To the First Emperor of Qin: The state has decreed this!

Chapter 256 The Japanese pirate army suffered a crushing defeat!

The base is constructed of rough wood, with gears and a huge counterweight mounted on top.

The projectile arm is reinforced with cast iron, and a leather net is fixed to the top.

"Check the gears!"

"Windlock in place!"

The soldiers turned the wooden winch, making a "click-clack" sound as the mechanisms engaged.

The launch arm was slowly pulled down and locked in the launch position.

"Move the ammunition!" the captain ordered again.

The logistics soldiers carried wooden crates out of the ship's lower deck.

The wooden box was opened, revealing it filled with earthenware jars the size of watermelons.

The mouth of the earthenware jar was tightly sealed with linen soaked in grease, and the inside was filled with a mixture of refined flammable oil and gunpowder.

The soldiers carefully placed the terracotta pots into the leather netting of the catapult.

Top of the mainmast.

The observer, holding his observation equipment, stared intently at the land to the east.

Not long after.

A rustling sound came from the woods along the coastline.

A large number of people rushed out of the woods and onto the beach.

That was a fleeing army of seven thousand Japanese pirates.

They ran through the night, and their formation had long since fallen apart.

The soldiers discarded their helmets and threw away excess baggage.

Many people were panting as they ran, their steps unsteady.

Ji Dan ran in the middle of the group.

His clothes were soaked with sweat, and his hair was disheveled.

Hikona and Ito were equally disheveled, barely managing to keep up with the group only by being pulled along by their personal guards.

When they rushed out of the woods and saw the coastline ahead.

Many Japanese soldiers stopped in their tracks.

They pointed at the water and shouted loudly.

On the water, the massive silhouettes of the Qin Dynasty's First Fleet were visible.

Ji Dan looked in the direction the soldier was pointing.

He made out the outlines of the ships, and his eyes lit up.

"A ship! Those are Qin people's ships!"

Ji Dan turned around and called out to Yanna Ke and King Ito:

"Your Majesty! The Qin people are extremely arrogant; they have been careless!"

Ji Dan's face flushed with excitement, and he pointed at the ships in the distance, bursting into wild laughter.

"These idiots! Their main force is all over the city walls!"

"These dilapidated ships, at most, only have a mere five hundred men left to guard them!"

"Even as a remnant force, we still have seven thousand brave warriors!"

"Seven thousand against five hundred! How could we possibly lose to them?"

"If we can break through and seize those ships, we can not only survive, but also turn the tide of battle!"

Upon hearing this...

As Hikona and Ito looked at the undefended fleet ahead, their eyes, which were originally filled with fear, were instantly replaced by madness and greed.

"Hahaha! May Amaterasu protect you!"

"The Qin people ultimately overlooked one crucial factor!"

Yanna Ke immediately drew her sword, her face contorted with rage, and pointed it at the water, roaring hysterically:

"Warriors! They only have five hundred men!"

"Seven thousand against five hundred? Even if we have to bite them, we'll tear them to pieces alive!"

"All troops, charge!"

"Seize the Qin people's warships!"

Upon hearing the order, the Japanese soldiers once again took off running, their feet treading the sand, towards the water's edge.

They didn't think much of it.

All they knew was that there was a boat ahead, and if there was a boat, they could escape!

The crowd spread out on the beach, getting closer and closer.

On the mast of the main ship.

The observer estimated the distance between the enemy forces and the ships.

Five hundred steps.

Four hundred steps.

Three hundred steps.

The enemy has entered the optimal strike range.

The observer immediately shouted a report to the leader towards the deck below:

"The enemy has entered optimal firing range!"

"Approximately seven thousand people!"

"Two hundred and eighty steps away!"

Upon hearing the report, the captain walked to the front of the deck.

He raised his right hand and gave a loud command:

"ignition!"

The soldiers holding torches quickly stepped forward.

They brought the torches close to the earthenware pot.

The fuse was ignited the moment the flame touched the linen.

The ceramic pots on hundreds of flywheel catapults began to burn, emitting white smoke.

"put!"

The captain forcefully swung his right hand down.

The soldier operating the machine swung a wooden mallet and smashed it against the firing switch.

The mechanism has come loose.

The counterweight fell heavily.

The gears spun rapidly, emitting a screeching grinding sound.

The massive projectile arm bounced upwards violently due to the reaction force.

"call!"

The burning ceramic pot in the net was thrown into the air.

Hundreds of burning fireballs streaked across the night sky.

They drew parabolic arcs in the air and fell towards the crowd on the beach.

on the beach.

The Japanese soldiers who were running heard the sound of wind overhead.

They looked up.

Countless bright spots appeared in the sky.

The bright spot quickly magnified, turning into a burning pottery jar, which rained down from all directions.

The crowd stopped in their tracks.

Many people stood there, bewildered, wondering what had fallen from the sky.

"Bang!"

The first pottery jar smashed on the beach.

The earthenware jar shattered, and the raging oil inside splattered outwards.

Upon contact with the open flame on the fuse, the flammable oil instantly ignites and explodes.

A ball of fire exploded in the crowd.

Followed by.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

A series of cracking sounds echoed across the beach.

Hundreds of pottery jars fell to the ground one after another.

Some crashed onto the beach, while others struck the soldiers directly.

The oil splattered everywhere.

The beach was set ablaze.

The soldier's clothes were set on fire.

Even the surrounding dead trees and weeds were consumed by the fire.

The flames spread rapidly, cutting off the 7,000-strong force.

"what!"

Screams echoed across the beach.

The Japanese soldiers, splashed with hot oil, fell to the ground, writhing in agony.

"Help! This fire won't go out! Someone please save me!"

"Ah! My eyes! My flesh is burning!!"

They tried to pat the flames off their bodies with their hands, but the fire oil had a strong adhesion, and the more they patted, the stronger the flames became.

Some people were rolling around on the beach, trying to extinguish the flames with sand.

But the flames burned through their clothes and reached their flesh.

"Water! Jump into the sea!"

Some soldiers, driven mad by the burning, screamed desperately as they rushed into the sea.

But the oil is lighter than water, so it floats directly on the surface of the water and continues to burn fiercely!

The person who jumped into the water had barely surfaced when they were instantly engulfed by flames on the surface, letting out an even more desperate scream:

"The water is burning too! Amaterasu! This is no ordinary fire, this is divine punishment!!!"

"Demons! These Qin people are demons! Run!!"

The fleet did not cease its attack.

The captain continued to issue orders:

"Reload!"

"Second round, release!"

The machine clicked again.

Another fireball rose into the sky.

Three consecutive rounds of launching.

Thousands of burning pottery jars lay on the beach.

The entire west coast was turned into a sea of ​​fire.

The firelight illuminated the water's surface.

The Japanese pirate army was thrown into complete chaos.

There was no formation, no command.

The soldiers ran around in all directions, bumping into each other.

Some people rushed into the sea to escape the flames.

But the burning oil floated on the water and continued to burn.

The person who jumped into the water was immediately engulfed by flames on the surface as soon as they surfaced.

Ji Dan stood at the back of the group, looking at the sea of ​​fire ahead, and stopped in her tracks.

The firelight illuminated his face.

His face turned pale, and his lips trembled incessantly.

I had previously gathered intelligence about the Qin army.

The intelligence report mentioned that the Qin army's large ships possessed extremely powerful secret weapons capable of destroying enemies from a great distance.

At the time, Ji Dan thought it was just exaggerated information.

Or perhaps a rain of arrows burning brightly!

Even if they had weapons, they were nothing more than improved crossbows or larger catapults.

But now, I've seen it all with my own eyes!

This is neither a bow and arrow nor an ordinary stone.

Instead, it was a rain of fireballs falling from the sky!