Chapter 1075 - A Battle Between Top-Class Armies (I)
Chapter 1075: A Battle Between Top-Class Armies (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Boom!
There was a massive explosion and complete mayhem as the four thousand soldiers of the Divine Prison Army stabbed into the Arab ranks like an enormous sword.
Boomboomboom! No one could even see how the Divine Prison Army attacked, only that rows upon rows of elite Arab cavalry were being cut down like weeds.
Their corpses were pockmarked with thousands of small holes, but the soldiers of the Divine Prison Army didn’t even glance at them as they swept past and rapidly marched toward the Divine Martial Army and Blood Beast Army.
Bangbangbang! As soon as they passed, those Arab cavalry that seemed to be fixed in place instantly collapsed into piles of meat on the ground.
In this brief clash, more than seven thousand Arab cavalry had been rendered into pulp.
The four thousand soldiers of the Divine Prison Army continued to silently advance. Amidst this pitched battle, their speed only increased.
No matter what kind of soldier they faced or how many Arab cavalry charged at them, they would all be cut down as if they were made of paper.
“What are these soldiers?”
Even the distant Osman, Ziyad, and Aybak grimaced at this sight. Although no one would dare say that the hundreds of thousands of Arab soldiers were on the same level as the Blood Beast Army or Beheader Army, they were still not everyday elites.
In ordinary battles, not even powerful foes would be able to so easily slay them. Not even the Blood Beast Army or the Beheader Army were capable of such a feat. But this small force of Tang soldiers displayed a fighting power that would make anyone pale.
These soldiers were working through the dauntless and veteran Arab elites like they were cutting melons.
“We’ve underestimated them. I must correct my previous judgment. This eastern empire is stronger than any enemy we have faced before!” Aybak said.
All was quiet beneath the four black war banners. At this moment, no one dared to treat this eastern country as some small and insignificant kingdom. This army at Talas was an existence that deserved their full attention. Not even the formidable Arabia could be careless.
“But this only makes things more interesting! Compared to dealing with the remnants of the Sassanid Dynasty or those other weak civilizations, taking down a country like this gives a far greater sense of accomplishment! I’m finding myself a little impatient!”
Aybak licked his lips and a savage smile appeared on his face. His eyes turned to the motionless and orderly ranks of the Wushang Cavalry arrayed behind Wang Chong.
“Still not sending them out? These groups of soldiers are already this strong. I really wonder, just how strong are these Wushang Cavalry Abu Muslim spoke of?”
On the battlefield, the Divine Martial Army and the Blood Beast Army had reached the most intense point of their battle. Clang!A dark red scimitar weighing nearly eighty jin slammed down with a shriek, seemingly capable of even shattering steel. Bang!There was a shower of sparks as a sword came up to meet the scimitar!
The Divine Martial Army soldier holding this sword sank into the ground, but the armor of the opposing Blood Beast Army soldier cracked and groaned. One had a cold and emotionless face while the other had the appearance of a vicious beast. The Divine Martial Army had minor advantages in strength and technique, but there was no avoiding the disadvantage in numbers.
More and more Blood Beast Army soldiers were gathering around the Divine Martial Army. Each soldier of the Divine Martial Army was gradually forced to contend with two enemy soldiers, and more were continuing to pour in. Although they remained calm and unyielding, it was clear that they were slowly losing control of this battle.
Qutaybah had sent his entire Blood Beast Army while Geshu Han had only sent a part of his Divine Martial Army.
Buzz!
A soldier of the Divine Martial Army was wielding his Big Dipper sword to and fro, but he was slowly being surrounded. Suddenly, just when two dark red scimitars were about to attack him from two directions. there was a flash of bloody light. A long sword thrust into the chink in the armor of a Blood Beast Army soldier and pierced him through.
Plush! A second sword soon arrived and pierced a Blood Beast Army soldier through his neck. The action was simple, swift, and efficient. Swoosh! With a sweep of this sword, the head of the Blood Beast Army soldier went flying high into the air while the headless corpse fountained blood and trembled before dropping to the ground.
The Divine Prison Army soldier drew back his sword, stepped over the corpse and emotionlessly approached the next Blood Beast Army soldier. Behind were a second, a third, a fourth… Four thousand callous and determined soldiers of the Divine Prison Army strode toward the Blood Beast Army.
Unlike the soldiers of the Divine Martial Army, the soldiers of the Divine Prison Army all had pale and bloodless faces, but their killing intent was far greater than the Divine Martial Army’s. Plush! Another sword thrust forward. Although the Blood Beast Army soldier could see this sword, he could not block it. He could only watch as the sword plunged through his body and brought him down.
The Divine Prison Army continued its advance. These soldiers didn’t have any complicated techniques, but their swords moved with incredible speed. Even though the Blood Beast Army soldiers did all they could to block, they were just a tad too slow, but this minor difference in speed yielded completely different results.
For soldiers that had reached the level of the Divine Martial Army, Blood Beast Army, and Divine Prison Army, the slightest boost would result in a qualitative transformation. Boomboomboom! The moment the Divine Prison Army entered the battle, the course of it was swiftly reversed. The Blood Beast Army simply didn’t have the strength to stop the Divine Prison Army and were swiftly routed. The combined seven thousand soldiers of the Divine Martial Army and Divine Prison Army immediately put the Arabs at an extreme disadvantage.
Abu Muslim’s eyes flashed as he suddenly ordered, “Ziyad, pass on my order! Send out the Ironblood Army!”
Ziyad appeared slightly stunned.
“But, Milord, the Blood Beast Army just entered the battle and hasn’t been fully routed. If we move out now, won’t we…”
Ziyad shot a glance at Qutaybah.
The Blood Beast Army was one of Qutaybah’s forces, and one of his most elite. To send out the Ironblood Army without Qutaybah’s agreement would be to challenge and offend him.
The battle had only just begun. Although Abu Muslim, Aybak, and Osman had not said anything about it, deep inside, they were doing their utmost to not conflict with the Arab War God.
“Qutaybah has already agreed!” Abu Muslim lightly said.
“Ah?”
Ziyad was startled. He had been standing by Abu Muslim’s side the entire time, only a few dozen feet from Qutaybah, but he did not recall there being any conversation between the two.
“In truth, the moment Osman’s Beheader Army entered the field, Qutaybah had already agreed. From that moment, he relinquished his authority, so there’s no need for you to worry about these things,” Abu Muslim lightly said.
Ziyad glanced at Abu Muslim and then back at Qutaybah. He was at first still stunned, but then he began to understand.
The governors of the empire shared a sort of tacit understanding. Without any words and only a few glances, or perhaps even sometimes just a feeling, they would be able to understand what each other was thinking. In the assault on Khorasan, Abu Muslim, Osman, and Aybak had shared this sort of tacit understanding, and it appeared that the same thing had happened here.
But it was very difficult for Ziyad to understand this sort of tacit understanding.
“Ironblood Army, attack!”
Ziyad waved his hand and swiftly gave the order.
Brrroooom! The Ironblood Army marched forward, rapidly approaching the front lines.
……
The situation on the battlefield was constantly changing. As the Divine Prison Army was reversing the tides together with the Divine Martial Army, on the left flank of the Tang army, the battle between Osman’s Beheader Army and the Xuanwu Army had reached a white-hot level.
Boomboomboom!
The clanging and clashing of metal filled the air as the more than eight thousand soldiers of the Xuanwu Army battled with the nearly nine thousand soldiers of the Beheader Army. Thumpthumpthump! The strangely shaped swords flew through the air, leaving scars in their wake as they slashed at heads and limbs of the Xuanwu Army. The Beheader Army’s attacks were clean and simple, but also extremely threatening. But whereas in past battles, they would have already cut off the heads of many of their foes, they had encountered an extremely tenacious foe this time.