The Human Emperor

“Listen up! All of you, listen up! The Hierophant is not dead, and Arabia has not been defeated! Once we find the others, the army can withdraw from the sandstorm. When the time comes and we’ve recovered, we can still conquer the eastern world!
“We were born to be masters of the world! No infidel can defeat us, you hear me?”
The general raised his whip and snarled.
“Right, right, no one can defeat us!”
In front of this savage general, the Arab horseman was like a drowning man, constantly nodding in agreement. But a moment later, there was a whistle through the air, and then that Arab general holding the whip widened his eyes. A huge, bloody hole had appeared in his head, and the arrow that had done the deed had gone straight through and struck another distant Arab horseman.
The general’s body swayed, and then it dropped from the back of the horse.
“Enemy attack! It’s the Tang!”
“Everyone, run!”
Terror engulfed the ranks, the event that everyone feared having taken place. They all scattered to the winds, ending the hard-fought attempt to gather an army.
Gallop!
But before they could run very far, the rumbling of hooves came in hot pursuit, the sound traveling for several dozen li.
Bang!
A group of Tang cavalry charged out of the sandstorm, resolve in their eyes and no hesitation in their movements. It was like the sandstorm around them didn’t even exist.
Swish! In a cold flash of light, an Arab horseman was beheaded, and the thousands of Tang cavalry swept past his fallen body in pursuit of the remaining Arab cavalry.
On one side was the leaderless Arab army and on the other side was the well-trained Tang army acting under specific orders. The final result was obvious.
Men screamed and bodies fell, and it took only a few moments for the battle to end, leaving the ground strewn with hundreds of corpses.
The bloody mist that rose into the air was quickly scattered by the howling winds of the sandstorm.
Over an area covering several thousand li, similar scenes were taking place all across the battlefield.
The bellowing Tang soldiers could be found in almost every direction.
As the Arab army collapsed, to the northwest, an army of several hundred thousand soldiers had quietly gathered. After a long period of chaos, it had finally finished a basic reconsolidation.
“Finally done! With this army, we can at least fight back! Now, we need to gather even more soldiers!”
At the center of this army were two stalwart figures, none other than Abu Muslim and Adnan.
Adnan solemnly nodded. “Mm! At the very least, we’ve managed to establish a foothold. The Great Tang probably hasn’t noticed yet. As long as we’re prepared, we should be able to break out of the Tang encirclement!”
Arabia had already lost this battle. The two of them were keenly aware of this. In this battle, Arabia had lost its two spiritual leaders in the Hierophant and the High Priest, and more than half of the army had been killed. They understood that Arabia had lost the ability to contend with the Great Tang. Their most important task now was to return to Arabia with as much strength as they could.
They at least needed to preserve enough strength so that Arabia could protect itself from the Great Tang.
“Ah!”
The screams of the dying continued to come in from all sides. Adnan and Abu Muslim slightly frowned, but there was no pity or hesitation on their faces.
This was cutting off the tail to save the life. In order to preserve the overall strength of the army, they needed to sacrifice some of it.
“Are they ready?”
Adnan gripped the Blade of Mukala and glanced at Abu Muslim.
“Mm, we’ve already baited Bahram’s army. It won’t be long before we can start our breakout to the northwest, cross the Cong Mountains, and return to Arabia. The majority of the Tang army is infantry, so they won’t be able to catch up to our warhorses!” Abu Muslim said, a bright and profound light in his eyes.
Arabia’s army was primarily cavalry, which were much faster than infantry. This would be the only chance afforded to Arabia in this battle.
“Abu Muslim, stop dreaming! None of you are going back to Arabia!” Suddenly, a cold and resounding voice broke through the sandstorm, ringing out above the Arab army. It was as if someone had been listening in on Abu Muslim and Adnan’s conversation the entire time.
Whoosh!
This familiar voice made Abu Muslim and Adnan shudder, and the two sat up straight, their faces tensing.
Wang Chong!
The supreme commander of the Great Tang and the terrifying expert who had beaten both the High Priest and the Hierophant!
The pair was far too familiar with this voice.
Wang Chong’s voice faded away, soon replaced by thundering hooves and the rumbling advance of infantry formations. It was obvious that numerous Tang soldiers were converging on this area.
These Tang soldiers had appeared without warning and were acting with great cohesion. In the blink of an eye, Abu Muslim and Adnan’s force of several hundred thousand soldiers was surrounded.
“A trap!”
The two of them instantly understood what was going on, their faces paling.
Ever since Khatabah’s death, the two of them had restrained their energy to avoid the senses of Wang Chong and the other Tang commanders. The two of them had believed their attempts successful and that they had succeeded in gathering enough troops to establish a foothold.
But it was now clear that Wang Chong had been watching them the entire time.
They even felt that the army they had gathered had been intentionally driven to them by the opposing army!
Neigh!
The neighing of horses came from the east, and then a wall of cavalry charged out of the sandstorm, their sharp-eyed riders staring at Adnan and Abu Muslim.
And this was only the beginning. From the southeast came another neigh, and then a muscular, pitch-black steed slowly trotted out of the sandstorm. Behind it were the numerous cavalry of the Annan Protectorate and its tens of thousands of infantry.
“Hmph!”
Zhangchou Jianqiong flung aside his cape and coldly sneered.
An Sishun, Gao Xianzhi, and Abusi emerged from their own positions. Adnan and Abu Muslim sensed hundreds of thousands of Tang soldiers emerging from all sides, causing their hearts and the hearts of the soldiers to grow cold.
“Stand ready!”
Adnan’s eyes narrowed as he slowly took out the Blade of Mukala, his entire body slightly arching like a bow as he prepared to leap into battle. In the current situation, Arabia had nowhere to go! They could only fight to the death!
Abu Muslim turned solemn as he fiercely took out his sword and cried out, “Take up formation!”
The situation was extremely dangerous. They would have to put their lives on the line if they wanted to live.
“Which direction do we break out from?”
Adnan’s eyes were like those of a wild beast, but while his eyes were focused ahead, he sent an inconspicuous tendril of Psychic Energy to link with Abu Muslim’s mind.
“The Great Tang deployed many soldiers at the northwest. In contrast, the northeast is where they are weakest. In a little while, we will break out through the northeast and then circle around, traveling through the Western Regions, over the Cong Mountains, through Samarkand, and back to Arabia!
“They won’t be able to catch up to us!” Abu Muslim sternly said.
“Mm!”
Adnan grimly nodded. The last two remaining Great Generals of Arabia swiftly developed their plan. This was a dire situation, but it was not a dead end. The Great Tang would not have an easy time trying to devour the Arabs in one fell swoop.
But just when the two had begun to lead their army in an attack, a metallic clanking and groaning came from the west, penetrating through the sandstorm.
Their hearts immediately thumped in ill foreboding as they turned to look.
Bang!
When they saw the objects emerging from the sandstorm, they trembled as if they had been struck by a lightning bolt, their faces draining of blood.
Ballistae!
With a metallic rumble, thousands of Tang ballistae rolled out of the west. These were the most frightening weapons on the battlefield, even more powerful than the Behemoth Army.
Even the strongest Arab elite wearing the thickest armor was nothing but a lamb to the slaughter for the Tang ballistae.
Worst of all was that the firing range of the ballistae covered both the northeast and southeast.
If the Arab army wanted to break out from the northeast, they would have to go through a death zone of ballista fire.
Abu Muslim and Adnan were not given much time to think. The Tang army began to converge, led by Zhangchou Jianqiong and the other Tang commanders, and even the ballistae began their barrage.