Boomboomboom!
At the same time, high in the clouds, Wang Chong, who was putting his all into his clash with Genesis Supreme, sensed the great turmoil below, even the turbulent streams of energy originating from the ground, and he instantly felt an ill foreboding.
Bang!
Wang Chong instantly exploded with Stellar Energy. He poured the power into the golden short halberd, which turned into a golden dragon that pushed Genesis Supreme away.
Using this chance, Wang Chong created some distance between him and Genesis Supreme and readied to shoot back to the ground to see what was going on.
But at this moment, a cold laugh came from behind him.
“Three thousand, six hundred and fifty.”
“What?”
Wang Chong froze, and he turned to look behind him.
Nearby, Genesis Supreme stood in the air, a jeering look in his eyes.
“Didn’t you want to go down and see what was happening? Ha, that was the simultaneous detonation of three thousand, six hundred and fifty small formations. Did you think that the three large formations you had set up under the fortress would really be able to stop us?
“All formations originate from us. Using our possessions against us? Laughable!”
Genesis Supreme’s expression was cold as he loudly announced, “You’ve already lost this war!”
Mortals were simple mortals, believing that just because they looked similar to gods, they were gods, and even that they could sit on the same level as gods.
Over his long life, he had seen far too many humans who had been too proud and underestimated gods, and their disrespect had led to their destruction.
These mortals would never know that these things that they were so proud of were nothing to the ‘gods’ who had lived for countless years.
“This is only the beginning. The link formation created by those three thousand, six hundred and fifty small formations will utterly destroy the structure of the formations beneath the ground. This was originally something developed to deal with large-scale formations like yours.
“You no longer have the power to resist us. I said before that in this battle, you and all of your soldiers will not return alive. This is the price for opposing the gods,” Genesis Supreme coldly said, emotionlessly staring at Wang Chong like he was a corpse.
Genesis Supreme rarely tested a single person like this. Li Taiyi and Wang Chong were of the same ilk. These ant-like mortals, for various reasons, believed that they could oppose the gods, and they grew complacent and conceited, wishing to contend against the gods and even disregard them.
Blasphemers like these had to be utterly annihilated, every trace of their existence wiped away. This was the best solution.
Meanwhile, on the ground, as if in response to Genesis Supreme’s words…
Kaclack!
The earth cracked and crumbled, a deafening boom drowning out all other noise. At this moment, all of the warhorses on the battlefield whinnied in fear, and everything fell into chaos.
And as this boom deafened the world, deep beneath the fortress, a massive formation cracked, and the invisible barrier that covered the fortress instantly dissolved.
Without the protection of the formation, the howling winds of the cold wave swept down, turning the fortress into an ice house.
This was actually the first time since the descent of the cold wave that they had felt such cold. It felt like they were completely naked, the chill seeping into their bones.
Crackcrack! Frost began to rapidly form on the fortress and on the bodies of the soldiers manning it.
Upon seeing this, Zhangchou Jianqiong, Wang Zhongsi, Zhang Shougui, and Abusi went ghastly pale. By now, all of them understood that the formation covering the fortress had shattered.
“Impossible, absolutely impossible!”
Within the fortress, the Formation Elder trembled, his eyes wide open in disbelief.
He had expended an enormous amount of time and effort on this formation. In normal circumstances, it should have been impossible to break. All of this had been beyond his expectations.
The Formation Elder’s mind was shaken.
The army of seven hundred thousand soldiers and the millions of inhabitants of the Central Plains—no one understood more than the Formation Elder what the shattering of the formation meant at this time.
Chapter 2232 - The Great Tang Defeated!
Chapter 2232: The Great Tang Defeated!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Things were just beginning.
Thudthudthud!
The Formation Elder was standing on a metal platform in the rear. This area was heavily defended and was basically unaffected by the battle on the front line. It was one of the safest areas and also the core of the formation.
Standing here, the Formation Elder could control the energy flow of the formation. The platform also overlooked the entire fortress, allowing the Formation Elder to see any shifts.
Kerosene burned in the darkness, illuminating the fortress. In places the fire did not illuminate, bursts of light and explosions would occasionally erupt.
Each explosion indicated that a small formation that was a part of the large formation was shattering.
The first large formation had shattered, and the chain reaction was still not over.
The Formation Elder could sense that the second underground formation was in the middle of collapsing.
This fortress was completely exposed.
As the cold winds rushed in, the Formation Elder could see the frost rapidly forming on his beard and robes. And the Formation Elder could see that the kerosene fires were also sputtering in the face of the winds.
Even the ‘inextinguishable fires’ made from Arabian Kerosene were tested in this kind of weather.
Atop the metal platform, the Formation Elder chanted several spells as he attempted to push the formation and reverse this trend.
But a few moments later, the Formation Elder suddenly sighed and closed his eyes in despair.
“It’s over! Completely over!”
The Formation Elder slowly raised his head, his heart bleeding.
If this were a small mishap, he could still try his best, but he could tell that the Origin Energy that the formation had been drawing from beneath the earth was beginning to disperse.
The dispersion of energy was like removing charcoal from the furnace. Even if one had an igniter, it would be pointless. It would be impossible to reach the same scale again.
The fortress had three large formations. In a situation that he had never predicted, they had been shattered.
“Wang Chong, I’m sorry.”
The Formation Elder’s heart was stricken with pain and remorse.
This was not the only development within the fortress. During the construction of the fortress, in order to strengthen the defense against the alliance attacks, the Formation Elder had melded the three underground formations with the surrounding steel walls.
The three formations had long ago fused together with the toughening inscriptions and defensive formations of the fortress. Now that the three formations had shattered, so had many of the inscriptions and formations in the steel walls.
This meant that the steel walls had grown much weaker.
Boom!
Without the slightest warning, affected by the collapse of the large formations, a section of the walls in the northeast suddenly collapsed. The Tang soldiers atop it cried out in alarm as they crashed down together with it.
The same happened to a section of the walls in the northwest.
In the blink of an eye, two large gaps had appeared in the perimeter wall.
“The walls have fallen!”
The eyes of tens of thousands of alliance soldiers brightened as they exploded with cheers.
The army’s morale rose. These tall and thick walls the Great Tang had erected in the south were enough to make anyone despair. In the first
battle, the alliance had suffered grievous losses because of these walls. Even now, when they had the assistance of the snowstorm, they had still suffered heavy losses. Now that they had two large gaps, the alliance cavalry could simply ride around the walls and charge straight into the steel fortress.
“Kill!”
With furious roars, the alliance army that had been charging at the walls split apart, avoiding the direct confrontation and surging toward the gaps in the walls.
Upon seeing this, Wang Zhongsi and the others paled.
If the formations had been destroyed but they still had the walls, the Tang would still have some way to recover, but now that the walls had fallen, the weak interior of the fortress was completely exposed.
More importantly, in this war, the majority of their soldiers had been stationed on the walls. All of their plans had been established around this point. The sudden collapse in two sections of the wall had completely upset their arrangements.
“Pass on my order! Immediately muster soldiers at the two gaps!
“Brother Zhangchou, Brother Zhang, Great General Abusi, it’s our turn now. No matter what, we must block those two gaps!” Wang Zhongsi solemnly said to those around him.
He keenly understood that the alliance would focus all the pressure on those two gaps. Without a Great General overseeing it, a force that had been mustered impromptu would never be able to withstand the alliance’s frenzied assault.
“Understood!”
The situation was dire and the tower was on the verge of collapse. Everyone in the fortress was in danger, and at this stage, they had to step forward.
No matter what they did, they could not prevent the formations from collapsing, and there was no more denying the fact that the fortress was bereft of defense!
In a flash of light, they vanished from the walls.
Meanwhile, high in the clouds, within the raging cold wave, Wang Chong and Genesis Supreme were in a stand-off.
This was the final and most critical moment, and even though he was more than seventy thousand feet in the air, Wang Chong could hear the sounds of fighting on the ground and the explosions within the fortress. These sounds erupted in his ears, each one slamming against Wang Chong’s heart.
There were some things that Wang Chong could understand without any need for Genesis Supreme to speak.
Three thousand, six hundred formations was such an enormous number that they should have been impossible to hide. Thus, the direct attack and Genesis Supreme appearing to start their battle in the air early had all been a trap that concealed their true machinations in the darkness.
This was even the reason An Lushan had chosen to attack at night, the cover of darkness allowing his men to get close and lay down the formations.
Wang Chong even speculated that many men in black had been involved. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to lay down so many formations in such a short time.
Wang Chong stared at Genesis Supreme and suddenly declared, “Genesis Supreme, you won’t succeed! No matter what, things will never go as you wish!”
“Hmph, still so stubborn! You’ll soon see what the outcome of this battle will be.”
Genesis Supreme sneered, a powerful mental wave traveling down to the alliance army on the ground.
“An Lushan, the time has come. This god has taken care of the Great Tang’s walls for you, so it’s your turn now!”
As Genesis Supreme spoke, he turned his eyes on Wang Chong, his intentions clear.
Wang Chong said nothing, glancing at Genesis Supreme before disappearing into the snowstorm and heading back to the steel fortress.
He could tell that the situation on the ground was extremely dangerous.
“You can’t run!”
Genesis Supreme didn’t try to stop Wang Chong from leaving. The tower was falling, and no matter what Wang Chong did, he could not alter the outcome of this battle.
The more one struggled, the deeper one’s eventual despair would be.
Bang!
Genesis Supreme’s body trembled, and he disappeared as if he was a ghost.
At the same time, in the middle of his army, An Lushan heard Genesis Supreme’s voice and smiled.
“The moment has finally come!”
At that moment, An Lushan’s face was smug beyond belief.
Only the heavens knew just how long he had waited for this moment.
All of his efforts had finally paid off. The defense line of more than seven hundred thousand soldiers had completely crumbled, and the gate to victory was wide open.
“Pass on my order! All soldiers, move out! In this battle, I don’t want even one shred of the Tang army to remain!” An Lushan immediately ordered.
His lips curved into an extremely callous smile.
“Yes!” A voice quickly came from behind him.
Horns blared across the battlefield, signalling a general assault.
While the alliance army had seemed to be unstoppably surging forward earlier, in reality, it had used not even half of its soldiers. The other half had remained in reserve.
But it was now time for all of its soldiers to enter the fray.
“Kill!”
Frenzied war cries rang out, even louder than before.
Countless warhorses thundered forward, entering a battlefield that was finally appropriate for them. Without the hindrance of the walls, the cavalry could exhibit their full might.
The faces of the alliance commanders flushed red with excitement. Everyone knew that they had truly won.
An officer stepped forward and whispered to An Lushan, “Milord, the Tang in the fortress have already retreated. There’s a possibility that they might all escape!”
“Escape? Can they?”
An Lushan heartily laughed, a jeering look in his eyes.
“The entire world is frozen over. I’d like to see it! Where are they running, and how far can they run?
“I heard that in the Battle of Khorasan, Wang Chong pursued the Arabs a long distance, and hundreds of thousands froze to death in the blizzard. This was the basis behind his title of War Saint, so it seems like there will be another War Saint christened today!”
The lands to the south of the steel fortress had already become a barren no-man’s land.
All of the common folk had been moved to the interior long ago. Without the formation to keep out the cold, the several hundred thousand Tang soldiers in the fortress had nowhere to run. Even if they did nothing and let them withdraw, in the end, all of them would freeze to death in the snow.
Wang Chong had already lost. The Great Tang had already lost.
The moment the formation shattered, their fates were sealed.
Chapter 2233 - The Alliance's Pursuit!
Chapter 2233: The Alliance’s Pursuit!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Tian Qianzhen, Tian Chengsi, Baizhen Tuoluo, Zhao Kan, all of you move out as well!” An Lushan loudly ordered.
“Yes!”
With this order, all of the Youzhou commanders charged out.
Goguryeo, the Eastern Turks, the Xi, and the Khitans also mobilized their commanders, and their elite troops charged at the fortress.
In the rear, the Khitan King, Ozmish Khagan, Yeon Gaesomun, and the Xi Queen were all glowing with joy. Standing alongside An Lushan, they followed behind the army as it advanced.
Truly incredible! I didn’t think we would actually win!
As Ozmish Khagan, Yeon Gaesomun, and the Xi Queen watched the distant battle, they all had the same thought, and they almost instinctively looked to An Lushan.
They had initially agreed to An Lushan’s alliance because the cold wave had pushed them to the brink. But as for actually defeating the Great Tang, none of them had had much hope.
Yet An Lushan had really managed to do it, and the balance of victory was already completely leaning in their favor.
“Pass on my order! Advance with full speed without regard for
losses! In this battle, we must totally exterminate the Tang Empire!” the alliance sovereigns ordered in unison.
In this battle, because of various factors, the alliance countries had been very apprehensive and wary. It was only now that they were unleashing their full strength.
Rumble!
War drums banged as the alliance army swept forward like an enormous wave.
The battle was turning more and more against the Great Tang.
Buzz!
Before anyone could react, a golden spear plunged out of the sky and disappeared into the alliance army surging into the gap. Kaboom! Countless alliance soldiers screamed as they were blasted into the air.
“Your Highness!”
The Tang soldiers at the gap were taken aback at first, but when they saw that it was Wang Chong, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Upon seeing Wang Chong, Zhangchou Jianqiong pushed back the men in black that had mixed into the alliance ranks and rushed to his side.
“Wang Chong, the walls have fallen. We can’t hold!”
“Muster the heavy shield soldiers. The axemen and spearmen can’t hold out alone!
“In addition, gather the ballista army. Have them prepare to fire!” Wang Chong sternly said.
The vast alliance army was charging at the gap with savage expressions, and the soldiers stationed there would never be able to hold.
In these circumstances, only the ballistae could temporarily stave off the alliance.
Boom!
Before Wang Chong’s orders could be relayed, boom! The earth shuddered as another crash came from behind him. As the dust plumed into the air, frantic cries could be heard.
“The walls have fallen!”
“The walls have fallen!”
Wang Chong’s heart went cold, but things were far from over.
“Reporting!”
At this moment, four messengers arrived from four different directions.
“Milord! A total of four new gaps have appeared on the eastern, western, and southern walls. The alliance soldiers are charging in through them!”
“Reporting! Milord, the ballista army reports that with the loss of the formation, the temperature is too low. The mechanisms of at least eighty percent of the ballistae have frozen, preventing them from being fired. General Su is leading his men in handling the problem, but there’s no time!”
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1342
