Chapter 492: The First Battle! Sweep Away Everything! (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"It seems like this will be our final stop…"
"What final stop? That damn Mengshe Zhao. We helped them so much, even helped them unite the Six Zhao, and now they've betrayed us! Not only did they attack our city, they even joined with Ü-Tsang. If they weren't guiding the Tibetans, how could the Tibetans possibly know this place so well?"
"It's too late to say anything now. We've already lost. However, one day, Mengshe Zhao will pay for this betrayal!"
"Don't speak such demoralizing words! The fate of warriors is to die on the battlefield. No matter what, even if we die, we have to bring down a few of them with us!"
"That's right! Even if we die, we can't let them look down on us Great Tang warriors!"
……
Ten-some Great Tang soldiers, a mixture of cavalry and infantry, were encamped on a low hill. Their armor was in tatters, their bodies covered in wounds and the traces of battle.
Their boots and their horses were covered in mud. It appeared like they had been on a very long trek.
However, no matter how far they trekked, they could never outrun the Ü-Tsang heavy cavalry.
A hundred-some Tibetans had gathered across from them, forming a distant standoff, though they seemed ready to attack at any moment.
Although a Tibetan might be inferior to a Tang in one-on-one combat, when Tibetans gathered together, they could form an initial-level Halo of Fortress.
These hundred-some Tibetans wore shining armor and were calm and composed. In excellent condition, these men were clearly the pursuers.
The Tibetans were famed throughout the world for their ferocity. With their thick armor, they would often dare to charge against enemies that far outnumbered them.
The only reason they hadn't attacked yet was their apprehension of that ballista the ten-some Great Tang soldiers had set up at the top of the hill.
The thick armor used by the Tibetans might not be fine works of art, but through sheer thickness, they could block the majority of arrows.
Ballistae were one of the few projectile weapons the Great Tang possessed that could pierce straight through the armor of the Tibetans.
Once the number of Tibetans dropped below one hundred, the initial-level Halo of Fortress would collapse. This was what they feared, even though the accuracy of ballistae was rather poor.
"Wululamu, kawuduluo…"
Several Tibetan soldiers around the hill pointed at the Great Tang soldiers and laughed. Their eyes were filled with ridicule, looking upon them like they were already dead.
Suddenly, a figure on a horse rode to the front of the Ü-Tsang cavalry and translated the Tibetan into somewhat strangely accented Tang tongue. "Haha, the Tibetan says that none of you will be able to escape. Not even the Great Tang elites of the Annan Protectorate were a match for them, much less reserve soldiers like you. Quickly, put down your weapons. Perhaps your life might still be spared!"
The armor this person wore was somewhat similar to the Great Tang's, but also rather different. His appearance was also very similar to those of the Central Plains, though his face was a little flatter.
Only the people of Mengshe Zhao, to the south of Erhai, were so similar to the people of the Central Plains.
Geluofeng had assisted in the ambush of the Great Tang reinforcements by dispatching many of his officers to join the Ü-Tsang army to guide them, instruct them, and offer advice. Otherwise, the Tibetans' lack of familiarity with the southwest would have made it very difficult to intercept Li Zhengyi.
"Hahaha, put down our weapons and surrender? Do you think that we're three-year-old children? The Great Tang only has heroes who die in battle, not kneeling cowards. If you want our lives, come and get them yourselves!"
On the hill, a Great Tang ten-man commander, his black armor covered in blood, pointed at the Mengshe Zhao officer and laughed.
"What is he saying?" a cold-eyed Tibetan asked in his own language. The Mengshe Zhao officer hurriedly translated.
"Hmph, he's seeking his own death! Since they want to die, I'll help them out! Bring those things up!"
With this order, there was a rumble as majestic white auras began to burst out from the bodies of the Tibetan horsemen. In the blink of an eye, the roars of yaks could be heard all around.
One, two, three… In a clattering of metal, more than a hundred Yak Halos appeared under the feet of the Tibetan cavalry, fusing with their steeds.
And the overlapping resonance of more than one hundred Yak Halos caused lights to shift. After a few moments, the flickering image of a fortress appeared in the air, enveloping all of the Tibetan horsemen within.
Although this 'fortress' was indistinct, its appearance caused the energy of these hundred-some Tibetan cavalry to instantly rise. This powerful aura immediately suppressed those routed soldiers on the top of the hill.
"Kill!"
Unsheathing their greenish-black scimitars, five or six Tibetan captains led the charge, with the rest following behind. In just a few moments, the Tibetan cavalry had built up an earthshaking momentum.
"Careful!"
On the top of the hill, the Tang soldiers paled in the face of the Tibetan charge. These soldiers were all from the inland garrisons and rarely traded blows with the foreign countries. Most of them had only been responsible for keeping order in the prefectures.
But their time in the southwest had allowed them to richly experience the terrifying power of the Tibetans.
The Tibetans already outnumbered them, and now the power of their armor and Halo of Fortress was completely capable of crushing them.
"Get ready!"
With this order, a grinding came from the top of the hill. Three carriage-sized ballistae were pushed forward and aimed downhill at the charging Tibetans.
Greenish-black arrows, as thick as a child's arm and more than one zhang long, were placed in the mechanisms. The arrows were covered in blood-red inscriptions, making them exude a callous aura of extreme danger.
These inscriptions were all for the purpose of piercing through armor, and these ballista bolts were covered in them.
Buzz! At the same time, four warriors at each ballista pressed their hands down and began to pour Stellar Energy inside. In a flash, the ballistae began to glow.
The three ballistae instantly became extremely dangerous!
On the intense battlefield, the ballista was every soldier's nightmare. The denser the ranks of the opposing army, the more powerful a ballista was.
The Tibetans instantly felt threatened by the movements on the top of the hill. With a chorus of neighs, the tidy ranks of the hundred-some cavalry scattered.
Ten-some cavalry charged out from the rear, each of their riders wielding aloft the body of a Great Tang horseman on the tips of their spears.
The ten-some Great Tang corpses were lined up, the armor on their bodies forming a wall that protected the hundred-some Tibetan cavalry behind them.
At this sight, the soldiers on the hilltop instantly paled.
"Shameless!"
No one had expected the Tibetans to employ this sort of strategy. They had lost many comrades in the last few days of combat, but none of them had thought that the Tibetans would then use the bodies of their comrades as a shield while attacking them.
Who wouldn't hesitate when seeing the bodies of the brothers that they had fought side by side with?
"Hahaha, kiiiill!"
The Tibetan cavalry roared with laughter as they charged under the cover of the corpses. With the barrier of the corpses and their armor, the ballistae of the Great Tang were far less threatening.
The situation had suddenly reversed, putting the Great Tang soldiers at a serious disadvantage.