Li Jinglong Transforms

With Yin Ziqi's command, the massive army surged forward in a tumultuous wave.

Apart from the other three city gates, each guarded by ten thousand troops, the main force of one hundred thousand was now fully assembled here.

"Old Li, it's about time," Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but remind, watching the rebel forces pressing closer below.

Li Shimin nodded lightly, then shouted, "Open fire!"

"Boom!"

The next moment, the thunderous roar of cannons shook heaven and earth, exploding amidst the enemy ranks like divine punishment, sending countless rebels tumbling and scattering in chaos.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

That first shot was the signal. After the cannon's roar, everyone on the city wall, without any hesitation, opened fire directly.

In just the first round of shooting, a large number of rebels fell to the ground instantly.

"Rat-a-tat-tat..."

An old man with hair and beard completely white—no one knew where he had found the strength—was hefting a machine gun, firing indiscriminately in all directions.

"Kill them all!" Zhang Xun shouted, holding a Type 38 rifle. Like a born sharpshooter, every bullet he fired successfully took down an enemy soldier.

"What? What is that?"

Meanwhile, among the rebel forces, Yin Ziqi was already terrified out of his wits.

The cannon fire just now, and the strange burning sticks that were now reaping his soldiers' lives in a frenzy—all of it filled him with panic.

He had never seen such weapons.

They could kill enemies from hundreds of paces away, striking from across empty space.

Could these be immortal artifacts?

"Retreat! Retreat immediately!" Yin Ziqi roared out his command after coming to his senses.

But he needn't have said it—the rebels had already lost any will to continue the assault, scrambling to flee backward.

"Thinking of running?"

Li Shimin snorted coldly. He gently tapped a bracelet on his wrist.

Instantly, armor covered his body, and he transformed into Iron Man, soaring into the sky. He landed before the enemy army in a flash, blocking their escape route all by himself.

"What? What is this?"

"Is it a celestial being? He flew here!"

At that moment, all the rebels, led by Yin Ziqi, showed expressions of utter despair and dread.

If the firearms earlier had terrified them, the sudden appearance of Iron Man now shattered every last shred of their morale.

"Yin Ziqi, surrender at once. Have all your men lay down their weapons," Li Shimin said, retracting the faceplate of his armor to reveal his face.

Then, stretching his right hand slightly toward a nearby mountain, he fired a laser cannon directly at it.

"Boom, rumble..."

In an instant, a deafening explosion erupted, shaking the very earth, while the entire battlefield trembled violently.

And then, everyone witnessed a sight they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

The mountain had been completely leveled!

Even the dullest among them understood now: they were facing true gods, an existence utterly unconquerable!

Without a moment's hesitation, all the rebels threw down their weapons, covered their heads, and crouched on the ground.

"Surrender!"

"We surrender!"

They were genuinely terrified—if that same blast were aimed at their own ranks, none of these one hundred thousand soldiers would survive, not a single one.

Just then, Li Jinglong rode up on horseback, leading the city's army to arrive.

"What's the plan? Kill him now, or take him back?" He came before Yin Ziqi, then looked at Li Shimin, seeking his opinion.

"Take him back for now," Li Shimin said. Then he added, "Later, take some men to Luoyang and capture An Qingxu for me. Then go to Lingwu and bring back the current emperor, Li Heng, as well as my unfaithful, half-a-life emperor Li Longji."

"Hold on. You want me to go to Luoyang and then to Lingwu? Do you think I’m some kind of immortal who can fly?"

Li Jinglong was exasperated. "It's nearly seven hundred li from here to Luoyang, and two thousand li to Lingwu. Even if I ride the horses to death, I couldn't bring them back."

"You do know how to use this, don't you? I saw you discussing it with Zhu Di last time. Take it, fly over, and you’ll be back in less than an hour—half an hour if you're quick."

With that, Li Shimin removed a wristband and handed it to Li Jinglong.

"Alright, alright, alright!"

Li Jinglong was overjoyed. He had indeed asked Zhu Di about that thing before and even snuck a chance to use it once. Naturally, he knew how it worked.

Without another word, he quickly got to work. In no time, he had Yin Ziqi bound tightly and ordered him escorted back to Suiyang.

"I’m off now. When you get back, make sure to tell my granduncle. Otherwise, he’ll think I’ve run off to play somewhere."

With that parting remark, Li Jinglong transformed into an Iron Man.

Whooping with excitement, he soared into the distant sky.

……

As expected, about an hour later—that is, half an hour in Chinese measurements—Li Jinglong returned with the captives.

In truth, this was on the slow side. At full speed, a round trip would take only about ten-odd minutes. Add in the time for the captures, and half an hour would be sufficient.

The reason it took an hour was that Li Jinglong figured he wouldn’t get many chances to transform, so he wanted to enjoy it a little longer.

In a square, Qin Ning and his group learned of Li Jinglong’s return and made their way over.

"Hey, Jiujiang, you brought them back like this?" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn’t help but speak up when he saw how Li Longji and the others looked.

"Hey, what choice did I have? I can transform, but I can only carry one person at a time. There were three of them, so this was the only way," Li Jinglong explained.

He had used a large net to bundle An Qingxu, Li Longji, and Li Heng together, then flown back with them all tied up.

"Y-you... who on earth are you people?"

An Qingxu and the others were trembling with fear, their faces filled with terror as they stared at Li Jinglong and the arriving Li Shimin and his company.

"You ask who I am?"

Li Shimin let out a laugh and stepped forward. "I am the Grand Commandant of the Great Tang, Director of the Department of State Affairs, Director of the Chancellery, Director of the Shaan'andong Regional Office, Director of the Yizhou Regional Office, Governor of Yongzhou, Commander of Liangzhou, Governor of Puzhou, Commander of the Twelve Guard Armies, Pillar of State, Prince of Qin, Great Ancestor, Heavenly Strategos General, and Heavenly Khan—Li Shimin!"

"What? What did you say? Y-you..."

Li Longji was stunned, staring at the man before him. "Are you... are you the Great Ancestor?"

"How is that impossible?"

Li Shimin held his head high. He then continued the introductions, "This one here is the First Emperor of the Great Qin, Ying Zheng."

First Emperor... Ying Zheng?