But Wang Chong was of a completely different style.
Someone who could let themselves fall to this level could never be some cunning fox like Zhangchou Jianqiong, and at this state, not even Zhangchou Jianqiong could do anything to salvage the situation. Yet the boy on the summit had done exactly this!
"Haha, although that brat truly is very formidable, you also shouldn't raise him up too high."
Dalun Ruozan grinned as he reached two fingers and grasped the edge of a cloth. With a tug, he revealed a model that had at some point been moved into the tent. The mountain on this model was particularly large and detailed. The steel walls on the mountain, the steel walls that had been removed, and the disposition of the armies were all represented on the model.
"Great Minister!"
Upon seeing this detailed model, all the people in the tent were slightly moved.
When no one had been paying attention, Dalun Ruozan had managed to create this extremely detailed model in just a day and a night. This sort of observation power and efficiency left a deep impression on all their minds.
"Haha!"
Dalun Ruozan chuckled. 'Know yourself and know your enemies, and you will never be defeated.' It wasn't like he had been doing nothing since the start of the battle yesterday.
"I've already gained a basic grasp of that boy's plans. The land of the southwest is one of a few low hills, with the majority of the land taken up by plains that are good for cavalry charges. Thus, he intentionally led us to this mountain. First, he can lower the charging speed of cavalry. Second, he can minimize the advantage of our numbers. No matter how many soldiers we have, there's a limit to the number of soldiers this mountain can hold.
"In other words, even if we have four-hundred-thousand-some soldiers, the number of soldiers that we can have attacking the mountain at the same time is limited."
Everyone in the tent furrowed their brows.
Although they hadn't realized it before, now that they carefully thought about it, it truly was the case that the boy had intentionally chosen this location.
"As for the brat's plan, it's very simple. He wants to utilize the terrain and the steel walls to transform this place into a fortress, allowing the Tang to fight the defensive battles they so excel in. As for his tactics, I'm sure you've all experienced them already…"
Dalun Ruozan turned to the Mengshe Zhao generals.
"Just by relying on constant adjustments to his formations, attacking and retreating, he managed to break your formations. If you chase, your forces will fall out of formation. If you don't pursue, he just needs to try again."
"Then what do we do now?"
Geluofeng furrowed his brow. Wang Chong had already used this method to grind away nearly one hundred thousand of Mengshe Zhao's soldiers. Although this method was simple, there was no doubt about its efficacy.
And this brat had clearly attained a superb mastery of this tactic.
"Haven't you realized? Up to now, neither Wang Yan nor Xianyu Zhongtong has moved at all! Right now, it's not that I don't want to launch the general offensive, but I need a turning point, a suitable opportunity to launch the general offensive that will decide the battle. Otherwise, if we attempt to force the general offensive… you saw the result yesterday. Are you telling me that you're willing to pay an even higher price?" Dalun Ruozan asked with a look at Geluofeng.
In the tent, all the generals of Mengshe Zhao were quiet, and even Geluofeng had nothing to say. This war involved a total mobilization of Mengshe Zhao's resources. The more than three hundred thousand soldiers represented the entirety of Mengshe Zhao's strength.
If they were all buried here, how could they deal with the Great Tang's attacks in the future? In addition, if their losses became too great, if they lacked the sufficient manpower, Mengshe Zhao would no longer be the ally of Ü-Tsang, but the servant.
"Great Minister's meaning is?"
Someone suddenly spoke—not Geluofeng, but the ever-silent Duan Gequan. From the moment he had entered the tent, Duan Gequan had not said a word. Truthfully speaking, Duan Gequan had done his utmost to conceal himself in this alliance.
There were many times when people forgot he existed.
But when Duan Gequan spoke, Geluofeng, Fengjiayi, and the other Mengshe Zhao generals would all very naturally accept his opinions. Not even Geluofeng would speak a word of dissent.
"Give me three days. After three days, I'll give all of you my answer," Dalun Ruozan said.
"Okay!"
With this single word, Duan Gequan concluded the meeting.
……
A smear of white began to rise from the east. In the lands of the southwest, covered in the dark clouds of war, this was the only way of knowing that the sun had risen.
All was quiet over the vast earth.
Wang Chong sat cross-legged on the summit, the surrounding spiritual energy gathering around him and fusing into his body. This spiritual energy cycled through his meridians before finally striking an invisible barrier and coming to a stop.
"Ah, it's still a little lacking!"
Wang Chong gave a long sigh and opened his eyes.
The southwest war had already reached an incredibly intense level. Right now, Wang Chong could feel a certain impulse in the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, an impulse to launch a general offensive.
After their continuous probes and large-scale defeats in small-scale battles, this was a natural reaction, and it was also a method they would have to pursue. After all, their greatest advantage lay in numbers.
But it was precisely at this sort of crucial moment that Wang Chong found his cultivation stymied at the peak of True Martial Tier 9, unable to break through.
Chapter 600: The Decisive Battle! Lethal Point and Danger!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The slaughter of the last few days, particularly the final blow that had killed Jiaosiluo, had allowed Wang Chong to accumulate a large amount of energy in his body. But this roiling energy was still unable to be converted into the energy of the Profound Martial realm.
Why can't I break through? In the last life, I reached the Saint Martial realm, so the Profound Martial realm shouldn't be any difficulty to me, but I'm still stuck at the True Martial realm. Could it be because of cultivating the Little Yinyang Art and the blood energy I've absorbed? Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
The Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art had been known in his last life as the greatest of the evil arts, one of the highest-ranked arts of the Ten Supreme Arts, and the speed with which one could advance using it was unimaginable. But despite its fame, truthfully speaking, Wang Chong didn't have too great an understanding of this technique.
This was especially true with regards to how this supreme art worked when breaking through into the next cultivation realm.
Wang Chong had also never asked his master, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, how one used this technique to break into the Profound Martial realm. Now that he thought about it, this was a terrible blunder. And if he thought about it even further, probably not even his master could have imagined that he would reach the peak of the True Martial realm so quickly, on the verge of breaking into the Profound Martial realm.
After all, this required killing many warriors and absorbing their energy, and Wang Chong was still merely a teenager.
Yet upon further thought, Wang Chong felt that there was still something off about this. Suddenly, Wang Chong recalled the Art of Life Massacre that Su Zhengchen had taught him.
The Art of Life Massacre was developed from the Art of God and Demon Obliteration, and the Art of God and Demon Obliteration happens to be one of the powerful arts of the righteous path, the exact opposite of the evil path's Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art. Has the contradiction of Yin and Yang that's resulted from my cultivating these two techniques together created this problem?
Both the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art and the Art of God and Demon Obliteration were supreme a
rts of the world, but Wang Chong had never been able to even touch such things in his last life.
The vast majority of supreme experts would never gain access to even one of this pair, much less cultivate both of them at once.
Right now, Wang Chong felt like he was walking a never-before-imagined path, one that was difficult to appraise.
After thinking for a while, Wang Chong couldn't think of anything, so he decided to get up.
"Old Eagle, how's my big brother doing?"
"Eldest Young Master is doing much better after taking Young Master's medicine," Old Eagle sincerely replied.
"Mm."
Wang Chong nodded as he quickly walked away.
……
"What have you observed?"
In a place outside Wang Chong's field of vision, a voice rang out, seeming to be implying something.
"Reporting to Milord: they have already begun to light the fires and make their meals."
A Mengshe Zhao person deferentially bowed. There were several more people behind them, all sent by Geluofeng to serve Dalun Ruozan.
"Give me an exact count of the number of cooking fires," Dalun Ruozan ordered. The group assented and quickly vanished into the distance.
No one knew what Dalun Ruozan was up to, but neither Geluofeng nor Duan Gequan had objected to his actions.
For the last three days, Dalun Ruozan had been continuously dispatching people to the mountain to observe the Annan Protectorate army whenever they made meals. After three days, Dalun Ruozan's brow slowly began to crease.
"How is it, Great Minister? What's happened?" Geluofeng said.
Although he had done nothing in these last few days, nothing Dalun Ruozan did could escape his insightful gaze. But if Dalun Ruozan said nothing, not even Geluofeng could tell what he was up to.
"The situation is somewhat unfavorable."
Dalun Ruozan's brow was heavily furrowed, and his words caused Geluofeng's heart to leap.
"Do you remember what I said to you before? It seems like that child not only brought a large number of steel walls. He also brought a great deal of provisions with him."
"How can that be?"
Geluofeng and the generals behind him all paled.
The large quantity of steel walls set up by the Annan Protectorate army had already been hard to deal with. If the Tang also had a great store of provisions, then they would be nearly impossible to deal with.
"How is Great Minister so sure?" Crown Prince Fengjiayi asked, reluctance in his voice.
"Does Your Highness remember why the Annan Protectorate army had to abandon the city and break out?" Dalun Ruozan said.
"It was because their provisions were running out, forcing them on this course."
"Correct. From my estimates back then, the provisions they had at the time wouldn't be able to last them even a day, but the circumstances now are completely different. All of you have definitely seen that I've been having people observe the number of cooking fires they've lit over the last three days. But in these last three days, the number of fires the Tang have lit hasn't decreased at all," Dalun Ruozan said, a solemn expression on his face.
"This means that the Tang provisions are much greater than we thought. They definitely have sufficient supplies to dare carry on like this."
Dalun Ruozan's voice caused even Duan Gequan to slightly raise an eyebrow.
He hadn't interacted with Dalun Ruozan much, nor did he have much of an understanding of the Ü-Tsang Great Minister's style and demeanor. However, not in Duan Gequan's wildest dreams could he have thought that Dalun Ruozan could surmise so much from the number of Tang cooking fires.
"…I previously cautioned against launching a general offensive because I wanted to find out how many provisions the Tang had and then decide on a plan. But it seems like everything is developing in the worst direction," Dalun Ruozan said.
These people had rarely seen Dalun Ruozan with such a grave expression, so at a loss. There was no doubt that the supplies that Wang Chong had prepared had utterly ruined his plans.
"The Great Tang has always needed a great deal of time and energy to gather provisions, so how did he manage to do it? Great Minister, I still find this difficult to believe," Crown Prince Fengjiayi muttered to himself.
If what Dalun Ruozan said was true, Wang Chong's abilities bordered on the absurd.
"There's no meaning in discussing this question. There is no question that this is what the brat managed to do."
Dalun Ruozan had an exceptionally nasty grimace on his face.
Dalun Ruozan hadn't cared very much when Wang Chong had led the Annan Protectorate army in defeating Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang, but when he determined that the Tang possessed sufficient provisions, he instantly found it hard to keep calm.
Because this meant that Wang Chong and the Annan Protectorate army had the ability to persist in the struggle against them.
"Can we really do nothing else?"
Huoshu Huicang normally did not speak out on occasions like this, but even he found it hard to suppress his concerns.
"Let me think. There must be another way."
Dalun Ruozan waved his hands, clearly very vexed and perturbed.
"All of you go out. Let me have a few moments of quiet."
A barely discernible tinge of worry flashed through Huoshu Huicang's eyes. After all their years working together, he had rarely seen his partner pushed to this state.
"Let's all leave then."
Huoshu Huicang led the gathered officers out of the tent.
From daylight to darkness, Dalun Ruozan sat alone in the tent, no one daring to disturb him. But he did not have all of them wait for too long. As the sun was rising over the next day, Dalun Ruozan finally walked out of the tent.
"Hahaha, it's just a trick. He thinks himself smarter than he really is!"
Before Dalun Ruozan appeared, a refreshing laughter could be heard from the tent. As the tent flap was pushed away, it revealed a Dalun Ruozan completely free of the shadow that had hung over him for several days.
"Great Minister, how is it?"
The crowd slowly went up to welcome him. Truthfully speaking, Dalun Ruozan's reaction yesterday had truly given them all a fright.
"Hahahaha, has Great Minister found a way to deal with the problem?"
Geluofeng strode over with his head held high.
He had had someone watching Dalun Ruozan all this time, allowing him to be informed of the slightest sign of activity.
"Correct, I've already found their flaw. After all his scheming, that boy still left a single gap. Your Majesty, give me ten days and I will definitely fulfill your desires."
Dalun Ruozan heartily laughed, in high spirits.
"Haha, this is the wise minister I know," Geluofeng said, clearly relieved.
Seeing the expression on their commanders' faces, the Tibetan and Mengshe Zhao generals immediately felt relieved.
"Great Minister, did you really find the Tang weakness?" Fengjiayi asked, his eyes bright and face brimming with excitement.
"Correct. Although that brat from the Wang Clan is formidable, he still hasn't reached a level where his schemes are flawless. See that mountain? It was his smartest decision to choose this place, but also his greatest blunder."
Fengjiayi, Duan Yangyan, and Ciren Xiangxiong all looked at Dalun Ruozan, then at each other.
"Great Minister, please instruct us," Fengjiayi humbly asked.
"Have you not seen that place? One can dig out wells for water on the plains, but Your Highness Crown Prince, can you dig for water on a mountain?"
The moment Dalun Ruozan said these words, all the Mengshe Zhao generals, including Fengjiayi, were dumbstruck. Even Longqinba was perplexed, unclear as to his commander's meaning.
Only Huoshu Huicang seemed to understand, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Great Minister is saying that they lack water?" Duan Gequan suddenly said, inserting himself into the conversation.
"Correct!"
Dalun Ruozan turned stern.
"Provisions are easy to obtain, but where will they get the water they need every day? Do they not need water when making their meals?
"If my expectations are correct, the sole source of water for that son of the Wang Clan is that torrential downpour from several days go. But no matter how much he has prepared, he definitely won't have been able to save up much water, and it definitely wouldn't be enough for the ninety thousand soldiers and whatever horses they have.
"Even if he came prepared, even if he brought a great many water bags with him, it definitely won't have been too much. At the most, it will be ten days before they've completely used up their water. That time will be the best opportunity for our assault."
……
As Dalun Ruozan spoke, the eyes of the crowd grew brighter and brighter, and at the end, even Geluofeng couldn't suppress his surprise.
"Hahaha, Dalun Ruozan, my judgment was truly correct. You truly did find the flaw in the enemy's plan."
As Geluofeng laughed, all his worries were dispelled.
A Mengshe Zhao general suddenly remembered something and reported, "That's right. Your Majesty. This general remembers a certain incident. A few days ago, during a night raid, I discovered after inspection that we were missing quite a few water bags."
These words instantly caused a complete reversal in the mood. Their conjectures confirmed, they no longer had any questions.
……
"Young Master, the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army below is beginning to move," a guard on the summit reported.
Wang Chong immediately stood up at these words and walked out. Sure enough, as he looked down from the summit, he saw that the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army that had remained still for so many days was finally beginning to move.
"Mm?"
A look of doubt flashed through Wang Chong's eyes.
In a short while, the army parted and a figure walked out. The feather fan waving in his hands was striking beyond compare.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 438
