Chapter 195: Chapter 194: You Dare to Bomb My Village? (Please Subscribe)
"What happened? Was it an earthquake?"
Chen Guodong suddenly woke up, eyes staring ahead.
The next moment.
"Boom!"
Another loud noise, the whole house seemed to be shaking.
"Guodong, what’s going on?"
Yin Fang also woke up, instinctively hugging Chen Guodong’s arm, asking with a face full of panic.
"Not sure."
Chen Guodong shook his head and said, "From the sound, it seems like a cannon shot."
"Cannon shot?"
Before Yin Fang could finish her words, another loud noise came from outside.
"Let’s go out and take a look."
Chen Guodong said, quickly put on his clothes and shoes, and ran outside.
Upon stepping out, he found that many people had already been awakened, standing at the door, looking towards the direction of the sound.
"What exactly is that sound? So loud?"
"Sounds like a cannon."
"A cannon sound?"
Many people around showed stunned expressions upon hearing this.
Around here, the only place equipped with cannons is the Song Family Castle, right? Is it possible that people from the Song Family Castle are firing cannons?
But under normal circumstances, why would they fire cannons?
Could it be? Fierce Beasts?
Everyone instantly felt a chilling sensation up their backs.
Generally, Fierce Beasts don’t attack human camps even at night, as the possibility is quite low, considering the tall walls block their view.
However, there’s an exception, which is a Beast Tide!
When a Beast Tide occurs, these Fierce Beasts will crazily attack human camps, whether it is day or night.
Could it be, that a Beast Tide has erupted?
"Guodong."
At this moment, Zhang Ren, Wei Tianyuan, and Gu Jianghai also walked over.
Chen Guodong nodded towards them, then with a grim expression, said, "From the sound, it should be cannon fire, could it be that something happened at Song Family Castle?"
Gu Jianghai and the others exchanged glances, their faces also looking grim.
If that’s the case, the Chen Family Fortress being attacked by Fierce Beasts wouldn’t be far-fetched.
"No, something doesn’t feel right."
Zhang Ren shook his head, "The Song Family Castle is nearly forty miles from here, if the cannon fire came from there, it wouldn’t be such a big commotion."
"?"
Chen Guodong and the others flinched.
Some of them were also puzzled if the noise was too intense, even making the ground tremble.
"Zhang Ren, are you saying that the cannon is likely close by?"
"Yes."
Zhang Ren said with a serious expression, "It’s likely within twenty miles."
"What! Twenty miles?"
Everyone’s faces showed surprise.
The Song Family Castle is thirty to forty miles away from here, how could the cannon fire be from twenty miles away?
Zhang Ren frowned deeply.
There’s no mistake.
He had participated in several guard battles in Anshan City, very familiar with cannon fire.
From the sound alone, one could tell it was a 75mm howitzer, likely two cannons.
"Twenty miles away," Gu Ze frowned and said, "Isn’t that the place we stayed before?"
As his words fell, everyone’s faces changed instantly.
Yes, the direction and distance, seem to be the Chen Family Stronghold, right?
But how could there be cannon fire from there?
Could someone be using cannons to attack the Chen Family Stronghold?
"Something’s not right, I need to go out and check."
Zhang Ren spoke, "Guodong, get everyone to the basement as quickly as possible."
Chen Guodong hesitated a moment, nodded, "Alright, I’ll go notify everyone, be careful."
"Old Zhang, we’ll go with you?"
"Yes, the more people, the better."
The Wei Brothers hurriedly said.
"No need."
Zhang Ren shook his head, "I’m just probing the situation, more people means more risk of exposure."
"Be careful then."
"Stay safe."
With everyone’s tense gazes, Zhang Ren grabbed the telescope and quickly headed to the village gate.
A strong feeling of unease was rising within him, far more intense than three years ago.
Could it be that someone is truly using cannons to attack the Chen Family Stronghold?
If that’s the case, if they hadn’t moved here earlier, what would the outcome be now?
He dared not think more, only hastened his steps towards the front.
Chen Fan was not there, the stronghold’s safety fell on him, he had promised Chen Fan to protect the Chen Family Fortress.
...
At the Chen Family Stronghold, it was already a ruin, flames were raging, smoke rising everywhere.
A hundred meters away, two cannon barrels looked like red-hot irons, the temperature horrifying.
The accompanying guards showed expressions of delight at the sight.
The Chen Family Stronghold, this is the consequence of opposing our Song Family Castle! Dare to kill Captain Guan? All of you will be buried here.
However, there was no trace of excitement on Song Hailong’s face, his brows tightly furrowed, his expression dark enough to drip water.
Something’s not right,
This isn’t right.
Although the two cannons had tremendous power, a few rounds of shelling should have left the Chen Family Stronghold in ruins, but how could there not be a single survivor?
Even if they were buried in the rubble, there should be some screams, right?
But from start to finish, this stronghold was eerily quiet.
"Cousin, you also sense something’s wrong?"
Cheng Lei’s voice sounded.
"After the second round of cannon fire, I felt something was amiss, too quiet, not a hint of human voice, and after the third and fourth rounds... until the cannon fire ceased, I still didn’t hear any sound from the stronghold."
Song Hailong licked his lips, "Are you saying that this stronghold is empty?"
Cheng Lei was silent.
If it’s empty, then it’s not just a wasted trip, they also won’t be able to account in Anshan City.
"Cousin, I’ll take people inside and see, maybe they were all knocked unconscious, hence no sound."
"Hmm, be careful."
Song Hailong warned.
"Okay."
Cheng Lei led three or four heavily armed teams, stepping over the collapsed walls, entering the stronghold.
"Crackle."
Fire burned around them, constant popping sounds.
Cheng Lei sniffed the air, besides the scorched smell, there wasn’t any other scent, deepening his frown.
Under such firepower, surely some would die, but why isn’t there a trace of blood in the air?
In the surrounding ruins, neither broken limbs nor fragments, not even a drop of blood.
"Could they all have hidden in the basement? No, that’s impossible, unless they had foresight, and in such a short time, how could they manage?"
Thinking this, Cheng Lei shouted, "Everyone, search thoroughly, don’t leave any corner unchecked!"
"Yes!"
Everyone responded, searching through the rubble.
"Captain, I found nothing here."
"Captain, me neither."
"Captain, I discovered a basement, but there’s no one inside."
"Nothing on my end either."
Soon, reports echoed from all directions.
With each report, Cheng Lei’s expression grew darker.
Evidence showed his intuition might be correct, the place was indeed empty!
"Captain, we’ve searched everywhere, not even survivors, and the walls and debris are clean, not a spot of blood."
Three or four teams gathered.
Their eyes carried confusion and fear.
One emboldened person asked, "Captain, could it be there was never anyone here?"
The atmosphere fell silent.
Everyone cautiously watched Cheng Lei’s face.
It sounded absurd, but the fact seemed to be so.
Otherwise, why haven’t they found anything after searching so long?
"Let’s go outside and discuss."
Cheng Lei glanced at the speaker, who shivered, wishing to hide his head in his belly.
"Cousin, any findings?"
Outside the stronghold, seeing Cheng Lei return empty-handed, Song Hailong had a vague guess, but still held a glimmer of hope.
Cheng Lei shook his head, face grim, "Cousin, it’s an empty stronghold."
"!"
Song Hailong’s eyes widened.
"We’ve checked everywhere, not even a speck of blood," Cheng Lei took a deep breath, "likely they’ve evacuated long ago."
Silence fell around.
No one expected this result.
"Cousin, it’s not all bad news," Cheng Lei hesitated, "at least it proves Guan Dexi was killed by the Chen Family Stronghold, otherwise, they wouldn’t have fled in guilt, taking everyone with them."
"Those bastards!"
Song Hailong gritted his teeth in anger.
At this point, what good would saying this do?
He couldn’t present these words to that person, right?
Without capturing the killer, he couldn’t account for it.
Suddenly, a bright idea crossed his mind, bringing a hint of joy, "Cousin, where do you think such a large group would move to?"
Cheng Lei flinched, "Cousin, you mean they might not have gone far?"
"Of course."
Song Hailong sneered.
In this world, even small groups find shelter difficult, let alone a hundred people, probably still nearby!
Cheng Lei breathed deeply.
Cousin’s right, the group must be nearby, and there are only a few places capable of accommodating them, it’s not hard to search one by one.
"Cousin, the nearest large stronghold is Zhao Family Castle, if the Chen Family Stronghold people moved, they likely chose there, even if they aren’t, we can get clues from the Zhao Brothers."
"Alright, start with Zhao Family Castle."
Song Hailong took a deep breath, checking his watch.
Time was running out, they must catch the culprits today, or it would be too late.
"Did you bomb this stronghold?"
Suddenly, a cold voice came from behind them.