The Human Emperor c1-2382

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The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 623

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)


  Their ferocious, savage, and frenzied aura swept through the surrounding Tang soldiers in a storm of intimidation.

  “Kill them!”

  A fierce bellow resounded within the two steel defense lines, the Skyquaking Giants unexpectedly speaking in Arabic. Boom!This seemed to be some sort of signal, and the Skyquaking Giants scattered throughout the army began to move as one.

  Boomboomboom!

  The erect and lofty figures of the Skyquaking Giants began to madly assault the Tang soldiers the moment they appeared, striding through the ranks as they rushed toward the same location.

  “Ah!”

  A Tang cavalryman screamed as a swarthy palm sent both him and his horse flying ten-some zhang into the air and several dozen zhang away. In that moment, everyone could once more see that these palms truly were larger than a horse.

  “Get out of my way!”

  Another giant kicked out, and in a spray of gravel, ten-some cavalry that were charging at the giant were sent flying.

  In a few short moments, these eight Skyquaking Giants had thrown the Tang formation into utter disarray.

  Bang!

  A massive black ballista bolt howled through the air, swiftly closing the distance with a Skyquaking Giant. But in a flash of light, the ballista bolt that had proved to be such a nightmare for cavalry was blocked by the dark green shield of a Skyquaking Giant.

  The Skyquaking Giant stepped on a corpse as he roared, “Careful of their ballista soldiers! Kill them!”

  Boom! The giant suddenly lowered its body, grabbed the bulky corpse of a horse, and threw. With a thunderous bang, the corpse struck a ballista several dozen zhang away, throwing both the ballista and the five ballista soldiers around it into the air.

  Following this Skyquaking Giant’s demonstration, the other giants began to do the same, snatching anything they could get their hands on—stones, human corpses, horse corpses—and tossing them at the ballistae. Boom boom boom! Smoke roiled and debris flew through the air as the vital ballistae of the Tang army were smashed into pieces, the surrounding ballista soldiers also suffering severe casualties.

  This was only the prelude. One after another, the Skyquaking Giants, scrunched up into their burning dark green eggs, plunged down from the skies, thrown from the distance by the heavy catapults.

  Twenty, thirty, fifty… The Skyquaking Giants crashed down across the entire army.

  Roooar! Raaaa!

  As the giants bellowed, the situation turned extremely grim for the Tang.

  Moreover, as these giants attacked the Tang soldiers, they were all rapidly making their way to the same location.

  As the commanders of the ballista soldiers and the de facto controllers of the two giant ballistae, Chen Bin and Xu Keyi had immediately noticed that something was wrong. From their standpoint, they could see that no matter where the giants fell, they would immediately get up and begin making their way to the giant ballistae.

  The giant ballistae were no longer simply an important weapon. Despite there being over one hundred thousand Tang soldiers at Talas, these two giant ballistae were the only things besides Gao Xianzhi, Wang Chong, Cheng Qianli, and Wang Yan capable of harming the four Behemoths. From a certain perspective, they were even more effective than the four Great Generals.

  Without the two giant ballistae, the Tang would be in terrible danger.

  It was obvious that the Arabs had noticed this, so they had thrown the giants over using their catapults to attack the giant ballistae.

  “Stop them!”

  “Protect the giant ballistae! Don’t let them get close!”

  “The giants aren’t invincible! Everyone, take up formation and attack them as one!”

  Shouts came from all directions, and the soldiers of various types gradually began to surround each of the giants. Everyone understood the importance of the giant ballistae, so once they realized the goal of the giants, they almost went mad in their attempts to stop the giants.

  Although these giants were extremely strong and their palms were large enough to snatch up a horse, they were still within the scope of humans, and all the cavalry gathered here were not ordinary cavalry.

  Tens of thousands of cavalry gathered together could deal with even a Great General, much less a few giants!

  “Kill!”

  The soldiers bellowed as they charged at the giants. Half of the three thousand ballistae turned around with a creak to target the Skyquaking Giants. Boomboomboom! The black ballista bolts shot like dragons toward the enormous Skyquaking Giants.

  “Raaa! Defense!” shouted a Skyquaking Giant with a thick red beard, his height nearing twenty meters.

  Buzz! The rushing Skyquaking Giants slowed down and began to take up defensive postures. Bangbangbang! The howling ballista bolts were all blocked by the dark green armor of the Skyquaking Giants.

  Squelch! On the perimeter, a Skyquaking Giant had been just a little too slow, a ballista bolt finding its way through a chink in his armor and shooting through his chest. But this Skyquaking Giant seemed to feel nothing at all, and pulled the ballista bolt out by its tail, tearing off a large chunk of his flesh with it.

  This sort of attack would be fatal to normal humans, but these Skyquaking Giants would only feel a little weaker, the flames of life in their bodies continuing to burn bright.

  The vitality of the Skyquaking Giants could not compare to the Behemoths, but it was still extremely formidable!

  “Split up! Three groups, deal with the ballistae. The rest of you, destroy those two giant ballistae!”

  The red-bearded giant bared his teeth and bellowed out his countermeasure. To the astonishment of the Tang, the seemingly brutish and simpleminded Skyquaking Giants began to split up according to the red-bearded giant’s orders. A group of giants got down on their knees and held up their shields, using their armor to block attacks while throwing stones and corpses at the ballistae, at the same time sweeping aside the Tang soldiers charging at them.

  Screams and blood flew through the air. Each Skyquaking Giant was a killing machine grinding away at the surrounding Tang soldiers.

  While these Skyquaking Giants were on the defense, another group of Skyquaking Giants began to rapidly make their way to the two giant ballistae, where Chen Bin and Xu Keyi were stationed.

  Chapter 964 - Wushang Cavalry Versus Skyquaking Giants!

  Chapter 964: Wushang Cavalry Versus Skyquaking Giants!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “There’s no time! We can’t let them destroy the giant ballistae! Chen Bin, you and I should use the giant ballistae to sweep them away!”

  Xu Keyi turned his ashen face toward Chen Bin to his right, his armor clattering as it was battered by the fierce winds.

  The giant ballistae were meant to be used against the Arabian Behemoths. Each ballista bolt was extremely precious, and if they were used inefficiently and a Behemoth were not killed, the Behemoth would proceed to inflict massive casualties on the Tang soldiers.

  But in the current situation, the pair had no other choice. If the giant ballistae were destroyed, they would truly be left with nothing.

  “Mm!”

  Chen Bin gave a firm nod as he stood in front of his giant ballista.

  “We’ll do as you say!”

  The two quickly agreed on their plan. Rumble! The giant ballistae originally aimed at the four Behemoths slowly began to turn, their enormous ballista bolts aiming at the two closest Skyquaking Giants.

  Boom! Boom!

  Two huge ballista bolts, ten-some meters long, shot into the air in explosive shockwaves. The enormous strength of the bolt immediately punched through the dark green shield of a Skyquaking Giant and then through his body, sending the now-dead giant flying through the air. Nearby, the other Skyquaking Giant screamed as he was also killed by a giant ballista bolt.

  These Skyquaking Giants were tenacious and sturdy beings, able to singlehandedly vanquish hundreds of soldiers, but
they were still incredibly fragile before the dreadful power of the giant ballistae.

  Buzz!

  In the moment that two Skyquaking Giants were slain by the giant ballistae, the entire battlefield became eerily silent, all the giants staring at the giant ballistae in shock.

  The giants all possessed terrifying strength, speed, and dexterity, along with their extremely tough bodies that allowed them to drop down from the sky and emerge unscathed. To their understanding, there was nothing in the world that could defeat them. From the establishment of their army, none of them had ever died in this kind of manner.

  But this silence did not persist for long. The earth quickly began to shake as more and more Skyquaking Giants impacted into the army.

  The Arabs were continuing to throw the Skyquaking Giants into the Tang formation.

  “Kill!”

  The Skyquaking Giants rallied, heedlessly charging at the two giant ballistae.

  “Release!”

  Amidst the howling of the ballista bolts, Chen Bin and Xu Keyi nervously swung their swords down again and again, commanding the giant ballistae against the surrounding Skyquaking Giants.

  However, the loading times of the giant ballistae were a fatal weakness, and the Skyquaking Giants were getting closer and closer.

  And this was not even the worst part of the situation. As the Skyquaking Army continued to descend from the sky, encroaching upon the giant ballistae and throwing the Tang formation into chaos, the four enormous Behemoths were still approaching, now less than one thousand zhang from the first defense line.

  Behind the Behemoths, the two hundred thousand Arab soldiers were surging forward like an avalanche.

  Beset by enemies from both within and without, the Tang army was in an unprecedented predicament.

  “Li Siye!”

  A young and calm voice resounded over the army. This voice seemed to possess a unique charm that made one instinctively trust in it, and it immediately calmed down the army.

  At the front of the defense line, Wang Chong had taken in everything that was happening, and though he seemed calm on the surface, his mind was in a state of complete turmoil, an invisible pressure battering at him from all sides.

  Only Wang Chong understood just how enormous this pressure was, but he could not show the tiniest bit of strain.

  “Lead all the Wushang Cavalry in defense and kill off all the Skyquaking Giants… This is your mission!”

  “This general will go!”

  Li Siye hardened his resolved and immediately rode away, charging toward the Skyquaking Giants.

  “Everyone, follow me!”

  Gallop! The five thousand Wushang Cavalry rode off without a single word, following behind Li Siye like the guards of the god of death.

  “One hundred men to a group! Disperse!”

  As they charged, Li Siye’s deputy Kong Zi-an bellowed orders, and the dense ranks of the Wushang Cavalry divided into fifty hundred-man teams that immediately began to charge at the nearest Skyquaking Giants.

  The Wushang Cavalry were the most lethal force in the army, the only force the army could rely on to deal with the Skyquaking Giants.

  When all this was done, Wang Chong still could not relax. His sharp eyes were more dazzling than the sun, shining with a profound and farsighted light. Rumble! Wherever Wang Chong looked, he could see the Skyquaking Giants descending like meteors on the Tang army.

  The positions of these dark green meteors were reflected in Wang Chong’s eyes and became a part of his calculations.

  “Elder Fang, Elder Du! I need the two of you to work with me! Set up a Four Symbols Yinyang Soul Trap to the southwest! The Kan position! Hurry!”

  These abrupt words surprised the nearby Cheng Qianli, but the two recipients were not so dazed.

  “Lord Marquis, understood!”

  “Leave this matter to us!”

  Two figures opened up their arms like wings, making their sleeves flutter as they jumped out of the ranks. As they flew through the air, the two snatched up large and heavy blocks of steel and hurled them.

  Clangclangclang!

  One piece of steel after another was thrust into the ground. In the blink of an eye, Elders Fang and Du, both Saint Martial experts of Wushang Village, had used the steel to form an enormous Four Symbols Yinyang Soul Trap.

  Boom!

  The moment the pair finished the Four Symbols Yinyang Soul Trap, a plunging meteor crashed right into the center of the formation. Roooar! The dark green meteor split open, releasing a Skyquaking Giant surrounded in a tempest of energy, waving his arms as he rose from the earth. But as he prepared to begin killing his way through the soldiers, he suddenly froze in shock, his roar dying away.

  Outside the formation, Elders Fang and Du saw what had happened and immediately understood.

  “To the southwest, the Four Symbols Yinyang Soul Trap, the Qian position!” Wang Chong’s voice once more rang in their ears. “Hurry!”

  The elders immediately came to their senses and rushed in the direction indicated. The Wushang Village elders by now understood that Wang Chong was estimating where the giants were landing and using the Four Symbols Yinyang Soul Trap to hold them down.

  At a time like this, this was truly the best method to deal with them.

  “To the southeast, the Li position!

  “The northeast, the Kun position!

  “To the east, the Dui position!”

  Wang Chong looked up to the sky, one order after another leaving his lips. Elder Fang and Elder Du were rushing to and fro across the battlefield, laying down one Four Symbols Yinyang Soul Trap after another.

  This formation was an ancient formation, and while dealing with dreadful beasts more powerful than Great Generals like the Behemoths was beyond its power, it was more than enough to deal with the Skyquaking Giants.

  Roooar! Raaaa!

  Roars rang out over the earth as the meteors continued to rain down. The Skyquaking Giants rose from the earth, only to be confronted with the formidable Four Symbols Yinyang Soul Traps.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! The Skyquaking Giants madly attacked their surroundings, their steely fists lashing out, but the gray fog created by the formation meant that they couldn’t even see the soldiers outside the formation, much less attack them.

  The Four Symbols Yinyang Soul Trap also used the strength of the earth, so all the attacks the giants aimed at the formation were like they were attacking the earth itself and had little effect.

  As these formations went up, five waves, nearly fifty Skyquaking Giants, were held down.

  “Damn it! Destroy those things!” a bearded giant angrily roared. Stomp! Stomp! Footsteps thundered over the battlefield as ten-some Skyquaking Giants began to stride toward the formations.

  However, before they could get very far, they were intercepted by a group of cavalry.

  “Kill them!”

  Kong Zi-an raised his sword into the air, leading one hundred Wushang Cavalry against the nearest Skyquaking Giant.

  “Ignorant ant!”

  The eighteen-meter giant sneered at this approaching group of cavalry. He tossed a gray boulder at them with one hand while the other swung with terrifying force at a Wushang cavalryman.

  This palm could crack metal, and even a Wushang cavalryman would die if struck.

  Hwooom! The palm swept across the ground, stirring a gale, but the giant had missed. Through some inconceivable method, the Wushang cavalryman had dodged the enormous palm by just a hair.

  Chapter 965 - The Gangke King Enters the Fray!

  Chapter 965: The Gangke King Enters the Fray!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “How could this be?!”

  The giant roared, but he quickly began to feel a fiery pain. At the beginning, it had not been obvious, but the pain rapidly intensified, in the end even causing his bones to ache.

  “Kill him!”

  A bellow came from the giant’s feet. Only by lower
ing his head did the giant realize that the ant-like human cavalry were scraping past his feet like lightning bolts, each of them wielding sharp swords.

  The swords swept past his ankles like they were shearing through paper, cutting open that thick and sturdy dark green armor around his feet. The three-foot swords then cut through his skin, his tendons, his flesh, and then his bones, but because they were so sharp, he only felt the pain once the cavalry had ridden far away.

  “How could this be? What sort of weapon could cut open our Giant God armor?”

  The giant’s eyes flew open in disbelief. He tried to raise his foot, but then he heard a crisp crack. His feet could no longer hold the weight of his body. A thin line of blood appeared, and then they snapped off.

  Boom! The giant lost his balance and crashed to the ground.

  “My feet, my feet!”

  He screamed. Only now did the giant realize that the human soldiers had completely cut apart his ankles.

  “Kill him!” Kong Zi-an loudly called out from behind the giant, his voice callous and determined. Right after he gave the order, his one hundred cavalry descended into a killing frenzy upon the giant, their Wootz Steel swords hacking at his shoulders, arms, waist, and legs. Blood gushed out from all over the giant’s body, drenching the earth.

  “Death’s Scythe!”

  A harsh shout came from the one hundred cavalry. The moment the giant had fallen, seven veteran and extremely formidable Wushang Cavalry had pressed their hands against the backs of their horses and jumped off. These seven were an elite Death’s Scythe team, climbing onto the giant’s body with ape-like agility.

  In the war of the southwest, Wang Chong had used a Death’s Scythe against the most basic form of these giants. Although this same Death’s Scythe Formation was being used, the seven using it were as different as could be from the initial team. Wang Chong had specially trained these men to counter the Skyquaking Giants.

  Rumble!

  The horses galloped off in a churning cloud of dust, leaving behind the seven men of the Death’s Scythe team. The rest of the Wushang Cavalry were led away by Kong Zi-an.

 

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