus now and deal with the foes right in front of us.”
Upon hearing those words, Dengba rubbed his head and glanced upward once more despite himself. Finally, he directed his cavalry forward, arranging them in formation to confront the opposing riders.
As Dengba departed, Zaxi Donzhu's forehead creased in concern. He'd started this mission brimming with assurance, yet over the recent days, bizarre occurrences had plagued him nonstop.
Even though he'd berated Dengba, Zaxi himself felt a deep disquiet regarding the object overhead.
That anxiety soon turned into harsh truth. Right as Dengba prepared to rush ahead, a massive blast erupted without warning.
“Rumble…”
Blossoms of fire erupted one by one amidst the cavalry ranks. Those struck by the blasts tumbled down in clusters instantly. Zaxi then witnessed troops from his force hurled skyward amid plumes of green haze, landing only as mangled limbs. They remained utterly clueless about the cause.
At that instant, up in the hot air balloon hanging above, two soldiers chuckled heartily. The recent detonation was their handiwork. During their scouting mission, they'd been instructed to carry explosives.In case of combat, they should seize chances as they arose, and the current scene fit perfectly. Thus, they released the bombs downward sequentially.
Feng Dongjin stood there in shock as well. He tilted his gaze to the skies and let out a wry grin.
The abrupt bomb assault had terrified the Tibetan horsemen thoroughly. Their mounts now bolted chaotically every which way, with numerous Tibetan warriors tumbling off and getting crushed beneath stamping hooves. Their lines had fallen into total turmoil.
A perfect chance lay before them. Feng Dongjin commanded, “All troops, charge!”
At his order, the rifle-mounted cavalry urged their steeds onward toward the Tibetan forces. Upon entering carbine range, they unleashed a volley.
“Bang bang bang…” A barrage of shots echoed loudly. The bewildered Tibetan fighters dropped into bloody puddles without grasping the situation, while Zaxi froze in sheer fright.
“What's happening, what's this?” Zaxi whispered in panic. Soldiers perished one after another in horrifying fashion right before his eyes. The cries and mangled bodies surrounding him plunged him into a nightmarish abyss.
Noticing Zaxi's condition, Dengba abandoned all restraint. He yanked his horse around and bolted rearward. By then, their forces had lost every trace of order. The eerie deaths had frightened everyone so badly that their spirits seemed to flee their forms.
According to their faith, this resembled divine retribution precisely, something only a deity could unleash.
The Tibetan troops crumbled upon initial clash, leaving Feng Dongjin with a mix of amusement and frustration. Though tempted to chase the wildly retreating Tibetans, a recollection made him halt the advance.
“Chief Scribe, why hold back from the pursuit?” one general inquired, confused.
“Luo Xin and the Commander discussed it beforehand. Our role is just to push the Tibetans back. The task of truly terrifying them falls to the Southwest Army.”
The generals all sensed some disappointment upon hearing that, since chasing would surely claim many more Tibetan lives.
Meanwhile, Dengba and Zaxi guided their forces in a desperate flight toward the highlands, oblivious to the fatal ambush awaiting them along their return route.
By the third day, believing they'd evaded the Great Yu Empire's forces and could retreat securely, another wave of blasts burst forth unexpectedly.
Differing from before, this barrage's scale and intensity were a hundredfold fiercer. Casualties mounted devastatingly in moments.
“Open fire at will.” Luo Xin surveyed the Tibetans' actions from an elevated spot. Once the artillery volley threw the Tibetan ranks into disorder, he directed his men to shoot.
In response to his directive, the prone soldiers rose abruptly and rained bullets down upon the disordered Tibetan army from their superior height.
Now, the Tibetan warriors realized they'd fallen into a Great Yu Empire ambush, heightening their dread, as the arms wielded by the foes defied comprehension. A mere spark of flame, and droves of men would collapse.
Just then, the machine gun unit reached its assigned spot and unleashed on the escaping Tibetan troops.
“Dah dah dah…”
The running Tibetans toppled like harvested grain. For the empire's fighters, it was utter dominance. As Luo Xin anticipated, superior armaments overcame numerical odds. Handling 100,000 with 20,000 amounted to a lopsided slaughter.
Luo Xin observed the field through field glasses without concealment. In his view, the conflict was essentially over. Capturing survivors remained the sole task. He'd expected more resistance, but victory came far easier than foreseen. Weapon superiority had utterly crushed the Tibetans' manpower edge.
After an hour, the gunfire shifted from relentless to intermittent. Luo Xin knew this marked the fight's near conclusion. Soon, a division commander approached to inform, “General, the leftover Tibetan troops have surrendered fully, and their Zanpu lies dead.”
“Dead?” Luo Xin experienced mild disappointment. He'd aimed to seize him alive for merits, yet that opportunity had slipped away.
“The chaos was extreme, making it impossible to identify their Zanpu, plus their attire was quite uniform,” the division commander replied warily, fearing Luo Xin's ire. Seeing no anger, he added, “Commander, how shall we handle these yielding Tibetan soldiers?”
After brief reflection, Luo Xin declared, “Select a senior officer to carry back our ultimatum. Should Tibet refuse submission in a month's time, we'll ravage them utterly. The others, transport them all away.”
“Understood, Commander!” The division commander saluted and departed.
He subsequently located Dengba amid the captives. Upon discovering Dengba's prominence in Tibet, the commander escorted him to Luo Xin.
For the campaign, Luo Xin had assembled interpreters fluent in Tibetan tongue and script. Through them, he documented his terms for Dengba's return.
Dengba, his courage shattered by fear, offered no resistance whatsoever. Clutching the imperial decree, he hastened into the plateau's remote expanses.