Chapter 621: The Decisive Battle! The Final Battle!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“For some reason, I suddenly feel that you’re right.”
Huoshu Huicang’s eyebrow rose as he looked to the summit.
“If we can’t kill him in this battle, this person will become a great trouble for us.”
Dalun Ruozan had once said that even if they had to let the entire Annan Protectorate army go, they had to kill Wang Chong. At the start, Huoshu Huicang had not treated this proposition very seriously, but at this moment, his view of Wang Chong had completely reversed.
In comparison to that callousness and cruelty he had shown just now, his intelligence and mastery of the art of war were secondary. Even Huoshu Huicang had been deeply affected by this display.
If this person were allowed to mature and receive official power, he was certain to be a mortal affliction that could threaten the livelihood of the Ü-Tsang Empire, an existence on par with Wang Zhongsi and Su Zhengchen.
“Since this is the case, we can’t let him leave alive,” Dalun Ruozan said, a cold glint in his eyes.
“Young Master Wang, there is no benefit in further chatter. Let us meet on the battlefield.”
With these final words, Dalun Ruozan waved his feather fan. The chariot quickly turned around and vanished into the dense ranks of the army.
Meanwhile, Geluofeng and Duan Gequan stood together, both giving a profound glance at the summit before following Dalun Ruozan.
“Prepare for battle.”
On the summit, Wang Chong coldly watched Dalun Ruozan and Geluofeng vanish. With a wave of his sleeve, he headed back.
Bong bong!!
As the drums began to thunder, the atmosphere suddenly turned tense. The Great Tang, the Tibetans, and the Mengshe Zhao all began to exude a fierce fighting intent.
This battle was bound to be extremely cruel, and many people were bound to fall on this mountain, never to rise again.
This was a battle for survival.
No one could retreat, and everyone had to fight for themselves!
……
“It’s finally begun.”
In the center of the vast Mengshe Zhao army, a pair of eyes hidden in the shadows quietly watched the summit.
“Gequan, it will depend on you.”
Geluofeng turned to that stalwart figure beside him, hope and anticipation in his eyes.
“Others might be able to lose, but our Mengshe Zhao cannot. The Tibetans have already been defeated, so we can only rely on ourselves.”
The plague had completely disordered Dalun Ruozan’s mind, but Geluofeng had not said this in front of Dalun Ruozan. Mengshe Zhao had nowhere to go and had already paid a great price of many soldiers. If they had to retreat in defeat, Mengshe Zhao would never be able to recover from the setback.
This was a price that no one could bear!
Neither Geluofeng nor Duan Gequan felt it possible to back out from this battle.
“This battle truly was my blunder. I didn’t think that the child from the Wang Clan would be this formidable. But be at ease, Your Majesty—I have already grasped that child’s weakness. Everything has already been arranged. No matter what, that child will never be able to leave alive. The history of the Annan Protectorate army will come to a close today.”
Duan Gequan’s voice was very soft, so soft that anyone who was just a little far away wouldn’t be able to hear a word.
“Gequan, I pass the fate of Mengshe Zhao to you. We believe in you!”
Geluofeng patted Duan Gequan on the shoulder and left.
……
Bwoooom!
The rows of yak horns began to blare. The earth began to rumble at this signal to attack, the tens of thousands of Mengshe Zhao soldiers and Tibetan cavalry charging toward the mountain in a great wave.
Unlike the first time, everyone knew what they were facing, and they knew what fate awaited them. With nowhere else to go, everyone was putting in their all.
“Kiiiill!”
No one knew who gave the first roar, but thousands quickly followed, the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army unleashing a fierce shout that could tear down mountains and sunder the earth.
“Get ready!”
On the mountain, the outermost perimeter of the Tang lines began to raise their large shields, the cold light of the sun reflecting off them. The sixty thousand soldiers began to move according to some set rule, and a somber energy began to rise.
Although the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, numbering three hundred thousand soldiers, still far outnumbered the sixty thousand Tang soldiers, the Annan Protectorate army gave off the feeling of a most cold and terrifying machine.
This machine had already ground two hundred thousand soldiers to death, and it was about to kill even more.
This was Wang Chong’s Myriad Stars Formation!
Boom!
Countless Mengshe Zhao and Tibetan warriors charged in from every direction. There was no attempt to test the defenses, no vanguard. The Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army had committed its entire force from the very start.
“Kill! We’ve already torn down half their walls! If we reach the summit, their loss will be assured.”
“Don’t be afraid. We outnumber them, and they’ve basically used up all their ballista bolts and arrows.”
“White Elephant Corps, forward! Break their defenses and we win!”
“Carry out a combined assault and tear down their steel walls! Make a path for the Tibetan cavalry!”
“His Majesty has ordered that anyone who retreats will be killed and their entire clan executed!”
……
All the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers showed red eyes and bulging veins as they charged up the mountain, brandishing sabers, spears, swords, and halberds.
Boom!
Wang Chong stepped forward, and the air reverberated as invisible ripples began to spread from the summit. The level-three Bane of the Battlefield Halo wound itself around all the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers like countless chains.
In an instant, all the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers felt their strength drop three levels. Wang Chong’s Bane of the Battlefield was already enough to alter the course of a battle.
Bang! A right foot stomped against the ground, the impact causing the ground to quake.
To deal with Wang Chong’s terrifying Bane of the Battlefield Halo, Huoshu Huicang was finally forced to release his halo of the Saint Martial realm. A dazzling golden light swept through the army like a hurricane, shrouding his entire army.
If one looked down from the sky, one would see the steely halos of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army flicker between light and shadow, recovering from the extreme dimness but still unable to reach their original level.
The power of the Saint Martial realm rested in terrifying strength and martial skills. However, one could easily imagine the threat of the Bane of the Battlefield Halo that it required Huoshu Huicang, an Ü-Tsang Great General, to use his own abilities to weaken it.
“Fire!”
Far in the rear of the army, a messenger swung down a flag. “Graaar!” The giants of the Skyquaking Army roared as they lifted up massive rocks and placed them on the siege weapons.
Bang bang bang!
The mechanisms were released, unleashing a wave of stones against the mountain. More of these rocks were piled up next to these siege weapons, carpeting the ground.
In the several days without battle, the Skyquaking Giants from Sindhu, raised by Ü-Tsang and the Abbasid Caliphate, had played the role of stonemasons under the supervision of Mengshe Zhao.
Their massive strength was perfect for cutting up rocks.
In these last few days, the Skyquaking Giants had managed to gather a large pile of stones for the siege weapons.
Boom! A boulder toppled over one of the steel walls. Horses neighed and people looked up at the incoming barrage: one, two, three… Massive boulders descended in an endless shower.
“Careful!”
Screams could be heard all over the mountain as the soldiers attempted to dodge. However, after just a few moments, figures began to leap into the air and shatter these rocks into powder.
“Old Eagle, have Generals Sun Liuyue, Luo Ji, and Lin Wushou come over. Have them deal with the Skyquaking Giant’s rain of stones.”
As he spoke, Wang Chong handed over three Wootz Steel swords.
The stones were plummeting from the sky with enormous power. If one relied on pure strength to smash against them, one would consume a great deal of energy. But Wootz Steel swords were different. These weapons could easily cut the stones apart, allowing the user to conserve energy while still dealing with the threat.
“Order the ballista soldiers to get ready to attack!”
Wang Chong’s eyes coldly flashed as he continued to issue orders.
“Yes!”
A messenger quickly left.
In the last major battle, the Annan Protectorate army had paid the price of twenty thousand soldiers and the destruction of its water supply, while the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army had consumed an enormous amount of resources to dismantle nearly half of the steel walls on the mountain.
With so much ground opened up, there was now plenty of space to use ballistae.
“Archers, stand ready!”
Wang Chong’s eyes shone with an icy light as he stared down the mountain. Stones were continuing to rain down from the sky, but Wang Chong remained calm and composed, acting as though none of this was related to him.
One hundred paces, fifty paces, thirty paces, ten paces…
At the base of the mountain, the black flood of steel that was the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army was getting closer and closer, faster and faster. Finally…
Boom!
The tens of thousands of Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers crashed against the Annan Protectorate army’s final defensive line. In this moment, the entire mountain trembled.
“Archers, first unit, two hundred fifty paces to the left!
“Archers, second unit, five hundred sixty paces to the right!
“Archers, third unit, fire straight ahead!”
……
Wang Chong shouted out a string of orders. The archer units had used up more than half of their arrows, leaving them with little ammunition.
Wang Chong had to be careful with every order and maximize the effectiveness of each volley.
“Uncle Chen, Xu Shiping, go and reinforce the southeast. You have to stop Longqinba no matter what!
“Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, I leave Senior Zhang Shouzhi to you. No harm is allowed to come to him!
“Messenger, inform General Yang that there are no more soldiers available on the mountain. We don’t have enough shield soldiers. No matter what, he has to hold! I don’t care what price he has to pay, but he can’t let the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army break through there!
“Order General Zhang and General Duan to merge their forces. Saber and axe soldiers, get ready to receive my order!
“Myriad Stars Formation, get ready to move!”
……
With this last order, the last sixty thousand soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army began to work like some revolving machines, sweeping up the surrounding Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers and swallowing them.