Chapter 1104 - The Shock of the Arabs!
Chapter 1104: The Shock of the Arabs!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
At the height of the Arabian Empire’s power, with so many of its elites gathered, three governors and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, it was being defeated by a force of merely twenty thousand from a trifling empire of the eastern world. None of the Arab commanders had foreseen this.
From a distance, they could see the hand-picked Arab cavalry, the finest in the empire, being thrown into the air like ragdolls by the twenty thousand Tang elites. These Tang elites only needed to wave their swords to cleave an Arab horseman weighing several thousand jin in two and send body parts flying dozens of meters.
Although the Arabs had the advantage in numbers, no number of soldiers was capable of stopping these Tang.
Those dazzling miniature formations around the bodies of each Tang soldier were rapidly resonating and outshining all other armies on the battlefield. No matter how many Arab cavalry charged forward, they were just ants trying to shake a tree and were easily thrown aside.
“Retreat! Pass on my order! All soldiers, retreat!”
At this moment, even Abu Muslim had an extremely dour expression.
For an army of more than two hundred thousand soldiers to be forced into this situation was something that Abu Muslim had never imagined in his worst nightmares. At the very worst, Abu Muslim had expected the Arabs to be at a slight disadvantage, but for some inexplicable reason, this was no slight disadvantage but a complete rout.
If they didn’t retreat now, the Arab losses would be even larger.
Abu Muslim was known as the Governor of Iron and Blood, and was famed for his proactive and fierce assaults, never retreating until he had completely overrun his opponent. But Arab morale had fallen to its lowest level. If they did not retreat now, all of Arabia would suffer an unbearable consequence.
Gallop!
An Arab horseman quickly turned around to deliver Abu Muslim’s order.
“Wait a moment!”
At this moment, an aloof and emotionless voice rang out in everyone’s ears.
Everyone shivered at these words and turned toward Qutaybah. Even Abu Muslim looked over.
The Blood Beast Army, Death Army, and Revelation Army were all armies under Qutaybah’s command. If there was one person who had lost the most in this battle, it was undoubtedly the Governor of War.
It was so quiet that one could hear a needle drop. Everyone was waiting for Qutaybah’s order.
……
“The Nine Dragon Blood War Banner!”
Close to the Arabs, Dalun Ruozan suddenly spoke.
“What?”
Dalun Ruozan’s words caused everyone around him to turn their gazes to him.
“That war banner is the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner.” Dalun Ruozan repeated himself, his eyes flitting over the battlefield to rest on that ancient war banner snapping in the wind.
“In the Great Tang, more than one hundred years ago, in Taizong’s era, there was a Tang war banner forged from Deep Sea Xuan Metal and the cores of meteors. This war banner can control nine top-class armies and also layer their halos over each other, allowing a single army to possess nine powerful halos at once. It was precisely because of this war banner that the Great Tang was invincible on the battlefield, allowing it to defeat the Turkic Khaganate and divide it into two. At the same time, it was also able to defeat the Goguryeo Empire, Mengshe Zhao, the Xi, the Khitans, and even our Ü-Tsang. Thus, the earliest legends of the Great Tang’s golden age were formed. It was also in that era that the Great Tang became acknowledged as the strongest country on the continent,” Dalun Ruozan sternly said.
Dalun Ruozan was far less capable a martial artist than the generals, but he was an erudite scholar who knew the histories, stories, classics, and even unofficial histories of the surrounding countries like the back of his hand.
The glorious past of Tang Taizong’s era had quietly faded away, with not even many people in the Great Tang knowing about it. But through several precious texts Dalun Ruozan had found, including the war records of various countries from several hundred years ago, he had come to learn of this matter.
The Nine Dragon Blood War Banner!
There was no question that this was an inextricable part of Tang Taizong’s invincible legend and glory, the Great Tang’s true ‘number one ritual tool’. Nine powerful armies combined with the legendary Nine Dragon Blood War Banner would make even a powerful existence like the Revelation Army fall back in defeat.
The Arab defeat was completely understandable!
The Tang army was no longer some simple peacekeeping force. Before everyone’s eyes was that most glorious and most formidable army of the distant past. Its true appearance was perhaps far more powerful than all of them could see, know, or even imagine.
Dalun Ruozan’s expression instantly became extremely grave.
Now that this war banner of the Great Tang had appeared on the battlefield, the nature of the war had completely changed.
“If those records are correct, we must seize the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner. Otherwise, there will be no chance whatsoever of winning the battle on the ground!”
Dalun Ruozan’s gaze flitted over the vast army and immediately spotted that giant figure holding the red and black war banner. Slowly, his eyes began to sharpen.
Killing the banner holder was the only hope of turning this defeat into a victory.
……
Meanwhile, on the other end, after what seemed like both an instant and innumerable years, Qutaybah icily spoke.
“Pass on my order! Anyone who retreats, dies!”
“!!!”
Everyone was left flabbergasted by his order.
No one had expected Qutaybah to still persist, even after his Revelation Army had been routed. Moreover, he was having the entire army hold its ground. But as the strongest existence on the Arab side, Qutaybah could not be lightly defied.
“Destroy that war banner and everything will naturally come to an end!”
Qutaybah’s voice resounded in everyone’s ears. Top-class Great Generals all had extremely sharp eyes. Although Qutaybah did not know about the formations of the Central Plains, he had reached the same conclusion as Dalun Ruozan at almost the same time.
Everything instantly fell silent as they turned to look at the battlefield. As they stared at that enormous black and red banner snapping in the wind, the mood instantly became strange. Arabia didn’t have this kind of large-scale formation, but if everything was really as Qutaybah had said, they had no need to withdraw.
Clang! As everyone was still considering Qutaybah’s words, the man himself had already reached behind himself and pulled out his mighty golden greatsword that had awed all of Arabia, God’s Might.
Clopclop! Victor, Qutaybah’s warhorse, galloped into the distance.
The Arab army instantly parted, opening a path for Qutaybah. The soldiers in the rear had become unsteady and uncertain due to the rout on the front line, but the somewhat disorderly army was instantly pacified by Qutaybah’s appearance.
No matter the occasion, Qutaybah would always have an extremely important status in the Arab army that no one else could fill. As long as Qutaybah was present, the Arab soldiers would firmly believe that Arabia could never be defeated!
Buzz!
As that golden figure began to ride out from the distance, the atmosphere immediately became tense.
“Lord Marquis, Qutaybah is moving out!” A messenger turned his head to Wang Chong, his voice fraught with tension.
The name of Qutaybah had an incredibly intimidating effect on all the Tang soldiers. Even now, they all still remembered how Qutaybah had singlehandedly overturned more than a thousand steel walls and suppressed four Great Generals. Even though the Great Tang now had the upper hand, using the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner to completely quash the Arab soldiers, no one dared to say that this formation could resist Qutaybah’s attacks.
No one behind the steel wall said anything, but the atmosphere was brimming with anxiety.
“Chong-er, leave this Qutaybah to me.”
An elderly yet energetic voice rang in everyone’s ears as a black figure shot past the corner of Wang Chong’s eyes and appeared in front of him, stalwart and dignified.
“Master!” Wang Chong blurted out after a moment of shock.
The fierce winds blew the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s robes here and there and caused his long hair to dance. Wang Chong couldn’t see the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s face, but he could see his tall and erect back, a solid and imposing mountain.
When Qutaybah had ridden out from beneath the black war banners, everyone had felt a slight unease, all of them a little worried, but when the Demonic Emperor Old Man stepped forward, these concerns vanished. Even Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli calmed down.
Rumble!
Gallop! Qutaybah was getting faster and faster, the golden light around him getting thicker and thicker. And as Qutaybah poured more energy into his warhorse, its every step became as loud as a clap of thunder. As Victor charged forward, it drowned out all other noise with the rumbling of its approaching storm.
“It’s Lord Qutaybah!”
On the battlefield, more and more Arab soldiers were beginning to notice, and soon all of them began to cheer. The name ‘Qutaybah’ shook the heavens as the dispirited Arabs rallied once more.
“Qutaybah!”
“Qutaybah!”
“Qutaybah!”
The cheers of the soldiers became louder with each wave, eventually so loud that it suppressed even the sounds of fighting.