The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Buzz!

  This minor change immediately attracted the notice of the Tang, throwing the army into turmoil.

  “Milord, the Arabs are beginning to move! And Talas itself is one of their targets this time. If the walls of Talas are broken, we will find it very difficult to hold on!”

  Xue Qianjun turned to Wang Chong, his expression deeply concerned.

  He was not a general who was prone to panic, but these mythical Behemoths’ descent onto the battlefield had already exceeded the bounds of imagination. If the Arabs succeeded in breaking the walls, the Great Tang would have lost their strongest fortification before the decisive battle had even commenced.

  Talas contained all the supplies and equipment, and was the place where the craftsmen took shelter during battle. If the city wall fell, these people would suffer terrible casualties. Not only that, the two defense lines would exist only in name, and the Arabs would have yet another angle to attack from.

  Moreover, if the Arabs succeeded in breaking the walls on both sides of Talas, they would be able to combine forces with the Turks and Tibetans. Wang Chong’s strategy of using the two defense lines to divide his enemies would face a complete failure.

  With the three empires combined, their experts working together, the Great Tang would be doomed!

  Gao Xianzhi worriedly spoke up. “Wang Chong, the situation isn’t good! With our abilities, we can’t deal with two of these massive beasts at once!”

  Even this War God of the Western Regions seemed a little nervous. The four of them combining the strength of the army to transform into gods had still needed a significant amount of time to kill the rhino-shaped Behemoth, and the army had lost nearly ten thousand soldiers while they were doing so.

  Now that there were two Behemoths, the four would have to divide their strength, and the army was bound to suffer even more casualties.

  Cheng Qianli also appeared rather anxious. “We can’t take on any more large losses, or else morale will utterly collapse!!”

  He had experienced countless bitter battles, but no matter how perilous the situation, he had always been confident in his victory, and he had always managed to stick it out. But in this battle, he did not know what the end would be or if he would be able to last!

  “Zhang Shouzhi, what is the status of the giant ballista? How long will it be until it’s ready?” Wang Chong suddenly asked, his mind in a state of turmoil.

  “It’s still no good! The giant ballista is still just an idea. We’ve never tested it before, so we can’t tell if it will succeed, much less if it will be useful against these Behemoths. We still need to adjust and modify it, but there’s simply no time!” Zhang Shouzhi called out, his silver-white hair blown about in the wind.

  The turbulence over the western battlefield was getting more intense, a sign that the Behemoths were getting ready to charge. Danger hung thick over Talas, and everyone felt their skulls were about to burst, the intense scent of death driving them mad.

  Zhang Shouzhi was no less nervous and concerned than Wang Chong, but the giant ballista had always been an untested concept. Many areas were still raw and undeveloped. Right now, he could only do his best, relying on his abilities as the best artisan of the generation, to modify and alter the structure as he set it up.

  Near the giant ballista, more than one hundred furnaces spat fire into the sky. Each furnace was surrounded by at least ten busy craftsmen, black smoke pouring into the air as they melted down steel and poured it into the molds.

  The craftsmen under Zhang Shouzhi were in the middle of constructing and adjusting the giant ballista, casting the pieces right on the spot, trying to realize Wang Chong’s idea as quickly as possible. As for the final result, not even Zhang Shouzhi knew what to expect.

  Wang Chong said nothing, but his heart continued to sink. The giant ballista was an idea, a sliver of hope, but not one that he could entrust his own hopes to. He solemnly gazed at the two enormous beings, countless thoughts surging through his mind. Everyone had placed their hopes on him, even Gao Xianzhi.

  Only Wang Chong knew just how great this pressure was, but he could not show the slightest hint of strain.

  A few moments later, Wang Chong began to issue orders.

  “Li Siye, pass on my order. Start moving soldiers into the city.

  “Zhang Shouzhi, hasten the work on the giant ballista. In addition, I also need you to cast some conical weapons, one meter in diameter and at least twenty meters long. They don’t need to be made well. Just get them made as quickly as possible!”

  In fighting with these Behemoths, Wang Chong’s three-foot Wootz Steel sword and the Stellar Energy vajra pestle were both insufficient. Wang Chong needed a stronger and more substantive weapon.

  “Lord Protector-General, is it appropriate to have some of the soldiers withdraw into the city?” Cheng Qianli somewhat uneasily said. “The only reason the Arabs and Tibetans haven’t attacked us yet is that all of our army is outside the city, intimidating them. If we send a part of the army back into the city, we won’t have enough troops, which might cause us to be attacked from both sides.”

  Cheng Qianli was not opposing Wang Chong’s decision, but he had to consider the chain reaction this decision might trigger.

  “Dalun Ruozan will not attack. He currently doesn’t have the strength. If he does attack, we can break out from the east. Understanding this, Dalun Ruozan won’t move. As for Abu Muslim, your words were correct. He is trying to grind away at our strength. He won’t casually decide to move until this objective is reached. Moreover, if the Arabs order their men to advance while the Behemoths are attacking, they’ll also suffer from the attacks of the Behemoths. As long as we don’t withdraw more than half our soldiers into the city, neither Dalun Ruozan nor Abu Muslim will launch an assault,” Wang Chong slowly explained. No one understood the state of the battlefield more than he did, and his every action and order was the product of deep and careful thought.

  “I understand!”

  As expected, Wang Chong’s explanation managed to greatly diminish the doubt in Cheng Qianli’s eyes.

  Roooar!

  As the two were speaking, the bellows of beasts rose from the west, the winds surged, and dust and gravel began to cloud the air of the western battlefield. The two Behemoths had finally completed their adjustments and begun to attack. Boom! The two Behemoths, one on the left and one on the right, suddenly began to shoot toward Talas.

  Rumble! The first to charge forward was the boar-shaped Behemoth covered in hard bristles. In the blink of an eye, it had rushed past the hippo-shaped Behemoth, its four hooves moving with such speed that it stirred clouds of dust more than ten meters high.

  And while the hippo-shaped Behemoth was not as fast as the boar-shaped Behemoth, it was no slow runner. Not only did it not seem clumsy, it appeared to be extremely agile. The two Behemoths picked up speed as they charged at the steel defense lines and the city of Talas.

  “Ready!”

  A sharp cry rang out over the defense line. All the soldiers began to get ready, particularly the ballista teams. The black ballista bolts were loaded and aimed at their targets. The ballistae were probably the only weapons in the army that could pose any harm to these mountainous beasts.

  “Wang Chong!” Gao Xianzhi nervously called out, watching as the distant sandstorm rapidly closed the distance with Talas. The dreadful momentum of both these Behemoths charging at once far surpassed that of the rhino-shaped Behemoth. After seeing the gruesome damage the rhino could inflict, Gao Xianzhi was well aware of just how terrifying these Behemoths were. They had to be taken care of before they charged the walls. Otherwise, the army was bound to suffer massive casualties. If they were killed within the defense lines, the bodies of the massive Behemoths could still inflict terrible harm on the army.

  In order to prevent such enormous losses, the four of them had to deal with them beforehand.

  “Leave the scaled Behemoth to me. As for the other one… Lord Gao, Lord Che
ng, Father, it’s up to you!”

  Time was short, every second precious. Right after saying these words, Wang Chong immediately galloped out of the defense line.

  “Li Siye, Kong Zi-an, bring all the Wushang Cavalry and follow me!”

  Wang Chong’s thunderous roar echoed over the entire defense line.

  Chapter 953 - Danger, Behemoths Strike!

  Chapter 953: Danger, Behemoths Strike!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  The Behemoths were extremely strong, and anyone without outstanding agility and reaction time could not even think about approaching them. Those who carelessly approached would end up dead or horribly maimed. The only soldiers in the entire army capable of doing battle with these beings were the Wushang Cavalry, trained by their life in the mountains to be as flexible and nimble as apes.

  Moreover, Wang Chong could only use the Godking Yama Formation by borrowing the strength of the five thousand Wushang Cavalry, so he needed them to sortie with him.

  The moment Wang Chong galloped forth, the five thousand Wushang Cavalry followed close behind, dragging out a massive cloud of dust behind them as they fearlessly rode toward the hippo-shaped Behemoth.

  After accompanying Wang Chong on multiple campaigns, the Wushang Cavalry were now an extremely determined and powerful fighting force. Regardless of the danger they faced, they would never retreat.

  “Protector-General Wang!”

  Cheng Qianli, Gao Xianzhi, and the others were all alarmed by this sight. No one had expected Wang Chong to make this decision, to take on one Behemoth all by himself.

  The Arabian Behemoths were dreadful beings. The combined might of four of their strongest generals had not been enough to stop the charge of the rhino-shaped Behemoth, and now Wang Chong was riding off alone to deal with an even stronger Behemoth.

  Cheng Qianli worriedly turned to his commander. “Lord Protector-General, we have to call Wang Chong back. This is too dangerous! No one can deal with one of these massive beasts alone. He’ll die!”

  “There’s no need!”

  Wang Yan suddenly spoke, walking up from the rear.

  “The battlefield has always been a dangerous place rife with death. A general must be capable of understanding that every kind of situation is possible, including death. Chong-er is not a rash and impulsive person. I believe in him, and he must have a reason for doing this. We should be more focused on how we should deal with the other beast.”

  Wang Yan turned to the boar-shaped Behemoth, which was already close to the city walls.

  Gao Xianzhi gave a deep sigh and sternly declared, “That’s all we can do!”

  Talas was extremely important, their final stronghold. The defense lines could fall, but not Talas. No matter what, they had to stop the Behemoth.

  “Cheng Qianli, Xi Yuanqing, everyone, come with me!”

  Gao Xianzhi patted his warhorse and galloped off toward the boar-shaped Behemoth.

  “The Great General has given his orders. Follow me!”

  At almost the same moment, Wang Yan somberly gave his own order. Rumble! The earth shook as tens of thousands of infantry began to march out from the first defense line, the clanging and clattering of their army resounding through the earth.

  The moment Wang Yan’s infantry began to move, the air became saturated with tension. As all the soldiers looked forward, their breathing became extremely rapid and ragged.

  “Too terrifying… Other than the Protector-Generals, no one can stop these monsters.”

  “I hope that the Protector-Generals can stop them. Otherwise, we’re all dead!”

  “They’ll win, they’ll definitely win. Please!”

  All of them gripped their weapons in nervous tension, pale with fear. Their strength was insignificant; their fates were truly tied to the four generals.

  Bang!

  The steel walls arrayed along the first defense line were constantly clattering, the shaking growing only more intense as time went on. Rooooar! A wave of air smashed into the walls, so forceful that one of the steel walls toppled to the ground from the pressure, crashing with a metallic clang.

  The two Behemoths were now less than two thousand zhang from the defense lines!

  “Look over there!”

  The figures on the walls of Talas pointed into the distance, shouting in alarm. As expected, the first to arrive was not the hippo-shaped Behemoth, but the enormous black boar. From the tall walls of Talas, one could see the vast trail of dust, several thousand zhang long, that it had left in its wake.

  The vicious form of the Behemoth was faintly visible in the dust, its two scarlet eyes locked onto Talas, brimming with a desire to crush and destroy. A mere glance from its eyes was numbing, causing one to feel a fear that came from the deepest depths of their soul.

  Two thousand zhang!

  Fifteen hundred zhang!

  One thousand zhang!

  The black boar was far faster than expected, covering a distance of nearly one thousand zhang in the blink of an eye. The Behemoth was stirring up a massive gale as it snorted and howled, rushing ever closer to the walls of Talas.

  “Up!”

  A thunderous bellow cut through the plains. Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and Wang Yan had arrived, each of them wielding the power of an Imperial Great General.

  “Six Ultimate Majesties God Technique!”

  “Supreme Desolation God Formation!”

  “Mighty Miracle God Formation!”

  Two enormous gods rose out of the earth, throwing their huge fists at the boar-shaped Behemoth as they worked in conjunction with Gao Xianzhi, who was using the Six Ultimate Majesties God Technique.

  “Great Fire Crow Art!”

  At almost the same moment, a fierce flame more dazzling than the sun shot out of the earth, transforming into a golden crow with a wingspan of twenty-some zhang. Its body seething with black smoke, it smashed into the Behemoth.

  The Brigadier General–level Ferghanan leader Banahan had also arrived from the rear.

  Awooooo!

  The black boar raised its head and howled in pain. Surprisingly, however, the Behemoth did not stay to fight. It ignored the attacks of the three Great Generals and one Brigadier General, and charged toward Talas.

  “What!”

  This sight left everyone in consternation. They hoped that they could delay the beast through battle, but the Behemoth’s reaction had caught them completely off guard. Moreover, through their attacks, Gao Xianzhi and the others had realized that this Behemoth was completely different from the rhino-shaped Behemoth.

  Its hide was even thicker, denser, tougher, and harder to pierce. Moreover, the black bristles sprouting from its body seemed to possess a unique power, neutralizing a part of their attacks.

  “Stop it!”

  There was no time to ponder such trivialities. Everyone’s minds were on edge as they chased after the boar Behemoth, but it was too late.

  Boom!

  Like an asteroid crashing into a planet, the boar plowed into the thick western wall of Talas as if it were a battering ram. Booooom! The earth buzzed, cracks ran through it, and dust gushed out from them, transforming the world into a sea of dust.

  The towering walls of Talas trembled, swaying from the base to the top so fiercely that they seemed on the verge of collapse. Countless bits of gravel and debris rained down from the walls.

  “Ah!”

  Cries of shock could be heard from the walls as fear spread infectiously through the city. Other than mercenaries, Wang Chong had brought along many shepherds and herdsmen. They were the ones who had driven over the cows and sheep vital for supplying the army. The attack of the Behemoth was their worst nightmare.

  But before they could react, the black boar had once more smashed against the walls of Talas.

  “It’s not right!”

  The first to respond was the spectating Duwu Sili, his brow deeply furrowed as he stared at Talas.

  “Wh
at’s going on? This Arabian Behemoth is so enormous and powerful that not even four Great Generals could stop it. How could the walls of Talas stand firm against a full charge from it?!”

  Although the distant walls were trembling and seemed on the verge of collapse, what Duwu Sili wanted to see the most was the walls being obliterated under the charge of the beast. He was quite astonished to see the walls of Talas stand tall against this Behemoth’s charge.

  “It’s not that simple!”

  Dalun Ruozan’s assured voice came from the side, his scholarly and refined face showing little surprise.

  “The city of Talas was established several hundred years ago. At the time, Talas was a wilderness, and the nearby Western Regions was fraught with war. When building the city, the Lord of Talas was already thinking about the problem of being besieged, so he set up an enormous ‘Myriad Rakshasa1 Earthen Stronghold Formation’. The construction took twenty-some years and the work of seven to eight hundred thousand people. The goal was to build a city on the Silk Road that would never fall, that could fend off any disaster.

  “Moreover, the Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation is itself an extremely formidable Earth element formation, and the walls of Talas are constructed from large blocks of stone. The power of the Earth element makes it so that the walls of Talas are like a single piece. Breaking them is no easy task. This is also why the Arabs did not use Earth element warriors to attack the city,” Dalun Ruozan said.

  “Why have I never heard of this ‘Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation’?”

  Duwu Sili narrowed his eyes, a look of incredulity on his face.

  Dalun Ruozan lightly waved his sleeve and replied, “Haha, this matter was recorded in the ‘Records of the City of Talas’, written more than one hundred years ago. I managed to unintentionally get my hands on a copy. The Emperor of Arabia enjoys collecting books, so he probably has a copy as well. Not many people know about this matter, but there’s no doubting its truth.”

  He had always enjoyed reading books, and he collected not merely the histories and philosophical texts of the Great Tang, but those of the Western Regions and other countries as well.