Chapter 995 - The Governor of Iron and Blood's Confusion!
Chapter 995: The Governor of Iron and Blood’s Confusion!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Of the four Behemoths, only the giant ape was still alive, but this one alone would be enough to deal a destructive blow to the Tibetans. Moreover, an army burning with righteous indignation was bound to win. The Tang had just defeated the Arabs, so their morale was at its peak. To recklessly attack them at this moment was an exceedingly poor idea.
Wang Chong, strength that you’ve borrowed is not strength of your own. You’ve lost your greatest barrier and returned to the starting point. What will you do now? Dalun Ruozan inwardly mused.
As he gazed at the now-stationary giant ape and the young figure on its left shoulder, Dalun Ruozan gave a faint smile. For some reason, the sight of the Arabs withdrawing finally made him relax.
In the end, Wang Chong had not died to the Arabs.
There was still a chance to realize his dream, to personally defeat Wang Chong in the realm of strategy and schemes!
……
Several thousand zhang from Talas, the war drums began to thunder. Standing on the giant ape’s shoulder, Wang Chong finally gave the order to retreat. This order made it seem like the Tang army had run into an invisible wall that halted its pursuit.
At this moment, the Great Tang army displayed its superb level of training and discipline.
“Chong-er.”
The dignified, steady, and familiar voice of Wang Yan came from the ground. Wang Yan was seated on his stalwart horse as he looked up with worried eyes at his son.
“How is this giant ape doing? Can it hold?”
The death and collapse of Behemoth after Behemoth had deeply stunned both sides of this battle. Wang Yan still had no idea what was happening, nor did he ask. However, their consecutive deaths clearly indicated that something was very wrong.
“It’s fine. The Consecrated can still hold on!” Wang Chong indifferently said.
Although he was inwardly concerned, he showed none of this on his face. The deaths of the Behemoths were unavoidable. Regardless of what the specific reason was, this was already a fact. More importantly, the deaths of the three Behemoths had an even subtler effect on the battlefield.
In front, on the western horizon, the fleeing Arab army had already slowed down. They were still recovering from the shock, but they were clearly less frightened and panicked. From the giant ape’s shoulder, Wang Chong could even see that Abu Muslim and Ziyad were beginning to reconsolidate the army.
I hope that the giant ape can last a little longer…
Wang Chong turned to the giant ape. Both of the ape’s ears were leaking black blood, and from his perspective, he could even see that black blood was leaking from the giant ape’s eyes and nose. The pungent odor in the air was extremely thick now.
The giant ape’s condition was awful. Its breathing was extremely slow and heavy, like creaky bellows, and its aura was rapidly weakening. Wang Chong was already doing his utmost to slow the death of the giant ape’s brain, minimizing the Psychic Energy he sent into the giant ape’s mind. But the death of the giant ape appeared to be inevitable.
Wang Chong could only drag out the ape’s death as long as possible.
“Abu Muslim is not easy to deal with. With the death of these three Behemoths, Abu Muslim appears to have recovered his spirit, his ambitions on the Great Tang revived. If the last Behemoth dies, we will have to prepare for the worst scenario,” Wang Yan worriedly said.
Before coming west, no one had known of Abu Muslim’s name, but by now, everyone was aware of the Arabian Empire and Abu Muslim. This empire’s strength was far greater than they had all imagined.
And as the highest commander of the east, Abu Muslim was brimming with ambition. The smallest flaw would have him leaping like a tiger. He would never relinquish a chance to conquer and destroy his foes. Wang Yan had never fought such a powerful enemy in his life, but there had never been a Great General like the Governor of Iron and Blood, so thirsting with the desire for conquest.
This was someone who appeared to exist solely for battle!
For him, the desire for conquest surpassed the will to live, transforming into an instinct.
“Father, be at ease. He won’t.”
Wang Chong suddenly smiled at his father’s words. His sharp eyes peered into the distance, seemingly seeing through all things.
“The Arabs have suffered enormous losses, far more than we have in this battle. I’ve taken control of the Behemoth Army, and the Skyquaking Army has lost more than half its number. Without the assistance of these two powerful armies, Abu Muslim doesn’t have much of an advantage over us. More importantly… the Arab morale is in no state for another battle!”
Wang Chong spoke with absolute confidence. As the War Saint, Wang Chong saw far more than most. The only reason the Tang had been able to rally and counterattack in this battle was that he had found the flaw in the crucial Behemoths, allowing him to alter the course of this battle through Psychic Energy.
By using the Behemoths’ abilities, Wang Chong had been able to galvanize his army and launch a counterattack against the Arabs. But the Arabs were still fearful, panicked, and uneasy… So long as one Behemoth still existed, they would remain intimidated.
In this situation, the greatly spent and demoralized Arab soldiers could not start another battle. Only Abu Muslim himself was capable of doing anything, but one man against one army was simply fantasy.
Moreover, after consecutive battles, Abu Muslim’s reserves were spent, and even he needed some time to recover.
……
As Wang Chong observed Abu Muslim and the Arab army, Abu Muslim was also observing the halted Tang army.
Wang Chong’s judgment was correct. Abu Muslim was not faring very well. Using the Eye of the Demon God did not come without a price, and it was no easy feat to fight against four Behemoths at once.
Abu Muslim was no longer in his peak condition.
“Have you brought him over?” Abu Muslim suddenly asked without turning his head.
“Lord Governor, he is here.”
A brutish voice came from the rear, and then a small mountain of an Arab general threw over a red-robed attendant so thin that he seemed to be made of nothing but bones. With a thump, Masil’s attendant crashed into the ground in a cloud of dust.
Cough, cough!
The red-robed attendant got up from the ground, his face stained with blood. The servants and attendants of Masil did not know any martial arts, so their bodies were much weaker. Being tossed to the ground had inflicted significant wounds on him.
But this red-robed attendant had no time to worry about his injuries. He looked up in fear at the imposing figure before him, his legs trembling as if they were ready to drop him back to the floor at a moment’s notice.
“Lord… Lord Governor.”
The attendant’s voice was shaking so badly that it seemed like he was going to cry.
Abu Muslim slightly frowned, but he quickly put the matter aside.
“I ask you, what happened with those Behemoths? Their bodies were clearly fine, with no lethal injuries, so why did they abruptly die?”
The Behemoth Army was the strongest force of the Arabian Empire, far stronger than any other army, and it was the Caliph’s most cherished army. It was precisely for this reason that Abu Muslim had only asked to use the Behemoth Army after finding himself stuck in a stalemate at Talas for two months. But the Behemoths had first been controlled by the enemy, and then they had abruptly died. This news was certain to send an enormous shock through the empire.
The countries that the empire had conquered might begin to have rebellious thoughts and begin thinking about a revival.
“Milord, the Behemoths… the Behemoths will die because their brains, their brains are simply not that powerful.”
The attendant’s voice was panicky, his forehead drenched in sweat. In just a few moments, his hands and feet were soaked.
“Their brains? What do you mean?”
As Abu Muslim turned to face the attendant, Ziyad did so as well, his face fraught with confusion. The pressure exerted by the stares of these two commanders made the red-robed attendant even more afraid, and he bowed his head past his waist.
“I don’t know the specifics. This was only something I happened to hear while serving at Lord Masil’s side…” The attendant quivered, not daring to hide anything. “Although the Behemoths have extremely large bodies, their brains are very small and fragile. They can’t endure the control of Psychic Energy for very long. Thus, unless it was absolutely necessary, Lord Masil did not use Psychic Energy to control the Behemoths. He more often used indirect methods, doing his utmost to maximize the destructive nature of the Behemoths.
“The Behemoths are powerful, but they’re still essentially beasts that act on instinct. This instinct isn’t a problem when attacking cities or destroying fortifications. One only needs to make sure that the Behemoths don’t get too close to each other.
“I heard all of this from Lord Masil.”
The red-robed attendant’s body went stiff from fear as he fell silent.