Chapter 901 - The Number Three Man, Xi Yuanqing!
Chapter 901: The Number Three Man, Xi Yuanqing!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Buzz!
Wang Chong’s order caused the army to calm down for a moment, and then it began to rumble to life.
Clangclangclang! The first to react were the shieldmen. Their finely-crafted shields heavily thumped against the ground. After them came the pikemen of Greater and Lesser Balur, their forest of pikes all aiming outward. Behind them, the cavalry unsheathed their sabers and swords, and the creaking of gears could be heard as the three thousand ballistae were loaded and readied. In this entire process, all fifteen thousand members of the ballista army seemed to be in sync, the creaking of the ballistae starting and ending together.
When all this was finished, the aura exuded by the more than one hundred thousand Tang soldiers transformed into a dreadful threshing machine that was ready to begin the harvest.
Roooar! A forceful bellow came from the western side of Talas. The first to attack were the Arabs. Whoosh! As the Arab cavalry galloped forward, they parted, allowing a giant of a man to ride out from the center of the army, mounted upon a divine steed.
At the sight of this man, even Wang Chong couldn’t help but blink a few times.
Tall! Incredibly tall!
In the Central Plains, and perhaps in all the world, someone of Li Siye’s stature was already astonishing. But this person was even taller than Li Siye. Even from several hundred zhang away, his muscular figure still gave off an intense pressure.
His horse was similarly impressive, two heads taller than an average man.
This person was wearing black-red armor, and his hands grasped two large and heavy hammers. As he galloped and roared, he seemed like the Mighty Miracle God stepping out of the legends.
“Gu-de-hai-da, ke-la-he [Die for me]!” this Arab general loudly shouted, his eyes exploding with light. Behind him, thousands of Arab warriors who were just as fierce roared and charged, their bodies surging with killing intent. In comparison to the Arab cavalry led by Umar, these Arab cavalrymen were one or two levels stronger.
At the first defense line, while the Great Tang shieldmen were able to maintain their nerve, the soldiers from the Western Regions appeared afraid and fearful.
“That’s Khaled! A fierce Arab general!”
A grave voice came from Wang Chong’s side. Cheng Qianli had ridden up, his worried eyes focused on that deific Arab figure.
“In our two months fighting with the Arabs, no small number of our soldiers died at this Khaled’s hands, and they all died extremely gruesome deaths. Khaled likes to throw his opponents into the air and then attack them from below, so corpses rarely emerge intact after a battle. General Xi tried to kill him before, but not only did he fail, he was heavily wounded for his efforts!”
‘General Xi’ referred to Xi Yuanqing, the number three individual in the Anxi Protectorate army and a Saint Martial expert. His strength was beneath only Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli. If even he had been injured, one could easily imagine just how powerful Khaled was!
“Is that so?”
Wang Chong coldly stared at the distant Khaled, his eyes glowing with murderous intent. The Beast of Arabia, Khaled! Wang Chong had not imagined that Abu Muslim would be sending out one of his best generals right at the start of the battle.
“What fierce Arab general? He doesn’t seem like much to me!” Wang Chong placed his hands behind him and confidently said, “General Cheng, there’s no need to worry. Call over General Xi. I have a method that will allow him to kill this Khaled!”
“Ah!!”
Cheng Qianli stared at Wang Chong in shock. He had spoken his words to remind Wang Chong to be careful about this formidable opponent, but little had he expected Wang Chong to say that he could turn Xi Yuanqing’s defeat into a victory and kill Khaled. Cheng Qianli was stupefied. If anyone else had made this claim, he would have treated it as a joke.
But Wang Chong’s earnest expression made those words impossible to discard.
“Protector-General Wang, you really have a way to kill Khaled?”
“If we don’t try, how can we know?” Wang Chong indifferently said.
Xi Yuanqing came quickly, riding out through the city gates, his stalwart figure mounted on a pure snow-white steed.
“Protector-General Wang, you were asking for me.”
The stalwart man dismounted in front of Wang Chong. His expression was grim, his face seemingly chiseled from stone. He was apparently one of those sober and serious men who had little time for jokes.
Wang Chong said nothing as he carefully examined the number three man of the Anxi Protectorate army. Xi Yuanqing’s injuries were not light, and the thick stench of blood was evident before he even got close. Now that he was looking, Wang Chong immediately noticed the bloodied bandages around his body and arm.
His injuries appear very severe, Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
When Gao Xianzhi rode out of the city, he had been accompanied by Cheng Qianli and the other Anxi generals, but Wang Chong had not seen General Xi amongst them. It was obvious that his injuries had been so severe at that time that he had still been recovering in the city.
Whoosh! As Xi Yuanqing steadied himself on the ground, Wang Chong thrust out a hand and gripped his arm. Xi Yuanqing frowned and subconsciously retreated, but despite his lofty cultivation level, he failed to dodge it. His arm suddenly went numb as Wang Chong gripped it, and he soon felt his entire body unable to move. Flabbergasted, he raised his head in shock.
His injuries had kept Xi Yuanqing from meeting Wang Chong, so he had little understanding of this youth. BUt at this moment, he realized that though this temporary Qixi Protector-General appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen, he was a Saint Martial expert that was at his level or even stronger.
“General Xi, don’t lose focus. I’m lending you a hand to help you recover!”
As Wang Chong’s voice rang in his ears, a surging river of Stellar Energy suddenly flowed into his body. Though dazed for a moment, he quickly reacted, focusing his mind and using Wang Chong’s Stellar Energy to stabilize his injuries. The Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art could not only absorb energy, but could also transfer energy and use it to treat another’s injuries.
This was a new ability of the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art that Wang Chong’s master, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, had comprehended in his retirement. However, one could only use this ability at the Saint Martial realm, and only for people at or below one’s own cultivation level.
Buzz!
Steam began to pour out of Xi Yuanqing’s head, and as Cheng Qianli and the other Anxi generals watched in shock, Xi Yuanqing’s pale complexion rapidly became ruddier, and his disorderly aura began to stabilize.
“Lord Protector-General, my deepest gratitude!”
A few moments later, Xi Yuanqing opened his eyes and stared in shock at Wang Chong. He only knew that Wang Chong was an excellent strategist, but he had never heard anything about his astonishing martial prowess. Having reached the Saint Martial realm at only seventeen, he was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding and transcendent existences in the Great Tang.
Wang Chong gave a light smile. In helping Xi Yuanqing recover from his injuries, Wang Chong had slightly paled, but this was nothing worth worrying over. With the abilities of the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, he could recover this energy in mere moments.
“General Xi, if you help someone, you must help them to the end. I have another gift for you.”
Wang Chong took several steps forward and whispered into Xi Yuanqing’s ears. No one else could hear what he was saying, not even the nearby Cheng Qianli. But all of them could see the shock and consternation on Xi Yuanqing’s face when he turned back around.
“Lord Protector-General, my gratitude is beyond words. If it is really as you say and I can really kill Khaled to avenge the gruesome deaths of the Anxi Protectorate army, this Xi will forever be grateful to you!”
Xi Yuanqing’s eyes reddened as he reached the end of his words.
The Anxi Protectorate army had only thirty-thousand-some people, and it had relied on these soldiers to suppress all the kingdoms of the Western Regions as well as the attacks from Ü-Tsang and the Western Turks, carving out for itself a legend of its own in the Western Regions. But this would have been impossible without complete unity and trust, a brotherly relationship between the soldiers. One could easily imagine what Xi Yuanqing had felt when he had seen hundreds of his brothers tossed into the air by the Beast of Arabia and blown into pieces.
“It’s just a foreign barbarian. There’s no need for General Xi to view him with such high regard ,” Wang Chong said dismissively. “Get ready to set forth and kill him! Wang Chong and the other generals will await the news of your victory!”
“Kiiill!”
A murderous roar came from amidst the thundering hooves of the Arab army. While Wang Chong had been treating Xi Yuanqing, Khaled and his Iron Beast Army had taken the lead and charged ahead of the rest. They were only around seventy zhang away, and everyone could clearly see the ferocious and muscular bodies of the Iron Beast Army. Each of them was like a savage Vajra Guardian, eyes bulging with fury.
Their bodies and even their horses were covered in armor three inches thick, making them seem like savage mechanical beasts. Even though the Bakr Cataphracts led by Amur had been famed for their thick armor, they were like the moon compared to the sun in the face of Khaled’s Iron Beast Army.
There were only around ten thousand cavalry in this charge, but the storm they stirred with their advance slammed against the walls and made them ring and shake. The air in front of the first defense line even began to twist and condense.
“Kill them!”
At a distance of several dozen zhang, Khaled pointed forward with his hammers and let out a cruel and bloodthirsty roar, the terrifying call of a savage beast.
Wang Chong stood next to Cheng Qianli, allowing the fierce winds to sweep past him, his face devoid of emotion. His gaze turned to Chen Bin, standing at the first defense line.
“Ready!”
Chen Bin was standing on one of the tall transport carriages, his expression solemn, his Wootz Steel sword aimed straight forward. Creakcreak! The fifteen hundred ballistae swiftly adjusted their aim toward the charging Iron Beast Army.