The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  He could already imagine those Great Tang soldiers being crushed into the dust.

  "Once we kill this Tang army, we'll lead the army east and exterminate that Great Tang Commandant with the surname Xu, and then there will be no one left in the southwest who can resist us… I actually thought that these Tang soldiers were some big deal, but it's just a grasshopper trying to block a carriage!"

  A sneer hovered on the commander's lips, yet this smile didn't last too long before quickly vanishing into a puff of smoke.

  "Your thinking is too simple!"

  In these brief seconds, no one had noticed the icy light in Wang Chong's eyes. If the Tibetans really thought that this was all he had, then they were gravely mistaken.

  If he didn't have any confidence, he would have never risked having one thousand men face off in a contest of strength against three thousand Tibetan heavy cavalry.

  Seconds flew by, and right when the Tibetans were howling and prepared to exterminate the Tang soldiers, Wang Chong suddenly put down a foot and unleashed the Bane of the Battlefield halo…

  Boom!

  Like a hurricane passing through, an invisible energy spread out from Wang Chong's body to everyone present. Although this energy couldn't be seen, everyone could instantly hear an earthshaking boom in their ears, as if the earth itself was sundering apart.

  Crack!

  There was nothing in the air, but the middle-level Halo of Fortress shrouding the Tibetan army was suddenly covered in countless tiny cracks, after which it shattered into pieces.

  "Not good!"

  In an instant, all the Tibetan soldiers felt this change and paled, their minds in turmoil.

  Without any warning, they found their strength suddenly plunging. The fortress was still there, but its toughness and luster had fallen an entire level, going from a middle-level fortress to an initial-level fortress formed from only one hundred people.

  To these Tibetans who had worked together to form this fortress and had grown accustomed to its strength, this change was like a magnitude 8 earthquake.

  In the long history of Ü-Tsang, from ancient times up to the present age, it had fought against countless powers from the Central Plains, but it was possible to say that not a single Tibetan had ever encountered such strange circumstances.

  "What's going on? Why did we get so weak!"

  "The fortress! The fortress collapsed!"

  "Impossible! This can't be happening!"

  "How could the Tang men weaken our fortress? That's impossible! I don't believe it! I won't believe it!"

  ……

  Though much time seemed to have passed, it actually only took a few seconds to deal the Tibetans a destructive blow and throw them into chaos.

  "An excellent chance!"

  The Great Tang soldiers immediately noticed this change and were ecstatic, Li Siye and Old Eagle especially so.

  Tibetans were not horse bandits, and horse bandits were not as difficult to deal with as the Ü-Tsang regular army. But without the protection of that vaulted fortress, everything was different.

  The initial-level Halo of Fortress was still powerful, but it was of no threat to their army.

  This was not their first time facing an initial-level Halo of Fortress, and the Wootz Steel weapons had already proved to be perfectly capable of breaking through such a defense.

  It took only a few moments for all this to occur. With Wang Chong releasing both the Halo of Dusk Stallion and the Bane of the Battlefield, the tide of battle had completely shifted.

  "Heaven-Earth Net!"

  Wang Chong's voice tore through the sky, and the two five-hundred-man units of cavalry began to carry out his order. If one said that the army was at first like some giant two-headed snake, it was now transforming into many little snakes.

  Each little snake was made of one hundred soldiers.

  Each unit had a hundred-man commander, ten-man commanders, and five-man commanders. Although each unit was small, each of them was complete, and each soldier was extremely nimble and quick to obey.

  Rumble! After Wang Chong's order, those soldiers which had originally been in Arrow Formation suddenly transformed into tiny snakes that crashed into the echelons of the Tibetan army.

  The first time, their charge had been blocked by the middle-level fortress, but this time, nothing could halt their advance.

  The initial-level fortress was still there, but it could no longer take physical form like a middle-level fortress and keep enemies out.

  Swoosh!

  One Wootz Steel sword after another cut through the air. The charge of the warhorses, the strength of the clan experts, and the inertia of the Tibetans charging toward them made for a power that could crush anything into powder.

  Bengbengbengbeng!

  The black-armored 'snakes' plunged into the Tibetan echelons, crisscrossing through them. In just one round, a hundred-man echelon in the middle had been completely smashed, the Tibetan riders falling to the ground without even a groan. Even their horses had been chopped in half!

  The warhorses flew out of the ranks, made a turn, and charged back into the Tibetan formation. They entered with full speed and exited at full speed, the flashes of swords leaving behind corpses in their wakes.

  This hundred-man echelon was fully equipped and suited in the thick Tibetan armor, but none of them had been able to take a single blow from the 'Heaven-Earth Net'. The attacks came from every direction, and Wang Chong's army didn't stop. Whether or not they killed anyone, they would always enter and exit at full speed. These one thousand troops freely slaughtered their way through the Tibetan ranks, with not a single person able to stop them.

  The small snakes that Wang Chong led were all independent and agile, yet they all seemed to be cooperating with each other, as if they were part of a single entity.

  These three thousand Tibetan cavalry were clearly facing only one-third their number, but the final result was that each hundred-man echelon was fighting against a furious wave of ten times their number.

  The Echelon Formation that the Tibetans used to topple their opponents in a wave had now become a fatal weakness. The space left between each echelon as a buffer for charging had now become a flaw that Wang Chong was exploiting.

  Rumble!

  Dust stirred and the earth quaked as Great Tang cavalry romped over the battlefield.

  One round, two rounds, three rounds, four rounds…

  Though an ordinary person might think only a few moments had passed, to the Tibetans, it was an excruciating eternity. As horses neighed and blood splashed, the Tibetans had lost five hundred cavalry.

  All of these people had been wearing the thick armor, had been armed to the teeth, and had been buffed by the Yak Halo and the initial-level Halo of Fortress. On a normal battlefield, five hundred men would have been enough to deal with several times their number.

  But this time, it took only a few seconds for all of them to be wiped out. That thick armor that had been tempered hundreds of times was cut apart like tofu, leaving behind glossy cuts and falling together with severed limbs to the ground. It was a hair-raising scene that made one quail in fear.

  In their first battle as a regular army, these soldiers equipped with Wootz Steel swords had exhibited an astonishing strength, and what was even more astonishing was the level of cohesiveness and flexibility they showed.

  "No, I'm going to kill all of you!"

  A roar of fury and surprise, spoken in the Tibetan tongue, echoed through the world. As Wang Chong's soldiers finished their fifth go-around, they felt an extremely dangerous energy behind them.

  Wang Chong's heart chilled as he hurriedly turned his head. What he saw was a stalwart figure wearing golden gauntlets leaping into the air, his appearance like that of a descended god.

  His visage was terrifying to behold, brimming with boundless anger and loathing. A destructive and majestic energy had gathered around him like lightning clouds and seemed ready to lash out at any moment.

&nb
sp; "Not good!"

  Wang Chong was stunned. The energy on this person's body had increased at an absurd rate, and his body seemed to be swelling like a balloon, making his visage even more terrifying and vicious.

  "The Ksitigarbha1 Secret Art!"

  A lightning bolt flashed through his mind as Wang Chong instantly recognized what this Tibetan was up to. Almost all of Ü-Tsang's martial arts originated from the Great Snow Mountain Holy Land. Unlike the Central Plains, Ü-Tsang had always maintained a single lineage.

  And with its long history, it had accumulated a great many mysterious techniques.

  The Ksitigarbha Secret Art was one of these.

  A small number of the generals in the Ü-Tsang army could use secret arts that allowed their strength to climb to a terrifying level in a very short period of time, allowing them to destroy their opponents in a single blow.

  This was a rumor that had been circulating in the Central Plains for some time, but there were few witnesses, so most people treated it as a joke.

  But Wang Chong knew that this was no tall tale, and it certainly wasn't a joke.

  The reason was simple: Wang Chong had seen one with his own eyes!

  ______________

  1. Ksitigarbha, whose Chinese name means 'Earth Treasury', is a bodhisattva who is revered in East Asia. He is generally depicted as a bald monk, and he is known for taking a vow that he would not become a Buddha until all the hells were empty.↩

  Chapter 501: The Unbreakable Arrowhead!

  As a person who had lived two lives, Wang Chong had seen far too many things in that apocalyptic period, and he had also known too many secrets. Wang Chong had once seen someone use the Ksitigarbha, though it hadn't been this person standing before him now.

  The Ksitigarbha Secret Art could massively boost a martial artist's strength for a short period of time, also improving his defense and the toughness of his Stellar Energy.

  This was a method of overstimulating one's potential, but it was extremely effective on the battlefield.

  "No one can kill my warriors without paying a price, and I demand that all of you die!"

  That Tibetan commander's hair began to spread out around him as his energy rose from Tier 4 or 5 of the Profound Martial realm to Tier 8 or 9, surpassing Li Siye.

  Rumble!

  Space twisted as thunder clouds gathered in his hands. Before Wang Chong had any time to react, that godlike Tibetan commander in the air had sent a fist rumbling out. The sky dimmed as Stellar Energy crashed down like a wave toward Wang Chong's army.

  That wave had not yet landed, but the terrifying pressure that preceded it was like a knife. The well-trained horses could not hold back their plaintive whinnies as they felt the terror of death.

  The soldiers Wang Chong had recruited were experts from the great clans, but they were all only at Tier 5 or 6 of the True Martial realm. They were simply no match for this Profound Martial expert who was further boosted by the Ksitigarbha Secret Art.

  Although the one thousand soldiers had all been equipped with Meteoric Metal and had essentially emerged unharmed from their previous charges, once this fist crashed down, the tail end of the army was bound to suffer grievous casualties.

  "Li Siye!"

  There was no time to think, so Wang Chong immediately sent out Li Siye.

  At this moment, the only person on Wang Chong's side who could deal with this attack was Li Siye. Li Siye was the future Invincible Great General and authority of the empire, so if even if he couldn't deal with that unusually strong Tibetan commander, Wang Chong truly wouldn't be able to think of any other candidates.

  Without a single word, Li Siye's right hand grabbed the massive sword on his back. With a boom, he took off from the back of his horse like a hawk.

  "Take my attack!"

  That resounding and emotionless voice thundered through the heavens. Li Siye's body disappeared from the air as a massive Halo of Thorns began to spread out from it. In an instant, it had transformed into a majestic storm that engulfed him.

  Li Siye had acted without hesitation. Li Siye's voice was still ringing in the air, but that massive and resolved Wootz Steel sword was already slashing down on that Tibetan commander like Pangu1 cleaving open the world.

  Boom!

  A gale swept through the land.

  Wang Chong couldn't see that battle, but he could feel the earth-quaking booms coming from behind him. That sound was like two massive beasts from prehistory ramming into each other, creating massive gusts that stirred up sand and shrouded the earth.

  Wang Chong did not feel the need to watch. He had absolute confidence in Li Siye's strength, and the power of the Invincible Great General didn't rest on something as simple as cultivation.

  More important to him was dealing with the remaining 2500 Tibetan cavalry.

  "Arrow Formation!"

  His right hand raised, Wang Chong immediately gave his second order to form the formation. The small snakes suddenly gathered together into a massive python.

  He had moved from the Heaven-Earth Net back to that most traditional of cavalry formations, the Arrow Formation!

  The warhorses once more rumbled, the one thousand Great Tang cavalry leaving a long trail of dust as they charged straight for the Echelon Formation of the Tibetan cavalry.

  There was a saying in the art of war: 'The superior general breaks the enemy's schemes while the inferior general schemes against the enemy's soldiers; attacking the mind is superior to attacking the city.' Right now, Wang Chong had completely broken the morale of the Tibetan army.

  Boom!

  Horse met horse, scimitar met sword, and the clattering of metal and plaintive neighing of horses mixed together into a single din.

  "Kill them all!"

  The Tibetan cavalrymen's eyes went red from bloodlust, completely infuriated by this scene. Everyone knew that the Arrow Formation used by the Great Tang and the Echelon Formation of Ü-Tsang were two of the most famous cavalry charging formations in the world.

  But not even the most formidable of Great Tang cavalry would dare to engage in a frontal charge against the Tibetans. Of all the cavalry strategies, the Tibetan Echelon Formation was undoubtedly the strongest.

  Others who attempted to imitate the Tibetans would still not be able to reach their level.

  Even Longxi's Big Dipper Great General, the Bane of Ü-Tsang, Geshu Han, had never thought about using cavalry to charge against Tibetans. Instead, he had taken an original approach and developed extremely heavy and large shields to resist the Tibetan cavalry charge.

  If not even the mighty Big Dipper Great General dared to do such a thing, what right did these people have to challenge them?

  "Kill them all!"

  The anger in the minds of the Tibetans instantly reached its boiling point.

  The people of the Great Tang, familiar with the tactics of Ü-Tsang, had thought of using a shield taller than a man to deal with the charge of highland steeds. Similarly, Ü-Tsang, after fighting with the Great Tang for hundreds of years, had a keen understanding of the Arrow Formation's weak points.

  Although this formation was hailed as the best in the world for piercing through an enemy army, its flaws were equally as obvious as its advantages.

  The Arrow Formation's strongest point was also its weakest point. As long as one could break the sharp tip of the Arrow Formation, the rest of the army would fall into chaos!

  The strongest was also the weakest!

  Without the arrowhead to guide it, the Arrow Formation would lose its sharpness and fall apart.

  Boom!

  The two armies clashed, horses neighing as the earth shook. Countless Tibetan cavalry focused all their power on the head of the Arrow Formation.

  "Kill them."

  "Slaughter the people in the front!"

  "Everyone, together! Hold them down and avenge our brothers!"

  ……

  These rushed and urgent Tibetan cries filled the skies, but when everyone believed th
at they could thoroughly crush the thousand-man army, the Arrow Formation led by Wang Chong remained invincible. It pierced through wave after wave of the Tibetan echelons, bravely pressing through all of them.

  To the disbelief of the Tibetans, no matter how much they charged and hacked, the arrowhead of Wang Chong's Arrow Formation remained like the hardiest of reefs.

  No, it could not be simply described as hardy!

  Whenever they struck an arrowhead, slowing its speed, the arrowhead would voluntarily sink back into the army. At the same time, another arrowhead would instantly form to continue the charge. No matter how many times they charged, Wang Chong's Arrow Formation remained.

  "This is impossible!"

  All the Tibetans were dumbfounded. No one had ever been able to block the Tibetan Echelon Formation, nor had any Great Tang Arrow Formation ever endured so many charges.

  War was not a game of house. On the intense battlefield, once the head of an Arrow Formation was broken, it would never be given the chance to reform. But no matter how madly they charged, the arrowhead of Wang Chong's Arrow Formation would always swiftly reform.

  The frenzied efforts of the Tibetans were futile against Wang Chong!

  ______________

  1.Pangu is a mythological figure who is said to have been born from an egg when the entire universe was still formless chaos. After he was born, he used his axe to hack apart the universe into Yin and Yang, the earth and the heavens. After this, he stood between the heavens and the earth for 18,000 years until he died, the various parts of his body becoming features and creatures of the earth.↩

  Chapter 502: Six-Armed Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian!

  Order after order was issued, but these orders did not come from Wang Chong. They came from the five-man and ten-man commanders.

  Before the arrowhead of the Arrow Formation could be destroyed, a new one would be forming to take its place. Meanwhile, the cavalry that had been slowed from the impact with the Tibetan cavalry were quickly absorbed back into the main force.

  Cold swords flashed through the air and Tibetan after Tibetan fell to the ground without a groan, cut into pieces by the Wootz Steel swords.