Chapter 1831 - Behemoth Charge!
Chapter 1831: Behemoth Charge!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Focus! The Behemoth Army has mobilized! The enemy wants to use these Behemoths to break our defense line!” Gao Xianzhi called out. At this moment, six powerful mental waves intersected together.
Although all six Great Generals could stand together, each of them was a top-class commander. Thus, by having each of them preside over their army, they could strengthen the morale of the soldiers and more effectively exhibit the strength that had allowed them to rise to the very top of the empire.
“If all goes as expected, the Behemoths are being used to open the way, and the cavalry will be right behind them. Without the steel defense line, we’ll find it hard to resist the charge of such a large army.”
Gao Xianzhi had fought against the Arabs multiple times, and he still remembered those massive Behemoths and the fearless Arab cavalry like everything had just happened yesterday. He did not dare to take them carelessly.
In the center of the army, Wang Chong subtly nodded.
“I’ll deal with the Behemoths. I estimate that there are two to three hundred thousand cavalry using those Behemoths as cover. If his plan proceeds smoothly, Khatabah will probably order a full offensive!”
Even though this was his first time clashing with Khatabah, Wang Chong was no stranger to his record. Moreover, twenty-some days ago, Wang Chong had ordered his subordinates to gather all the information they could about Khatabah, including accounts of his battles.
Khatabah was a man who was outwardly coarse and inwardly meticulous, both courageous and shrewd. His most defining attribute was his strategy of extreme pressure, using an assault of numerous soldiers to crush the enemy.
Through this high pressure, he would expose the flaws of his enemies, and when these flaws were exposed, Khatabah would commit his entire army and tear that flaw into a gaping wound that would lead the entire enemy army to collapse.
It was a simple but effective tactic!
“Thus, in this first wave, we have to crush those several hundred thousand cavalry no matter what!” Wang Chong said.
Even though the first wave seemed to have the smallest number of soldiers, it would have at least two hundred thousand at minimum while the Tang army as a whole only had six hundred thousand. This was no small number, and it would be no easy task to rout this Arab force.
But Wang Chong had barely spoken when a voice rang out in his mind.
“Leave the soldiers on the left flank to me. My Annan Protectorate army has not fought in a long time, so it’s high time they were honed to a sharp edge.
“Moreover, I truly wish to see how different the Arab cavalry are from the Tibetan cavalry!” Zhangchou Jianqiong firmly declared.
His sharp eyes were burning with intense fighting intent.
The renowned Minister of War of the Great Tang suddenly began to exude a completely different aura.
It was like a dusty sword was finally taken out of its sheath, revealing its sharp and brilliant edge.
He couldn’t even recall the last time he had taken part in such a large-scale war.
The blood of a soldier and the will to fight had already seeped deep into every part of his body.
No matter how dusty it was or how long it had been forgotten, as soon as a battle was imminent, a Great General’s blood would begin burning, and he would once more radiate his former glory.
As all their minds were connected, they could sense the transformation in Zhangchou Jianqiong, and all of them subtly nodded. This Zhangchou Jianqiong was the true Tiger of the Empire, the one they wanted to see.
“As for the right flank, leave it to me!” Right after Zhangchou Jianqiong, Beiting Protector-General An Sishun’s voice rang out.
“I have almost entirely cavalry under my command. Alas, Beiting is too far from the Western Regions. This time, let me see just how formidable this empire west of the Cong Mountains really is. Let me see if its soldiers are stronger than the Beiting Protectorate army!”
An Sishun spoke in a nonchalant tone, yet within this nonchalance was a tyrannical energy.
The Beiting Protectorate was the region that saw the most combat, and An Sishun had many border generals under his command. He needed to defend against both the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates.
While An Sishun was not the most famous of the empire’s Great Generals, nor did he have any miraculous victories under his belt, few people recognized that the Beiting Protectorate army was singlehandedly holding off two great empires.
His army might have been larger than the other protectorate armies, but he was still fighting outnumbered.
Without any outstanding trait, it would have been impossible to survive in that environment, much less restrain those two Khaganates.
Wang Chong smiled. Amongst these Great Generals, he had only ever worked with Gao Xianzhi. Not once had he fought alongside Zhangchou Jianqiong and An Sishun.
“Then I will leave the flanks to you two!” Wang Chong said.
He couldn’t help but feel a hint of anticipation over how Zhangchou Jianqiong and An Sishun would do on the battlefield.
“As for the rest, they won’t be able to get past the defense line.”
Wang Chong looked at the silver-colored steel walls that covered the land like fish scales.
In setting up these defense lines, Wang Chong had taken into account a cavalry charge. Unless the defense line were entirely dismantled, a force of cavalry could never even dream about charging through to the very end!
“High Priest, I leave those steel defense lines to you! As long as you can dismantle those steel walls, I can end the battle today and wipe out these Tang!” Khatabah said from atop his Behemoth.
“Heh, you can leave them to me!”
There was a soft rustle as the tent flap behind him was raised. A man came out and stood shoulder to shoulder with Khatabah.
Boom!
A moment later, the earth began to tremble, and then a massive silhouette blotted out the sky, casting a shadow over tens of thousands of Arab soldiers.
Roooar!
A deafening roar resounded in everyone’s ears, bleak, savage, and terrifying.
“It’s a Behemoth!”
A Tang soldier who had taken part in the Battle of Talas immediately recognized that massive creature and was stricken by fear.
Only those who had taken part in the Battle of Talas knew just how terrifying the Behemoths were. Back then, the charge of a single Behemoth had nearly destroyed the walls of Talas and decided the battle.
Ballistae, arrows, and spears were powerless against a Behemoth. These terrifying creatures were truly not something he wished to face a second time.
As this rhino-shaped Behemoth stomped forward, the shuddering of the earth only intensified.
Everyone could only watch in shock as another small mountain of a Behemoth appeared behind the rhino, an enormous ape.
And then came a third, a fourth… A few moments later, twenty-some massive Behemoths had made their way through the army in an orderly fashion and drawn themselves up on the front line.
But there were still even more to come. Thirty, thirty-five, thirty-eight…
In the end, sixty to seventy Behemoths had gathered, so many that they completely blocked out the millions of Arab soldiers behind them.
This shocking sight and that frenzied storm of energy made everyone behind the steel defense line pale.
“This is going to be difficult!”
Gao Xianzhi’s heart instantly sank.
Although the Arabs had also sent their Behemoth Army in the Battle of Talas, there had been far fewer. These Behemoths alone would be enough to deal a destructive blow to the Great Tang.
Creee!
A sharp and incredibly high-pitched whistle penetrated through the air.
Awooooo!
Raaaah!
Roooar!
The beasts instantly roared, the ape, rhino, wolf, tiger, and bull Behemoths all turning red in the eyes as they began to charge toward the southeast.
The earth shuddered under the charging Behemoths, and even the City of Steel swayed. The air instantly became fraught with tension.
“Apolis, take ten Governors and Deputy Governors and immediately charge right behind the Behemoth Army! Once the Behemoths destroy the defense line, kill all the eastern infidels!” A domineering mental wave carrying Khatabah’s cold voice resounded in the mind of a powerful Arab general stationed in the front.
This general had an imposing and muscular figure that was bursting with power. His pitch-black armor was covered in spikes, making him seem like a human hedgehog. This man was none other than Khatabah’s vanguard general.
“Yes! Hierophant!”
Apolis turned to Khatabah and bowed, and then he stood back up and mounted his armored steed.
At this moment, another mental wave traveled up to the elephant Behemoth. “Hierophant, Abu Muslim requests to join the battle!”
In the rear, Abu Muslim kneeled on the ground.
Abu Muslim had been looking at the Hierophant from the very start, but even though Apolis was about to head into battle, he had not heard his name.
The east was where he had been defeated, and he could not accept being a spectator.
“There’s no need!” Khatabah coldly replied, not even glancing at Abu Muslim. “Apolis is enough for the first wave. I have my own plans for when you need to be sent out.”
Abu Muslim could only kneel there in silence, his face turning red.
Rumble!
A few moments later, Apolis, Khatabah’s outstanding vanguard general, rode off with ten-some Governors and Deputy Governors, commanding an army that surged toward the City of Steel in a vast wave.
“Kill!”
“Kill these infidels and be richly rewarded by the Caliph and the Hierophant!”
“Destroy them! Tear them to pieces!”
Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi had been correct in their judgment. In the first wave, the Arabs had only sent two-hundred-thousand-some cavalry.
This army still occupied the entire horizon. This was a force about half the size of the army that had been present at the Battle of Talas.
But for the Arabs, it was just the first wave, meant merely to test the enemy’s defenses.
Seventy thousand feet, sixty thousand, thirty thousand…
The distance was closing rapidly, those Behemoths moving with surprising speed.