The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 396
Old Eagle had never imagined that this signal would be used at a time like this, and even now, Old Eagle didn't understand what that signal meant.
Creee!
The resounding cry of an eagle exploded over the battlefield. A massive eagle flew out of the dark clouds, letting out a set of cries that seemed to possess a sort of cadence.
The cry of the eagle could be heard a hundred li away as it echoed across the skies.
"What's he doing?"
Wang Chong's sudden movements had attracted the notice of many people. At the base of the mountain, Geluofeng and Dalun Ruozan turned their heads up to the massive eagle in the sky.
On the intense battlefield, the cries of this eagle seemed very abrupt. Although neither of the pair knew what it meant, given their understanding of Wang Chong, the commanders of Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang still maintained a deep vigilance.
But after the eagle cried out, nothing happened. All was quiet and calm in the distance while an intense melee was still taking place on the battlefield. They could detect no change.
"What is that fellow up to?"
Dalun Ruozan squinted at that large eagle in the sky. The sudden appearance of this eagle and the ensuing nothingness left him completely confused.
On the other end, Geluofeng was no less perplexed.
Although he very rarely involved himself in strategic decisions, he viewed the youngest son of the Wang Clan with as much wariness as Dalun Ruozan.
"No matter what plans he has, it's useless now. We don't believe that you still have any tricks up your sleeve at a time like this!"
Geluofeng looked up, his eyes shining with a sharp light.
The war of the southwest was already settled. He, Geluofeng, had already proved to everyone that the Great Tang was not invincible. Although the price had been heavy, as long as he maintained the alliance between Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang, Mengshe Zhao would be able to deal with the Great Tang's counterattack.
More importantly, by obtaining the Great Tang's southwest, Mengshe Zhao would truly be able to escape the confines of the Erhai. And afterward, in order to deal with a common foe, Geluofeng would think of a way to get the assistance of other empires.
In the end, Mengshe Zhao would be able to recover all its losses and gain many advantages for itself.
This was Geluofeng's position on the war of the southwest.
These thoughts were not able to last in Geluofeng's mind for long. In the next moment, all his hopes and ambitions for the southwest were shattered.
"Your Majesty, quick, look over there!" someone suddenly exclaimed. Geluofeng subconsciously turned his head in the direction of the voice, whereupon he saw thick plumes of smoke roiling up from the horizon.
One, two, three… in the end, the entire horizon was covered in thick plumes of smoke, and the sounds of fighting and shouting could be heard in the distance.
In a moment, Geluofeng seemed to be dealt a terrible blow, his entire face draining of blood to become as white as a sheet of paper. This sovereign of the southwest who very rarely revealed his emotions finally showed signs of panic and unease.
"The granaries!"
Geluofeng's entire body trembled. There was only one thought in his mind. In that direction was the place where Mengshe Zhao stored its grain. To prevent a Tang night raid on the granaries to burn them down, Geluofeng had stationed them in the rear and dispatched soldiers to guard them.
The Tibetans and Mengshe Zhao consumed a great deal of food every day, especially in the later phases, as Geluofeng became responsible for feeding the Tibetans as well. As a result, Geluofeng had dispatched a large number of peasants and laborers to construct a great number of massive granaries.
Geluofeng had never expected these granaries that could feed more than two hundred thousand soldiers to be attacked at a time like this. From the thick smoke and fire, this conflagration was no small one.
Few, if any, granaries had probably survived.
"How could this be? What happened to the soldiers guarding the granaries?"
Geluofeng's eyes went red as he clenched his teeth, not daring to believe his eyes. He clearly remembered that five thousand soldiers had been stationed there. Why had he not heard anything from them?
But none of this was important. All the soldiers had already been committed to the battlefield, as the battle had reached its climax. Geluofeng had no soldiers to send as reinforcements.
"Wang Chong!!"
Geluofeng twisted his head to glare at the summit. No matter how slow he was, even he had realized that the eagle cries from just now were a signal to burn the granaries.
Chapter 631: The Decisive Battle! The Tricked Geluofeng!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"A fire has started in the rear of the Mengshe Zhao army!!"
On the summit, Old Eagle stared incredulously at the fiery light rising from the distance. This was practically a miracle to him. Old Eagle had never imagined that the signal Wang Chong had spoken of to him three days ago would be for this.
"Hahaha, Li Siye, I knew that you wouldn't let me down!"
Wang Chong roared with laughter as he looked with bright eyes into the distance, the dark clouds shrouding his brow now swept away.
The most critical moment in the battle had finally arrived. Just as expected, Li Siye, after completing his mission of spreading plague over the plateau, had followed the last order in the silk bag and hurried to the southwestern battlefield.
From the moment he left the capital, Wang Chong had already known that it would be very difficult for the Great Tang to win the war. In order to defeat the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, this would be his last and only chance.
On the Tibetan Plateau, the plague was spreading, leaving the corpses of cows and sheep covering the earth. And now, he had succeeded in burning the granaries of the Mengshe Zhao army.
With the provisions of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army destroyed, they instantly ran out of options. Even if Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang were willing to have the Tibetans eat the Mengshe Zhao provisions, such plans were now useless.
Because there was no! More! Food!
"Geluofeng, now it's your turn to choose!"
Wang Chong looked down the mountain at the kingly figure on the chariot, his eyes shining bright.
……
"Bastard!!"
Geluofeng's face was contorted in rage, the overlord of Erhai far angrier than Wang Chong had imagined. Those granaries in the rear had not only contained the provisions to feed an army of hundreds of thousands, they had also contained Geluofeng's lifelong dreams and hopes.
Without those provisions, then regardless of victory or defeat, after this battle, Geluofeng would have to retreat. And the Tibetans would have to withdraw even faster than the Mengshe Zhao army.
Without the support of the Tibetans, Mengshe Zhao would stand no chance against the next wave of Great Tang attacks.
And in the Great Tang's southwest, all the civilians would have hidden away in the mountains and forests to avoid the war, either taking their food with them or burying it in the ground.
Even if Geluofeng had the intention of plundering the land for food, he would consume a great deal of time. More importantly, if he divided his troops, Mengshe Zhao would not even be able to last one round against the coming Great Tang assault.
The dream that Geluofeng had worked on for decades had been utterly annihilated.
"If you destroy my dream, I'll first destroy your Annan Protectorate army and then kill you! Today, all of you will die!"
Geluofeng's entire body was trembling, his mind almost lost in his fury.
Not even after Mengshe Zhao had lost so many soldiers had he been this angry, but when he saw the smoke rising from the burning granaries, Geluofeng became thoroughly enraged.
Crack!
A burst of energy traveled down from Geluofeng's feet to the chariot beneath, causing that sumptuous bronze chariot gilded with gold
to instantly shatter.
Geluofeng's body dropped down from the chariot to the earth, and the world quaked.
Bzzt!
Geluofeng's face was twisted into a vicious expression, his killing intent almost taking physical form as it exploded out of his body. Even the space around Geluofeng began to twist.
Geluofeng began to stride toward the mountain, the earth trembling with his every step. It was like not even the earth could endure his weight.
The king of Erhai no longer had the demeanor of a sovereign. All that was left was a thick killing intent.
"Die for me!"
Geluofeng stepped forward and suddenly leaped into the sky with a bang. When he descended, he was several dozen zhang away.
Bzzt!
As Geluofeng ascended the mountain, golden flames began to rise from his body, lengthening and expanding as he pressed forward.
By the time Geluofeng was midway up the mountain, the golden flames had become a massive Buddha, ten-some zhang tall. Half of its body was gold and bright like a dazzling flame while the other half was pitch-black like steel or iron. Six hands of gold and black spread out from its body as it strode up the mountain.
Crashcrack! As the massive Buddha proceeded, stones shattered in its path.
"Those who stop me will die! Wang Chong, you destroyed Our granaries, so We will take your life in exchange!"
Geluofeng's thunderous roar of fury reverberated over the battlefield.
Of the three Great General figures on the southwest battlefield, Huoshu Huicang and Duan Gequan were the first two while Geluofeng was the third, always lurking in the background.
From the very start, Geluofeng, as the sovereign of Erhai, had never participated, but now he had come.
Huoshu Huicang and Duan Gequan were already a massive threat to the Annan Protectorate army, and now that the third such character had appeared, coming forth with a storm of energy, everyone felt a stifling pressure.
"Young Master, not good! We have to go!"
Old Eagle paled as he saw the 'Pratyeka Buddha1' that Geluofeng had transformed into make its way up the mountain. Even from the distance, he could still sense the vast and destructive energy within Geluofeng's body as well as his berserk killing intent.
Wang Chong had thoroughly destroyed the Mengshe Zhao granaries, but he had also incurred the berserk killing intent of Erhai's king.
Wang Chong was a boy of seventeen years old. It would truly be difficult to believe if someone claimed that he had managed to become the target of the king of Erhai's frenzied killing intent, with the king himself coming to do the deed.
But at a time like this, this was not good news.
"Old Eagle, stand aside!"
Wang Chong pushed Old Eagle away, his eyes glimmering with a strange light.
"It's fine for me to leave at any other time, but definitely not now."
Wang Chong's eyes shone with a profound meaning, but not even Old Eagle knew what he was hinting at.
"Geluofeng, Dalun Ruozan, hahaha… you've all lost. After all this time, do none of you still understand? You've already completely lost this war. Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang will all have to pay a price for this!"
Wang Chong heartily laughed. Without their supplies, Ü-Tsang and Mengshe Zhao had nowhere to retreat. Even victory would be a Pyrrhic one.
Although Wang Chong did not think that they could achieve even this!
Dalun Ruozan only paled at Wang Chong's voice. He had already been left speechless by the state that Wang Chong had pushed him to. Geluofeng, on the other hand, was only further infuriated, his flames only growing stronger and stronger.
"Foul brat, I want your life!"
Geluofeng jumped forward, quickening his pace. He could already see Wang Chong's figure standing at the edge of the summit, fearlessly looking at him as he just stood there.
"Come, Geluofeng! I'll let you kill me!"
Wang Chong stood in the furious winds, his sleeves flapping in the air, his eyes bright.
This attitude only further incensed Geluofeng.
If there was one person that Geluofeng had to kill in the war of the southwest, that person was Wang Chong. Geluofeng wanted to kill him even more than Dalun Ruozan did.
"If you want to die, We will fulfill your wish!"
Geluofeng glared at the mountain, only the archcriminal Wang Chong left in his eyes. He had no idea that while his focus was on Wang Chong, two pairs of eyes were watching him.
Bang!
Geluofeng stepped forward, the six arms of his Pratyeka Buddha spreading open. He leaped into the air and toward the mountain.
"Not good!"
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
Two worried shouts came from his left and right. This was so sudden that even Geluofeng was caught by surprise. More importantly, Geluofeng could tell that these voices belonged to Huoshu Huicang and Duan Gequan.
What's going on here?
For a moment, Geluofeng's mind was in complete chaos.
"Your Majesty, dodge!"
Geluofeng had never heard Duan Gequan so panicked and worried before. And besides, wasn't he fighting with Xianyu Zhongtong?
And wasn't Huoshu Huicang fighting with Wang Yan?
What was going on?
Boom! Boom!
Before Geluofeng could react, two crashes exploded by his ear. At the same time, two terrifying energies began to rapidly approach him.
"Not good!"
No matter how slow he was, Geluofeng knew that something bad had happened, but it was already too late for him. Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong had been waiting far too long for this moment.
"Geluofeng, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
"Hand over your life! You've finally arrived!"
The earth quaked and the mountain swayed. Under countless shocked eyes, a scene that no one had expected took place.
In his furious assault, Geluofeng had utterly failed to notice that when Wang Chong appeared on the summit, he himself had been baited into the area between Xianyu Zhongtong and Wang Yan.
In this last and decisive battle, Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong had been engaged in fierce combat with Huoshu Huicang and Duan Gequan, neither of them revealing a single flaw. Not even Huoshu Huicang and Duan Gequan had noticed anything strange.
But when Geluofeng had arrived between the two of them, Xianyu Zhongtong and Wang Yan suddenly threw off their opponents. As if this was premeditated, the two lunged toward Geluofeng, heedless of anything else.
"Mighty Miracle Strike!"
"Heavenly God's Fury!"
The battlefield was instantly thrown into chaos as the massive figures of the Mighty Miracle God and Vajra God invested all their power into these attacks. These powerful moves came from the left and right to smash the unsuspecting Geluofeng in the middle.
If he were fighting them alone, Geluofeng would have had nothing to fear, but when Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong worked together, not even Geluofeng was any match.
"Aaaaah!"
Geluofeng let out a scream that alarmed the heavens. As Duan Gequan, Huoshu Huicang, and all of the Mengshe Zhao soldiers looked on, Geluofeng's Pratyeka Buddha avatar burst apart.
As the light and flames scattered, Geluofeng's body appeared in the air, sent flying down the mountain by a massive wave of energy. Splush! Geluofeng's body had not even hit the ground, but his eyes were already tightly shut, his face pale, blood spewing out from his mouth.
"Your Majesty!"
"Not good! His Majesty's been hurt!"
"Save His Majesty!"
……
All the Mengshe Zhao soldiers who saw this sight were stunned and panicked. Geluofeng was the King of Mengshe Zhao, the individual who united the Six Zhao of Erhai. In Mengshe Zhao, he possessed supreme status and was a powerful symbol.
With a word from him, countless people would be willing to die for him.
No one had expected something to happen to Geluofeng at a moment like this.
"R
oyal Fatheeer!"
On the mountain, Fengjiayi paled, his entire body trembling. Turning around, he immediately began to run toward the place where Geluofeng had fallen, ignoring everything else.
______________
1. Pratyeka Buddha are Buddhas who have achieved enlightenment on their own, without a teacher or guide.↩
Chapter 632: The Decisive Battle! The Defeated Mengshe–ü-Tsang Army!
Chapter 632: The Decisive Battle! The Defeated Mengshe–Ü-Tsang Army!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Fengjiayi had always felt a deep respect and admiration toward his father, regarding him as his goal and model in life. He could not allow anything to happen to his father!
"Your Majesty!!"
At this moment, Duan Gequan was even more panicked and fearful than Fengjiayi. As Mengshe Zhao's only Great General, Duan Gequan had always been extremely calm and subtle, rarely revealing his emotions. But Geluofeng's heavy injuries had caused the Erhai Great General to reveal a completely different side of himself: panic, worry, and incomparable fear!
The Duan Gequan of this moment had none of his previous composure.
"Your Majesty, our great ambitions have still not been achieved! You have to be okay!"
Duan Gequan was on the verge of going crazy.
Geluofeng and Duan Gequan were lord and vassal, but only Duan Gequan knew that they were also friends, brothers, compatriots, comrades who supported each other as they worked to achieve the same dream!
To take Mengshe Zhao from a small kingdom to a hegemon of the world had been a dream that Geluofeng and Duan Gequan had tirelessly worked toward for decades.
"Your Majesty, no matter what, you have to be okay!"
Duan Gequan's heart was aflame with both worry and anger.
"Wang Yan, Xianyu Zhongtong, I want your lives!"
Boom!
In an instant, Xianyu Zhongtong clashed palms with Duan Gequan and was sent flying. On the other side, Wang Yan was jolted away by Huoshu Huicang. But all of this was too late. The plans that Wang Chong had taken such pains to set up were now beginning to reveal themselves.