The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 1324
The entire process should have been simple and easy.
He had never imagined that Wang Chong would also be hiding a few moves.
Three identical Wang Chongs had appeared, ruining all their plans.
On the contrary, now that they had shown all their cards, they were in an extremely disadvantageous and passive position.
Similarly shocked were An Lushan and Gao Shang.
Even though they had a few scattered intelligence reports about Wang Chong’s clones, those intelligence reports had been very ambiguous on the details. Now that they saw Wang Chong’s three clones for themselves, they felt an immense shock.
One Wang Chong was hard enough to deal with. Three Wang Chongs appearing at once was their worst nightmare!
Creee!
As Wang Chong revealed his clones, a sharp whistle came from the distance. Far behind the alliance, from the direction of the Eastern Sea, a firework shot through the air, dragging a long trail of smoke behind it.
Panic spread through the battlefield, nobody understanding what this signified. But in the center of his army, Wang Chong pushed back Yeon Gaesomun and the others with his palm, took several steps back, and then looked up at the firework and eerily smiled.
“An Lushan, Gao Shang, if you thought that you could gather up the kingdoms of the northeast and try to oppose the Great Tang with this disorderly mob, then you were laughably naive! Now, I will teach you what it means to take the enemy by surprise, what the art of war truly means!
“With just you lot, you will never have the right to oppose the Great Tang!”
Wang Chong loudly laughed.
He made a gesture with his hand, and then a giant firework soared several thousand feet into the air before exploding, its dazzling light visible from one hundred li away.
An Lushan, Gao Shang, and the Xi Queen looked up at that firework, their eyes widening in intense unease.
Chapter 2199 - Surprise Attack! Wang Chong's Trump Card!
Chapter 2199: Surprise Attack! Wang Chong’s Trump Card!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Careful!”
Gao Shang’s face paled as he called out, “Defend!”
But it was already too late.
Plans were made and then actions taken. Both An Lushan and Gao Shang had prepared amply for this war, but they were still lacking compared to Wang Chong. The strategic considerations on both sides weren’t even on the same level.
Although Wang Chong had erected a steel fortress in the Cang Province, seemingly ready to defend to the death, this was simply a misimpression that Wang Chong had specifically constructed for An Lushan to draw his entire army to the fortress.
As the supreme War Saint, he had never intended to just sit back and defend!
Proactively using strategy and tactics to exterminate An Lushan and his alliance army had always been his objective.
Xue Qianjun had left early with several hundred thousand soldiers, traveling by sea and landing on the shores of the Eastern Sea. The moment that firework was launched, everything was decided.
No matter what Gao Shang wanted to do, it was all too late.
Rumble!
One second.
In the space of one second, an intense shuddering came from the northeast. Soon after that, a thin, black line appeared on the horizon behind the alliance army, and it began to rapidly approach the alliance army.
“Kill!”
Closer.
Even closer!
With a resounding war cry, tens of thousands of warhorses appeared out of the northeast. And at the center of this army was the yellow banner of the Great Tang.
Beneath this banner was a Great Tang general equipped with red and black armor, a storm of energy around him.
“All soldiers, charge!”
Xue Qianjun drew his sword and pointed it ahead, his eyes cold and bright.
Rumble! The army roared, and dazzling war halos began to spread across the army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. The warhorses instantly accelerated as they sped toward the rear of the alliance army.
“All troops, charge!”
Not far from Xue Qianjun, a Great General with hawkish eyes and a high nose pulled out his sword.
He was far more powerful than Xue Qianjun, and when he gave his order, the thousands of Aswaran Cataphracts broke away from the rest of the army, the first to charge onto the battlefield.
The nearly ten thousand heavy cavalry erupted with such power that space around them distorted, seeming more like several hundred thousand cavalry than ten thousand!
Sassanid Great General Bahram!
Only Bahram could command the Aswaran Cataphracts!
Before An Lushan and the alliance had even declared war against the Great Tang, Wang Chong had sent out Xue Qianjun and his hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Amongst Wang Chong’s subordinates, only Xue Qianjun and his men were experienced with sailing and naval combat.
But Xue Qianjun’s power level was a glaring flaw, and he did not have the strength to lead so many soldiers.
Thus, Wang Chong had also arranged to have Bahram and his cataphracts board Xue Qianjun’s boats. This army was a surprise force that would go by sea to get around to the alliance’s rear.
The cold wave was imminent!
The alliance was entirely focused on Wang Chong and his steel fortress. No one would have expected that Wang Chong would send a force out onto the ocean in the middle of such extremely cold weather.
This sudden army had caught the alliance completely off guard.
“The Tang! It’s a Tang army!”
“Everyone, hurry and come back to defend!”
The hundreds of thousands of soldiers charging at them made everyone panic and cry out in alarm, particularly the soldiers in the rear.
It appeared that the enemy force was at least two hundred thousand soldiers.
In the past, the alliance would have not taken this army seriously, would have just thought that these soldiers were suicidal.
But now, the several hundred thousand soldiers in the steel fortress had drawn more than half of the alliance’s army, and even Youzhou’s ‘Allheaven Fiend Scourge Formation’ was being used. The nearly two million soldiers had all charged out, completely exposing their rear to Xue Qianjun and Bahram’s two hundred thousand ‘marines’.
This was a surprise attack!
The alliance soldiers were sandwiched between two forces, in the worst position!
It was like two people were wrestling with each other like bulls when a third party came out from behind and stabbed one of them in the back.
This was the current state of the alliance!
And this was not the most fatal thing for the alliance.
“Reporting!”
A Youzhou horseman rode over in a panic and kneeled in front of An Lushan and Gao Shang.
“Bad news! An army of a hundred-thousand-some Tang soldiers has appeared from the northwest! They’re coming at our rear and are led by the Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian, Wang Zhongsi!”
Buzz!
The two of them felt like they had been struck by lightning, their faces paling as they staggered.
“How could this be!?”
An Lushan’s eyes flew open as he looked to the northwest in consternation.
The Youzhou horseman lowered his head as he added, “Master, the Great Tang’s army evaded our scouts on the Eastern Turkic steppe and worked their way around to our rear! If not for some vigilant eagles on the steppe, we would have failed to notice their presence!”
By this point, Gao Shang was speechless, his body trembling.
At this time, he finally realized what was wrong!
He had been correct that the supreme War Saint of the continent hadn’t shown his entire hand, but Gao Shang had never imagined that his surprise move would rest with Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi.
“Impossible! Absolutely impo
ssible! How long has Wang Zhongsi been gone? How could his army have so quickly come around?”
An Lushan’s eyes were wide in disbelief.
This was no small army in the northwest, and Wang Zhongsi had appeared on the walls not too long ago. How had he managed to so quickly appear in the northwest with so many soldiers?
It should have been impossible to muster so many soldiers without them finding out!
“Haaa, if my guess is right, that army began to make its way to the northwest long ago. The only one who had to rush over at the end was the Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian himself!
“In today’s battle, the War Saint has proved that he deserves this title!”
Gao Shang let out an emotional sigh.
It was impossible to mobilize an army of one-hundred-thousand-some soldiers right under their noses, unless they were all blind. This army must have been mobilized a long time ago.
All Wang Zhongsi needed to do was appear on the walls and then furtively make his way over to that army.
Rumble!
As Gao Shang spoke, dust rose into the air amidst the neighing horses, and another Tang banner emerged. Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi, mounted upon a mighty steed, charged out of the northwest at the head of an army of tens of thousands of soldiers.
“Kill!”
It was just one word, but when it came from the Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian’s mouth, it carried considerable force and power.
This Wang Zhongsi fully exhibited the sharp edge of the former invincible War God of the Great Tang. A beam of energy shot out from him into the air, piercing through the heavens. Behind him, a vigorous force of Tang soldiers charged out like floodwaters released from a sluice.
“For the Great Tang!”
“Kill!”
The two armies, led by Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi and Sassanid Great General Bahram, swept out toward the alliance.
At that moment, the world seemed devoid of sound!
The entire battlefield grew quieter, time slowing to a crawl.
But a moment later…
The two Tang surprise attack forces smashed into the alliance army.
“Kill!”
The war cries shook the heavens and made the world pale.
More than half of the alliance forces had sensed the danger, and began to turn around and form a defense line to counter the Great Tang’s surprise force.
But this sort of impromptu defense was far too fragile, incapable of holding out against the charge of the Great Tang.
“Ah!”
An alliance soldier screamed as a spear ran through him, the immense force carrying him off the ground.
Behind him, more soldiers were struck by the two Tang forces, and in this single clash, they were instantly slain.
“Stop them!
“No retreat!” an Eastern Turkic officer roared.
But a moment later, a divine figure charged out on a horse and struck that Eastern Turkic officer.
“Those who block me will die!”
Wang Zhongsi’s eyes were cold and harsh as he unleashed his Stellar Energy.
Bang!
The Eastern Turkic officer and the several hundred elite cavalry around him were instantly obliterated by this domineering Stellar Energy. Besides Wang Zhongsi, there was no one living within one thousand feet of him.
“Kill!”
One was a prepared army while the other was a frightened bird. When they clashed, the result was inevitable.
Bangbangbang!
The rear of the alliance army fell into disarray, losing any semblance of order.
“All soldiers, kill everyone! No survivors!
“Now is the time to repay the War Saint!”
On the other end, Bahram was seething with killing intent as he gave his orders, his nearly ten thousand Aswaran Cataphracts merging their energies together. This renowned force of heavy cavalry from the Sassanid Dynasty stabbed into the alliance army like a sharp sword.
Chapter 2200 - Genesis Supreme Reappears!
Chapter 2200: Genesis Supreme Reappears!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Boomboomboom!
In Arrow Formation, the Aswaran Cataphracts charged through the alliance army, leaving chaos and death in their wake.
Neeigh!
A Khitan horseman with a savage expression utilized his astounding prowess to maneuver through a gap in the army and make a flying jump at an Aswaran Cataphract.
The Khitans were renowned for this ferocity, and this Khitan’s strength combined with the charge of a warhorse created a strike with a frightening level of power.
But suddenly—
Bang!
A heavily armored Aswaran Cataphract swiftly swung his heavy sword, so easily that it seemed to weigh as much as a feather, and with a clang, he easily blocked the charge of that Khitan horseman.
Bang!
With cold eyes, the Aswaran Cataphract thrust his sword forward. Plush! The tip of the sword came out of the Khitan horseman’s back. Shockingly, the Aswaran Cataphract had run through both man and horse with a single stroke, suspending them in mid-air.
The horseman was suspended in the air as if he was weightless.
Impossible! How could there be such strong cavalry!? The Khitan horseman had one last thought before everything went black.
“Run! Hurry and run!”
“We’re no match for them!”
“I don’t want to die! Run!”
The hearts of the alliance soldiers began to waver, their eyes brimming with fear.
Whoosh! A Xi warrior suddenly turned to flee, and soon, more and more alliance soldiers were driven by the fear of death into flight.
“Hmph! All soldiers, full offensive! Slay these rebels!”
Wang Chong observed this all from a distance.
“The one who makes the most calculations in the tent will defeat the one who makes fewer!”
Everything that had happened so far in this battle had been within his expectations.
Wars had never been about who had the most troops. If An Lushan thought that he could take the Central Plains just by gathering together the armies of the other countries, then he was gravely mistaken. In front of him, no matter how many soldiers An Lushan had, he would always be the weaker side.
“The King of Foreign Lands has issued an order! Execute the rebels!”
“The King of Foreign Lands has issued an order! Execute the rebels!”
“The King of Foreign Lands has issued an order! Execute the rebels!”
The soldiers were invigorated by Wang Chong’s order.
The hundreds of thousands of soldiers charged forward in an unstoppable landslide.
The foes that they had once been stalemated with were pushed back again and again, losing any semblance of an army.
The discrepancy in strength was not great, but the psychological effect was difficult to dispel. The alliance army at this moment was in absolute disarray.
No one could be attacked from both the front and the back and still remain composed enough to fight a battle.
Their rout was as swift as a landslide!
The left and right flanks were the first to break. The vengeful Zhang Shougui and Tongluo Great General Abusi led their armies in scattering the alliance army’s defense line.
“Not good!”
On the other side, Cui Qianyou, Tian Qianzhen, Baizhen Tuoluo, and King Bojang paled.
“Stop them!”
“All soldiers, hear my order! Stop them at any cost!”
In the distance, the Khitan King, Yeon Gaesomun, and Ozmish Khagan, who were battling with one of Wang Chong’s clones, were beginning to lose focus. The group had originally been working together with the experts and generals of the various countries, believing that human wave tactics would be enough to deal with Wang Chong.
Shoot the horse to shoot the man, and capture the king to capture the underlings
!
Wang Chong was the Nine Provinces Protector-General and the highest commander of the Great Tang’s million-man army. So long as he were killed, the leaderless army would fall apart.
But there was no telling how many clones Wang Chong had, let alone where his actual body was. The beheading tactic had lost its original purpose.
Even worse was that they were simply no match for Wang Chong.
“Yeon Gaesomun, you are truly a fool to collude with An Lushan and serve as lackey! I truly overestimated you!” Wang Chong jeered as he thrust out his palm, sending a wave of Stellar Energy that shattered Yeon Gaesomun’s sixth saber ‘Celestial God Six Imperial’.
Thud! Yeon Gaesomun’s saber energy scattered as he was thrown back by Wang Chong, his aura in disarray.
“Your Great Tang’s ambition was too great. I couldn’t fight you, but you Tang would eventually come to fight me! Rather than waiting for death, it would be better to fight it out, and there’s even a chance that we could occupy the Central Plains and take your place, bringing the problem to an end once and for all!”
Yeon Gaesomun, though he had been rather badly wounded, had not lost one bit of his sovereign demeanor.
As he spoke, Yeon Gaesomun lunged forward with his sabers, joining the others in charging at Wang Chong.
“A load of nonsense! The only reason Goguryeo has been able to struggle on until now is the Great Tang’s benevolence!
“The Great Tang might be benevolent, but that does not mean that I am benevolent. This king has always intended to deal with Goguryeo, but because I was busy with Arabia and the countries in the west, I didn’t have the time. Since the Goguryeons seek death, I might as well fulfill your wish.”
Wang Chong sneered as he shot forward, pushing the Greater Void Step to its limits. Thud! Thud! Thud! Yeon Gaesomun, the Khitan King, and the others were all blasted away, Wang Chong’s terrifying strength causing blood to erupt from their pores in a bloody mist.
“Milord!”
The situation was dire, and countless officers turned to An Lushan and Gao Shang.
In this war, the other countries were merely supporters. An Lushan and his advisor were the true deciders.