The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “Leader!”

  The surrounding giants lowered their heads all the way down to their waists, appearing both respectful and fearful.

  Bang!

  There was yet another earthshaking stomp as the owner of that huge palm finally appeared before everyone. This was a giant twenty-seven to twenty-eight meters tall, so bulky and muscular that his arms were as thick as the legs of the other giants. The strength surging through his body surpassed that of all other giants, making the rest of them seem like children.

  Ghareeb Hassam!

  The leader of the Skyquaking Army!

  In Arabic, this name meant ‘victory’ and ‘invincible’. He was the invincible giant, the one the Caliph of Arabia declared as the ‘Wrath of God’.

  Ghareeb Hassam was different from the other giants. Despite his enormous girth, he was extremely intelligent. More importantly, before taking part in the Giant Army experiment, Ghareeb Hassam had already been an outstanding Arab general. He was devoted to the Caliph and a formidable warrior, factors which caused him to be deeply respected in the Arabian Empire. The Caliph had even cast a golden belt for him to serve as a symbol of his status as commander of the Skyquaking Army.

  But at this moment, Ghareeb Hassam was enraged.

  “Useless things! Trash! Trash! Trash!!”

  Ghareeb Hassam’s mouth was spewing rage. He and the Arab soldiers at the front had agreed that if the giants of the Skyquaking Army succeeded in their objective of disturbing the Tang defense line and destroying the two giant ballistae, the Arab soldiers would send a signal. But even though two hundred Skyquaking Giants had been sent over by the bronze catapults, there had still been no signal. It was clear that the two giant ballistae had still not been destroyed.

  To the proud Ghareeb Hassam, this was an enormous disgrace!

  “Hussein, Tarik, just what are you two bastards doing! So many men have been launched, so why haven’t those two giant ballistae been smashed yet? Can you not even do something as simple as this?”

  Ghareeb Hassam was extremely large, his height of twenty-seven meters enabling him to see very far, even the area the giant ballistae were located. He found it simply unacceptable that the two giant ballistae had still not been destroyed.

  “Leader! The bronze catapults are very inaccurate. That we can launch the giants between the two defense lines is already the best we can do. Accurately striking the two giant ballistae is basically impossible,” argued the twenty-two-meter giant captain that Ghareeb Hassam had called ‘Hussein’.

  Bang! The giant had barely spoken when a weighty fist sent him flying backward.

  “Useless thing, get out of my way! I’ll tell all of you right here, there is nothing in this world that can’t be done! Pile of trash!”

  Ghareeb Hassam pushed aside his two officers and seated himself on one of the bronze catapults. His eyes looked forward as he began to adjust the trajectory and angle.

  “Load another two giants and increase the strength. I want the catapult at maximum tension!

  “This time, none of you are permitted to do anything! I’ll do the adjustments myself!”

  Ghareeb Hassam bellowed as he personally took command. Three zhang, five zhang… Ghareeb Hassam commanded the Skyquaking Giants to pull the catapult ropes farther and farther back. The two tough and flexible ropes creaked as they began to tighten.

  After some time, the ropes of the bronze catapult were finally pulled to their maximum extent by the ten-some giants, and Ghareeb Hassam immediately gave the order to launch.

  “Release!”

  Boom! Ghareeb Hassam shot into the air like a cannonball, the winds howling around him as he soared into the sky. In the blink of an eye, he was gone, and it was only now that a deafening sonic boom resounded through the air.

  ……

  As the Skyquaking Army was slowly being pushed into a stalemate, another ‘meteor’ came plummeting down from the sky. This meteor was far louder than any of the others, the shrieking from the friction in the air so sharp that almost everyone on the battlefield felt deafened.

  Wang Chong’s heart thumped as he suddenly felt an extreme danger. He could tell that a meteor was currently descending onto the battlefield with an unprecedented speed. The impact speed of the other Skyquaking Giants was tiny in comparison, like comparing a turtle to a hare.

  Buzz! Wang Chong’s eyes began to scan the skies, and immediately locked onto the source of that sharp whistle. This was a golden-red meteor, almost three times larger than the other meteors and falling at a much faster speed. Only a few seconds had elapsed from the time Wang Chong had heard the sound to the moment he had raised his head, but in this period, the meteor was now not even one hundred zhang from landing.

  At this distance, everyone felt an intense pressure, and more importantly, they could sense a vast destructive energy raging within the meteor.

  “Not good!”

  When he saw where the golden-red meteor was going to land, Wang Chong trembled in shock, his face paling.

  “Lord Protector-General, I leave this place to you!” Wang Chong roared, and immediately began to rush toward the two giant ballistae.

  “Milord!”

  Just after Wang Chong turned around, an extremely worried voice came from behind him. Xue Qianjun was looking at Wang Chong in absolute panic, and at this same moment, Cheng Qianli’s call of warning exploded in his ears.

  “Everyone, get ready!”

  Wang Chong was still frozen in surprise when he began to hear the thumping of heavy footsteps suddenly increasing in tempo. Fiercely turning his head, he saw that the mountainous Behemoths had suddenly picked up the pace.

  They were now less than two hundred zhang from the defense line!

  Wang Chong grimaced, finally understanding why Xue Qianjun had called out to him and why Cheng Qianli’s voice had seemed so frantic. The Arabs had chosen this moment to launch their all-out assault. At this moment, the Tang were beset by the dreadful Behemoths and Arab soldiers from the front while the King of Giants and the Skyquaking Army attacked them from the rear. This was a crisis of most dire proportions!

  Wang Chong suddenly stopped as he was forced into a dilemma.

  “Banahan!”

  Wang Chong only had time to shout a single name. But this tiny delay was enough for that golden-red meteor to accomplish its mission.

  Boooom! With an earth-shaking explosion, the meteor smashed into one of the giant ballistae, the force of the impact blowing the giant ballista into innumerable pieces of shrapnel and sending the ballista soldiers flying through the air like they were made of paper.

  “Hahaha, burn for me!”

  The air howled as a crazed laugh that hungered for destruction came from the center of the explosion. Boom! Yet another explosion of Stellar Energy blasted ballista parts, rocks, dirt, and the surrounding ballista soldiers even farther back.

  Amidst the thick smoke and the shockwave from the explosion, everyone could clearly see an enormous Skyquaking Giant rising up from the location of the giant ballista like a demonic god who had come to bring down the apocalypse. Its height of twenty-seven meters left everyone deeply astonished.

  “All of you burn to ash!”

  Ghareeb Hassam did not pause while everyone stared at him in shock. With a wave of his palm, a group of Tang cavalry charging at him was struck by red Stellar Energy. It seemed to have a life of its own, working into the bodies of the cavalry through the chinks in their armor. They burst into intense flames, the fire emerging from even their ears, eyes, and noses.

  “Aaaah!” With a terrible scream, the cavalry were burned to ash, leaving behind only their armor, twisted and contorted from the heat of the flames.

  Chapter 968 - Defend the Giant Ballista!

  Chapter 968: Defend the Giant Ballista!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Waaaah!”

  The surrounding soldiers reeled back in shock, the mercenaries from the We
stern Regions paling as they retreated in panic. Even the other Tang cavalry couldn’t help but show a tinge of fear on their faces.

  Each battle was an enormous meat grinder, and once this meat grinder began to operate, it would cause countless deaths, both on the enemy side and on one’s own side. Every person was ready to die on the battlefield, but none of them had ever expected to die like this. And no one had ever imagined that there could be a giant like this, capable of using Stellar Energy to burn his enemies to ash. So fierce and horrifying was this method of death that it made everyone quiver in fear.

  Boom! With a heavy stomp, Ghareeb Hassam finished the destruction of the giant ballista, cruelly laughing as he stepped over its remains and headed for the second, and last, giant ballista. If he could destroy that one, the mission of the Skyquaking Army would be complete.

  “Stop him!”

  The soldiers all knew the danger this posed and began to heedlessly charge to the side of the final giant ballista to protect it. At the same time, the ballista soldiers manning the giant ballista began to adjust it, hoping to fire the giant ballista bolts on this King of Giants.

  But while the giant ballista was powerful, it was a clumsy and slow contraption. The two giant ballistae had been very close to each other, and they had originally been aimed out of the defense line. With Ghareeb Hassam having descended right onto the first giant ballista, it was nearly impossible for the second giant ballista to turn in time.

  “A pile of ignorant ants! Before me, all of you are not even worth mentioning!” Ghareeb Hassam thunderously roared.

  Rumble! Ghareeb Hassam punched, sending out waves of energy, and before they even had time to scream, several dozen Tang cavalry were engulfed in flames and burned to ash. Boom!Ghareeb Hassam kicked out, and yet another batch of Tang cavalry was burned to ashes. With a punch and a kick, Ghareeb Hassam suddenly found his path clear, no more soldiers standing in his way.

  Buzz! The ballista soldiers turned ashen. If this last giant ballista were destroyed, the Great Tang’s defeat was almost certain.

  As Ghareeb Hassam elatedly charged forward to destroy the final giant ballista and complete his mission, a figure suddenly shot in front of the giant ballista to stand against him.

  “All of you, get out of the way! Leave this giant to me!”

  The Gangke King gave Ghareeb Hassam a cold glare, his body surging with a thick killing intent. The fallen and blood-drenched body of the red-bearded giant nearby made the Gangke King appear even stronger and mightier.

  This contest between human and giant had finally concluded with the Gangke King emerging victorious over the red-bearded giant through overwhelming strength, even managing to kill him. But the Gangke King had never imagined that in these few short moments where his attention had been diverted, one of the giant ballistae would be destroyed. This left his heart fuming with rage.

  “Let me entertain you!”

  The Gangke King was on the offensive from the moment he appeared, striking before Ghareeb Hassam could respond.

  The Bright Fist of Massacre!

  A powerful energy burst out of the Gangke King’s body, the countless images of fists layering over each other into an enormous mountain that hurtled toward the twenty-seven-meter figure of Ghareeb Hassam.

  The stronger the opponent, the stronger the Bright Fist of Massacre was. The red-bearded giant had already fallen to his iron fists, and now, the Gangke King was using this same technique against the commander of the giants.

  “Hmph, a good move!”

  Noticing the corpse of the red-bearded giant, Ghareeb Hassam also fumed. A majestic sea of Stellar Energy surged out from his body, transforming into a fist that punched at the Gangke King.

  Rumble!

  No one could tell just how many blows the Gangke King exchanged with the commander of the Skyquaking Army. They could only see that the moment they clashed, an endless sea of fire began to batter and collide against the fist images created by the Gangke King’s Bright Fist of Massacre!

  Bang! The flames dispersed, but while Ghareeb Hassam remained unmoved, the Gangke King was thrown back, falling to the ground in a cloud of dust. His face was slightly pale, but he had not been burned to ash by those flames.

  “Human, you truly are somewhat formidable, but you are still no match for me!”

  Ghareeb Hassam stared at the Gangke King with a murderous glare. Thump! His foot stomped down, opening the curtain to a most shocking event…

  A metallic clattering arose from Ghareeb Hassam’s body, and a halo bearing the three colors of black, red, and gold exploded from his body, rapidly spreading to five meters, ten meters, twenty meters…

  In this world, it was already unprecedented for a warrior to have a war halo with a radius of five meters. But Ghareeb Hassam’s halo had a radius of thirty meters, representing a terrifying range that any human martial artist would find unthinkable. Yet this was not the most shocking thing of all.

  “A war halo! This giant can actually use a war halo!” the surrounding soldiers hollered out in panic. To them, it was already amazing that a twenty-seven-meter giant could use martial arts and Stellar Energy, but this giant could use a war halo as well. And one of the unique traits of war halos was their ability to buff all the soldiers in an army.

  When this thought occurred to him, even the Gangke King paled.

  Buzz!

  In a flash, this war halo of black, red, and gold had spread from Ghareeb Hassam’s feet to cover the entire battlefield, bolstering every Skyquaking Giant present. This three-colored halo seemed to bestow a divine strength upon the giants, and all of them howled as their already terrifying strength soared.

  “Hahaha! It’s Milord’s halo!”

  The galvanized giants roared and redoubled their attacks against the surrounding Tang soldiers.

  The Skyquaking Halo!

  This was the only war halo to be found in the entire Skyquaking Army, a power the Arabian Empire had inherited from that fargone civilization. It was the only halo that worked on all the giants, bolstering both their offense and defense.

  Boom! A distant Skyquaking Giant swept its arm, immediately putting pressure on the Death’s Scythe team that had just moments ago been able to hold it down. The seven men had been able to use the formation’s power to firmly suppress the giant, but they now found themselves somewhat unable to hold on.

  “Careful!”

  The seven quickly focused their minds into dealing with the giant’s newfound power.

  But the one who received the strongest boost from this halo was still the commander of the Skyquaking Army, Ghareeb Hassam. The moment the Skyquaking Halo had been unleashed, his strength had soared and soared and soared, climbing with astonishing speed to an astonishing level. As he saw his opponent’s strength drastically increase, the Gangke King felt his heart sink.

  “Take another one of my punches!”

  Ghareeb Hassam’s eyes flashed with cold light as he sent a gigantic fist wrapped in red flames toward the Gangke King.

  Boom! This time, the Gangke King was not able to stop his blow. Even when using the Bright Fist of Massacre which could multiply his strength, he could not stop the thunderous punch of the giant commander. With a groan, the Gangke King was knocked aside. But just when Ghareeb Hassam was preparing to kill the Gangke King and destroy the last giant ballista, he glanced to the rear and suddenly grimaced.

  “Bastard! You dare!”

  Ghareeb Hassam’s eyes widened, his body exploding with furious flames of anger. As the Gangke King had been knocked away, he had actually managed to use his Stellar Energy to wrap up the giant ballista and the surrounding ballista soldiers, and push them to a much farther area.

  And in the direction the giant ballista had been pushed, a stalwart figure burning with flames as dazzling as the sun was flying toward him.

  “Gangke King, I’ve come to help you!”

  His voice resounding in the air, the Ferghanan commander Banahan used the Great Fire Crow
Art to crash like a shooting star into the lofty mountain of Ghareeb Hassam. Rumble! Boom! The impact created numerous explosions and shockwaves, fierce gales scouring the surrounding area.

  This terrifying momentum made even the Gangke King widen his eyes in shock. Banahan was the Ferghanan commander, a Brigadier General who was only a step away from the Imperial Great General level. While Ghareeb Hassam was the commander of the Skyquaking Army, his formidable power something that not even the Gangke King could contend against, he could find little advantage in front of a Brigadier General like Banahan.

  Chapter 969 - Brigadier General Banahan Joins the Battle!

  Chapter 969: Brigadier General Banahan Joins the Battle!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Gangke King, you protect the giant ballista. I’ll deal with this giant!”

  Flames seethed across the battlefield, Banahan’s loud voice emerging from within the sea of fire. Ghareeb Hassam’s Stellar Energy was imbued with the energy of fire and was extremely tyrannical. On the other end, Banahan’s Great Fire Crow Art was a renowned fire technique of the Western Regions, and after receiving Wang Chong’s pointers, Banahan had gotten even stronger. He was probably the only one who could fight blow-for-blow in fire arts against the King of Giants.

  “Okay!”

  The Gangke King’s eyes flashed as he immediately charged to the second giant ballista. The conflict between these two was too fierce, and there was a chance that a stray shot could hit the giant ballista. He had to move it away from this area as soon as possible. And if it was possible, he would also use the giant ballista to help Banahan against the King of Giants.

  But the crisis was far from over. The giants in the surroundings all roared as they began to charge toward the giant ballista. Even Ghareeb Hassam, embroiled in his battle with Banahan, was still trying to make his way around and destroy the giant ballista. The Gangke King needed to place his full attention on protecting the Great Tang’s last hope.