The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “I will not let Lord Marquis down!”

  Chen Burang gave a subservient bow, then he called over his warhorse and took off in a cloud of dust, riding toward Talas in pursuit of Zhang Shouzhi. With this taken care of, Wang Chong turned his gaze to deal with other matters.

  “All infantry and axemen, take heed! Prepare to eliminate the wolf packs as they come in. Beehive team, get ready to sweep the field. Ballista teams, fire at will, and be ready to retreat at any time!

  “Xue Qianjun, pass on my order to the first defense line. Have them use sand and dirt to cover the Arabian Kerosene and extinguish the fire!

  “Craftsman teams, set up bunkers. Logistics teams, get ready to repair the ballistae!”

  As Wang Chong issued these orders, his eyes remained wise and unperturbed, as if nothing in the world could shake him. The disordered army quickly and effectively executed these orders. A team was formed to hunt down the wolves that managed to get past the defense line, while another team set about using sand and dirt to quench the oily flames, swiftly bringing the blaze under control.

  Although the flames were still burning, they were several times weaker and no longer as terrifying. More importantly, those clear and effective orders had immediately reestablished calm in the army. Even though people were still being smashed and burned to death, the Qixi Protectorate army soldiers all calmed down, as did the mercenaries of the Western Regions.

  “Do you see that? In order to deal with the Tang, the Arabs and I prepared for a very long time, but he needed only a few moments to stabilize an army of more than one hundred thousand. Even those unorganized mercenaries from the Western Regions obeyed his orders. Just how many people possess this sort of ability for command and fast reaction time?”

  On the eastern end of the battlefield, Dalun Ruozan stood atop a high hill, his hands held behind him, his eyes shining with a profound light as he looked into the distance. Even though Wang Chong was his enemy, Dalun Ruozan still had to sigh in admiration at Wang Chong’s talent for the art of war.

  Though the Ngari Royal Lineage had been destroyed, though two hundred thousand of its cavalry had been buried in the southwest, Dalun Ruozan had nothing to say about his loss. Some people had a talent that was like the blazing sun in the sky, so dazzling and radiant that no one could ignore it. Even their opponents would find it difficult to suppress a feeling that they were extremely lucky to fight against such an enemy.

  “Alas, we are still enemies! With this sort of person here, neither the Tibetans nor the Western Turks will be able to sleep at night. This was also why I got in touch with General. This kind of person must be killed!”

  Duwu Sili said nothing in reply, only turned to the refined Dalun Ruozan with a strange look on his face. Since their relationship was one of sworn enemies, Wang Chong naturally had to be killed. Admiring one’s opponent on the battlefield was extremely odd behavior in Duwu Sili’s eyes and was certainly not his style.

  “Great Minister is truly an interesting person.”

  Duwu Sili’s lips slowly perked into a smirk, one tinged with cruelty.

  “I have never respected my enemies. I only like to kill them. Anyone who makes an enemy of me will only be meeting with death! My best enemies are the dead ones!”

  Dalun Ruozan shot a glance at him and gave a faint smile in reply.

  People were inevitably different from each other. The Great Peng was different from an eagle, and dragons were different from tigers. Duwu Sili was a fierce general, not a strategic one!

  “Pass on my order! Increase the strength of the assault! In addition, begin attacking the Tang steel walls as well.”

  Dalun Ruozan waved his sleeve and gave orders without turning his head.

  “Yes, Great Minister!”

  A messenger quickly left with these new orders.

  Dalun Ruozan gave a satisfied nod. Everything was on the right track. The Tibetan catapults and Arabian Kerosene were proving successful in suppressing the Tang, and if this continued, victory was assured.

  “Great Minister, look over there!”

  A shout of warning immediately attracted everyone’s notice, originating from a Tibetan general at Dalun Ruozan’s side. His arm was raised, his finger pointed not at the battlefield, but at the nearby looming city of Talas. Dalun Ruozan, Huoshu Huicang, Dusong Mangpoje, and even Duwu Sili were momentarily dazed, and then they turned to see what was being pointed at.

  As they looked up the mottled, scorched, yet majestic walls of Talas, they could clearly see the gleam of metal on the southeast corner of the walls. Armored Great Tang soldiers were laboring on the walls, setting up a row of some extremely complicated and strange objects.

  “What are they doing?” Duwu Sili blurted out. Despite his vast breadth of experience and his status as Western Turkic Great General, having even defeated Beiting Protector-General An Sishun once, he had never seen this sort of set-up.

  “I do not know!”

  Dalun Ruozan’s reply was short, and he blinked constantly. His intelligence reports contained no information about these things, but purely on instinct, Dalun Ruozan had a very bad feeling. Regardless of what sort of steel objects were being installed on the walls of Talas, it was bad news for the Tibetans and Turks.

  “Impossible! Could he have already planned for this?!”

  Dalun Ruozan’s face slightly paled as this thought occurred to him. He had never believed that Wang Chong would have predicted this battle like he had, so he logically shouldn’t have made as many preparations as Dalun Ruozan had. But in the next moment, he heard an enormous boom.

  Rumble!

  A massive black silhouette flew through the air, flying past the three Great Generals and landing behind the hills.

  “Mm?”

  Duwu Sili squinted, his slender eyes instantly exploding with a fierce light. Clang! Before anyone could see what Duwu Sili had done, a blazing saber glow soared into the skies like the rising sun, roaring like a dragon. Boom! With a flash, that black silhouette several dozen zhang in the air suddenly exploded into bits and pieces.

  But the moment that Duwu Sili struck, another large boom came from the rear. One of the just-completed catapults, ready to throw its boulder, had been crushed by a large boulder dropping out of the air.

  Dalun Ruozan, Duwu Sili, Huoshu Huicang, and Dusong Mangpoje all paled.

  Catapults!

  They understood everything now. Those steel installations Wang Chong had built up on the walls of Talas were actually also catapults, ones made of steel. And judging by their effects, they were even more powerful than the catapults that Dalun Ruozan had made out of wood!

  “Release!”

  Dalun Ruozan’s catapult unit behind the hills was not the only one to fall under attack. On the western walls of Talas, the side facing the Arabs, Chen Burang swung down his right hand, and the heavy steel catapults immediately began to fire, flinging massive boulders high into the air. After drawing a massive arc through the air, crossing the entire western battlefield, they plummeted into the rear of the Arab army.

  Bang!

  The dense shower of boulders descended upon the Arab catapults, crushing them into pieces. Boom! One of the boulders landed in the small mountain of metal balls piled next to a catapult, the enormous impact instantly pulverizing the balls and spilling the black kerosene over the ground.

  One of the nearby Arab commanders reacted too slowly and ended up being splashed with the kerosene.

  “Shit! Careful!”

  The face of the Arab commander contorted, but before he had any time to react, a fire arrow had already landed in the pool of kerosene. Fwoosh! Flames licked the air, setting that unlucky Arab commander on fire.

  “Ah!”

  His miserable scream cut through the sky, opening the curtain on this wave of attacks.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Under Chen Burang’s command, boulder after boulder was flung from the walls of Talas into the Arab catapult unit. The attacks of catapults
were random and had no accuracy to speak of, with a large error range. They were far inferior to ballistae in this aspect.

  But the ferocity of catapults paired with Chen Burang’s astonishing perception and hearing made for a terrifying combination. Although they were still not as accurate as ballistae, they were able to aim surprisingly well with Chen Burang’s assistance.

  Boomboomboom! Hundreds of stones were cast from the walls of Talas, aimed at the mountains of metal balls piled next to the catapults. One after another, these piles were smashed open, allowing the black kerosene to spill out and flow across the ground.

  And each time, a fire arrow soon arrived, shooting into the ground to ignite a roaring fire. The Arab catapult unit immediately transformed into a sea of fire, discharging smoke so thick that the sunlight was blocked out.

  “Change the target! Aim at the walls of Talas!”

  “It’s useless! They’re too high up! They’re far outside our range!”

  The Arab officers attempted to change their targets to the walls of Talas, but at this moment, Gao Xianzhi’s choice to occupy Talas first was showing its benefits. Wang Chong’s steel catapults stationed on the walls had far greater range and power than those of the Tibetans or Arabs.

  Chapter 906 - The Arabs' Urgent Assault!

  Chapter 906: The Arabs’ Urgent Assault!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Hurry! Withdraw the catapults! Get them away from here! We can’t let them all get destroyed!”

  An Arab officer reacted quickly, ordering the catapults to be pushed out of the battle zone. Although these catapults were large and heavy, each of them had been fitted with eight huge wheels to make them easy to move. But would Chen Burang allow them to retreat at a time like this?

  Boomboomboom! In a few short moments, eighty percent of the catapults that the Arabs had constructed were destroyed. Those prepared piles of metal balls next to the catapults had become their greatest weak point.

  The entire region was aflame.

  “Damn it!”

  In the wake of this unexpected assault, the metal balls being flung toward the first Tang defense line soon vanished, and as the fires were extinguished, so did the flames and smoke, leaving behind only a few embers. Upon seeing this, Abu Muslim and Ziyad, the chief and deputy commanders of the Arab army, both paled.

  The advantage they had created had instantly evaporated.

  Abu Muslim’s eyes darkened as he ordered, “Fahad, go and kill that Tang commander on the wall!”

  The Arab catapults had destroyed many hardy cities before. Not once had they ever been destroyed by enemy catapults, much less been vanquished by their own kerosene. Abu Muslim had immediately identified the source of the problems as the Tang officer on the walls of Talas.

  “Yes!”

  A fully-armored Arab general stepped out from behind Abu Muslim. Creeeak! The Arab general Fahad gripped an ivory bow taller than a man with his left hand, while his right hand nocked an arrow more than five feet long, its point gleaming like a red jewel. Slowly, he locked onto Chen Burang.

  As he drew on the bowstring, all light in a radius of ten zhang began to twist and gather around the jewel-like tip of the arrow, causing it to exude a dangerous light.

  Boom!

  The sky seemed to explode with a peal of thunder as Fahad unleashed the arrow toward the wall. Such was its speed that one moment, it was in Fahad’s hand, and the next, it was only a few zhang from Chen Burang on the walls.

  Buzz!

  Chen Burang grimaced at the sudden appearance of this arrow. His ears had already heard the arrow’s approach, but his body was too slow to react.

  The enemy was much, much stronger than he was!

  A Saint Martial archer!

  Chen Burang’s face went as white as paper at this thought. He was a member of Kunwu Training Camp’s Deflecting Blade Manor, and was both an excellent strategist and archer. He commanded these catapults to exhibit a might that few other commanders could reach.

  But though Chen Burang was an exceedingly capable commander, his cultivation level was not as impressive. The Arabs had sent a Saint Martial expert to deal with him, and at Chen Burang’s level, he was almost certainly doomed.

  It’s over!

  This was the only thought in Chen Burang’s mind.

  Bang!

  Just when Chen Burang had closed his eyes to wait for death, an invisible barrier of energy suddenly engulfed him. Boom!Fahad’s destructive arrow struck the energy barrier like it had run into a steel wall. Clang! A shockwave spread out as the red jewel of the arrow tip along with the arrow itself pulverized themselves against the barrier.

  “Protector-General!”

  Hearing a noise from behind him, Chen Burang opened his eyes and turned around. Seeing the relaxed figure of Anxi’s Protector-General slowly striding toward him, he gave a sigh of relief.

  “Continue to command! With me here, there’s nothing to worry about,” said Gao Xianzhi as he strode forward and placed Chen Burang behind him. Amidst the blustery winds, Gao Xianzhi’s eyes exploded with a dazzling light as his gaze locked onto the distant Abu Muslim and the archer general behind him.

  Abu Muslim seemed to sense something, and he slightly leaned forward, his eyes meeting with Gao Xianzhi’s. Over the last two months, these two had become mortal foes, and as their gazes met, both could sense the intense will to fight in their counterpart.

  Ziyad took two steps forward and began to speak. “Milord, what if we bring a few more generals…”

  “That’s not necessary. With Gao Xianzhi there, we won’t be able to kill him.”

  Abu Muslim waved his hand, rejecting Ziyad’s suggestion.

  “The catapult unit is finished. There’s no need to worry about it anymore. Inform the soldiers on the front to strengthen the assault. I want the Tang defense line on the west side torn to shreds by sunset, absolutely destroyed! No matter what, we must utterly crush the Great Tang!”

  “Yes, Milord!”

  Ziyad quickly left to relay Abu Muslim’s orders.

  This battle was absolutely critical, the decisive battle between Arabia and the Great Tang. A simple messenger could not properly convey Abu Muslim’s will. Ziyad had to go personally.

  ……

  With the entrance of Chen Burang and the steel catapults onto the battlefield, Dalun Ruozan and Abu Muslim’s strategy rapidly crumbled. The catapult unit that Dalun Ruozan had ensconced behind the hills and Abu Muslim’s catapult unit in the rear of the Arab army were soon completely destroyed.

  Meanwhile, behind the Tang defense line, all the fires had been extinguished, and the circumstances of the Tang army had completely reversed once more.

  “Fire!”

  Grasping this opportunity, Chen Bin swiftly gave the order to his ballista teams to fire on the Arab forces. The first defense line was already in a rather perilous state. During the kerosene assault, Chen Bin’s ballistae had not been able to operate as usual, allowing the Arab cavalry to charge up to the walls.

  All the steel walls and infantry were suffering furious waves of attacks, clattering and banging drowning out all other sound. All the Arab cavalry on the front lines were doing their utmost to break through.

  Meanwhile, the Tang infantry were clenching their teeth as they did all they could to hold the line.

  “Hold! Don’t let them get past!”

  “Stop them! This is an order!”

  All the infantry were tensed up, the veins bulging from their foreheads, their faces reddening as they exerted all their strength. At this moment, Chen Bin’s ballistae began to fire.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The long ballista bolts howled through the air like the scythes of death as they once more made their presence known on the battlefield. Boom! An Arab cavalryman attempting to break through the infantry lines was readying for another charge when a pitch-black bolt blew through his chest, carrying him off his horse and into a second
horseman, a third, a fourth…

  A single ballista bolt had blasted through seven fully-armored Arab cavalrymen, and this was only the beginning.

  Thwooshthwooshthwoosh! The numerous ballista bolts each took at least six Arab cavalry with them, and in a single round, the Arabs had lost around seven thousand cavalry at the first defense line. Volley after volley ceaselessly descended upon the Arabs.

  The Arabs were losing men at an astonishing rate, and the area in front of the defense line was soon covered in corpses of both man and horse, blood flowing freely across the earth. But the Arabs were in a complete frenzy at this point, past caring about any casualties. Close-quarters combat was where the Arabs displayed the height of their legendary ferocity. As long as they could kill their enemies, topple them with fierce and crazed assaults, they did not care what losses they suffered.

  This courage and fearlessness had allowed the Arabs to create a legend of invincibility that stretched from the Cong Mountains to the Red Sea.

  “Kill!”

  Innumerable savage-faced Arab horsemen charged heedlessly at the first defense line. Swoosh! An Arab horseman raised the spear in his hand and threw it over the shields into the dense Tang ranks.

  Caught by surprise, several Tang infantry were run through by the spear and nailed to the earth. A rain of such spears descended, rapidly inflicting casualties on the Tang soldiers. Moreover, even though the Arabs were under attack by both the beehives and the ballistae, they continued to press forward, using the piles of corpses to clamber over the walls and jump over the shields.

  Squelchsquelchsquelch! Behind the shields, the soldiers of Greater and Lesser Balur thrust out their pikes again and again. Like agile snakes, these pikes were able to find the chinks in the Arab armor and thrust through, impaling the Arab soldiers.

  The pikemen of Greater and Lesser Balur were fully displaying their might. In terms of pure armor-piercing capabilities, no one else in the Western Regions could compare to them. But not even this could stop the Arabs.

  “Fight! Kill them all!”