The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  The commanders at the front line were Li Siye’s subordinates: Kong Zi-an, Sun Zhiming, and Xue Qianjun.

  Gallop!

  The Arab cavalry picked up speed, and the air current created by the tens of thousands of charging Arab cavalry produced visible ripples in the air.

  At this distance, it was possible to see the savage visages of the Arab cavalry, even the bristly hairs on their arms. All the Arab cavalry flowed between the steel walls like floodwaters, navigating through the gaps.

  In order to maximize the amount of area covered by the steel walls, Wang Chong had been forced to leave these gaps.

  Chapter 1836 - The Silver Spear Army! (I)

  Chapter 1836: The Silver Spear Army! (I)

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Crack!

  As the Arab army got closer and closer, the soldiers behind the first defense line clenched their weapons, their eyes brimming with the will to fight. This was no ordinary battle, but a battle of annihilation between the Great Tang and Arabia.

  In this battle, no one could back down, much less feel fear.

  “Ready!”

  While the cries of the Arabs were causing the earth to tremble, on the Great Tang side, other than the area where the Behemoths had charged in, the region was eerily quiet, like those nearby Behemoths were in another dimension.

  The thirty-some giant ballistae were still thundering as they launched bolt after bolt, but on the left and right flank, all the soldiers were focused on the enemy approaching the steel defense line.

  One hundred meters, eighty meters, sixty meters…

  The distance was closing!

  Boom!

  Finally, the tens of thousands of Arab cavalry savagely slammed into the massive shields that were each taller than a man.

  “Hold!”

  Furious roars could be heard across the battlefield. Behind the massive shields, the stalwart shield soldiers planted their feet and leaned forward, their bodies brimming with muscle and the veins bulging out from their foreheads.

  The best shield soldiers from each army had been selected to hold the front line, and this included soldiers from renowned clans like the Chi Clan, Li Clan, Zheng Clan, and Du Clan, and elite soldiers from the Big Dipper Army. These men were all battle-tested veterans possessing formidable strength and experience.

  A second later, the Arab attacks came, spears, scimitars, hooves, and Stellar Energy slamming against the massive shields and exerting immense pressure on each shield soldier.

  The vast sea of Arab cavalry had already covered every inch of the Tang defense line, and besides that…

  “Kill!”

  Tens of thousands of Arab cavalry, unafraid of being crushed to death by the Behemoths, charged in straight through the gap that had been created.

  Although the Behemoths had not completely opened up the Tang defense line, it was much easier to charge in from the gap than elsewhere. And here, they could catch the Great Tang unawares.

  No matter how the Tang tried to defend, the charge of the Behemoths would make their defenses crumble.

  “All of you, get in there! Kill every one of these infidels!”

  Apolis commanded his soldiers from the center of the army, his black cape dancing in the wind. At the same time, the Governors and Deputy Governors obeyed Apolis’s commands and charged into the fray.

  The two-hundred-thousand-some cavalry served as the Arabs’ first high-pressure probe. The full army had yet to attack, but once the Tang line showed signs of faltering, it would signal the doom of the entire Tang force.

  Boomboomboom!

  The battle had started at an intense pace, and the clashing of weapons and the hollering of war cries mixed together into a deafening din. But outside the point of contention, the outer edge was quiet.

  On the Arab side: Khatabah, the High Priest, and Abu Muslim.

  On the Great Tang side: Wang Zhongsi, Zhangchou Jianqiong, and Gao Xianzhi.

  And farther off, to the northwest of the battlefield, a stalwart figure peered into the distance. This man was none other than Western Turkic Great General Wunu Shibi!

  The Great Tang and Arabia had mobilized almost all their forces for this war. This war was far too important, and the surrounding countries could not possibly ignore it. But if they led their armies over, they would create misunderstandings with the warring countries. Thus, Wunu Shibi had only brought a few men with him to personally observe this battle.

  He needed to see this battle with his own eyes, see for himself who would be the ultimate victor!

  And there were many other people with the same idea as Wunu Shibi.

  If one looked down from the sky, one would spot groups in the northwest, southwest, and east, all of them scattered across the region and observing from a distance, not daring to get too close for fear of causing any misunderstanding.

  Whoosh!

  A wind blew out of the northeast across the entire battlefield. The two-hundred-thousand-some Arab cavalry pressed in, exerting maximum pressure on the Tang forces.

  “Beehives, fire!”

  With this order, the Great Tang finally launched its counterattack. With a piercing whistle, an innumerable number of arrows exploded from the steel walls.

  In the past, when two armies clashed, it was customary for archers to begin firing as soon as the enemy entered their range.

  But Wang Chong was different. He had established a unique fighting style with his steel walls. His soldiers would wait until the enemy was right on top of them, when their ranks were at their densest, to begin firing.

  At this range, any arrow fired would hit its mark, and the power of archers and ballistae would be maximized.

  Thwishthwishthwish!

  The beehives began to unleash their salvos, their whistling arrows covering almost every inch of ground.

  “Ah!”

  Screams tore through the air as the largest losses yet in this battlefield were inflicted.

  The cause was not the stomping of a Behemoth destroying the Tang defense line, but the attacking Arabs being shot down by countless arrows, which plunged into their eyes, necks, the chinks in their armor, and even the heads of their horses.

  Some of the more experienced soldiers tried to wave around their scimitars to block, but they still failed. When the beehives fired, each soldier had to deal with nearly one hundred arrows. At this distance, the impact of the arrow itself was enough to scatter the energy within the Arab cavalry and simply jolt them to death.

  Neigh!

  Amidst shrieks and screams, the losses climbed to one thousand, two thousand, three thousand… In short order, the Tang counterattack had claimed eight to nine thousand lives, and the losses continued to rise.

  “Ballista units! Ready! Fire!”

  Right after the beehives, Su Hanshan swung his sword, ordering half of the ballistae to focus on the Arab cavalry instead of the Behemoths.

  Bang!

  The air thundered as tens of thousands of ballista bolts howled through the air. Gleaming with the light of death, the bolts cut through the air and vanished into the Arab cavalry.

  Boom! An Arab horseman, too slow to react, was instantly punched through by a ballista bolt, his armor lasting less than half a second before giving way like paper.

  As the first Arab soldier dropped dead from his horse, the bolt continued into a second.

  There was a terrible scream as the second Arab horseman and his horse were punched through, and then a third, a fourth, a fifth…

  Massive losses were inflicted. After this single wave, forty thousand Arab corpses now lay strewn across the defense line, their blood drenching the earth. If not for the density of the defense line making it so that these Arab cavalry had each taken several ballista bolts, the losses would have been even worse.

  “What terrifying power!”

  Wunu Shibi’s eyes gleamed with a hint of fear as he watched from atop his horse.

  In the Ara
b camp, Khatabah, Apolis, and the other Arab Governors and Deputy Governors all twitched in shock at this sight.

  Purely in terms of killing power, these Tang ballistae were probably on par with the Behemoth Army, a reaper of souls on this battlefield. This alone made this country of eastern infidels more formidable than any other opponent Arabia had faced.

  But no matter how strong the foe, anyone who dared to oppose Arabia could face only death.

  “Shield Cavalry, go! All of you!” Apolis ordered, his eyes sharp. Even though the losses in this first assault had already ballooned to one hundred and fifty thousand, he did not care.

  The Arabs had brought more than two million elite cavalry for this invasion. While one hundred and fifty thousand seemed immense, it was a minor itch for the massive Arab army. Moreover, in Arabia, the vanguard had always been essentially a suicide corps. Even if they all died, no pity would be felt for them.

  Bang!

  Following Apolis’s order, his army parted, allowing another force mounted upon bulky horses to charge through.

  These warhorses were clearly much bigger than ordinary warhorses, their skeletons more bulky and their muscles more packed with strength.

  The most striking feature of all was their armor. All these cavalry wore silver armor that was more than five inches thick, and their horses were equipped with the same armor.

  This kind of armor had to weigh five to six thousand jin, and even infantry elites would find it hard to move around. Moreover, these warhorses also had a large silver shield that was half a foot thick.

  These shields were half a man’s height and their surfaces were carved all over with the intricate patterns of numerous defensive inscriptions. In addition, the shields were covered in spikes, and in the very center was a massive silver spike that was more than six feet long, essentially serving as a spear. Its cold, gleaming point was frightening to behold.

  Uniquely, this giant shield was actually connected to the warhorse’s armor via sturdy steel bars.

  This was the Shield Cavalry, also known as the Silver Spear Army!

  Chapter 1837 - The Silver Spear Army! (II)

  Chapter 1837: The Silver Spear Army! (II)

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  The Silver Spear Army was a powerful force of Khatabah’s that excelled at both offense and defense. It was meant specifically to deal with offensively powerful armies. While holding out against fierce assaults, they would use the sharp spikes on their shields to assault the enemy line and tear through their defenses!

  The training for the Silver Spear Army was extremely difficult, and losses were hard to restore. Moreover, their heavy equipment meant that a single charge was incredibly exhausting. As a result, Apolis did not use them much, but there was no question that this was the best chance for the Silver Spear Army to display its full power.

  Rumble! The Silver Spear Army spread out in a row, shielding the Arab cavalry behind them. Moreover, the Silver Spear Army soldiers were far stronger than the average armored soldiers, and the many spikes on their shields ensured that they would have the ability to break through hard points in the enemy line.

  Bang!

  With thunderous speed, a massive spike slammed into one of the Tang shields.

  “Aaah!” This Tang shield soldier who had endured hundreds of attacks without backing down was nevertheless instantly knocked flying together with his shields. As he was blown backward, he crashed into several infantry behind him.

  Boomboomboom!

  A moment later, the rest of the thousands of Silver Spear Army cavalry struck, sending the elite shield soldiers on the Tang front line hurtling through the air.

  In normal circumstances, cavalry would have never been able to so easily break the Tang defense line, but the long spikes on the shields concentrated all the power of the charge onto a single point, placing so much pressure on the shield soldiers that they simply couldn’t hold.

  “It seems that the Hierophant came well prepared!”

  Atop the elephant Behemoth, the High Priest’s black robe ruffled as he spoke.

  All of them had seen the power of the Tang ballistae. On the journey eastward, the Hierophant had seemingly done nothing, but it was slowly becoming evident just how meticulous his preparations had been.

  “Heh, High Priest flatters me. This cannot be considered a sort of preparation, merely one of the cavalry forces I used in my conquests. Although there aren’t many and they can’t be considered too powerful, no one has yet been able to break them. They should be enough to deal with these eastern infidels,” Khatabah nonchalantly said.

  Bang!

  As if in response to Khatabah’s words, Su Hanshan’s ballistae began to fire. A bolt howled through the air and slammed into a Silver Spear Army horseman with thunderous speed. The sharp bolt pierced several feet through the thick shield, and the force of the impact caused the horse to fly several dozen feet back.

  But a few moments later, clop! The hooves of the horse hit the ground in a cloud of dust. The Silver Spear Army horseman had managed to hold out against that powerful blow.

  The silver shields of the Silver Spear Army were installed so that they were fifteen feet in front of the horses, providing them an area of safety. The ballista bolt had failed to harm the Arab horseman and his horse!

  Boomboomboom!

  Countless ballista bolts blasted into the silver shields, but the unique shields allowed the Arabs to suffer only the occasional loss.

  “Kill!”

  With the cover of the Silver Spear Army, the thousands of Arab cavalry hollered and charged.

  Even Su Hanshan couldn’t help but grimace at this sight.

  “Heh! It seems that the Arabs came prepared! But if they think that this meager number of shield cavalry can deal with the Great Tang, then they’re too naive.”

  A mental wave resounded in the minds of the five other Great Generals as Zhangchou Jianqiong spoke.

  Sensing Zhangchou Jianqiong’s fighting intent, An Sishun smiled and spoke as well. “Hah, it’s about time I made my move.”

  The Great Tang had dominated the world through its infantry. Skilled in defense, it had many shield soldiers. This had even led to the rise of a general like Wang Chong, whose use of steel walls in battles had allowed him to become a War God. But many people had forgotten that the Great Tang had not reached its current level of power through purely defense. On the contrary, it had been proactive aggression, penetrating deep into the heartland of the enemy, that had allowed it to reach its current status!

  The Silver Spear Army continued to advance, puncturing the first defense line in many places. Some Arab cavalry had already advanced several dozen meters deep into the defense line, and there were many more Arab cavalry behind them.

  If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before the first defense line was completely lost. But on the Great Tang side, Wang Chong, Zhangchou Jianqiong, Wang Zhongsi, An Sishun, Gao Xianzhi, and Abusi did not move a muscle. It was like the defense line being wrecked had nothing to do with them.

  One second!

  Two seconds!

  Three seconds!

  ……

  The Arab cavalry on both flanks continued to press in, and in the center, even with the giant ballistae and the thirty-six Behemoth Slayers working together to slow down the Behemoth Army’s pace, the Great Tang’s defense line was continuing to crumble. Numerous steel walls were being stomped into scrap, knocked flying, and swept aside by the Behemoths.

  All parties were keeping close watch on the developments: Wunu Shibi, Khatabah, Abu Muslim…

  Just as the Arab army on the left flank had opened a gap and was charging in, the eyes of the seemingly petrified Zhangchou Jianqiong suddenly flashed with cold light. A moment later, the renowned tiger of the Great Tang began to move.

  “Annan Protectorate army, attack!”

  Zhangchou Jianqiong’s callous voice resounded over the battlefield. As he spoke, h
is body erupted with a peerlessly sharp energy, like a sword leaving its sheath!

  At this moment, he was no longer the Minister of War. He had been reborn and was once more the southwest’s Tiger of the Empire.

  Boom!

  Like the waves stirred up by a boulder crashing into a lake, Zhangchou Jianqiong, the Annan Protectorate army, and the tens of thousands of soldiers Wang Chong had given him suddenly swept forward.

  Clang!

  As Zhangchou Jianqiong charged out, his horse mightily neighed, and a dark red halo erupted from its feet and swept over his army.

  As this hurricane of power engulfed them, Zhangchou Jianqiong’s Annan Protectorate army instantly soared in speed, strength, and agility, their bodies blazing with energy!

  Behind them, the energy of Wang Chong’s soldiers also soared.

  “So powerful!”

  Wang Chong’s subordinates were all taken aback by this sight, and even Wang Chong couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

  In the war of the southwest, Wang Chong had fought alongside Xianyu Zhongtong’s Annan Protectorate army, so he had a deep understanding of its strength.

  This protectorate army wasn’t weak, but it also wasn’t very strong. Amongst the protectorate armies of the empire, it was probably on the weaker side. But at this moment, the Annan Protectorate army was savage, brutal, aggressive, and seething with crimson energy. Wang Chong felt as if they were truly a man-eating tiger. It was completely different from the army under Xianyu Zhongtong.

  One was the heavens and the other was the earth!

  An incompetent soldier affected only himself, but an incompetent general affected the entire army. While Xianyu Zhongtong was quite strong, he was no Great General. In the end, only Zhangchou Jianqiong could serve as the true soul of the Annan Protectorate army.

  Only when he commanded this army could it be considered the real Annan Protectorate army!

  Wang Chong suddenly understood how Zhangchou Jianqiong had been able to sit in the southwest for so many years without a major incident, why people as formidable as Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang had to wait until Zhangchou Jianqiong had left the southwest to finally launch a full invasion.