The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Chapter 2212: Strategic Withdrawal to the Fortress!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Stronger techniques consumed more energy, and wearing the Samsara Battle Armor consumed Destiny Energy with every moment. Although Wang Chong didn’t need to worry about Destiny Energy for the time being, he had to find a way to actually deal with Genesis Supreme, as this couldn’t go on forever.

  “So even gods know how to run? Genesis Supreme, you’re not afraid of this king, are you?!”

  Wang Chong sneered as his mental waves swept out.

  The world was silent, but soon, a cold grunt came out of the void.

  Wang Chong coldly laughed, knowing that he had successfully provoked Genesis Supreme.

  The Celestial God Organization had always styled themselves as gods. Even if he knew that it was intentional, Genesis Supreme still couldn’t help himself!

  Bang!

  Ripples appeared in the air as Halos of Spacetime centered on Wang Chong began to expand.

  Wang Chong swiftly disappeared into a spacetime passage, but before leaving, he glanced at the ground and subtly nodded.

  Zhangchou Jianqiong had mounted his entire army to ensure that it could arrive at the fortress in time. The entry of the Wushang Cavalry had also been somewhat effective at hampering the Yeluohe’s advance.

  As for Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi and Sassanid Great General Bahram, they were following the original plan and either retreating or pushing through the battlefield. Meanwhile, the soldiers with the lowest mobility—the infantry, spearmen, axemen, and master archers—were all withdrawing toward the fortress.

  The battle had basically gone exactly according to the simulations he had played out with Wang Zhongsi and the others.

  The battle had dragged on for some time. The Great Tang had established a fortress in the northeast, but the cold wave was coming. It had already engulfed the Turkic steppe and was pushing into the interior.

  Without pastures, the countries to the north would not be able to pass the winter. Time was on the Great Tang’s side.

  This was why the alliance army was so anxious to attack.

  I just need to think of a way to stop Genesis Supreme!

  Wang Chong swiftly made up his mind.

  Genesis Supreme was simply too powerful. None of the Great Generals could stop him, whether Wang Zhongsi, Bahram, Abusi, or Zhang Shougui. They wouldn’t even be able to last a single blow.

  Even the nearly one million soldiers around the fortress would simply be a target of his torture.

  So long as Genesis Supreme were taken care of, the result of this war would become clear.

  ……

  Boomboomboom!

  The ballistae thundered, their bolts flying across the battlefield. The Wushang Cavalry and the defensively formidable heavy infantry were both working to deal with the Yeluohe.

  In this battle, the most outstanding performance came from the giant ballistae and the King Ape.

  Not every bolt fired from the giant ballistae could be blocked, particularly in the middle of such an intense battle. That sort of coordination that the Yeluohe had displayed at first was no longer so easy.

  Roooar!

  Meanwhile, the King Ape was locked in fierce battle with the Yeluohe leader.

  This last surviving Behemoth of the war of the northwest had singlehandedly drawn over the Yeluohe leader and a large number of Yeluohe cavalry. To contend with the King Ape and its enormous strength, the Yeluohe leader needed to borrow power from the other Yeluohe. This reduced the Yeluohe numbers on other parts of the battlefield, reducing the pressure on the Tang army.

  Thump! Thump! Thump! The giant metal cudgel smashed down again and again, and even though it could do nothing to the formidable Yeluohe leader, the explosive shockwaves managed to strike the other Yeluohe, causing them to explode in mid-air.

  “Behemoth Slayers, move out!”

  On this battlefield that was dominated by the Yeluohe, another group of soldiers displayed an outstanding performance.

  These men were all burly and stalwart figures, and they bulldozed their way through the battlefield. The Behemoth Slayers were all equipped with thick armor and giant swords. Though few in number, they were extremely strong.

  Their heavy swords constantly swung down, each time cleaving through four or five Yeluohe.

  These Yeluohe were far too bizarre. Even the Behemoth Slayers began to show thin layers of frost on their arms and shoulders as they fought.

  This extremely cold energy was even seeping into their meridians.

  But at this moment, no one retreated.

  If they couldn’t stop the Yeluohe, all of them would die!

  After several years of bitter effort, Wang Chong finally began to reap the fruits of his labour. All of Wang Chong’s numerous generals shared a tacit understanding, and his soldiers were some of the strongest on the continent.

  In the Great Tang, so long as Wang Chong provided the plans and strategic objectives before the war, numerous generals would faithfully carry out his orders.

  Bang!

  On the other side of the battlefield, the elite Aswaran Cataphracts and Abusi’s Tongluo Cavalry pierced through the alliance army like two spears and successfully met in the center.

  Cui Qianyou, Tian Qianzhen, and Tiechi Bileli had tried their best to stop them, but the repeated assaults of the Xuanwu Army, Azure Martial Army, Divine Martial Army, and Mo Saber Unit swiftly dismantled their attempts.

  In the midst of these assaults, the elite Golden Wolf Army had lost half its number, and Youzhou had also lost numerous soldiers. This development left the hearts of Tiechi Bileli and Cui Qianyou bleeding in sorrow.

  “Damn bastards! Is even this not enough to stop them?”

  An Lushan couldn’t help but gnash his teeth in anger, his eyes red.

  Gao Shang had nothing to say to this.

  The alliance had a vast army, but in the end, it was an impromptu union. Compared to a hegemon like the Great Tang that had accumulated decades of resources, it was still lacking.

  This was even more so with Wang Chong, who had fully utilized all these resources and advantages.

  Trying to defeat it with soldiers that had been trained up in a timespan of days was simply not plausible.

  After some thought, Gao Shang provided some comforting words.

  “Master does not need to worry. The advantage is on our side. The Great Tang’s renowned Wushang Cavalry has sustained massive losses. Once we defeat them, we can have the Yeluohe deal with the Xuanwu Army and Mo Saber Unit, which will undoubtedly be an easy task.

  “Wars are about the result, not the process. In this war, Master wishes to annihilate the enemy’s main force and take the Central Plains. So long as we take the realm, it does not matter how many soldiers we lose. Isn’t this what you said, Master?”

  After a long period of silence, An Lushan unclenched his right hand.

  It was true. So long as he could kill Wang Chong and wipe out the Great Tang, he did not care how many soldiers he lost.

  Meanwhile, now that Abusi and Bahram had joined together, Xue Qianjun’s force had an open path across the battlefield to the steel fortress.

  “Great General, my thanks!” Bahram sincerely said to Abusi.

  “General does not need to be polite. Our first priority is to return to the steel fortress as soon as possible. The Wushang Cavalry can’t last for long,” Abusi calmly replied.

  “What? Those Yeluohe…” Bahram was alarmed to hear this.

  Abusi simply nodded.

  The Tongluo had fought alongside the Wushang Cavalry before, so he was well aware of how frightening this cavalry force was. The Mamelukes, the Mutri Great Cavalry, the Celestial Wolf Cavalry… these elite cavalry forces that had been renowned throughout the world had all been slain by the Wushang Cavalry.

  But this powerful Wushang Cavalry had sustained massive losses against the Yeluohe. The thoug
ht of it made Abusi shiver.

  If the Wushang Cavalry and their Meteoric Metal armor couldn’t stop the Yeluohe, how long would the Tongluo Cavalry be able to last?

  Abusi almost couldn’t bear to think about it.

  They were still surrounded by enemies, and now was not the time to let down their guard.

  “Hyah!”

  A moment later, the Tongluo Cavalry and the Aswaran Cataphracts began to charge toward the steel fortress.

  Behind them, an army of tens of thousands followed.

  “Go! Everyone, keep up! Don’t fall behind!”

  Xue Qianjun’s every nerve was tense as he commanded his men to follow the Tongluo Cavalry and Aswaran Cataphracts.

  Having served Wang Chong for so long, Xue Qianjun had gained some understanding of military strategy. Thus, he did not order his army to purely retreat, but also attack the enemies on both sides to sow chaos in the enemy ranks and reduce the losses to his own army.

  While retreating, they could also weaken the enemy.

  “Ballistae, support them!” Keenly aware of his surroundings, Su Hanshan saw that Abusi and Bahram had joined together, so he ordered the ballistae to fire in volleys, clearing the battlefield around them and reducing the pressure.

  Zhangchou Jianqiong commanded the Divine Martial Army and Xuanwu Army to launch another offensive, scattering the forces of the alliance.

  Through this joint effort, Xue Qianjun’s men managed to cross the most dangerous northern part of the battlefield and enter the southern zone.

  Seeing this, though they were extremely reluctant, Cui Qianyou and the others could only let Xue Qianjun’s men go.

  Chapter 2213 - Another Fire Attack!

  Chapter 2213: Another Fire Attack!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Seeing Bahram carve a bloody path across the battlefield and return to the Tang camp, Zhangchou Jianqiong breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Come on! Let’s get back to the steel fortress and wait for orders from His Highness!”

  “Mm!”

  Bahram said no more, leading his Aswaran Cataphracts through the open gates.

  Boom!

  The giant gate had pulled up all the way, and soldiers constantly flooded in. While retreating, however, they did not forget to lay traps outside.

  A few moments later, Zhang Shougui’s army returned, almost seventy percent of his men withdrawing into the fortress.

  Seeing that the retreat was just about done, Zhangchou Jianqiong immediately said to Xue Qianjun, “Tell Li Siye and the others to immediately retreat. We can’t lose any more men!”

  Xue Qianjun, Xu Keyi, Zhang Que, and Li Siye were all trusted subordinates of Wang Chong, so it was best if they were the ones to tell the Wushang Cavalry to retreat.

  “But what about His Highness?” Xue Qianjun sternly said. Compared to this battle, he was more worried about Wang Chong, who was still battling Genesis Supreme in the depths of spacetime.

  “There’s no time. Experts of that level aren’t something we can deal with. If not even Wang Chong can deal with that man, we certainly can’t. We just have to trust him!” Zhangchou Jianqiong sternly said.

  The situation on the battlefield was constantly changing, and though the Great Tang had been about to crush the alliance army in the initial stage of the battle, Zhangchou Jianqiong could tell with a cursory glance that as the Tang army fell back, the alliance army was slowly regaining its vigor.

  If they didn’t retreat now, the alliance army would have a chance to join with the Yeluohe, and then the Wushang Cavalry wouldn’t be able to leave even if they wanted to.

  “Hold them! No matter how many we lose, we can’t let them get back to their fortress so easily!” A sharp cry came from the alliance army. Cui Qianyou’s eyes were blazing as brightly as the sun as he surveyed the battlefield.

  Cui Qianyou could clearly see that the Tang were withdrawing their army into the fortress, but he did not do his utmost to stop all of them.

  This was partially because the alliance army had not yet recovered from the earlier chaos, but it was also because he was waiting for the right opportunity.

  The weakest Tang armies had already retreated, leaving only the elites to cover the retreat, only the best of the best. Now, if he advanced his army to hold the elites down and then exterminate them, they could win the war early.

  Following Cui Qianyou’s orders, all of the Youzhou armies began to converge on the Wushang Cavalry from two sides.

  “Good move!”

  The Khitan King understood what was happening and ordered his Khitan braves to also charge.

  “Go!”

  Yeon Gaesomun and Ozmish Khagan didn’t mince words. The eyes of these two sovereigns glinted coldly as they ordered their men forward.

  Both the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and the Goguryeo Empire had suffered large, almost unimaginable losses in this battle, and Yeon Gaesomun and Ozmish Khagan had been greatly weakened. But the two of them no longer cared about such things.

  “This is a rare opportunity! No matter what, we must defeat the Great Tang!”

  Seated atop an Eastern Turkic steed, Ozmish Khagan fearlessly charged forward.

  There was no going back to the Eastern Turkic steppe. The ice and snow had only made that a path to demise.

  The cold wave had pushed the Eastern Turks into a dead end.

  Ozmish Khagan could even tell that the chill in the air had grown even colder.

  The cold wave was continuing its advance to the south.

  Defeating the Great Tang and occupying the Central Plains was the Eastern Turkic Khaganate’s only path of survival, at the very least buying them a chance to catch their breath.

  As for the price that needed to be paid for this, Ozmish Khagan had already considered this factor.

  Sacrifices were inevitable in war!

  So long as they could avoid this calamity, then regardless of how great the sacrifice had to be, the survivors would flourish and reproduce, allowing the mighty Eastern Turkic Khaganate to emerge once more.

  “Out!”

  Just when all of the alliance was anxious to complete this task, a massive roar came from the heavens, and then a terrifying torrent of Stellar Energy slammed into the alliance ranks.

  Screams erupted as the Stellar Energy blasted countless soldiers into the air, sowing chaos and mayhem in the alliance ranks.

  That single strike had slain thousands of soldiers.

  “Bastard! It’s him!”

  Cui Qianyou had pulled on the reins of his horse and thus managed to avoid this attack.

  On this battlefield, there were only two people who could unleash an attack like this. One was Genesis Supreme and the other was Wang Chong’s original body.

  “Everyone, charge! Those who retreat will be killed!”

  Ozmish Khagan’s bellow rang out over the battlefield.

  His eyes were red in bloodlust, and he no longer cared about the consequences, but a moment later, two Stellar Energy spheres pulsing with spacetime energy descended from the heavens.

  The power of these spheres was even greater, and as one of them crashed into the Eastern Turkic army, it instantly blasted several thousand cavalry into the air. The other sphere landed among the Yeluohe, flinging many of them skyward.

  This sudden assault instantly threw the Yeluohe’s offensive into disarray.

  Buzz!

  Wang Chong descended from the sky in a stream of light and landed atop the distant steel fortress.

  He was still wearing the Samsara Battle Armor, but his complexion was rather pale.

  The three spheres of Stellar Energy infused with spacetime energy had been extremely powerful, but they had required a great deal of focus and energy to create.

  And as this was his first time fighting a powerful foe like Genesis Supreme on his own, he had consumed an enormous amount of Stellar Energy.

  “Withdraw!”

  The disorder created b
y Wang Chong’s Stellar Energy spheres allowed Li Siye to immediately order the Wushang Cavalry to retreat.

  “Want to leave?”

  As An Lushan saw this, his eyes coldly glimmered, and the Yeluohe immediately began to pursue. But what welcomed them was the thunderous din of ballista fire.

  Su Hanshan had ordered the ballista army to fire directly at the legs of the Yeluohe horses, causing the Yeluohe to fall from their mounts, and the Yeluohe behind them ran into the fallen Yeluohe, causing the pursuit to falter.

  “Come on! Execute Plan Three! Destroy all the ballistae outside of the city!”

  As Su Hanshan spoke, he sheathed his sword and mounted his horse. Behind him, the ballista soldiers worked with practiced efficiency, pulling at a certain part in the center of the ballistae. Crackcrack! Snapping sounds came from within, and then the sounds of metallic parts clinking together. While the exterior remained, the ballistae had already lost the ability to fire.

  Plan Three!

  This was a plan that Su Hanshan, Zhang Shouzhi, and the officials of the Bureau of Works in charge of building the ballistae had agreed on in order to prevent these important weapons of the Great Tang from falling into enemy hands.

  After all, ballistae weren’t horses, and they lacked mobility. As the commander of the ballista army, Su Hanshan had to consider what needed to be done to the ballistae when his men were surrounded. And thus, Plan Three was born.

  Su Hanshan did not intend to completely destroy the ballistae, only their core components. This meant that if the enemy got the ballistae, they wouldn’t be able to use them, and then once the battle was over, the Great Tang could repossess and repair the ballistae.

  “Mount your horses and leave at once!”

  A horse stood next to each member of the ballista army. Once they were done destroying the ballistae, all of the soldiers mounted their horses and began to ride back to the gate of the fortress.

  “After them!”

  Beneath the six banners of the alliance, An Lushan grit his teeth, his expression dark and savage.

  Following An Lushan’s order, the Yeluohe divided into two groups that worked to encircle the retreating soldiers from two sides.

  The Yeluohe’s maximum speed was far greater than that of any other cavalry force, including the Wushang Cavalry. So long as they remained dogged in their pursuit, they could catch up to any target.