In all of Mengshe Zhao, only Geluofeng had a similar aura to Duan Gequan. And if Geluofeng was playing the part of Duan Gequan, then there was no doubt that the 'Geluofeng' on the chariot was also a fake.
Xianyu Zhongtong knew that he had made the greatest mistake. His attention had been constantly fixed on Duan Gequan, making him disregard the King of Mengshe Zhao, Geluofeng.
Despicable!
This thought flashed through his mind and was gone. Immediately afterward, Xianyu Zhongtong used the most powerful formation of the Annan Protectorate army, the Vajra God Formation.
Roar!
A furious bellow shook the heavens as an enormous god, imbued with boundless strength and shining with a metallic luster, stood up over the mountain.
"Duan Gequan, shameless cur, fight with me to the death!"
Xianyu Zhongtong's furious voice was like a clap of thunder, echoing in the skies over the mountain. Even the mountain itself trembled at the anger in his voice.
Boom! A massive foot strode over ten-some zhang as the great god began to move toward Duan Gequan.
……
Duan Gequan was quickly stopped by Xianyu Zhongtong, the two godly avatars immediately descending into an intense battle.
This was the first time since the start of this battle that all the commanders of the army were fighting—Wang Yan with Huoshu Huicang, Xianyu Zhongtong with Duan Gequan.
But the course of this battle could no longer be changed. Duan Gequan's appearance had completely shattered the Annan Protectorate army, leaving death as their only fate.
"Haha, Royal Father, we've won."
Standing on the chariot, Fengjiayi heartily laughed as he tore off the dragon robe on his body. With the plan complete, there was no more reason for the Crown Prince of Mengshe Zhao to continue the pretense of being his father.
"Jiayi, I've troubled you. In the future, the southwest will be a world belonging to you and me, father and son. Once this battle is settled, the two of us will be forever recorded in the annals of history as heroes of Erhai's Six Zhao."
Geluofeng also could not contain his excitement and joy. He had been waiting for this battle for far too long, and after all he had paid, the moment was about to arrive.
Mengshe Zhao would no longer be restricted to its corner of the world, and he, Geluofeng, was not meant to be only a meager monarch of Erhai.
Annexing the southwest and lording over the world—this was his greatest dream.
Today, it was finally going to be realized.
"Royal Father, your child is going. I want to become the first Crown Prince of Mengshe Zhao to thrust the banner onto that summit!"
Fengjiayi was so excited that his face was red. Leaping off the chariot, he mounted an Erhai steed and quickly charged off to the summit.
……
"Young Master, the southwest has fallen!"
"Young Master, the southeast has suffered extensive casualties!"
"Young Master, they have too many soldiers! We simply aren't a match for them!"
"Young Master, what should we do now?"
"Young Master, Young Master…"
One worried and panicked voice after another entered Wang Chong's ears. To the southeast and southwest, the entire defensive line was on the verge of falling, and countless pieces of information were gathering in Wang Chong's hands.
The soldiers of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army were pouring endlessly into the gap and pressuring other areas by widening the gap. The Annan Protectorate army was on the verge of being drowned under an ocean of soldiers.
In a few short moments, the Annan Protectorate army had suffered enormous casualties!
"Warning! 12344 soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army have died!"
"Warning! 14056 soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army have died!"
"Warning! 18423 soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army have died!"
"Warning! 21714 soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army have died!"
……
The warnings of the Stone of Destiny deluged his mind. It took mere moments for the corpses of Tang soldiers to litter the mountainside, the number of casualties already surpassing the number from the last major clash.
Everything before Wang Chong's eyes was dyed in blood, and the air itself was thick with the stifling stench of gore. Meanwhile, the vicious laughter of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army echoed in the air.
Wang Chong could even see that a Tibetan soldier was not far from his current location.
The summit was about to fall, and after many days and nights of defense, he was about to be thoroughly defeated.
It took only a second to go from being as hardy as a boulder to complete collapse.
At this moment, Wang Chong felt as cold as if he had been plunged into an ice house. But in the blink of an eye, Wang Chong responded.
Clang!
As everyone looked, Wang Chong suddenly drew his weapon, the Wootz Steel sword glimmering with a cold light as it pointed at the sky.
"General Zhang, General Yang, gather the shield soldiers and axe soldiers and reinforce the southwest!
"Archers, nock your last arrows and fire fifty steps straight ahead!
"Everyone else, follow me!"
……
"Messengers, send down my order to have everyone do their utmost to operate the formation!
"Old Eagle, I leave this place to you. The rest of you, come with me!"
In the chaos, Wang Chong's voice became the core of the army that held it down. The army that was on the verge of collapse now seemed to show signs of stabilizing.
The crumbling Myriad Stars Formation also began to show signs of life. But against the endless ranks of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, even the Myriad Stars Formation would find it difficult to hold.
Wang Chong didn't have much time left.
"Young Master, give the order!"
There were few people on the summit, and it took only a few moments for several dozen people to gather around Wang Chong.
At this stage in the battle, not even Wang Chong had many soldiers at his disposal.
Clang!
Wielding his sword, Wang Chong led the several dozen soldiers toward that gap in the line.
The reinforcements weren't many, and there weren't many powerful generals amongst them, but Wang Chong persistently and firmly charged.
No matter what happens, I'll never concede!
Wang Chong grasped the Wootz Steel sword, this thought flashing through his mind as he leaped into the sky.
"Single Character Consecutive Slash!"
A cold light flashed in the air. In the next moment, Wang Chong flew down from the sky, striking down a Tibetan horseman with a single blow. Squelch! As blood fountained into the air, the horseman's body remained seated on his horse while his head flew into the air.
Bang!
There was another flash as Wang Chong charged toward the next horseman, sending a second head flying. This was followed by a third, a fourth, a fifth… Wherever Wang Chong went, heads would roll.
"Kill him—he's Wang Chong!"
A Mengshe Zhao soldier spotted Wang Chong, his eyes shining as he shouted. In an instant, countless soldiers began to charge over.
If there was one person that everyone in the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army wanted to kill, that person would be Wang Chong.
This was not merely restricted to the generals and officers. Even the lowest soldier knew that the war of the southwest had lasted so long and resulted in so many casualties because of this person called Wang Chong.
"Attack! Kill Wang Chong! The one who does will be made marquis of ten thousand households!"
The dense ranks of soldiers began to alter their course and charge toward Wang Chong.
"Leaping Dragon Spear!"
Bang! Wang Chong's body flickered as he ascended into the sky as swiftly as a bolt of lightning. As everyone looked on, a massive azure flood dragon manifested in the sky with a roar, majestic and mighty.
B
ut before anyone could react, the dragon vanished…
Boom!
A massive tear swept down from the sky, so powerful that it left giant fissures wherever it passed. A trail of corpses was left strewn in Wang Chong's wake, countless heads rolling across the ground.
Wang Chong's Wootz Steel sword in such dense ranks was nigh unstoppable.
But Wang Chong's slaughter not only failed to restrain the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, it encouraged more soldiers to fill the gap.
"Kill Wang Chong and we win!"
"For our brothers!"
"Kill him! Don't be afraid!"
……
At this moment, all the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers became incomparably valiant, death and blood only serving to incite the cruelty and bloodlust in the bottom of their hearts.
But Wang Chong could no longer see any of this. At this very moment, Wang Chong's heart was dripping blood, and there was only one thought left in his mind.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Death! Death! Death!
……
'At the age of thirty, my deeds are naught but dust. My journey will be of eight thousand li, the clouds and moon my companions1.' Wang Chong had persevered through countless days and nights since leaving the capital, thought up countless strategies, prepared countless things. Yet now… all of it was about to turn to dust.
Duan Gequan's final blow had been lethal to Wang Chong!
All Wang Chong's efforts and pains were about to become dust in the wind.
No matter what happens, I'll never concede!
Wang Chong's eyes were red. Clang! A bloody gleam flew out from the left side of Wang Chong's waist, stabbing into the body of a Mengshe Zhao soldier. It then stabbed into a second, a third, a fourth… Majestic streams of bloody energy began to surge into Wang Chong's body, provoking him, making him stronger and stronger, more and more majestic.
One, two, three, four…
The soldiers of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army were felled one after another. Wang Chong was like some war machine that knew nothing of fatigue, fighting alone in the middle of the vast Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army.
Boom!
When the battle had reached its peak, a massive boom made the entire mountain shudder.
"The eastern lines have broken!!"
"The eastern lines have broken!!"
……
In the blink of an eye, panicked shouts came from behind Wang Chong. His heart freezing, he fiercely turned his head!
Buzz! Time seemed to stop for a moment. Under the gloomy skies, he saw that the formation to the southeast had collapsed. Horses neighed as Tibetan cavalry, savage smiles on their face, charged their highlands steeds to the summit.
Countless Tang corpses were scattered and piled around them, their blood forming rivers.
______________
1. The quotation is from the poem '', a Song Dynasty poem often attributed to the patriotic Song Dynasty general Yue Fei, who fought to regain the north from the Jurchen Jin Dynasty but was hampered and eventually executed by his political opponents in the court, who favored peace.
Chapter 625: The Decisive Battle! The Second Berserker Syndrome!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Buzz!
Wang Chong felt his body freeze, his heart turn to ash.
A second gap!
The gap opened by Duan Gequan had still not been filled when yet another hole had been opened up in the Myriad Stars Formation. Wang Chong looked around and saw that even more places were on the verge of breaking. The screams of dying Annan Protectorate army soldiers could be heard all over the mountain.
Do the heavens really wish for the death of my Great Tang…
Wang Chong's entire body was trembling, his heart dripping blood as endless waves of anguish washed over him, so intense that they almost made it impossible to breathe.
Why? Why does it have to be like this?
Why did the heavens let me reincarnate only to have me experience all this again?
Was my last life not enough? Do I have to let the Central Plains and the Great Tang experience the same fate again?
……
Wang Chong's eyes were bleeding as he inwardly let out roars of fury and unwillingness. For a moment, the scenes from his last life flashed before his eyes: the flames of war scorching the Central Plains; the broken dragon banners; the sundered Great Tang; the countless corpses strewn across the land, their faces contorted in fear, their bodies decaying into bones. And then there was that cold river of cavalry, the foreign invaders spreading death and despair…
All of this began from the collapse of the southwest. If not even the tragedy of the southwest could be averted, how could he avert the Great Tang's fate?
Wang Chong was in so much pain that he found it impossible to breathe.
The pain, reluctance, helplessness, and hatred that he had felt in the moment of his death during his last life once more floated to the top of his mind.
No, even if I die, I'll never let those scenes repeat themselves!
Wang Chong grasped the Wootz Steel sword in his right hand and the Little Yinyang Sword in his left, the veins on the backs of his hands bulging as he unleashed a heaven-shaking roar of anger.
Crack!
As if in response to Wang Chong's roar, the winds exploded over the summit and a blue streak of lightning thrust through the clouds. Horses shrieked as this sudden thunderclap momentarily stunned the entire Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army.
At the base of the mountain, even Dalun Ruozan appeared shocked.
No matter what happens, I'll never concede!
No matter what happens, I'll never concede!
No matter what happens, I'll never concede!
……
This world has never had any savior or any fate. I am the master of my own fate!
The voice in Wang Chong's mind grew louder and louder. Suddenly, a strength that he had never felt before blazed to life within his body, the flame growing more and more vigorous. Anger, boundless anger! Antipathy, intense antipathy! Then!
Clang!
The hum of a sword crescendoed as Wang Chong held his sword aloft and soared into the sky.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!
"Kill! Kill! Kill!
"Death! Death! Death!
"Even if the entire world retreats, I will never back down! Even if everyone gives up, I will never surrender!
"The southwest will not be lost, the Great Tang will not lose… I will never lose!"
……
These final words become a roar that shook the heavens!
Whoosh! The sword flew through the air, and a row of Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers was quickly felled. Roiling streams of blood energy flew out of their bodies and gathered in Wang Chong.
This blood energy was like a kind of bait, stimulating that thing hidden very deep inside Wang Chong's body.
Kaclack! The cracking of bones like frying beans came from within Wang Chong's body. Wang Chong's body impossibly began to grow larger, and within his body, a majestic and inconceivably powerful energy was beginning to explode outward.
Rumble! His dantian shook, and in the space of a single breath, a brand-new Halo of Thorns began to spread under Wang Chong's body. And at almost the same moment, Wang Chong finally broke through that stubborn bottleneck, truly stepping into the Profound Martial realm.
Buzz!
The air howled as a bloody energy began to spread through Wang Chong's body. In a flash, Wang Chong's black hair had transformed into a demonic shade of bloody red.
And it wasn't just his hair. Even Wang Chong's eyes had become bloody red, filled with a desire to kill, madness and brutality.
But Wang Chong could no longer see. The only thing in front of his eyes was blood.
"No matter what happens, I'll never concede!"
Unwillingness and anger grew ever more intense as they flourished in Wang Chong's mind. Rumble! Wang Chong suddenly exploded in speed,
shooting forward like a lightning bolt. Crash! A bloody edge flashed in the air as more and more Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang soldiers were felled.
"I won't lose, I won't! Never!"
Wang Chong's body once more shot through the air. In a chorus of screams, yet another batch of Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers was killed. Bloody energy continued to madly flow into Wang Chong's body under the influence of some invisible attractive force.
The Little Yinyang Art resounded within Wang Chong's body. Now that he had broken into the Profound Martial realm and shaken off those shackles that had restrained him for so long, the blood energy surging into his body was now causing Wang Chong's strength to rise at an almost insane speed.
Boom!
His dantian shook, and in a flash, Wang Chong had reached Tier 1 of the Profound Martial realm. Behind him, several dozen Mengshe–Ü-Tsang cavalrymen toppled together with their horses.
"Seize Wang Chong and be made marquis of ten thousand households!"
More and more Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang soldiers continued to excitedly charge in, and it seemed like their numbers were limitless.
Swish! A flash of cold light, a scream, and more rows of heads went flying into the air.
Profound Martial Tier 2!
Wang Chong's strength was still crazily climbing…
"Kill him! He's alone! Don't be afraid!"
There was a massive bellow as a giant figure climbed up the mountain: a mighty Skyquaking Giant! Roar! Before the giant had even stood up properly, it was swinging down its tree trunk of a metal staff at Wang Chong.
"He's mine!"
The Skyquaking Giant roared, speaking in a language that only he could understand.
Clang! The thick staff was suddenly cut in two, the cut as smooth as a mirror. The Skyquaking Giant looked in a daze at the remnants of his staff, but before he could react, squelch! A sword thrust deep into his heart, ending his life.
Profound Martial Tier 3!
The Skyquaking Giant's eyes were wide open in disbelief as he collapsed in front of Wang Chong, his vigorous blood energy surging into Wang Chong's body.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill everyone in front of me! Power—I need massive power, endless power!"
The blood in front of Wang Chong's eyes was getting redder and redder.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 392
