Though the decision cut at his heart, Wang Yan had to make it.
The strength of the Behemoths was not something humans could oppose. They had done everything they could to try and stop them, but they had still failed.
If they did not retreat now and waited for the Behemoths to charge over, even with their eighty thousand remaining soldiers, the Behemoths could exterminate more than half in the space of a few breaths. Moreover, the two hundred thousand Arab cavalry and Dalun Ruozan were still lurking in the rear.
They still had the time to withdraw and preserve their strength. Although they didn’t want to admit it, they had decisively lost this battle.
“No, impossible! The Battle of Talas won’t end like this! I will never retreat!”
Wang Chong clenched his fists so hard that veins bulged out from his forehead, the blood almost squeezing out of them.
Chapter 973 - Unbending Resolve! (II)
Chapter 973: Unbending Resolve! (II)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“The Great Tang will not be defeated!
“The Great Tang cannot be defeated!”
Wang Chong clenched his fists, tensing up his entire body so tightly that it groaned.
No one understood more than him that once Talas was lost, the Great Tang would have no other chance to rise. The Western Regions would be lost, Qixi would be lost, Longxi would be lost, Youzhou would fall ill, the Great Tang would fall into internal discord, the calamity would descend… Step by step, the Great Tang would fall into the endless abyss. If he wanted to change all this and save the Great Tang, he had to hold Talas and throw back the Arabs.
Only by holding Talas would he be able to slowly alter the Great Tang’s tragic fate.
And besides, the Stone of Destiny would never let him retreat. Retreat was death!
Roooar!
The distant Behemoths roared, and dust rose from the defense line as the four Behemoths rumbled forward, wreaking havoc on the Tang soldiers. Countless Tang soldiers fled in fear, leaving thousands of corpses behind.
Blood seeped into the earth as a figure sinisterly chuckled in a place no one could see.
“Die! Die! All of you die!
“My obedient pets, kill all these infidels!”
The hunchbacked Masil sat atop the head of his centipede monster, his hands raised up as blood dripped down from overhead, bathing his head, face, and arms. An expression of ecstasy appeared on his face.
Masil might have been deformed and grotesque, but as the commander of the Behemoth Army and one of the Caliph’s favored ministers, he was a sinister existence of the Abbasid Caliphate feared by all. But few people knew that Masil was even more sinister and terrifying than he appeared on the surface.
Masil had never feared battle. Wherever one could find a large-scale battle in a stalemate, one could find Masil and his Behemoths.
Every time they took part in battle, Masil’s favorite activity would be to burrow underground as his Behemoths destroyed his enemies and stomped them into pulp, so that he could bathe himself in the thick streams of blood pouring into the earth.
Masil could obtain boundless pleasure from this slaughter and blood, imbuing him with a far more intoxicating feeling and satisfaction than what his status as commander of the Behemoth Army and favored minister of the Caliph could give him.
“I said before, no one can stop my Behemoths, not even these Tang. Kill them all for me! Hahaha…”
Masil’s eyes were wide open as he crazily laughed.
The Great Tang had already lost. Masil knew this the moment he had dispatched his four strongest Behemoths, without even needing to consider the two hundred thousand elite Arab cavalry behind them.
“Now, only that brat is left!”
Masil squinted his eyes as he began to ponder this matter.
These infidels who dared to defy the Arabs needed to be killed, but in Masil’s mind, there was one person he loathed far more than all the other Tang, that he would find even more delight from killing.
Three Behemoths was the largest loss the Behemoth Army had ever suffered in its history, and was a disgrace on Masil’s name.
“Once I kill you, I’ll make your skull into a toilet stool!”
Masil chuckled to himself, and then he chanted a spell, communicating with the giant ape above. Amongst the Behemoths, the Consecrated was undoubtedly the strongest of them all.
……
Above ground, clouds of dust churned as the four Behemoths meted out destruction like they were evil heralds of the apocalypse. Suddenly, the enormous and muscular figure of the giant ape to the very left turned its scarlet eyes on Wang Chong a hundred zhang away.
Raaaa! The Behemoth bellowed, leaping away from its other foes and lunging toward Wang Chong. Its gigantic fist created vortices in the air as it thundered toward Wang Chong.
The giant ape’s attack had been extremely abrupt, and it had chosen to attack the moment the Tang line was in full retreat and Wang Chong was struggling over whether to retreat or continue fighting.
“Lord Marquis! Watch out!”
“Ballista teams, stop the Behemoth!”
“Lord Marquis!”
When the soldiers who turned their heads upon hearing the Behemoth roar saw this sight, their faces turned white in fear. The marquis was powerful, but not to the point where he could stand up against those Arabian Behemoths. Those were existences which could destroy the entire world.
Worse was that the marquis was standing there, clearly still in a daze.
Boomboomboom!
Black ballista bolts thundered over the battlefield, all of them aimed at the enormous fist. This time, any ballista that was not under attack took part in this volley.
But there was only a metallic clattering, all the black ballista bolts apparently striking a hardy fortress when they struck the ape’s fist. The numerous ballista bolts all dropped to the ground, and the ape’s fist only picked up speed as it thundered toward Wang Chong.
“Ah!”
The surrounding soldiers all cried out in fear, their hearts cold.
“Wang Chong, watch out!”
Just when Wang Chong was about to be struck by the Consecrated, a figure shot forward, his sword unleashing a destructive stream of Sword Qi that hurtled toward the ape’s fist.
“Gao Xianzhi, you should worry about yourself first!”
Just then, a powerful bolt of energy shot out from the black cloud of smoke behind the giant ape, getting ahead of the giant ape and impacting with Gao Xianzhi’s dazzling stream of Sword Qi. Before the Sword Qi could impact with the giant ape, it was neutralized by that vast and steely bolt of Stellar Energy.
“How could this be?!”
Everyone who saw this was stunned. Gao Xianzhi was the commander of the Anxi Protectorate army and one of the highest Great Generals of the Great Tang, his strength on par with Duwu Sili. Someone who could scatter his Sword Qi with a single blow could only be a warrior of astounding cultivation.
Abu Muslim!
In the air, Gao Xianzhi turned his head, and when he saw that figure emerge from behind the Behemoth, his heart sank.
The man who had intercepted Gao Xianzhi’s blow appeared like a demon god emerging from the abyss, with sunken eyes, a high nose, and a large black cape that fluttered in the wind. His height was around 1.9 meters, an outstanding height even amongst Great Generals. His eyes oozed disdain, shone with cruelty and determination. Anyone who saw them would immediately feel that this was a man of cunning and daring.
However, the thing that left the deepest impression about this man was his unique odor, one of iron and flame. This odor seemed to fill every pore of his body, every single cell, every single breath.
This was truly a man who lived for battle, a natural warrior, a pure soldier, a true commander that thousands upon thousands would respect and adore, who could summon all of them to answer his call!
In the eastern region of the Abba
sid Caliphate, only one person could have this sort of bearing: Abu Muslim. After biding his time for so long, Abu Muslim had finally appeared. The Tang were already in great danger, but now that Abu Muslim had appeared, the crisis had gotten even worse.
“Gao Xianzhi, I respect you as a hero, so in this battle, I will personally send you on your way!” Abu Muslim shouted in fluent Han.
He immediately sent a pitch-black condensation of fist energy flying through the air. As Abu Muslim punched, the air exploded with dreadful roars and endless flames spat into the air. Behind Abu Muslim appeared a gigantic demon god with violet-black scales growing from its body, the fur of a bull sprouting out from beneath the scales.
And behind this enormous demon god was a giant pillar of gold and red.
The Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars!
Abu Muslim was the commander of the army and one of the strongest experts in Arabia. In his youth, he had campaigned across the world, and when conquering a country that was linked to the origins of the Arabs, Abu Muslim incidentally managed to obtain a legendary Arabian martial art: The Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars Art.
In the legends of Arabia, it was said that there were once seventy-two powerful and horrifying demon gods. They lived in the sea and were the enemies of the entire continent, constantly wreaking havoc and destruction on the human world. Later on, the other gods sealed these seventy-two into pillars and cast them into even deeper parts of the sea. These were the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars.
But even though they were sealed, the powers of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars continued to be passed on through this powerful art!
They were recorded on seventy-two secret manuals that were passed down through generation after generation. After many years and the passage of time, a large portion of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars Art was lost. But each of those manuals contained incredible power, and anyone who obtained one of these manuals would become an extremely powerful existence—if not a Great General, then a Governor. They would render extraordinary feats and establish their own legends in the history of Arabia.
No one knew which of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars Abu Muslim had inherited; very few people even knew any of their names. However, there was no doubting the power of Abu Muslim’s art.
Chapter 974 - The Crazed Masil!
Chapter 974: The Crazed Masil!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Gao Xianzhi’s armor had been gifted to him by the Sage Emperor. It had been extremely tough, capable of stopping divine weapons. In Gao Xianzhi’s ten-some years campaigning through the Western Regions, this armor had always kept him safe. But in the end, it had been destroyed by Abu Muslim’s palm. From this, one could easily imagine Abu Muslim’s strength.
Boom! Gao Xianzhi had expended much of his strength fending off the Behemoths, whereas Abu Muslim was still in peak condition, as well as launching a surprise attack. Gao Xianzhi was swiftly suppressed. The assault of the four Behemoths and the two hundred thousand Arab soldiers was a harsh trial for the Great Tang, and the appearance of Abu Muslim was like adding an avalanche on top of a blizzard. At this moment, the Great Tang was in a terrible position.
Moreover, with Gao Xianzhi’s attack intercepted, the giant ape had no more obstacles, and its enormous steely fist thundered down like Mount Tai upon Wang Chong. There was no else to help Wang Chong now. The fist was crashing down, and in the next moment, Wang Chong would be dead. However, Gao Xianzhi’s attempt had not been completely useless.
Buzz! Upon hearing the explosive clash between Gao Xianzhi and Abu Muslim, Wang Chong suddenly came back to his senses.
“It’s him!”
Wang Chong’s mind was given a jolt as he saw the hairy fist coming down and the stalwart and determined figure in the distance. Boom! The giant ape’s fist slammed down, creating a giant hole in the ground. Kacrack! The earth trembled as cracks began to spread through it, fountains of rock and dirt gushing out from them.
The power of that enormous punch left everyone stunned!
“Wonderful!”
Deep in the ground, Masil clenched his fists, his eyes burning with excitement.
“That bastard is finally dead!”
That young Tang commander, that bastard who had killed three of his Behemoths, had finally been killed by the Consecrated. Masil was awash with satisfaction. Rumble! Under Masil’s command, the giant ape began to slowly raise its enormous fist, its scarlet eyes sweeping the ground.
“Anyone who dares to oppose me will never have a good end! Although I won’t be able to make your head into a stool, it’s also not bad to appreciate your shattered corpse!”
Masil’s eyes glimmered with excitement. Masil had many perverted hobbies that no one knew about. Other than bathing in the blood of his foes, he also enjoyed examining his opponents after they died gruesome deaths. The stronger they were, the higher status, and the greater the resistance they put up, the more Masil found himself entranced by them.
Wang Chong had killed three Behemoths, dealing a major blow to his army. Viewing his shattered body was more attractive to Masil than anything else, tantamount to a grand banquet.
But then, Masil’s excited face froze. The ground beneath the ape’s fist was empty. Not even a blood stain could be seen, much less a corpse.
“What’s going on?”
Masil’s eyes narrowed, his face transforming into a grimace. Masil began to scan the ground, swiftly noticing that familiar figure.
“Damn it! How did this happen!”
Masil felt like grinding his teeth into crumbs. He had never imagined that Wang Chong would be able to escape the giant ape’s attack with so little distance to work with. An intense killing intent immediately exploded from his body.
“I can disregard anyone else on this battlefield, but you have to die! Do you really think you can escape?”
His mind seething with killing intent, Masil immediately had the giant ape leap forward in pursuit. While still in the air, the giant ape raised one of its massive arms and sent another punch at Wang Chong, faster and fiercer than the previous one.
“Lord Marquis, watch out!” Xue Qianjun loudly called out. After having had a brief moment of relief, he tensed up once more.
Others also called out in alarm, their hearts at their throats. Wang Chong was the commander of the army and the Protector-General of Qixi, looked up to by all his men.
If Wang Chong were heavily injured or killed in battle, the morale of the army would be annihilated and the lines would instantly collapse!
But as the fist hurtled down, Wang Chong flashed away, leaving behind a blur as he succeeded in barely dodging the attack.
Wang Chong’s strength had already reached Tier 8 of the Saint Martial realm. Even though the giant ape was powerful, it would still find it no easy to task to kill Wang Chong.
Masil was at first stunned, but then his eyes turned red with fury.
“Die! Die! Die!” The more times Wang Chong dodged his attacks, the stronger Masil’s killing intent became. “You can dodge once or twice, but I don’t believe you can dodge one hundred times, one thousand times!”
Rooooar! Under Masil’s control, the giant ape began to flail both its arms, unleashing a flurry of attacks on Wang Chong. But Masil failed to realize that as Wang Chong dodged attack after attack, his eyes became clearer, his expression more resolved.
No retreat! I cannot retreat!
A voice was echoing through Wang Chong’s mind, getting louder and louder.
The Great Tang cannot lose! There must be some hope!
The winds shrieked past his ear like the swishing of swords through the air, but Wang Chong could still hear the screaming of the army, the cries of panic as his soldiers fled, the gurgling of blood into the earth, the snapping of weapons, and the falling of banners.
Other than the last battle of his previous life, Wang Chong had never been in as grim a situation as this.
Opening his eyes,
Wang Chong could see Abu Muslim engaged in fierce combat with Gao Xianzhi in the air, with the Anxi War God currently in desperate straits. Nearby, the bearded Arab Deputy Governor of the East Ziyad was battling Cheng Qianli’s Supreme Desolation God. The Supreme Desolation God’s body was covered in cracks, and many fine lines could be seen on its chains of Stellar Energy. Even more shocking was that the pitch-black body of the Supreme Desolation God was slowly turning transparent.
This was a sign that the god manifestation was running out of energy and on the verge of collapse.
The combined assault of the Arabs and the Behemoths had inflicted heavy losses on the Anxi Protectorate army, and without the support of the Anxi Protectorate army, Cheng Qianli could not keep up the Supreme Desolation God.
Suddenly, a roar thundered through the sky. “Wang Chong, hurry and get out of here!!” As he was battling with Ziyad, Cheng Qianli’s Supreme Desolation God turned its head to Wang Chong and shouted, urgency and concern in its eyes.
The Tang had lost this battle. Whether or not anyone was willing to admit it, this was a fact.
The Arab numbers and their Behemoths were not something the Great Tang could stop. Retreating with the remaining soldiers and preserving strength for another battle was the proper course of action for the Great Tang.
“Wang Chong, hurry!”
Blood trickled out from Cheng Qianli’s eye sockets. Everything had its price. He and the Protector-General could no longer leave, leaving Wang Chong as the only person capable of leading the army away. He should have never appeared here in the first place. The Qixi Protectorate army had only come in the first place to rescue them.
It was the Anxi Protectorate army’s duty to cover the retreat!
Moreover, both he and Gao Xianzhi were already rather old, but Wang Chong was different. He was still very young, only seventeen, but the intelligence, talent, and grasp of strategy he had displayed were incredible, causing both Cheng Qianli and Gao Xianzhi to sigh in praise.
If Wang Chong could survive, he would have limitless potential! The Great Tang would also have this limitless potential!
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