A Pawn's Passage

Meanwhile, in Hisai Castle within Ichishi District, a fierce battle had erupted.

The fighting was so intense that Hisai Castle was almost entirely reduced to ruins.

These ruins were not the result of post-battle arson. Instead, it was the handiwork of relentless artillery fire.

Sage Qingwei did not like to deploy artillery in scattered positions. He wanted it to be concentrated, much like the volley-fire tactics of gunmen. A dense formation increased accuracy and created all-around suppression, keeping enemies in their cover and unable to lift their heads, let alone return fire.

Thus, the more than one thousand cannons the Daoist Order had brought were all positioned outside Hisai Castle.

Over 20 Crane Crafts dove toward the city, dropping Grade-A Series Six Phoenix Eye Bombs that ignited roaring flames, while 800 heavy cannons turned 25 kilometers of the eastern front of Hisai Castle into a sea of fire.

The thunderous roars were unceasing, and many people lost their hearing in the continuous blasts, having to shout at the top of their lungs just to make themselves heard by someone right beside them. The air was thick with the pungent stench of gunpowder. Glass windows shattered under the intense shockwaves, cascading shards to the ground. Wooden houses, even if not on fire, shook violently, their beams creaking as though ready to collapse at any moment. Billowing smoke filled the skies, blotting out the sky.

Spirit Guard Jia Shen was overseeing this battlefield. He raised his telescope, the fierce combat scene reflecting in its lens. Beneath his helmet was a fair, well-defined face, thick arched brows, and eyes as calm as still water, free of brutality or rage.

To hold thunder in the chest yet wear the face of a tranquil lake was the mark of a true general.

In fact, a first-rank Spirit Guard was equivalent to the Daoist Order’s top general. But with governance and supreme authority in the hands of civil officials—the Daoist priests—the Spirit Guards could only remain subordinate.

However, this did not diminish the elevated status of a first-rank Spirit Guard. In the actual command of military operations, Daoist priests rarely interfered and usually left matters to these highly specialized, top-ranked officers.

The twelve first-rank Spirit Guards were divided into Six Dings and Six Jias. The Six Ding Spirit Guards specialized in defense and were stationed across various regions as gatekeepers. For example, Spirit Guard Ding Wei, who oversaw the Fenglin Daoist Mansion, participated in this war as part of her defensive role.