The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 703
As long as these Tang soldiers had not reached this level of cultivation on their own power and were relying on a ritual tool, they just needed to destroy the tool and could still salvage a victory from this battle.
Nearby, Dalun Ruozan gave his own order, his blue robes flapping in the wind. “Huoshu Huicang, Dusong Mangpoje, get ready. Qutaybah and Abu Muslim have already stepped onto the battlefield. They will probably need our strength in this battle!”
Countless thoughts flitted through his profound eyes. With the appearance of those two mysterious old men on the Great Tang’s side, the situation had completely changed. The Arabs alone would find it very hand to gain the upper hand in a battle of Great Generals. Since they were allies with a common enemy and objective, it was only appropriate for the Tibetans to lend a hand.
“Understood!”
Huoshu Huicang pressed his right hand against his saber and took two steps forward. At the same time, Dusong Mangpoje also rode forward on his horse. The atmosphere on the battlefield grew even more tense!
On the other end of the battlefield, Gao Xianzhi’s eyes flashed as he saw Abu Muslim ride out.
“Wang Chong, Qianli, leave Abu Muslim to me. The two of you can deal with the rest!”
The two silently nodded in agreement.
With no hesitation, Gao Xianzhi galloped out.
On the battlefield, the twenty thousand Tang elites were continuing to sweep over the battlefield, bolstered by the power of the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner. The Great Tang still had the initiative in this battle, but even the Tongluo Commander Chuluohou had noticed the enormous shift taking place on the battlefield.
In the distance, Qutaybah and the Demonic Emperor Old Man were getting closer, saturating the air with tension. One hundred feet, sixty feet, fifty feet…
At a distance of around twenty feet, both of them coincidentally stopped at the same time. One was riding upon a mighty steed, a god descended to the mortal world. The other was dressed in wide-sleeved robes, and though he was not as dazzling as Qutaybah, his imposing figure was like the loftiest mountain in the world, enough to make anyone stop and look up in wonder.
Their eyes reflected the figure of their opponent, and both of them stood still.
Buzz!
Powerful energies howled out from their bodies. Although neither of them had attacked yet, everyone around them could sense the dangerous aura hanging around them. At some point, all the surrounding soldiers had unwittingly receded to fight elsewhere, leaving a large open space around the pair.
“Kill!”
After some time, there was a massive shout as Arab cavalry charged in with their scimitars.
“For the Governor!”
“Kill this Tang!”
Brash cries in Arabic rang in the air. Qutaybah had extremely high prestige within the army, and when the Arab horsemen saw that the two were in a stalemate, they sensed a chance and decided to use their advantage in numbers to swarm the Demonic Emperor Old Man and create an opportunity for Qutaybah.
At this sight, the Demonic Emperor Old Man finally moved, but all he did was raise an eyebrow. His hands remained hanging motionless at his side. Boom! Three feet around the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the air began to vibrate, condensing into tens of thousands of bolts of energy that exploded outward.
Swooshswooshswoosh! Before those elite Arab horsemen were able to reach the Demonic Emperor Old Man, they were shot through by those terrifying bolts of energy, their finely-crafted armor crumpling like paper and shattering into pieces.
Buzz!
At this moment, the air suddenly thrummed with dreadful killing intent. Seated upon his warhorse, Qutaybah clenched the fingers of one hand and instantly attacked.
Boom!
A vast stream of golden Sword Qi immediately rose out of the earth, piercing through the heavens. For a moment, it felt like the sky itself had been cut in two, a mirror-like wound appearing on its surface. It was only at this moment that a thunderous boom could be heard.
Qutaybah struck with extreme speed as well as extreme weight. As this beam of Sword Qi descended, it was as heavy as a mountain. Even a fortress would be cut in two, much less a creature of flesh and bone.
Almost immediately after Qutaybah attacked, the Demonic Emperor Old Man responded to this mountain-sundering strike. The Demonic Emperor Old Man did not use any kind of weapon, instead swinging out with his palm of flesh and bone.
Suddenly, the air exploded with thousands of shockwaves. Tens of thousands of bolts of energy of differing lengths had appeared around the Demonic Emperor Old Man, enclosing him in a massive forest of energy. If one looked carefully, one would notice that every pore of the Demonic Emperor Old Man was spewing energy.
Buzz!
The Demonic Emperor Old Man had a serene expression as he extended a single finger. Hundreds upon thousands of these energy bolts immediately fused together into a massive sword that flew at Qutaybah and the enormous heaven-cleaving Sword Qi he had unleashed.
Rumble!
No one could describe the moment those two breathtaking attacks clashed. Dust exploded, rising more than a thousand feet into the air and engulfing the entire area.
Chapter 1106 - The Eight Ultimate Sunderings Art!
Chapter 1106: The Eight Ultimate Sunderings Art!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Ah!”
There was a terrible scream as all the Arab cavalry within several thousand feet of the clash between the Demonic Emperor Old Man and Qutaybah were dealt a destructive blow.
The explosive shockwave created by their clash immediately threw these Arab horsemen around like they were leaves in the autumn wind. Thousands of them were tossed around in a violent sandstorm, their faces filled with fear as they were swept aside. Some of the horsemen were even thrown far away to crash into the ground.
Thudthudthud!
A few moments later, the stony ground cracked apart while blood flowed like a waterfall. The soldiers howled for the last time as their corpses were scattered across the field.
In the center of this battle, the churning dust not only did not settle, but intensified, sending clouds of dust soaring higher and higher into the sky. In the middle of this ever-thickening cloud of dust, a golden figure was battling with a black figure. Boomboomboom! Golden beams of Sword Qi cleaved through the heavens, stabbing through the dust and thrusting at the clouds.
At the same time, uncountable bolts of fierce energy, more frightening than if they had been real swords or sabers, were exploding in every direction. The level the Demonic Emperor Old Man and Qutaybah had reached was far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Even the Great Generals who stood at the peak of martial artists couldn’t help but be cowed and shocked by this battle, a sense of inferiority instilled in their hearts.
Fwoooom! It took only a second for a golden beam of Sword Qi, the energy bolts of the Myriad Spirit Sea Art, the dust, and the gravel to create an enormous storm, a vast tornado that spiraled into the sky.
Bangbangbang! One shockwave after another exploded outward, rendering this area the most dangerous on the battlefield.
“Retreat, retreat!”
The Arab cavalry, alarmed and panicked, pulled on the reins of their horses and began to flee outward.
“These two… how…”
At this moment, Huoshu Huicang and Dusong Mangpoje were deeply stunned, their fists tightly clenched.
If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would have found it very difficult to imagine that the battle between these two could reach such a level. Even for Great Generals, the level that Qutaybah and the mysterious old man had reached clearly transcended beyond their ken.
As the entire battlefield was stunned by the battle between this pair, an imposing and stalwart figure was approaching.
When they were still some several dozen feet from each other, Abu Muslim pulled on the reins of his own horse and spoke in rough Tang language. “
Gao Xianzhi, we meet again. Do you think that you can stop me?”
The two were old foes, and their conflict could be considered to have lasted four months now. Gao Xianzhi also had some measure of understanding of Abu Muslim.
“But you’ve already lost!”
Gao Xianzhi faintly smiled.
The Revelation Army had been defeated, as had the Death Army and Fearless Army. If all went as expected, if this trend continued, the Great Tang would emerge victorious.
“Haha, to borrow an expression from you people of the Central Plains, it’s still not decided who will kill the deer!”
Abu Muslim grinned.
“Moreover, you are still no match for me!”
This was not their first battle, and their previous battles had already proven that Gao Xianzhi could not contend against him, which would naturally still be the case. It was simply impossible for Gao Xianzhi to stop him on his own.
Gao Xianzhi smiled and said, “Heh, since you know a few expressions of the Central Plains, I’ll give you another. ‘Don’t laugh until it’s over!'” He had heard from Wang Chong the saying ‘he who laughs last, laughs best’.
Buzz!
Abu Muslim’s eyes suddenly chilled and exploded with killing intent. Without the slightest hesitation, Abu Muslim put on the special gauntlet, the Eye of the Demon God, and punched.
“Asmodai’s Fury!”
Abu Muslim immediately used the supreme technique of his Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars Art.
When Abu Muslim had unleashed this attack wearing the Eye of the Demon God, even the Consecrated had staggered backward. Abu Muslim might not have been as strong as Qutaybah, but there was no question that he was ranked amongst the best. At the very least, the people who could contend against him in the Great Tang could be counted on one’s fingers.
Rumble! The sky suddenly dimmed as Abu Muslim’s body vanished, replaced by a three-headed demon god covered with purple-black scales. This massive demon god stood on the earth and threw a fist as large as a mountain at Gao Xianzhi.
This fist was unstoppable, stirring up fierce gales for one thousand feet around it as it thundered through the air. Thumpthumpthump! The winds even swept up the corpses of the Arab cavalry and pushed them to the side.
“Ha!”
Gao Xianzhi’s eyes flashed while a faint smile appeared on his lips.
“Eight! Ultimate! Sunderings! Art!” Gao Xianzhi bellowed, his every word like a peal of thunder. As Abu Muslim looked on in shock, Gao Xianzhi vanished in a gust of wind.
Rumble!
A second later, a dazzling bolt of lightning appeared several dozen feet above where Gao Xianzhi had originally been, and Gao Xianzhi emerged. Around him, light and shadow condensed into eight massive pitch-black columns. Mysterious characters had been carved into the eight pillars, and in the center of these eight mysterious pillars, space distorted and twisted. Suddenly, a miniature model of the continent appeared.
Everyone immediately felt a weighty and prodigious aura, as if this was not simply some illusion but was linked to the earth itself.
The Eight Ultimate Sunderings Art was the technique that Wang Chong had given him previously, but also a technique that had been born out of his own Six Ultimate Majesties God Technique. The two had the same origin. When martial arts reached a certain level, they were no longer restricted to merely transforming a certain type of weapon. For instance, Wang Chong could use a sword, but he could also use a spear, or when he transformed into the Godking Yama, he could use a vajra pestle.
Gao Xianzhi’s Six Ultimate Majesties God Technique primarily focused on Sword Qi, but when it was improved to the Eight Ultimate Sunderings Art, it no longer needed weapons.
But though this supreme technique was powerful, it was extremely difficult to cultivate. At the very least, the Gao Xianzhi of back then had managed to comprehend its principles, but not even at the end of his life had he succeeded in training in it.
Even though Wang Chong had given him a month to cultivate this technique in seclusion, Gao Xianzhi had still not completely learned the technique. It was only when the Demonic Emperor Old Man arrived and Gao Xianzhi had the opportunity to ask him some questions late in the night, thus understanding the nature of ‘Qi’, that he finally comprehended the Eight Ultimate Sunderings Art.
“Hmph, do you think that you can contend against me with this!”
Abu Muslim’s eyes went cold as the Asmodai’s Fury that he had sent out suddenly turned and rumbled toward Gao Xianzhi in the sky. At the same time, Gao Xianzhi opened the fingers of one hand, and the eight black pillars immediately shot out and spread out around Abu Muslim.
When Abu Muslim’s Asmodai’s Fury was still several dozen feet from Gao Xianzhi, suddenly, without any warning, his strongest technique was frozen in the air.
“How could this be?!”
Abu Muslim was greatly startled by this sight. His fist energy was inherently formless and shapeless, was not something that could be grasped like a saber or sword. For Gao Xianzhi to be able to freeze it in the air was a feat that completely overturned Abu Muslim’s understanding of the world.
As this thought flitted through Abu Muslim’s mind, the eight pillars suddenly exploded with power. With a massive boom, the punch that Abu Muslim had unleashed with all his power splintered apart and exploded into nothingness.
“!!!”
Fierce winds swept down from the sky. Abu Muslim’s face was grimacing and twisting as he stared at this sight. Never had he imagined that Gao Xianzhi would learn a new technique in the space of a single month. These eight strange pillars had somehow been able to completely shatter his most powerful attack.
“Abu Muslim, that was then and this is now. No matter what you plan to do, as long as I’m here, you will never succeed!”
A voice as loud as thunder came down from the sky. Gao Xianzhi stepped forward, and as he did, a majestic Sword Qi exploded from his feet. The Sword Qi condensed into another pillar covered with mysterious characters, floating in the air and holding him up.
The sky was a forbidden ground for martial artists, but the current Gao Xianzhi could traverse it like flat land.
With this single step, Gao Xianzhi’s understanding of the Eight Ultimate Sunderings Art increased. The principles of martial arts and Sword Qi were constantly flowing through his mind and his energy began to swell with it, bursting out like a storm from his body. The already powerful Gao Xianzhi instantly broke through some sort of bottleneck and reached an even higher level.
The Gao Xianzhi of the present finally had the right to duel with Abu Muslim. All was silent as Abu Muslim looked up at Gao Xianzhi. He could sense his foe’s energy soaring and his face immediately became ashen and grim.
“Huoshu Huicang, go!”
Seeing that Qutaybah and Abu Muslim had been stopped, Dalun Ruozan immediately gave his order, his eyes flashing.
In this battle, it wasn’t just the fate of Arabia, but the fate of Ü-Tsang that was also at stake. No matter what, they had to defeat the Great Tang, and if they wanted to destroy the Great Tang’s Nine Dragon Blood Formation, they needed to send out their Great Generals.
“Understood!”
Huoshu Huicang nodded and immediately galloped onto the field, hurtling at the black-armored guard like an approaching storm.
Chapter 1107 - Great General Melee!
Chapter 1107: Great General Melee!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Chong-er, leave Huoshu Huicang to me!”
A dignified and composed voice came from behind Wang Chong. Wang Yan had at some point walked up, and his eyes shone with a sharp light as he stared at the distant Huoshu Huicang.
Before Wang Chong could reply, Wang Yan had already walked out of the defense line. A force of disciplined infantry followed closely behind him.
“Wang Chong, I will go to help General Wang!” Su Hanshan said in his cold and aloof voice as he walked up to Wang Chong’s
side, staring at Wang Yan’s back.
Wang Yan was Wang Chong’s father, and though Su Hanshan did not doubt Wang Yan’s strength, there was no harm in being cautious. The five thousand ballistae would have an intimidating effect on the Arab cavalry. This was even more so now that the situation had changed. The Nine Dragon Blood War Banner had given the Great Tang the complete initiative over the battlefield, and the war banner would only make the terrifying war machines of the Great Tang even stronger and more intimidating against the Arabs.
“Mm!”
Wang Chong took stock of the situation and nodded. Now was the moment. The Great Tang had been in a defensive position throughout this battle, constantly waiting for attacks on its extensive line of steel walls, but now was the time for a counterattack. The Great Tang could now go on the offensive.
Creak! Creak!
There was a loud creaking as ballista bolts were loaded and Su Hanshan led his five thousand ballistae past the steel walls to follow Wang Yan’s infantry.
“Release!”
Before the Arab cavalry could begin charging, Su Hanshan swung his hand down. A cloud of ballista bolts immediately flew over Wang Yan’s army, past the twenty thousand Tang elites and the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner, and struck the Arab army.
Squelchsquelchsquelch! Blood exploded and screams filled the air as the sharp ballista bolts pierced through countless Arab cavalry.
“Advance!”
Su Hanshan waved his sword as he ordered his men to advance over the corpse-covered ground.
Under his command, the five thousand ballistae had been arranged into a hedgehog formation. The ballista army had very little in the way of defense, and one had to remember that the soldiers Su Hanshan had trained were former bandits and brigands. If the enemy suddenly got close, the ballista army was certain to suffer terrible losses.
But under Su Hanshan’s command, even the best soldiers of the Great Tang would find it a difficult task to get past the firing zone of the ballistae. The sharp and vicious attacks of the ballistae served as the best defense.