DLERB -Chapter 188 Rome Ascends! That Blooming Mushroom Cloud!

Rome, northwest corner.

This area was enclosed by towering walls, sealed like an iron fortress.

Outside the walls, screams and killing shook the heavens—civilians and soldiers were beating each other to death over a few pieces of scrap iron.

Inside, however, everything was bustling with frantic activity.

This was Rome’s Royal Armory.

Hundreds of enormous furnaces burned day and night without pause.

Molten iron flowed like rivers of fire.

Countless bare-chested craftsmen swung their hammers, producing deafening clangs.

“Faster! Are you all dead or just lazy?!”

A Roman general in ornate armor stormed inside.

It was Lucas.

His face was covered in soot, and even his helmet was crooked.

He had just narrowly escaped being stabbed to death in the streets by a mob wielding manure forks.

Now, this armory was his last lifeline.

“General!”

The armory supervisor, a fat red-bearded man, rushed forward with a fawning smile.

“Is my ‘Thunder God’s Whip’ ready yet?!”

Lucas grabbed him by the collar, spitting in his face.

“The commoners outside have gone mad! Even that idiot Caesar can’t control them anymore!”

“I need weapons! Weapons that can summon thunder and blast people apart like the Eastern ones!”

He had previously spent a fortune buying a full set of blueprints from a Qin man named Zhao Wu.

Those blueprints described a black powder.

A substance that, if mixed in the correct ratio, could summon thunder.

“It’s ready! Almost ready!”

The fat supervisor struggled free and pointed at the largest furnace behind him.

“According to the blueprint, only the final step remains!”

“Add the ‘Eastern Divine Sand’ into the furnace, use high heat forging, and the divine power will be sealed inside iron vessels!”

The man’s face was filled with fanatic excitement.

He truly believed it.

Because the Qin seller had sworn that if he lied, he would be struck by lightning from heaven.

“Then what are you waiting for?!”

Lucas kicked him in the rear.

“Add it! Now!”

“Yes, yes!”

The fat man scrambled toward the towering furnace, three zhang high.

Beside it, two strong craftsmen were carrying a heavy wooden barrel.

Inside was a pile of gray-brown powder.

This was the most crucial material in the blueprint—“Divine Sand.”

In reality, it was an explosive mixture Zhao Wu had made under Ying Ziye’s orders: sulfur, saltpeter, flour, and sugar.

It exploded on contact with fire.

And with terrifying power.

But in the Romans’ eyes, it was a miracle substance.

“Everyone, back off!”

The fat supervisor grabbed a massive iron shovel.

He scooped up a full shovel of the “Divine Sand.”

“For Rome!”

With a sacred, almost ritual-like motion, he poured it into the roaring furnace.

Lucas widened his eyes.

He was waiting.

Waiting for divine light.

Waiting for thunder to descend.

It did descend.

BOOM!

A dull, heavy explosion.

Not like thunder.

More like the gates of hell being kicked open.

The massive furnace didn’t even shake.

It simply exploded.

Molten iron mixed with raging fire instantly engulfed the fat supervisor.

He didn’t even have time to scream—he turned into a human torch in an instant.

Then—

A massive shockwave swept outward.

Lucas was too close.

He only felt as if a charging rhinoceros had slammed into his chest.

PFFT!

He spat blood three feet into the air and was sent flying into a wall.

“Cough… cough cough…”

Lucas struggled to lift his head.

His ears rang violently.

His vision filled with stars.

He saw—

The roof of the armory… was gone.

Dozens of blacksmiths who had been working just moments ago… were gone too.

Only a few scorched pits remained on the ground.

“This… this is… Eastern divine power?”

Lucas was stunned.

Before he could even figure out whether the formula was wrong—

Something even more terrifying happened.

The explosion had scattered sparks everywhere.

Next to the armory—

Was a row of massive wooden warehouses.

The storage depot.

Inside were mountains of this so-called “Divine Sand.”

Tens of thousands of pounds.

Prepared to equip the entire Roman army.

A single spark drifted gently onto one of the barrels.

The lid was not fully closed.

sss…

That faint wisp of smoke, in the noisy armory, seemed so insignificant.

Yet so deadly.

The next second—

BOOOOOOM!!!

The earth suddenly sank downward.

Then violently rebounded.

Lucas, who had just half-stood up again, was once more slammed face-first into the ground.

This time, Lucas saw it clearly.

A massive orange-red fireball rose from the location of the raw material warehouse.

Like a sun.

Too bright.

So bright it nearly blinded him.

A terrifying heatwave instantly swept across the entire district.

Walls collapsed like paper.

Even the solid stone pillars shattered like biscuits before the blast.

“No… my weapons…”

Lucas lay in the ruins, desperately clutching the dirt beneath him.

These weren’t weapons.

They were death warrants.

That Zhao Wu!

That damned Qin man!

What he sold them wasn’t blueprints at all—it was explosives!

But the explosion did not stop.

Like a dragon of fire awakened from slumber, it continued devouring warehouse after warehouse.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Chain explosions.

The entire northwest corner of Rome trembled.

Rioters who had been fighting over gold coins stopped moving.

Caesar, trembling inside his palace, lifted his head.

Everyone turned toward that direction.

Flames soared into the sky.

Thick smoke covered half the heavens.

But it still wasn’t over.

The fire dragon, driven by wind, swept toward the rear of the armory.

There stood an even more massive stone structure.

The Main Arsenal of Rome.

It stored all the fire oil accumulated by the empire over centuries.

As well as hundreds of millions of crossbow bolts produced in recent months.

And…

More of the “Divine Sand.”

This was Rome’s final reserve.

And Caesar’s last hope of turning the tide.

Now, the fire dragon had arrived.

It smashed straight into the gates of the main arsenal without hesitation.

“It’s over.”

Lucas closed his eyes.

He knew exactly what was inside.

Thud.

A strange, muffled sound.

As if it were the first heartbeat of creation itself.

The entire city of Rome—inner and outer—felt the ground violently shake beneath them.

Then—

No sound.

Only light.

White light.

A light that devoured everything.

At the location of the main arsenal, a cloud rose.

A massive, grotesque mushroom-shaped cloud of black and red.

It churned and roared as it surged into the sky.

Hundreds of zhang high.

Only then did the sound arrive.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The sound of destruction.

A tremendous shockwave centered on the arsenal swept outward in every direction.

Within a mile, buildings were instantly flattened.

Countless bricks, tiles, and wooden beams rained down like rain from the sky.

Even Rome’s proud city walls cracked under the force, forming countless fissures.

Outside the city—

Qin army camp.

Ying Ziye sat on horseback, still holding the monocular telescope.

But he no longer needed it.

That enormous mushroom cloud could be seen clearly even from dozens of li away.

The wind blew across the battlefield, carrying a strong smell of sulfur.

Even charred wooden debris fell in front of the Qin formations.

Wang Li’s mouth was wide open.

His jaw looked like it was about to drop off.

The eight hundred cavalry behind him grew uneasy, their horses snorting and stepping back.

Could humans do something like this?

This had to be divine punishment.

Gulp.

Meng Tian swallowed hard.

He had fought all his life.

Seen rivers of blood.

Seen mountains of corpses.

But he had never seen a city destroy itself in a single moment like this.

“Your Highness…”

Wang Jian’s voice trembled.

“This… was this also part of your plan?”

Ying Ziye lowered the telescope.

He brushed off nonexistent dust from his hands.

“I only sold them a little fireworks.”

He pointed at the still-roiling mushroom cloud.

“Looks like the Romans quite liked the gift.”

“Quite a big show.”

Ying Ziye turned to the group, all of whom were completely stunned.

“Alright.”

“You’ve heard the sound.”

He drew the short sword at his waist—still unstained with blood—and pointed forward lightly.

“The city gates should be unguarded now.”

“Enter the city.”

“Collect the corpses.”