Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"Mm."
w.a.n.g Chong raised his head slightly and smiled.
"This Tibetan commander is extremely cautious, but even the most cautious commander wouldn"t be able to just watch as we built fortifications on the plateau, especially since the fortress we"re building will also be filling up this triangular gap that"s vital for leaving the plateau. If he were still able to endure, we could have just upped the construction speed and even begun constructing a second fortress… A man"s patience has a limit. I don"t believe that those impulsive Tibetans can last this long."
Ü-Tsang, unlike the Central Plains, was not an agricultural society. Their culture foreordained that they could not be as patient and enduring as the Han. Their nature made them trend toward acting on instinct, and it was for this reason that they were known throughout the world for their ferocity and courage. To put it another way, they were impulsive.
The most cautious and wise Tibetans were only less impulsive in comparison to their peers. People like Dalun Ruozan, well-versed in the texts of the Central Plains, composed, calm, and intelligent, were extremely rare in the Ü-Tsang Empire and could be counted on one hand.
And no matter what, a Tibetan general of such caliber would never just randomly appear in this army before him.
"Have them get ready!"
w.a.n.g Chong looked forward while raising an arm.
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
Li Siye bowed and quickly turned his horse to the rear. "As swift as the wind, as orderly as the breeze blowing through a forest, immovable as a mountain, aggressive as fire." The Wushang Cavalry behind w.a.n.g Chong had already been trained to their peak. Their every movement was as one, and they worked with a tacit understanding that no other soldier could match.
There was none of the loud ruckus made by the Tibetan cavalry. A single order was enough for the army to swiftly gather, forming a stark contrast with the Tibetans. Yet this silent and oppressive killing aura, coupled with the fact that three hundred of them were fresh from their overwhelming victory over two thousand, made it seem like this was the calm before a storm, a formidable pressure that no noise could overcome!
Buzz!
The Tibetans began their a.s.sault far faster than expected. A few seconds later, the earth began to quake and the plateau gra.s.s began to sway and rustle. Meanwhile, the thousands of cavalry were slowly building up speed as they charged.
"Kiiill!"
In an instant, it felt like the sky had torn open. The thousands of Tibetans began to shout and yell, their unified roars reaching into the heavens.
"Full charge, River Formation! Charge in through the s.p.a.ces between the walls. If those Tang barbarians think that they can stop us by just setting up a few steel walls, then they"ve made a grave mistake," Buluhu viciously said.
The Mountain Army was different from other cavalry, which only knew how to charge on open area like the plains, steppe, or the plateau. No matter how complicated the terrain, even on complex mountainous terrain, the Mountain Army could still charge through. Anyone who believed that a few walls could stop them was being far too naive and deeply underestimating them.
Rumble!
The shuddering intensified and the gra.s.s began to sway even more. Eighteen hundred zhang, seventeen hundred zhang, sixteen hundred zhang, fifteen hundred zhang… the distance was shrinking and the Tibetan warhorses were only getting faster. Behind them, churning clouds of dust rose several dozen zhang into the air, adding to the astonis.h.i.+ng momentum of the Tibetan charge.
Not only that, while charging, the Tibetans did not take up their usual Echelon Formation. Instead, they split up into hundreds of small groups, all of them aimed at the gaps in w.a.n.g Chong"s front row of steel walls. In this entire process, none of the Tibetans slowed down, only got faster and faster.
"Interesting! This Tibetan commander is definitely unusual!"
At this sight, w.a.n.g Chong half-closed his eyes. The primary role of this scattered array of steel walls was disrupting the famed Tibetan Echelon Formation and its endless waves of a.s.sault.
This Tibetan commander was not only unusual for remaining cautious even with an overwhelming advantage in numbers. In a situation where the Echelon Formation couldn"t be used, he had still formed his army into another extremely powerful charging formation.
This aspect alone put him over the vast majority of Tibetan commanders.
"Unfortunately, this still isn"t enough, because you simply have no clue what you"re facing!"
w.a.n.g Chong"s eyes twinkled for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal.
The Tibetan general was quite outstanding, but alas, he was completely unaware that he was not facing any ordinary Tang army, but the supreme "War Saint" of the Central Plains. The skills he had displayed were nothing at all in w.a.n.g Chong"s eyes.
The steel walls that w.a.n.g Chong had erected were also not as simple as he thought they were.
"Xu Keyi, have all the craftsmen retreat to the rear. There"s no need to halt construction on the fort. I have a feeling that these walls will quickly come into play," w.a.n.g Chong said, his eyes still looking forward.
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
Xu Keyi bowed and quickly fell back. The three thousand craftsmen at the front quickly retreated to the rear of the army, where they also began to work on the construction of the ma.s.sive fortress.
Fourteen hundred zhang, thirteen hundred zhang, twelve hundred zhang, eleven hundred zhang…
The vast Tibetan cavalry covered the earth, howling through the air as they grew faster and faster, closer and closer. When they reached one thousand zhang, rumble! A halo spread out from w.a.n.g Chong"s feet, swiftly expanding to his entire army.
Clang!
A sword swept through the air, and in that moment, a gale stirred and metal began to clatter. Five thousand Wushang Cavalry shot forward like an arrow leaving its bow, their horses neighing. Though only five thousand, they gave off the invincible aura of tens of thousands.
The Wushang Halo, the Halo of Sharpness, the Halo of Dusk Stallion… these halos appeared beneath the feet of the Wushang Cavalry. At the very front of the army, Li Siye"s giant figure led the charge. Beneath his feet, a ma.s.sive Halo of Thorns exploded like a storm, swiftly spreading to every Wushang.
At the start, the ground beneath the five thousand Wushang had been dim, with no halos whatsoever, but in an instant, four to five top-cla.s.s halos had been added beneath them, and with the addition of the halos from the other officers, each Wushang Cavalry had at least seven different halos.
Cheng Sanyuan, Su s.h.i.+xuan, Xu Keyi… these people each cultivated a different war halo, and when all these halos covered the army, these Wushang Cavalry that didn"t seem very strong were instantly bolstered to terrifying heights.
"How could this be?"
The rapidly swelling strength of the Great Tang cavalry had a ma.s.sive impact on the Tibetan Mountain Army. This was like a tiny and insignificant ant suddenly transforming into a giant that could move mountains.
And the numerous powerful halos beneath the feet of the cavalry were even more astonis.h.i.+ng.
All the Tibetans felt an enormous pressure.
Even their commander, Buluhu, couldn"t help but widen his eyes. He had fought in many places: the Western Regions, Arabia, Greater and Lesser Balur, Tukhara, the Great Tang… but of all the armies he had encountered, none of them had given off as formidable an aura as this army.
Buluhu wanted to alter his plans, wanted to warn his troops, but it was too late. An arrow, once fired, could not be recalled, and besides, this was no longer his choice. Once cavalry began to increase in speed, it wasn"t possible to stop them in a short timeframe, and any attempts to do so would only result in self-destruction.
Just where did this army come from?
This was the only thought Buluhu had time for, as the two armies were already colliding. Boom! Five thousand Wushang Cavalry struck like a bolt of lightning into the Tibetan cavalry.
Clang!
In this din of metal, no one noticed w.a.n.g Chong observing the battle, smiling as he unleashed both the Bane of the Battlefield and the Bane of Generals. The two halos exploded outward and attached to the Tibetan cavalry, including their commander.
The cries of alarm were almost immediate as the entire Tibetan Mountain Army instantly felt their strength drop without any warning.
Neigh!
The cries of horses echoed over the plateau, and then, under countless stunned eyes, the thirty to forty thousand soldiers of the Tibetan Mountain Army began to collapse, mowed down by the five thousand Wushang Cavalry.
The five thousand Wushang Cavalry swept through the army like no one was there, the Tibetans unable to take even a single blow. Countless Tibetans along with their horses were jolted aside and into the air.
"Stop them… Stop them!"
"Those who retreat will die! Attack them from the flanks!"
"Echelon Formation, form up a defense!"
"No one can defeat us Tibetans on the plateau! Attack!"
Shrill shouts filled the air as the Tibetan officers shouted order after order, but no order could avert the Tibetan collapse. The entire army had crumbled, crumbled so quickly that it was difficult to believe.
……
"Heavens! What am I looking at?! Quickly report this to the General! Hurry!"
"I"ve gone crazy! How could our Great Tang have such a formidable army! This is the plateau! And they"re fighting Ü-Tsang"s elite Mountain Army!"
"General definitely won"t believe us."
Far from the battlefield, eagles were taking off into the sky as the spectating Qixi scouts watched the battle in shock and awe. After fighting with the Tibetans for so many years, they were finally seeing that the Great Tang cavalry could also be this formidable and possess such a powerful charge.
On the plateau, they were even capable of utterly crus.h.i.+ng those Tibetans, the "proud sons of the plateau".