The High Priest’s words immediately made Wang Chong’s heart sink.
Chapter 1834 - Six Seconds!
Chapter 1834: Six Seconds!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Six seconds!
This time of complete immunity from attacks wasn’t long, and at any other time, Wang Chong wouldn’t have cared. Once the time had passed, he could still deal damage to his foe. But right now, the Behemoths were only one thousand feet from the defense line. Given the massive size and speed of the Behemoths, six seconds was enough time for them to charge into the defense line.
And once they got into the defense line, he wouldn’t be able to stop them from destroying it no matter what he did.
Throwing the Behemoths into chaos would only make the damage to the Tang army even worse!
“Everyone, stand ready! Be careful!”
Wang Chong’s voice resounded like thunder over the army.
Roooar!
Raaaah!
Awooo!
Thick plumes of dust surged into the air as the five Behemoths approached with astonishing speed. Even though there were only five, the red-eyed Behemoths charged with a momentum greater than an army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Six hundred feet, four hundred feet, two hundred feet… they were getting closer and closer, the winds kicked up by their advance already battering against the steel walls and causing the soldiers’ armor to clang and clatter.
Buzz!
As the Behemoths were about to impact, Wang Chong shot toward the weakest of the five.
He opened his hand, upon which one of the giant ballista bolts shot into the air and flew into his hand.
Bang! Wang Chong grabbed this ballista bolt, circulated his Stellar Energy, and threw. The air exploded as the ballista bolt turned into a dazzling white beam of light. It blasted through that ape Behemoth’s wound and pierced into its head.
Awooooo!
With a piercing howl, the ape Behemoth’s vitality plunged. Upon receiving this fatal strike, its flame of life was rapidly extinguished, and its massive body fell to the ground. However, the enormous force of its inertia continued to carry it forward.
“Ah!”
As the ape Behemoth’s body crashed forward, the center area of the defense line erupted with cries of alarm.
The soldiers stationed at the front line were all strong elites who needed to be at the True Martial realm at the minimum, but even the strongest of them might as well have been an ant in front of the powerful Behemoths. While the Behemoth was already dead, the pure weight of its flesh was enough to pulverize them.
All of their hearts began to madly thump, but despite the immense danger they faced, the army remained disciplined.
“Careful!”
“Beehives, attack!”
“Fourth, sixth, and seventh units, fall back!”
“Units thirteen, fourteen, seventeen, eighteen, and twenty-six, withdraw to the left and right flanks!”
A string of orders was issued with astonishing speed, and all the soldiers swiftly withdrew from where the Behemoth was about to impact.
Though the collision had yet to occur, all of them immediately gave up on the area.
At any time, military orders always took precedence over anything else.
Boomboomboom!
A few moments later, the massive body of the ape Behemoth plowed into the steel defense line.
With a deafening screech, the twenty-some steel walls at the very front were instantly uprooted and tossed into the air like pieces of paper.
But the Behemoth’s body continued to plow forward on its excess inertia.
Boom! Boom! Boom! These heavy steel walls, rooted into the earth, would normally be unmoved even when struck by a Profound Martial realm general, but they were completely unable to hold against the Behemoths. More and more steel walls were knocked aside, and the ape Behemoth’s corpse created a massive gap in Wang Chong’s defense line.
This was merely the beginning. The four other Behemoths came in quick succession. Boom! A hippo Behemoth raised its pillar-like leg and then slammed it down. Rumble! The earth shuddered as a destructive force ripped through it, sweeping like a wave toward the steel walls.
Clangclangclang! A swath of steel walls was knocked into the air, and as metal crashed into metal, the entire front line was devastated.
“Release!”
“Concentrated fire!”
Urgent and anxious commands cut through the air.
Boomboomboom!
The thirty-some giant ballistae soon turned and began to target those massive creatures.
The advantages derived from the way Wang Chong had deployed his forces immediately became evident. The thirty-some giant ballistae were several thousand feet from the front line and were also spaced apart from each other. Even though the Behemoths had reached the front line, they would not be able to reach these lethal weapons very quickly.
The air howled as the giant ballistae fired, their bolts thudding into the comparatively vulnerable heads of the Behemoths.
The Behemoths howled and moaned as they were fired on. Three of the Behemoths were swiftly killed, their bodies crashing to the ground. The last Behemoth swayed and staggered, its heavy injuries causing its speed to drop.
“Release!”
With another order, the regular ballistae fired, their concentrated fire bringing down the last Behemoth to penetrate the defense line. The battle had only been going on a short while, but at least seventeen Behemoths had already been killed.
The offensive power of the giant ballistae was truly astonishing, but still, they were too slow.
With furious roars, the several dozen Behemoths in the rear finally regained their senses, the time bought by those five charging Behemoths proving critical. Once more, they began to charge at the Tang army.
“Careful!” Wang Chong cried out. With another wave of his hand, he took in another giant ballista bolt and threw, killing another Behemoth.
Psychic Storm!
He spread open his hand, unleashing a massive stream of Psychic Energy at the center of the Behemoth pack. But the High Priest was ready this time, and as Wang Chong released the Psychic Storm, another wave of Psychic Energy collided against it, weakening its power and range.
“Young man, your opponent is me!”
The High Priest’s voice rang out in the mental domain.
Wang Chong’s face turned grim.
The battle had only begun, and the Arabs had merely sent out their probing force of several dozen Behemoths. Not a single one of their top-class experts had yet mobilized. In these circumstances, Wang Chong did not dare to waste Psychic Energy or Stellar Energy.
This was also why he had used giant ballista bolts to slay the Behemoths.
Countless thoughts flitted through Wang Chong’s mind as he raised his arm and shouted an order.
“Behemoth Slayers, move out!”
Buzz!
The clattering of armor came from the back of the army, and a moment later, stalwart figures completely covered in black armor marched out from the rear.
These people were clearly much larger than ordinary soldiers, standing out like cranes amongst chickens. And their armor… the unique texture and luster indicated clearly that this was the Meteoric Metal armor worn by the Wushang Cavalry, but this armor was even thicker, heavier, and sturdier.
But the most striking thing of all were the massive swords they held, each around twenty feet long.
Behemoth Bane!
This was a special weapon Wang Chong had produced precisely to deal with Behemoths.
Swords longer than ten feet were prone to breaking, and not even special forging methods could change this.
With no other option, Wang Chong mixed metals, using tough Deep Sea Xuan Metal at the potential breaking points of the giant swords, reinforced with many toughening inscriptions. These efforts succeeded in resolving the problem of giant s
words breaking.
However, the success rate was still not very high. Despite his best efforts, Wang Chong only managed to produce thirty-some Behemoth Banes.
In addition, the use of other metals had reduced the toughness of the giant swords, and they were far weaker than pure Wootz Steel weapons. After around three hundred full-strength swings, the swords would begin to crack.
But this was enough for Wang Chong, because the Behemoth Banes were solely meant to deal with Arabia’s Behemoth Army.
“Behemoth Slayers, assemble!”
One stalwart figure stood in the center of this force, his body surrounded by an earthen yellow aura rippling with Earth Element energy, the clear signs of a formation from Wushang Village. This man was none other than Huang Botian.
The Rebellion of the Three Princes had taken up almost all of Wang Chong’s attention, but he had never once let his guard down around Arabia. Thus, after the Battle of Talas, Wang Chong had begun training a special force in his secret base located between Greater and Lesser Balur.
This special force didn’t have many soldiers, but they all had a certain level of strength, allowing them to proficiently wield special weapons meant to kill the enormous Behemoths. This was the Behemoth Slayer plan!
Not many people knew about this plan. Of the upper echelons of the empire, only Wang Chong, King Song, and Zhangchou Jianqiong knew. This plan was meant specifically for a day like this.
Although he had only had two collaborators, this was enough for Wang Chong. With the experts of Wushang Village and the elites transferred from the army by King Song and Zhangchou Jianqiong, Wang Chong had managed to assemble a force of thirty-six Behemoth Slayers.
Chapter 1835 - Behemoth Slayers!
Chapter 1835: Behemoth Slayers!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Clang! Clang!
The thirty-six Behemoth Slayers stood in a row, raising their twenty-foot-long Behemoth Banes up into the air, allowing the teeth lining the edges to gleam.
These intimidating swords were shockingly large, even taller than Huang Botian!
Once they raised their swords, the thirty-six Behemoth Slayers went still and silent.
Buzz!
Even the distant Arab Governors and Deputy Governors couldn’t help but widen their eyes in shock at this sight.
Arabia was a militaristic country, and its generals had campaigned all around the world and seen many things. But none of them had ever seen soldiers use such massive weapons before.
All of them felt uneasy at this development.
Roooar!
The bellowing Behemoths drew closer and closer, the earth shaking and dust churning at their approach. Even though the clouds of dust rose several hundred feet into the air, they still could not completely mask the enormous forms of the Behemoths.
One second!
Two seconds!
A moment later, just when the Behemoths were about to crash into the defense line, the thirty-six Behemoth Slayers shot over with astonishing speed, instantly crossing several hundred feet.
As a Behemoth was about to plunge into the defense line, Huang Botian cried out, his body somersaulting through the air. As countless people watched in awe, he landed on the head of a bull Behemoth.
“Open up for this old man!”
Huang Botian’s eyes were red, his hair and beard in disarray, his body brimming with divine energy.
Crack!
A flash of lighting seemed to cross the skies, and a moment later, that twenty-foot-long sword slashed down.
With a metallic clang, the armor around the Behemoth’s head, three feet thick and strengthened by innumerable inscriptions, suddenly cracked open. After breaking through the armor, Huang Botian stabbed his giant sword into the Behemoth’s head, two-thirds of the blade sinking into the flesh.
Awooooo!
The bull Behemoth’s body shuddered as it painfully howled.
The teeth edging the blade of the twenty-foot sword seemed to wound it even more than the giant ballista bolts.
As the sword plunged in, plush! Foul blood gushed out from the wound along a groove in the sword specifically designed for redirecting blood, drenching Huang Botian.
“Die for this old man!”
Huang Botian furiously roared, and as his Stellar Energy rumbled, the entirety of the sword plunged into the beast’s head.
The Behemoth instantly howled. Its massive body staggered and dropped, crushing ten-some steel walls into metal scrap.
“Kill!”
Right behind Huang Botian, the other armored soldiers shot forward with their massive swords and lunged at the other Behemoths.
The reason warriors found it hard to hurt the Behemoths was their tough, thick, and tenacious flesh. The thickness of the skull alone was several meters. Ordinary weapons couldn’t even pierce through their bones, let alone damage their organs.
The Behemoth Banes had been forged for this specific purpose.
These massive weapons weren’t that powerful when used against regular enemy soldiers, even being so large that they hindered mobility and prevented the user from exerting their full strength. But they were perfect for the Behemoths.
Thudthudthud!
As the Behemoth Slayers came forward, the Behemoths began to howl in pain.
“Release!”
Without the slightest hesitation, the giant ballistae began to thunder, sending ballista bolts howling through the air. In a flash, another seven or eight Behemoths had been felled, bringing the total losses above twenty.
But not a single Behemoth had been able to penetrate deeply into the Tang defense line.
Upon seeing this, the millions of Arab cavalry turned silent, all of them stunned.
These were the world-destroying beasts of Arabia, and even the powerful Sassanid Dynasty, despite its fierce resistance, had fallen under just a few Behemoths.
But now, even before the battle had fully begun, so many of these beasts had been lost. This eastern empire had even established a force specifically to deal with the Behemoths, a development that none of them had expected.
For the first time, the fearless Arab cavalry were realizing that these eastern infidels would be far more frightening than imagined, even with their overwhelming advantage in numbers.
“Kill!”
“Everyone, charge with me!”
“The Behemoths have already made an opening! Hold the Tang back! Tear them to shreds! Attack!”
At this moment, Arabic war cries resounded through the air. As the Behemoth Army offensive was being pushed back, the galloping of hooves came from behind them. Weapons clanged, their edges flashing with cold light, and an army of two-hundred-thousand-some Arab cavalry charged out, the general leading them pointing his sword straight into the air.
As Khatabah’s most outstanding vanguard general, Apolis had a sharp intuition for spotting the best chance to strike so as to increase the advantage for his own side. From the very beginning, Apolis had been watching the battle from the rear.
While the enemy had been more prepared than expected and the Behemoth Army’s attack had been thwarted, the objective had been reached. The Behemoth Army had successfully opened up the center of the Tang defense line.
“Kill!”
The Arab cavalry roared and sped up, and the distance rapidly shrank from six thousand feet to four thousand feet. At this distance, the Arab cavalry suddenly split in two, circling around the Behemoths before continuing their charge.
“Focus! They’re about to attack! The enemy commander is extremely formidable. He plans to use the power of the Behemoths to widen the gap in our defenses!” A powerful mental wave swept out, mixing with the mental waves of the other five Tang commanders. The speaker was none other than Wang Zhongsi, atop a scarlet steed.
Wang Zhongsi was not participating in this probing assault, but as the illustrious and experienced former War God, he had been constantly observing the battlefield.
Wang Chong had always been on guard against the Arabs, starting his preparations ever since the Battle of Talas. This was probably the Great Tang’s greatest advantage in this battle. In normal circumstances, if the initial assault had failed to produce the expected amount of damage, the majority of commanders would choose to temporarily retreat, but not this commander.
This man was aggressively minded. Rather than retreating, he wanted to create more opportunities on the battlefield by attacking on two flanks, thus throwing the Tang army into chaos and allowing the Behemoth Army to get more done.
Two hundred thousand cavalry assaulting the defense line paired with the Behemoth Army would massively increase the pressure on the Tang.
“Lord Zhangchou, Protector-General An, it’s up to you!” Wang Chong coldly said, his expression calm and collected.
“Mm!”
On the left and right flanks, Zhangchou Jianqiong and An Sishun subtly nodded, but they remained motionless in their separate armies.
As top-class Great Generals, Zhangchou Jianqiong and An Sishun had their own analyses of the battlefield, their own understanding of the ideal chance to strike and how the strike was made. They were not like ordinary generals, who would rashly charge in the moment they spotted the enemy.
That was far from the best opportunity.
“Kill!”
“Exterminate these infidels!”
“This is a great glory! Today, we will follow the Hierophant in uniting the entire eastern world and fulfilling God’s will!”
“Those who die will be eternal warriors of Arabia!”
Arabic war cries continued to ring out as the Arab cavalry coalesced into floods of steel.
The neighing of their horses was getting closer and closer.
As the tension soared, time slowed to an interminable crawl.
“First defense line! Left and right flanks! Raise shields! Hold the line!”
“Beehives! Get ready for my order!”
“Ready!”
“Ready!”
A string of orders came from the first defense line. At this time, there was no need for Wang Chong to issue the orders himself. His subordinates had been honed by numerous battles.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1121
