Chapter 877 - The Arabs, Defeated! (II)
Chapter 877: The Arabs, Defeated! (II)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“What’s going on here?”
All the Arabs paled in fright, none of them understanding what was going on. However, a decisive change had already taken place on the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Like a breaching dam, the entire eastern part of the battlefield quickly crumbled. The three Bane of the Battlefield Halos had caused the strength of the Arab soldiers to drastically drop, rendering them no match for the Great Tang soldiers. Bang! Four Great Tang infantry combined their Stellar Energies together and fiercely smashed against one of the massive Arabian shields, and what was once an immovable wall was instantly sent flying, even knocking down the soldier behind it.
Squelch! Before that soldier could rise, a spear thrust forward like an agile snake, stabbing through the Arab’s throat and pinning him to the ground. The Tang soldiers stomped over his corpse they charged forward.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the battlefield, there was a burst of bloody light as a previously valiant and tenacious Arab captain was suddenly run through by a sword. This bearded Arab captain stared with eyes wide open at the sword hilt sticking out of his chest, his face filled with fear. His hands gripped the hilt as he slowly fell over like a wooden beam.
Even in death, he still did not understand why his strength had dropped so severely that he had been killed by a single sword!
What was one became two, then three… In a few short moments, thousands upon thousands of Arabs had been felled!
Boomboomboom! At the same time, Chen Bin was leading the ballista army, and hundreds of ballista bolts were tearing into the Arab army in volley after volley.
In order to defend against the Tang assault, all the Arabs on the eastern portion of the battlefield had packed closely together so that they could take up the defensive formations that they were so proud of. However, this made them an ideal target for the Tang ballista bolts. making them even more effective than they had been against the cavalry.
Thudthudthud! Each ballista bolt would pierce through at least a dozen Arab soldiers, some of them even leaving behind a line of carnage of thirty-some soldiers. It took only a few moments for the three thousand ballistae to produce an enormous killing field, with at least ten thousand Arab soldiers falling to their volleys.
In the face of this terrifying rain of death, of their comrades falling like so many dominoes, even the determined and natural fighters that were the Arabs could smell the stench of death, began to feel fear, and they began to retreat.
“Kill!”
“For the Great Tang!”
In a place deep within the Arab army, Li Siye was leading the five thousand Wushang Cavalry, wreaking havoc amongst the Arabs, charging in and out as they utilized the Ten Charges Ten Victories Formation to its maximum potential. They would disperse like flowers on the wind, and then in a short while, they would gather together like iron claws clutching around some unlucky prey. After several of these cycles, the surrounding Arab soldiers were in complete turmoil.
Clang clang clang!
Massive axes struck with thunderous strength from all around, cleaving at Li Siye. Umar’s elites, the seventh, ninth, and tenth infantry units, had made Li Siye their primary target, but all their attacks were repelled without exception.
Swish! Li Siye waved his massive sword, and golden helmets flew into the air, those Arab elites who had just lost their heads trembling a little before neatly falling to the ground.
“Everyone, follow me! Kill them all!”
Li Siye’s furious bellows were like thunder in the ears of the Wushang Cavalry. Bangbangbang! After a few charges, Umar’s elite infantry units had been swept away like fallen leaves blown by the autumn winds. Before the formidable strength of the Wushang Cavalry coupled with Wang Chong’s Bane of the Battlefield Halo, all of the Arab infantry could muster no resistance and could only be trampled under the hooves of the Wushang Cavalry.
While they had been fierce and steadfast at the start, the Wushang Cavalry’s overwhelming strength and the endless waves of assaults had shattered their morale!
“Run!”
Wave after wave of Arab soldiers had charged up, but each of them had been torn apart and pulverized by the Wushang Cavalry. The Arabs were finally beginning to lose their nerve and turn the other way.
The ballista army, the Wushang Cavalry, the Bane of the Battlefield Halo, and the more than one hundred thousand Tang soldiers… this was a landslide of a rout. The thousands upon thousands of Arab soldiers falling on the battlefield with fear on their faces were causing an infectious panic to spread through the Arab ranks. For first time in the Arab history of conquest, they had encountered a power that they could not stand against.
This overwhelming strength made all the Arab soldiers feel a fear and dread deep within their souls. As panic and turmoil spread through the army, Umar’s control over the field decayed, and his men began to flee toward the three hundred thousand Arab soldiers in the rear.
“Bastards! Stop!
“Anyone who dares to escape will be handled according to military law!
“You cowards, you shame the Caliphate!”
Umar’s face was pale, his entire body trembling in rage. His original intention had been to stabilize the army and hold the line against this Tang army that had seemingly come out of nowhere. In Umar’s plans, only a little longer would be needed for the rest of the army to arrive and crush the Tang army. However, the army in the rear had not even finished adjusting and the soldiers on the eastern line had already crumbled and begun to run toward the rear. This was the exact opposite of what Umar wanted!
Bang!
Seeing that he had lost control of his army, Umar clenched his teeth and galloped forward. With a swing of his scimitar and a dazzling arc of light, he cleaved ten-some fleeing soldiers in two. Gallop! Umar turned and charged back into the fray, and another ten-some Arab soldiers were cut down like weeds.
After several charges, Umar was surrounded by blood and bodies, having executed more than one hundred Arab soldiers, but this act had not caused the Arabian Arrow to even lift an eyebrow, or the stern callousness upon his face to even twitch. This cruel method finally instilled some order in the crumbling army.
But before Umar could reassemble the army, the loud neigh of a horse rang in his ears. At the same moment, Umar sensed a storm of energy, one that was charging in his direction at astonishing speed.
“The Tang!”
Umar’s mind immediately went to the image of that Ferghana steed and its rider, a giant even more stalwart than the Arabs.
It was that leader of the Tang cavalry!
Buzz!
Umar’s eyes narrowed as he turned his head, and what greeted him was Li Siye, pressed against his horse, leaving behind a ray of light as he galloped toward Umar. His strong hands were gripped around that massive sword as he vigorously slashed down.
“Foreign scoundrel, hand over your life!”
Li Siye’s eyes were wide with rage as he sent all the Stellar Energy he had condensed down through his sword.
Boom! In mere seconds, there was a flash of light, and then a dark and gloomy energy began to explode from Umar’s body. This Stellar Energy was suffused with the thick scent of blood and fire, and it fiercely blocked Li Siye’s full-strength blow.
“Ignorant heretic, I will personally end your life!”
Umar’s eyes exuded a chilling glow. As one of the elite generals under Governor of the East Abu Muslim, Umar was an extremely formidable warrior, his strength as famous as his cruelty and callousness. Although the army was crumbling, Umar had never feared a contest between generals.
He had slain countless enemy generals in the midst of fierce battles. His reputation as the Arabian Arrow had been forged from the blood of those generals he had slain.
The air trembled as a stentorian voice came from overhead.
“Bastard scoundrel with the thick beard, what are you babbling? Don’t! Under! Stand!”
Before the voice had even finished speaking, a massive fist made of stone smashed at Umar’s head. The enormous power behind this blow caused the Stellar Energy around Umar to shudder and ring, and even the Arabian steed beneath him sank a little into the earth.
The combined attacks of Li Siye and Huang Botian’s Stone General left even someone like Umar feeling an enormous pressure.
“It’s useless! None of you can kill me!”
Umar clenched his teeth, a vicious light in his eyes. Now that he had held fast against the attacks of these two Tang generals, it was his turn to attack. But just when Umar had rallied his Stellar Energy and raised his scimitar, the earth rumbled and the ground under his feet seemed to come alive. Under the influence of some external force, the previously firm earth suddenly caved in and cracked. Umar’s warhorse instantly lost its balance, and both it and Umar were thrown to the ground.
Making the ground quake and crack was well within the abilities of Huang Botian’s Stone General.
“Not good!”
The composed Umar finally paled in shock and consternation. But his troubles were far from over. In the next moment, a dark red ripple emerged from the rear of the Tang army, sweeping over the battlefield. As this ripple swept past him, Umar felt the steely energy in his body suddenly drop.
The Bane of Generals Halo!
Wang Chong also struck at this moment. He was currently between Tier 6 and Tier 7 of the Saint Martial realm, and no one except supreme experts of the Great General level could resist the effects of his Bane of Generals Halo.