The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “Raaa!” a Xuanwu Army soldier bellowed. The veins on his forehead bulged, but he managed to hold against this terrifying strike.

  After the baptism of battle, the soldiers of the Xuanwu Army had changed, and with the power of the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner’s halos, they could block the advance of the God’s Ordained Cavalry instead of crumbling like they did at Talas.

  “Divine Prison Army, forward!”

  As the Xuanwu Army held the line, the Divine Prison Army soldiers came forward with their swords, stepping past the defense line and cleanly thrusting into the God’s Ordained Cavalry.

  Plush! Plush! With a single thrust, a Divine Prison soldier pierced through the armor of a God’s Ordained rider, plunging his sword deep into his body.

  In terms of defensive power, the Divine Prison Army was undoubtedly one of the weakest, and Wang Chong had never trained this army for defense. This army was entirely about offense, and with the Xuanwu Army, they represented two extremes. In this single assault, several hundred God’s Ordained Cavalry were slain.

  The sharp swords of the Divine Prison Army had torn through their defensive energy and stabbed straight into their hearts!

  “Kill!”

  After this assault, the Divine Martial Army, Dragon Stallion Army, Azure Martial Army, and all the other armies followed. Horses crashed to the ground, and the unstoppable momentum of the God’s Ordained Cavalry was brought to a sudden halt.

  Like a rampant flood encountering a dike, all the God’s Ordained Cavalry came to a sudden stop.

  The nine halos provided by the war banner were something that not even the legendary God’s Ordained Cavalry could get any advantage over. In fact, in this first clash, they had actually taken significant losses!

  “How?!”

  Saleh and Khatabah both grimaced at this sight.

  The God’s Ordained Cavalry was Khatabah’s personal army that he had created with his own hands, and it was known throughout the western world as the strongest army. Even Qutaybah’s famous Revelation Army was inferior. And the proof of their strength was in how they had been able to simply ‘kick’ the Tang defensive line out of their way.

  There should have been no army on the continent able to match it, but the inconceivable was taking place right before their eyes!

  “What incredible strength from the east! That dragon banner must be the reason for their formidable power!” the High Priest suddenly said, his voice carrying no consternation.

  Khatabah’s face darkened, but he did not reply to the High Priest.

  “Lucis, it’s your turn!”

  A powerful mental wave crossed through space to enter Lucis’s mind.

  Clack!

  In the rear of the army, Lucis almost immediately turned to an ancient metal chest covered with mysterious inscriptions. Once the lock was opened, a hazy light erupted from the chest. Bzzz! Dark clouds suddenly began to gather over the Arab army.

  As this gloomy energy shot out of the metal chest and into the air, the sky darkened, and then a crescent moon manifested in the pillar of energy.

  Buzz!

  On the other side, Wang Chong narrowed his eyes, immediately sensing this abnormality.

  “Something’s not right!”

  Wang Chong’s heart sank as his eyes shot over to the rear of the Arab army, where Lucis was standing. He didn’t recognize this Arab general, but Lucis’s identity wasn’t important. Wang Chong was entirely focused on that bizarre thing in his hands.

  It was a tree!

  The tree was about nine feet tall, its body made entirely of black metal. Ancient words and inscriptions had been inscribed across its surface, and crystalline light that seemed to be almost physical radiated from it.

  Most striking of all was the crown of the tree, where a crystalline ‘crescent moon’ radiated bright light.

  The Moon God Tree!

  Wang Chong’s heart sank in realization.

  Wang Chong had not seen this item in his last life, but he had heard of it, as it had an incredibly unique shape. It was rumored that many, many ages ago, far before the Arabian Empire, in that part of the western world near the sea, an ancient moon god had been worshiped.

  The Moon God Tree was the symbol of this god, and it possessed inconceivable power!

  However, that was a long, long time ago. That ancient god of the moon had disappeared along with the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars into the river of time.

  Wang Chong had only occasionally heard about in the apocalyptic era. It was said that the Arabian Empire in the west had briefly used it before being completely conquered by the otherworldly invaders.

  He had almost forgotten those long-ago memories. He had never imagined that this Moon God Tree would actually exist, much less that Khatabah would bring it to the east to use on this battlefield.

  “Careful!”

  Wang Chong only had time to send this mental warning to Zhangchou Jianqiong and the others. Before he had time to make another order, there was a flash of light, and then Lucis took the Moon God Tree and placed it on the ground.

  Silence!

  Absolute silence!

  Time slowed to a crawl, and the earth began to groan. Dust shot into the air for dozens of feet when the Moon God Tree landed, as if the earth itself could not bear this power. Kaboom! As time returned to its normal flow, an immense energy coalesced into waves of hazy light that began to ripple outward.

  Dazzling light instantly engulfed the battlefield, surging into the bodies of the God’s Ordained Cavalry and all the other Arab cavalry on the front line. A moment later, cheers erupted across the field.

  As the Tang soldiers stared in shock, the already-formidable Arab cavalry and God’s Ordained Cavalry grew stronger and stronger, one halo after another appearing at their feet.

  “Kill them all!”

  A moment later, the strengthened Arab cavalry vigorously charged.

  Chapter 1860 - The Bane of All Peoples Halo!

  Chapter 1860: The Bane of All Peoples Halo!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Bang! Bang! Bang! A shield soldier on the left flank immediately became the target of concentrated attacks. While he was used to the frequency of such attacks, this time was completely different.

  Each Arab horseman was clearly much stronger than before.

  Plush! The shield soldier vomited blood. He clenched his teeth and tried to hold, but blood was beginning to appear across his arm. Those were ruptured blood vessels. The excessive pressure in so little time had broken open his blood vessels, and soon, blood was spraying everywhere.

  But even worse…

  A few seconds later, his giant shield was like a small boat in the middle of a storm, shuddering and swaying so much that it seemed like it could overturn at any moment.

  “Not good! Hold!”

  The officers immediately sensed that something was wrong and exhorted their men to hold fast.

  There were far too many Arab soldiers, and the area that needed to be defended was far too great. At Talas, the Great Tang had been able to use steel walls to block off avenues of attack, but here, they needed to use shield soldiers to hold the gaps.

  If the shield soldiers could not hold, not only would the God’s Ordained Cavalry penetrate into the central army of the Great Tang, the left flank and right flank would also collapse, and the entire army would be routed!

  No one could bear the responsibility for this result!

  “Ballista army, release!”

  The first to realize the danger and respond was Su Hanshan. With a swing of his arm, the air thundered. Tens of thousands of ballista bolts howled through the air, and a row of Arab cavalry was instantly slain.

  But none of this was capable of stopping the maddened tide of Arab cavalry.

  “For His Majesty!”

  “For Arabia!”

  “Conquer the east!”

  Frenzied war cries resounded through the air. The appearance of
the Moon God Tree had sent a surge of majestic energy into their bodies. It had not only made them stronger, it had also influenced their mental state.

  The Arab cavalry cast aside any thought for their own bodies and heedlessly threw themselves into battle. It was like there was nothing that they could not overcome!

  This is bad!

  Gao Xianzhi’s heart sank. He could see that there were many places on the front line where the shield soldiers could no longer hold and were beginning to retreat or fall. And in the center, with the boost from the Moon God Tree, the God’s Ordained Cavalry had also gotten rapidly stronger and was beginning to suppress the Nine Dragon Army!

  The Nine Dragon Army was a collection of the elite strength from all of the Great Tang’s protectorates. If not even they could hold out, the morale of the army would be destroyed, and the army would collapse like a line of dominoes.

  “Hmph!”

  Wang Chong’s expression chilled. Thump! As if it had sensed his thoughts, the White-hoofed Shadow suddenly stomped forward. Boom! A dazzling light erupted and swept over the battlefield like a storm, ignoring the Tang army but swiftly attaching itself to the vast sea of Arab soldiers. A few moments later, the halos under hundreds of thousands of Arab soldiers instantly dimmed and began to flicker like candles.

  “Aaaah!”

  The Arabs began to cry out in alarm. After surging forward unstoppably with the power of the Moon God Tree, they dissolved into chaos. None of them understood what was going on, why their strength had suddenly plunged so much.

  “It’s the commander!”

  “The commander took action!”

  Cheers came from the Great Tang side, as the pressure they faced instantly decreased. More importantly, after Wang Chong’s numerous victories and many feats, even the soldiers of the various protectorates had come to understand that the King of Foreign Lands possessed two halos that could weaken his enemies.

  From the scene before them, this was undoubtedly the legendary Bane of the Battlefield Halo!

  “King of Foreign Lands!”

  “King of Foreign Lands!”

  The cheers resounded across the battlefield!

  On the other side, Wang Chong continued to coldly stare at the battlefield.

  Bang!

  Without the slightest hesitation, the White-hoofed Shadow took another step forward.

  Clang! As the White-hoofed Shadow’s hoof stomped, another, even more dazzling light swept out like a massive wave and passed over half the battlefield to engulf the Arab army.

  This time, it was not targeting the ordinary Arab horsemen, but the numerous Arab generals!

  The Bane of Generals Halo!

  The tens of thousands of Arab generals immediately felt their energies plunge. Not only that, the cavalry that were being boosted by the halos of these generals also weakened, the halos at their feet flickering like candles in a storm.

  Panicked cries swept across the army. Even Lucis, all the way at the back, was affected.

  “How could this be? What power is this? A war halo that can attach itself to the enemy!”

  Lucis was stunned.

  The Moon God Tree was a precious military treasure and was one of the important moves they had for conquering the eastern world, but Wang Chong’s two halos, while not instantly extinguishing the Moon God Tree’s power, had greatly weakened it. The power of its halos had become so thin that it could vanish at any moment.

  Lucis had never experienced this sort of thing in all his life.

  “Hmph!”

  A cold snort came from the back of the elephant Behemoth. Khatabah’s sharp and narrow eyes instantly descended on the distant Wang Chong.

  As the Moon God Tree’s power weakened, Khatabah immediately stepped forward.

  Boom! Like a raging waterfall, golden and viscous energy poured out from the back of the elephant Behemoth, transforming into an enormous golden halo that swept over his entire army!

  Clangclangclang!

  Those halos that had been flickering on the verge of nonexistence were suddenly invigorated, power pouring in and causing them to blaze and resonate once more.

  The energies of the million-man army became blazing bright once more!

  Wang Chong’s two halos were rapidly nullified!

  As a legend of the Arabian Empire who had lived for more than one hundred years and who possessed more authority than the Caliph himself, Khatabah was far stronger than any Great General, having reached a transcendent state that only a few people could even hope to glimpse. Even after so many years, old subordinates like Saleh and Lucis had not seen Khatabah intervene in a battle.

  While Wang Chong’s two halos were powerful, they were still in a range where Khatabah could deal with them.

  The situation was reversed once more. Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi frowned, and he prepared to step forward, a dazzling and firm energy gathering within his body.

  Khatabah had undoubtedly exceeded the peak Great General level, and few on the battlefield could contend against him. Not even Zhangchou Jianqiong and the others were capable of this feat.

  The halos of Great Generals could nullify each other, but the Great Generals needed to be on the same level.

  “Lord Junior Guardian, please wait! It’s not time for you to act!” Wang Chong suddenly said, stopping Wang Zhongsi.

  The halos of Great Generals could boost the strength of an army, but this did not come for free. If a Great General released their halo at the start of the battle, they might be able to gain the early advantage, but as they weakened, if the enemy forced their way through and chose to ‘cut off the head’, defeat would become inevitable.

  If the Great General were killed, the army would naturally collapse, and the early advantage would be for nothing!

  Thus, when battles reached a certain scale and a certain level of importance, the Great Generals on both sides became much more cautious about releasing their halos.

  “…I can still deal with that Khatabah!”

  As Wang Chong indifferently spoke, he stared at Khatabah and had his horse take another step forward.

  Wang Zhongsi fell silent for a few moments, but the energy in his body began to scatter.

  Wang Chong was still young, but he was certainly not immature. Although he didn’t know what sort of trick Wang Chong had, Wang Zhongsi trusted in him.

  Wang Chong locked onto Khatabah, and as the Arab cavalry swelled in strength under Khatabah’s halo, Wang Chong’s eyes flashed, and another storm of energy burst out from his body.

  Clang!

  With a resounding clatter, a halo brighter than the sun expanded from Wang Chong’s body and landed on the ground.

  “Bane of All Peoples Halo!” Wang Chong softly muttered. A moment later, that blindingly bright light exploded outward, the earth groaning and shuddering.

  At this moment, Khatabah’s war halo had swept over the battlefield in a great tide, the immense energy coalescing into a white war halo that was as pure as the crescent moon.

  But when Wang Chong released his own immense energy in response, the millions of Arab cavalry seemed to suffer a massive blow. The intense white light released by Khatabah began to flicker, and the strength of the energy instantly plunged.

  Chapter 1861 - The Land Shark, Bashabur!

  Chapter 1861: The Land Shark, Bashabur!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Even the Hierophant and the High Priest atop the elephant Behemoth were affected, let alone the Arab generals and the ordinary cavalry. The two supreme existences of the Arabian Empire were instantly shaken.

  “Hmph!”

  Khatabah coldly grunted. He instinctively unleashed more energy, attempting to increase the power of his halo, but Wang Chong’s dazzling war halo was inscribed with mysterious characters that seemed to make it immune.

  Khatabah’s heart thumped, and his face turned solemn.

  “Such inconceivable power! Is this… t
he power of the Child of Destruction?”

  The High Priest’s black robe trembled. There was a strange light in his eyes as he stared at Wang Chong.

  The eastern world had tens of thousands of different war halos, but Wang Chong’s power clearly did not belong in this domain.

  From this alone, he could see that this youth had transcended this mortal world and had become a most unique existence.……

  In the distance, Wang Chong was utterly unperturbed over the fact that he had undone Khatabah’s halo with just a single move.

  Once Wang Chong had slain one million foes and advanced to the Subtle realm, he had finally been able to unlock the next step in the Stone of Destiny and gain a new skill:

  The Bane of All Peoples!

  At this level, the halo no longer targeted just soldiers or just generals. Rather, it had escalated to a new level and targeted all the members of the same people!

  Although Wang Chong had only the first level of the Bane of All Peoples Halo, it was already far stronger than the Bane of the Battlefield and the Bane of Generals. Even Great Generals or powerful existences like Khatabah were unable to completely nullify this halo.

  At most, they could only limit it to a certain level!

  But he wasn’t even done yet.

  “A gift needs to be reciprocated! Let me send you another halo!”

  Wang Chong’s eyes flashed as he unleashed his fourth halo.

  Clangclangclang! With a deafening clatter, one halo after another erupted from Wang Chong’s body. The power of seven Halos of Dusk Stallion swiftly spread across his army.

  Unlike his previous halos, this halo directly boosted the power of the Tang soldiers. As the strength of his six hundred thousand soldiers swelled, the battle began to lean in the Great Tang’s favor.

  Neigh!

  With the boost from all these halos, the Great Tang front line rapidly stabilized.

  “Release!”

  Meanwhile, Su Hanshan was constantly swinging down his arm, and clouds of ballista bolts flew through the air, their whistling sharp points reaping the lives of the Arabs and reducing the pressure on the front line.

  Su Hanshan had not been sitting back as Wang Chong and Khatabah clashed. Another seventy to eighty thousand Arab cavalry had been slain in that time.