The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “These bastards! It seems like the intelligence was correct. There are some extremely formidable experts in Khorasan. No wonder even someone as powerful as Qutaybah died to them. But no matter how strong they are, there’s no chance of them leaving in one piece.”

  “Everyone, hear my order! Attack!”

  The voices of the Three Titans of Black Radiance echoed across the Tigris River, and then the trio shot forward again.

  Behind him, bangbangbang! One Arab governor after another flew across the Tigris River and toward Wang Chong. Six, seven, eight, nine… at least twenty Arab governors and many more generals were charging toward Khorasan.

  When these top-class experts of the empire shot into the air to attack together, the momentum they produced could topple mountains and reverse the seas.

  Chapter 1177 - The Advantage of the Tigris River!

  Chapter 1177: The Advantage of the Tigris River!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Wang Chong, I’ve come to help you!”

  In a rush of wind, a figure soared down from the walls like a bird. The Wushang Village Chief with his cane was extremely prominent. After the Battle of Talas, Wang Chong had managed, together with the assistance of the other generals, to help the village chief and the Demonic Emperor Old Man recover their former strength.

  “Eight Ultimate Sunderings Art!”

  At almost the same moment, Gao Xianzhi unsheathed his sword and flew down from the walls.

  “Ocean Ring!”

  The air suddenly resounded with the roaring of the ocean waves as Cheng Qianli jumped down from the walls, the Ocean Ring in his hand.

  After killing Ziyad, Wang Chong had obtained his Ocean Ring. After everyone had tried it out, they discovered that Cheng Qianli had the greatest compatibility with the Ocean Ring, so it had been left for him to use. Cheng Qianli no longer had the Supreme Desolation God, but with the Ocean Ring, he could still reach the level of Great General.

  To confront the many Arab governors, Brigadier Generals, and other generals, Bahram, Aiben, and the other rebel leaders also began to rush out of the city. Not long after this battle had begun, a battle between Great Generals was about to break out.

  The air over the eastern shore of the Tigris River swiftly became a dangerous zone. Weighty shockwaves swept across it, and the sounds of roars and collisions echoed through the air. Various kinds of martial arts and weapons gleamed and dazzled. The members of each side worked together to defend and attack, and neither was able to determine who was the better.

  Neigh!

  A sharp neighing came from down below. An Arab governor glanced down and instantly paled.

  “Everyone, it’s bad! Our soldiers can’t hold!”

  Beneath the tall and imposing walls of Khorasan, countless Tang, Khorasani, and rebel soldiers were wreaking havoc on the Arabs as they fought on the edges of the battlefield.

  As the Three Titans of Black Radiance, Hular, and the other Arab governors were battling with Wang Chong’s forces, the Tang, Khorasani, and rebel soldiers, commanded by Li Siye, Cui Piaoqi, and the Gangke King, had completely surrounded the two hundred thousand Arab soldiers on the eastern shore and were beginning a full-scale extermination.

  Meanwhile, soldiers were continuing to pour out of the gates of Khorasan. If this continued, the two hundred thousand soldiers on the eastern shore would be wiped out long before the battle between Great Generals was over.

  When the Three Titans of Black Radiance looked down and saw this sight, their pupils constricted and their faces twisted into grimaces. The Tigris River on the western flank of Khorasan had become the Arabs’ greatest weakness.

  “Retreat! All soldiers withdraw!”

  In normal circumstances, the Tang soldiers would have never been able to surround and encircle the full army of seven hundred thousand soldiers, but the Tigris River meant that the Arab reinforcements were extremely slow. Thus, the five hundred thousand soldiers on the opposite shore were completely helpless and could only watch.

  “Hmph! You only thought about this now? Cui Piaoqi, Li Siye, Gangke King, hear my order! All soldiers, tighten the circle and exterminate the Arabs!” Wang Chong loudly declared as he floated in mid-air.

  To always be aware of the present situation was a necessary trait for a general. Before even beginning to battle with the Three Titans of Black Radiance, Wang Chong had already planned everything out. By the time the Arabs noticed anything, Wang Chong had finished with his preparations, completely encircling the Arab soldiers on the eastern shore.

  With Wang Chong’s order, the Tang, Khorasani, and rebel soldiers began to close the net, immediately charging at the Arabs from all directions.

  Bangbangbang! Arab cavalry were cut down like weeds. No matter how much they struggled, they were unable to resist.

  Ten thousand, thirty thousand, fifty thousand, seventy thousand… the Arabs were collapsing far faster than imagined. This was partially because the Tang attacks were prepared and disciplined, but also partially because the Arabs were in a state of panic, unaware of where the next attack could come from.

  The army was swiftly crumbling. In the air, where the highest-level battle was taking place, the Arabs could contend with the Great Tang, and they even had a slight advantage, but things were completely different on the ground.

  “Kill the soldiers surrounding them! Open a path for the soldiers!”

  Boom! A black ball of energy crashed like a meteor into a group of soldiers, followed by several more explosions. In a flash, the shattered limbs and bodies of rebel soldiers rained down from the sky.

  Fadi, the Head of Black Radiance, was the first to land, with Hular and the other Arab governors close behind, all of them attacking the Tang coalition army.

  With the help of the governors, the Arabs were able to quickly open a path to the shore, whereupon the soldiers began to jump onto the boats and retreat back to the western shore.

  “Go! Hurry!”

  A panicked Arab horseman rushed into the icy river waters, boarded a boat, and fled toward the western shore. Behind, more and more Arab soldiers were pouring into the gap as they fled westward.

  “Withdraw! Retreat as quickly as possible!”

  The army was in a state of complete mayhem.

  “Fars, Gumadan, lead your armies and cover the retreat! Don’t let the Tang come over!” Hular suddenly called out to two black-armored governors, but before he had even finished…

  Boom!

  A massive dragon banner suddenly appeared in the middle of the open gates of Khorasan, and beneath this banner, a muscular giant strode out. He was followed closely behind by army after army, all of them surging with an unstoppable aura toward the Arab army.

  The Divine Martial Army, Dragon Stallion Army, Divine Prison Army, Azure Martial Army, Tongluo Cavalry… one top-class Tang army after another stepped onto the battlefield. Clang! A Divine Martial Army soldier slashed with his sword, cleaving an Arab horseman in two before he could react, and then a second, a third…

  The moment the Tang mobilized its elite armies, the Arab soldiers began to drop like flies, the Tang soldiers reaping their lives like stalks of wheat.

  Countless horsemen charged up to stop them, but they were like ants trying to shake a tree. They had barely charged forward before they were cut down, their bodies dropping to the ground. Five thousand, six thousand, eight thousand, ten thousand…

  Although the Divine Prison Army, Divine Martial Army, and Dragon Stallion Army did not fight on horseback, they advanced far faster than cavalry. “Aaaah!” Screams filled the air as these Arab soldiers drawn from the interior of the empire experienced the power of the Tang elites for the first time. The psychological blow of this assault was simply unparalleled.

  The Arabs had already been at an incredible disadvantage, and now that the black-armored guard had led the elite Tang armies into the fray, it was a calamity on top of a disaster. There was truly no hope of
reversing the tides of this battle.

  “All soldiers, retreat at full speed!”

  At this sight, Hular clenched his teeth. Giving up on fully preserving his army, he ordered all his soldiers to withdraw as quickly as possible.

  Bwoooom!

  Horns blared from the opposite shore, signaling the retreat.

  The sound of the horns caused the Tang, Khorasani, and rebel soldiers to redouble their assault.

  Thudthudthud! One pale-faced corpse after another dropped to the ground. In just a few short moments, one hundred and ten thousand of the original two hundred thousand Arab soldiers had been slain, and the Tang coalition army continued to press in on all sides, a seemingly endless horde.

  The space was getting smaller and smaller, and not even the boats had time to send over all the Arab cavalry. Finally…

  Splash! Splash!

  An Arab horseman, with no other choice, plunged into the cold and rapid waters of the Tigris River with his horse and was swept downstream. A second, third, and fourth followed, and then thousands of Arab horsemen began to jump into the river.

  A soldier jumping into the river had a chance of dying, but there was also a rather large chance of surviving. In contrast, remaining on the shore with the Tang and Khorasani meant certain death.

  Five thousand, six thousand, seven thousand… more and more soldiers jumped into the river. Some of them swam to the opposite shore, but even more were swept downstream. In just a few moments, all the Arab soldiers on the eastern shore had either jumped into the river or boarded boats. Meanwhile, the Three Titans of Black Radiance, Hular, and the Arab governors and generals shot into the sky or traversed the surface of the river to reach the opposite shore.

  “Let’s stop here!”

  At a certain distance from the shore, Wang Chong waved his hand and ordered his soldiers to stop. The Tigris River was a double-edged sword. It could be used to deal with the Arabs, but it was also a shackle for the Tang. Fortunately, the Tang held the advantageous position in this area. The ones who needed to break the stalemate were the Arabs, not the Tang.

  “Withdraw!”

  With this order, all the soldiers withdrew into Khorasan, leaving behind a corpse-strewn battlefield on the eastern shore of the Tigris River.

  Chapter 1178 - Prepare, Another Battle!

  Chapter 1178: Prepare, Another Battle!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Milord, what do we do?”

  Across the Tigris River, countless Arab soldiers were emerging from the icy river in terror. On the shore, Hular’s face was a picture of unwillingness as he turned to the Head of Black Radiance, Fadi.

  “There’s no time!” Fadi gloomily said. He glanced up at the sky, where only a dim light was leaking through the dense clouds. At some point, dusk had arrived. In these circumstances, no matter how unwilling Fadi was, he had to halt the battle and wait for tomorrow to restart it.

  “Has Jalil’s army still not arrived?”

  Fadi turned to a general behind him.

  The Arab general lowered his head and reported, “Milord, Lord Jalil is marching as quickly as possible, but the weather is cold and the steel bridges for crossing the river are extremely heavy, so they’ve been slowed down. They probably won’t arrive until tomorrow morning.”

  A hint of fury flitted through Fadi’s eyes. Arabia had mobilized almost the entire empire for the assault on this city, preparing much more than imagined.

  In the original strategy, the Arabs would have many long steel bridges to cross the river. But Fadi had believed that with all the boats he had, there was no need to wait for those heavy bridges to arrive.

  Fadi had never imagined that this decision would come at such a heavy price for his army.

  “Order Jalil to hasten his march! At daybreak tomorrow, I had better see those steel bridges!” Fadi ordered.

  “This general will go!”

  The general bowed.

  “In addition, Hular, write a letter to His Majesty. Tell him that we don’t have nearly enough top-class soldiers and that I hope His Majesty can dispatch more Great Generals to utterly vanquish these Tang. In addition, if there is any chance, have His Majesty send Governor Ansari to assist the army at Khorasan!” Fadi said.

  Buzz!

  Hular shivered at the name of Ansari, his eyes going wide. In the Arabian Empire, Ansari’s reputation was like the noon sun, and even when compared to Qutaybah, he was only a little lacking. In their day, Ansari and Qutaybah had been hailed as the two heroes of Arabia, but later on, in the contest for Arab War God, Ansari had lost to Qutaybah. In a moment of rage, he had retired from the army.

  While Qutaybah had spent all these years campaigning across the world and immersing himself in the ecstasy of conquest, Ansari had placed all his focus on cultivation so as to one day defeat Qutaybah and wash away his shame.

  After so many years of bitter cultivation, there was a rumor in the outside world that Ansari’s strength had already surpassed Qutaybah’s. Someone had even once gone to see Ansari, but just a glance made his body shiver and drained him of all the will to fight.

  If this were just an ordinary rumor, no one would have cared, but the one who made this claim was an Arab governor. Once this matter became known, it set off shockwaves through the empire.

  But Ansari had a cruel personality, even crueler than Qutaybah’s, and there were even times when he had thought about attacking his own allies. Almost nobody in the empire wanted to have much to do with Ansari.

  The Blood of Black Radiance, Firas, suddenly said, “That’s right, there’s also the Governor of Death of the southern war zone, Adeel. Have him transferred over as well. More soldiers aren’t necessary. Them alone will be enough.”

  “But, Milord, Lord Adeel is currently suppressing the Wadeel people of the south and a peasant revolt, with no time for anything else.” Hular’s voice was tinged with hesitation.

  Although Arabia was powerful, it had many enemies that needed to be suppressed all at once. The more countries one conquered, the greater the resistance one would encounter. This was also why Arabia could not mobilize all its governors at once. The enemies bordering Arabia were not as powerful as those bordering the Great Tang, but there were many more of them. This was also why Arabia kept so many soldiers garrisoned in various places.

  Adeel was powerful, but the place he was in charge of was also extremely important. He could not be recklessly transferred.

  “If he is only gone for around ten days, there shouldn’t be many problems. And besides, is a tribe of the south stronger than the two hundred thousand soldiers in Khorasan?” Firas sternly said.

  “This…”

  Hular silently lowered his head. The threat from the east was far greater than that of any other faction on Arabia’s border, perhaps even greater than all of them added up together.

  In addition, even though the Tang only had two hundred thousand soldiers in total, an army that was not too large, everyone had seen the strength they had exhibited. This battle had barely begun, but the Arabs had already lost two hundred thousand soldiers. No other faction on Arabia’s borders could accomplish such a feat.

  “Understood! I will do so!” Hular sternly said.

  The Three Titans of Black Radiance listed out the names of ten-some more Arab governors. Hular noted each of them down, and a few moments later, an Arabian hunting falcon rose into the air, flying toward Baghdad.

  “Hular, pass on my order! Tomorrow, when the steel bridges arrive, immediately begin the assault across the river. Kill every Tang and Khorasani in the city!”

  “Yes!”

  ……

  As darkness settled in, Khorasan began to calm down. The weather was getting colder and colder, and nobody noticed that a thin sheet of ice was slowly forming on the steep walls of Khorasan. It was now even colder than it had been at dawn.

  At this moment, however, Khorasan was brightly lit and raucous. The Tang had
made a small sacrifice for an enormous victory, but the battle was far from over.

  “Lord Protector-General, what should we do next? Although the Arabs have withdrawn, their losses are still far from serious.” Xi Yuanqing spoke up from a corner of the hall as he gravely looked at Wang Chong.

  “And based on how the Arabs have usually fought, after their loss in today’s battle, they will be even more prepared for the next assault, and it will be even more ferocious. Not only that, I worry that they will gather even more experts and soldiers. After all, Baghdad isn’t that far away.” Cheng Qianli also offered his opinion, his expression extremely grave.

  This was not their first clash with the Arabs. At the Battle of Talas, they had believed that they had vanquished the Arabs, but it turned out that the Arabs still had an endless stream of reinforcements, one wave after the next, each one stronger and stronger.

  “In addition, there were originally supposed to be more rebel soldiers arriving at Khorasan to assist us, but I have learned that all the rebel armies on the border of Arabia have recently been harshly suppressed. I sense that Arabia is currently thinking of ways to mobilize more of its border armies to come and deal with us. Arabia and the Caliph have probably begun to regard us as a lethal danger,” Bahram sternly said.

  “With just two hundred thousand soldiers, it is impossible for us to oppose all of Arabia! General, without reinforcements from the Great Tang, we cannot hold out. Do you truly plan to defend against the next assault?”

  Bahram turned to Wang Chong, his eyes fraught with concern.

  The Great Tang was too far from Khorasan. Wang Chong had told him long ago that the Great Tang reinforcements would never arrive so quickly. And yet Wang Chong had not only stated several times that they would hold out against the Arab assault, he had done so with complete confidence and surety.

  But Bahram truly could not understand what Wang Chong was basing this conclusion on. He had originally believed that Wang Chong was just being cautious and keeping his plan a secret from him, but he hadn’t expected that not even Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli knew anything about it.