The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Meanwhile, at the first defense line, the situation Wang Chong was facing was even more perilous than the one the Gangke King and Banahan were dealing with.

  Rumble! The quaking of the earth was getting worse and worse, the armor worn by the Great Tang cavalry and infantry clattering with it. As the tension intensified, the four Behemoths were building up speed, the two hundred thousand Arab soldiers getting closer and closer.

  The battle was on the verge of beginning!

  Facing down the approaching enemy army, Gao Xianzhi finally spoke. “Wang Chong, Wang Yan! Get ready!”

  The Behemoths were all incredibly strong. If they were to get past the defense line, the army would immediately suffer terrible casualties. The four had to act before this happened and keep the Behemoths out.

  Clang!

  Gao Xianzhi unsheathed his sword and began to exude a sharp energy aimed at one of the huge Behemoths.

  Next to Gao Xianzhi, the earth quaked as energy gathered from all around, and in a bright flash, an enormous god rose from the earth. Cheng Qianli had manifested the Supreme Desolation God, standing before the defense line with countless chains rattling and coiling around his body. Cheng Qianli took one of the chains in his hand as he gravely looked forward.

  “Mighty Miracle God Formation!”

  At almost the same time, Wang Yan also roared, his body rapidly swelling into yet another majestic and weighty god.

  The three had stern and vigilant expressions. After two battles with these Behemoths, they all had tired expressions and had still not returned to their peak prowess. Yet none of them, not Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, or Wang Yan, showed any sign of backing down. They stood like hardy pillars standing firm against a flood, the backbone upon which the confidence of the army resided.

  This still isn’t enough!

  The air was saturated with tension, and as Wang Chong stood to the right of Gao Xianzhi and looked at the three mighty figures, he still felt an unprecedented danger. These three were simply in no shape to oppose the Behemoth Army, Abu Muslim, and the two hundred thousand Arab soldiers.

  I have to think of a way to deal with the Behemoth Army!

  Wang Chong’s mind was in turmoil, countless thoughts flitting through his mind every second. The Behemoth Army was not an invincible existence. Wang Chong was clear on this point, as otherwise, the Arabian Empire would have used the Behemoth Army to conquer the entire world already. However, such a thing had never happened in his last life.

  Moreover, from the information Wang Chong had gathered, he could tell that the Caliph of Arabia was extremely cautious when using the Behemoth Army, never mobilizing them unless absolutely necessary. On the surface, one could believe that the Caliph regarded this force as very precious or his opponents as not worth the trouble. But as the illustrious War Saint of his previous life, Wang Chong knew that the reality was completely different.

  …Just what is it? What is the flaw of the Behemoth Army?

  Wang Chong continued to ponder to himself. The earth shook with the stomps of the Behemoths, each stomp placing an incredible pressure on Wang Chong.

  There was not much time left. Wang Chong knew that the strength of Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli was far from sufficient. Only a way to deal with the four Behemoths could truly resolve this crisis.

  “Wang Chong! Hurry and call back the Wushang Cavalry!” Gao Xianzhi worriedly called out.

  The Godking Yama Formation required borrowing the power of the five thousand Wushang Cavalry. With the battle imminent, Wang Chong needed to call back the Wushang Cavalry, but once he did, the Skyquaking Army would be unimpeded. Wang Chong found himself in a very challenging dilemma.

  One hundred and eighty zhang, one hundred and sixty zhang, one hundred and forty zhang…

  As the distance closed, a howling wind battered dust and gravel against the walls of the first defense line.

  Wang Chong’s heart was thumping, the odor of death beginning to pour in around him. The lives of one hundred thousand soldiers, the several thousand li of the Western Regions, and the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people several thousand li from Talas were all weighing on him. Wang Chong felt almost suffocated by the pressure.

  Time slowed to a crawl. Wang Chong could see the nearby Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli opening and closing their mouths, calling out his name.

  In the distance, in the middle of a churning cloud of dust, the Behemoths were madly roaring. Wang Chong could even see the fangs in their mouths, glimmering with cold light. Their exhaled breaths seemed to be carried along by the wind to assail his body, allowing Wang Chong to take in their pungent stench.

  What is the weakness? What is it?

  Wang Chong’s mind madly spun, but then, boom! An enormous foot slammed down onto the earth, throwing up an explosion of gravel that brought Wang Chong’s mind back down to earth.

  “Milord!”

  “Careful!”

  “Prepare for the attack!”

  An air of panic ran through the first defense line as panicked shouts resounded to the horizon.

  Clangclangclang! Countless spears and arrow tips were pointed to the surging tide of Behemoths and the Arab army. In these few short moments, the distance had been shortened to eighty zhang.

  “Release!”

  A rumbling came from behind the first defense line as a thousand Tang ballistae fired as one. A thousand black ballista bolts flew through the air, descending like locusts upon the heads of the four Behemoths.

  More than half of the Tang ballistae had been turned around to deal with the Skyquaking Giants. These thousand ballistae were the only ones available to deal with the Behemoths.

  Clangclangclang!

  There was a metal clattering as the one thousand ballista bolts bounced off the sturdy armor covering the heads of the Behemoths.

  “Hmph, it’s useless. The Reaper, the Devotee, the Burning One, and the Consecrated have all been equipped with armor forged from the best steel essence. A thousand tons of the best steel can only be refined into half a kilogram of steel essence. The armor for these four Behemoths required tens of thousands of tons of the finest steel. No weapon can pierce this steel essence armor!”

  Masil was stationed in the rear of the army, seated upon his centipede monster. He inwardly sneered as he watched the ballista bolts bounce off the armor of his Behemoths.

  Whether man or beast, damaging the heads of almost every living creature was lethal. This applied to the Behemoths as well. Even a normal person could reach this judgment. In the past, many enemy marshals and war gods, or some legendary heroes, had attempted to attack the heads of the Behemoths, but the majority of them had failed. Only a small number had succeeded in actually injuring the Behemoths at their heads. But these past experiences had made the Behemoth Army consider forging helmets for the Behemoths. This idea that Masil had thought up many years ago had led to the creation of these steel essence helmets.

  These helmets were sturdy and dense, impossible to scratch with even the finest swords, making them the ideal armor for the Behemoths. But steel essence was too precious, and even the Arabian Empire, with all its resources, had only been able to forge four helmets. And though they had faced many formidable opponents, the Behemoths had never been truly threatened by death, so the plan came to an end with these four helmets.

  Masil had never imagined that he would encounter such a powerful opponent in distant Talas, one capable of killing three of his Behemoths. However, the plan had clearly proved effective. With these four steel essence helmets, the four Behemoths were almost invincible on the battlefield. Even the giant ballistae would not be able to threaten them.

  Buzz!

  Masil began to chant various spells, once more adjusting the angles of attack for the four Behemoths as well as their distance. Then, he ordered his centipede monster to burrow back into the ground.

  “Release!”

  The one thousand ballistae fired their second volley. This time, while the heads were
still the primary target, a significant portion of the bolts was aimed at the bodies of the Behemoths as well.

  Clangclangclang! Just as expected, the ballista bolts aimed at the head were once more repelled by the steel essence helmets. The bolts aimed at the bodies, however, all struck true. Several hundred black bolts covered the four Behemoths in bloody holes as they pierced through their hides.

  But other than a slight weakening of vitality, the Behemoths were unaffected. They continued to charge at the first defense line like nothing had happened, their speed unchanged.

  Chapter 970 - The Tide of Behemoths!

  Chapter 970: The Tide of Behemoths!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Seventy zhang!

  Sixty zhang!

  The distance between the two sides was shrinking. After enduring wave after wave of attacks, the Behemoths finally began their counterattack.

  Bang!

  With a roar, a fiery-red lizard-shaped Behemoth opened its mouth, unleashing a thick gout of flames like searing lava, covering the distance of several dozen zhang to strike the Tang defense line.

  The Burning One!

  This was the first Behemoth the Arabian Empire had created that possessed a special ability. The plan to create it had been extremely time-consuming. The Arabian Empire had expended countless resources to feed the Behemoth special herbs, and then gathered more than ten thousand Fire element experts of varying levels of strength to pour Fire element energy into the lizard Behemoth as it grew. After six years of endless nurturing, they had finally succeeded in producing the dauntless Burning One.

  Whoosh!

  The arrival of this flame was so surprising that the Tang had made no preparations whatsoever. In their minds, the Behemoths relied on their huge bodies and terrifying strength to battle. Thus, the Burning One’s fire breath caught them completely off guard. “Aaaaah!” The shieldmen and infantry screamed as they were set aflame, transformed into large fireballs.

  This flame was so scorching that even the steel walls and the shields in the hands of the soldiers turned bright red and began to smoke.

  “Careful!”

  Panicked voices could be heard all across the defense line, only to be interrupted by another stentorian roar. Another of the four Behemoths, this one in the shape of a white bear, revealed its mouthful of shining white fangs, and suddenly began to charge. In a flash, it had broken away from the rest of the pack.

  Forty zhang!

  Twenty zhang!

  The white bear Behemoth was so fast that even Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli appeared surprised.

  “Stop them!” Gao Xianzhi hurriedly called out before rushing out of the defense line. Boom! As he shot forward, he slashed out a dazzling arc of Sword Qi thirty zhang long, aimed at the fiery-red lizard Behemoth.

  Whoosh! The Burning One’s long gout of fame was immediately cut in two by Gao Xianzhi, the magnificent Sword Qi swiftly extinguishing the flame.

  As Protector-General of the Anxi Protectorate army, Gao Xianzhi had reached an extremely high level of skill. The moment he had chosen to strike and the angle were both perfect, and he had used the minimum amount of strength to extinguish the Burning One’s flame.

  Bang!

  At the same time, his deputy Cheng Qianli roared as well, and the Supreme Desolation God stepped over the first defense line, stirring up a storm of dust and sand as it began to charge at the white bear Behemoth.

  Whoosh! Before they had even clashed, Cheng Qianli flipped his wrist, sending ten-some chains of Stellar Energy shooting toward the white bear Behemoth, wrapping them around the Behemoth’s mouth, limbs, and body.

  “Come!” Cheng Qianli bellowed as he collided with the white bear Behemoth. Stellar Energy and dust exploded, the tiny grains of sand transformed into metal pellets by the Stellar Energy.

  As Cheng Qianli stepped forward, another enormous figure brushed past him. Wang Chong’s father Wang Yan had also entered the fray.

  Rumble! At a place thirty-some zhang from the first defense line, the Mighty Miracle God crashed into another Behemoth. The ground between them cracked and groaned, the fissures extending all the way to the first defense line. Eight of the enormous steel walls were immediately jolted out of the ground by the force.

  Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and Wang Yan had all entered the battle.

  Roooar! The final Behemoth, a gigantic ape, began to charge at the steel defense line in a cloud of seething dust.

  “Careful!”

  The area behind the defense line was a scene of panic. In a series of booms, the one thousand ballistae fired at the devilish figure of the Behemoth. But the black ape swept one of its thick and hairy arms through the air, slapping aside at least half of the ballista bolts. As its arm collided with the ballista bolts, it made a metallic clattering.

  As for the remaining several hundred ballista bolts, only ten to twenty managed to pierce into the giant ape’s body. The rest were all repelled by a hardy layer of skin.

  The Consecrated!

  This was one of the strongest Behemoths in the Behemoth Army. It not only possessed boundless strength, but also a body that seemed to be made from metal, granting it far more impressive defensive capabilities than the other Behemoths. This Behemoth had developed this trait all on its own as it grew up, as if it had been blessed by God. As a result, it was called the Consecrated.

  The Consecrated rarely took part in battles, but once it did, very little could stop it. Although it could not spit flames like the Burning One, no Behemoth in the Behemoth Army could compare to it in terms of pure strength.

  “Release! Release! Release!”

  Behind the first defense line, Chen Bin stared grimly at the enormous ape, his Wootz Steel sword constantly swinging down as he yelled with all his might.

  This Behemoth’s defensive capabilities were far too incredible, on a completely different level from the previous Behemoths. While the ballista bolts had not been able to inflict much damage on those Behemoths, they had at least been able to pierce their hides. But the ballista bolts were of no effect at all against this giant ape.

  The piercing strength of the Great Tang ballistae was such that they could shoot through plate armor several feet thick, but such capabilities were still lacking against this giant ape.

  Roooar!

  The giant ape bellowed as it moved closer and closer. Twenty zhang, ten zhang… boom! A black and hairy foot stomped onto one of the high steel walls. Beneath the ape’s foot, the tough and sturdy wall appeared to be made of paper, immediately deforming as it was pushed into the earth.

  As the foot stomped down, the shockwave knocked the soldiers in a radius of several dozen zhang away like they were leaves on the wind. And then, the sky dimmed as a hairy hand spread apart its fingers and smashed at the ground.

  “Not good! Run!”

  The Tang soldiers looked up at that descending ape palm, each of them feeling insignificantly tiny, each of them smelling the thick odor of death.

  Gallop! The Tang cavalry began to ride away, but given the speed and power of the ape, they were still too slow.

  “Out of the way!”

  Just when they were about to be crushed into pancakes by the ape’s palm, a roar cut through the sky. A furious wave of Stellar Energy swept forward, snatched up the cavalry under the ape’s palm, and tossed them out of range.

  At the crucial moment, Wang Chong had finally returned to his senses and intervened!

  Whoosh! In the chaos, few people noticed that Wang Chong had also thrown out a pitch-black item.

  Boom!

  As the palm slammed down onto the ground, it unleashed a storm of sand and stone. But almost the moment after it landed, the enormous ape let out a howl of pain.

  At that moment, everyone could clearly see that the tip of a long cudgel had penetrated the ape’s palm.

  In that brief second, Wang Chong had thrown out that ten-some-meter iron cudgel, its sharp point aimed
up at the ape’s palm. In normal circumstances, the tip would have never been able to pierce the giant ape’s skin, but the enormous power of the ape’s descending palm had made it happen. It was so painful that the Consecrated couldn’t help but yowl.

  “Everyone, hurry and retreat!”

  Wang Chong shouted his orders as he charged forward. The Wushang Cavalry could not be called back, and the last Arabian Behemoth could not be left unattended, so Wang Chong could only rely on himself.

  Clang! Wang Chong unsheathed his sword as his body transformed into a bolt of lightning that shot straight toward the dreadful and savage ape.

  Thump! Jumping off the giant ape’s pierced palm, he swiftly made his way up to its shoulder. A few seconds later, his left foot pushed off the ape’s arm as he leaped upward.

  Art of God and Demon Obliteration!

  As he scaled his way up the ape, Wang Chong used the supreme sword art taught to him by Great Tang War God Su Zhengchen.

  This supreme sword art’s offensive strength was unparalleled in the world, allowing it to be ranked as first of the Ten Supreme Arts, even above the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art. However, because Wang Chong’s cultivation in it had been lacking, he had never been able to display the same terrifying level of power as Su Zhengchen. Thus, even though he did know the technique, he rarely used it. However, against this giant ape with such formidable defensive capabilities, the Art of God and Demon Obliteration was much more useful than the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art.

  Chapter 971 - Duwu Sili's Killing Intent!

  Chapter 971: Duwu Sili’s Killing Intent!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Whoosh! The sky was suddenly filled with milky-white Sword Qis, each one ten-some zhang long and as dazzling as the sun, flitting to and fro across the giant ape’s body. In the space of a few seconds, fur was flying through the air as thin trails of blood began to appear on the ape’s thick arms, pungent blood bursting out from them.

  Wang Chong did not pause, leaving behind afterimages on the ape’s arm as he continued to rush toward the ape’s head.