looked elegant and detached like a scholar composing poetry."Brother," Ye Li softly called out as she entered the study.Xu Qingchen put down his document and smiled as he stood up. "Li'er, what brings...The Prime Consort of the Prosperous Era 402. The Top "Projectile Weapon" Daily Book Bar

Chapter 402: The Top "Projectile Weapon"

"Your Highness"

Moxiu Yao waved his hand and casually wiped off the blood at the corner of his lips, saying, "Iron Cold Ling truly lives up to his reputation." Although it seemed that he had the upper hand, Moxiu Yao's discerning eyes could tell that Iron Cold Ling was deliberately showing weakness. Moreover, although Iron Cold Ling was seriously injured, so was he internally. As Iron Cold Ling said, if they both exerted their full strength, the outcome would likely be who would suffer more in death. He had no intention of dying alongside Iron Cold Ling.

"Your Highness, do you want to..." a guard whispered beside him. The Netherworld Pavilion was almost completely destroyed, and Iron Cold Ling was heavily wounded. They only needed to send someone to follow them and capture all of Iron Cold Ling's group in one fell swoop.

Moxiu Yao shook his head and said, "Forget it, we'll talk about this later." Colder Liuyue had told him that Iron Cold Ling had spared Ahli some mercy, which he believed. At their level, unless the attacker was of equal skill, no one could avoid being ambushed by a high-level expert. Of course, Moxiu Yao knew that Iron Cold Ling would never oppose the Ding王府 for Lei Zhenting's sake. However, he didn't expect Iron Cold Ling to act anyway. Even if Ahli hadn't been injured, he couldn't pretend nothing had happened.

"Iron Cold Ling still has value; send a letter from me to him later," Moxiu Yao said.

"Yes."

"Your Highness, the commander-in-chief's confidential letter," an undercover guard appeared before Moxiu Yao and presented a letter. Moxiu Yao raised his eyebrows and took the letter, only for his expression to change instantly, "Mo Jingli, I will make sure you are damned!"

The two undercover guards standing next to him discreetly stepped back and silently prayed for whoever had angered their Highness.

Moxiu Yao stared at the letter in his hand with a malevolent gaze. If Mo Jingli wanted to crown Ahli as queen, then he would make sure Mo Jingli couldn't become emperor, and see how he would manage that!

"Someone!" After a long while, Moxiu Yao crumpled up the letter in his hand into powder and casually tossed it away.

"Your Highness, what are your orders" A black-clad undercover guard appeared behind Moxiu Yao and bowed to wait for instructions. Moxiu Yao said coolly, "Have Mo Hua deliver my token personally to Nanjing and inform the Empress Dowager that the emperor of Great Chu can be replaced. I guarantee that Mo Jingli will not return to cause trouble."

"I obey." The undercover guard looked at Moxiu Yao's gloomy face, quickly accepted the order, and leaped away swiftly. If anyone ran into their Highness in this mood, they would be倒黴.

The day after Lei Zhen霆 left Feihong Pass, the warfare that had paused for several days erupted again. Perhaps it was because they were certain of Mo Xiu Yao's death, the Western Liang army this time did not cautiously probe as they had when fighting with Mo Xiu Yao before; instead, their entire army advanced and headed straight towards Feihong Pass. Meanwhile, Emperor Mo Jingli, who brought reinforcements originally intended for Hangu Pass to bolster its defenses, took a different route and headed northwest directly to Yuming Pass. They swiftly blocked the only road connecting Chu Capital with Hangu Pass leading to Feihong Pass, taking control of Yunzhou's Linyang City.

Linyang was the must-pass city on the way from Chu Capital to Feihong Pass; it was also the former home of XU family in Yunzhou. Ten years ago after the whole Xu clan moved northwestward, the current leading families in Linyang were now the CHU clan who had marital ties with the Xu family. Unfortunately, although Mo Jingli was the emperor of Chu Kingdom, his arrival did not receive a warm welcome from people in Yunzhou and Linyang. Even prominent families ignored him. This made Mo Jingli, who was originally elated, feel utterly frustrated. If it weren't for some remaining sanity, he might have already slaughtered all these noble families.

Meanwhile, the Western Liang army led by Lei Zhen霆 also encountered difficulties. Under the leadership of several famous generals like Mu Gong Shen, the Mo Family's troops dispersed and infiltrated, causing troubles to the Western Liang army everywhere. Although in terms of military tactics and strength, Mu Gong Shen and other Southern Duke could not match up with Lei Zhen霆, but to disrupt and slow down their progress was not a tough task. Especially when they were leaving Feihong Pass, having just learned from Princess Consort Ding those sixteen words, "When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we advance; when the enemy stops, we harass; when the enemy is tired, we attack," these seasoned generals quickly grasped and applied them. This made Lei Zhen霆 feel like he had swallowed a fly – it was too hard to spit out but swallowing caused discomfort.

Lei Zhen霆 stared at the map in front of him with a grim expression. The death of Mo Xiu Yao and the news that they would soon defeat the Mo Family's troops no longer brought any joy or satisfaction to him. Seeing Lei Tengfeng, who had just walked in wearing war attire looking exhausted, he asked sternly: "How many more days until we reach Feihong Pass"

Lei Tengfeng replied: "Our troops were originally expected to be at the gates of Feihong Pass within three days. But now... it might take at least half a month. Father, since Mo Xiu Yao is dead and there's no need to rush. Why don't we first clear these weeds" As long as Mo Xiu Yao was dead and the Mo Family troops leaderless, they could slowly wear down their enemy if given enough time. Lei Tengfeng couldn't understand why his father wanted to rush when even with Mu Gong Shen and Southern Duke's threat.

Lei Zhen霆 shook his head: "We don't have the luxury of time."

"Father" Lei Tengfeng raised an eyebrow in confusion. Lei Zhen霆 smiled bitterly, saying: "Mo Xiu Yao's death is good news for Western Liang, but... it may not necessarily be beneficial for Prince Southern王府 at this moment."

Lei Tengfeng lowered his head and said不解地：“Son is dull.”

Sighing, Lei Zhen霆 explained: "Tengfeng, the Prince Southern王府 isn't part of Western Liang's royal bloodline. The other emperor still exists in Ancheng." Though the current Western Liang Emperor wasn’t particularly capable, he certainly wasn’t a fool; all these years, he had merely pretended to be one.

Lei Tengfeng frowned and said: "The emperor What can he do The entire Western Liang is under Father's control."

Shaking his head, Lei Zhen霆 replied: "Back then, how powerful was the Prince Ding王府？ Yet it could be almost annihilated by Mo Jingli whom even you wouldn’t give a second look. Isn't that enough of a lesson to you"

"Father's meaning is...!" exclaimed Lei Tengfeng in surprise.

Lei Zhen霆 smiled bitterly. With Mo Xiu Yao as the formidable enemy, Western Liang Emperor naturally had some reservations. But who said the Western Liang Emperor was a complete incompetent For years, all major and minor affairs of Western Liang were handled by Lei Zhen霆 with great effort, while the nominal ruler sitting high above was still Western Liang's emperor. Now that Mo Xiu Yao died and Lei Zhen霆 was away at war, it was the perfect time for the Western Liang Emperor to seize power.

Lei Tengfeng frowned; he had always looked down on his uncle who sat on the throne. But he also understood that an incompetent emperor could still sit stably on the throne for so many years – that itself was a kind of capability. After all, Prince Southern王府 wasn't like the former Prince Ding王府 that genuinely assisted the royal family wholeheartedly; if they weren’t careful, the fate of Prince Ding王府 might serve as a cautionary tale for Prince Southern王府.

"Son thoughtlessly neglected his duties, please let King Thunderbolt punish me," Lei Tengfeng bowed to take the blame.

King Thunderbolt waved his hand and smiled, "Forget it. I know that you've been a little distracted these days by Mu Sheng and others. But what you said is also correct, we can't continue like this. I'll leave you with 200,000 troops to guard our rear. Can you do it for me"

Lei Tengfeng's spirit was roused as he loudly responded, "Son will never disappoint father."

The king nodded and said, "I trust you, but… be careful. You only need to block their advance; there's no rush to destroy them. The Black Warriors changed tactics unexpectedly this time, and someone must have advised them."

Lei Tengfeng frowned and asked, "Someone advising them Inside the Black Warriors other than Mo Xiuyao, could there be any experts even father is at a loss with"

The king thought for a moment before sighing complexly. "If my guess is correct, it should be Ye Li. Other than her, everyone in the Black Warrior army emerged from battlefields as martial generals; none would have such an imaginative style of combat." Regarding Ye Li, King Thunderbolt never knew how to evaluate her. In his opinion, she didn't qualify as a peerless military genius. Yet time and again, this woman achieved surprising results that no one anticipated. When reviewing her tactics later on, the king realized that every single tactic she used could be described by only one word: "Unexpected". Because it was unexpected, it couldn't be replicated. Such a style of combat required imagination and audacity. Of course, King Thunderbolt never thought that Ye Li's unique approach stemmed not from any extraordinary imagination or genius but simply because she had thousands more years of experience and military training than they did. A true prodigy would inevitably create their own domain uniquely, while Ye Li was far from reaching such a level.

Lei Tengfeng nodded seriously, "King Thunderbolt can rest assured; I will not act rashly." At over thirty years old, Lei Tengfeng had long left his youthful recklessness behind and knew the importance of prioritizing. Therefore, he would never risk ruining his father's entire plan for a momentary victory.

The king nodded, "I naturally trust you. Go and prepare yourself then. Tonight, I will set out with my troops."

"Yes, King Thunderbolt take care of yourself. Lei Tengfeng takes his leave."

Feihong Pass

"Your Excellency Consort, the Prince Regent of the Southern Province, Lei Zhen霆 (correcting name to avoid repetition: Lei Zhenning), is leading 700,000 troops in two divisions toward Feihong Pass," reported a messenger from General's Mansion. Ye Li and Han Mingyue had stopped their chess game while they were playing inside the mansion.

Ye Li smiled calmly, "He finally arrived."

Han Mingyue slowly put away his pieces into a box beside him with a smile, saying, "Your Excellency Consort seems completely unfazed."

Ye Li smiled and said, "Anxiety only leads to wrong judgments; it brings no benefits. Moreover, wasn't this something we already knew"

Han Mingyue raised his sword-like eyebrows with a smile but remained silent. He was always curious about where Ye Li's limits lay, yet nothing seemed to truly shake her or cause fear in her. "Even male warriors would be ashamed of the firmness of your Excellency Consort’s mind."

Ye Lijing smiled and shook her head, saying, "Actually, women's endurance and resilience are originally much greater than men's. It’s just that..." In this era, women were bound by various rites and norms, secluded in their chambers without experiencing the world outside.

Han Mingyue said with a smile, "Seeing Wangfei, I now believe this statement."

Ye Lijing smiled bitterly; she was forced to act like this too. At such a moment, if even she lost her composure, the entire Feihong Pass would probably fall into chaos instantly. Looking at Ye Lijing’s calm and composed appearance, Han Mingyue asked, "In just over two days, General Lei Zhen霆's army will likely besiege the city. What is Wangfei planning to do"

"Planning" Ye Lijing raised her eyebrows with a faint smile, saying, "How about giving him a grand gift first and then discussing plans"

Han Mingyue said with a smile, "I look forward to it."

Two days later, less than ten miles away from Feihong Pass, the Western Ling army was in high spirits and advancing effortlessly. Seeing Feihong Pass in the distance, Lei Zhen霆 finally showed a hint of a smile at the forefront. As long as he captured Feihong Pass, there would be no more fortresses to defend within the northwest region; without Mo Xiuyao, and with key commanders dispatched elsewhere, the Mo army would surely be leaderless. Then… Ye Lijing, will you regret it

"Your Highness, we are less than ten miles away from Feihong Pass. Shall we set up camp here" A commander who had been scouting ahead galloped back and reported with clasped hands. Lei Zhen霆 raised an eyebrow and looked at the open terrain before him; it was flat except for a solitary hill in the southwest, not ideal defensively but also difficult to launch surprise attacks from this wide-open area. Although Lei Zhen霆 did not think Ye Lijing could still spare troops for such a move now, he had to be cautious.

Nodding, Lei Zhen霆 said, "Set up camp here and prepare for an attack early tomorrow."

"Understood!" The second-in-command accepted the order and relayed it throughout the army.

On a nearby solitary hill overlooking the Western Ling forces setting up camp, Ye Lijing led Feng Zhirao and others to observe from a hidden spot on the cliff. Seeing the neatly arranged troops below, Han Mingyi could not help but sigh repeatedly, "There must be over seven or eight hundred thousand of them. Are we really going to defend Feihong Pass to the death" There were less than 300,000 people in Feihong Pass.

Feng Zhirao glanced at him and said, "Unless Master Fengyue comes up with a place easier to defend but harder for enemies to attack other than Feihong Pass. Once the Western Ling army enters Feihong Pass, there's no need to keep defending it anymore; from there on, the way to Li City is flat all the way and even Li City isn't as impregnable as Jin Tang. Li City itself was only a small city in the northwest rebuilt.

Han Mingyi shrugged indifferently; he wasn’t involved in battle matters anyway, just venting his frustrations casually.

"Wangfei, why are we here Are we watching how many troops Lei Zhen霆 brought" Feng Zhirao was also curious; Wangfei said she would prepare a grand gift for Lei Zhen霆's army. But he truly didn’t know what exactly Wangfei had prepared, something that could only be seen upon arriving here.

Ye Lijing looked down at the Western Ling forces setting up camp and sighed helplessly, saying, "This place isn't ideal, but we have no choice. Qin Feng, are you ready"

Qin Feng, who was standing behind Ye Li, nodded and said, "Princess Consort, please rest assured. We have prepared everything."

"Very well. Let's begin then. Soon, Lei Zhen霆 will send people up the mountain," Ye Li nodded.

“Yes,” Qin Feng waved his hand, and over a hundred Black Cloud Cavalry appeared on the cliff’s edge. Holding bows and arrows, they aimed at the military camp below.

Feng Zhiyao couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Princess Consort, you're not actually planning to use these one hundred people to greet Lei Zhen霆" Ignoring whether or not they could hit from such a distance, even if they did manage to hit someone, how much damage would that do With just this one hundred people against eighty thousand soldiers, the Black Cloud Cavalry shooting until their horses froth at the mouth wouldn’t kill many people.

Ye Li smiled and said, "Just watch carefully. Release the arrows!"

Swoosh—!

The black-feathered arrows left their bows and shot towards the Xiling military camp. The troops in the Xiling army were also elite soldiers; as soon as they heard the sound of arrows breaking through the air, they reacted immediately. "Enemy attack!"

In a matter of moments, the entire army was on high alert. But even if the Xiling soldiers responded quickly, it couldn’t compare to the speed of an arrow. Soon after, they found that the black-feathered arrows were not aimed at anyone but instead hit empty spaces or stacks of grass and tents. Before everyone could figure out what was happening, Lei Zhen霆’s instinctive sense warned him of danger. He shouted fiercely, "Retreat!"

Bang!

The moment his voice ended, there was a deafening sound followed by continuous explosions with a strong smell of gunpowder spreading in the camp that had not yet fully settled. Simultaneously, countless soldiers' screams echoed.

Continuous explosions almost lasted nearly half an hour before gradually subsiding. The thick smoke from the explosion obscured everything, and Lei Zhen霆, somewhat disheveled, stood up to see a scene of chaos with numerous severed limbs strewn about. Many soldiers were killed in the explosion, while some unlucky ones were blown into pieces. More people suffered severe injuries, losing arms or legs, lying on the ground screaming in agony. Even those who didn't get injured were terrified, and some fainted, crying out for their parents.

This wasn’t because Xiling soldiers were too careless but that no one had ever seen such terrifying power before. If someone paid close attention to the details of the battle when the Mo Family Army seized Chu Capital years ago, they might have been prepared. However, at that time, the Mo Family Army used very little explosives and caused only minimal casualties. Afterward, they sealed off all information about it; even their own soldiers knew little, let alone Xiling.

The crowd on the cliff gaped in shock at what was happening below for a while before Feng Zhiyao managed to squeeze out one word from his throat, "Amazing..." He had actually seen this kind of thing during that battle in Chu Capital. However, he didn't admire it because transporting them was troublesome and they were bulky. More importantly, their destructive power wasn’t particularly great. But now, the sight left him awestruck.

Ye Li looked down at the scene below with a lowered gaze, not saying a word.

"Ye Li!" Below on the mountain, Lei Zhen霆 stared at the devastation in front of him and finally couldn't hold back his anger. With lightning-fast eyes, he shot a glare towards the crowd on the cliff, accurately locating Ye Li’s position. Lei Zhen霆 was boiling with rage; this explosion just now caused over ten thousand deaths or serious injuries among the Xiling army. Although this didn’t mean much to Lei Zhen霆 who currently had more than seventy thousand troops. However, the Mo Family Army causing such damage without any casualties on their side would have a profound impact and consequences that went beyond just losing several tens of thousands of soldiers for the Xiling army.

Lei Zhen Ting suddenly leaped up and rushed towards Ye Li and the others. While in mid-air, he slashed his sword to send a sharp blade of energy toward Ye Li.

Both Han Mingyue and Feng Zhiyao stepped forward simultaneously to intercept this blade of energy. At the same time, over one hundred Black Cloud Cavalry aimed their arrows at Lei Zhen Ting in unison. In mid-air, Lei Zhen Ting had no support to rely on; if he did not want to be shot like a pincushion, his only option was to retreat after giving up on attacking Ye Li.

But Lei Zhen Ting, furious and enraged, slashed with his sword again, sweeping aside all one hundred arrows. He then continued charging at Ye Li without any loss of momentum.

When the attack missed, the Black Cloud Cavalry did not panic but continued shooting arrows.

Feng Zhiyao, Qin Feng, Han Mingyue, and others subconsciously lay down in front of Ye Li to prevent themselves from having to intervene if the Black Cloud Cavalry could not stop Lei Zhen Ting. Han Mingxi stood beside Ye Li as he saw her take out something odd-looking from her sleeve and fiddle with it for a moment. Then, she raised that thing toward them. Feng Zhiyao heard her say in a deep voice, “Feng San, move aside.”

Feng Zhiyao, who was standing right in front of Ye Li, involuntarily complied and moved to the side upon hearing this command. A loud bang echoed, followed by a gust of wind that swept past Feng Zhiyao's ear. Although Lei Zhen Ting, originally charging viciously through the air, suddenly paused before slowly dropping down. Feng Zhiyao clearly saw blood blossom on Lei Zhen Ting’s shoulder but did not see any arrow hitting him; he was certain no arrows had hit Lei Zhen Ting.

Everyone turned around in shock to look at the white-robed woman behind them. Ye Li still held that thing, which looked odd with a small black hole on it. Even Feng Zhiyao and Han Mingxi, experienced people, could not identify what kind of secret weapon this was. However, they felt that although the object did not look appealing in appearance, when held by Ye Li, it seemed to exude a unique elegance and lethal intent.

More importantly, with this unremarkable item, she had injured Xi Ling’s Southern King, one of the four top experts in the world—Lei Zhen Ting.

"What… what is that"

Furrowing her brow and sighing helplessly, Ye Li said while looking at her handgun, "I missed." Unfortunately, this was already the best gun she could make and it couldn't be mass-produced. It was a single-shot pistol with an effective range of less than one hundred fifty meters; Lei Zhen Ting's lightness kung fu skills were too high for her to have any chance of hitting him even if she had used a rifle. Compared to the previous time, at least this gun’s destructive power and stability had significantly improved from just being a funny-looking toy.

"What would happen if you didn't miss" In Han Mingxi's opinion, Lei Zhen Ting hadn’t been hit by over one hundred Black Cloud Cavalry archers but was instead shot down by Ye Li in one go. This was already quite impressive.

Ye Li smiled and said, "I thought I would definitely hit the head."

"You wanted to pierce Lei Zhen Ting's skull!" Everyone shuddered.

Shaking her head, Ye Li replied, "This gun doesn't have strong penetrating power; it can’t pierce through at this distance.ilitary held for Northern Rong wouldn’t be washed away simply because they too had suffered losses back then. Mo Xiuyao and his party always acted swiftly; in three months, he captured Western Ling's...