Chapter 915: The Skanda Halo!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Lord Protector-General, do you require my a.s.sistance?”
As the Wushang Cavalry and the Celestial Wolf Cavalry battled, a dignified voice rang out in w.a.n.g Chong’s ears. The Vice Protector-General of the Anxi Protectorate army, Cheng Qianli, rode over to stand next to w.a.n.g Chong and look toward that distant battle.
This clash of elite cavalry had garnered the attention of many people, including the soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate army.
“The general that Duwu Sili has commanding this force of cavalry should be someone called Shamask. I have a little understanding of him. This person has the cultivation level of a Brigadier General, and your general alone might not have the strength to defeat him. If it is required, I can go and help your Wushang Cavalry.”
“General Cheng, my thanks.”
w.a.n.g Chong finally turned his head, a smile on his lips, but the refusal in his eyes was loud and clear.
“But that will not be necessary. The battle has already begun, and even if you were to set off now, you would still arrive too late. Besides, I believe in Li Siye’s strength. No one on the battlefield can kill him.”
Fights between experts were decided in seconds. Cheng Qianli had no understanding of the Wushang Cavalry or how they fought, but w.a.n.g Chong could clearly see that this battle was on the verge of being decided. Moreover, the Arab attacks on the first defense line were intensifying, and w.a.n.g Chong needed a Brigadier General like Cheng Qianli to go to its aid at any moment.
As for Li Siye…
w.a.n.g Chong had unwavering confidence in this future Invincible Great General. As a future elite Great General of the Great Tang, Li Siye could not possibly die in this level of battle!
“Xue Qianjun, go and get ready.”
w.a.n.g Chong quickly turned his eyes back to the battle.
“Yes, Lord Marquis!”
Xue Qianjun swiftly withdrew.
In the distance, the battle between Li Siye and Shamask had reached a critical juncture.
Rumble! The thundering hooves stirred up great clouds of dust as Shamask’s order took effect, the thousands of Celestial Wolf Cavalry rus.h.i.+ng in from all sides, pus.h.i.+ng the Wushang Cavalry out of the area and obstructing their charges. But Shamask had underestimated the power of the Wushang Cavalry.
The Ten Charges Ten Victories Formation was the work of countless people, the crystallization of their efforts and intelligence, and it was hailed as one of the ten strongest formations. This was a supreme cavalry charge formation, and it considered not only the en ma.s.se charge of an army, but also local battles and fights between generals.
All circ.u.mstances were taken into account, and no matter what plan the opponent executed, the formation would have a corresponding variation.
Shamask doggedly pursued Li Siye, keeping close to him in the hopes that this would allow him to avoid any hidden dangers. But such a method was completely useless against the Cutting Formation. Meanwhile, the Wushang Cavalry did not charge off as far as they normally did with this tactic. After getting around fifty zhang away, they immediately began to charge back at full speed, rapidly closing like a metal claw around Shamask.
At this time, the energies of Li Siye, Huang Botian, Kong Zi-an, Hong Youqi, and one hundred other people fused together into an enormous black-skinned Skanda which immediately launched a furious a.s.sault at Shamask.
“Kill!”
Li Siye furiously roared, the heavens seeming to explode. In a manner that defied common sense and the principle of inertia, Li Siye suddenly turned around to face Shamask while maintaining the same speed.
“Mountain River Cyclic Slas.h.!.+”
He grasped his sword with both hands, fused together with his horse, and leaped into the air, where they spun in a circle before slas.h.i.+ng down at Shamask. Boom! A black storm ravaged the area, and in the middle of this storm, a majestic ray of Sword Qi more than seventy zhang tall slashed down.
The Skanda Halo allowed Li Siye to gather the strength of many people, and the supreme Mountain River Cyclic Slash displayed a completely different level of power.
“Stone General Battles the Heavens!”
Almost simultaneously, to Li Siye’s right, Huang Botian used the Stone General’s most powerful move. The earth split open and countless ma.s.sive rocks flew out, gathering around Huang Botian into a ma.s.sive stone arm thirty-some zhang long that immediately punched at Shamask with a thunderous momentum.
“Quaking Earth Dragon!”
“Devil-Weeping Cloud Waves!”
Kong Zi-an and Hong Youqi also used their strongest techniques, charging toward Shamask as their horses fiercely neighed.
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
Shamask’s pupils constricted, and his entire body exploded with rage. He had never imagined that Li Siye would be so bold. He clearly understood that Shamask was a Brigadier General and far stronger than him, and he was clearly injured, yet he dared to turn around and attack Shamask!
“You’re seeking your own death—Celestial Wolf Ghost Dragon Art!”
Shamask immediately used his own strongest technique. Bzzz!The earth rumbled as a black energy surged out of Shamask’s body, and with a shrill howl, this black energy transformed into a devilish black wolf head with teeth bared. Boom! The wolf head burst open, revealing an even larger dragon made of roiling black smoke that surged forth to meet the attacks of Li Siye, Huang Botian, Kong Zi-an, and Hong Youqi.
The Celestial Wolf Ghost Dragon Art!
Only the chief and deputy commanders of the Celestial Wolf Cavalry could learn this technique, one developed through centuries of effort by the mysterious shamans of the Western Turkic Khaganate. Once he had obtained this technique, Shamask had strenuously cultivated it, reaching the superior level where the ghost dragon would burst out of the wolf head. At this stage, the technique would be bolstered by the energies of the heavens and the earth.
Shamask had relied on this technique to kill numerous formidable opponents. Li Siye was only a peak Imperial Martial expert, and even though the Skanda Halo had pushed him into around Tier 5 of the Saint Martial realm, he was still far too weak.
But just when Shamask had placed all his focus on killing Li Siye, Huang Botian, Kong Zi-an, and Hong Youqi, he heard the thundering of hooves at his ear, as if tens of thousands of people were charging at him. His heart thumped, and he immediately took stock of his surroundings, whereupon he was greeted by a sight that caused him to pale in shock.
“This is impossible!!”
Shamask had believed that his order had succeeded in obstructing the tactics of the Wushang Cavalry, but he now realized that he was wrong. The Wushang Cavalry had been utterly unaffected by this attempted interception, and the five thousand Wushang Cavalry were now fifty chains shooting toward him.
And he was at the very center of their a.s.sault!
Shamask wanted to dodge, but it was already too late. Li Siye and the others had turned around and attacked him precisely so they could draw his attention, and the Celestial Wolf Ghost Dragon Art was not a technique that could be called back once manifested.
“Kiiill!”
Shouts resonated through the air as, under countless stunned gazes, the five thousand Wushang Cavalry acted like a river in reverse, charging at a single person. Battlefields were a place where forces clashed against other forces. Never had a military force been used to kill just a single person.
This was theoretically possible, but in reality, the feat was so difficult to pull off that it was essentially impossible.
And this was the first time any of them were seeing cavalry pull off this impossible feat.
Bang!
There was a flash of light as the first wave of several hundred Wushang Cavalry gave a thunderous blow to the enormous ghost dragon. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, and as the several hundred Wushang Cavalry charged through, the terrifying ghost dragon seemed to lose a great deal of its l.u.s.ter.
This was only the beginning, as the first wave was soon followed by a second, a third, a fourth… The endless charges and fierce collisions came fast and thick, heard across the battlefield. And during this process, the strongest attacks of Li Siye and his subordinates also arrived.
No one could clearly make out what was actually happening, as the churning sands stirred by the charge of five thousand warhorses converging on a single point had completely obscured the scene. But everyone could hear that heaven-shaking boom and that miserable scream.
“General!!”
“Milord!”
Behind the second defense line, on the distant hills to the east, on the walls of Talas, and in places even further away, everyone was paying attention to this clash, waiting with bated breath. Duwu Sili, Dalun Ruozan, Dusong Mangpoje, Huoshu Huicang, and Cheng Qianli were all watching this scene. Even w.a.n.g Chong’s veneer of apathy finally showed the smallest crack, his straight brows imperceptibly rising.
Although w.a.n.g Chong had maintained his composure this entire time, sincerely believing that Li Siye could not possibly die here, how could he possibly remain unmoved when the true moment of life or death arrived?
Bang!
The sand and dust still hung over the battlefield, so no one knew the outcome of this clash. However, all of them could see that the invisible strength that had covered the eight thousand Celestial Wolf Cavalry had completely scattered. The illusions that had packed the field suddenly vanished, and with the disappearance of those nearly eight thousand illusions, all the scattered Celestial Wolf Cavalry were exposed.
“Kill! Don’t let him run!”
“Over there!”
Shouts in the Tang language came from the cloud of dust, along with the thundering of horses in rapid pursuit. A burst of cheers immediately rose from the Tang camp. Even though the dust prevented a clear view of the situation, the dispersal of the Celestial Wolf Illusory Formation meant that this was a victory for the Great Tang.
Moreover, the Celestial Wolf Cavalry commander must have been heavily injured, as the formation would not have been broken otherwise.