After being pregnant for nine months, the baby in Zhi Ning's belly was finally ready to be born.
Her belly was big and pointed, and everyone who saw it said it was a boy.
This made Jinning both excited and disappointed. The Huo family, especially the branch of her father Huo Lan, was extremely weak. Now that there was a boy, it boosted their morale.
However, this boy's special identity meant that he couldn't participate in politics. Therefore, she always wanted to have a daughter and focused on studying art.
Her belly was really big, but she still insisted on walking with it every day for the sake of her and her child's health.
It was strange. Originally, Zhi Ning's body was a little weak, but after she got pregnant, she worked hard to eat, drink, and exercise, unlike before, when she would lie on the bed and read for half a day. Her body actually gradually became healthier. Well, to use another word to describe it, it was actually becoming stronger.
After she was pregnant, her face became round, and her body became plump except for her belly.
Her face, which was originally delicate, was now glowing with radiance.
Pregnant women were weak and needed the care of their lovers. However, after Zhi Ning got pregnant, she didn't have a lover.
She ate alone, exercised alone, and talked to the baby alone. She seemed very strong.
Now that her belly hurt and her legs were wet, she knew she was going to give birth.
Immediately, she put down her paintbrush and yelled, "Hurry, I'm going to give birth."
Instantly, four to five nannies, a dozen maids, and two female medical cultivators rushed in.
Immediately, Prince Ji Min also rushed in with a nervous expression.
"Get lost …" Zhi Ning pointed at him and yelled.
Instantly, Prince Ji Min felt like he ran into an invisible wall. His head shrunk, and he retreated dejectedly.
Then, Princess Zhi Ning was carried into the room, and the door was closed. Then, the door of the entire house was also closed.
Over the past six months, Zhi Ning's temper had become more and more fierce, and her voice had become louder and louder.
Without her brother Zhi Li's care, and the child's father couldn't be by her side, she was the only one who could protect the future child.
Therefore, she had no choice but to become tough.
Prince Ji Min was the direct victim. He was yelled at every day and often scolded like a grandson. He was almost traumatized.
He really couldn't understand why the previously gentle and cold Zhi Ning would become so tough and fierce at this moment, like a shrew.
From the description of a character on Earth, Zhi Ning had changed from a Lin Daiyu to a Hedong Lion.
However, what was even more incomprehensible was that Zhi Ning was such a shrew with a big belly. Ji Min's love for her grew even stronger.
If it was said that the love from before was still the naivety of a young man. And now, Prince Ji Min's love for her had become mature and firm, and even had a sense of responsibility.
He wanted to protect this woman. He wanted to take care of her.
"Ah …" At this moment, Zhi Ning's scream of pain came from inside the room. It was so loud that it broke through the roof.
Prince Ji Min's legs trembled, and he almost fell to the ground.
This was because the scream was too loud.
However, immediately after, Zhi Ning's hoarse screams came from inside. Prince Ji Min's legs almost turned to jelly, and his body gradually turned cold.
This was because Zhi Ning's screams were getting more and more tragic, and also getting weaker and weaker.
He thought of a terrifying word. Dystocia!
…
"Husband, what's wrong?" Nair asked gently.
Søren was a little uneasy, but he didn't show it at all. But Nair still noticed it.
Nair loved him too much, so even if there was the slightest change in his emotions, she would be able to sense it.
"I don't know why, but my heart is beating a little faster, and I'm a little uneasy," Søren said.
"Is it because of the war?" Nair asked.
Søren shook his head and said, "I don't know."
Then, he took a deep breath, gathered his spiritual energy, and used the Moon in the Well illusion to calm himself down.
Usually, at this time, he could easily calm himself down, but for some reason, he couldn't calm down today.
In that case, he might as well not be quiet. He looked to the left, then to the right.
As the western gate of Tianshui City, the Wind Thunder Fortress defense line was originally just a medium-sized castle. Because the kingdom's White Cloud County was on the west side, there was no need to really defend it before.
After Søren took back Tianshui City, the Raging Wave Kingdom's Zhi Li's forces became his biggest enemy, and Duke Shen Wei's Southeast Province became his closest enemy.
Therefore, Søren invested a huge amount of gold coins and resources to build the Wind Thunder Fortress defense line.
He used 200,000 manpower and hundreds of thousands of gold coins to build the four-mile defense line. It spanned between two mountains and completely blocked the entrance to Tianshui City.
The four-mile long wall was 13 meters tall and 23 meters thick. There was a medium-sized castle every one mile.
It could be said to be impregnable, like a giant beast squatting in the valley.
Not only that, there were more than 100 giant catapults in the four-mile defense line. They could throw as far as 400 to 500 meters.
There were also hundreds of medium-sized catapults and countless giant ballistae.
The number of kerosene barrels stored in the underground warehouse behind the defense line was absolutely astronomical. There were hundreds of thousands of barrels.
There were tens of thousands of gunpowder bags of various types.
There were millions of arrows of various types.
All in all, Søren wanted to fight a war similar to the one the US Army had in the Middle East on Earth. He wanted to use hundreds of bullets to kill an enemy.
He wanted to use resources to kill the enemy!
Yan Yan, Yan Chao 'er, Jung Yeon, Yan Nair, and Ashita Liren were each in charge of a castle.
Søren, as the commander of the battlefield, was in charge of commanding.
However, Søren had always been good at strategy. He was not good at commanding the battlefield.
"Caw …"
A griffin landed on the roof of the central castle. Søren rode on it and flew high, patrolling the entire battlefield!
Zhuang Zhixuan sat behind Søren as his guard.
On the four-mile wall, there were countless catapults and giant ballistae crisscrossing.
There were not many soldiers on the wall, only about twenty thousand, and all of them were armed with bows and arrows.
There were about forty thousand soldiers in the castle and the camp behind the wall.
Søren rode on the griffin and flew high in the sky, patrolling back and forth.
Two thousand meters in front of the defense line, Ma Yingwei's 150,000 soldiers had completed their formation.
Fifteen giant square formations were spread out in the valley that was more than ten square kilometers.
There were dozens of giant catapults, hundreds of medium-sized catapults, and thousands of giant ballistae.
There were countless siege hammers, siege vehicles, and siege ladders.
Ma Yingwei's 150,000 soldiers were armed to the teeth, and they had an astronomical number of siege resources.
There were thousands of ox carts transporting the giant stone bombs.
Behind the 150,000 soldiers, there were no less than two hundred thousand civilian soldiers.
In this war, both sides had only mobilized two hundred thousand soldiers, but five hundred thousand civilian workers had been mobilized.
The military expenditure was more than five hundred thousand gold coins, which was almost equivalent to the war of the Rouran Kingdom.
Duke Ma Yingwei narrowed his eyes and looked at the Gale Thunder Fortress defense line a few miles away, like a huge beast.
"It's said that the Rouran City is the number one duke in the world. It should have been changed long ago." Ma Yingwei said, "It's not the one with the largest territory who is the number one duke, but the one with the most money and soldiers."
Crown Prince Jiu You, who was beside him, gritted his teeth in jealousy. There were two people who were the richest in the Raging Wave Kingdom. One was Zhi Li, who controlled the biggest gold coin. The other was Søren, who controlled the Rubble Salt Works and the Magic Mirror Base.
Now, Søren's monthly income was more than the annual income of the other dukes.
If not for the short period of time, Tianshui City could double the main city and expand its army by a hundred thousand.
"Father, since Gui Xingfu has been defeated, the previous treaty is no longer valid. After we destroy Tianshui City, the Rubble Salt Works and the Magic Mirror Base will belong to us." Jiu You said, "Father, after this battle, Zhi Li will definitely confer you the title of duke after he succeeds the throne."
Jiu You's face trembled. "Then we'll have to work hard and destroy Tianshui City before Tuling Tuo arrives."
Jiu You said, "After we destroy the Gale Thunder Fortress defense line, we'll destroy Tianshui City."
Duke Ma Yingwei nodded. Søren had gathered all the troops at the Gale Thunder Fortress defense line like a madman. Once they broke through the defense line, the entire Tianshui City would be deserted.
"Your Excellency, the troops are all in formation!" The deputy commander stepped forward and said.
Duke Ma Yingwei said, "Move the troops forward to 500 meters away from the Gale Thunder Fortress defense line."
"Yes!"
Then, the drums sounded.
Countless messengers were shouting and passing down orders.
"Move the troops forward to 500 meters away from the Gale Thunder Fortress defense line."
Bam, bam, bam, bam …
The 150,000-strong army marched in an orderly manner and began to move.
The rolling of the giant catapults, the footsteps of the 150,000-strong army, and the hoofbeats of countless warhorses gathered together.
The entire ground was shaking, and the mountains on both sides were trembling slightly.
Within a radius of 50 kilometers, all the birds and beasts fled without a trace.
Søren rode on his griffin and hovered in the air a few hundred meters above the ground, watching the 150,000-strong army advance.
Like a vast ocean, the 150,000-strong army strolled over a dozen square kilometers of ground, almost covering the color of the ground itself.
From afar, it looked like a dense black mass.
Coo, coo, coo …
"Advance, advance, advance …"
The 150,000-strong army advanced 1,000 meters, 1,300 meters, 1,500 meters!
"Stop!"
"Stop!"
"Stop!"
The first square formation stopped, and the second square formation stopped …
In the end, the 150,000-strong army stopped neatly. The closest square formation was exactly 500 meters away from the Gale Thunder Fortress defense line.
This distance was just outside the attack range of all long-range weapons.
The army stopped and waited for the reaction of the Gale Thunder Fortress defense line!
The Gale Thunder Fortress defense line was silent.
Ma Yingwei's army gave another order.
"Giant catapults, advance 150 meters."
"Giant ballistae, advance 150 meters."
"Cavalry, get ready to protect the giant catapults and ballistae."
"Archers, get ready to protect the giant catapults and ballistae."
"Medium scorpion catapults, get ready to protect the giant catapults and ballistae."
Immediately, the giant catapults and ballistae continued to advance under the cover of the 30,000 cavalry and 50,000 archers. They were within 350 meters.
This distance was already within the range of the giant catapults and ballistae.
Moreover, with the protection of tens of thousands of cavalry and archers, even if the cavalry within the defense line wanted to charge out and destroy the ballistae and giant catapults, it would be impossible. It could be said that all the cavalry that charged out would die.
In a decisive battle like this, neither side would make any tactical mistakes.
No matter how talented Duke Ma Yingwei was, he had countless generals and advisors under him. He would not make any tactical mistakes.
At this time, the ballistae and giant catapults of both sides were within range of each other.
Søren returned to the central castle. At this time, five griffins were lined up neatly, with an expert of the Shadow Pavilion riding on them and a 500-kilogram large bag of gunpowder.
It was still an air raid!
Use the griffins to throw 500-kilogram large gunpowder bags to destroy the enemy's giant catapults and ballistae.
"Open the ballistae!"
In Ma Yingwei's army, following the order of the commander of the ballistae.
Thousands of ballistae suddenly opened. Each ballistae needed two people to step on them with mechanical strength to open them.
"Creak …" Thousands of ballistae opened.
"Open the ballistae!"
Inside the Wind Thunder Fortress defense line, thousands of crisscrossed ballistae were distributed on the city walls, inside the city holes, and inside the castle.
Following the order, all the ballistae opened.
"Load the arrows!"
The ballistae of both sides were loaded with giant arrows that were several meters long.
"Giant catapults, press the lever, load!" Dozens of giant catapults of Ma Yingwei's army began to press the lever hard and put hundreds of kilogram stone balls on the throwing tray.
"Giant catapults, press the lever, load!" More than a hundred giant catapults of Søren's army at the Wind Thunder Fortress defense line pressed the lever and put four to five hundred kilograms of gunpowder on the throwing tray.
"Release!"
"Release!"
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh …"
Thousands of ballistae on both sides roared like ghosts crying and wolves howling as they shot out giant arrows like a rainstorm.
The catapults of both sides, separated by hundreds of meters, threw fiercely.
However, Ma Yingwei's army threw hundred-kilogram stone balls, while Søren's army threw an astonishing four to five hundred kilograms of gunpowder.
At the same time, Søren gave an order.
Five griffins flapped their wings and flew high, carrying five hundred kilograms of gunpowder, toward the enemy's catapults and ballistae.
The vigor of both sides intertwined in the air.
After flying for a few hundred meters.
Dozens of stone balls and thousands of giant arrows of Ma Yingwei's army smashed fiercely on the four-kilometer-long Wind Thunder Fortress defense line.
"Bang bang bang bang bang …"
There was a loud noise, and sparks flew everywhere.
"Ah … ah … ah …"
Screams sounded, and blood splattered everywhere.
The soldiers who were hit instantly became flesh and blood, but there were only a few dozen people.
After all, the giant ballistae had weakened after four hundred meters.
Although the giant catapults were powerful, their hit rate was pathetic. Most of the dozens of stone balls smashed onto the city wall.
Although the momentum was shocking, the city wall was twenty meters thick after all. It was not something that a mere hundred-kilogram stone ball could smash. At most, it could only scratch an itch.
Duke Ma Yingwei's first round of long-range attacks caused dozens of casualties to Søren's army and scratched an itch on the four-meter city wall.
As for Søren's long-range attacks …
Hundreds of giant gunpowder bags smashed onto Duke Ma Yingwei's catapults and ballistae.
"Boom boom boom boom …"
There was an earth-shattering explosion.
Over a hundred bags of gunpowder, each weighing four to five hundred catties, in other words, forty to fifty thousand catties of gunpowder exploded violently.
It was a complete earthquake, and ghosts cried and gods howled!
Ma Yingwei's army was completely terrified!
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