Chapter 448: Stalemate!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Boom!
A wall exploded as a giant figure mounted on a large horse crashed through, following behind w.a.n.g Chong.
"Is it these people?"
Li Siye stood guard at w.a.n.g Chong"s side, his enormous Wootz Steel saber on his back and his over-two-meter-tall figure like the Mighty Miracle G.o.d1 of legends.
w.a.n.g Chong"s White-hoofed Shadow and An Yaluoshan"s Ferghana horse were both top-notch steeds that could run as fast as the wind. A normal person would find it impossible to keep up with them.
Only Li Siye, with his enormous strength and high-grade speed halo, was able to keep so close behind.
His enormous const.i.tution, valiant aura, and high-tier Profound Martial cultivation were a ma.s.sive shock to the rebel troops of Youzhou.
Although w.a.n.g Chong had charged in alone, the Youzhou rebel troops facing him did not dare act rashly.
"Who are all of you? Why are you pursuing Yaluoshan?"
Without waiting for an answer, a warhorse rode out of the rain and pulled level with An Yaluoshan.
w.a.n.g Chong was able to clearly tell through the flashes of lightning that this was a Hu with a hawkish nose and sunken eyes. Although he was a Hu, he was completely different from others.
His face was thin and slender, his face white and clean, and his wavy hair was extremely rare among the Hu. He had a rather scholarly air about him, and when he opened his slender eyes, he gave off the aura of a strategist.
Standing side by side with An Yaluoshan, he seemed to complement him. The two were also very similar in age, so he instantly gave off the feeling of a military advisor.
"As.h.i.+na Sugan2!"
w.a.n.g Chong"s eyes flashed with cold light as a thick killing intent surged through them. He recognized this Hu. Even though this fair and clean Hu was still obscure in this world, this was not his first meeting with him.
In that other world, he had met him countless times.
He was called As.h.i.+na Sugan right now, but in the future, he would have an infamous Han name that would be known throughout the Central Plains: s.h.i.+ Siming!
This person had played a critical role in that rebellion against the empire. If An Yaluoshan was the greatest leader of the rebellion on the front stage, than s.h.i.+ Siming was the greatest leader of the rebellion from behind the curtain!
It was like how Zhao Jingdian back then had helped him, a.s.sisting him for decades in hot or cold, in the north or south, acting as his right and left arms.
To An Yaluoshan, As.h.i.+na Sugan was his Zhao Jingdian, his right and left arms.
These two people were the two largest banners for the three rebel armies of the northwest!
Much less encountering An Yaluoshan in Drunken Sparrow restaurant, w.a.n.g Chong had not expected to see As.h.i.+na Sugan here as well.
The two greatest foes from his last life were standing right in front of him.
"Get lost!" w.a.n.g Chong coldly said. "The current you has no right to speak before me!"
"You!" As.h.i.+na Sugan was instantly enraged. He wanted to curse, but as his eyes flitted over Li Siye, he held himself back. His eyes, however, grew even colder.
"w.a.n.g Chong, the Imperial Army might arrive at any time. Be careful that they don"t escape!" Li Siye suddenly whispered to w.a.n.g Chong.
That Hu had already escaped from Drunken Sparrow restaurant. In the current situation, if things looked bad, he might escape again.
Moreover, conducting activities in the capital was no trifling matter. Although this sudden downpour had been a great boon to w.a.n.g Chong, the Imperial Army wasn"t made of dead men. Once it arrived, this a.s.sault would be put to a complete stop.
"There"s no need to worry about the Imperial Army."
w.a.n.g Chong"s voice was abnormally calm. In order to kill An Yaluoshan, he had defied the laws of the w.a.n.g Clan and mobilized all the strength he could possibly mobilize.
For such a large undertaking, he could not possibly allow for any disturbance.
He had already informed the Imperial Army. The connections he had built through selling Wootz Steel weapons to the Imperial Army and his uncle Li Lin meant that though w.a.n.g Chong could not control the Imperial Army, he could take advantage of this torrential downpour to mobilize the Imperial Army elsewhere. It was completely within his means to buy himself two hours of time.
"…As for escape, hmph, relax; they won"t be able to escape!"
w.a.n.g Chong slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through those sixty to seventy Youzhou soldiers and the rows of courtyard buildings, finally settling on the lofty black silhouette nearby.
In the darkness, the high walls of the Great Tang"s capital were like majestic mountains linking the heavens to the earth.
This fortress protecting the capital was also a barrier preventing An Yaluoshan and his group from retreating. This was the only place they could fall back to.
He could hear the sound of more horses galloping. Rumble! As he was speaking, more of the courtyard"s walls toppled over as his forces caught up.
Although they had been a bit slow, his subordinates had finally arrived.
"Young Master!"
With the clear cry of an eagle, Old Eagle rode up behind Li Siye and led his horse to w.a.n.g Chong"s side, putting w.a.n.g Chong between the two of them.
Following him were ten-some muscular men in black who gave off the aura of bandits. These were the Dragon Bandit elites that Li Siye had taken as subordinates in Qixi Desert.
As elites, they were stronger and had a far higher status than ordinary Dragon Bandits, so their mounts were also of higher quality.
"Milord!"
Once these ten-some black-clothed bandits broke through the wall, they immediately circled around to Li Siye"s side. Black Dragon Zhao and his Dragon Bandits had squatted across the Silk Road. The bandit leaders under him were all elites of the northwest, each one of them an expert of the True Martial realm.
With these people at w.a.n.g Chong"s side, the strength of his forces had swelled.
As their forces swelled, the other side seemed weaker. An Yaluoshan and his group of rebel troops instantly had nasty expressions. One Li Siye was already hard enough to deal with, and now they had to deal with these ten-some top-notch experts.
"Yaluoshan, I"m afraid that it will be hard to settle this matter. This boy is determined to deal with us," As.h.i.+na Sugan suddenly whispered in the Hu tongue, a vicious look on his face. "One who can"t hate isn"t worthy of being a gentleman, and one who doesn"t want to get their hands dirty can"t be a man. We must strike first. If we delay, we won"t have another chance."
Their opponents had moved too quickly. Their reaction had slowed because of the Profound Martial realm expert, and now even more reinforcements had come.
If they continued to delay, they would probably all die here.
"But if we do this, we"ll also suffer grievous casualties," An Yaluoshan hesitantly said. That boy was certainly not easy to deal with, and that giant man next to him was even more dreadful.
If they were easy to deal with, he wouldn"t have needed As.h.i.+na"s prompting.
"It"s already hard to avoid casualties. If we continue to hesitate, we"ll all die here. And besides, there"s no need to kill all of them."
As.h.i.+na Sugan glared at w.a.n.g Chong and fiercely said, "To shoot a person, first shoot the horse, and to capture the underlings, first capture their king. That boy might have many experts at his side, but he himself is not very strong. As long as we first capture him, the rest of them will be like a group of headless dragons…"
Yet before As.h.i.+na Sugan, or s.h.i.+ Siming, could finish talking, he heard the rumbling of horses once more.
This rumble could shatter the earth and topple mountains. At the same time, a long and clear cry came from above. In the clouds, a ma.s.sive black eagle unfurled its wings, weaving through the storm as it screeched and circled over the courtyard.
In but an instant, all the Youzhou soldiers, including An Yaluoshan, paled.
Both An Yaluoshan and As.h.i.+na Sugan had deeply underestimated w.a.n.g Chong"s resolve to kill them and the speed at which he moved.
This was w.a.n.g Chong"s first undertaking since he had obtained the approval of the w.a.n.g Clan"s Old Master, and the first undertaking since he had established Deflecting Blade Manor. It was also the first time the w.a.n.g Clan had engaged in full mobilization.
In this undertaking, everyone could clearly feel w.a.n.g Chong"s intense will and determination. This will and determination had urged them all on, and coupled with the buff from w.a.n.g Chong"s Halo of Dusk Stallion, they had arrived before An Yaluoshan had even begun to discuss countermeasures.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
One figure after another rammed through the walls, tramping through the rain to finally catch up to w.a.n.g Chong.
"w.a.n.g Chong, we"ve come to help you!"
Marchioness Yi, Bai Siling, Zhao Yatong, Xu Gan, Fang Xuanling, and all the others had arrived. Even the unwilling Xu Qiqin was here.
Distinct from her appearance at Deflecting Blade Manor, the current Xu Qiqin was now dressed as a girl. Her fine black hair had been bound up on her head and a hairpin thrust within. This breathtaking sight was also imbued with a nimble and energetic aura.
But the most astonis.h.i.+ng of all was Su Hanshan.
His face was just as cold and handsome as before, but his aura was much stronger, even surpa.s.sing w.a.n.g Chong"s. In the training camp, Su Hanshan rarely interacted with w.a.n.g Chong.
But this time, when w.a.n.g Chong had sent out his summons, Su Hanshan had immediately come.
"What I owe you, I"ll definitely pay back!"
Su Hanshan brushed past w.a.n.g Chong, not turning his head as he said those words before standing in front of him.
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1. The Mighty Miracle G.o.d, 巨灵神, is a heavenly general who is so strong that he is capable of lifting mountains and cleaving open rocks. He appears in the fourth chapter of Journey to the West as the general leading the vanguard of Heavenly King Li when they go to capture Sun Wukong.↩
2. As.h.i.+na Sugan, also known as s.h.i.+ Sugan, and later s.h.i.+ Siming, was of Turkic descent and grew up together with An Lushan.