The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  The Battle of Talas was of utmost importance, so how could he possibly neglect his homework and not gather any information on it?

  ______________1.Rakshasas are demons in Buddhist and Hindu mythology who like to dine on human flesh.↩

  Chapter 954 - The Fire of Lu Wu!

  Chapter 954: The Fire of Lu Wu!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Huoshu Huicang couldn’t help but frown as he asked, “But if the ‘Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation’ of Talas is so formidable that not even the Behemoths can break through, aren’t the Great Tang in an essentially invincible position?”

  “Hah, it’s not that easy.”

  Dalun Ruozan shook his head and grinned.

  “The Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation was set up more than two hundred years ago. Around a hundred years ago, this formation began to lose efficiency. Moreover, with the shifting of the world, the formation has grown less capable of absorbing energy from the earth. In this state, the formation has only around forty to fifty percent of its original strength, which means that it won’t be able to last for very long. As long as that Arabian beast can keep up its attacks and push the formation to its maximum limit, the walls will fall.”

  Dalun Ruozan’s expression was indifferent and assured, his confidence bolstering the confidence of those around him.

  Through many years of campaigning and squaring off against all sorts of formidable opponents, Dalun Ruozan had forged for himself an astonishing intellect and skill for calculation. Although the Arabian Behemoth Army was a little surprising, Dalun Ruozan had quickly managed to predict the tempo of this battle.

  There was usually very little that could exceed his predictions.

  “Great Minister, then based on your experience, how long do you predict that beast will need to break the walls?” Duwu Sili suddenly asked.

  “If the Tang cannot find any effective method of stopping it… it won’t be more than five minutes,” Dalun Ruozan confidently proclaimed.

  ……

  In the distance, the entire world was swaying. The black boar Behemoth outside the walls of Talas alternated between charging, shoving, and digging at the earth with its snout. Only those who had truly experienced its might understood why this Behemoth was called the Destroyer of Cities. The speed and frequency of its attacks had far exceeded everyone’s imaginations. In the space of a second, it could attack the walls five to six times.

  The sky resounded with its thunderous collisions, leaving everyone in the city quaking in fear.

  Within the city, there was nowhere to escape. Each collision of the Behemoth was the god of death ringing the bell of their doom.

  “Hurry and kill it! Don’t let it approach the walls!”

  Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, Wang Yan, and Banahan were all shocked and dismayed by this sight. The ferocity of the Behemoth’s attacks meant that the city would not be able to last for long. Boom! Boom! Boom! A storm of blows crashed against the enormous body of the black boar. Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and Wang Yan were all frantic, their every strike carrying all the power they could muster.

  “It’s useless. The Destroyer is different from the other Behemoths. Any type of attack will be greatly reduced against it. All your efforts are in vain.”

  Masil coldly chuckled to himself as he watched the three Great Generals attack the Destroyer.

  The Destroyer was produced with the possibility that it might be attacked by elite experts while attacking a city, so it had been designed from the start to have excellent defenses. The first Behemoth, the Sower, simply could not compare.

  Not even after the walls were broken would the attacks of Gao Xianzhi and the other Great Generals have any sort of effect on the Destroyer.

  Awooooo!

  Just when Masil was sneering, a loud howl resounded in his ear. Shocked, Masil turned and saw that the scaled hippo, the Terrorizer, had encountered a giant four-armed god, its entire body burning with violet flames as it punched at the head of the Terrorizer. These violet flames were extremely vexing, spreading from Wang Chong’s fist to the Terrorizer’s body, even getting in through the chinks between the scales.

  The Terrorizer possessed an extremely formidable defense: scales even better at staving off enemy attacks than the bristles of the Destroyer. But just a few punches from Wang Chong had been enough to make the Terrorizer howl in pain. Masil was completely caught off guard by this development.

  He could sense that the Terrorizer had been severely wounded and was enduring terrible pain. Those attacks clearly posed an enormous threat to the Terrorizer.

  “This is impossible! It doesn’t make sense! No one can inflict this much damage to the Terrorizer.”

  Masil’s eyes flew open, brimming with shock. He dared not believe his eyes.

  “What’s going on here?”

  Let alone Masil, even Abu Muslim showed a look of surprise.

  There was no question about the abilities of the Behemoths, so Abu Muslim was sure that his opponent had undergone some unforeseen change. Otherwise, a single Tang Great General would never be able to make the Terrorizer howl in pain.

  “Li Siye, attack its joints! In addition, everyone, careful of the Behemoth’s feet!”

  Wang Chong’s bellow thundered over the plains. His Godking Yama had seized the Terrorizer’s head from the side, and his four arms were taking turns punching at it.

  His speculations from before had now been proved. The Strength of Lu Wu was extremely effective against these Behemoths, with each of his punches siphoning a large amount of vitality from the Behemoth to Wang Chong. At the start, the Godking Yama had only been at the basic level of strength for a Great General, but the vitality of the Behemoth had caused it to madly rise in strength, pushing it all the way to the middle level of Great Generals. Besides that, Wang Chong’s own strength was increasing, climbing from Saint Martial Tier 7 to Tier 8, well on the way to Tier 9, the level of Brigadier Generals.

  If he could reach the Brigadier General level, his strength would undergo a fundamental transformation. Both he and the Godking Yama that was the condensation of his soldiers’ strength would reach a higher stage.

  Roooar!

  The hippo-shaped Behemoth was infuriated by Wang Chong’s attack, bellowing as it threw its body at Wang Chong. However, while Wang Chong was weaker than Gao Xianzhi, his proficiency and skills were not something that even the Celestial Wolf Great General Duwu Sili could handle, much less this ignorant beast.

  Bang! Wang Chong flipped over, and the enormous body of the god moved from one side of the scaled Behemoth to the other. The moment he landed, his fists once more began to rain down incessantly on the Behemoth. The violet flames blazed even more brightly, as each punch caused the Behemoth’s fire of vigor to dim.

  The Arab Behemoth Army had never encountered such a situation before.

  “Just who is this bastard! Someone, go and kill him!”

  Masil’s body was quivering in rage.

  “Master archers, where are the master archers?”

  “It’s useless. The attacks of master archers are useless against Imperial Great Generals,” said Ziyad, his face extremely solemn as he observed the battle. Not even Ziyad had expected this sort of situation to occur. There was a reason the Behemoth Army had become a tool the Caliph used to hold down the empire, and not even Ziyad, who could use ritual tools to reach the Great General level, had any confidence in fighting such monsters.

  Not even a seasoned general like him could explain this situation.

  He could only say that this young Great General on the enemy side had something that could counter the Behemoth Army. Perhaps it was the violet flames, or perhaps it was something else. Whatever it was, it was nothing good for the Arabs!

  “Damn it! I don’t care if master archers will be effective; that Tang has to die! Whether for the Caliphate, or for this battle!”

  Masil pointed a finger at Wang Chong whil
e his eyes looked toward the nearby Abu Muslim and Ziyad, the highest commanders of the east. His duty was to besiege the city, break stalemates, and vanquish the large army of the enemy. As for the experts within the army, those were the responsibility of Abu Muslim and Ziyad.

  Masil’s meaning was extremely clear. The Arab army of the east, particularly Abu Muslim and Ziyad, had a duty to neutralize this threat.

  “Relax! He won’t survive! No matter how this battle turns out, he will never return to the east alive!”

  Abu Muslim spoke in his dignified and vigorous voice, his eyes oozing disdain, his tone one of iron resolve.

  “In truth, of all the Tang you see now, not one of them will be able to leave. But before this, I still need you to complete our agreement. Destroy the Tang defense and break their walls!”

  Abu Muslim gave Masil a profound stare. His meaning was clear.

  In every aspect, it was a strategically unwise move for Masil’s Terrorizer to pause outside the defense line and fight with a single Tang Great General. This was also not according to the wish of the Arabs. Abu Muslim needed the complete destruction of the Tang defenses. Without the steel walls, the battle would take on a completely different nature.

  The hundreds of thousands of Arab soldiers would have probably already crushed their enemies.

  “Understood! Lord Governor, be at ease. I will naturally do as we agreed.”

  Even though Masil had never cared for anyone else before, at this moment, his face turned red as he gave a deep bow. After all, neither the Terrorizer nor the Destroyer had succeeded in their objectives. This was an enormous disgrace for the Behemoth Army.

  Without hesitation, Masil waved a hand behind him, calling over a person shrouded in black who appeared to be some sort of sorcerer.

  Chapter 955 - Crisis, Sign of Collapse!

  Chapter 955: Crisis, Sign of Collapse!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Phweeet!

  The shrill sound of a bone flute cut through the battlefield. Upon hearing this sound, the Terrorizer, which had been pushed almost to the point of madness by Wang Chong’s attack, suddenly sobered up. It turned away its scarlet eyes from Wang Chong, back to the two steel defense lines in the distance and the dense ranks of the Tang soldiers.

  “Shit! The Arabs are urging on the Behemoths!”

  Wang Chong’s body trembled with an ill foreboding. He had rushed out from the walls to embroil himself in battle with the Behemoth precisely so that he could keep it out of range of the defense lines and avoid large losses in the army. But the Arabs had clearly noticed this and were doing their utmost to stop it.

  Roooar!

  With a heaven-shaking roar, the Terrorizer began to move its four feet, and as it rushed toward the steel walls, a tremendous strength exploded from its body.

  “Li Siye, careful! Everyone, get back!”

  Wang Chong’s pupils constricted as he sensed danger.

  The Wushang Cavalry had been on the ground this entire time, attacking the Behemoth’s short and thick legs, many of them even charging straight at the Behemoth. The Behemoth’s sudden movements were liable to inflict severe losses on the Wushang Cavalry.

  “Retreat!”

  Just moments after Li Siye, Kong Zi-an, and the others pulled away, they heard an enormous boom. A massive cloud of dust shot into the air as the scaled Arabian Behemoth began to move at a speed completely at odds with its enormous girth.

  Bang! A second after several hundred Wushang Cavalry had withdrawn from the area, an enormous foot stomped down, leaving a deep footprint. Cries of alarm rose from the army. If they had been just a little slower, they would have been crushed into paste.

  As the Wushang Cavalry marveled at the Behemoth’s strength, a loud bellow suddenly came from above the Behemoth. “Beast, where are you going!”

  Wang Chong was completely focused on the Terrorizer, so when this Behemoth suddenly exploded with strength and began to charge, the Godking Yama had stretched out a hand and snatched at the Behemoth’s short hippo tail.

  “Heave!”

  Meeting with success, Wang Chong immediately got down on one knee, his body bracing as his three other arms grabbed onto the Behemoth’s hindquarters and pulled. Yet the Behemoth’s strength was vast, even though Wang Chong’s punches had absorbed so much of its vitality.

  Even though Wang Chong had used the energy absorbed from the Behemoth to reach the middle Great General level, there was still a massive gap between him and the Behemoth. When the Behemoth mustered its strength and began to charge at the defense line, not even Wang Chong could stop it.

  Hwoooom! A fierce wind kicked up, blowing a storm of sand and dirt toward the distant steel walls. The scaled hippo was right behind this gale. Crsssssh! Pulled along by the Behemoth, the Godking Yama’s two legs dragged out massive fissures in the ground, stirring up their own churning cloud of dust.

  “Damn it! I’m no match for it like this!” Wang Chong grimaced.

  “Waaaah!”

  He could hear shouts of panic from up ahead as the soldiers began to back up in fear. One thousand zhang, eight hundred zhang… the distance was shrinking, the air growing tense and panicked, Wang Chong’s concern reaching its maximum. In the first charge, the Great Tang had already lost ten thousand soldiers.

  If the scaled hippo Behemoth were able to hit the defense line at this speed, the army would collapse today. All the effort he had spent would be gone with the wind.

  “All soldiers, stand ready!”

  A sharp cry resounded over the defense line. Chen Bin’s right hand tightly grasped his Wootz Steel sword as he aimed it forward, his eyes fixed on the distance. At Chen Bin’s words, countless ballistae began to creak as they slowly aimed at the distant scaled Behemoth.

  “All ballistae, aim up thirty degrees. Target the Behemoth’s head.”

  Chen Bin’s voice rang out in the tense atmosphere. He was no less panicked than his comrades, but his voice maintained its calm, his eyes forever locked onto the Behemoth.

  The only thing the one hundred thousand soldiers could rely on were the ballistae. The three thousand ballistae were the army’s last hope and defense. No matter what, he could not retreat.

  Rumble! The earth seemed to crack open at the scaled Behemoth’s advance. Six hundred zhang, four hundred zhang… As the distance shrank, the sandstorm battered the faces of the soldiers behind the steel walls like innumerable tiny needles. However, all of them remained as steadfast as stone statues at their posts.

  A few seconds later, the Behemoth had advanced another one hundred zhang, leaving only three hundred zhang left. At this distance, everyone could feel a suffocating dread, the menace of death that made even the most seasoned veteran pale.

  But even so, none of them chose to flee.

  “Release!”

  As the scent of death saturated the air, Chen Bin swung down his Wootz Steel sword.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Ballista bolts flew forward like dragons cutting through the heavens as they shot toward the Behemoth’s head. The howl of these thousands of ballista bolts was like the roar of a tsunami, drowning out all other noise.

  Awooooo!

  The three-thousand-some ballista bolts all struck the Behemoth’s head, and even the scaled Behemoth had to howl in pain at this tremendous blow, its vast sea of vitality significantly weakening. But the Behemoth’s speed did not slow.

  “Release again!”

  Chen Bin’s expression was unchanged as he raised and swung down his Wootz Steel sword once more. In the blink of an eye, a second volley of ballista bolts had been fired at the Behemoth’s head.

  “Release again!”

  A third volley was hot on its heels, each bolt stabbing through the thick scales and hide, but none of them could deal the Behemoth a fatal blow.

  “Not enough!”

  An officer of one of the ballista teams couldn’t help but worriedly call out, “The Behemoth’s skull is too har
d. After piercing through its scales and hide, our ballista bolts simply don’t have the strength to penetrate its bones!”

  Over the entirety of the Behemoth’s body, the head had the smallest number of scales, but if the ballista bolts couldn’t pierce the skull, this meant that they would never be able to kill the Behemoth, no matter how fierce their attacks were.

  “Milord, what do we do?”

  Everyone began to turn toward Chen Bin.

  Chen Bin was silent, his armor clattering in the wind, his hair blown into just as much disorder as his mind. The ballista army was the army’s final barrier. If not even the ballistae could do anything, then it was beyond Chen Bin’s abilities. But Chen Bin could not shrink back, nor could he do nothing, as the ballista army was the heart of the army’s morale. But the roaring Behemoth was now less than two hundred zhang from the first defense line.

  “Chen Bin, have your troops stand aside!”

  At this moment, a stentorian voice came from ahead. Chen Bin raised his head and saw a violet ball of flame blazing in the air. A giant four-armed god suddenly rose from behind the Behemoth, hanging upside down in the air. Two of its arms pressed against the Behemoth’s back, flipping over the entire body to travel from the hindquarters to right in front of the Behemoth.

  Boom! The moment the Godking Yama landed, it immediately sent four violet-flamed punches at the Behemoth’s head. An enormous shockwave spread through the earth with a tremendous explosion.

  “Zhang Shouzhi, is the giant ballista done? How much longer?” Wang Chong furiously roared, the tension obvious in his voice.

  “No good! There’s not enough time!” Zhang Shouzhi anxiously shouted back. The craftsmen around him had nervous and anxious looks as they worked away at the giant ballista. Their foreheads were caked in sweat, but there was no time to wipe it away. More than one thousand people were involved in building this giant ballista, all of them working as hard as they could, but it was still not enough.

  “There’s no more time! Hurry!”

  Wang Chong’s worried shout resounded over the battlefield. The Behemoth was immensely powerful, and Wang Chong didn’t know how much longer he could last against its savage struggles. The giant ballista was a vital part of Wang Chong’s plan, but there was little time left.