Pirate Kingship

Chapter 426 - 340: Firearms VS Stone Tools: Rifled Musket - Hammer of Punishment!

Chapter 426: Chapter 340: Firearms VS Stone Tools: Rifled Musket - Hammer of Punishment!

"It has finally begun."

Byron and Violet instinctively sat up straight. A vast strategic map unfolded before them, as if they were viewing the battlefield from a god’s-eye perspective. The entire battlefield, amidst the fierce fight, was displayed before their eyes as a three-dimensional holographic image. Relying on their numerous devout followers acting as nodes of law, every detail of Tayapan was revealed with painstaking clarity. Even the panicked expressions on the faces of the guards atop the city walls were crystal clear.

"Enemy attack!"

The city-states of the two great Native Empires each operated on a one-city-one-nation system. Due to constant warring over sacrifices, city defenses were always of paramount importance. Before a round of saturation bombardment from all directions—both land and water—could even begin, the mutated guards had already sensed the commotion outside the city. Their bodies, contaminated, had sprouted scales, fangs, and even deformed tails and wings. They had long since taken up positions on the thick stone walls.

Moreover, Tayapan’s forbidden knowledge, the **Crown of the Giant Dragon**, differed from the traditional knowledge of the "**Book of the Beast Kinship**" (Volume I) inherited by other city-states. In those other city-states, indigenous warriors had to hunt beasts like cheetahs, tigers, brown bears, and other spirit beasts in the forests during their coming-of-age ceremonies. The **Crown of the Giant Dragon**, however, included methods to cultivate the sub-dragon species, the Multicolored Dragon Lizard, along with a series of other dragon lineages. Artificially breeding "beast souls" was naturally far more convenient than hunting wild animals. Some of the higher-quality Multicolored Dragon Lizards would become their contracted dragon souls, while others would serve as **Tamed Beasts** within the city-state.

It was said that long-term cohabitation with Multicolored Dragon Lizards could reduce the difficulty of practicing Black Sorcery and even lessen the side effects of a condition known as "greed." Greed for wealth, gluttony, lust, power... In short, they were likely to suffer from at least one of the flaws said to afflict dragons in the legends of the ancient **Dragon Court**.

HISS HISS HISS...

AWOOO AWOOO AWOOO...

The fire-attribute Red Dragon Lizards, water-attribute Blue Dragon Lizards, ice-attribute White Dragon Lizards, dark-attribute Black Dragon Lizards, and wind-attribute Green Dragon Lizards roared as they joined the guards, rushing to the city walls. They presented a formidable and imposing sight. Clustered here and there, their vibrant colors made for a rather brilliant display. But to someone suffering from "insufficient firepower phobia," they were all just "truly all flash and no substance!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...

Cannonballs rained down, and flesh and blood flew everywhere! The primitive city walls were primarily designed to defend against assaults by foot soldiers; their capacity to withstand cannon fire was woefully inadequate, lacking the specific defensive design of large **Edge Fortresses**. The wooden gates were a particular vulnerability. Although shamanic wizards had fortified them with Black Sorcery enchantments, they could not be completely blocked with stone. They needed to remain functional for logistical support, counterattacks, and as lifelines, among other purposes. A single round of bombardment instantaneously blew them into millions of splintered fragments.

Instead of seizing the opportunity to storm the city, the **Allied Army** immediately followed up with a second, third, and then a fourth round of concentrated fire. That’s how "insufficient firepower phobia" operated. Any issue that could be solved with saturation firepower would not be tackled with manpower.

As Byron would say: "On future battlefields, we must unleash steel and flames, not soldiers. We will leave countless craters on the enemy’s territory—a terrifying density allowing one to hop from one crater to another. In other words, it’s also known as ’oversaturation bombing,’ a grand art of using firepower to reshape geography. With ample logistical support and an unscrupulous application of firepower, my word is simple: bomb them to oblivion! Every additional enemy brings on an overwhelming new episode of my condition. Medicine can’t cure me, but bigger and fiercer artillery can, as can my dearest ’**Gunpowder Artist**,’ Miss **Willette**."

If one round of concentrated fire wasn’t enough, another would follow. Hundreds of cast-iron shells whistled through the sky, crashing down upon Tayapan City. Even though the walls blocked most of them, the sheer number of cannonballs was overwhelming. Numerous shells bounced wildly, crushing everything on the ramparts guarded by the Fallen guards.

"AAAH... help me, my leg..."

"My stomach..."

Some exploded into **Blood Mist** alongside dragon lizards. Missing limbs were a common sight, and many were cleaved in two on the spot. It seemed that after becoming Fallen, they inherited some of the dragon lizards’ abilities. As long as the limb loss wasn’t too severe, they could regrow them, a healing rate far more rapid than that of normal humans. If this were still the age of cold weapons, they would have held a significant advantage. Although the regrown limbs were those of lizards, it also confirmed they were irreversibly progressing down their path of degradation.

Meanwhile, the ancient walls, which had stood unassailable through countless wars fought with cold weapons, trembled violently under the bombardment. If they continued to take hits without striking back, even the sturdiest defenses would eventually crumble.

"Counterattack! Counterattack! Green Dragon Lizard Warriors and Green Dragon Lizard Knights, take to the sky! Destroy their **Artillery Positions**!" roared Teotihuacan, the King with the Upturned Nose, wielding a **Miracle**-grade Obsidian saw-sword.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!...

The Green Dragon Lizards, the only flying breed among the Multicolored Dragon Lizards, soared into the air one after another. Gunpowder and bombs weren’t their forte, but the various potions concocted by the shamanic wizards were no less powerful than explosives. The "Potent Voodoo Potion" was especially dangerous. Upon contact with moist air, it would transform into a sticky, toxic fog capable of corroding steel swords to dust in just a few breaths. It was also potent enough to reduce thick cannons to piles of useless scrap metal.