The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 430
Politics was something that only people like Dalun Ruozan considered. As a pure soldier and general, Huoshu Huicang was only interested in the appearance of powerful opponents and their eventual destruction at his hands.
"Old Eagle, it's about time for you to go," Wang Chong suddenly said. "Your cultivation should have just about reached the proper level, right?"
"Yes, Young Master!"
With this familiar voice, a familiar figure emerged: Wang Chong's faithful follower, Old Eagle, walking out from the rear. After a period of absence, Old Eagle seemed to have reached a whole new level, his entire body bursting with energy.
"I have already broken into the Profound Martial realm and reached around Tier 3 or 4. I have also grasped the method behind the Six-armed Ksitigarbha! Right now, I should be strong enough to fight against an expert at Tier 6 or 7 of the Profound Martial realm!"
Old Eagle had a brilliant expression, brimming with confidence.
As an older expert from the capital, Old Eagle had remained at Tier 9 of the True Martial realm the longest of his old companions. His lack of talent had prevented him from crossing the threshold.
But it was also for this reason that he had accumulated much more energy than a normal expert could hope for. Old Eagle had originally believed that he would never be able to cross the threshold of the Profound Martial realm no matter how much energy he accumulated.
But the Six-Armed Ksitigarbha had given him just this chance to break through.
As a result, Old Eagle had broken through and, like a flood unleashed, immediately risen to Tier 3 of the Profound Martial realm, bordering on Tier 4.
The current Old Eagle was now someone with powerful abilities who could tip the balance of power.
This was also the reason Wang Chong had not used him until now.
"That foreigner is extremely powerful. Only our Wootz Steel swords are capable of breaking through his technique. However, you alone aren't enough. Luo Ji, you go as well!" Wang Chong firmly ordered with a glance to his left.
Luo Ji bowed and said, "Yes, this general will go!"
There was currently no one in the Annan Protectorate army who dared to disobey Wang Chong. Everyone treated Wang Chong as the Annan Protectorate army's savior. Without him, the Annan Protectorate army would have been wiped out long ago. Besides, Wang Chong also had Zhangchou Jianqiong's private token.
Wang Chong looked behind Luo Ji and ordered, "General Lin, you go as well!"
"Yes, your subordinate will go," Lin Wushou immediately replied.
By now, Wang Chong had been acknowledged by the soldiers of the southwest as the best and most suitable commander. Even General Wang and Protector-General Xianyu had ceded their authority to him, much less others.
"But just you won't be enough. Zhang Long!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"Give your Wootz Steel sword to General Lin!"
"Yes, your subordinate will comply!"
……
In the Annan Protectorate army, only Wang Chong's subordinates were equipped with Wootz Steel swords, and only Wootz Steel swords could deal with a Metal element halo expert like Tumi Sangzha.
Ordinary sabers and swords would be transformed or snatched away and made into metal men before they could get close, so they were completely useless!
Gallop!
Old Eagle, Luo Ji, and Lin Wushou, equipped with Wootz Steel swords, rode off. They were also wearing the Meteoric Metal armor of the Black Dragon Bandit elites.
Boomboomboom!
Massive fireballs were still crashing out of the sky, leaving seas of fire around the mountain, but Old Eagle, Luo Ji, and Lin Wushou seemed utterly unaffected, easily weaving through these obstacles.
This trio was at a level where these fireballs could not even touch them, much less threaten them.
The three moved with such speed that they needed only a few moments to reach the base of the mountain.
"Foreign general, take my strike!"
With a heaven-shaking roar, Old Eagle leaped forward. His entire body suddenly disappeared, replaced by a Six-Armed Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian, its six arms actually wielding six Wootz Steel swords. Clang! The Six-Armed Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian lunged forward with inconceivable speed. With a slash of its six Wootz Steel swords, a large amount of refined iron was immediately shorn off the metal giant enclosing Tumi Sangzha.
"The Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian!!! You're using Batunlu's technique!"
A furious roar echoed through the battlefield as Tumi Sangzha glared. Like some primordial beast from before history, he smashed a fist at Old Eagle.
"The Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple's things are not for you to take! Give it back!"
"Careful!"
Only close up could one feel the power of Tumi Sangzha's steel giant, its unstoppable strength. And the thick layers of metal made it difficult for any weapon to truly threaten Tumi Sangzha within.
Bangbangbang! Roaring, Luo Ji and Lin Wushou soared into the air, brandishing Wootz Steel weapons. Four experts of the Profound Martial realm fell into an intense melee.
On the other side, nearly ten thousand Tibetan cavalry were fighting against the Annan Protectorate army.
"Get ready!"
Wang Chong's gaze rested on Old Eagle, Luo Ji, and Lin Wushou for only a few moments. A commander's focus could not remain long on a battle between two generals. He needed to focus on the overall situation and determine what would decide victory or defeat.
Leading the army to the final victory was a problem of tactics, a matter that the commander needed to handle.
"Tumi Sangzha won't be able to cause too much stir. In a little while, Huoshu Huicang should be sending even more cavalry in a large-scale assault. Pass on my order! Get ready to reinforce the lines and fight with the Tibetans!"
"But, Young Master, in the current situation, those constant fireballs make it impossible for us to get close," Chen Shusun worriedly said.
"Hmph, relax. It's no easy task to prepare these fireballs. The southwest is a land of hills and plains, making it very difficult for Dalun Ruozan to get his hands on so many boulders. Moreover, I might not know about much else, but I know that the Tibetans can't have very much Arabian Kerosene. These fireballs will soon be all used up. From the very start, Huoshu Huicang's goal has always been to destroy the defenses I deployed. Call Master Zhang over and tell him to get ready. The workers will need to take advantage of that break to repair the damaged walls."
The 'Master Zhang' Wang Chong referred to was naturally Zhang Shouzhi of the Bureau of Works. The greatest advantage of the modular walls was the ease in dismantling, moving, and repairing them.
It was impossible for Huoshu Huicang and Dalun Ruozan's attack to destroy these steel walls.
"Yes, I'll make the arrangements."
Chen Shusun immediately left to carry out his orders.
Chapter 587: The Decisive Battle! Ballistae Show Their Might!
Chapter 587: The Decisive Battle! Ballistae Show Their Might!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Huoshu Huicang's assault arrived much earlier than anticipated.
Huoshu Huicang stared at the summit and suddenly ordered, "Ciren Xiangxiong, you go as well!"
"Yes, General!"
A voice came from behind him, and armor clanged as a burly and fierce Tibetan general mounted his horse and quickly took off.
"Follow me!"
With this order, the stalwart figure of Ciren Xiangxiong charged forward, thousands of cavalry following behind.
"Young Master, the Tibetans have moved." Chen Shusun turned his head and notified Wang Chong.
Once more, Chen Shusun felt an indescribable admiration. Wang Chong had once more predicted everything.
"Have all my orders been passed on?" Wang Chong said as he calmly surveyed the battlefield.
"All your orders have been passed on."
"Then begin," Wang Chong indifferently said.
>
Boom!
Sounds of fighting could be heard all over the mountain. Thousands of Tibetan cavalry were charging up the mountain, madly rushing up to the barricades, steel walls, and soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army. At the same time, waves of fireballs were continuing to crash down, cutting off the front of the Annan Protectorate army from the rear.
"Push aside the barricades! Use ropes to pull them aside!"
"Some of you, dismount and push aside the barricade!"
"Go over to where General Tumi Sangzha is and attack them from the rear!"
……
The Tibetan officers hollered out their orders, wanting nothing more than to tear open the Tang defenses. At the same time, the Annan Protectorate army soldiers on the lower half of the mountain were sacrificing their lives.
"Hold! Hold! Milord has ordered that no one is allowed to retreat!"
"Shieldmen! Shieldmen!"
"Guard the barricades—don't let them get dragged away!"
"If they're allowed to breach the defenses, we'll all be dead!"
……
The atmosphere was fraught with tension. One side was attempting to push its way to the summit and sweep away the final obstacle to the southwest, while the other side was doing all it could to defend and survive, and neither side was backing down.
As Huoshu Huicang viewed the intense melee, he suddenly furrowed his brow and ordered, "General Zhajie! You go as well!"
"Yes, General!" another tribal general of the Tibetan Plateau quickly replied.
"Follow me!"
With this order, another plume of dust rose into the air as nearly ten thousand Tibetan cavalry charged toward the mountain like a bolt of lightning. With this, Huoshu Huicang had committed thirty thousand soldiers, a significant number.
Cavalry was a more powerful force than infantry, and thirty thousand cavalry was enough to deal with three hundred thousand infantry on flat terrain. But at this moment, their opponents were the approximately one hundred thousand soldiers garrisoned on the mountain.
Boomboomboom!
The slams and kicks of horses against clanging shields filled the air, as did calls to hold the line. A single shield of the Annan Protectorate army had at least two or three people holding it, sometimes even five or six.
All of them were packed behind the shields, using all their power to stop the Tibetan charge.
Huoshu Huicang frowned and issued yet another order. "You go as well!"
In this mountainous terrain, the simultaneous charge of forty thousand cavalry was essentially complete saturation. Any more soldiers would not be able to insert themselves into the fight.
Not until they broke the first defensive line of the Annan Protectorate army!
"Kiiiill!"
Fierce roars filled the air as the fourth wave of Tibetan soldiers arrived. If one looked down from the sky, one would be able to notice that the base of the mountain was completely covered by Tibetan soldiers.
"Slaughter them all!"
Similar shouts in Tibetan could be heard all across the battlefield. Against these terrifying waves of Tibetan attacks, all the Annan Protectorate army soldiers on the front lines felt an unimaginable pressure.
The fragile defensive line could crumble at any time.
And the worst of all was that path opened up by Tumi Sangzha. An endless stream of Tibetan soldiers were charging through this gap and up the mountain. One second, two seconds, three seconds… every moment of time seemed to last for an eternity.
The Great Tang's defensive lines swayed, on the verge of breaking.
"Redouble the assault! They're about to break!"
Tibetans continued to launch endless waves of attacks, but the true person to break the first defensive line was someone no one had expected.
Boom!
At some point, Tumi Sangzha had thrown off Luo Ji, Old Eagle, and Lin Wushou, breaking out of their encirclement and sending a fist flying toward a heavy metal wall.
Buzz! As if this was some sort of signal, all the barricades and shields in the surrounding area were suddenly destroyed. Before anyone could react, the first defensive line had been broken.
"Kiiiill!"
After a momentary silence, the Tibetan cavalry noticed what had happened and were filled with energy. Even the Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang soldiers watching the battle felt excited and energized.
"Wonderful, kill them all!"
All of them could smell victory. It seemed like they had finally found a method to defeat the Tang. But in the next moment, before those forty thousand Tibetan cavalry could charge up, before the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army's joy and excitement had lasted more than a few moments, the greatest change of all occurred.
With their barricades dismantled, shields destroyed, and defensive line broken, all the Annan Protectorate army soldiers immediately hid behind the steel walls to their sides.
Swish!
With a metallic howl, a thick bolt flew through the sky, piercing through a Tibetan horseman. The muscular highland steed barely had time to neigh before it was sent crashing to the ground with its rider.
That thick bolt continued behind them. Bang! It struck a second rider, and then a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth…
In their frenzied assault, a massive number of Tibetan soldiers had gathered at the base of the mountain, densely concentrating their ranks. And at this moment, this Tibetan strategy had become a fatal error.
Bangbangbangbang!
Only after this bolt had run through ten-some Tibetan cavalry, leaving a straight and bloody path, was its strength finally expended.
"Tang ballistae!"
A panic-stricken voice rang out, a voice that caused all the other soldiers to tremble. At this moment, all the Tibetans at the base of the mountain felt like their blood had frozen in their veins.
The Tibetans were famed for their thick plate armor, but this plate armor had a mortal foe: the Great Tang ballistae.
The massive bolts fired by these ballistae could easily blow a straight line through the Tibetan ranks.
That dreadful sound was one that all of them recognized: the sound of Great Tang ballistae.
Thwishthwishthwish!
In a flash, and before they could react, Wang Chong revealed his hidden hand. The sounds of countless ballistae firing rose up from the upper half of the mountain.
Countless ballistae lined up on the mountain were currently firing.
The blazing flames and plummeting fireballs could block the Annan Protectorate army soldiers, but they could not block the famed ballistae of the Great Tang. Bangbangbang! Thousands of ballista bolts howled through the air, piercing through countless Tibetan cavalry.
The dense ranks of cavalry barely had time to make a noise before a thick bolt would shoot through them. Bodies toppled to the ground like wooden pillars, impacting with a heart-chilling thud.
All went according to plan as the Tibetans arrayed before the metal walls were shot down.
Slaughter!
This was a true slaughter!
In a few seconds, these ballista bolts had killed more Tibetans than the number that had been charging the Tang defense line.
The bolts came one after the other, callous and determined.
And that blazing sea of flames was a barrier that protected the ballistae from the Tibetan cavalry!
Chapter 588: The Decisive Battle! Geluofeng's Killing Intent!
Chapter 588: The Decisive Battle! Geluofeng's Killing Intent!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"Bastard! This brat is too cunning!"
In the Mengshe Zhao army, Fengjiayi tightly clenched his fist. He felt sure that Wang Chong had only moved those ballistae during Tumi Sangzha's assault.
Because in the previous battles, those ballistae simply hadn't been there.
"He's even used the sea of fire to his advantage. This fellow is truly terrifying. The Wang Clan is praised as a clan of ministers and genera
ls, but this sort of reserve is simply absurd."
The Mengshe Zhao generals were all stupefied, a profound apprehension emerging in their minds.
What sort of person was Dalun Ruozan?
What sort of person was Huoshu Huicang?
Although Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang were not enemies, there was no one in the southwest who didn't understand who these two people were. If either one of this pair appeared on the Mengshe Zhao border, everyone would immediately act like they were facing down a powerful foe.
But this boy called Wang Chong was taking them head-on, succeeding in both attack and defense.
He had even used Dalun Ruozan's fireballs to protect his own forces, neutralizing the Tibetan weapons.
They even suspected that this Wang Chong had intentionally made the Tibetans gather forces around the base of the mountain, and waited for the ground to be saturated with Tibetan troops before bringing out the Great Tang ballistae.
In normal circumstances, the Great Tang ballistae at their most effective would only kill three or four people with each shot, and this would be if the enemy was charging straight at them. But right now, the cavalry were so packed together that a single bolt was enough to kill ten or more.
A few of the ballista bolts had even punched through fifteen or sixteen cavalry before finally stopping.
Under this short rain of ballista bolts, the Tibetan casualties had already climbed to four or five thousand. Rumble! Another volley of bolts howled down from the mountain. The results were not as obvious as the first wave's, but still two or three thousand Tibetans were sent crashing to the ground along with their horses.
Blood gushed down the mountain in bubbling streams while the anguished whinnies of horses filled the air. The entire mountain was in chaos.
This sight caused Huoshu Huicang's eyes to twitch.
Even after all his years in the southwest, all the battles he had fought against the Tang, all the times he had witnessed the power of Great Tang weaponry, Huoshu Huicang still found it hard to remain calm in the face of the might being displayed by Wang Chong's ballistae.
Although the Ngari Royal Lineage possessed more than two hundred thousand cavalry, so the loss of several thousand cavalry was not really that significant, these two-hundred-thousand-some cavalry had taken more than thirty years to build up on Ü-Tsang's part, had required a massive amount of time and energy to forge.