The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 423
"Hmph, we don't need to trouble ourselves over that. Jiaosiluo is at a level where he'll be able to retreat unharmed as long as Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong don't act. Right now, both Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong are still on the summit… Haven't you noticed that both Huoshu Huicang and Dalun Ruozan seem unconcerned?"
Astonished, Fengjiayi shot a glance in their direction. Sure enough, neither Huoshu Huicang nor Dalun Ruozan seemed ready to move, and both had indifferent expressions on their faces.
"Yes, Royal Father!"
Fengjiayi's muscles relaxed as he quickly returned to his position.
……
Boom!
Halfway up the mountain, a brilliant white flame blazed to life. Jiaosiluo had finally triggered his transformation, his massive Halo of Thorns suddenly retracting into his body.
In the next moment, Jiaosiluo disappeared, replaced by a massive Swordfanged Beast swiftly traveling atop the metal walls. Finally…
Boom!
With an earth-shaking boom, Zhao Wujiang and Jiaosiluo leaped up from metal walls ten-some zhang from each other and collided, their Stellar Energies blazing. Under countless stares, they crashed against each other like two meteors, one red and one white.
Rumble! As these two Stellar Energies of opposite nature clashed against each other, the pair exchanged nearly a hundred strikes in that split second.
"Aaaaah!"
While everyone was transfixed by the battle in the air, Zhao Wujiang suddenly screamed as one of Jiaosiluo's paws struck his chest and sent him flying.
Boom!
Dust plumed into the air as Zhao Wujiang's descent sundered the earth.
"General!"
The surrounding Tang soldiers instantly paled in fright and yelled.
Chapter 574: The Decisive Battle! Death's Scythe!
Chapter 574: The Decisive Battle! Death's Scythe!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"Hahaha, what Zhao Wujiang? He wasn't much at all!"
The Swordfanged Beast Jiaosiluo couldn't help but laugh after sending Zhao Wujiang flying. Zhao Wujiang was quite the famous figure in the southwest. Solely his relationship with Duan Wuzong and the Whitestone Corps was enough to classify him as a member of the southwest's upper echelon.
Being able to defeat an extremely well-known general of the Great Tang like Zhao Wujiang with a single palm was undoubtedly a great honor for Jiaosiluo.
"I just need to kill Zhao Wujiang and I'll have killed twelve famous Great Tang generals!"
Jiaosiluo heartily laughed.
Zhao Wujiang's war halo was clearly inferior to his Swordfanged Beast Halo. At the very least, his attacks were not strong enough to pierce through his transformation. As someone who had inherited a secret technique from the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple, Jiaosiluo possessed an almost impervious defense. Only the likes of Wang Yan or Xianyu Zhongtong, or perhaps the encirclement of many experts, would be able to break through it.
"Zhao Wujiang, don't think about running!"
The Swordfanged Beast put its four legs to use, its massive body suddenly leaping off the metal wall, headed straight for the place that Zhao Wujiang had landed.
"Move out!"
Zhao Wujiang had reacted faster than Jiaosiluo. Before the Swordfanged Beast had landed, a bloody light rushed out of the dust, charging up the mountain.
"Hahaha, you can't escape!"
Jiaosiluo howled with laughter, his eyes narrowing as they exuded an intense killing intent. Zhao Wujiang was still extremely far from the summit. Even if Wang Yan, Xianyu Zhongtong, or the other generals of the Great Tang were coming to assist, they would still need some time.
"Now is the best time to kill you!"
Jiaosiluo's killing intent was inflamed. A character like Zhao Wujiang was incredibly hard to kill in normal circumstances. He was currently injured and couldn't run very quickly, giving Jiaosiluo his best chance.
"Die for me!"
Jiaosiluo shook two of his paws, jolting away the surrounding Annan Protectorate army soldiers.
"Protect General!"
All around him was chaos as soldiers madly rushed at him.
"Out of my way!"
Jiaosiluo's Stellar Energy exploded. He was a prehistoric beast, his Stellar Energy so thick and condensed that it was almost corporeal, and his reverberating Halo of Thorns was as sharp as a saber. It was practically impossible to get within three zhang of him.
Bang!
His four paws dug into the ground and pushed as Jiaosiluo swiftly pursued Zhao Wujiang.
"Not good—Jiaosiluo has gotten too carried away!"
At the base of the mountain, Fengjiayi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows as he watched Jiaosiluo plunge alone into the ranks of the Annan Protectorate army. 'Don't chase a cornered enemy' wasn't just a saying that applied to forest bandits. It was also appropriate for the battlefield.
By chasing down Zhao Wujiang without even his personal guards, Jiaosiluo was breaking a major taboo.
"This fellow knows nothing at all about the art of war. He has to be brought back!"
Fengjiayi felt a deep concern.
Fengjiayi didn't have much of a good impression of the other Tibetan generals, but he felt a deep connection with Jiaosiluo. The two had worked together to kill no small number of Tang generals.
The two had perfectly complemented each other on the battlefield.
"Wait a moment!" Geluofeng called for Fengjiayi to stop, his expression solemn as he stared at the mountain.
"Look over there. Haven't you noticed anything?"
"What?"
Fengjiayi's eyes focused, and a hint of surprise flickered across his face.
"You underestimate Jiaosiluo too much. If he was really this lacking in intelligence, do you think he would have reached his current position? And he's even ranked second of the Five Tiger Generals. Look carefully at the Great Tang soldiers around him. What do you see?"
"Ah! Royal Father, you're saying…"
Fengjiayi's eyes narrowed as he finally realized.
"Those soldiers are all doing their utmost to protect Zhao Wujiang. If there is an ambush, they would never look like this. In these circumstances, there are only two possibilities. The first is that there is no ambush. It's only because he's seen this that Jiaosiluo would dare to chase after Zhao Wujiang. The second possibility is that there is an ambush, but only Zhao Wujiang knows about it, and the rest of the soldiers are clueless."
"This!!"
Fengjiayi was dumbfounded.
"However, Jiaosiluo was only mobilized a few moments ago while Zhao Wujiang was dispatched to deal with Duan Wuzong. If it is the second possibility, that would mean that when Zhao Wujiang emerged to deal with Duan Wuzong, he had already predicted that Jiaosiluo would appear and also prepared to intentionally get injured. But that seems a little too inconceivable, so I still lean toward the first possibility. Haven't you noticed that Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang are also hesitating?" Geluofeng said.
Fengjiayi turned his head. Sure enough, Huoshu Huicang's fae was tinged with hesitation. It was clear that he was thinking the same thing as Geluofeng.
"It really is the case!"
Fengjiayi's brow quickly relaxed.
Geluofeng was extremely perceptive, so he quickly noticed the change in Fengjiayi's attitude and gave him a mental nod of approval. Fengjiayi was the Crown Prince of Mengshe Zhao and also the son that he was most pleased by.
He was an exceptional martial artist, had received a traditional Tang education in the capital of the Great Tang, had met the Sage Emperor, learned the art of war, and gained an understanding of how the Great Tang political system worked.
At his age, there were far too few people who could match well with him. Crucially, his young age meant that he lacked experience, had not been sufficiently tempered.
He could perceive many things, but it still wasn't enough.
For example, he knew that it was inadvisable
to charge alone into enemy ranks, but he hadn't noticed the reaction of the surrounding Tang soldiers. This shouldn't have been the case given Fengjiayi's abilities.
It was just that his mind was unsettled and he lacked a little maturity and composure. These were the disadvantages brought about by his young age and lack of experience.
"This fellow Jiaosiluo really might be able to kill Zhao Wujiang!" Geluofeng muttered to himself as he looked up at the mountain.
The martial arts of the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple were completely different from those of the Central Plains, and even more different from those of Mengshe Zhao. Zhao Wujiang might have been able to defeat Duan Wuzong, but there was a real possibility that he could suffer a disastrous defeat against the even more formidable Jiaosiluo.
"However, even if that's the case, we can't just ignore the possibility. Jiayi, ready yourself. After a little while, the situation might require you to go to Jiaosiluo's aid!"
"Yes, Royal Father!"
Fengjiayi immediately left to carry out this order.
"Hold on a second. Don't go too quickly. We don't want to act before the Tibetans do!" Geluofeng said.
The Tibetans had only moved to save the Mengshe Zhao soldiers. If Mengshe Zhao acted now, the Tibetans would inevitably feel rather embarrassed. If their help was of use, it would be fine, but if not, then the Tibetans would only feel displeased by their unnecessary actions.
"Your child understands!"
Fengjiayi nodded and left.
………
On the other side, Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang were carrying on a conversation in Tibetan.
"Fengjiayi has gone!"
These were the first words out of Dalun Ruozan's mouth.
"I saw it!"
Huoshu Huicang nodded, his face emotionless. The two were focused on the mountain and had not even turned their heads to look in the direction of Geluofeng and Fengjiayi, but no action could be hidden from this pair.
"That Crown Prince of Mengshe Zhao seems to have quite the good impression of Jiaosiluo!" Dalun Ruozan noted.
"That's normal! Jiaosiluo is outwardly rough but inwardly kind. Fengjiayi's attitude is very typical!" Huoshu Huicang indifferently said.
If Fengjiayi had heard these words, he would definitely be stunned, as this pair was clearly discussing him.
"However, we should also make our preparations. With Jiaosiluo moving, the Great Tang can't be doing nothing." Dalun Ruozan waved his fan as he spoke.
"Mm, I understand! I've already made arrangements!"
With this said, both Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang fell silent, neither saying a word.
……
While Dalun Ruozan, Huoshu Huicang, Geluofeng, and Fengjiayi were discussing what to do, on the summit, Jiaosiluo's pursuit of Zhao Wujiang underwent a sudden transformation.
Bang!
Seemingly because Jiaosiluo was coming too quickly, Zhao Wujiang staggered in a moment of carelessness and almost fell. This delay immediately created a fatal flaw.
"An excellent chance!"
Jiaosiluo's eyes brightened at this sight as he immediately seized upon this chance. Rumble! Jiaosiluo's dantian shook as it unleashed a thunderous clattering of metal that caused the ground beneath him to shake.
Borrowing this repulsive force, Jiaosiluo massively accelerated, instantly covering the distance between him and Zhao Wujiang as he descended with the weight of Mount Tai.
"Fierce Beast Stomp!"
Jiaosiluo gathered up all the energy in his body and let out a primordial roar in midair. The claw of a giant beast manifested in the air, the size of a small mountain, and lunged at Zhao Wujiang.
"Hahaha, the twelfth!"
Jiaosiluo roared with laughter. One Zhao Wujiang at peak condition was already no match for him, let alone an injured one.
"Hahaha, you're right on time!"
In a flash, the panicked Zhao Wujiang's eyes suddenly shone with the dazzling light of the sun as Jiaosiluo caught up to him.
"Jiaosiluo, you've taken the bait!"
Boom!
A bloody flame suddenly soared into the sky. As Jiaosiluo looked on, the injured Zhao Wujiang suddenly pushed his palm under him and charged with all his strength at the lunging Jiaosiluo.
At the same time, Jiaosiluo heard heavy booms at his ear. He could sense that several abnormally powerful figures had suddenly appeared amongst the Tang soldiers.
They had been hidden there for some time, only launching their attack once he had chased Zhao Wujiang into the ambush zone.
"Jiaosiluo, hand over your life!"
Boom! There was an earth-shaking explosion as an extremely sharp energy pierced into the sky, so sharp that it seemed like it could tear the sky to pieces.
Iron Spear Luo!
Jiaosiluo felt his heart chill as this thought flashed through his mind. Only that invincible spear user of the Annan Protectorate army, Luo Ji, could unleash such terrifying energy!
I've been ambushed!
As this thought flew through his mind, Zhao Wujiang, Luo Ji, Xu Shiping, Xu Andun, and the six Black Dragon Bandit elites—Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, Chen Qiong, Li Zhi, Fang Tang, and Zhou Han—converged on him from all sides.
These ten people had cut off all of Jiaosiluo's retreats!
Although Zhao Wujiang and Luo Ji were the strongest amongst the ten, the true killing move was embodied in Xu Shiping, Xu Andun, and the Six Black Dragon Bandit elites.
If one looked down from the sky, one would be able to see that all eight of their bodies were glimmering, their Stellar Energies fused into one whole, with the flickering image of a black scythe within.
Death's Scythe! In that calamity, this had been one of the most powerful of the small-scale joint attack formations!
Chapter 575: The Decisive Battle! Jiaosiluo's Panic!
Chapter 575: The Decisive Battle! Jiaosiluo's Panic!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
There were many joint attack formations, especially in the army. Whether it was the Great Tang, Ü-Tsang, or Mengshe Zhao, they all had these kinds of joint attack skills, some well-known and some secret. By combining the strength of many weaker individuals and the strength of the formation, they could challenge and even kill powerful experts.
However, such formations had never been easy to cultivate. They required mutual understanding and cooperation, so as a result, only small-scale joint attack formations were currently in use.
Joint attack formations only truly came into prevalence after the foreign invaders appeared.
All the warriors of the continent, whether they were from the Great Tang of the Central Plains, Ü-Tsang, the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates, or the distant Abbasid Caliphate and Charax Spasinu, had realized that none of their attacks were very effective against these otherworldly invaders.
All their attacks were half as powerful when used against these invaders, so they all had to think about other methods. Thus, the small-scale joint attack formations suddenly became the focus of attention.
All the empires and cultures of the world, including the Great Tang and the countries surrounding it, began to devote a large amount of manpower to researching and developing joint attack formations.
A great number of joint attack formations were developed at this time. In a short period of time, the small-scale joint attack formations reached their peak power, and Death's Scythe was an outstanding example from this era.
Although time had been short and Xu Shiping, Xu Andun, and the six Black Dragon elites had still not trained extensively in Death's Scythe, the combined power of these eight was more than enough to deal with Jiaosiluo.
Boom!
Zhao Wujiang and Luo Ji worked together with the Death's Scythe joint attack formation, and it took only a few seconds for the ten people to enclose Jiaosiluo. Even if Jiaosiluo had been ready, it would have still been too late to escape!
"Ah!"
Vast waves of Stellar Energ
y surged as eleven people clashed in midair and the surrounding soldiers looked on in shock. Jiaosiluo screamed as his Swordfanged Beast transformation was forcefully dispelled, the energy scattering from Jiaosiluo's human form.
Squelch!
A dark red spear, shining with a bloody light, plunged through Jiaosiluo's chest, narrowly missing his heart as it thrust through his organs and out the center of his back.
Luo Ji!
Invincible Iron Spear Luo Ji!
Only one person in the Annan Protectorate army possessed such mighty spear arts that could completely disregard the defense of Jiaosiluo's tough flesh and Stellar Energy: Iron Spear Luo!
Wang Chong's Wootz Steel spear coupled with Luo Ji's terrifying spear arts had pierced straight through Jiaosiluo's Shanzhong acupuncture point, tearing apart the organs in his chest. Even more terrifying was that Luo Ji's incredibly sharp Stellar Energy had already entered Jiaosiluo's body through his spear and was now wreaking havoc amongst his meridians.
"Jiaosiluo!"
"General!"
……
Roars came from all around as the eyes of the distant Tibetan warriors instantly turned red.
Sudden!
Too sudden!
Jiaosiluo had clearly been the pursuer, seemingly unstoppable and incomparably valiant, slaying all who dared to stand before him. Moreover, he had seemed ready to take Zhao Wujiang's life when the situation was reversed in the blink of an eye. Jiaosiluo had turned from pursuer to pursued, to the ambushed.
At the base of the mountain, the commanders of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army felt their hearts stop!
Ambush!
This had been a through-and-through ambush. Zhao Wujiang's injury and escape had all been an act to lure Jiaosiluo into range!
"Damn it! We've been fooled!"
Dalun Ruozan's pupils constricted as the fan in his hand stopped. His eyes turned up to that thin youth on the summit.
Although Iron Spear Luo was famed for his spear arts, he was not known for his wit.
Zhao Wujiang could never have anticipated that it would be Jiaosiluo who would appear after these fierce exchanges!
Dalun Ruozan could think of only one person who could predict, when Duan Wuzong was entering the field, that Jiaosiluo would eventually show up. It was that young Great Tang boy, Wang Chong!