Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
No one could describe the effects of the transformation. In this fierce battlefield, this silent ripple instantly caused more than half of the tens of thousands of war halos to suddenly dim like candles being snuffed out. Some of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers who had suffered severe injuries even dropped below the True Martial realm upon feeling the effects of the upgraded Bane of the Battlefield.
"The f.u.c.k! What"s going on here?"
The faces of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers contorted in shock, as if they had seen a ghost. The difference between the True Martial realm and the Origin Energy realm was a ma.s.sive one, like a muscular man who could lift boulders suddenly becoming a small child who couldn"t even truss a chicken.
When the Bane of the Battlefield reached the third level, its effect was so great that even a few generals appeared surprised. They were most sensitive to the changes in their surroundings.
"d.a.m.n it! It"s that b.a.s.t.a.r.d brat again!"
Eyes began to look toward the summit, and even Geluofeng couldn"t help but twitch. w.a.n.g Chong"s existence was already the greatest variable in the southwestern war. His effect was no longer that of one or two soldiers or a general. He was already someone who could influence the outcome of this entire war.
How could a halo like this exist in the world? How have I never heard of it?
For a moment, Geluofeng, Duan Gequan, and Dalun Ruozan shared the same thought.
But no matter what they thought, w.a.n.g Chong"s Bane of the Battlefield Halo advancing to the third level was like an avalanche dropping on their soldiers. The entire Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army was in chaos, and the effects of the halo were even affecting the Tibetan soldiers behind Huoshu Huicang.
Huoshu Huicang had been using a secret technique of the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple this entire time to absorb the energy of his soldiers. When w.a.n.g Chong"s Bane of the Battlefield Halo attached to these soldiers and weakened them, even Huoshu Huicang was affected. For a moment, he fell into a slight disadvantage against w.a.n.g Yan"s Mighty Miracle G.o.d.
"d.a.m.n it!"
Huoshu Huicang slightly paled. Never had he imagined that w.a.n.g Chong"s halo could have an effect on him. In a battle of supreme experts like this, such a thing could be lethal.
"Kill!"
The thousands of Tang soldiers used this chance to charge down the mountain, and the Tibetan and Mengshe Zhao soldiers were falling apart. Just when it seemed like the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army would be completely routed, an earth-shaking boom came from the summit.
The disturbance it created was so huge that the mountain itself trembled for a few moments, and dust roiled over the summit.
w.a.n.g Chong was killing his way through enemy soldiers, but when he heard that sound, he paled and immediately turned the White-hoofed Shadow around. "Not good! That direction…" Vaguely, he understood what must have happened.
The summit was crowded with soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army, so nothing should have happened there, but this direction was clearly…
"Young Master, it"s bad! The Tibetans sent people to destroy our water!"
It took mere moments for a horseman to charge down from the mountain, the guard atop it not even bringing the horse to a stop before dismounting and kneeling before w.a.n.g Chong"s horse.
"What?!!"
Like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, w.a.n.g Chong swayed. For a moment, he felt like his entire body had been plunged into ice-cold water.
Dalun Ruozan!
w.a.n.g Chong"s gaze immediately turned to where Dalun Ruozan was located.
I fell for a trap!
This was the only thought left in w.a.n.g Chong"s mind, and as if to confirm his speculations, the resounding blare of the yak horn announcing a retreat suddenly came from within the camp at the base of the mountain.
Dalun Ruozan had finally chosen to sound the retreat.
"Take me over to see!"
w.a.n.g Chong didn"t have time to think, as he quickly turned his horse around and followed that guard back up the mountain.
……
The Annan Protectorate army was continuing to pursue the enemies back north, but w.a.n.g Chong"s attention was focused elsewhere.
"Young Master, take a look!"
At the back of the summit, a cave had completely collapsed, and water gushed down the slopes in a waterfall.
"The Tibetans used a ma.s.sive boulder to reach here, then they collapsed the cave, dug out the water we had stored inside and poisoned it," the pale-faced guard reported.
w.a.n.g Chong turned his head to the nearby boulder the guard spoke of.
"You said that they sat on this boulder and dropped down from the sky to reach this place?"
"Yes, Young Master."
……
w.a.n.g Chong instantly fell quiet. Sitting on a boulder like this and descending from the sky was an utterly absurd idea, and even if they did manage to land in one piece, they would still end up with severe injuries.
Suicide soldiers!
A thought occurred to w.a.n.g Chong. He was forced to admit that he would have never suspected Dalun Ruozan to use this method to transport soldiers.
There was no doubt that these soldiers had prepared themselves to never come back and to die on the summit.
With this thought in mind, w.a.n.g Chong swept his gaze over the surroundings. As expected, he spotted several corpses.
"We have people all around the summit, and we had already begun to move when we discovered these people, but we were still too late," the guard shamefully said.
"We have 17 places in total on the mountain where we were storing water. How many have been poisoned?"
"Eight."
w.a.n.g Chong"s expression darkened, his heart sinking. He now completely understood Dalun Ruozan"s plan. A proper battle had never been his goal, and even Huoshu Huicang"s attack had only been bait. His true goal had been the water stores on the summit.
For his great undertaking, he had treated hundreds of thousands of soldiers as chess pieces. w.a.n.g Chong had to admit that he had underestimated the resolve of this Ü-Tsang Great Minister, as well as his trickery and daring.
It"s because I"ve been underestimating him all this time. It"s no wonder a civil minister was able to sit on the same level as figures of the southwest like Zhangchou Jianqiong, Geluofeng, and Huoshu Huicang.
Zhangchou Jianqiong had a burning ambition and had always wanted to achieve something in the southwest, but after ten-some years, he had accomplished nothing. So this is what was going on…
Zhangchou Jianqiong had always been hailed as the Tiger of the Empire, but both the great clans and the n.o.bles of the capital had always spoken of him with veiled criticism.
This was because he had never been able to turn this reputation into results. w.a.n.g Chong had also once had this misunderstanding, but now, he understood Zhangchou Jianqiong"s circ.u.mstances.
Dalun Ruozan was not the type of person that would immediately put someone on guard. Not only that, the first impression of the majority of people would be "just so-so" or "an undeserved reputation", and they would treat him with contempt.
But Dalun Ruozan"s true strike would always be like right now, lethal and catching one completely by surprise.
"Water! Ah, water!…."
w.a.n.g Chong suddenly raised his head and gave a long sigh.
Dalun Ruozan had given him a truly difficult problem, and at this moment, w.a.n.g Chong was left with no other choice.
……
The Tibetan and Mengshe Zhao soldiers had completely withdrawn at this point, leaving behind only a mountain covered in corpses.
"How is it?" Dalun Ruozan said with concern. Although he had fulfilled his objective, Dalun Ruozan was still not one bit happy.
Ü-Tsang and Mengshe Zhao combined had gathered an army of nearly five hundred thousand soldiers, and they had Imperial Great Generals like Huoshu Huicang and Duan Gequan at command, as well as the a.s.sistance of Geluofeng and the entire kingdom of Mengshe Zhao working the logistics network. Yet in the end, they had still reached this point where they had to rely on their advantage in numbers. Dalun Ruozan truly found this difficult to imagine.
w.a.n.g Chong, relying on his weaker army, had already pushed this Ngari Great Minister famous throughout the Tibetan Plateau to desperate straits.
"123,400 people!"
The messenger intoned a number.
Buzz!
Even though he had already mentally prepared himself, Dalun Ruozan still couldn"t stop his heart from sinking upon hearing this number. The more than four hundred thousand soldiers of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army had actually suffered casualties of one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers. They had lost more than a quarter of their manpower. This was simply impossible to bear.
This number greatly exceeded Dalun Ruozan"s bottom line.
"How could it be this many? Is this number accurate?" Dalun Ruozan said with a grimace.
The messenger lowered his head and said, "Reporting to Great Minister: we have already taken the count five times."
"How many did the Great Tang lose?"
"It is not possible to make an accurate count, but our estimate is that their deaths range between 23,000 and 24,000."
Dalun Ruozan closed his eyes, not speaking for a very long time.
"Pa.s.s down my order to have the entire army reorganize. In addition, pa.s.s on my order to have Great General Huoshu Huicang accompany me in meeting the Great Tang commander."
……
"Young Master, look—there"s something going on down there!"
On the summit, Old Eagle quickly noticed activity and pointed down the mountain.
"Mm?"
w.a.n.g Chong"s brow creased as he suddenly stood up.
"The battle just finished. What he does he want now?"
"Young Master w.a.n.g, can you come out for a chat?"
A resounding voice echoed over the mountain. Looking down from the summit, one could see the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army part, and the figures of Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang appear once more.
But unlike the first time, Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang no longer seemed as easygoing and unruffled. They seemed much more solemn and respectful.
"We"ve already reached this state. What scheme is Great Minister planning now?"
w.a.n.g Chong circulated the energy in his dantian, his eyes s.h.i.+ning as he fearlessly looked down the mountain.
"Young Master has become much more serious. In front of Young Master, what has Ruozan done that deserves to be called a scheme?" Dalun Ruozan earnestly said.
"Young Master has already seen the result of this battle. The water supply of the Annan Protectorate army won"t be able to last three days. For the sake of Ü-Tsang, and for the sake of Young Master and the Annan Protectorate army, Dalun Ruozan wishes to earnestly discuss an issue with Young Master."
"Just what does this Dalun Ruozan want to do?"
At this moment, even w.a.n.g Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong, who were getting their wounds treated, couldn"t help but look at each other and frown. They had fought with the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army for more than a month, but Dalun Ruozan"s att.i.tude had always been aggressive and unrelenting.
This sort of humble and self-effacing att.i.tude was something they had never seen from Dalun Ruozan.
"There"s no need for Great Minister to worry about the matter of water. If Great Minister has anything he wishes to say, he should just state it frankly," w.a.n.g Chong calmly said.
"Young Master w.a.n.g, it is still those same words. If the Annan Protectorate army and Young Master can surrender, I can guarantee that Young Master and all the soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army will be treated appropriately.
"Although we cannot allow Young Master or the soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army to return to the Great Tang, Young Master and all the soldiers can safely reside on the Tibetan Plateau. No one will be harmed.
This is the best result for both Young Master and our Ü-Tsang. I hope that Young Master can earnestly consider this proposition. In this way, we can avoid any further senseless sacrifice."
With these final words, Dalun Ruozan put down his feather fan, his gaze reflecting utter sincerity as he looked up at w.a.n.g Chong.
The entire battlefield was absolutely silent. Geluofeng, Duan Gequan and Huoshu Huicang, these powerhouses of the south who should have strenuously opposed this proposal, had all chosen to remain silent.
The strong would only respect the strong. At this stage of the war, the casualties of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army had even surpa.s.sed the Annan Protectorate army"s. None of these powerhouses of the southwest had ever imagined such a thing.
The summit was quiet, everyone waiting for w.a.n.g Chong"s answer.
"Chong-er, choose what you feel is right."
"Young Master Chong, there"s no need to fear. You are currently the highest commander of the entire Annan Protectorate army. Whether it"s war or peace, Young Master can choose whatever he pleases."
w.a.n.g Yan"s and Xianyu Zhongtong"s voices rang out in w.a.n.g Chong"s ears. They did not speak too much, but the two had used their actions to amply display their support for w.a.n.g Chong.
"Haha!"
w.a.n.g Chong smiled in the gentle breeze. He raised his head and thought to himself, Is this a difficult choice? The southwest war had already reached the point where there would be no rest without death. There was no path of retreat, no choice.
The Great Tang could not lose, the Annan Protectorate army could not lose, and he, w.a.n.g Chong, could certainly not lose!
And did Dalun Ruozan really think that his victory was certain?
"Great Minister, have you heard of this saying?"
w.a.n.g Chong chuckled as he looked down the mountain.
"What?"
Dalun Ruozan"s eyes narrowed. That w.a.n.g Chong could still laugh and chat about other things had truly caught him by surprise.
"He who laughs last, laughs best!"
Dalun Ruozan, Geluofeng, and Huoshu Huicang were all dumbfounded. Geluofeng had a deep understanding of the Great Tang, but he had never heard such a phrase before.
Geluofeng turned to the bandaged figure of Fengjiayi and asked in confusion, "Jiayi, you studied in the Great Tang for many years. Have you ever heard anyone say something like this?"
"This… Your child has never heard of such a thing."
Fengjiayi lowered his head. Everyone had been completely confused by w.a.n.g Chong.
"Hahaha, Great Minister, this war has still not reached its final moment. It"s still far too early to determine who will win the prize."
w.a.n.g Chong roared with laughter. Not waiting for Dalun Ruozan to ask any more questions, he left with a flick of his sleeve.
At the base of the mountain, the commanders of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army looked at each other in confusion, unable to speak.