The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  It would be no easy to task for the Tibetans to forge another such army.

  Huoshu Huicang suddenly raised his arm and firmly ordered, "Change the target. Destroy those Great Tang ballistae!"

  "Yes, General!"

  But before this order could travel out of the rear, the situation on the slopes changed once more. Without the slightest hesitation, after firing two waves of bolts, the Great Tang ballistae were quickly pushed back behind the steel walls.

  It took only a few seconds for the ballistae to disappear, just as quickly as they appeared.

  Tumi Sangzha, Ciren Xiangxiong, and Zhajie Xiji, these three mighty tribal generals, felt a deep fear. The Great Tang withdrawing these ballistae was far more terrifying than if they had continued firing.

  Because nobody knew when they would reappear and resume the barrage.

  This was simply impossible to defend against.

  Moreover, the Great Tang ballistae needed to be reloaded and tightened every two to three shots. By withdrawing them now, Wang Chong could have the ballistae reloaded and ready to go when he next needed them to appear.

  And that occasion would inevitably be yet another slaughter!

  As they gradually began to understand Wang Chong's strategy, all of them felt their hearts turn ice-cold. The Great Tang ballistae were certainly not new weapons, but no one had ever used them to such terrifying effect as Wang Chong had.

  "Damn it! Hold them down for me. As long as we can hold them, they won't be able to fire down at us!"

  "Someone, get soldiers up there and destroy those ballistae!"

  "Remember to use their steel walls to avoid any volleys!"

  ……

  The Tibetan army did not lack smart individuals. A few had immediately noticed the crucial point of the matter.

  If they were engaged in close melee with the Tang, then the Annan Protectorate army on the slopes above wouldn't fire for fear of shooting their own forces. At the same, the steel walls that Wang Chong had established around the mountain could also be used to avoid ballista fire.

  But the Tibetans were famed for their cavalry charges and were skilled in offense. Defense and holding the line were the field of the Great Tang infantry. If the cavalry were hiding behind the steel walls, they would have lost sight of their objective.

  "Bastard! Follow me!"

  Wrapped in his massive giant of steel, Tumi Sangzha suddenly roared, his pitch-black Halo of Thorns vibrating in response. The Tang soldiers cried out in alarm as their armor was ripped from their bodies and transformed into hundreds of metal men who immediately crossed the sea of fire and charged at the location of the ballistae.

  At the same time, Tumi Sangzha broke free of Old Eagle, Luo Ji, and Lin Wushou, his small mountain of a figure leaping up the mountain. That scorching sea of fire couldn't even reach the giant's knees and thus posed no threat to him.

  Boom! The mountain trembled under Tumi Sangzha's feet, but Tumi Sangzha was only able to take a few steps before he suddenly stopped, his body shivering as he raised his head up to the sky.

  In the dark clouds, a massive fireball was rapidly expanding like a miniature sun. Crash! It landed in a place ten-some zhang from Tumi Sangzha, sending out ripples of energy and flames.

  But with the landing of this fireball, the heavens fell silent. No more fireballs were plummeting out of the sky.

  After some time, the siege weapons in the rear had finally used up all their fireballs, bringing this rain of fireballs to an end.

  For a moment, the entire mountain was completely devoid of sound.

  "It's over!"

  On the summit, Wang Chong smiled as he watched that final fireball crash into the ground. Everything was as he had expected. No matter how wise Dalun Ruozan was or how much he had planned, he would have never planned for Wang Chong's appearance or for the fact that Wang Chong would build both Lion City and this steel fortress in the southwest.

  The short time available guaranteed that Dalun Ruozan would not have sufficient reserves.

  So this rain of fireballs was guaranteed to not last for long.

  Caressed by a gentle breeze, Wang Chong looked down the mountain and indifferently said, "Move out!"

  Roar!

  A roar that could shatter mountains rose from the mountain. As if time had stopped and was now beginning to flow once more, the deserted mountainside was instantly covered in soldiers.

  It was finally the Annan Protectorate army's turn to counterattack.

  "Kiiiill!"

  Cries of battle echoed into the horizon as the Tang soldiers hiding behind the steel walls charged out, forming a flood of steel as they swept down the mountain.

  Their momentum was enough to sweep over the world, to topple mountains and reverse the seas!

  "Foreign swine! Hand over your lives!"

  Fierce shouts rose from the mountain as countless officers of the Annan Protectorate army fell in with their soldiers and charged down the slope, powerful auras bursting from their bodies.

  Even someone as brash as Tumi Sangzha widened his eyes in shock at this moment.

  Although the Great Tang had spent these recent years indulging in peace and pleasure and was no longer as strong as it used to be, a starving camel was still stronger than a horse, and its army was still bursting with talent. It had far more generals than Ü-Tsang or Mengshe Zhao.

  Old Eagle, Luo Ji, and Lin Wushou were already hard enough to deal with, and now even more people were charging down.

  "Retreat! Retreat! Hurry!" Tumi Sangzha suddenly bellowed.

  Thirty thousand Tibetans were no match for all these Tang. Without the cover of the fireballs, the Tibetans had lost their advantage.

  Neigh!

  The ballista barrage had already caused the morale of the Tibetans to plummet. Now that the tides of battle had suddenly reversed, the Tibetans at the base of the mountain were beginning to flee.

  The cavalry further up the mountain also began to turn their mounts around and flee.

  Tumi Sangzha and the other generals brought up the rear for a little longer before turning around and fleeing down the mountain.

  In this sort of battle, getting caught up in battle was a death sentence!

  "Ha!"

  Seeing that the Tibetans were fleeing, the mountain instantly exploded with cheers.

  ……

  In the middle of his army, Geluofeng looked up at the summit, his eyes flickering to and fro. After a long time, he finally spoke up. "Huoshu Huicang has also failed!" His gaze was deep and thoughtful, but nobody could tell what he was thinking.

  "In constructing these things for Dalun Ruozan, we invested a large number of resources. In the end, however, their killing power was limited."

  A cold voice came from behind Geluofeng.

  "It wasn't because Huoshu Huicang was too weak."

  "Yes."

  Another voice added, "The crux of the issue is that child. He is even harder to deal with than we imagined."

  "The Great Tang is already strong enough. It was enough that they had Duke Jiu back then. They don't need a second or a third…"

  Geluofeng's eyes began to glimmer with cold light. Like Dalun Ruozan, he had not experienced last night's battle. He had only heard the recounts of the people who had returned.

  But those few recounts were enough for Geluofeng to want to kill that boy.

  "In this battle, it's no longer important to annihilate the southwest's protectorate army. But this boy called Wang Chong must be killed!"

  With these final words, Geluofeng's eyes shone with a shocking killing intent.

  "Your Majesty, be at ease. He will not be able to leave alive."

  With these last words, nothing more could be heard from behind him.

  Chapter 589: The Decisive Battle! A Vague Exchange of Sharp Words!

  Chapter 589: The Decisive Battle! A Vague Exchange of Sharp Words!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  The
battle quickly concluded.

  The Tibetans did not launch a new wave of attacks, and the Annan Protectorate army did not continue their pursuit. The base of the mountain seemed to serve as an invisible furrow that divided the Annan Protectorate army from the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army.

  Both sides minded their own business.

  But once one side crossed this boundary, it would mean that another round of fighting was about to begin.

  "How is it? Have you finished counting up our casualties?"

  On the summit, Luo Ji, Lin Wushou, and the other generals of the Annan Protectorate army had convened to take stock of their losses.

  "From the start of the battle to now, our losses total 8764 people!"

  Lin Wushou glanced at the book sent over by the registrar officer before raising his head and speaking to the gathered generals.

  "This also means that we only have 91,000 soldiers left."

  These words seemed to immediately cause even the air to grow heavier. From Lion City to here, everyone had been focused on the number of soldiers under their command. After every battle, they would always count up how many troops they had left.

  The Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army was simply too large, stretching on to the horizon no matter where they looked. This sort of pressure was actually quite significant.

  If the Annan Protectorate army wanted to survive, they had to cherish each and every soldier.

  That this first exchange had resulted in a loss of nearly one-tenth of their manpower was very heavy news for these generals.

  "How many troops did the enemy lose?" a one-armed general asked. Although he only had one arm, this general still seemed extremely strong and brave. The energy exuded by his body was even more formidable than Luo Ji's or Lin Wushou's.

  The most unique thing about him was still that seemingly extremely heavy saber in his hand. This saber was half a foot wide and six feet long. The blade itself was extremely thick and heavy. One could tell at a glance that it had been specially forged.

  This person was called Chen Guanshun, and he was one of the high-ranked generals of the Annan Protectorate army. His nickname was 'Mountain River Saber' and his rank was even higher than Luo Ji's. In terms of pure strength, he was definitely ranked in the top five of the Annan Protectorate army.

  "Let me take a look!"

  Lin Wushou flipped to the next page.

  "This… The Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army has suffered losses of more than eighty thousand, bordering on ninety thousand! Based on the registrar officer's words, this is only a conservative estimate."

  "Ah!"

  The eyes of the officers lit up as they began to raise their heads.

  "General Lin, you're sure that's right?" one of the generals excitedly asked.

  They knew that the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army should have lost a great number of people in this battle, but none of them knew just how many. Now that the results were out, they had to admit that the number had far exceeded their expectations.

  "It can't be wrong! All of you should know the strictness of the military law in the Annan Protectorate army. They would never make this sort of mistake!" Lin Wushou firmly answered.

  The registrar officers were responsible for recording losses in battle. This was extremely important to an army, and any mistake would result in execution.

  "A ten-to-one ratio of casualties… that's simply absurd. Not even Protector-General Zhangchou ever managed to achieve this sort of record. That scion, that scion…"

  The Annan Protectorate army general was so excited that he could barely speak.

  Military strategists were not in short supply in the southwest, and both Zhangchou Jianqiong and Xianyu Zhongtong were rather decent experts of the art of war. But Wang Chong was on a completely different level.

  "I suddenly understand why Lord Zhangchou gave his token to this young sir."

  Lin Wushou sighed.

  "Does the Young Master know of this matter?"

  Chen Guanshun suddenly turned his head farther up the summit. On the vastness of the mountain, Wang Chong's figure seemed extremely tiny. Even though they were familiar with him by now, all these generals still felt like they were looking at Wang Chong for the first time.

  "The registrar officer has already given this information to Young Master," Luo Ji said, his voice brimming with respect.

  All their lives were in Wang Chong's hands, and across the southwest, no more formidable strategist or tactician could be found. No! Not just in the southwest. At this moment, everyone felt like the scion behind them was probably the greatest master of the art of war in all of the Central Plains.

  "Let's go! Let us also meet with Young Master. In addition, spread the news of the casualties around. I would like to see if anyone in the army will still dare to oppose Young Master. If there's still someone who can't change with the times, then they truly can't blame us for being rude!" Lin Wushou said.

  "Mm."

  Chen Guanshun nodded. There were actually still quite a few soldiers in the Annan Protectorate army who were somewhat conflicted about Wang Chong commanding the entire army. Otherwise, Wang Chong wouldn't have been so limited in the number of generals he could order about.

  But these people did not publicly express their objections, so Wang Chong couldn't do anything about them.

  However, as a general of the Annan Protectorate army, Chen Guanshun knew about these private grumblings. No matter what it was like in the past, starting from now, he would not permit anyone to defy Wang Chong's orders.

  This was a consensus shared by all the generals present.

  They quickly began to make their way up the mountain.

  ……

  On the summit, Chen Shusun flipped through the book and noted, "Young Master, the Tibetans and Mengshe Zhao people have only around four hundred thousand soldiers left."

  "Mm, but we only have around ninety thousand soldiers."

  Wang Chong nodded and spoke, but his gaze remained fixed down below. Standing on the summit gave him the advantage of being able to see anything that the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army did. The earlier battle had concluded, but both Wang Chong and the other Great Tang generals were well aware that the overall battle was far from over.

  Huoshu Huicang would not so easily concede, nor would Dalun Ruozan. Neither member of this duo had truly mobilized, nor had Geluofeng or Duan Gequan.

  And his father Wang Yan and Protector-General Xianyu Zhongtong were also still standing on the summit.

  With neither side's elite fighting forces having mobilized, this conflict was still far from reaching its end.

  "The battle will only get more intense from here!" Chen Shusun suddenly said.

  "Mm, most certainly."

  Wang Chong nodded.

  The earlier attacks by the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army were only probes. The soldiers with the lowest fighting power would always be dispatched first. Both the Whitestone Corps and Jiaosiluo's troops were far from being the most elite of the enemy's forces.

  The further this war progressed, the crueler and more intense it would become.

  "Young Master Chong, are you still not willing to come out for a meeting?"

  A resounding voice suddenly rose from the base of the mountain like a thunderclap. This voice instantly silenced the entire mountain. Wang Chong, Chen Shusun, and Old Eagle stopped and looked down the mountain.

  Old Eagle looked behind him at Wang Chong and said, "Young Master, it's Dalun Ruozan." With the battle over, he had returned to Wang Chong's side.

  "Do you want to respond to him?"

  Chen Shusun cautioned Wang Chong, "Dalun Ruozan is praised as a wise minister, as wily as a fox. He can't have any good intentions by requesting to speak with Young Master at this time."

  "It's fine."

  Wang Chong waved his hand and faintly smiled.

  "At this sort of time, what sort of tricks can he possibly play? And besides, even if he wants to play some trick… that would only be if I permitted it."

  An exp
ression of extreme confidence appeared on Wang Chong's face.

  He knew that the person standing across from him was a 'wise minister' of Ü-Tsang, but this wise minister had no idea that the person standing across from him was the War Saint. No matter what sort of reputation or military record Dalun Ruozan held in the southwest, these were nothing to fear to Wang Chong.

  With a sweep of his sleeves, Wang Chong took two steps forward and spoke. "Wang Chong is here. Is the Great Minister present?"

  Fwoosh!

  At almost the same time, the Tibetan army below suddenly parted. The robed form of Dalun Ruozan, wielding his feather fan, leisurely walked out from within.

  "Is it Wang Chong, Young Master Wang, the descendant of the Great Tang's Duke Jiu?"

  Dalun Ruozan raised his head, his eyes fixed on the summit.

  On the summit, Xianyu Zhongtong and Wang Yan glanced at each other, the shock evident in their eyes. That Dalun Ruozan was able to guess at Wang Chong's name was surprising enough, but he had also guessed that he was a descendant of Duke Jiu. It was obvious that he had thoroughly seen through Wang Chong's identity and background.

  "Not bad!"

  In front of these three armies, Wang Chong had no intention of hiding anything.

  "What does Great Minister want to request of me, to have me come out at this time?"

  "Hahaha, Young Master Wang, you truly like to tell jokes. Look around you. Is it not our Ü-Tsang and Mengshe Zhao that are surrounding you?"

  Dalun Ruozan opened his arms and chuckled.

  "Haha, since Great Minister is already so self-assured of victory, why waste energy wagging tongues. Simply order your soldiers to advance and finish things."

  Wang Chong grinned.

  "Ha, Young Master is youthful and vigorous. This Dalun Ruozan admires you. However, are those Tang soldiers like you, fearless and heedless of death? This minister cherishes talents. If Young Master is willing to surrender the Annan Protectorate army, this minister is willing to release Young Master out of respect and leave Protector-General Xianyu a path of survival."