"Neigh!"
The rumbling grew louder and louder, and a few moments later, everyone could hear the fierce neighing of horses. The earth quaked as countless soldiers began to charge toward Talas.
"Ready!"
Suddenly, a high-pitched voice rang out in front of the first line of defense. In an instant, the armor vibrated, the steel clanged, and the weapons flashed under the gloomy sky. The countless soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate army and Qixi Protectorate army, as well as the mercenaries from the Western Regions, instantly became as firm as a steel wall, but also like a bow that had been pulled to its limit. The atmosphere instantly became somber and somber.
The rumbling of the earth and the neighing of warhorses grew louder and louder. After some time, the air in front of them began to churn as a faint black line, as thin as a hair, suddenly appeared on the horizon. At the start, this black line was very faint, but in the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a massive black wave that began to fiercely shudder.
The Arabs!
The atmosphere instantly became tense. At this time, there was no need to remind them. Everyone knew what they were facing. This was not their first time clashing with the Arabs, but this wave of Arabs gave off a completely different feeling. A defense line of more than sixty li, with so many scouts and rock eagles, had been completely devoid of any news except for one scout who had managed to escape through sheer willpower.
Such a thing had never happened before.
Each of the scouts of the Tang Dynasty had been tempered through blood and fire. In their battles with the Ouzan and the Western Turks, they had completely crushed their opponents, and all of them were extremely experienced. To be able to kill so many elite scouts and prevent them from sending back any news meant one thing.
This time, it was definitely a formidable foe!
"Is this the strength of the Arabs?"
Wang Chong solemnly muttered to himself as he gazed into the distance. Although he had long ago learned from the Khorasani that this army was coming, knowing was one thing and seeing was another. This group of soldiers gave him a completely different feeling from Abu Muslim's. They were even more valiant and capable. This was a true army that had been tempered a hundred times.
Qutaybah. Although he still hadn't seen the commander, Wang Chong already understood what sort of army he was facing. Wind, forest, fire, and mountain — these were the four words of the art of war. The Arabs did not have such a saying, but this army was undoubtedly a perfect fit for these four words. They were as swift as the wind, as gentle as a forest, as aggressive as fire, and as immovable as a mountain. At this moment, even Wang Chong was somewhat shaken, but it was only for a moment before Wang Chong's eyes hardened.
With sixty thousand against four hundred thousand, they were undoubtedly at an extreme disadvantage, but Wang Chong could not retreat, and the Great Tang could not retreat. This battle could only be fought to the bitter end.
"Everyone, hear my order!"
A moment later, Wang Chong's eyes turned sharp.
"Shieldmen, quickly enter the walls! Axemen, prepare to ambush and await orders!
"Craftsmen, prepare to repair and reinforce the walls! Ballistae, scale forty-five! Aim at the center of the enemy formation and fire!
"Fifth Unit, Sixth Unit, and Seventh Unit, await orders and prepare to reinforce at any moment!
"Wushang Cavalry and Mo Saber Unit, hear my order. Wushang Cavalry, take the left flank and prepare to attack at any moment! Mo Saber Unit, hold the line! No one is allowed to move without my order! "
… …
In a few short moments, Wang Chong had issued one order after another, and it was like he had taken a tranquilizer, the entire army suddenly calming down. All the soldiers had determined expressions and bright eyes, as if they had found their pillar of support. They stared at the Arab army, their eyes bright and determined, their eyes devoid of fear.
"Iron Wall Army, get ready! Second Unit, prepare to attack at any moment!
"Twenty-third Unit, twenty-seventh Unit, twenty-ninth Unit, right flank, prepare to attack at any moment!
"Cavalry, prepare to attack at any moment!
"Banahan, Guli, third and fifth Unit, prepare to attack at any moment!"
Almost at the same time, another voice came from the side. Gao Xianzhi's expression was solemn as he issued a series of orders. With these orders, the Anxi Protectorate army and the mercenaries swiftly began to move. And among all the soldiers and horses, there was an army that was fully clad in greenish-black armor that stood out from head to toe.
There weren't many people in this group, only about four thousand or so. However, the aura they exuded was extremely powerful, giving off a feeling of steel and unstoppable. Every single one of them was like a wall of steel, causing others to feel intimidated just by looking at them.
The Iron Wall Army!
This was the most elite force of the Anxi Protectorate army. Gao Xianzhi had spent ten-some years to forge this powerful army. In terms of pure strength, this army was on par with Geshu Han's Divine Martial Army, An Sishun's Dragon Stallion Army, and Zhang Shougui's Celestial Military Governor Army, perhaps even a little stronger.
In the previous battles, Gao Xianzhi had been able to use his sixty to seventy thousand soldiers to resist Abu Muslim's torrential assault, even turning the tides at the most perilous junctures and pushing back wave after wave, all because of this elite army.
These were Gao Xianzhi's true personal guards, the anchor of Anxi. But after two months of fierce fighting, charging into the most intense and cruel battlefront again and again, the Iron Wall Army had paid an enormous price, especially when Abu Muslim personally led his army to the top of the wall. The Iron Wall Army had suffered grievous casualties, its numbers dropping from eight thousand to four thousand.
Moreover, not a single one of the remaining four thousand soldiers had not been heavily wounded. In the end, the Iron Wall Army only had several hundred soldiers who could actually fight.
In the following battles, Gao Xianzhi had left them in the city to recuperate. Even at the most intense moments of the battle, he had not used them. After more than a month and the large amounts of medicine that Wang Chong had brought with him, the Iron Wall Army had finally recovered and regained its fighting strength.
In this battle, this army had been Gao Xianzhi's greatest reliance.
Although their numbers had decreased sharply, the remaining four thousand Iron Wall Warriors were all elites among elites, and they still possessed a terrifying deterrent force, as they had managed to survive more than two months of fierce battles.
The army was silent and solemn, the entire Tang Dynasty camp silent, but an enormous energy was exploding from it.
At this moment, the enormous war machine that was the Tang Dynasty finally revealed a hint of savage light.
… …
In the distance, the earth quaked and metal clattered as the four hundred thousand soldiers got closer and closer to Talas. Finally, when they were still seven or eight li from Talas, that surging flood of steel finally came to a stop.
Above the four hundred thousand soldiers, four banners fluttered in the wind. On these four banners was a black Nile, a black crescent moon, a blazing hellfire, and a black scimitar of flames. These four banners represented the four most outstanding commanders of the Arabian Empire.
At this moment, under the four war flags, four figures with majestic auras stood under the huge war flags like mountains and oceans.
"Abu Muslim, is this the army of the Tang Dynasty you spoke of?"
Beneath the banner, Governor Osman of Cairo's eyes widened as he spoke.
Osman had originally not been very interested in this eastern expedition. He had always felt that the news from Talas had been exaggerated, or perhaps a portion of it had been fabricated by his old friend to cover up his own mistakes. But on this journey, Osman had been forced to admit that although the Tang Dynasty of the eastern world was not very famous in Arabia, all of Arabia, including himself, had probably underestimated it.
The scouts of this empire were extremely elite. Because of an insufficient estimate, they had almost escaped and successfully delivered the information, thus ruining the Arabian plan. Later on, in order to deal with these scouts, Osman had been forced to mobilize nineteen of the best divine archers of the Arabian Empire to suppress them. But even so, one of the scouts had managed to escape.
Not only that, although the Tang Dynasty army only had sixty-thousand-some soldiers, it exuded a steady, dignified, and somber aura that Osman had never seen before. Not even the Sassanid Dynasty could compare to it.
"Mm."
Abu Muslim nodded, his expression extremely solemn as he looked forward.
"The eastern world is extremely mysterious, and we are not familiar with it. Although this Tang army only has sixty thousand soldiers, almost all of the survivors are elites. Everyone must be careful. "
"Haha, no matter where these Tang people come from or how powerful they are, I am not interested in them. There is no army that our Mamelukes cannot conquer. I am only interested in one thing: where is the WuZi Steel -equipped Tang Dynasty cavalry and the Tang Dynasty commander who defeated you?"
Aybak suddenly spurred his horse forward, his eyes cold as he spoke.
In Aybak's view, ordinary battles were no longer enough to satisfy the Mamelukes. Only by defeating the strongest armies of the world could the Mamelukes establish their undefeatable glory.
"Lord Aybak, it's the cavalry on the left flank. The one riding a red warhorse with a body as sturdy as a mountain is their leader. In addition, these eastern infidels have a kind of ballista with astonishing destructive power. Milord, you must be careful! "
Ziyad's voice suddenly rang out as he interjected.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
