Chapter 1080 - A Battle Between Top-Class Armies (VI)
Chapter 1080: A Battle Between Top-Class Armies (VI)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Have the Dragon Stallion Army get ready. In addition, inform the Ultimate Martial Army to be ready to enter the battle at any moment!” Wang Chong suddenly said.
“Yes! Your subordinate will go!”
Xu Keyi immediately turned his horse around and galloped off.
Seconds ticked by as everyone continued to wait.
The skeletal god of death on its black banner was getting closer and closer, held high from out of a cloud of churning dust. In the howling wind, Wang Chong quietly sat upon his White-hoofed Shadow, his expression composed and maintaining a state of absolute calm.
The sounds of fighting continued unabated, with people dying at every second.
The battle had entered a state of eerie calm, but this calm could be shattered at any moment and bring on an even more intense melee. The Great Tang could not lose here and the Arabia also could not accept a defeat. This battle was vital to the morale of both sides and to their future battles.
The massive war banner of the Great Tang snapped in the wind, and beneath this banner, Wang Chong slowly surveyed the battlefield.
On the left flank, the Xuanwu Army was still fighting with the Beheader Army. The two sides had similar numbers and similar strength, making an outcome nigh impossible in the short term. Far on the other side, the intervention of the Divine Martial Army, Divine Prison Army, Iron Wall Army, and Roaring Tiger Army had brought to a halt those more than one thousand silver siege weapons that were threatening the Tang defense line.
Nearly twenty thousand of the Great Tang’s finest soldiers were gathered in this area. Any Arab cavalry that dared to approach this region would only face death.
Elsewhere, the five thousand ballistae were completely suppressing the Arab Earth Shield Army. In every moment, an Arab Earth Shield soldier would be shot down by the concentrated fire of ballistae, his shield exploding into smithereens. The intense fire of the ballista army made it impossible for the Arab cavalry to approach the steel defense line through this method.
On the right flank, Chen Bin was commanding his one thousand Tang ballistae in constant attack.
“Release!”
Chen Bin’s Wootz Steel sword was constantly swinging down, each volley sending countless bolts shooting toward the Arab cavalry, toppling countless Arabian warhorses amid clouds of dust and plaintive neighs.
Farther along the defense line, countless Arab cavalry were charging forward.
“Release!”
With shrill whistles, the numerous beehives stationed on the steel walls fired hundreds of thousands of short arrows, so many that they blotted out the sun. Each Arab horseman was fired upon by sixty to seventy arrows. Blood gushed out from them as these elite horsemen fell to the ground as pincushions.
For the time being, it would be difficult to determine the outcome between the elite armies of Arabia and the Great Tang. But Wang Chong had to consider the reality of the vast sea of Arab cavalry.
“Li Siye, Xi Yuanqing, Gangke King, pass on my order. Prepare to lead the Mo Saber Unit into battle!” Wang Chong said without turning his head.
“Yes!”
Li Siye, Xi Yuanqing, and the Gangke King confirmed their orders and left.
Li Siye was originally the commander of the Wushang Cavalry, but ever since Cui Piaoqi had arrived with the second group of Wushang Cavalry, Wang Chong had merged the two forces and had Cui Piaoqi command the combined force. One of the strongest war generals serving Wang Chong in the apocalyptic era had finally returned to his service.
As for Li Siye, in another time and space, he had always been the highest commander of the Mo Saber Unit. And it was only Li Siye’s fearless and loyal heart that could unite the will of the Mo Saber Unit and have it display its maximum power.
Rumble! As time slowly passed, an unnerving rumbling began to fill the air.
The ten thousand Death Army soldiers marched in orderly formation from behind the silver war machines. The earth trembled, the stones on the ground almost jumping into the air from how intensely they quivered.
Even before the Death Army had arrived on the battlefield, a somber and icy aura of death surged out and flooded the battlefield.
This aura was so thick that even the soldiers fighting could sense it.
“It’s the Death Army! Milord has dispatched them.”
The first to sense this aura were the soldiers of the Blood Beast Army, who were in the middle of fighting the Divine Martial Army. This was not their first time fighting alongside the Death Army.
This powerful army surpassed the top-class armies of the enemy side and was enough to break this present stalemate.
Clang!
At almost the same time, the crisp cry of swords being unsheathed could be heard from behind the steel defense line.
Rumble! The four thousand soldiers of the Dragon Stallion Army surged out from one of the gaps in the steel defense line.
The Dragon Stallion Army!
This was the strongest force under Beiting Protector-General An Sishun’s command. This force had allowed An Sishun to reverse the tides of battle time and time again, preventing the soldiers of the Eastern and Western Turks from invading the south.
The Dragon Stallion Army was made up of soldiers that An Sishun had carefully selected from amongst his troops. Each of these soldiers had a prodigious strength—An Sishun’s minimum requirement for them was that each one could use a sword to cleave in two an elite horseman charging at full speed and emerge unharmed.
This strict requirement meant that An Sishun’s Dragon Stallion Army didn’t even have one hundred people when it was first established. In the process of bolstering its ranks, An Sishun altered his plans to develop a comprehensive training regimen. As a result, the ranks of the Dragon Stallion Army slowly expanded.
Moreover, the position of the Beiting Protectorate meant that An Sishun could deal with the Western and Turkic Khaganates at the same time, even Ü-Tsang at times. The high frequency of battles proved to be an enormous advantage in training his soldiers.
The Dragon Stallion Army was able to benefit from this unique position such that in certain aspects, the tempering of war had made it even more skilled and refined than the elite armies of other protectorates.
Clang!
On the other end, the ten thousand Death Army soldiers with their demonic masks of black and silver swiftly advanced to the front line.
Boomboomboom! The four thousand Dragon Stallion Army soldiers swiftly began to do battle with the Death Army soldiers.
Clang! A Dragon Stallion soldier raised his head, strode forward, and slashed at a Death Army soldier, but in a flash of light, this thunderous blow was blocked by a long spear.
At the same time, the left arm of this Death Army soldier trembled and his scimitar swept across the left shoulder of that Dragon Stallion soldier. Splush! The armor was cut open and a stream of blood shot into the air.
Buzz!
Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and all the other Tang commanders stared in shock.
The strength of the Dragon Stallion Army could not be doubted. After all, this was a force that An Sishun had relied on to pacify the border. But in this one-on-one match, a Dragon Stallion soldier had already been wounded by a soldier of the Arab Death Army. This was almost unimaginable.
“Wang Chong, this army is different from any other. Each of them is trained in at least two weapons, and both weapons have been trained to a proficient level where their arms can wield them separately. The four thousand soldiers of the Dragon Stallion Army won’t be able to stop them alone,” Gao Xianzhi said, his brow fraught with worry.
The further along they went in the Arab army, the more elite the soldiers became. There was no question that the Arabs had sent one of their strongest armies. In the current situation, the Great Tang side would find it very difficult to stop this force.
“Lord Protector-General, there’s no need to worry. This battle has only just begun!” Wang Chong indifferently said, his face devoid of emotion. “Pass on my order! Deploy the Ultimate Martial Army!”
“Yes, Milord!”
A messenger behind Wang Chong galloped away.
In a clattering of armor, a storm of energy rapidly began to march onto the battlefield.
The two thousand soldiers of the Ultimate Martial Army marched forward according to a unique tempo, their heads held high and their armor shining.
As they watched the Ultimate Martial Army depart, the commanders behind the steel defense line all showed a sliver of concern.
The Death Army was too large. The four thousand Dragon Stallion soldiers and two thousand Ultimate Martial Army soldiers would find it very hard to stop so many soldiers. Even if the Ultimate Martial Army was extremely powerful, it wouldn’t be able to overcome the gap of four thousand men.
Cheng Qianli turned to Gao Xianzhi and uneasily said, “Milord, what do we do? Should we send another army? Perhaps the Mo Saber Unit!”
This was a decisive clash between the most elite forces of both sides. Defeat would deal a massive blow to the morale of the entire army.
Gao Xianzhi shook his head.
“Wang Chong is the commander of this battle. Since we’ve passed authority to him, believe in him. If more soldiers are needed or if we need to enter the fray, he will definitely say so.”
Gao Xianzhi was no less worried than Cheng Qianli, but as an Imperial Great General, he needed to be more composed than his subordinates.
Everyone had already witnessed Wang Chong’s abilities, and there was no doubt about them. Gao Xianzhi was confident that Wang Chong would always make the right decision and judgment at the right moment.
More importantly, even though there was some distance between him and Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi had been keeping a constant eye on the young commander. Wang Chong had maintained a confident and assured expression. This was someone whose plans were going smoothly, not one who was in a state of panic.
Just as they were speaking, the situation on the battlefield changed…
Clang!
A cold and intimidating Sword Qi flitted through the air. A soldier of the Ultimate Martial Army gripped his sword and slashed it down at the nearest Death Army soldier, the edge of his sword suffused with a destructive energy that could cleave apart the earth.
When this Ultimate Martial Army soldier first pulled out his sword, he was still more than ten feet from his foe, but in the blink of an eye, that long and heavy sword had slashed through the air and was coming down on that Death Army soldier’s head.