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The Great Xia army possessed one thousand steam-powered crawler vehicles, and for this battle, they had deployed eight hundred.

Even the Cheng family, hiding within the city, could smell the scent of a decisive battle.

Cheng Lü appeared highly agitated. "Head of the family, Chen Mu has brought only one thousand musketeers this time, while we have eight thousand camel cavalry. Why not charge out and attack?"

Cheng Tang pondered for a moment, offering no reply.

Cheng Wu spoke up, "But the Great Xia has those vehicles; our camels cannot outrun them."

Cheng Lü hurriedly interjected, "What about their two thousand infantry? Even killing them would be a victory! Chen Mu brought infantry, so he must intend to siege the city. If we slaughter his foot soldiers, he will be left with only musketeers and won't dare to assault the walls."

Cheng Wu countered, "I think it is better to wait until they enter before we strike."

Cheng Lü wanted to argue further, but Cheng Tang waved a hand, cutting him off.

"Enough. We will sally forth. Chen Mu has brought two hundred cannons; he has no intention of storming the city. Furthermore, the enemy currently has fewer musketeers—this is our best opportunity."

Cheng Wu replied, "However, I have a bad feeling. Chen Mu is not that foolish. He must have more musketeers lying in ambush in the distance."

Cheng Tang waved his hand again. "As long as we strike fast enough, it will be too late by the time his reinforcements arrive."

Seeing that the family head had made up his mind, Cheng Wu said no more and went off to assemble the camel cavalry.

Outside the city, after Chen Mu arranged his formation, he did not immediately launch an attack, as if waiting for something. Soon, two wings of camel cavalry charged out from the side gates.

Chen Mu smiled. "That is exactly what I was waiting for. Artillery, ready!"

The cannons were already positioned for direct fire and required no further adjustment. The artillerymen stood by their weapons, awaiting Chen Mu’s next command.

Watching the camel cavalry, Chen Mu counted, "Two thousand, four thousand, six thousand—quite a force indeed."

"Fire!"

At Chen Mu’s command, two hundred cannons let out a thunderous roar, and the shells whistled toward the enemy like an iron curtain.

The shells landed in different spots, but within seconds, they detonated, spraying tongues of fire and shrapnel in all directions.

The camel cavalry were torn apart, limbs flying, their screams echoing as the battlefield instantly transformed into a living hell.

Inside the city, Cheng Tang was dumbfounded.

"Their shells can actually explode! How did they pack the gunpowder inside? Why didn't it detonate inside the barrel?"

Cheng Lü stood foolishly by his side, his eyes wide and his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

These explosive shells were Chen Mu’s secret weapon. Due to technical limitations, they did not use firing pins, but rather fuses.

The front half of each shell was filled with gunpowder, separated by a layer of packed clay. A fuse ran through the clay, while the rear half was solid to withstand the pressure of the propellant in the cannon chamber, preventing the shell from disintegrating inside the barrel.

The detonation time for each shell was not perfectly uniform, but it mattered little if they exploded a second or two after impact, or even a second early in mid-air. In any case, there were no friendly forces in front of them.

In truth, this was the same principle as a firecracker; Chen Mu had taken them apart as a child, and the idea had occurred to him when developing the cannons. It was just difficult to manufacture, which was why they had only just arrived at the front lines.

Cheng Wu, caught in the midst of the camel cavalry, knew immediately that the day was lost. He shouted desperately for the cavalry to retreat, but the artillery barrage had sent the camels into a frenzy. They bolted in every direction, completely uncontrollable.

What followed was a one-sided bombardment by the Great Xia army. Any survivors who managed to slip through were quickly finished off by the musketeers.

Before long, not a single living camel cavalryman remained on the battlefield.

Chen Mu waved his hand, and the entire army advanced, raining their freshly minted explosive shells onto the city itself.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the Cheng family fled, leaving behind only a bewildered and ignorant population of the Yi people.

The Yi had believed that gods had descended to bestow divine artifacts upon them and lead them to conquer the world. They had not expected that the gods on the opposing side would be even more powerful; they were no match at all.

The Yi could only hide within their buildings, praying for the opposing gods to show them mercy.

After an unknown amount of time, the explosions finally ceased.

The Wudang Flying Army entered the ruins to search for survivors.

Outside the city, Chen Mu gazed at the devastated battlefield, feeling a sense of melancholy for the fate of the Yi people. It was already difficult enough for them to survive in the desert, and then they had encountered ambitious opportunists like the Cheng family, who had brought them total catastrophe.

To stop the Cheng family, Chen Mu had been forced to unleash this slaughter. Otherwise, it would have been the Western Qiang, the Persians, or the people of Great Xia who died instead.

A while later, the Wudang Flying Army returned to report.

"Your Highness, we have searched the entire ruins of the Sand City, but we found neither the members of the Cheng family nor their bodies."

Chen Mu nodded; this result was within his expectations.

"Bring the survivors here."

"Yes!"

The soldier acknowledged the order and turned to leave. A short while later, he returned with over a hundred surviving Yi people. They looked at Chen Mu with terror, unsure of how the victorious god would punish them.

Chen Mu asked, "Where did the Cheng family go?"

"The people who drove the carriages."

"The ones who wore clothes different from yours."

Chen Mu gestured and described them, but the Yi people could not understand him at all.

Just as Chen Mu was about to give up, a clever Yi man caught on. He pointed toward the direction of the iron mines and the factories, then used his hands to gesture, describing something vast and grand.

Chen Mu understood: either the Cheng family had fled in that direction, or there was a massive structure over there.

"Very well."

"Give them some food."

A soldier brought food and water. The clever Yi man bowed with a smile, thanking Chen Mu.

Chen Mu looked at the others, hoping to gather more intelligence, but they only looked at each other blankly; it seemed they knew nothing more.

Seeing that he could get no more information, and finding no use for them, Chen Mu pointed toward the distance.

"You may go."

The soldiers dispersed, opening a path for the Yi people to leave.

The Yi understood, but looked pitifully at the food held by the clever man.

Chen Mu nodded. "Give each of them a portion, including the first one."

Soon, the soldiers brought more food and distributed it, and the clever man received an extra portion. This time, they were all overjoyed and, after thanking Chen Mu, they departed.

Chen Mu shook his head and laughed. "The Cheng family thought they could defeat Great Xia relying on these natives? What a joke."

"Back to the city!"

Chen Mu did not continue the pursuit. Firstly, the intelligence was unclear; although these Yi people appeared simple and lacked combat capability, if the Cheng family had set a trap ahead, they could easily fall into a ditch. Furthermore, their supplies were running low, and they needed to return to the city to restock.

Chen Mu led his army back to the mid-way fortress and rested for a day. On the second day, he made full preparations, and on the third day, Chen Mu set out with his troops once more.

This time, Chen Mu brought three thousand musketeers and one hundred light cannons, with a reserve of ammunition consisting of half solid shot and half explosive shells.