Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the Liao army camp had dropped to freezing point.

Putting aside the morale, those soldiers who charged ahead and were fortunate enough to retreat back to camp were all pale-faced and had empty eyes.

Many people didn't even remove their armor before collapsing onto the side of their tents, their hands still trembling uncontrollably.

They looked at each other, wanting to say something, but neither knew how to begin.

Finally, a deep voice murmured, "Did we offend the heavens and thus incur divine punishment?"

"What?"

Some people nearby didn't hear what he said and curiously came over.

"I said, we've been punished by heaven! Those people aren't human; they've been sent down by heaven to punish us!"

The person being questioned suddenly raised their voice considerably, and their voice became shrill, as if they wanted to use these words to scream out all the fear in their heart.

"Those of you behind didn't see it, but the moment those Song soldiers pointed their iron pipes, our men fell! Thousands of brave warriors died, blood flowed like a river, and we didn't even get a chance to touch a single hair on their heads!"

"How could that be a divine artifact that mortals could control? It must be the gods in heaven punishing us!"

At first, this idea was only passed around among a few people, but as time went on, it spread like a plague among the defeated soldiers.

The rumors spread like wildfire, from one person to two, from two to four, from four to eight. In less than half an hour, almost the entire Liao army camp was filled with gossip about divine punishment, divine wrath, and the Song people using sorcery.

Many people even ran outside the camp and looked in the direction of the Song people, as if they were afraid that divine punishment would really come down from the sky to destroy them at any moment.

By the time Yelü Longxu and all the high-ranking military officers discovered this, it was too late; such rumors were simply beyond their ability to forcibly eliminate.

The only way to control the rumors was to order all generals to keep their men in check and to kill anyone who tried to disrupt morale.

"Your Majesty, the morale of our army is in disarray, and the ironclad formations of those Song soldiers are beyond human capability. I dare to suggest that we temporarily retreat and wait until we find out where those things came from before making any further plans."

A general knelt on one knee in the central command tent, while Yelü Longxu sat at the head of the table, his face ashen.

Although the gag order had been issued, he could clearly hear the faint commotion coming from outside the tent, which made the veins on the back of his hand gripping the hilt of his scimitar bulge with hatred.

But the situation wouldn't change because of his emotions. Another general immediately chimed in, "Your Majesty, we have suffered thousands of casualties today, and our morale has collapsed. If the Song army attacks our camp tonight, there is a risk of mutiny. It would be better to retreat temporarily and reconsider our strategy."

Yelü Longxu's gaze swept over all the generals standing before him. He remained silent for a long while before finally slamming his scimitar on the table with a loud bang and abruptly standing up: "Send down the order: the entire army shall break camp and retreat 30 li north to await Empress Dowager Xiao..."

Before he could finish speaking, a series of booming sounds suddenly came from outside the tent. The sound grew louder as it approached, like muffled thunder, and even made Yelü Longxu feel the teacup on his table tremble slightly.

The generals still inside the tent also had their expressions change drastically.

"What is that sound?"

"Report—!"

A Liao scout stumbled and crawled into the central command tent, his helmet askew, his face covered in sweat, and his voice hoarse: "Your Majesty! Those...those iron boxes! The Song army's iron boxes are heading towards the camp, and they're moving at an astonishing speed!"

"boom--"

A loud bang came from outside the tent, and the entire central army tent shook.

That was the sound of Zhou Feng's military trucks smashing down the Liao people's wooden fence.

Immediately afterwards, the crisp, rhythmic clattering sound that had previously slaughtered thousands of Liao people and even cast a shadow over their hearts rang out once again outside the camp.

Zhou Feng's surprise attack directly made up for the regret of the Liao people's rear army soldiers not seeing automatic rifles in the morning, and made them personally feel how desperate their comrades were in the morning!

The soldiers, who were already mentally unstable, were horrified to discover that these metal boxes meant for giving away could actually move, and move so fast that they completely broke down!

They screamed and scrambled to escape northwards. Some, their legs too weak to move, dropped their weapons, knelt, and begged for mercy. Many more, in their panic, trampled their comrades...

Screams, cries, and the sound of horses' hooves mingled together. Even those who tried to fight back were taken down by the armed Taoist priests before they even made contact with the military trucks.

Guns spat fire relentlessly, reaping lives from the Liao army camp.

Yelü Longxu was escorted out of the main tent through the back door by several generals holding shields. His legs were trembling as he mounted his horse.

Previously, from his vantage point overlooking the entire battlefield, he hadn't realized how enormous these military trucks were. But now that the enemy had stormed into the camp, he finally felt the intimidating power of these modern machines.

Looking back at the central army camp that was being engulfed by fire and gunfire, Yelü Longxu gritted his teeth, but still sighed, turned around and rode his horse northward at breakneck speed.

Seeing the chaotic Liao soldiers still fleeing, Zhou Feng did not hesitate at all. He gave the signal, and everyone got into the vehicle. The military truck chased after them from behind.

When these Liao people were raiding the Song Dynasty, they never treated the people as human beings. Their despicable character and cruel methods were no different from those of the Japanese pirates of later generations.

Since that's the case, let them experience what cruelty is!

Anyway, how could a person fleeing in such a sorry state possibly outrun the many wheels of a military truck on two feet?

Inside the carriage, the Taoist priests, armed with automatic rifles, consciously positioned themselves on three sides of the carriage. As the vehicle passed some of the fleeing Liao soldiers, each took charge of their respective directions, and the automatic rifles opened fire, reaping their kills.

"Boss, that Liao emperor has escaped. If we had an off-road vehicle, we might be able to catch up with him..."

Zhou Feng glanced at the two women sitting in the SUV and shook his head.

The roads here aren't as good as I imagined. If we only drive an off-road vehicle to pursue them, we might get stuck in the mud, which would be troublesome.

It would be better to deal with the remaining troops here first, and then wipe out the Liao emperor and empress dowager all at once. That would save a lot of trouble.

Yelü Longxu was unaware that the terrible road conditions in the vicinity had saved his life. He only had one thought in his mind: to run!

Those generals are right!

Those iron boxes that the Song people came up with were beyond the capabilities of ordinary mortals.