After all, he just needed to capture another person.
“Bastard!”
Li Siye, Kong Zi-an, Cheng Sanyuan, and Su Shixuan all hollered in rage, their eyes turning red. Wang Chong’s eyes were also roiling with killing intent, as not even he had expected to hear these words from Duwu Sili. But Wang Chong quickly managed to calm down.
“Very good!”
Wang Chong looked at Duwu Sili and sneered.
“It seems like we no longer have any need to talk. Since you’ve made your decision, we’ll do as you say! But in the future, you will never have another chance to get the formation phenomena. Oh, and I forgot to tell you that I left some soldiers back in Qixi’s City of Steel. Starting from now, for every ‘Chen Bin’ you kill, I’ll kill ten thousand herdsmen on your Turkic steppe. If you kill two, twenty thousand Turks will be buried with them! Li Siye, let’s go!”
Wang Chong gave the order and prepared to withdraw.
At his words, Duwu Sili paled. The Western Turkic Khaganate bordered the Great Tang at Qixi. Many herdsmen and nomads lived on that part of the steppe, and many tribes let their sheep and cows graze there. Ishbara Khagan had once ordered those nomads to withdraw to avoid being caught up in the war with the Great Tang.
But the underground rivers flowing through that steppe made the place verdant and lush, so the tribes and herdsmen still decided to graze their herds in that part of the steppe. All the prohibitions were useless.
Duwu Sili had never been some softhearted general, and he would not care how many people Wang Chong killed. But these were still the herdsmen of the Western Turks. Duwu Sili could disregard Wang Chong’s actions, but Ishbara Khagan could not. When the Fourth Prince had been taken hostage, Ishbara Khagan had strenuously objected to exchanging two hundred thousand warhorses for the prince, but once Wang Chong had ventured into the steppe and killed many people, Ishbara Khagan had immediately agreed.
Besides that, a large part of the reason Ishbara Khagan had dispatched soldiers to Talas to assist Dalun Ruozan and the Tibetans was that he was enraged over the Qixi Protectorate army’s slaughter of his people. If Wang Chong chose this moment to once more dispatch men into the Turkic steppe for another round of massacre and it was made known that this was because of Duwu Sili, he would be the one to receive Ishbara Khagan’s ire.
“Bastard! Too despicable!”
Duwu Sili’s eyes spat flame. He was forced to admit that Wang Chong had seized his weak point. In this clash, he had not been able to gain a single advantage.
“Wait!”
Duwu Sili called back Wang Chong. Although he had said that he would kill Chen Bin, this had been nothing more than an empty threat. The secret to formation phenomena was far too important for him to make decisions based on emotion. But just at this moment…
“Dalun Ruozan, come out!”
Wang Chong had barely walked a few steps when he stopped and called out into the surroundings.
All was quiet, and Duwu Sili was frozen, the words he had intended to say immediately swallowed back down. Behind him, Shamask, Chekun Benba, and the thousands of Turkic cavalry were equally dumbfounded.
Dalun Ruozan?
When had he come? How did they not know!?
Moreover, weren’t Dalun Ruozan and the Tibetan army encamped twenty li in the rear? Why would they appear here?
In the thick darkness, the earth and sky seemed to be one, and the only thing one could make out was a few prominent silhouettes. Just when everyone believed that Wang Chong had made a mistake, all of them heard a familiar voice.
“Heh, Young Marquis, since you’ve come, why are you in such a hurry to leave?”
A faint chuckle drifted out of the darkness, not from behind Duwu Sili, but from behind the five thousand Wushang Cavalry. As this voice echoed in the air, an elegant and scholarly figure emerged from an area several thousand zhang behind the Wushang Cavalry. He was flanked by a stalwart figure with a saber slung at his waist, appearing like a guardian god.
From another direction emerged yet another Tibetan general, a storm of energy rising from his body. The two groups of Tibetans stood to the left and right, pincering the Wushang Cavalry between them. If one added in Duwu Sili’s Turks, the three parties had completely surrounded Wang Chong.
Dalun Ruozan! Huoshu Huicang! Dusong Mangpoje!
The sight of those three familiar figures left all the Western Turkic soldiers flabbergasted. Even Duwu Sili couldn’t stop his eyes from twitching.
“Great General, I heard from you that a guest would be coming, so I personally came to take a look. Does Great General mind?”
Dalun Ruozan faintly smiled as he walked forward together with Huoshu Huicang.
“I naturally won’t object to Great Minister’s visit,” Duwu Sili said, his face stiff and awkward.
When he had surveyed the area before, he had not noticed any Great General figures in the vicinity. Now that he thought about it, Dalun Ruozan, Huoshu Huicang, and Dusong Mangpoje must have used the moment when he was fighting with Wang Chong to sneak up.
At a moment like this, the person Duwu Sili wanted to see the least was undoubtedly Dalun Ruozan.
“Haha, Dalun Ruozan truly admires Great General’s magnanimity.”
With a smile, Dalun Ruozan turned to Wang Chong.
“Dalun Ruozan, you really did come!”
On the other end, Wang Chong, still in the form of the Godking Yama, spoke before Dalun Ruozan could.
“Haha, I waited for Lord Marquis for half a day.”
Dalun Ruozan continued to smile as he walked forward. Rumble!The distant mountains began to shake, and thick smoke began to rise into the sky, obvious even in the darkness. If one peered into the distance, one would see countless cavalry wearing armor of gold and red riding out with astonishing speed from behind the Wushang Cavalry, their heroic figures wrapped in waves of golden-red.
Chapter 1005 - The Giant Ape Sweeps Aside All!
Chapter 1005: The Giant Ape Sweeps Aside All!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The Mutri Great Cavalry!
Wang Chong’s pupils constricted as he recognized the mighty flood of elite cavalry approaching him. He had not expected Dalun Ruozan to have also brought this supreme force of cavalry with him on this excursion. The Mutri Great Cavalry, the Celestial Wolf Cavalry, and the three Imperial Great Generals presented enough force to deal a destructive blow to Wang Chong and his five thousand Wushang Cavalry.
In truth, Dalun Ruozan was making no attempt to hide his intentions. As he spoke, the encirclement formed from the elite forces of two empires was rapidly closing. At the same time, two heavy and droning streams of energy locked onto Wang Chong.
Wang Chong felt his body sink and gave a tiny grimace. But this was not the end, and with a bang, a third stream of Great General–level energy flew through the air and locked onto Wang Chong.
Duwu Sili had chosen to join the fray.
Although he didn’t want to see Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang, Duwu Sili had chosen without hesitation to work with them. As an Imperial Great General, he would prioritize the overarching situation. The strategic objective would always surpass individual wants and grudges.
“Brat, you can blame no one else. I said before, you are too proud!” Duwu Sili growled.
He had originally planned to make a private deal with Wang Chong, but Dalun Ruozan had completely ruined his plans. Rather than let the other party leave, it was far better to finish him off once and for all. If he could capture Wang Chong alive, that would be the best result. At the very least, it would be far more useful to interrogate him than Chen Bin.
The situation was instantly reversed, and the five thousand Wushang Cavalry were now in an unprecedented crisis. As Li Siye, Huang Botian, and Kong Zi-an saw the soldiers and three Great Generals close around them, all of them began to pale.
All of them could smell the odor of death like never before.
�
�Hahaha…”
Just when Dalun Ruozan’s trap was complete and the two armies had surrounded the Wushang Cavalry and were preparing to attack, Wang Chong began to laugh, no tension to be seen on his face. This unusual attitude left everyone dazed. Even Dalun Ruozan couldn’t help but stop.
“Dalun Ruozan, do you really think you can keep me?”
Wang Chong’s voice was extremely confident, and as his gaze whisked past Dalun Ruozan, Huoshu Huicang, and Dusong Mangpoje, a tide of energy surged out from his body. There was no fear on his face, and he appeared to believe that everything had been taken care of.
The sight of Wang Chong’s expression made Dalun Ruozan’s heart thump in shock. This was not his first clash with Wang Chong, and no one understood more than him just how crafty and hard to deal with he was. His every step was only carried out after long and careful thought. Even though he seemed sloppy and reckless, he was laying traps with every move, and when one was at their most arrogant was precisely when one would fail.
Dalun Ruozan had learned this harsh lesson in the war of the southwest. Almost instinctively, Dalun Ruozan looked behind him. But the darkness was quiet and empty.
“Heheh, Wang Chong, I know that you’re as crafty as a fox, but I would really like to see how you plan to escape this. Three Great Generals and countless elite cavalrymen are here. If you can escape this, I can really call you the War God of the Great Tang. Even Gao Xianzhi will have to admit his inferiority.”
Dalun Ruozan grinned.
Without the slightest warning, Dalun Ruozan shot a glance at Huoshu Huicang. Speed was paramount in warfare, and a long delay could allow more problems to occur. No matter what tricks Wang Chong had up his sleeve, they were currently too far away to be of any help. If they could kill Wang Chong as quickly as possible, everything would come to an end.
A Great Tang without Wang Chong might still be powerful, but in Dalun Ruozan’s eyes, it was no longer worth that much apprehension.
Wang Chong, I’m sorry. Even though I wanted to have a contest of strategy with you, in the end, both schemes and martial arts are for the sake of victory. I trust that if it were me in this situation… you would do the same, Dalun Ruozan said silently as he looked at the enormous Godking Yama.
Dalun Ruozan might have been full of regret, but Huoshu Huicang had no such distractions. Soldiers had a duty to follow orders, and he was never one to doubt Dalun Ruozan’s commands. In a flash, he had pulled out his dazzling golden-red saber and leaped into the air, flying like a shooting star toward the Godking Yama.
At the same time, a golden light began to explode from Huoshu Huicang, and then this Great General of the Ngari Royal Lineage began to rapidly grow in size. In the blink of an eye, he had become an enormous golden Buddha. The powerful energy raging around it battered at everyone’s senses.
Bang!
Before Huoshu Huicang could arrive, a massive golden vajra pestle impacted against the dazzling saber energy Huoshu Huicang had unleashed. The world was illuminated in golden radiance. Upon reaching the Brigadier General level, all of Wang Chong’s Stellar Energy had become golden, and this clash of Stellar Energy threatened to tear apart the darkness.
Huoshu Huicang’s attack acted as the opening curtain for this lethal trap targeting Wang Chong, the rising star of the Great Tang.
Boom!
Without any warning, Dusong Mangpoje pulled out his saber, his eyes flashing with cold light as he rose from the earth and shot like a blazing comet toward Wang Chong.
At the same time, Duwu Sili also moved. He had not obtained the secret of formation phenomena yet and had no desire to kill Wang Chong so quickly, but despite all that, he still made the wise decision. Working together with Huoshu Huicang and Dusong Mangpoje, he attacked Wang Chong.
The air howled with a sonic boom as Duwu Sili used the Celestial Wolf’s Divine Procession to shoot toward Wang Chong like an arrow.
In this moment, three Great Generals attacked together, causing the world to tremble in terror at the dreadful power they unleashed.
“Milord!”
“Lord Marquis!”
On the ground, Li Siye, Kong Zi-an, and the others all cried out in panic, their faces deathly pale.
Shamask and Chekun Benba revealed faint smiles.
However…
Boom!
As Dusong Mangpoje flew through the air at Wang Chong, he suddenly heard the earth explode open. An enormous black ape arm rose from the earth, and its palm swatted away Dusong Mangpoje like it was swatting a fly.
Rooooar! The giant ape’s bellows caused the earth to shiver. Under countless shocked eyes, this enormous being rose from the earth to fully reveal itself.
“Waaaaa!” The abrupt appearance of this enormous creature made all the Mutri Great Cavalry recoil in shock and begin fleeing.
On the other side, the thousands of Turkic cavalry, including the Celestial Wolf Cavalry, also began to scream as they fell back.
Duwu Sili’s eyes went wide like he had seen a ghost, and he began to rapidly back up.
“The Consecrated!”
Duwu Sili felt like he had been struck by lightning, his mind in turmoil and even somewhat at a loss. He had never expected the giant ape to appear before him like this. The ape’s offensive and defensive capabilities were far superior to those of any Imperial Great General. It was simply not something he could deal with.
This Behemoth was enough to change the course of an entire battle.
Most incomprehensible to Duwu Sili was that he had been very careful to ensure that Wang Chong had not brought this giant ape with him. And there was no way Wang Chong would be able to fool him, not unless…
“Damn it!”
As if understanding something, Duwu Sili clenched his fists in anger. But despite his anger and unwillingness, Duwu Sili had no other choice than to temporarily evade the Behemoth.
Without the assistance of Dusong Mangpoje, he and Huoshu Huicang would find it nearly impossible to swiftly kill Wang Chong. If the Behemoth were to join the fight, not only would the Western Turkic army suffer heavy casualties, both he and Huoshu Huicang would find it hard to protect themselves and were highly likely to die.
Boom! In the distance, the giant ape stomped down. “Ah!” Screams came out of a churning cloud of dust as several dozen Mutri Great Cavalry were crushed into paste, even their armor being crunched into round metal disks.
Duwu Sili grew even more anxious at this sight and immediately called out, “Back! Retreat! All soldiers, withdraw!”
“Hahaha, Duwu Sili, why are you in such a rush? Didn’t you want to attack us just now? Why leave now?” Wang Chong chortled.
Boom! As Wang Chong spoke, the giant ape punched, immediately sending shockwaves through the earth. Several dozen Mutri Great Cavalry were immediately pulverized by the giant ape’s fist while even more were thrown into the air by the intense vibrations.
Plush! While still in midair, the chests of these Mutri Great Cavalry shook and they vomited blood, severe injuries having been inflicted on their bodies.
Although the Mutri Great Cavalry had formidable defenses, they were far from a match for the Consecrated, which could injure even Great Generals.
Roooar!
The giant ape roared as its massive body fell upon the Mutri Great Cavalry like a dreadful war machine. In a flash, they were sent fleeing in every direction.
Chapter 1006 - Duwu Sili’s Compromise!
Chapter 1006: Duwu Sili’s Compromise!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Retreat! Hurry and retreat!”
Dalun Ruozan’s eyes widened, his expression contorting as it lost all of its former confidence. In a flash, he understood that he had once more fallen into Wang Chong’s trap. Dalun Ruozan had never imagined that it was possible to hide such a large ape, but Wang Chong had buried it in advance some distance from the Turkic camp.
Only after he had finished preparing this had he led out
the Wushang Cavalry.
Dalun Ruozan had only been thinking about dealing with Wang Chong, and had forgotten that Wang Chong had other tricks at his disposal.
I was still too careless! As expected, in fighting with him, you can’t leave a single thing up to chance!
Dalun Ruozan clenched his fists, his face suffused with rage.
He had always thought that this operation was too easy, but the thought of killing Wang Chong had dominated his mind. If Wang Chong could be killed, it would have an enormous effect on the Battle of Talas, Ü-Tsang, the Western Turkic Khaganate, and all the other countries bordering the Great Tang.
All of them would have one less huge threat to deal with.
If Wang Chong continued to develop in this manner, in the future, no one would be able to stop him!
But in the end, Wang Chong had exploited his momentary ‘greed’!
“Everyone, retreat!”
Dalun Ruozan’s eyes were filled with panic. The giant ape’s attacks were far too astonishing, and the several thousand Mutri Great Cavalry could do nothing against it. Moreover, this time, even Dalun Ruozan was in its range.
Roooar! An enormous fist suddenly began to fly toward Dalun Ruozan.
“Great Minister!”
Cries of alarm came from all around, and Dalun Ruozan himself paled. He was astonishingly intelligent and also knew a little martial arts, but this was only in his superb and meticulous control over Stellar Energy. His true cultivation level wasn’t very high at all, at least not up to Huoshu Huicang and Dusong Mangpoje’s level.
“Beast, halt!”
With a furious roar, a curved saber flew through the air to smash into the ape’s fist with a thunderous impact. The earth-shattering power of this saber managed to push the giant ape’s steely fist several zhang off course. This was the scimitar thrown by the distant Dusong Mangpoje, who had an extremely nervous expression.
But Dusong Mangpoje had still underestimated the power of the giant ape in Wang Chong’s hands. Rumble! As the right hand was jolted off course, the giant ape raised its left arm and punched at Dalun Ruozan with an equally astonishing power.
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