Chapter 1183: Arabia’s Predicament!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Impossible! Simply impossible! How could there be this many Tang?!
The leading Arab general’s eyes were round and he was so shocked that he couldn’t speak. He had never imagined that so many Tang would emerge from Khorasan to chase them down, and their strength hadn’t been weakened at all.
It’s over! There’s no one amongst the Arabs that can stop them!
The Arab general’s heart sank. The army was weak and exhausted from struggling through the snow for so long. But these traitors from Khorasan had barely been affected.
The Arab general’s heart was dripping blood, as he knew that all of them here were finished. But he also knew that these Tang and Khorasani would not stop here. “Hurry! Inform Great General Fadi! Tell him that the Tang are coming!”
Before he could finish his words, a sharp sword exploded forth in a flash of golden light, stabbing through the wind and into his beating heart.
So, so fast!
The Arab general fell to the ground with a thump. The last thing he saw was a warhorse with hooves as white as snow and a Tang youth riding upon it, his cape flapping in the wind.
Clipclop!
w.a.n.g Chong pulled out his sword, his face showing not a sliver of emotion.
“Hear my order! Continue the pursuit!”
w.a.n.g Chong led his army across ten-some li, defeating one batch of retreating Arab soldiers after another. In just a few short moments, w.a.n.g Chong’s men had slain more than one hundred thousand soldiers!
And all this was with a rather pitifully outnumbered force.
……
“Ahead should be the Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance and Hular!”
At some point, w.a.n.g Chong had led his army forty li away from Khorasan. His expression was cold and his eyes were bright, not even the darkness or the blizzard able to obscure them.
“Tell Gao Xianzhi and Great General Bahram to gather all the soldiers and prepare for battle!” w.a.n.g Chong harshly commanded.
w.a.n.g Chong had not come alone on this pursuit. Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, Bahram, the Gangke King, Banahan, and the other rebel leaders… almost all the commanders in Khorasan had been mobilized.
Tonight was an extremely rare chance to defeat Arabia, and n.o.body wanted to miss out on it.
Creee!
w.a.n.g Chong had barely spoken when one whistle after another came from around him. This was the signal that all of them had arranged beforehand. This time, all the commanders were in charge of their respective armies, but they all had to obey w.a.n.g Chong’s orders. This was the prerequisite to take part in this campaign.
“Hyah!”
With a shout, the nearly twenty thousand elites charged forward with an unstoppable momentum into the rear of a fleeing group of Arabs. Just a few moments later, the battle was over. The ground was covered in bodies, and the surviving soldiers had scattered in every direction, unable to tell which way they were going.
“Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance! You’re the only ones left!”
w.a.n.g Chong’s eyes flashed with cold light as he charged forward. Meanwhile, the temperature continued to plunge!
……
“What! The Tang, Khorasani, and rebel soldiers are taking advantage of this blizzard to pursue us!”
Fifty to sixty li from Khorasan, three monstrous pitch-black warhorses stood in a row. On their backs were the Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance.
“Milords, we have already confirmed this information. They have been pursuing us this entire time and have already killed more than one hundred thousand men. Moreover, this number is only continuing to increase!”
The deputy that had delivered the message bowed in front of the three, his expression nervous.
“d.a.m.n it! These lowly Tang!”
Fadi clenched his fist in fury as the snowy winds blew around him.
“Pa.s.s on my order! Gather the army and prepare to deal with the Tang!”
“Yes!”
The deputy swiftly left to deliver the order.
……
“General, the scouts have sent word that they’ve discovered the Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance, who have begun to gather their army to deal with us.”
Bahram, Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, the rebel commanders, as well as the Wushang Village Chief, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, and w.a.n.g Yan had gathered around w.a.n.g Chong, all of them watching him, clearly at his beck and call. They had pursued the Arabs for dozens of li, killing countless, and now they had finally caught up to the Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance and Hular.
w.a.n.g Chong’s judgment had been correct. In such frigid weather, the Arabs were not able to advance very quickly. Although only a hundred-some li separated Khorasan and Shandar, to the Arabs, this was an endlessly long distance.
“The blizzard is very taxing on ordinary soldiers, but the effect is much weaker with elite soldiers. Moreover, even though we’ve killed many soldiers, the Arabs still have an army of around five hundred thousand. With the numbers we have, it will be very difficult to win!” Bahram sternly said, a hint of hesitation on his face.
The Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance were not ordinary individuals. Although the blizzard was a major problem for them, it alone was far from enough to defeat them. The amount of strength it took for an Imperial Great General to counteract the effects of a blizzard was almost insignificant.
Everyone else remained silent, looking toward w.a.n.g Chong. The nearly twenty thousand elites also stood in disciplined ranks, awaiting w.a.n.g Chong’s order.
“Heh!”
The sight of all these grave expressions suddenly caused w.a.n.g Chong to laugh. His expression was nonchalant, not at all like he was about to face some formidable foe.
“The Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance are formidable, but not to some invincible level. Moreover, the Arabs might have more than five hundred thousand soldiers, but given the blizzard and the darkness, many of them have probably gotten lost. It would be incredible if the Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance still had three hundred thousand soldiers at their command. Moreover, these three hundred thousand soldiers would be scattered across ten-some li, and it’s nearly impossible to gather them all together, even for the Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance. This isn’t merely because of their ability as commanders. At times, one also has to think about the ability of the soldiers.
“In addition, the Arab morale is at an all-time low, and this blizzard has already vanquished them. The longer they stay in the blizzard, the greater their losses will be. All the Arab soldiers are only thinking about escaping to the city, and none of them are in the mood for battle. No matter how cruel are the methods the Three t.i.tans use to keep order, they still won’t be able to change this.”
w.a.n.g Chong’s eyes were wise and a.s.sured, and it seemed like nothing in the world could ever cause him any difficulty. It was these qualities that had earned him the admiration of those around him.
“Thus, I estimate that the Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance won’t be able to gather many soldiers, not more than one hundred thousand,” w.a.n.g Chong lightly said.
In front of nature, the strength of Man was insignificant, and this was no ordinary blizzard. When every soldier was only thinking about escaping, even the Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance were powerless. Gathering one hundred thousand soldiers was already extremely impressive.
Whew!
Although no one said anything, everyone appeared greatly relieved. One hundred thousand was still a lot, but it was tolerable. Moreover, although the Great Tang side had only twenty thousand soldiers, all of them were elites like the Aswaran Cataphracts and Wushang Cavalry. Their twenty thousand men still had a high chance of victory.
“Chong-er, what should we do now?” w.a.n.g Chong’s father, w.a.n.g Yan, suddenly said.
This battle was extremely important, and even though w.a.n.g Yan had lost his Mighty Miracle G.o.d avatar, he still possessed impressive strength. The Great Tang had deployed all its elites for this battle.
“Wait!” w.a.n.g Chong confidently declared.
……
In the middle of the blizzard, the Three t.i.tans of Black Radiance stood at the front, Hular at their side, the other governors and generals to their left and right, and a vast army behind them. All of them were somberly waiting, and yet an hour had pa.s.sed with nothing happening.
“What’s going on? Why haven’t the Tang come yet?”
An Arab governor was the first to break the silence, and at his words, even Fadi couldn’t help but frown. Hular’s eyes twitched as he suddenly had a bad feeling.
“There’s something wrong here. Based on the report from our scouts and the speed with which the Tang came and attacked, there should be no reason for them to have not appeared by now, unless…”
A thought suddenly occurred to him, and although Hular said nothing more, his face suddenly paled.
“Unless they’re intentionally delaying!” Firas darkly said, finis.h.i.+ng Hular’s sentence. All was quiet around them as the Arab commanders all grimaced.
These Tang of the eastern world were using a scheme. As long as they didn’t leave, the Three t.i.tans and Hular would not be able to reach Shandar without exposing their backs to the Tang. Moreover, the blizzard was only intensifying and the temperature was continuing to drop. The longer their army remained in a stalemate out here, the more unfavorable their situation would become.
It was clear that the Tang were delaying them and forcing them to remain in place.
“d.a.m.n it!”
“This b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
The Arab governors ground their teeth and clenched their fists. If this continued, they would always be in the pa.s.sive position!
“No! We can’t continue to be pa.s.sive! If they won’t come, then we’ll go to meet them! Hular, pa.s.s on my order! Mobilize the army for an a.s.sault!”
Fadi’s eyes flashed with cold light as he made his decision.
It was far better to attack than to pa.s.sively wait around. Moreover, the blizzard was worsening, so this was the only method that could allow the Arabs to escape their current predicament.