The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  The Mengshe Zhao soldiers on the summit were in complete chaos, and their panic was causing the Tibetan soldiers to crumble as well.

  'To shoot a person, first shoot the horse, and the capture the underlings, first capture their king.' Geluofeng's fall had been an annihilating blow to the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army.

  "Kill!"

  At almost the same time that Geluofeng fell, a heaven-shaking roar rose up from below the mountain. A group of nearly one thousand cavalry arranged in a long line, wielding swords flashing with cold light, were riding out from the dust.

  Although their numbers were few, these one thousand cavalry proceeded with a mighty momentum, exuding the dreadful aura of a far larger army.

  And leading the charge was a figure of massive constitution mounted on a Ferghana steed. He was more than two meters tall, his giant figure exuding a wild aura, the massive sword on his back particularly striking. Even from a distance, he exuded a powerful psychological pressure.

  "Li Siye! Young Master, it's Li Siye!"

  Old Eagle stood on tiptoes as he looked at the distant but approaching force of cavalry, an elated look on his face. He had known Li Siye for a while, so he was extremely familiar with him and the large sword on his back.

  "Mm, he really managed to make it!"

  Wang Chong stood at the edge of the summit and looked into the distance, his eyes glimmering as he inwardly rejoiced. He had known that Li Siye had arrived on the battlefield much earlier than Old Eagle had known.

  Although he was far from reaching the levels of his future self, in this battle, the future Invincible Great General of the Great Tang had truly not disappointed him!

  Rumble!

  The cavalry led by Li Siye were extremely fast. By the time they had entered the vision of Wang Chong, they were already traveling at an extremely fast pace.

  And underneath Li Siye's feet, a special stormy halo was pushing the speed of his forces to the limit.

  Rumble!

  The earth quaked as horses galloped. This kind of distance could be covered in mere moments for cavalry galloping at the speeds of Li Siye's force. It was difficult to imagine the speed of these cavalry charging at their maximum.

  This was the reason cavalry were hailed as the most powerful of soldier types!

  A distance of several li was crossed in a flash, and Li Siye's cavalry crashed into the collapsing lines of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army. "Aaaaah!" Screams shook the air as the cavalry plunged into the lines like a massive beast plowing into a flock of sheep. No one could stand against the charge of these nearly one thousand cavalry traveling at maximum speed.

  The Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang soldiers would only have to approach to be immediately flung into the air as if they weighed nothing. And before they could land, swift streams of saber energy would slice them into pieces.

  For the first time in the war of the southwest, this unit of soldiers equipped with Wootz Steel weapons displayed their might!

  "Ah!"

  Li Siye's cavalry was unstoppable, going wherever it pleased and leaving screams in its wake.

  "Anyone who stops me dies! Kill!"

  Li Siye's eyes glowed with a bloody light. He wielded the massive Wootz Steel sword Wang Chong had forged for him as he charged vigorously through the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang ranks. It was impossible to say how long he had waited for this battle.

  For a time, he had wanted to end his mission and return to the battlefield to assist the embattled Wang Chong. In the end, however, Li Siye had managed to suppress this urge.

  Wang Chong had a complete plan for the southwest, and his need for Li Siye to carry out the plan on the plateau far surpassed his need for Li Siye's skill on the battlefield.

  But now, Li Siye could finally unleash the murderous rage in his heart.

  "Criminals against the Great Tang will all be punished!"

  Li Siye's eyes were red as he bellowed, his force traveling so fast that it only left a trail of dust as it charged up the mountain. Wherever he passed, hundreds of Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang soldiers would scream as they were thrown into the air and cut to pieces by incredibly sharp streams of saber energy.

  As this unit of nearly one thousand cavalry charged up from the base of the mountain to the summit, it cut the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army in two.

  When Li Siye's army suddenly appeared and led his forces up the mountain, Wang Chong made his own moves.

  "Tell the cavalry to get ready!"

  Wang Chong raised his army, his eyes shining as he looked down the mountain.

  Geluofeng's heavy injuries had caused a domino effect, throwing the entire Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army into chaos. Even Duan Gequan was no longer willing to battle, much less anyone else.

  But to Wang Chong, this was still far from enough.

  "Ready! Move out!"

  At the back of the mountain, that waterfall of caltrops several dozen zhang wide that Wang Chong had left had been half-cleared by the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army. With Wang Chong's order, there was a massive boom as several dozen craftsmen accompanied by infantry appeared.

  At this moment, no one was pouring more caltrops down to replenish this river. Instead, large planks of steel were being pushed down the slope.

  One, two, three…!

  The craftsmen and infantry swiftly moved down the steel planks and began to join them together. They worked quietly, lightly, and nimbly, with no extraneous motions.

  In just a few moments, a path of steel planks had appeared on the river of caltrops.

  Neigh!

  Wang Chong mounted the White-hoofed Shadow and took the lead, charging down the mountain along the new path.

  "All cavalry, follow me! Charge!"

  Wang Chong raised his sword, his resounding voice like a peal of thunder.

  Rumble! In few seconds, the cavalry had charged down. Clangclangclang! Buffed by the Halo of Dusk Stallion and borrowing the steep slope of the mountain, the cavalry quickly reaching an astonishing speed that even surpassed that of Li Siye's force.

  "Kill!"

  The several thousand Great Tang cavalry led by Wang Chong plunged like a sword into the disorderly Mengshe–Ü-Tsang ranks, splitting the army in two.

  "Kill!"

  On the summit, Old Eagle had already received the signal and issued an order for a general offensive.

  Boom!

  A mighty roar came from the summit. The thousands of Annan Protectorate army soldiers bellowed as they charged down the summit like a flood.

  That Myriad Stars Formation that had the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army trembling in fear had finally 'broken', but not in the way they had imagined.

  The Annan Protectorate army maintained its ranks as it charged down the mountain, its momentum callous and resolved. The Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army was immediately punctured full of holes, the entire army collapsing into mayhem.

  "Ah! My hand!"

  "Run! The Tang are coming!"

  "His Majesty—we don't even know if he's alive… We've lost!"

  "We've lost! The army has lost! Everyone, run!"

  ……

  The Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army was in a complete mess, with all the noises forming a single miserable din. Many soldiers in the midst of fleeing were stamped down, squeezed aside, or knocked over, thus meeting their deaths.

  The more than two hundred thousand soldiers of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army were suffering a terrifying number of casualties.

  Not a single unit on the mountain could put up a fight. Any soldier that tried to fight back would be drowned in the flood, even crushed under the feet of their comrades.

  When the defeat of an army was decided, no one could alter the course.

  At the base of the mountain, Dalun Ruozan saw the flood of defeated soldiers. His body was ice-cold, his mind in complete confusion.

  "No, it can't be!"

  Dalun Ruozan's hands were clenched into fists, his entire body was trembling, and his eyes had gone red. He found it impossible to believe that the united army of Meng
she Zhao and Ü-Tsang with more than five hundred thousand troops had still lost to the 180,000 soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army and that meager army of reinforcements.

  A moment ago, the Annan Protectorate army had seemed on the verge of collapse, Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang on the verge of victory. But now the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army had been completely routed.

  When the Annan Protectorate army gave up on defense and began to attack, gushing down the mountain in a flood, what resulted was a one-sided massacre.

  More than two hundred thousand cavalry, thirty years of work, and a month of arduous battle… in the end, all of it had come to naught. To Dalun Ruozan, this was not just a war. It represented the grand strategy of the Ü-Tsang Empire. By taking the southwest, they could have shaken the Great Tang and stirred the ambition the entire world had toward the Central Plains.

  But this battle had ultimately ended in defeat.

  At this moment, Dalun Ruozan felt an intense reluctance.

  Chapter 633: Coda!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  In his decades presiding over the southwest, Dalun Ruozan had never lost to Zhangchou Jianqiong, nor had he ever lost to Mengshe Zhao and Geluofeng. But in the end, he had lost to a teenager from the Great Tang.

  The achievements he had built up over the decades had only ended up fueling that youth's rise.

  To Dalun Ruozan, this loss was completely unacceptable.

  "No, there's still a chance. There must be a chance…"

  Dalun Ruozan desperately clenched his fists.

  Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang had still not lost. Although Geluofeng had already fallen, they still had the soldiers. Their combined numbers far exceeded the Great Tang's.

  As long as he could gather together the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army… No, the Mengshe Zhao army was impossible to gather. Without Geluofeng, the army from top to bottom had lost the will to fight.

  But Ü-Tsang still had a chance!

  As long as the Tibetan cavalry could gather together and restabilize, at the same time luring the Annan Protectorate army from the summit, the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army still had a chance. There was still a hope of defeating the Annan Protectorate army.

  Cavalry below ten thousand was insufficient, but invincible above ten thousand.

  The Tibetans definitely had more than ten thousand cavalry! Gathered together, as long as they weren't fighting on the mountain, they still had a battle in them.

  "All soldiers of Ü-Tsang, heed the signal and gather.

  "Blow the horns!"

  Dalun Ruozan fiercely rode his horse forward as he attempted to constrain the crumbling army. As people of the plateau, the Tibetans were a fierce and pugnacious people, and much more disciplined than the people of Mengshe Zhao.

  In a few short moments, Dalun Ruozan had gathered a large number of fleeing Tibetan cavalry at his side.

  But just when Dalun Ruozan wanted to lead his troops in a counterattack, his dreams were utterly shattered.

  "Kill!"

  A roar came from the rear and the earth trembled. Dalun Ruozan turned his head and saw a sight that he would never forget, one that made his blood run cold.

  Far in the distance, a vast and dense army was rushing toward this place. And he could clearly make out the dragon banner of the Great Tang flying within this army.

  Great Tang reinforcements!

  As this thought flashed through his head, Dalun Ruozan felt his blood almost freeze. After all this time, the Great Tang reinforcements had finally arrived.

  "It's over!"

  All his hopes instantly turned to dust. On the summit, the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army was falling apart, the Annan Protectorate army in pursuit. At the base of the mountain, he could see reinforcements approaching from the distance.

  With enemies approaching from both the inside and the outside, although he felt an extreme reluctance, Dalun Ruozan still knew that the matter was settled. Even if he wanted to rally the troops and continue the battle, it was too late.

  "Withdraw! Withdraw!"

  Dalun Ruozan mentally sighed as he finally gave the order to withdraw.

  In this battle, he had truly lost!

  Ü-Tsang had also lost!

  For the first time, he had been dealt a crushing defeat in the Great Tang's southwest, experiencing the greatest loss he had ever known.

  Rumble! As the army collapsed, Dalun Ruozan's order removed the last sliver of hope for Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang. In the war of the southwest, the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang side no longer had any chance to reverse the situation.

  Gallop!

  All the Tibetan cavalry followed Dalun Ruozan, taking advantage of the chaos to ride off into the distance. The Annan Protectorate army and Li Siye's nearly one thousand Wootz Steel cavalry followed closely behind.

  The Tibetans did not dare to turn their heads or dare to try and defeat the Great Tang reinforcements approaching from the distance.

  After many days of eating Mengshe Zhao rice, these warriors of the plateau had become extremely weak. No longer were they those fierce and brave warriors!

  "Obey Great Minister's orders! Retreat!"

  The army continued to collapse, and countless Tibetan soldiers fled in panic, wails and screams rising behind them. With the battle settled, everyone had lost their initial bravery.

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  ……

  A string of messages rang out in Wang Chong's mind. At this stage of the battle, Wang Chong no longer need to issue any commands. None of the enemies on the battlefield, including the Tibetans, had any will to fight.

  All the Tang had to do was pursue.

  Countless Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers were falling. Wang Chong's tactic of using his cavalry to divide the army had been incredibly effective. Although the enemy was trying to flee, at least half of the army had not been able to effectively flee because of the chaos in front of them.

  In the end, they were only stalks of wheat to be reaped!

  The entire battlefield was covered in corpses, rivers of blood fertilizing the earth. One could see the bodies of Skyquaking Giants, Erhai elephants, warhorses, soldiers, and all sorts of shattered weapons and armor.

  But at this moment, Wang Chong reined in his horse at the middle of the mountain, his attention on the distant reinforcements.

  "Elder Ye, Elder Zhao, Elder Hu, Su Hanshan, Huang Qian-er…"

  Wang Chong was stunned.

  Although the army was incredibly majestic in its vastness, Wang Chong could tell at a glance that it was no proper army. Other than the dragon banners representing the Great Tang, Wang Chong could also see banners representing various clans. He even spotted the banner of Kunwu Training Camp's Deflecting Blade Manor.

  Su Hanshan, Huang Qian-er, Sun Zhiming, Chen Burang, Xu Gan, Fang Xuanling, Zhao Yatong, Bai Siling, Youngster Wei… all of these familiar faces could be spotted at the head of the army. Wang Chong even spotted an additional familiar face…

  "Little Sister?!!!"

  Wang Chong's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw that small and thin figure wielding two large metal hammers in the air. Those hammers were even larger than her own petite body.

  "What's going on here? How did she end up here?!"

  Wang Chong found it impossible to believe that his little sister would appear here. Wasn't she on the spirit vein mountain, restrained and checked by his master the Demonic Emperor Old Man?

  How had she managed to get herself to a dangerous battlefield like this?!

  "She's gone way too overboard!"

  Wang Chong's eyes began to twitch as he cursed. Although his little sister was born with a div
ine and peerless strength, she was still very young, and a place like the battlefield was no joke.

  "Li Siye, bring a few men and follow me!"

  Wang Chong pressed on the flanks of his horse and rode the White-hoofed Shadow into the distance.

  The war of the southwest was now settled, with no one capable of altering the course of this battle. Not even Dalun Ruozan had the strength to go against the heavens. As for striking while the iron was hot and chasing down the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, the lack of his individual fighting power was of little significance.

  "Hear my order! Protect Young Master!"

  A bellow rose over the mountain. Li Siye had long ago rejoined his troops with Wang Chong's force. Upon hearing this order, he turned his horse around and brought a group of Wootz Steel cavalry to follow Wang Chong.

  ……

  Putting aside Wang Chong's side for the moment, on the other end, the personal soldiers of countless clans of the capital were being led by Elder Ye, Elder Zhao and the others toward the battlefield.

  "I really can't believe that Young Master Chong managed to defeat Dalun Ruozan and Geluofeng!"

  "We've won the southwest—we actually won!"

  "Charge! Don't let this chance go by! Work with Young Master's forces and chase down the Tibetans and Mengshe Zhao. No matter what, we can't give them another opportunity to invade the Great Tang!"

  "Kill! Let's help Young Master Chong!"

  ……

  In the distance, the reinforcements were all energized upon seeing that the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army had been routed. The Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army was not weak, particularly the Ü-Tsang army. A single charge from its tens of thousands of cavalry was enough to smash them into dust.

  In the past, they would have first discussed and pondered how to move in this battle, what moment they should choose to appear, and how they could help Wang Chong and the Annan Protectorate army.

  But none of them had expected to see the sight that they were greeted with upon their arrival.

  Wang Chong and his Annan Protectorate army, a force of only tens of thousands, had actually managed to deal a devastating defeat to a force several times their number and were now in frenzied pursuit.

  By the time they had arrived, the war of the southwest had already concluded.