Chapter 2158: The Battle Begins!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Good, very good! An Yaluoshan, Gao Shang, Cui Qianyou, Tian Chengsi… you truly were this old man’s most trusted subordinates. This time, this old man will personally send you on your way!”
Zhang Shougui trembled in rage upon seeing all these people deny his ident.i.ty, his mouth twisting into a furious smile.
On the other side, whether it was An Lushan, Gao Shang, or even Ozmish Khagan, none of them dared to permit Zhang Shougui to continue speaking.
w.a.n.g Chong’s methods were far more formidable than they had envisioned, and they could gain no advantage in continuing to talk.
“All soldiers, prepare for battle!” An Lushan immediately ordered, and then he turned his horse around and headed back into his army.
He was worried that if he remained, w.a.n.g Chong would use the chance to stir even more trouble.
Bwoooom!
Horns began to blare, and armor clattered as the alliance soldiers thumped their weapons against the ground. A somber energy erupted from their bodies and soared into the heavens.
Thumpthumpthump!
At the same time, atop several dozen war carts in the rear of the army, bare-chested Hu warriors pounded on war drums, whose rumbling was audible from several hundred li away.
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
Zhang Shougui almost exploded from fury at this sight. He wanted nothing more than to jump down from the wall, cut off An Lushan’s head, and wash away all his humiliation.
He had fallen from a majestic Protector-General to the laughingstock of the court. He would return his shame to An Lushan a hundredfold!
w.a.n.g Chong patted Zhang Shougui on the shoulder and soothed, “Lord Protector-General, restrain yourself for now. You have already waited for so long. Are you afraid that you will not be able to handle that Hu scoundrel?”
The sound of w.a.n.g Chong’s voice finally made Zhang Shougui calm down.
Zhang Shougui held a great deal of respect for w.a.n.g Chong—or perhaps it was better to call it grat.i.tude. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for someone as proud and arrogant as him to calm down so quickly.
“w.a.n.g Chong, this old man has only one request. In this war, you must let me personally execute that unfilial son no matter what! He must die under my saber!” Zhang Shougui sternly said, his eyes red.
“Mm!”
w.a.n.g Chong merely nodded.
Looking at the somber and threatening alliance army across from him, w.a.n.g Chong raised his right hand and firmly ordered, “All soldiers, prepare for battle!”
Bang!
As w.a.n.g Chong gave the orders, the silent fortress instantly transformed.
Boom!
The banging and clattering of metal came from within the fortress.
Soon after that, large, curved pieces of metal began to rise from the fortress. A few moments later, all of the exposed parts of this steel fortress were closed, the walls completely sealed together so that there were no gaps, creating a true steel wall.
And this was only the beginning. With a second rumbling, secret apertures opened up along the outer wall of the fortress. Amidst groaning gears, thousands of Tang ballistae emerged.
Two hundred thousand ballistae appeared, all of them aimed at the alliance army, the ballista bolts carved with grooves and inscriptions. At this moment, the steel fortress truly was a giant beast of war.
Under the supervision of the Bureau of Works, tens of thousands of Tang craftsmen had been working night and day until they had finally produced two hundred thousand ballistae and delivered them to the fortress in the northeast. These ballistae served as w.a.n.g Chong’s most important weapon against the alliance army.
And right after the ballistae appeared, rows of armored soldiers began to appear on the walls, and a significant number of them were equipped with bows. These archers swiftly nocked arrows onto their bows and took aim at the alliance soldiers.
Each of these armored soldiers was bursting with energy, at the very least at Tier 8 of the True Martial realm, with some of them having even reached the Profound Martial realm, clearly much stronger than ordinary soldiers. Their equipment and strength clearly indicated that these were master archers.
The number of master archers that had appeared atop the walls was around twenty to thirty thousand.
“!!!”
The developments that had taken place in the steel fortress over the course of a few seconds left everyone stunned.
“What’s this? How could this be?”
Yeon Gaesomun stared in shock at the ‘steel monster’ before him.
Yeon Gaesomun was Goguryeo’s most fierce and most aggressive sovereign, and he possessed a thunderous reputation in the northeast that made all the other factions apprehensive.
But even Yeon Gaesomun couldn’t help but be stunned by this ma.s.sive being.
The previous steel fortress had just been a powerful defensive barrier, but now, it was a metal monster that was armed to the teeth, excelling in both offense and defense.
Even someone as courageous as Yeon Gaesomun, who had fought in countless campaigns, had never encountered an adversary like this.
The most powerful sovereign in the history of Goguryeo felt alarm, and an immense pressure weighed down on his shoulders.
And it wasn’t just Yeon Gaesomun. The Xi Queen, the Khitan King, and Ozmish Khagan were also in disbelief.
This steel fortress had become far more difficult to deal with than they had ever imagined.
The clanking of gears continued to come from within the fortress. There was no telling what other formidable measures w.a.n.g Chong had in reserve.
The Xi Queen s.h.i.+vered as she asked, “Can we not go around this fortress?”
“Impossible!” Ozmish Khagan said. At this time, his body was surging with energy that repulsed all the snow for several dozen feet around him.
“The steel fortress’s location was chosen for good reason. The region of the Cang Province and Ying Province is a chokepoint that we must get through to go farther south.
“If we try to get around it, then once half of our force is past the steel fortress and the other half is still behind it, that man will strike without hesitation to intercept us. With our center in chaos, even if we try to attack his army from both sides, the disorder will hinder our troops. In the end, all we will have is a major defeat!
“That man is definitely capable of such a thing,” Ozmish Khagan said.
The Xi Queen was too young, and she was no master strategist. Thus, she only half-understood or didn’t understand many things. She also did not understand how frightening w.a.n.g Chong was.
If only it were that easy to move around the fortress!
Alas, that was only a dream.
“But if we can’t pa.s.s through here, why can’t we move through the Eastern Turkic steppe?” the Xi Queen said with pursed lips, unwilling to give up.
“It’s still no good!” Yeon Gaesomun said. In terms of strategy and tactics, he was far superior to the others.
“Have you forgotten about his city in Wushang? That man long ago placed a garrison in Wushang, and he has the Western Turkic Khaganate’s army to help him. In this way, the two fortresses resonate with each other.
“If we try and move around, the army of millions and its supply train will be extremely long. We will have our backs to the Great Tang, exposing our weaknesses. The moment the Tang attack our rear, we will suffer devastating losses.
“The Tang are extremely powerful, comparable to their forces during the Shenlong Era. And now, the Great Tang has an army of one million soldiers. If we make a strategic error like that now, then I estimate that given that man’s abilities, we will lose at least one million soldiers. And even if we succeed in moving around the fortress, we will have one million soldiers left at most. Without an advantage in numbers, we will have no chance of victory.
“Thus, in order to destroy the Great Tang, we can’t rely on any tricks. We can only combine all our forces together, crush this fortress, and then march southward and annihilate the Great Tang.
“The Great Tang’s primary force is here. If we flatten this fortress, the Great Tang will have nothing left to resist us. This battle is the decisive one! There is no going back!” Yeon Gaesomun sternly said.
His eyes were sharp, the six pitch-black sabers on his back making him seem even more awesome and mighty.
When it came to strategy, he was far more capable than the other sovereigns.
The Xi Queen was speechless.
When she looked back at that pitch-black wall that extended all the way to the Ying Province and that confident youth atop it, her eyes flickered.
She had never imagined that this ordinary steel fortress would have this other purpose, and she had certainly not imagined that this one battle would be the decisive one.
The Xi Queen was somewhat regretful as she looked up at that youthful figure.
She knew that he was sharp, but not this sharp!
For the first time, she understood in what way this King of Foreign Lands was formidable!
But there was no time to ponder these matters, for the battle had begun.
Bong! Bong! Bong!
The drums thundered with a special rhythm and strength, plucking at the heartstrings of the alliance army. The millions of soldiers felt their blood seethe and their killing intent swell. Baleful energy soared into the heavens.
The Mengwu War Drums!
These were ancient war drums, said to be made from the skin of an ancient beast. Not only was the skin tough and flexible, it was imbued with a unique power that could raise the morale of the army and their desire to kill.
Even though the countries of the alliance had exerted all their strength, they had only been able to obtain twenty of these Mengwu War Drums.