The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 681
“Retreat!”
“Hurry and retreat!”
The horrifying momentum of the Mo Saber Unit finally made fear appear in the eyes of the Arab cavalry, and they began to holler in fear. The tremendous lethality of the Mo Saber Unit was only secondary to its terrifying and unstoppable advance. No matter how soldiers charged at these Tang soldiers, it was all useless. It didn’t even seem possible to slow their advance by a single step.
No one would retreat as long as it was still possible to defeat one’s opponent, but when victory seemed hopeless, that was when fear struck.
Neeeigh! Tens of thousands of warhorses whinnied, the fear of their riders even beginning to infect them. They began to struggle against their reins as they tried to get out of the Mo Saber Unit’s way.
Behind this unit, the Divine Prison Army, Divine Martial Army, and Dragon Stallion Army were approaching in a flood of steel.
“Damn it! How did the Tang get so many powerful reinforcements!”
An Arab general at the gap clenched his teeth as his eyes widened in shock. This terrifying pressure that seemed capable of crushing all was something he had never seen in an enemy before while serving the Governor of War.
Rumble! The Arab soldiers charging through the gap took fright as they saw their front line being constantly cut down, and they finally began to retreat.
Bwoooom!
At this moment, the metallic horn calling for withdrawal blared out from the distance. This signal for retreat was so sudden that there was a brief moment where the entire battlefield was eerily still. Rumble! Then the hundreds of thousands of Arab elites that had been surging toward the Tang defense line immediately began to retreat at even faster speeds, withdrawing to the west.
“Kiiiill!”
So abrupt was this fortuitous event that all the Tang soldiers were momentarily struck dumb. And then, all of them began to charge after the retreating Arabs.
……
“Bastard!
At this moment, no one was more stunned than the Governor of War, Qutaybah, who was still hovering in the air with his sword in hand as he maintained a stand-off with the Demonic Emperor Old Man. Just as he was proactively seeking out the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s flaws and preparing to fight, his army had suddenly begun to retreat.
As his eyes flitted between the immovable and unfathomable Demonic Emperor Old Man, the distant storm of approaching energy, and the slowly recovering Wang Chong, Cheng Qianli, Wang Yan, and Gao Xianzhi, Qutaybah clenched his teeth and finally made his choice.
“Tang, we will meet again!”
After one last glance at the Demonic Emperor Old Man, Qutaybah chose to retreat from the battlefield, his body blinking away into the distance.
Qutaybah had consumed far too much Stellar Energy in dealing with Wang Chong and the Wushang Cavalry. Qutaybah did not have the confidence to defeat the Demonic Emperor Old Man while he was not in peak condition.
Bang!
The air howled as the Governor of War vanished into the distance in a streak of golden light, leaving a long trail behind him in the air.
“How was it?”
A familiar and extremely elderly voice came from next to the Demonic Emperor Old Man. In a gust of wind, the Wushang Village Chief appeared like a ghost next to the Demonic Emperor Old Man, holding a cane and gazing at the distant figure of Qutaybah.
His speed was a little slower than that of the Demonic Emperor Old Man, who had cultivated the Myriad Spirit Sea Art. Although he was still very fast, he had been delayed by a minor matter and hadn’t been able to arrive on time.
“This fellow is very strong. I’ve never encountered such a formidable opponent before! In addition, I’m afraid that he’s already begun to touch upon that realm,” the Demonic Emperor Old Man said.
“Ah!”
The Wushang Village Chief was somewhat startled and his gaze turned grim. Both he and the Demonic Emperor Old Man knew of the realm above the peak of the Saint Martial realm. Anyone who touched that realm was assuredly a legendary expert.
“Let’s put that aside for now and help out these children. With their strength, they will be hard-pressed to fight this level of expert.”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man very quickly turned his gaze to Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli.
Although Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli were illustrious individuals of the Western Regions, with Gao Xianzhi even being a Great General and Anxi Protector-General, the Demonic Emperor Old Man was much older than they were. Even Gao Xianzhi was just a child before the Demonic Emperor Old Man and the Wushang Village Chief.
Whoosh!
The Demonic Emperor Old Man floated to Gao Xianzhi’s side. Raising him up from the ground, he patted his palm heavily against Gao Xianzhi’s shoulder. Booom! There was an explosion of wind as the Origin Energy in a vast area flowed into Gao Xianzhi’s body like rivers flowing into the sea.
At the same time, this vast sea of almost tangible Origin Energy also flowed into Cheng Qianli, Xi Yuanqing, and Lou Shiyi.
“Ah!”
Everyone was left dumbfounded by this sight.
“So powerful!”
As they sensed the strength in their bodies increase, Cheng Qianli and Xi Yuanqing stared in shock at the Demonic Emperor Old Man. This was the first time they had seen Wang Chong’s master. The two of them believed themselves to be extremely powerful martial artists, but the power of the Demonic Emperor Old Man was already beyond their imagination.
None of them had even imagined that someone could understand and control Origin Energy to such a sublime level. The rest of the Saint Martial realm experts were like children compared to this man.
“What powerful energy!”
Gao Xianzhi was right next to the Demonic Emperor Old Man and his body was shrouded in thick Origin Energy, so he naturally could perceive the most. The elder next to him had a body bursting with explosive energy. Gao Xianzhi could sense tens of thousands of energy vortices on this elder’s body.
He had never sensed such terrifying energy on anyone before. This was like the energy of tens of thousands of storms compressed into the shape of a single man.
At this moment, he was even finding himself rather fortunate that this man was an ally, not an enemy.
Is this Wang Chong’s back-up plan? Just where did he find such a powerful martial artist?
Gao Xianzhi was deeply moved. He had always regarded himself as very strong, but there was still a large gap between him and this elder, and if this elder had not appeared to stop Qutaybah, the consequences would have been too gruesome to imagine.
Master’s Myriad Spirit Sea Art seems to have gotten even stronger!
None was more ecstatic at this moment than Wang Chong.
His master had been silent for a very long time after his dantian was shattered, but after cultivating the Myriad Spirit Sea Art, his master had soared in power. Every time Wang Chong saw his master, Wang Chong could sense that his master had developed an even deeper understanding of the Myriad Spirit Sea Art.
Not even Wang Chong could estimate the level his master had reached.
It appeared that he had already completely overcome the original flaw in his body.
Chapter 1067 - Above the Peak of Saint Martial!
Chapter 1067: Above the Peak of Saint Martial!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Chong-er, you command things on the military side. We’ll take care of the experts.”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man looked ahead, his eyes sparkling with sharp light. Just by raising his finger, he shot thousands of bolts of energy like sharp arrows into the fleeing Arab cavalry. Bangbangbang! In a series of explosions, a large group of Arab cavalry was blown several hundred feet away.
“Kiiiill!”
On the Great Tang side, the soldiers were rapidly building momentum. The sixty thousand elite reinforcements were sweeping forward with the original Tang army and mercenaries. In an instant, the Arabs
were in total retreat, fleeing even faster from the Tang. Only after pursuing for a very long distance did the Great Tang side finally call off the chase.
……
“Bastard! Abu Muslim, who let you signal for the soldiers to retreat!?”
Both armies had withdrawn, but things were far from settled on the Arab side. Beneath the four black banners, the golden-armored Qutaybah was fiercely glaring at Abu Muslim, radiating anger.
Qutaybah had always been the most bellicose and pugnacious person in Arabia. But just when he had been prepared to fight the Demonic Emperor Old Man, Abu Muslim had sounded the horn for retreat. This was absolutely unacceptable to Qutaybah.
Buzz!
As Qutaybah spoke, a cold energy flowed through the air and locked onto Abu Muslim. In a flash, Aybak and Osman became extremely apprehensive.
“Qutaybah, listen to us. We had no ill intentions!” Governor Osman hurriedly said.
“I didn’t ask you to open your mouth!”
Qutaybah suddenly shot Osman a glance, those icy eyes instantly causing Osman’s heart to chill and his words to die in his mouth.
Although they were all governors, Qutaybah was unquestionably the strongest, and after seeing his terrifying strength that allowed him to fight alone against many, no one dared to fight with this madman.
“Qutaybah, I had no desire to stop you from fighting.”
The only person who remained calm at this time was Abu Muslim. His expression was relaxed and fearless, even before the War God of Arabia.
“Ice three feet thick does not melt in a single day. We will still have opportunities to fight with the Tang. Moreover, if we were just testing their strength, then we’ve reached our goal. They received many reinforcements, have four Great Generals, and now they have that old man. You had already fought with them for some time, and if they grouped up against you, things might have ended poorly.”
“So, you feel that I couldn’t beat him?”
Qutaybah narrowed his eyes as his expression turned colder.
As the War God of Arabia, Qutaybah had never lost in his entire career. Abu Muslim’s words were on the verge of breaking one of his taboos.
Buzz!
Qutaybah’s words triggered a shift in the air. Qutaybah truly did have an astonishing aura, but Abu Muslim was showing no signs of backing down. One was the Governor of War and the other was the Governor of Iron and Blood. Both were supreme existences of the Arabian Empire.
These two powerful governors in a stand-off beneath the four black war banners made Osman and Aybak extremely uneasy.
“Qutaybah, calm yourself!
“Abu Muslim, don’t be rash!”
Aybak was beginning to panic.
The army had come to the east to deal with the Tang at Talas, but if the situation continued to develop in this fashion, the four hundred thousand Arab soldiers might fall into internal strife.
“That was not my meaning. But, Qutaybah, do not forget our objective in this eastern conquest. His Majesty the Caliph has decreed for us to pacify and unite the entire eastern world!” Abu Muslim sternly said.
He was not like Qutaybah, who was almost intoxicated in the ecstasy of constantly defeating powerful opponents and crushing Great Generals beneath his feet.
Abu Muslim was more concerned with the strategic objective. This was why he had not withdrawn to Khorasan at the end of the battle, instead remaining in the Black Forest to wait for another opportunity to attack.
All was quiet and still as the temperature beneath the war banners plunged to freezing temperatures.
Qutaybah stared at Abu Muslim, his eyes surging with killing intent. The massive and dreadful God’s Might trembled and droned.
Everyone in the area seemed nervous, and Ziyad, standing behind Abu Muslim, even silently moved his right hand to grip the Ocean Ring at his waist.
Gulp!
Ziyad subconsciously swallowed. As one of the finest Arab generals, Ziyad had faced many dangers, but Qutaybah represented a completely different kind. From a certain perspective, he had ascended to a higher level. Even if all of them worked together, Ziyad was not certain that they could truly deal with Qutaybah.
Abu Muslim still remained the calmest and most relaxed, though his eyes were slightly narrowed. His resolve was like a stone standing tall in the middle of a pounding river.
“Fine!”
After a long while, Qutaybah relaxed the grip on his sword. Abu Muslim’s argument had been persuasive, the will of the Caliph emerging victorious over Qutaybah’s lust for battle.
“I leave this place to you. I will wait for your final decision!”
With these words, Qutaybah swept past the three other Arab commanders and rode into the rear.
Whoosh!
Ziyad, Aybak, and Osman all breathed sighs of relief. Only after Qutaybah had left did the three realize that their palms were caked in cold sweat.
Now that there were no outsiders, Osman walked up to his old friend.
“Abu Muslim, you were far too rash,” he reproached. “It’s not like you don’t know about Qutaybah’s personality. If you really managed to provoke him, it would have gone badly for all of us!
“I was really worried for you back there.”
“Relax. Qutaybah isn’t as impulsive as all of you imagine. Don’t forget, he’s still a governor, not some ordinary general!” Abu Muslim nonchalantly said.
Others might regard Qutaybah as a pure battle maniac, but Abu Muslim knew that no pure battle maniac could have become the Governor of War.
“Let’s go. I’ve already received a message from the Tibetans and Western Turks. They will arrive soon.”
As Abu Muslim spoke, he turned his horse around and quickly vanished from beneath the four black war banners.
……
With both armies giving the signal for retreat, both the Tang and Arabs had elected to enter a stalemate. The Tang did not leave their defenses to attack, and the Arabs did not have the courage to circle around the defense lines and continue the assault.
After the battle was over and the field cleaned up, everyone gathered in the reception hall of the Lord of Talas, where a grim and solemn atmosphere hung in the air.
“Have you counted the losses yet? How many men did we lose in this battle?”
Gao Xianzhi rested his hands against the table as he turned to a nearby deputy.
“Our casualties were not small, around ten thousand. But the Arabs lost even more, nearly eighty thousand, and all of them were elites!” the deputy sternly replied.
The deputy’s words caused the mood in the hall to depress. It appeared as if the Arabs had lost far more in this battle than the Tang, but ten thousand soldiers was no small number to the Tang forces.
More importantly, in this short clash, the Tang had sent the Wushang Cavalry, the Iron Wall Army, and the Mo Saber Unit, and even the reinforcements had entered the battle. But on the Arab side, the Mamelukes and other important elite armies had yet to enter the field.
This fact made the eighty thousand losses appear rather small.
An extremely gloomy mood reigned in the hall as everyone lowered their heads and silently began to think.
Cheng Qianli broke the silence. “This isn’t what I’m worried about the most. That golden-armored Arab governor is probably the person that Khorasani called the Governor of War, Qutaybah. This person is far too powerful. He was able to singlehandedly block all four of us and still held the advantage. If we don’t think of a way to deal with him, we’ll find it very difficult to win this war.”
The four of them understood more than anyone else that the tens of thousands of Tang soldiers, the many steel walls, and four Great Generals had all failed to block one man and his sword.
Cheng Qianli had never imagined before this that such a strong martial artist could exist in this world. That unstoppable aura had left an indelible mark in Cheng Qianli’s memory.
“Leave that Arab to me,” the Demonic Emperor Old Man sudde
nly said. “If it’s as I suspect, this person has already broken past the peak of the Saint Martial realm and reached the Subtle realm. This strength isn’t something you can handle.”
“‘Subtle’?”
This word made everyone, including Wang Chong, turn to the Demonic Emperor Old Man.
Wang Chong had reached a very high level of cultivation in his last life, no less than someone of Abu Muslim’s level, but not even Wang Chong had ever heard about the Subtle realm. The only thing he knew about the realm above the Saint Martial realm was the Divine Martial realm.
But Wang Chong did not doubt his master’s words. Even in the apocalyptic era, the Demonic Emperor Old Man was a legendary existence. His cultivation level had far exceeded what many martial artists could imagine.
“Master, do you mean that this Qutaybah has reached a level of cultivation where his senses are so subtle and profound that he can see the essence of Stellar Energy and observe many things that normally can’t be observed?” Wang Chong suddenly said.
The Demonic Emperor Old Man gave a shocked glance at Wang Chong and then nodded.
“Correct. A normal martial artist only knows about Stellar Energy, but has no idea that there are tens of thousands of different kinds of energy that can be ranked from high to low. These particles of energy are something that ordinary martial artists, even Great Generals, cannot observe. But at the Subtle realm, everything is different. The Subtle realm experts have a control over energy that ordinary martial artists can’t even begin to imagine. Moreover, at the Subtle realm, one can absorb a powerful energy from the world that ordinary martial artists, Great Generals included, might never interact with for their entire lives…”
Chapter 1068 - Gathering of Elites!
Chapter 1068: Gathering of Elites!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Everyone in the hall was dumbstruck by the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s words. Even Gao Xianzhi was shocked at the theory that had been proposed. The energy system of the Central Plains had been passed down for hundreds of years and was already essentially fixed. Thus, even Gao Xianzhi had believed that he had reached the peak of the martial path.