Chapter 1096 - Breaking the Turkic Formation Phenomena!
Chapter 1096: Breaking the Turkic Formation Phenomena!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Awooo!
Howls resonated through the sky. The first to move were not Duwu Sili and his twenty thousand elite soldiers, but the vast sea of massive gray wolves that had followed Duwu Sili from the Turkic steppe.
Clouds of dust churned as the howling wolf packs lunged at the first steel defense line. Following close behind them were countless Western Turkic soldiers, waving their weapons in the air and roaring as they surged toward the steel walls.
Kacrack!
Not long after these twenty thousand soldiers began to move, there was a peal of thunder in the air. Above the Western Turkic cavalry, roiling thunderclouds began to gather, immediately casting a dark shadow over the Western Turkic army.
Rumble! From a distance, one could see countless lightning bolts flashing within the dark clouds. And the moment these thunderclouds appeared, all the Western Turkic cavalry seemed to have been stimulated. Their strength, speed, and dexterity all began to soar.
Even Abu Muslim, Osman, and Ziyad were somewhat taken aback by this sight. The strength the Western Turks had displayed at this moment forced the Arabs to regard them in a new light.
“This bastard… he was hiding his strength!”
Huoba Sangye’s eyes flashed with anger.
In the battle with Su Hanshan’s reinforcements, they had clearly needed this kind of strength, but this scoundrel had decided to act clumsy and only now use the formation phenomena.
“Duwu Sili had always planned to keep the formation phenomena for a moment like this. Why else did you think Duwu Sili was so positive last night?” Dalun Ruozan calmly said as he looked forward.
“He just wants to get a bigger cut of the spoils!”
Duwu Sili’s skill in feigning weakness was at such a level that anyone who didn’t know his true goals would be very easily fooled by his words and actions and fall into his traps. But this was not the case with Dalun Ruozan, who could see through Duwu Sili and his secrets as if he was made of glass.
“Go; we should prepare as well!”
Dalun Ruozan urged his horse forward.
……
Whoosh!
In the blustery wind, bits of sand and stone pelted the steel walls, creating a clamorous dinging and banging. As he saw the vast sea of wolves surging toward him, Wang Chong couldn’t help but faintly smile.
This is really a case of Li Gui trying to rob Li Kui1. For Duwu Sili to want to use formation phenomena against me is truly amusing!
A playful smile appeared on Wang Chong’s lips as he looked at the Western Turk army charging out from the west like a lightning bolt.
The seeds that he had sowed more than a month ago were finally about to flower and bear fruit. Now was the time to reap the harvest.
Meanwhile, Duwu Sili’s wolves and his soldiers were getting closer and closer to the first defense line. Duwu Sili had chosen an excellent area to attack, precisely the left flank which had been heavily damaged in yesterday’s battle by the Revelation Army. A significant number of steel walls in that area had been knocked away by the Revelation Army, and the entire defense line was crooked and still not completely repaired.
“What a smart fellow!”
Wang Chong couldn’t help but praise him a little. Duwu Sili was a cunning man down to his bones, and he would seize any opportunity that he could detect. But if Duwu Sili thought that he could get any advantage here, he was gravely mistaken.
“Prepare the beehives!
“Xue Qianjun, get ready to enter the field!”
“Yes! This officer will go!”
Xue Qianjun faintly smiled as if expecting this order. After bowing, he departed.
A few moments later, a mixed army of Ferghanans, Karluks, and Tang soldiers moved to the left flank.
Duwu Sili saw all this and was infuriated. “This bastard… what is he planning? Does he think that this can overcome my army?”
Formation phenomena was the supreme technique of cavalry, the highest form of power amongst all armies. Once one cultivated formation phenomena, the strength of the army would receive a massive boost. That Wang Chong planned to use this motley group of soldiers to deal with him made Duwu Sili feel deeply humiliated.
He did not believe that this was a mistake or accident. Everyone knew of Wang Chong’s grasp of military tactics. He was sure that Wang Chong was trying to humiliate him.
“Hmph, pass on my order! Tell Shamask and Chekun Benba to kill these Tang soldiers and pierce through the left flank. Don’t leave a single soldier alive!” Duwu Sili viciously said.
In the distance, the battle was on the verge of beginning. Nearly one hundred thousand gray wolves burst out of the cold wind and lunged at the Great Tang’s left flank. This time, all the gray wolves had been dispatched. They were the vanguard of the Western Turks and also being used to probe the Great Tang’s power.
Duwu Sili didn’t have the Arabian Silver Behemoths and could not block the Great Tang ballistae, but none of that was important. This vast sea of massive wolves was the ideal living fortress.
“Ready!”
The gray wolves were so close now that one could see the debris kicked up by their paws, their white canines, and the saliva dripping down from their mouths. At this moment, all the steel walls creaked as the numerous holes on their surfaces opened and sharp arrowheads emerged from within them.
Three hundred feet, two hundred feet, one hundred feet…
“Release!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The large steel walls on the Tang left flank became like enormous beasts, instantly unleashing countless arrows. These arrows covered the skies and engulfed all the gray wolves within a range of several hundred meters.
Awoooo!
A gray wolf was struck through the middle by a short metal arrow and nailed to the ground, and then a second, a third, a fourth… Tens of thousands of gray wolves were nailed to the ground by the dense volley of arrows.
“Ready! Fire!”
There was more creaking and groaning as the second volley of arrows came hot on the heels of the first. Awoooo! The wolves miserably yowled. Because these wolves were traveling too quickly, after they were struck by the arrows, their bodies continued to charge forward in long trails of dust, only stopping after ten-some meters, allowing their blood to gush across the earth.
Shamask pulled out his saber and sternly ordered, “Everyone, hear my order! Charge up while the Tang are loading for their next volley!”
The Great Tang’s beehives appeared vicious, with each volley being a rain of death, but they were not as terrifying as they appeared. The volleys were terrifying, but the beehives needed to be reloaded after each one. This gap between volleys was the ideal chance for the Western Turks to strike.
“Damn Tang! Get ready to be butchered!”
Shamask pressed his body against his horse, killing intent bursting out of his eyes.
A man had to be looked upon with new eyes after a parting of three days, and the Western Turks now had such power that as long as they could break into the defense line of the left flank, the Tang would face the same fate as they had yesterday versus the Revelation Army and be slaughtered like pigs.
In past battles, the Western Turks had always been suppressed, but now was the time for the Western Turks to rise once more and purge their shame.
Rumble! While the Tang beehives began to reload, the earth groaned under the mad charge of the nearly twenty thousand Western Turks.
“Kill!”
Their shouts shook the heavens as they threw themselves at the left flank.
Boomboomboom!
The reloading was quickly finished and the air was soon once more filled with the howling of arrows. One wave, two waves, three waves… the gray wolves in front of the defense line were rapidly dwindling in number. By the time the wolves were only several meters from the steel defense line, they had sustained losses of more than sixty thousand. In the face of such terrifying killing power, some of the surrounding wolves instinctively felt fear and fled to the sides. The screen of wolves in front of Shamask and his men immediately became extremely thin.
“Raise shields!” ordered Shamask as they were about to enter the range of the beehives, reaching for the large shield under his horse and holding it in front of him. At the same time, the halos beneath Shamask, Chekun Benba, and the other Western Turkic cavalry began to vibrate more frequently. This was a sign that the charge was in its final stage.
Bang!
The moment Shamask and his men had finished their preparations, the sky was filled with arrows, but all of them clattered off the large shields.
Neeeigh!
There was a neigh as loud as a clap of thunder, resounding over the entire battlefield. But it had not come from Shamask’s warhorse or from the warhorses of any of his men.
Shamask instantly sensed something and raised his head in alarm. What he saw was a stalwart black warhorse riding out of the left flank, rising into the air as it charged at Shamask’s men.
This was like a signal that caused countless warhorses to rush through the gap in the first defense line like a mighty wave.
“What?”
Shamask and Chekun Benba were both shocked by this sight. This mixed force of mercenaries and Tang soldiers actually dared to leave the defense line and launch an assault. None of them had even dared to imagine this possibility.
“Kill them!”
Shamask’s heart was seething with rage.
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1.The story of Li Gui trying to rob Li Kui is a story from the Chinese novel ‘The Water Margin’. Li Gui was a bandit who robbed others while pretending to be Li Kui, but one of his targets ends up being Li Kui, who beats him up.↩