The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “Damn bastards, what are you doing? Get in there!”

  The Arab officer was infuriated. The Arabs currently held the advantage, and it was the perfect time to chase down their enemies, but now there was someone screaming and shouting as if intentionally trying to lower morale. This deserved nothing but death! But he quickly realized that something was wrong. Even though his men had heard his orders, the turmoil continued, and it was only getting worse. His panicked soldiers were shouting as they looked up, their faces pale and full of fear. It was clear that they were not faking.

  “What’s going on here?”

  The Arab officer also raised his head, and was struck dumb. In the sky, he saw an enormous foot descending upon him with astonishing speed, the air howling as it fell.

  “Behemoth?!!”

  The Arab officer trembled, his eyes flying open in shock, but before he could understand what was happening, the enormous foot smashed down. The earth rippled and shook, and the Arab officer gave one final scream before he and many other Arab cavalry were crushed into paste, their blood exploding out from under the Behemoth’s foot.

  Awooo!

  The howling white bear Behemoth raised its foot, revealing a giant hole full of twisted armor and pulped flesh, almost unrecognizable as bodies.

  “Run!”

  “General has been killed! The Behemoth is out of control!”

  The Arab cavalry who had been excitedly chasing the Tang felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured upon them. They began to panic, their formations falling into chaos as they scattered. But before they could get very far, the gigantic white bear raised its foot and stomped again.

  And following the white bear, the other Behemoth also began to attack the Arabs.

  “What’s going on here?”

  “The Behemoths have gone crazy! They’ve all gone mad!”

  The attacks of these two Behemoths caused a swift reversal on the battlefield. One moment ago, the tens of thousands of Arab cavalry had been excitedly pursuing the Tang, but now, the Arabs had become the targets of the Behemoths. This shift had caught the Arabs completely by surprise, and their losses began to soar.

  And this was not the only change on the battlefield. As the two Behemoths began to attack the Arabs, several hundred zhang away, the Burning One spread out its legs, opened its mouth, and sprayed a gout of flame one hundred meters long at a large group of Arab cavalry.

  Caught completely off guard, these Arab cavalry were incinerated in just a few seconds.

  The flames of the Burning One came in an endless flood, one stream after another sweeping across the battlefield, catching thousands upon thousands of Arab cavalry. The combined attacks of the three Behemoths inflicted devastating losses on the Arabs. Nine thousand, thirteen thousand, eighteen thousand, twenty-four thousand… The Arab losses had reached an astonishing number, and this number was continuing to climb.

  The entire army was in panic, and even Ziyad found it difficult to decide whether to advance or retreat.

  Thirty thousand, thirty-five thousand, forty thousand… The Arab losses were getting larger and larger.

  Clap!

  In the rear of the army, Bakr slapped the red-clothed attendant holding the bone flute in the face. The force of the slap immediately caused the attendant’s cheek to swell, and blood to trickle from his lips. He even spat out a tooth.

  Bakr’s face was distorted in rage. “Hurry and control the Behemoths! Don’t you see how many of our men are dying? Once Lord Governor returns, I’ll have him execute all of you!”

  As a famed general of Arabia, Bakr had conquered many countries, but now, the Caliph’s Behemoths that he was commanding were actually beginning to slaughter the troops on their side! This was a disgrace that he could not accept!

  “Milord, the Behemoths can only be controlled by Masil. We only serve as assistants,” the red-clothed attendant said in panic, his body trembling in fear.

  “What!”

  Bakr’s face froze in shock. This answer was completely outside his expectations. With a hefty slap, Bakr sent this subordinate of Masil’s flying into the ground, breaking many of his bones.

  “Nothing but a pile of trash!”

  ……

  As the three Behemoths threw the entire Arab army into chaos, the countless fleeing Tang soldiers showed a completely different reaction.

  “These Behemoths… are attacking their own side!”

  The sight of countless Arab corpses, as well as the charred remains of those incinerated by the Burning One, left the Tang soldiers stunned. They had all been ready to die in battle, but they had never expected a sudden shift at the final moment.

  “Lord Marquis! It must be Lord Marquis! Lord Marquis has taken control of these Behemoths!” One of the soldiers from the Qixi Protectorate army suddenly began to yell out in joy.

  Although they didn’t understand what had happened, they instinctively associated it with Wang Chong. If there was anyone who could salvage this desperate situation, it could only be Wang Chong!

  This was the unshakable conviction held by all the soldiers.

  “Lord Marquis!”

  “Lord Marquis!”

  “Lord Marquis!”

  The Tang soldiers who had been making a strategic withdrawal to the east quickly stopped and began to cheer. It started with the Qixi Protectorate army, then the Anxi Protectorate army, and finally, the mercenaries from the Western Regions and the pikemen of Greater and Lesser Balur began to cheer.

  “Chong-er, you truly did not disappoint your father!”

  At this moment, no one was more pleased than Wang Chong’s father, Wang Yan. He could see his son standing on the shoulder of the giant ape, and while he felt a little heartache, he felt more pride.

  “Pass on my order! We’re changing plans! Gather the army! Launch a counterattack against the Arabs!”

  Wang Yan seized the moment, immediately making the decision to assemble the army for a counterattack.

  “Kill!”

  It took only a few moments for the soldiers to assemble. The tens of thousands of Tang soldiers took up their disciplined formation: shieldmen in front, axemen behind, cavalry in reserve. This was a beacon of order in a sea of chaos, and if there was one person on the battlefield that could do this, it could only be the veteran Wang Yan, who had always had a very stable and steady style of battle.

  The Wang Clan was a clan of ministers and generals, and had a long legacy of battle. Although Wang Yan’s strength was not on the level of Gao Xianzhi, his military experience was something that very few people in the world could match. The soldiers resuming formation, particularly the defensively potent infantry formations, rallied the rest of the army. The scattered army rapidly began to take up their formations, and even the fleeing mercenaries began to line up again.

  This transformation was so abrupt that everyone who saw it was dumbfounded.

  “Impossible! Even though the army was in such tatters, it was still able to reconsolidate, and the morale of the soldiers is so high! As expected, when fighting with the Great Tang, one must be careful at all times and never treat them lightly!”

  Huoshu Huicang looked down from the high hill in shock as the Tang army finished consolidating and prepared to strike back against the Arabs.

  Huoshu Huicang was a famed general of Ü-Tsang and one of its best Great Generals, someone who had exchanged blows with the Great Tang’s Tiger of the Empire Zhangchou Jianqiong many times. But not even Huoshu Huicang dared to say that, in a large-scale battle, if the Tibetan army were routed as badly as the Tang army had been, he would be able to reform the ranks and rally the troops as quickly as the Tang had.

  Chapter 987 - Counterattack Against the Arabs!

  Chapter 987: Counterattack Against the Arabs!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “The Great Tang can never be underestimated! In all the continent, only the Arabs can contend against them!”

 
; Dusong Mangpoje stood next to Huoshu Huicang, his hair being blown about in the wind, his shock no less than his colleague’s. The quality and training level of the Tang soldiers was always something that other powers could only look at in envy. Dusong Mangpoje was known as the Eagle of the Plateau and had always had great aspirations for the empire he served. Unfortunately, even though he was powerful, even surpassing any other Great General in some aspects, he still had to admit that Ü-Tsang’s strength was not something that could contend against the Great Tang.

  On the surface, the Great Tang only had seven Imperial Great Generals, but if one took into account generals like Wang Yan, Cheng Qianli, and Xianyu Zhongtong, who could rely on powerful formations to wield the strength of Great Generals, then the Great Tang had more than ten such figures. And if one counted people like Wang Zhongsi, who had entered the palace to become the Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian, as well as other such retired figures, the Great Tang had even more.

  Besides that, they also had Wang Chong, who might not have been at the Great General level of strength, but was a heaven-defying existence whose grasp of military strategy surpassed that of many Great Generals.

  Abu Muslim’s status in the Arabian Empire was similar to that of Zhang Shougui and Wang Zhongsi. The people who exceeded him could be counted with one’s fingers. With this army of three hundred thousand soldiers, Abu Muslim had conquered and vanquished innumerable countries. Even Khorasan, a supreme power with a long history, an existence on par with Ü-Tsang and the Western Turks, had ultimately been conquered by Abu Muslim.

  But this powerful army had first been stymied for two months by Gao Xianzhi, and now, even though it had the overwhelming advantage in soldiers, along with the Behemoth Army and Skyquaking Army, two armies that could dominate any battlefield, it was suddenly finding itself on the back foot.

  Only the Great Tang was capable of such a feat. And this was not even one-fifth of the Great Tang’s power.

  This thought was enough to make Dusong Mangpoje’s heart grow cold with fear.

  “This is all… because of him.”

  Dusong Mangpoje quickly focused on the Tang youth standing on the giant ape’s shoulder. Ü-Tsang had originally had a chance to not only defeat the Great Tang’s southwestern army, but even join with Mengshe Zhao in occupying the fertile ground of the Great Tang’s southwest, perhaps even encroach on the Central Plains.

  But the appearance of this youth had led to defeat in the war of the southwest, plague spreading through the plateau, the destruction of Zhangzhung, and the complete extermination of all the soldiers in the north…

  Standing in front of the two Great Generals, Dalun Ruozan was constantly observing the changes on the battlefield, his hand rising and falling several times. In the end, however, he chose to not order an assault.

  On the giant ape, Wang Chong could see the entire battlefield and was using the four Behemoths to swiftly decide its outcome. The lethal move that Abu Muslim had placed all his hopes on had now become Wang Chong’s strongest weapon against the Arabs.

  “Now is the time for all of you to pay the price!”

  Wang Chong looked down upon the panicked and fleeing Arab cavalry, his face as cold as ice. Roooar! Three of the Behemoths under Wang Chong’s control began a massacre of the Arab forces. Boom! Boom! Boom! The Behemoths stomped down again and again, ending the lives of tens of thousands of Arabs with this simple action.

  Meanwhile, the Burning One was scorching the battlefield with its flames, attacking all the Arab cavalry in an area several hundred zhang in circumference. The earth burned, and countless soldiers collapsed. Moreover, the flames of the Burning One consumed all the oxygen in the air, causing a large number of soldiers to suffocate to death.

  “Aaaah!”

  Death screams resounded over the battlefield, mingling with the flames and smoke. Corpses were piled up like mountains, and the air smelled of charred flesh and ash. This was a living hell.

  The army of two hundred thousand soldiers was suffering terrifying losses, with even many of their generals dying. The western line of the battlefield was in full retreat.

  “Damnable thing!!”

  Abu Muslim stood in the air, his eyes red with fury and his fists trembling in rage as he saw the battlefield strewn with the corpses of his men and his army in full retreat. Boom! Abu Muslim vanished and then reappeared in the air over the giant ape.

  “Die!!”

  Abu Muslim’s bellow echoed through the sky, and the three-headed Asmodai and his golden-red pillar appeared once more. The dark clouds once more began to roil. Boom! Abu Muslim once more punched in Wang Chong’s direction, sending a black dragon from hell as large as a city howling out from the sky, bearing down with thunderous momentum on Wang Chong.

  Bang!

  The black silhouette of the iron cudgel immediately swept up to meet it, shattering Abu Muslim’s hell dragon with a single strike. The giant ape then lunged forward, its other arm swinging a counter punch at Abu Muslim.

  This punch was fast and vicious, imbued with a strength that could jolt a mountain to pieces, and this was not even accounting for the fact that this punch had been carefully aimed and calculated. Even the Governor of Iron and Blood widened his eyes in shock, grimacing slightly as he beat a rapid retreat.

  “Abu Muslim, you can’t beat me! For this battle, just watch as I use your beloved Behemoths to kill all your soldiers!”

  Wang Chong stood on the giant ape’s shoulder and sneered.

  He had completely predicted Abu Muslim’s attack. The giant ape’s strength coupled with the experience and battlefield prowess of the War Saint left Abu Muslim with no advantage. Wang Chong could predict and counter every one of his moves.

  In a certain aspect, Wang Chong was even stronger than he was in his last life.

  “Young man, you will definitely die at my hands. You will not be able to remain so proud for too long!”

  Abu Muslim’s face was twisted into an ashen grimace, his heart fuming with unimaginable rage. He no longer had any attention to spare on Gao Xianzhi. The urgent task was to kill Wang Chong as quickly as possible. This was the only way to resolve the current crisis.

  Brrrroooom! Abu Muslim’s body shook as the bronze Eye of the Demon God on his hand once more exploded with light. The dark clouds suddenly thickened, the winds stirred, and the energy of the world began to gather around him. Behind Abu Muslim, the enormous figure of Asmodai was growing even larger.

  Bang!

  His eyes spitting flame, Abu Muslim gathered all the power he could and then shot toward Wang Chong like a lightning bolt. Wang Chong looked up to the sky and gave a derisive smile, while the giant ape revealed a mouthful of teeth, looked up to the sky, and then leaped into the air.

  This battle was going completely according to Wang Chong’s tempo. Even though Abu Muslim was the Governor of Iron and Blood and was challenging Wang Chong, Wang Chong had made it so that Abu Muslim was fighting the powerful Consecrated.

  Wang Chong himself could remain uninvolved.

  “Masil, it’s your turn now, you archcriminal!”

  While the giant ape and Abu Muslim began their fierce battle, Wang Chong turned his attention elsewhere. Although he had succeeded in driving any remnants of Masil’s consciousness from the four Behemoths, Wang Chong was well aware that Masil was still not dead.

  Masil and his Behemoth Army held the bulk of the blame for the Great Tang’s situation. So many of his soldiers had died, and Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli had even been heavily injured. Wang Chong would never permit Masil to escape to fight again on another battlefield.

  Buzz!

  With a thought, Wang Chong sent half of his mind deep underground.

  ……

  “We’ve lost, lost… I must report this to the High Priest. Such a powerful Psychic Energy expert should not have appeared here!”

  At this moment, the centipede monster was currently fleeing deep underground. On its head, Masil was panting for breat
h, his mouth, ears, eyes, nose, and even his skin all leaking blood. His appearance was extremely miserable, and his aura was extremely weak.

  His battle with Wang Chong had not only heavily wounded his Psychic Energy. It had also placed an incredible burden on his body.

  Wang Chong was right when he said that Psychic Energy was just illusion, but Masil also understood that Psychic Energy could not be fake, that this was not how the saying was understood. Masil’s Psychic Energy was what had been injured, but at this moment, even his internal organs were leaking blood. If he stayed here any longer, only death would await him.

  “Too terrifying! This war is no longer important! The battle is lost. Everything will be Abu Muslim’s responsibility. For the Great Tang to have such a powerful Psychic Energy expert, one who can even turn their soul into a sun that can burn all things, is simply unacceptable. If this person continues to live, our Behemoth Army will be completely useless!”

  Masil’s heart was awash with panic and unease.

  This excursion to the east was nothing more than a horrifying nightmare. Masil had never imagined this sort of outcome. He was now nothing more than a stray dog that wanted to get away as quickly as possible.

  “I must request the High Priest’s help. Only the High Priest can deal with him!”

  Masil began to think about the empire’s High Priest. Masil had a proud and bloodthirsty personality. The only person worth his regard in the entire empire was the High Priest. Masil had never dared to insult or slight the High Priest, because everything he knew had been taught to him by the High Priest.

  Chapter 988 - Fighting the Governor of Iron and Blood!

  Chapter 988: Fighting the Governor of Iron and Blood!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  The High Priest was Masil’s true master, but Masil never dared to call him such. The High Priest had taught far from just him alone. The entire Arabian Empire feared him, and even the Caliph treated him with great respect.

  As he was thinking about these things, Masil trembled, and his progress came to a complete halt, as if he had run into some invisible wall. Masil was at first confused, and then he exploded with fury.