The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “Yes!”

  As Wang Chong slowly rode through the Mo Saber Unit, he corrected the movements of the soldiers.

  This was a new kind of soldier with no precedent, so Wang Chong could only correct them one by one. Behind him, the Gangke King, Xi Yuanqing, and Lou Shiyi were slowly beginning to understand what was special about this unit and began to carefully listen and note down everything that Wang Chong said.

  “General Xi, General Lou, time is limited, and the Mo Saber Unit doesn’t have much time left to train. I hope that all of you can remember the advice I gave just now. I leave this task to you. I trust that you will do well!”

  “Milord, be at ease. We will do our utmost!” the three replied together.

  Flap flap! An eagle suddenly descended from the skies toward Wang Chong.

  “Mm?”

  Wang Chong’s brows rose as he extended a hand for the eagle to perch upon. As Wang Chong glanced through the letter tied to the eagle’s leg, his face brightened in joy.

  “They’ve finally moved out!”

  Chapter 1043 - The Ultimate Martial Army!

  Chapter 1043: The Ultimate Martial Army!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Wang Chong suddenly felt greatly relieved. The letter had been sent from the Bureau of Military Personnel in the names of King Song and Zhangchou Jianqiong. Zhao Fengchen’s Xuanwu Army that Wang Chong had mobilized through his uncle-in-law Li Lin had already set off toward Qixi. The border Protector-Generals Geshu Han and Zhang Shougui had also dispatched their soldiers toward the northwest.

  Everything was on the right track. Coupled with the Divine Prison Army dispatched by his little uncle Wang Mi, there were now nearly thirty thousand soldiers headed toward Qixi, all of them the most elite soldiers that could be mustered. Their weapons and armor were still lacking to the Wushang Cavalry’s Wootz Steel swords and Meteoric Metal armor, but in terms of fighting power, they were not one bit inferior.

  This was where Wang Chong had placed his greatest hopes for this battle.

  “Senior Su has also agreed to train four thousand soldiers for me. Only that place remains to borrow soldiers from.”

  Wang Chong muttered to himself as his mind thought back to the legends of the Ultimate Martial Army.

  Zhao Fengchen’s Xuanwu Army, his little uncle’s Divine Prison Army, Geshu Han’s Divine Martial Army, and even An Sishun’s Dragon Stallion Army were only a single loop in the chain of Wang Chong’s plan. The most crucial part was the Ultimate Martial Army.

  The soldiers of the Ultimate Martial Army were incredible soldiers, far surpassing ordinary elites in every aspect, including power, defense, speed, and agility. More importantly, they could harness the strength of their comrades to employ a formation. This formation would link everyone in its range together, not only boosting their strength but also using the formation’s power to distribute the attacks received by any one soldier across the entire army. This made it so that each person’s injuries were minimized.

  In this aspect, it was actually extremely similar to Dayan Mangban’s Great Bon Formation. The Ultimate Martial Army’s formation was different in that once the formation was activated, it could continuously absorb the worldly Origin Energy in a radius of one hundred li. This Origin Energy would flow into the array and increase the rate at which the soldiers within recovered their Stellar Energy.

  Any army that had the assistance of the Ultimate Martial Army would receive an enormous boost in strength, and would also be able to fight for much longer periods.

  Several hundred years ago in Taizong’s era, this Ultimate Martial Army had been one of the most dazzling elite forces under Taizong’s command. But as time passed, the harshness of the Ultimate Martial Army’s training caused this legendary army to fade from the Great Tang.

  But Wang Chong knew that the legacy of the Ultimate Martial Army survived within the capital. There weren’t many of these soldiers—two to three thousand. They could be considered the last of the Ultimate Martial Army’s bloodline in this world.

  If Wang Chong wanted to exhibit the maximum potential of the Xuanwu Army, Divine Prison Army, Divine Martial Army, and Dragon Stallion Army, he needed the help of the Ultimate Martial Army.

  It seems I’ll have to trouble that venerable senior, Wang Chong inwardly muttered. As an image of that figure floated to the surface of his mind, a rare hint of respect appeared in his eyes.

  The capital was home to many great clans, and one of them was the house of the Duke of E. Its ancestor was one of the founding ministers of the Great Tang, and the house had persisted for three generations. However, in the era of the Sage Emperor, the clan had gradually declined, losing the luster of its forefathers. The clan itself lacked any outstanding talents and was very low-key in its conduct, so almost no one in the capital paid it any attention.

  But Wang Chong knew that this clan was far more powerful than most imagined. A true venerable senior lived within the estate of the Duke of E. This venerable senior had lived through four Emperors and was almost of the same generation as Su Zhengchen. However, just like Su Zhengchen, he had retired into seclusion long ago and the outside world believed him to be dead.

  Under the guidance of that venerable senior, the Duke of E’s Estate had spent nearly one hundred years on a single task: searching the world for excellent children to be trained in the ways of the Ultimate Martial Army so that its lineage would continue to survive.

  But the requirements for the Ultimate Martial Army were far too high and the training was extremely difficult. Thus, up until now, the Duke of E’s Estate had only managed to train two to three thousand such soldiers. Moreover, the Duke of E’s estate had never shown this army to anyone, nor did it ever lend it out. In normal circumstances, it would essentially be impossible to borrow the strength of this powerful army.

  Yet Wang Chong also knew that this was not because the Duke of E was harsh or stingy, but because the estate was thinking of what was the best for the world. It hoped that this force would be used for the sake of the country and not for the sake of those with selfish intentions. To guard against the private goals and ambitions of others, the Duke of E’s estate preferred to keep this army hidden.

  “Xue Qianjun, bring me a brush and paper,” Wang Chong said without turning his head.

  “Yes, Lord Marquis!”

  A few moments later, an eagle soared into the skies, carrying to the capital a map of Talas and Wang Chong’s handwritten letter.

  ……

  In the southwestern part of the Imperial City of the Great Tang’s capital, an ancient estate loomed, shaded by a lush canopy of trees. Four golden words had been painted over the gate.

  ‘Duke of E Residence’!

  The Duke of E Residence was far from the only noble clan to have had a brilliant ancestor but gradually declined with the generations. The gradual decline of the house had caused the current generation of the Duke of E Residence to move the estate to the most remote area in the southwestern part of the city, completely withdrawing from the area where the dukes and other great clans made their homes. In the capital, this seemed very unusual and abrupt.

  Flap flap!

  An eagle descended into the Duke of E Residence. Before it had even landed in that calm and relaxed estate, a figure that had been hiding in a corner suddenly shot out, snatching the eagle from the air and gently landing back on the ground.

  “Patriarch, a letter!”

  This hidden expert of the Duke of E Residence entered the reception hall and bowed as he offered the letter with both hands.

  A man of about forty or fifty with a beard parted three ways and a ruddy expression raised his eyebrows in surprise.

  “What’s this? Our Duke of E Residence has no relationship with the noble clans of the capital. Why would we receive a letter by bird? Are you sure that it was sent to the right place?” the middle-aged man sternly asked.

  “Patriarch, it’s correct. It was
truly addressed to our Duke of E Residence,” the hidden expert respectfully replied.

  The middle-aged man hesitated a moment before finally taking the letter from this guard.

  “This is… a letter from Talas! How?!”

  When he saw the address on the letter, his body trembled and his pupils constricted into pinpricks.

  “Impossible!”

  The man reeled with shock as great waves raged in his mind. He had also heard about the matter of Talas, but the Duke of E Residence had always been very inconspicuous, rarely interacting with the other great clans of the capital. He could not understand how the Duke of E Residence had managed to get connected to this matter.

  The man quickly opened the letter and began to read it. Once he finished, his breathing became heavy and his entire aura seemed in turmoil. As he gripped the letter and the map of Talas that had been included, the middle-aged man fell into deep thought.

  “Father, how did the Young Marquis know of our Yuchi Clan’s Ultimate Martial Army!?”

  A voice suddenly interrupted the middle-aged man’s contemplative stupor. Turning his head, he saw that a young man of twenty-one or twenty-two had come up behind him and had apparently read the contents of the letter in his hand.

  “Fen-er, why are you here?”

  The middle-aged man nervously crumpled the letter into a ball.

  “What Ultimate Martial Army? Don’t speak nonsense! Our Yuchi Clan has never had any Ultimate Martial Army!”

  The middle-aged man swept his sleeves as he got out of his chair and swiftly strode into the inner estate.

  Yuchi Fen instantly became anxious, standing in front of his father and spreading his arms apart. “But Father, the matter of Talas has caused such a stir that even Duke Jiu and the Grand Preceptor stepped forward, and even the Sage Emperor opened his golden mouth. Isn’t this exactly the time for our Yuchi Clan to repay the Great Tang? And soldiers are trained for a thousand days to be used in a single moment. Our Yuchi Clan has trained the Ultimate Martial Army generation after generation. Was it not precisely for a day like this? Otherwise, what are we doing all this arduous training for?”

  “Bastard thing! Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking? The Yuchi Clan’s Ultimate Martial Army has never been used for private gain. If you want to stand above your own peers, rely on your own strength! The Ultimate Martial Army is not some tool to aid you in advancing your career. If we defy the laws of the ancestors, we might end up pushing my entire Yuchi Clan into extinction!”

  The Yuchi Patriarch’s eyes widened in rage as he harshly rebuked his son.

  “But Father, I only want to carry on the glorious deeds of our Yuchi Clan’s ancestors. Is this wrong as well? Do you also wish for our Yuchi Clan to remain obscure like this forever?!” To the patriarch’s surprise, Yuchi Fen gave no ground, his eyes widening in resolve.

  Thump!

  Yuchi Fen had barely finished speaking when a hefty slap sent his body spinning to the floor.

  “Beast! Did you forget what happened thirty-some years ago? Your little uncle thought the same as you. In order to revitalize the Yuchi Clan, he secretly took some of the Ultimate Martial Army’s soldiers and swore allegiance to the First Prince to resist the Third Prince. But no one had expected that the apparently weakest and most incapable Third Prince would be the one to ascend to the throne and become the Sage Emperor. This nearly brought a great calamity down upon our Yuchi Clan. If not for that incident, our Yuchi Clan would have never moved the estate to this remote area and cut off all relations with the other noble clans!”

  The Yuchi Patriarch’s expression was ashen as he gazed at Yuchi Fen, hating the fact that his son was still so immature.

  Yuchi Fen instantly felt stifled, and he was momentarily unable to find any retort to his father’s words.

  Yuchi Fen’s little uncle was Yuchi Yun, one of the rare geniuses in the last nearly one hundred years of the Yuchi Clan’s history. Back then, he had secretly deceived the patriarch and defied the laws set down by the ancestor. He entered the War of the Princes with the thought of assisting the new Emperor onto the throne, but in the end, he achieved the opposite result. Not only had the Yuchi Clan not regained its former glory, its decline had intensified.

  Chapter 1044 - Arabia! The Army Gathers!

  Chapter 1044: Arabia! The Army Gathers!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “But Father, Young Marquis Wang Chong is the Son of Heaven’s disciple, and his grandfather Duke Jiu is revered and admired throughout the world. Moreover, in the war of the southwest, the Young Marquis expended all his wealth to hire and equip several thousand mercenaries, and then put himself at great risk by going to the southwest. In the end, he managed to reverse the tides and rescue the civilians of the southwest from disaster. Is not a loyal and righteous subject like this worthy of our Yuchi Clan’s assistance?”

  Yuchi Fen gripped his swollen cheek, but he still wanted to argue his case.

  “Bastard! The winner is made king while the defeated is scorned. The Wang Clan is a loyal subject today, but how do you know that it won’t be a traitor in the future? Moreover, our Yuchi Clan’s Ultimate Martial Army only serves the country. It is not for the Wang Clan to use. If we let the outside world know that our Yuchi Clan worked with the Wang Clan and then another disaster arrives, do you think our Yuchi Clan will still have a future? Do you think that the Sage Emperor will pardon us again?”

  The Yuchi Patriarch’s eyes were harsh and stern.

  Yuchi Fen was stunned into speechlessness by these words.

  “Vile spawn, why haven’t you moved yet!” the Yuchi Patriarch angrily said.

  “Enough!”

  At this moment, an elderly voice came from underground and echoed through the reception hall. Both the Yuchi Patriarch and Yuchi Fen paled in shock. In addition, a hint of respect appeared on the Yuchi Patriarch’s face while a hint of surprised delight appeared on Yuchi Fen’s face as if he had encountered his savior.

  “Grandpa Zeng!”

  “Fen-er’s words are correct!” the elderly voice said.

  “Forefather!”

  The Yuchi Patriarch slightly grimaced at these words.

  “Fen-er, Grandpa Zeng asks you, the Wang Chong you spoke of is Duke Jiu’s grandson and is both loyal and righteous. Is that so?”

  The elderly voice continued, ringing like thunderous peals in the ears of the father and son.

  “Grandpa Zeng, I’m absolutely sure of it!” Yuchi Fen declared.

  “Grandpa Zeng understands. Yuchi Feng, bring that letter over me and let me take a look.” The elderly voice spoke with absolute majesty.

  “Yes, Forefather!”

  The Yuchi Patriarch hesitated for a moment, but, unable to defy the will of his forefather, he brought the letter into the inner court.

  ……

  Several days later, deep into the night, the ground in the rear courtyard of the Yuchi Residence suddenly split upon, revealing a massive tunnel. A second later, black-armored cavalry began to ride out from the tunnel. Each of these cavalrymen had a fierce and doughty aura, like a sword unsheathed and ready to slash. Their auras were also extremely heavy and stable, imbuing them with a formidable sense of strength. Most unique of all was the helmets these cavalry wore.

  All of these black-armored cavalrymen had a cruel and callous mask on their faces.

  “Hyah!”

  The leader of the Ultimate Martial Army pressed on the flanks of his horse and led his more than two thousand soldiers of the Ultimate Martial Army into the darkness.

  ……

  Time slowly passed. The Great Tang, Ü-Tsang, the Western Turkic Khaganate, and Arabia were all putting every possible moment into increasing their strength for the upcoming battle. The danger hanging over Talas grew by the day. Not one of these four empires showed any signs of wanting to retreat or leave the situation as it was.

  Winds would precede the coming of a storm.
Everyone knew that Talas was a bomb, but nobody knew when it would explode.

  ……

  In the distant Arabian Empire, in the Pearl of the West that was Khorasan, flames and smoke filled the skies night and day to the chorus of hammering metal.

  Every day, many suits of Meteoric Star armor would be forged for the elite Mameluke warriors. This supreme force of the Arabian Empire was advancing through its own methods every day, becoming more dauntless and terrifying.

  Rumble!

  Countless Arab smiths were working every day in the estate of the Lord of Khorasan. In the middle of their constant hammering and forging, the ground began to shake, intense tremors arising from the west. The trembling was accompanied by the neighing of countless warhorses and the harsh shouts of cavalrymen. It appeared that a great force of cavalry was approaching Khorasan.

  This noise threw the smiths into chaos. Khorasan had experienced many rebellions, but the Mamelukes had still not managed to capture the remnants of the Sassanid Dynasty.

  No one knew if these Sassanid remnants were coming for them. These people loathed the Arabs, and these smiths who forged the mighty weapons of the Arabian Empire would naturally be one of their targets.

  Clang! Clang!

  In a metallic clanging, the Mamelukes on the perimeter began to prepare countermeasures.

  “Stand down!”

  The lordly estate shook as a tall and erect figure emerged. Mameluke Commander Aybak stared at the approaching army and faintly smiled.

  “This is Osman and his army!”

  The smiths were all stunned, and then relieved to hear these words. The Mamelukes on the perimeter also dispersed according to Aybak’s order.

  Osman was the Governor of Cairo and one of the strongest governors of the Arabian Empire!

  He had clearly appeared at Khorasan to join with the Mamelukes holding this place down so that they could set off for Talas.