“What a smart fellow!”
Wang Chong couldn’t help but praise him a little. Duwu Sili was a cunning man down to his bones, and he would seize any opportunity that he could detect. But if Duwu Sili thought that he could get any advantage here, he was gravely mistaken.
“Prepare the beehives!
“Xue Qianjun, get ready to enter the field!”
“Yes! This officer will go!”
Xue Qianjun faintly smiled as if expecting this order. After bowing, he departed.
A few moments later, a mixed army of Ferghanans, Karluks, and Tang soldiers moved to the left flank.
Duwu Sili saw all this and was infuriated. “This bastard… what is he planning? Does he think that this can overcome my army?”
Formation phenomena was the supreme technique of cavalry, the highest form of power amongst all armies. Once one cultivated formation phenomena, the strength of the army would receive a massive boost. That Wang Chong planned to use this motley group of soldiers to deal with him made Duwu Sili feel deeply humiliated.
He did not believe that this was a mistake or accident. Everyone knew of Wang Chong’s grasp of military tactics. He was sure that Wang Chong was trying to humiliate him.
“Hmph, pass on my order! Tell Shamask and Chekun Benba to kill these Tang soldiers and pierce through the left flank. Don’t leave a single soldier alive!” Duwu Sili viciously said.
In the distance, the battle was on the verge of beginning. Nearly one hundred thousand gray wolves burst out of the cold wind and lunged at the Great Tang’s left flank. This time, all the gray wolves had been dispatched. They were the vanguard of the Western Turks and also being used to probe the Great Tang’s power.
Duwu Sili didn’t have the Arabian Silver Behemoths and could not block the Great Tang ballistae, but none of that was important. This vast sea of massive wolves was the ideal living fortress.
“Ready!”
The gray wolves were so close now that one could see the debris kicked up by their paws, their white canines, and the saliva dripping down from their mouths. At this moment, all the steel walls creaked as the numerous holes on their surfaces opened and sharp arrowheads emerged from within them.
Three hundred feet, two hundred feet, one hundred feet…
“Release!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The large steel walls on the Tang left flank became like enormous beasts, instantly unleashing countless arrows. These arrows covered the skies and engulfed all the gray wolves within a range of several hundred meters.
Awoooo!
A gray wolf was struck through the middle by a short metal arrow and nailed to the ground, and then a second, a third, a fourth… Tens of thousands of gray wolves were nailed to the ground by the dense volley of arrows.
“Ready! Fire!”
There was more creaking and groaning as the second volley of arrows came hot on the heels of the first. Awoooo! The wolves miserably yowled. Because these wolves were traveling too quickly, after they were struck by the arrows, their bodies continued to charge forward in long trails of dust, only stopping after ten-some meters, allowing their blood to gush across the earth.
Shamask pulled out his saber and sternly ordered, “Everyone, hear my order! Charge up while the Tang are loading for their next volley!”
The Great Tang’s beehives appeared vicious, with each volley being a rain of death, but they were not as terrifying as they appeared. The volleys were terrifying, but the beehives needed to be reloaded after each one. This gap between volleys was the ideal chance for the Western Turks to strike.
“Damn Tang! Get ready to be butchered!”
Shamask pressed his body against his horse, killing intent bursting out of his eyes.
A man had to be looked upon with new eyes after a parting of three days, and the Western Turks now had such power that as long as they could break into the defense line of the left flank, the Tang would face the same fate as they had yesterday versus the Revelation Army and be slaughtered like pigs.
In past battles, the Western Turks had always been suppressed, but now was the time for the Western Turks to rise once more and purge their shame.
Rumble! While the Tang beehives began to reload, the earth groaned under the mad charge of the nearly twenty thousand Western Turks.
“Kill!”
Their shouts shook the heavens as they threw themselves at the left flank.
Boomboomboom!
The reloading was quickly finished and the air was soon once more filled with the howling of arrows. One wave, two waves, three waves… the gray wolves in front of the defense line were rapidly dwindling in number. By the time the wolves were only several meters from the steel defense line, they had sustained losses of more than sixty thousand. In the face of such terrifying killing power, some of the surrounding wolves instinctively felt fear and fled to the sides. The screen of wolves in front of Shamask and his men immediately became extremely thin.
“Raise shields!” ordered Shamask as they were about to enter the range of the beehives, reaching for the large shield under his horse and holding it in front of him. At the same time, the halos beneath Shamask, Chekun Benba, and the other Western Turkic cavalry began to vibrate more frequently. This was a sign that the charge was in its final stage.
Bang!
The moment Shamask and his men had finished their preparations, the sky was filled with arrows, but all of them clattered off the large shields.
Neeeigh!
There was a neigh as loud as a clap of thunder, resounding over the entire battlefield. But it had not come from Shamask’s warhorse or from the warhorses of any of his men.
Shamask instantly sensed something and raised his head in alarm. What he saw was a stalwart black warhorse riding out of the left flank, rising into the air as it charged at Shamask’s men.
This was like a signal that caused countless warhorses to rush through the gap in the first defense line like a mighty wave.
“What?”
Shamask and Chekun Benba were both shocked by this sight. This mixed force of mercenaries and Tang soldiers actually dared to leave the defense line and launch an assault. None of them had even dared to imagine this possibility.
“Kill them!”
Shamask’s heart was seething with rage.
______________1.The story of Li Gui trying to rob Li Kui is a story from the Chinese novel ‘The Water Margin’. Li Gui was a bandit who robbed others while pretending to be Li Kui, but one of his targets ends up being Li Kui, who beats him up.↩
Chapter 1097 - Another Battle!
Chapter 1097: Another Battle!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Everyone, listen up! The first group of soldiers will be in the Kan position, the second will be at the Kun position, the third will be at the Qian position, and the fourth will be at the Li position1… Everything will be just as we practiced! Do you understand?!”
Behind the first defense line, Xue Qianjun looked excitedly at the Western Turkic army as he spoke. The roiling clouds and awe-inspiring thunder were nothing more than a joke to Xue Qianjun.
Daring to fight with Lord Marquis in terms of schemes! Duwu Sili, you’re still far from that level!
With this thought, Xue Qianjun charged forward, while Banahan and the Gangke King were even faster, sweeping past Xue Qianjun to welcome Shamask and Chekun Benba.
Kan, Kun, Qian, Li… these were directions on the compass used by the Central Plains, and the mercenaries of the Western Regions had no idea what they meant. Thus, Wang Chong had placed several Tang soldiers amongst each group of mercenaries and had the Tang soldiers lead the attack.
With a rumble and roar, the mixed force of Ferghanans, Karluks, and Tang, more than ten thousand in all, charged with astonishing speed at the Western Turks.
Awooo! In the face of this abrupt charge of Tang cavalry, a wolf was struck on the forehead by a sturdy horse hoof that shattered its bone
s. Its corpse went rolling across the ground for some distance before finally coming to a stop.
Meanwhile, a cold light flickered out from the charging cavalry and slashed at another large wolf. Even though the wolf had sensed this danger and retracted its neck, it was too late. In a flash of light, the gray wolf was chopped in half.
Tens of thousands of wolves howled in pain as they were crushed by this motley force of Tang cavalry. The courage of the wolves finally failed them and they began to scatter in fright.
Now, there were no more obstacles between the Western Turks and this motley force sent by the Tang. More importantly, both sides were riding at maximum speed and were separated by a distance of less than two hundred feet.
Boom!
Just before the two armies were about to clash, a massive boom came from overhead. Shamask and Chekun Benba were both dumbstruck as thunder exploded in their ears. Over the heads of this ‘mob’ sent out by the Great Tang, clouds had begun to gather. This was clearly also ‘formation phenomena’.
“Impossible!”
“Bastard!”
Shamask and Chekun Benba were immediately enraged by this sight. But before they could react, the more than ten thousand Tang soldiers split up into eight groups and rammed into the Western Turks’ formation phenomena.
One small and one large, one weak and one strong—for the first time on the foreign battlefield of Talas, two kinds of formation phenomena clashed.
Time seemed to stop for a moment. Duwu Sili, Dalun Ruozan, Huoshu Huicang, Dusong Mangpoje, and even the distant Qutaybah, Abu Muslim, and Aybak were all watching.
Even the Arabs were greatly tempted by the ancient and powerful strength that was formation phenomena.
“Now is the time to see the final result!”
Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi were also looking at the left flank, a strange light in their eyes.
Boom!
A giant axe seemed to slash across the sky as the two armies clashed, and the formation phenomena that had appeared over the twenty thousand Western Turkic cavalry were suddenly cut in two, shattering into countless pieces that vanished without a trace.
“No!”
In the distance, Duwu Sili’s eyes went wide and he nearly stopped breathing. He had spent a great deal of effort, taking Chen Bin hostage, negotiating with Wang Chong, and even scheming against Dalun Ruozan, to finally get his hands on this formation phenomena technique and cultivate it. He had never expected it to be broken apart in just a single moment.
In that moment, all of Duwu Sili’s hopes and ambitions dissolved into nothingness.
But this was only the beginning.
The moment the formation phenomena were shattered, there was a wretched scream as the energies of countless Western Turk cavalrymen were thrown into chaos and they were knocked from their horses by the mixed force of Tang cavalry. Their strength that had been boosted by the formation phenomena plunged in seconds.
Moreover, the collapse of the formation caused a backlash on all the soldiers. Not only were they unable to maintain their increased level of strength, their cultivation levels rapidly decreased while their Stellar Energy ran rampant. They were utterly incapable of fighting against the Great Tang cavalry.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
From the clash of the two armies burst countless screams as the Turkic cavalry were knocked from their horses, sabers sweeping across their necks and unleashing sprays of blood. Four thousand, six thousand, eight thousand… in just a few seconds, the Western Turks sustained horrendous losses.
“Retreat! Retreat!”
The incessant sound of falling corpses made Shamask’s face twist and contort.
The Western Turkic Khaganate had only deployed less than twenty thousand soldiers for this battle. To lose more than eight thousand in one clash was a heavy wound.
Neeeigh! All was chaos and mayhem in front of the Tang left flank.
Duwu Sili had a nasty grimace on his face. If one looked carefully, one would notice that he had clenched his fists, which were slightly trembling.
But just as the Western Turks were beginning to flee, a stampede of hooves could be heard from behind them…
“Kill!”
Right behind Shamask and Chekun Benba was a vast army of Tibetan soldiers. In just a few moments, they had covered the intervening ground and stabbed into the Great Tang army.
“Kill them!”
Dayan Ersongrong, Darlag Nyetsai, Qili Sulong, and the others roared as they charged into the Tang defense line.
As the young prodigies of the great clans charged at the Tang defense line, the sabers in their hands had already unleashed vigorous streams of saber energy.
Boomboomboom! The saber energy sent a significant number of Tang soldiers flying into the air.
And right behind them, in a great cloud of dust, was the enormous Arab army.
The sight of this tremendous army of Arab cavalry charging had tremendous psychological impact, as if these horsemen could sweep over the defense line and trample them underfoot.
Wang Chong’s face instantly turned grim.
The Western Turks and Tibetans were just the appetizer for this battle. The Arabs had never thought about relying on them.
“Ready!”
Wang Chong waved his hand and gave an order.
Creeeak! The six thousand ballistae spread themselves out over the Tang defense line and took aim at the Arabs.
At other places along the line, the other soldiers assumed their positions.
“Release!”
Su Hanshan waved his hand, and countless ballista bolts flew out like dragons roaring out of the sea. Even though this was not the first time the Tang ballistae had exhibited their power on the battlefield, the shrill howl still made everyone tremble in fear.
Bangbangbang! In the blink of an eye, countless horsemen were shot through by the ballista bolts, but the soldiers behind them didn’t even slow. Instead, they used various methods to stimulate their horses to travel at maximum speed.
If there was no way to defend against the Great Tang ballistae, the best method was to shorten the time needed to charge so that the losses sustained during the charge were reduced.
Rumble! The Arab cavalry rode over a field of corpses as they accelerated to frightening speeds.
“Cui Piaoqi, get ready!” Wang Chong suddenly said, his eyes still fixed on the tense battlefield.
“This general will go!” A cold and deep voice came from behind him, exuding a will to fight that soared to the heavens.
Cui Piaoqi, mounted on a stalwart warhorse, his head held high and his back straight, unsheathed his sword. Behind him, more than seven thousand Wushang Cavalry were arranged in orderly rows, their muscles tensed like taut bowstrings as they prepared to charge.
In yesterday’s battle, the Wushang Cavalry had fought one versus three, and the three had been the Mamelukes, Mutri Great Cavalry, and Celestial Wolf Cavalry. This battle had resulted in three thousand men being lost. This was the largest loss the Wushang Cavalry had ever suffered from the time it had been established, but the Wushang Cavalry had also dealt many casualties to their three opponents.
“Move out!”
With Wang Chong’s order, the seven thousand Wushang Cavalry shot forward like sharp arrows. Rumble! The earth seemed on the verge of cracking apart as the seven thousand Wushang Cavalry jumped out from the first defense line and plunged into the Arab soldiers before they could react.
“Ah!”
The Arabs were instantly thrown into disarray as the Wushang Cavalry rode through them as if they were made of paper. The seven thousand Wushang Cavalry were facing more than ten times their number in enemies, but they showed no fear whatsoever.
Five thousand, seven thousand, eight thousand, ten thousand… These Arab elites couldn’t take even one blow from the Wushang Cavalry. In just a few short moments, the Arabs had sustained nearly ten thousand losses while the Wushang Cavalry were practically unharmed. Their charge had caused absol
ute mayhem in the Arab army.
“Aybak, it’s time for your men to go!”
Abu Muslim’s eyes flashed as he suddenly spoke.
______________1. These positions are a part of the Eight Trigrams and are each associated with a direction. In most variants of the Eight Trigrams, these positions correspond with north, south, east, and west.↩
Chapter 1098 - The Dragon Battles Across the Field! (I)
Chapter 1098: The Dragon Battles Across the Field! (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Hmph! I would understand even if you didn’t say anything!”
Aybak stared into the distance, his eyes glowing with cold light.
“Faisal, if you put on the same performance as last time, you might as well come see me with your head!”
“Milord, be at ease. The events from last time will not repeat themselves!” said Faisal respectfully, lowering his head to the ground. He waved behind him, leading seven-thousand-some Mamelukes charging out to meet the Wushang Cavalry.
One would learn from one’s mistakes. After being caught off guard by the Wushang Cavalry once, he would not lose to the Wushang Cavalry again. If this did happen again, he wouldn’t even need Aybak’s order to choose to commit suicide.
“Huoba Sangye, your men should move out as well!”
Dalun Ruozan was extremely perceptive and immediately noticed the movement from the Arabs.
“Although this is a battle between Arabia and the Great Tang, the fate of our Ü-Tsang is also on the line. Victory is our only option!”
“This general understands!”
Without another word, Huoba Sangye turned and left. A few moments later, he had ridden off with his three-thousand-some Mutri Great Cavalry.
After numerous battles, only three-thousand-some Mutri Great Cavalry were left of the original seven-thousand-some. This was an enormous loss, something that Huoba Sangye had never expected when he first departed from the royal capital. And the archcriminal was none other than the Wushang Cavalry.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 698