Chapter 1112 - The Army Victorious!
Chapter 1112: The Army Victorious!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Rumble!
The earth rumbled and mountains shattered. The golden beam of Sword Qi shattered the giant blue hand into pieces, but soon after, Qutaybah’s Sword Qi was shattered to pieces in turn by the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s fist.
“Let’s go!”
Even though Qutaybah’s pride made it difficult for him to draw back, when confronting the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the Wushang Village Chief, the black-armored guard, and all the other Great Tang Great Generals, Qutaybah was compelled to retreat.
Hwooo! In a golden flash of light, another massive beam of Sword Qi penetrated through the heavens and toppled toward the Demonic Emperor Old Man, the Wushang Village Chief, and the vast sea of Tang soldiers.
As for Qutaybah, he transformed into another golden beam that shot off toward the rear.
“Withdraw!”
With Qutaybah’s departure, the Arab soldiers together with the Western Turks and Tibetans finally began to recede back into the west!
“After them!”
With this order, the energized Tang army charged off after the Arab army.
“All ballistae, advance at full speed!”
In the rear of the army, Su Hanshan’s gaze was calm as he seized the opportunity and ordered his ballistae to advance without the slightest hesitation!
“Release!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ballista bolts howled through the air, instantly piercing through the fleeing Arab cavalry and cutting them down in swaths.
In just a few moments, tens of thousands of Arabs, Tibetans, and Western Turks were killed in the middle of their retreat. The Tang were leaving the defense lines and pursuing the enemy, holding the advantage completely.
“Flee!”
“Run!”
“The Tang are coming!”
The faces of the Arabs, Tibetans, and Western Turks were stricken with panic and fear as they fled into the distance. Plush!An Arab horseman that was too slow was caught by a pursuing Tang horseman and stabbed through the neck. The air flickered with more sharp light as the scene repeated itself across many other Arab horsemen.
The retreat was so disorderly that the cavalry in the rear were being obstructed by the cavalry in front. Occasionally, horsemen even crashed into each other and caused both riders to drop to the ground, where the soldiers of the Divine Martial Army, Divine Prison Army, and Dragon Stallion Army would end their lives.
“All Tibetan cavalry should travel on the left flank! Duwu Sili, send out all your gray wolves to stop the Tang soldiers!”
Dalun Ruozan’s mind was in turmoil as he issued out a string of orders.
Duwu Sili had not brought many soldiers with him to this battle, but he had brought an enormous number of wolves. Even though many of them had been shot to death by the Great Tang, there were still twenty to thirty thousand. These wolf packs might not have been able to pose much of a threat to the Tang soldiers, but they were perfect for slowing down the pursuit.
Swooshswooshswoosh!
As swords swung down, a massive wolf even larger than an adult man was cleaved in two by a top-class Tang soldier right through the forehead. Blood and organs dropped down from the corpse, but this did not stop the wolf packs from madly charging into the Tang army.
The alliance between Duwu Sili and Dalun Ruozan had always been a conservative one, with every order having a greatly reduced effect. But this time, Duwu Sili showed no hesitation and truly did send all his wolves to stop the pursuit.
This battle had ended up completely beyond what he had expected, leaving even Duwu Sili feeling rather timid and alarmed.
If they didn’t stop the Tang soldiers, even his Western Turk soldiers might end up being completely wiped out.
“Release!”
With a wave of Su Hanshan’s arm, sharp ballista bolts shot forth and quickly cut straight lines through ten-some wolves. Even though the ballista bolts were extremely precious and had always been used on enemy soldiers, at a crucial moment like this, Su Hanshan couldn’t worry about such things.
Awooo! The wolves yowled as they were ceaselessly cut down and slaughtered. In a single spurt, the Tang army killed all the wolves and began to pursue their foes once more.
But in the end, Duwu Sili’s wolf packs had managed to buy the soldiers a crucial moment to breathe.
The tens of thousands of soldiers continued their pursuit without obstruction, and this time, they did not stop the pursuit halfway. All the Tang soldiers worked together to chase the Arabs, Tibetans, and Turks to the western edge of the battlefield and then continued onward in a dogged pursuit.
They pursued for ten-some li, leaving a trail of corpses and blood to mark the path that the three-party army had retreated in.
“All Wushang Cavalry, hear my order! Charge at full speed!”
Wang Chong’s voice was as clear as ever in the surging dust. Behind him, the six-thousand-some Wushang Cavalry were still maintaining the Asura Hell Formation as they pursued their enemies, its dreadful strength like a nightmare that had the enemy soldiers all fleeing like stray dogs.
The Wushang Cavalry were the fastest of the Tang soldiers, and with the four Halos of Dusk Stallion, even the Mamelukes would find it very hard to compare. This was also the force that posed the greatest threat to the Tibetan, Western Turkic, and Arab soldiers, with many of their men dying at the hands of the Wushang Cavalry in this pursuit.
Buzz!
Just as Wang Chong was preparing to lead his army, a black figure ahead swayed, nearly dropping from their horse.
Wang Chong didn’t care at first, but when he took a second glance, he immediately paled in alarm.
“Master!”
Wang Chong’s body trembled as he immediately lunged toward that familiar figure, shooting off the back of the White-hoofed Shadow toward the Demonic Emperor Old Man. At this moment, the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s face was as white as a sheet of paper. Although his expression was normal, Wang Chong could clearly see a trickle of blood on the corner of the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s lips. And though his right hand was trying its best to hide it, Wang Chong also spotted blood dripping from his fingers.
“How could it be like this!”
Wang Chong was alarmed and anxious. He immediately grabbed the Demonic Emperor Old Man and sent a furious surge of energy into the Demonic Emperor Old Man.
“Chong-er, don’t be nervous.”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man waved his hand, closed his eyes, and began to calm the Stellar Energy in his body.
“It’s just a small wound. I can endure it. The most important thing is that we can’t have the Arabs and Qutaybah notice this.”
As the Demonic Emperor Old Man spoke, the aura around his body became more disorderly.
The coup in his sect and the betrayal of his two disciples had affected him far more than Wang Chong had imagined. Although the Myriad Spirit Sea Art had allowed him to make his every pore and acupuncture point a dantian, this did not mean that his actual dantian was no longer important or that it could not be shattered.
In truth, that the Demonic Emperor Old Man was able to cultivate the Myriad Spirit Sea Art to this level while his dantian was shattered was probably something that not even the creator of this supreme technique had envisioned. But even so, the crippling of the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s dantian was still a latent and serious danger.
“Master, don’t talk. I’ll help to treat your injuries!”
As the commander of the army, Wang Chong had always been farsighted, calm, and rational, but at this moment, as he looked at the injured Demonic Emperor Old Man, tension and anxiety appeared on his face for the first time.
“Wang Chong, let me do it,” the Wushang Village Chief urged as he rode out from the rear. “I have the greatest understanding of your master’s condition. Moreover, you don’t have enough energy!”
In truth, he had noticed the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s condition earlier than anyone else. They had succeeded in intimidating away Qutaybah in that battle, but the Demonic Emperor Old Man had suffered wounds far more severe than they appeared on the surface.
After all, Qutaybah had far too great of an advantage in terms of age and physical strength. And unlike the Demonic Emperor Old Man, his dantian was not shattered.
When he had exchanged blows with Qutaybah, the Wushang Village Chief could already tell that the Arab War God was extremely difficult to deal with. At the same time, he discovered that the Demonic Emperor Old Man was injured, but for the sake of the greater mission, the Wushang Village Chief had not said a word.
“Wang Chong, don’t let Qutaybah get suspicious. Lead the soldiers in the pursuit. You can’t let him spot any weakness!”
Wang Chong said nothing, only gazed at his pale master. Other than when they first met, Wang Chong had never seen the Demonic Emperor Old Man injured before. He was simply far too strong and had even been able to easily suppress Lu Wu. In Wang Chong’s view of the world, his master could never be defeated.
“Chong-er, go! The mission above all!” the Demonic Emperor Old Man said, his eyes still closed.
“Village Chief, I’ll leave my master to you!”
Wang Chong clenched his teeth and finally got back onto his horse to lead the army.
This pursuit lasted all the way until nightfall before it was finally called off. In the end, the Tang didn’t have much cavalry. Continuing to force the pursuit might break up the army and allow the Arabs a chance to turn and fight.
Only once he could no longer see the Arabs in front did Wang Chong finally sound the signal and lead the army back to Talas.
Bang!
The sight of the victorious army caused the lofty walls of Talas to explode with cheers.
“Wonderful! The army won! Our Great Tang is victorious!”
Zhang Shouzhi and the many craftsmen who had followed the army to Talas to assist with the steel walls and other fortifications cheered as they excitedly emerged from the city. Behind them, the nomads and shepherds gathered their courage and followed.
They hadn’t been able to determine the situation at the start, but when they saw the victorious army and the mercenaries in its ranks, all of them began to loudly cheer.
The Great Tang had won!
These soldiers had succeeded in defeating an army of Tibetans, Western Turks, and Arabs that far outnumbered them, five hundred thousand soldiers in all. This was something that no one had imagined to be possible.
They had truly succeeded in weathering this storm.
Wang Chong glanced at the cheering crowd, but he spent little time basking in the joy of victory before quickly riding into the city.