Chapter 602: The Decisive Battle! A Clash of Ten Thousand Generals! (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The second day and the third day passed, Dalun Ruozan and Geluofeng spending every day watching. However, the number of cooking fires in the Annan Protectorate army remained the same. Yet the atmosphere was beginning to subtly change.
Just when Geluofeng and Dalun Ruozan believed that this would continue, the unexpected occurred on the fourth day.
Flapflap!
A massive pitch-black messenger bird landed in front of the Tibetan commander tent.
“News from the northeast!”
Dalun Ruozan glanced at the symbol on the bird’s leg as he untied the message, a hint of confusion in his eyes. To the northeast of the Ü-Tsang Empire was naturally the Great Tang’s Longxi.
We Tadra Khonglo and Dusong Mangpoje were currently stationed there, the two of them engaged in fierce battle against Geshu Han’s Big Dipper Army.
We Tadra Khonglo was perfectly capable of holding down Geshu Han. The Big Dipper Army was definitely in a state where it could only defend, not counterattack. Dalun Ruozan didn’t understand why he would be receiving any news from We Tadra Khonglo’s side.
With a hint of confusion, Dalun Ruozan unfurled the message. Buzz! Dalun Ruozan instantly paled.
“What’s happened?”
Huoshu Huicang walked up from behind.
“See for yourself.”
Dalun Ruozan passed the missive to him. The paper had a very short message: Great Tang War God Wang Zhongsi had left the capital and was on his way to Longxi.
Huoshu Huicang instantly paled.
“This is a problem,” Huoshu Huicang muttered to himself, an extremely grave look on his face.
If there was one person that everyone in the Ü-Tsang Empire feared, including the Tsenpo, it would have to be the Great Tang War God, Wang Zhongsi.
In Ü-Tsang’s wars against the Great Tang in which Wang Zhongsi led the Tang armies, Ü-Tsang had almost always been dealt a heavy defeat and been forced to retreat. Even the King of Generals We Tadra Khonglo had suffered a bitter defeat at Wang Zhongsi’s hands.
The Great Tang army led by Wang Zhongsi had even almost fought its way up to the plateau and occupied the royal capital.
When the news came out that Wang Zhongsi had entered the palace to be the Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian, the entirety of the Ü-Tsang Empire had celebrated, everyone exhaling a deep sigh of relief.
To the Ü-Tsang Empire, the news that Wang Zhongsi was moving out was a veritable earthquake.
“We don’t have much time left. The King of Generals won’t be able to last for long,” Dalun Ruozan said with a grimace.
There was one person in the Great Tang that Dalun Ruozan had no means of controlling, and that was Wang Zhongsi. This person’s level completely surpassed Dalun Ruozan’s abilities.
Although Dalun Ruozan had no desire to boost another’s morale while diminishing his own, impartially speaking, We Tadra Khonglo was no match for Wang Zhongsi.
He had heard before that Wang Zhongsi had only entered the palace to be the Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian because of some hidden disease. It was obvious now, however, that this had been erroneous information.
This was an ill omen for Ü-Tsang.
“Wang Zhongsi will need ten days at most to travel from the capital to Longxi. In other words, we only have ten days to completely annihilate the Annan Protectorate army and pacify the southwest.”
“It seems like we’ll have to move our operation up!” Huoshu Huicang solemnly intoned.
……
“Old Shi, do you still have water? Let me use your water bag.”
Behind a high steel wall, a veteran soldier of the Annan Protectorate army licked his dry lips and stretched his hand out to the veteran at his side.
“I’ve got nothing, nothing…”
The old soldier turned his water bag over, the last drop of water within falling into his mouth.
“See, I don’t even have enough for myself. If you want to drink some water, wait a couple of hours for them to send more down from above.”
“I remember that our water wasn’t this limited before,” a voice butted in from the side. “Do you think what they’re saying is true? Is the army really running out of water?”
The soldiers instantly fell silent, all of them looking at the soldier who had spoken.
“You’re seeking death! What nonsense are you saying!”
A veteran kicked the guilty soldier onto the ground, but his eyes were fixed on the summit. Although he was doing his utmost to remain calm, even he felt an intense unease.
All around him was silence. None of them noticed that an air of unease was spreading over the army.
“Young Master, the situation isn’t looking good,” Old Eagle worriedly said as he peered down the mountain.
What everyone had worried about the most was taking place. Their water was running out, forcing them to implement water rationing. This alone wouldn’t have done anything, but Dalun Ruozan’s words had changed everything.
Even Old Eagle, ignorant in the art of war, could sense that the army’s morale had begun to shift over the last few days. This was a very worrying sign.
“I know,” Wang Chong indifferently said, his face devoid of emotion. What had happened had happened. Right now, he had to think about how to resolve this problem.
“Reporting! The enemy army is showing signs of activity.”
A messenger suddenly charged up to the summit and kneeled to the ground.
Buzz! Everyone began to look down the mountain. The inactive Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army had suddenly begun to mobilize, tens of thousands of soldiers surging in from all directions, dust roiling and banners flying as they came with a truly astonishing momentum.
And those mountainous elephants standing out from the army were particularly frightening.
“Not good!”
Old Eagle instantly paled.
“The Tibetans are going to attack.”
“Pass on my order. The entire army should stand ready.”
Wang Chong’s cool voice was particularly clear in the chaos, and his order was completely passed down the mountain. Bong! With this heaven-shaking strike of a war drum, the army stretching from the summit of the mountain to the base became somber and stern.
Clangclangclang!
A clattering of metal could be heard from below. With the two commanders of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army as the center, blazing and dazzling lights began to ripple out to spread over the entire army.
Thousands of halos of all kinds began to fill the army’s field of vision.
This was an unprecedented large-scale operation of the united Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were about to attack together, their momentum like a heaven-reaching wave. This formed a stark contrast with the silent Tang ranks on the mountain.
But even though the mountain was silent, the atmosphere was only growing more fraught with tension.
Each Annan Protectorate army soldier was tightly grasping his weapon, an extremely grave expression on his face.
“Chong-er!”
On the summit, as Wang Chong solemnly observed the situation down below, a voice rang out at his ear.
“Father!”
With a start, Wang Chong immediately responded, subconsciously turning to that tall and mighty figure. By using a sound transmission ability, his father was perfectly capable of speaking to him with his back turned.
“In a little while, when the battle begins, leave Huoshu Huicang and Duan Gequan to me and Protector-General Xianyu. Don’t move, and don’t approach. Opponents on this level are not people you can deal with,” Wang Yan said, his voice infused with a few different meanings.
From the moment they arrived at this mountain, Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong had observed the battle like two bystanders, passing almost all their authority to Wang Chong. But this time… their demeanor had clearly changed.
“Your child understands.” Wang Chong nodded, his heart extremely heavy. It was clear that even his father and Xianyu Zhongtong had felt that the situation had gone sour. There were no probes and no signs of contempt. Ü-Tsang and Mengshe Zhao were prepared to utilize their full strength to exterminate them.
And they had chosen the moment when the Great Tang army was running short of water, its morale beginning to fall.
Rumble!
Dust stirred. While the Tang army stood ready for combat, to the southeast, southwest, east, west, north… in all directions around the mountain, one valiant figure began to appear after the other, all of them exuding a storm of energy.
Old Eagle took a step forward and blurted out, “It’s Longqinba!”
“No, there’s also Fengjiayi, Duan Yangyan…” Chen Shusun said.
As they looked on, figure after figure began to appear at the base of the mountain. Longqinba, Fengjiayi, Duan Yangyan, Ciren Xiangxiong, Tumi Sangzha… and there were also the generals of Mengshe Zhao, the fierce generals of Ü-Tsang. All of them were in high spirits as they emerged from the roiling dust, followed by tens of thousands of soldiers.
All the generals of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army had finally appeared, completely shrouding the Great Tang army in an invisible energy!