Abu Muslim!
Wang Chong’s expression went cold as he instantly recognized the man.
The Arab Governor of the East, seeing three of the Great Generals on his side faring poorly, finally felt compelled to attack Wang Chong.
Wang Chong’s eyes chilled as he faced down Abu Muslim’s heavy strike. Without the slightest hesitation, he fiercely punched. Clang! The largest of the golden halos at Wang Chong’s feet suddenly rose from the earth and fused into Wang Chong’s fist energy.
Raaaaa! As countless people looked on, Wang Chong’s golden fist energy transformed into a mighty dragon that rumbled toward Abu Muslim’s steely fist of roiling black energy.
Bang!
The two fists collided, and the surrounding space was instantly covered in a spider web of cracks, like a shattered mirror.
In this clash, Wang Chong remained motionless, but Abu Muslim’s shoulders shuddered as he took a small step backward.
“This is impossible!”
Abu Muslim had come with a furious momentum and intimidating aura, but this sight had caused his entire body to shiver from the impact.
Not long ago, Wang Chong had just been a Tang commander who wasn’t very strong but who could rely on his intelligence to influence the battlefield. Yet after just a few days, Wang Chong was able to fight on par with him—though one of the reasons he had come off worse in this clash was because he was in the air with nothing to anchor himself on.
But Abu Muslim had been able to tell from that strike that Wang Chong’s strength had risen to an absurd level. It was on the same level as the Governor of the East, or perhaps even a little higher.
“Hmph!”
Right when Wang Chong pushed back Abu Muslim, a cold snort came from overhead, a sound that would make anyone tremble in fear. Before Wang Chong could react, a golden bolt of lightning heavier than Mount Tai cleaved down at his head.
“Qutaybah!”
Wang Chong’s eyes narrowed, his muscles tensed, and his skull felt like it was going to explode, all his senses overcome by an unprecedented sense of danger. Without any time to think, Wang Chong’s body exploded with golden radiance, the golden halos bursting from his body and unleashing frenzied waves of Stellar Energy.
“Great Distortion Art!”
Everything around Wang Chong began to twist and distort.
Boom!
Qutaybah’s Sword Qi slashed down. The point of this Sword Qi’s collision with Wang Chong’s energy erupted with a light a thousand times more dazzling than the sun, imbued with a destructive might that would make anyone shrink back. At the moment of this explosion, Wang Chong slid backward several dozen feet, his feet digging out two long furrows in the hardy rock.
“Damn!”
Wang Chong managed to stabilize himself, and as he looked at that godlike figure in the air, countless thoughts flitted through his mind. Although he had succeeded in receiving this blow, both of his arms had been numbed by the dreadful strength. And inside his body, where nobody could see, Wang Chong sensed that several of his blood vessels had burst, unable to endure the enormous power.
There’s still not enough time! Wang Chong said to himself, his eyes turning sharp and vicious.
Although he was now at the Great General level and able to singlehandedly defeat Aybak, Huoshu Huicang, and Ziyad, there had still been too little time since his breakthrough. This lack of time to stabilize his foundations and steady his cultivation meant that there was still a gap between him and Qutaybah. Although ordinary people wouldn’t think this gap to be very large, it was enough to completely define the course of this battle.
“Li Siye, Kong Zi-an, Cui Piaoqi, abandon Talas and have the army withdraw at full speed!”
Wang Chong’s mind was in turmoil, his hair blown about by the fierce winds.
His father was heavily injured, as were Cheng Qianli, the Wushang Village Chief, the black-armored guard, the Demonic Emperor Old Man… The entire Tang army besides himself and Gao Xianzhi was burdened with severe injuries.
And in the few short moments that had passed, the Xuanwu Army, Divine Prison Army, and other elite Tang armies had sustained severe losses from the wholesale Arab assault and the attacks from Great Generals like Huoshu Huicang.
Su Hanshan’s ballista army had also sustained severe losses.
They had managed to pass through the last several days of this battle with barely an injury, but in this last battle, all the ballista bolts had been fired, so the twenty-five thousand ballista soldiers had immediately taken heavy losses. Only around twelve thousand were left, with the rest having died in battle.
The total manpower the Great Tang had on this battlefield was around thirty thousand, and this number was dropping at an alarming speed. If they didn’t retreat now, Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi might be able to escape alive, but the rest of the army would be wiped out and be buried here.
Bzzzz! The earth rumbled. The Great Tang soldiers had originally been willing to fight to the death, but Wang Chong’s order made them hesitate. Military orders were as immovable as mountains, and no matter the occasion, Wang Chong would always occupy an extremely high place in the hearts of the soldiers. Moreover, the Nine Dragon Blood Formation was in the final stages of collapse. If they persisted, all of them would die.
“Withdraw!”
Li Siye flourished his giant sword and reluctantly said, “Everyone, hear my order! The Wushang Cavalry will remain to cover the retreat! Everyone else, withdraw at full speed!”
Wang Chong’s order coupled with Li Siye’s prestige in the army finally convinced it to retreat.
“Kill! Avenge our brothers!”
A ballista soldier was so filled with bloodlust that he didn’t even hear the order. He cared only about charging forward, and the only thing in his eyes was the Arab cavalry on the other side. But a moment later, a palm reached out from behind and grabbed him.
“Stop!” Su Hanshan sternly said.
His voice was calm and emotionless. But to this ballista soldier, it was like a peal of thunder. He immediately stopped, his body frozen in the air.
Su Hanshan looked toward that familiar figure and said, “I know what you’re feeling, but military orders cannot be defied. I believe that Lord Protector-General has his reasons. Believe in him!”
Su Hanshan had never had anything like a friend in his life, so Wang Chong was the first person he acknowledged as such. Whether it was in ability or daring, even someone as proud as Su Hanshan felt compelled to admire him. This was why he had traveled a great distance to Qixi to help Wang Chong train a new ballista army and then hurried to Talas.
Su Hanshan certainly did not fear death, and if any other Great General had given this order, Su Hanshan would have never listened. But if Wang Chong gave this order, he would have to think long and hard.
“Withdraw!”
Su Hanshan waved his sword, and the ballista soldiers immediately began to recede like the tide.
“Do you really think you can leave?”
A cold voice came from behind them.
Qutaybah, clad in golden armor, his hands resting on his sword, was watching this all with eyes as sharp as a hawk’s. His attention had been on Wang Chong, but when he spotted the tens of thousands of Tang soldiers retreating, his face went cold. Boom! A magnificent beam of golden Sword Qi shot over Qutaybah’s head, extending tens of thousands of feet through the sky.
“Qutaybah, your opponent is me!”
Qutaybah’s sword was about to fall, certain to inflict heavy casualties on the Tang army in its current state. Wang Chong immediately lunged forward through the air to meet it.
“Seeking death! You’re no match for me!”
Qutaybah’s eyes oozed disdain, and he didn’t even glance at Wang Chong, nor did his destructive attack even slightly slow its progress.
Rumble! Just as Wang Chong lunged forward, Qutaybah jabbed with his right hand. A moment later, another dazzling beam of Sword Qi slashed out at Wang Chong.
/> The fact that Qutaybah could unleash two attacks of the same level of dreadful power at once had Gao Xianzhi instantly paling. Qutaybah’s cultivation combined with that mysterious ‘God’s Might’ created an absurd level of power. Not only that, Gao Xianzhi could sense that Qutaybah was seemingly getting stronger through this battle.
It seemed like he was constantly digesting the experience gained from fighting his foes and using it to strengthen himself.
This thought chilled Gao Xianzhi’s heart. He suddenly understood why Qutaybah was known as the War God of Arabia. It wasn’t just a simple matter of his strength.
“Wang Chong, watch out!” Gao Xianzhi anxiously called out.
With no time to think, Gao Xianzhi punched, the pillars of the Eight Ultimate Sunderings Art shooting forward to obstruct Abu Muslim, who was just about to attack Wang Chong.
This was all Gao Xianzhi could do at this time.
“Great Destruction Art!”
Seeing that Qutaybah was about to simultaneously obstruct him while also inflicting terrible damage on the Tang elites, Wang Chong exploded with Stellar Energy, his eyes going red as he used the final and most powerful move of the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art.
No one could describe the power of this move. The moment he used it, a lightning bolt seemed to cleave down, and a moment later, everything around him seemed to fiercely ripple.
All light for a hundred feet around him vanished, plunging the area into complete darkness. And this darkness contained an astonishingly powerful destructive energy.
Chapter 1137 - The Final and Decisive Battle!
Chapter 1137: The Final and Decisive Battle!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Buzz!
Qutaybah had originally been focused on the retreating Tang army, but the moment Wang Chong attacked, he immediately grimaced and turned his head. His disdainful eyes instantly became solemn and grim.
The Great Destruction Art!
This was the highest level of the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art. In a great war, the Demonic Emperor Old Man had once relied on this move to kill dozens of powerhouses of the righteous and evil factions and slaughter more than a thousand experts belonging to various sects. Through this feat, the Demonic Emperor Old Man had firmly established his supreme status in the world of martial arts and gained the title of ‘Demonic Emperor’.
This move could tear apart space and draw out the purest destructive energy from the depths of the void to attack an opponent. Even someone as strong as Qutaybah would need to confront this attack with all the attention he could muster.
Bzzz! With an enormous clang, the beam of golden Sword Qi that had been aimed at the retreating Tang army suddenly turned and slashed at Wang Chong.
These two beams of Sword Qi originally aimed in different directions now fused together, becoming even sharper, stronger, and more dazzling than before.
Boom!
These two different kinds of destructive energy, both incredibly pure, collided in the air.
Everyone could see two points of light emerge in the darkness, which instantly expanded into a blazing golden sun and a red full moon.
These were more real than any illusion of the sun or moon that Wang Chong had ever produced before. On this blazing sun, one could see the surging corona, and the surface of the full moon was uneven and pockmarked with craters. Wang Chong had created them by fusing the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art with his understanding of the psychic domain.
In this clash of energies, Wang Chong was admittedly still thrown back, but the powerful attack that was the fusion of two of Qutaybah’s beams of Sword Qi was also completely shattered by Wang Chong’s Great Destruction Art. Even the immovable figure of Qutaybah slightly quivered.
As Qutaybah watched Wang Chong being thrown back, he grimaced.
When Qutaybah had first appeared on the battlefield and run into Wang Chong, Wang Chong had posed no threat to him whatsoever. Not even Wang Chong working together with Gao Xianzhi, Wang Yan, and Cheng Qianli could contend against him. But now, not only had Wang Chong managed to receive his full-strength blow, he had even caused Qutaybah’s shoulders to tremble. This instilled Qutaybah with an unprecedented desire to kill.
Just as Qutaybah was clenching his fists and preparing to attack again, he suddenly heard a voice.
“Chong-er, your master has come to help you!”
Before he could react, the Demonic Emperor Old Man shot forward like a black bolt of lightning, intervening in the battle between Wang Chong and Qutaybah.
“It’s you!”
The familiar figure caused Qutaybah to grimace once more, a clear look of apprehension on his face.
Boom! In the blink of an eye, the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s Stellar Energy exploded toward Qutaybah. At almost the same moment, a great banner waved. The black-armored guard, suppressing his energies, gripped the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner and threw his stalwart body back into the fray.
“Master, watch out!”
A second later, Wang Chong exploded forward in alarm, and the three joined hands and began to fiercely battle with Qutaybah.
Even though Qutaybah was the number one expert of Arabia and practically unstoppable, he immediately had to put all his focus into dealing with his three attackers, the combined assault of three Great Generals.
Now that Wang Chong, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, and the black-armored guard were working together, the Tang armies felt the pressure on them as they retreated greatly diminish.
“Forget about them! The three of them are all practically spent! Qutaybah has enough strength to deal with them! Don’t let the Tang soldiers retreat. Kill them all and we will be the true victors of this battle!”
Winds howled over the chaotic battlefield. Aybak’s gaze paused on Wang Chong for only a few moments before he began to pursue the retreating Tang army.
Hearing Aybak’s words, Huoshu Huicang and Ziyad began to follow him without a second thought, charging toward the fleeing Tang.
The Great Tang didn’t have many soldiers left, and other than the ballista soldiers, the remaining soldiers were all elites. If they were allowed to return to the Western Regions, they would be able to stir up an endless amount of trouble.
And as long as they killed all the Tang soldiers, it didn’t matter how tenaciously Wang Chong, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, and the black-armored guard struggled.
An army without soldiers was no real army, and if all the Tang soldiers were killed and only the commanders like Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi were left, they would be unable to escape and eventually meet their deaths.
“Watch out! The Arabs are pursuing!”
The moment Aybak and Huoshu Huicang began to move out, Wang Sili, Du Wuwei, and the other commanders grimaced, even the Tongluo Cavalry Deputy Commander Chuluohou.
Three Great Generals working together wielded a dreadful power that all of them had personally experienced, and now that these three were moving toward them like lightning bolts, Wang Sili and the others couldn’t help but pale.
“We can’t worry about that much! No matter what, we have to get the army out safely!”
In these dire circumstances, if Huoshu Huicang and the others caught up, the Tang army would suffer horrific losses. With no time to think, Wang Sili lunged at Huoshu Huicang’s group.
Du Wuwei, Chuluohou, and the other commanders swiftly made their decision. Bangbangbang! One figure after another charged out, all of their eyes determined and unyielding.
“Hmph! Just clowns who overestimate their strength!”
Aybak couldn’t help but coldly laugh at this sight. There was a massive gap between Brigadier Generals and Great Generals that could not be filled by passion and courage. In Aybak’s view, these Tang Brigadier Generals were engaging in a suicidal course of action.
Boomboomboom!
One storm of energy after another exploded from the bodies of Aybak, Huoshu Huicang, and Ziyad. The three of
them seethed with killing intent as they prepared to commence a slaughter, when suddenly…
Swish!
A milky-white bolt of energy, sharp and grandiose to the extreme, thundered toward the trio.
This bolt of energy was extremely dense, and even individuals as powerful as Aybak, Huoshu Huicang, and Ziyad couldn’t help but tremble in fear at the sheer destructive power contained within it. All three of them stopped and fell back.
“Bastard! The old thing is still alive!”
Aybak turned to the white-haired figure in tattered robes standing front of the steel walls. His pupils constricted, his teeth clenched, and a string of curses issued from his mouth.
This old man had also received one of Qutaybah’s destructive blows, and after being knocked away, he had remained motionless for some time. Aybak had believed that this meant that he had died, but it seemed like he still had a little breath in him.
“Qutaybah, you bastard, why didn’t you just cut off his head. In the end, you’ve left us a major headache!”
Aybak couldn’t help but grumble at this point.
This old man was definitely not an existence that could be ignored. All he had done was jab out with his finger, but if they hadn’t been cautious and taken it seriously, they might have died to that bolt of energy. This was why Aybak and the others had chosen to retreat.
But Aybak was just voicing his complaints. Those at the Great General level all had extremely tenacious vitality and some unique methods of preserving their lives. For example, when Duwu Sili had noticed that something was wrong, he had immediately fled, and Governor Osman had his own unique version of Blood Escape. The old man certainly had his own ways that had kept him alive.
“Let them catch their breath for now. Once we kill this old man, we can slaughter the Tang just the same!”
Aybak viciously glared at the Wushang Village Chief as he charged forward. Ziyad was behind him, throwing out the Ocean Ring, with turned into a blur as it hurtled toward the Wushang Village Chief. Huoshu Huicang hesitated for a moment, but in the end, all three chose to attack together.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 720
