Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The Myriad Stars Formation was growing more and more terrifying as it was refined through gruesome battle. As the soldiers grew accustomed to the operation of the formation, the formation gradually began to grow in power.
The united strength of the sixty thousand Tang soldiers had a most terrifying killing effect. At every moment, an astonis.h.i.+ng number of Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers was dying.
"Kiiiill!"
The fighting had been extremely intense right from the very start of the battle. War cries filled the air, and corpses of Tibetan, Mengshe Zhao, and Great Tang soldiers, as well as warhorses, covered the mountain slope.
Blood gushed down the sides of the mountain in waterfalls, producing a most hair-raising sight.
This was a clash of will against will!
At the base of the mountain, in the rear of the army, rows of sabers shone brightly, inclined toward the sky and ready to slash down at any time. This was the first time since the start of this war that Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang had worked together in establis.h.i.+ng an execution squad.
Anyone who cowered from this battle or attempted to flee would be immediately executed.
The simple surprise attack that had started the war of the southwest had led to this prolonged siege. By this time, both sides were thoroughly worn out. Even the fierce and pugnacious Tibetans, after suffering from the shortage of food and the consumption of Mengshe Zhao food, were anxious to conclude the war and return to the Tibetan Plateau.
The people of Mengshe Zhao were even more aware that by breaking off relations with the Great Tang, they no longer had any way to back out. If they could not win this war, all that awaited them was punishment from the Great Tang, the entire Erhai transformed into scorched earth.
All their parents, wives, and children would become sacrifices offered to iron hooves.
Only by winning would they have the s.p.a.ce for negotiation.
Moreover, Mengshe Zhao, Ü-Tsang, and the Great Tang were already mortal foes. So many people had died on both sides that all three were anxious to fight!
Clangclangclang!
Under the dark clouds, the clash of sabers, swords, s.h.i.+elds, halberds, and arrows mixed together in a ma.s.sive din, and the entire mountain flashed with cold glints of light. People were dying in every moment, warhorses neighing as they collapsed.
In this intense battle, even the thickly armored Erhai elephants were being felled under frenzied a.s.saults, much less other people.
"Congratulations to user for killing 6780 soldiers of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army!"
"Warning! The Great Tang has lost 1327 soldiers!"
"Congratulations to user for killing 12400 soldiers of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army!"
"Warning! The Great Tang has lost soldiers! Your forces are rapidly decreasing!"
"Congratulations to user for killing 25600 soldiers of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army!"
"Warning! The Great Tang has lost 3500 soldiers! Your numbers are continuing to fall!"
……
The bl.u.s.tery winds on the summit were causing the banner to snap, while in w.a.n.g Chong"s mind, the Stone of Destiny was alternately congratulating and warning him with a veritable waterfall of messages.
But w.a.n.g Chong had no mind for these messages.
The battle was already at an extremely tense and ferocious stage, and w.a.n.g Chong himself was on edge. Order after order burst from his lips, with messengers rus.h.i.+ng up and down the mountain to deliver them.
"Have General Li Nian and General Zhang Chao reinforce the front line! Use sonic attacks to stop the Erhai elephants! They can"t be allowed to charge up to the summit!
"Dispatch Chen Bo and his saber-axe soldiers to deal with the Tibetans. Tell him to first cut the legs of the horses and then kill the horse!
"Cavalry, get ready to move out!
"Pa.s.s on my order that those who retreat will be executed!"
……
By the time he had reached this final order, w.a.n.g Chong"s eyes were completely red. He was not that sort of cruel and callous general who regarded his soldiers as weeds, but the millions of people of the Central Plains, the fate of the Great Tang for the next century, and the people of the southwest… all of them were tied to this battle.
w.a.n.g Chong had no other choice.
There were times when one had to learn how to make choices!
"Hold!"
All the Great Tang commanders were bellowing orders with all their energy, their eyes red. This was the final battle, and the lives of everyone were on the line. Everyone could feel the powerful scent of death.
This scent was so thick that it made their blood freeze and their bodies tremble.
But no matter how much they fought and killed, the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang soldiers pressed forward in an endless tide, and it seemed like they would never run out.
"Chaaaarge!"
"The Tang are at the end of their rope! Reach the summit and they are doomed!"
"His Majesty has ordered that the first to reach the summit will be made marquis of ten thousand households!"
"The Great Minister has ordered that the first person to break through the Tang defenses and reach the summit will receive the t.i.tle of "Satulu Great Warrior", personally conferred by the Tsenpo!"
……
The Mengshe Zhao and Tibetan generals stood in the black tide of steel, yelling out orders, roaring, and keeping a close watch. A Tibetan horseman whose horse happened to step on a stone and was forced to take a few steps back to steady itself was almost instantly executed.
This sort of frenzied air covered the entire mountain.
Everyone felt like a saber or sword was pressed against their back, compelling them into a crazy charge up the mountain.
Bwoooom!
A yak horn blared, and the sound of this horn was accompanied by a metallic clanging, different from the past signals. Boom!The ground sank as a storm of energy suddenly ascended.
At the base of the mountain towered a highland steed taller than a man, with a muscular figure on its back that was as straight as a spear. The cape on his back snapped in the wind, and his entire body exuded an aura of arrogance and dominance.
Although he had done nothing, this figure was like the sun in the sky, instantly attracting everyone"s attention.
"Huoshu Huicang is moving out!"
In a place that no one was watching, two figures stood in the shadows of the army, silently watching Huoshu Huicang.
"Mm."
Duan Gequan nodded.
"This should be Dalun Ruozan"s plan. His entire strategy has already been broken by that child, leaving him with no other recourse.
"Gequan, Huoshu Huicang is too domineering and arrogant. Once he moves, he will a.s.suredly attract the notice of all the Great Tang. This is our best chance!"
That other voice continued to speak.
"No! Now is not the time!"
Duan Gequan shook his head and immediately rejected the notion. In the gloom, his gaze seemed even darker and gloomier.
"Wait a little longer! In just a few moments, it will be time for us to utterly crush the Tang! Your Majesty, be at ease! Your grand ambitions will be realized. This lowly subject will put all his power into helping you succeed!"
Duan Gequan"s voice was suffused with a powerful will!
Ruler and subject knew each other, and ruler and subject would die for each other!
The Mengshe Zhao of today was one that he and Geluofeng had constructed together, step by step. This was not solely Geluofeng"s dream, but his as well. On the sh.o.r.e of the Erhai, he had once promised Geluofeng that he would help him transform this Erhai from a small kingdom on the southern periphery, bullied by all, into a hegemon of the continent!
He could never allow the empire to fall here, much less allow his dreams to crumble!
"Fifteen minutes! In at most fifteen minutes, I"ll let Your Majesty see the final end of the Annan Protectorate army!"
Duan Gequan looked in the distance, his eyes glowing.
This was a promise a Great General made to his sovereign!
With this promise, all fell silent.
……
Boom!
The ground quaked as Huoshu Huicang finally entered the battle.
A golden light as bright as the sun exploded over the mountain as the ma.s.sive Vairocana Buddha manifested. Majestic and domineering, it loomed over the mountain. The air resounded with Buddhist mantras and hymns.
"Om! Ma! Ni! Pe! Me! Hung!"
The endless light made Huoshu Huicang"s Vairocana Buddha seem incredibly lofty and tall. Just by looking at it from a distance, one would feel a deep shock and respect.
Roar!
Yet Huoshu Huicang was unable to succeed in his a.s.sault. The roaring figure of a giant golden-armored G.o.d, like a deity that had awoken from ages of slumber, raised up a palm and stood up out of the mountain. It instantly began to engage in fierce combat with Huoshu Huicang.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Vast streams of Stellar Energy from the ripples of their battle stirred a fierce gale that threw countless stones into the sky.
This level of battle had already surpa.s.sed the imagination of an ordinary person, and all the surrounding soldiers were retreating.
"Duan Gequan still hasn"t moved?"
While w.a.n.g Yan was using the Mighty Miracle G.o.d Formation to battle Huoshu Huicang, Xianyu Zhongtong was standing at the ready, coolly and calmly staring down the mountain.
w.a.n.g Yan and Huoshu Huicang were battling not too far from him, but Xianyu Zhongtong remained stationary with no intent to intervene. In Xianyu Zhongtong"s view, he had only opponent in this battle: the Erhai Great General, Duan Gequan!
Xianyu Zhongtong"s grudge against the Erhai Great General had not begun today. When Zhangchou Jianqiong was still overseeing the southwest, Xianyu Zhongtong had already developed a grudge against this general.
But no grudge could surpa.s.s the one created in that crus.h.i.+ng defeat on the Erhai plains.
This would be a pain that Xianyu Zhongtong would nurse for a lifetime.
"Reporting to General: he has not! Up to now, only Huoshu Huicang has moved!"
A voice came from the side. The only people around Xianyu Zhongtong were elites of the Annan Protectorate army, and their loathing of Duan Gequan was not one bit inferior to Xianyu Zhongtong"s.
"Duan Gequan has spent all this time hiding behind Geluofeng. Not once has he moved out."
Xianyu Zhongtong was surrounded by generals of the Annan Protectorate army, all of them standing at the ready. The slightest movement would immediately cause them to form the Vajra G.o.d Formation, combining into a power that could lay upon Duan Gequan a fierce blow.
But before that moment, none of these people would take part in any other battle.
"There"s no reason for this!"
Under the black banner representing the Annan Protectorate army, the black-armored Xianyu Zhongtong gazed at that distant chariot, and that powerful figure standing behind Geluofeng. Slowly, his brow began to crease.
"This is the last and decisive battle. The fates of three countries will be decided here. Duan Gequan has been quiet for so many days; there"s no reason for him to still remain hidden in this final battle!"
The Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army had three individuals of the "Great General" level: Geluofeng, Huoshu Huicang, and Duan Gequan. Geluofeng, as sovereign of Mengshe Zhao, would not risk himself by rashly entering the battle. As for the other two, only Huoshu Huicang had ever moved out.
Duan Gequan had remained behind the curtain throughout this battle, never once acting. Perhaps this would have been acceptable before, but for him to do so now was not normal at all.
Xianyu Zhongtong suddenly had a very bad feeling.