"Hmph, Abu Muslim, be at ease. I will personally defeat the Tang Dynasty army for you, destroy Talas, and flatten the first obstacle in your path to the east."
Aybak coldly sneered.
"I have no doubts about the strength of the Mamelukes, but I hope that you will pay attention to that young commander of the Tang Dynasty."
Abu Muslim's eyes were calm. From the moment he had appeared, his gaze had not rested on anyone else, but on that young figure behind the first defense line.
"In addition, Masil and his Mamelukes died at the hands of that Tang Dynasty commander."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden silence under the war flag. Not many people in the Arabian Empire knew of Masil, but there was almost no one who did not know of the Behemoth Army. Not even Aybak dared to say that the Mamelukes could rely on their advantage in numbers to deal with the Behemoth Army. In a flash, Aybak, Osman, and Abu Muslim all turned to look at Wang Chong as if they had been attracted by a magnet.
"There's no harm in being careful. I've already notified the Ouzan and Western Turks in the eastern world. They have a deep understanding of the Tang people. With their help, we can completely defeat the Tang people!"
Abu Muslim said.
"There's no need for such trouble!"
At this moment, a cold and firm voice resounded in everyone's ears. Beneath the black banner of flame, the dazzling golden armor of Qutaybah slowly stepped forward, his eyes cold and his lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile as he rode up from the rear.
"Abu Muslim, you've truly disappointed me. A single battle has made you so fearful of the slightest danger. It seems like I truly overestimated you."
"Buzz!"
Abu Muslim, Aybak, and Osman paled at these words and turned to Qutaybah. Vice Governor Ziyad's face was trembling in fear, and his complexion was extremely nasty. As Abu Muslim's left and right arms, they had fought side by side for ten-some years. Ziyad had a deep respect and reverence for Abu Muslim. In the past, if anyone dared to insult Abu Muslim in front of Ziyad, Ziyad would have already attacked to protect Abu Muslim's reputation. But no matter how dissatisfied Ziyad was, he had no choice but to swallow his dissatisfaction.
The Governor of War, Qutaybah!
He was the strongest governor of the Arabian Empire, possessing terrifying strength and the finest soldiers under his command. Not even Abu Muslim or Ziyad could compare to him.
In the Arabian Empire, Qutaybah possessed indisputable strength.
"I don't know anything about Ü-Tsang and the Western Turks. The Arabian Empire doesn't need such weak allies to conquer a country. Pass on my order!
Qutaybah coldly said.
"But, Milord …"
Ziyad still wanted to say something, but Abu Muslim quickly cut him off.
"Qutaybah, we'll do as you say!"
Abu Muslim said.
Qutaybah only glanced at Abu Muslim for a moment before turning around and vanishing into the army.
"Milord! Qutaybah is going too far! They've never interacted with the Tang people, nor do they know how formidable they are. Ouzan and the Western Turks are already on the way. Can't they even wait two days? "
Once Qutaybah had vanished, Ziyad indignantly said.
"Ziyad, we've already lost Talas. We've lost the right to speak in this battle."
Abu Muslim shook his head and slowly said, "Ziyad, we've already lost Talas. Arabia was an extremely realistic and cruel country. Everything was decided by strength. No matter how great the reputation and prestige of the Governor of Iron and Blood had been, a defeat was a defeat, and a loser had no right to argue.
"And although Qutaybah is arrogant, there's no doubting his strength. With the soldiers under his command and our support, even if the Ouzan and the Western Turks haven't arrived, we might still be able to defeat the Tang people. As long as we can conquer the entire eastern world, my personal grudges with Qutaybah are insignificant. Pass on my order! Prepare for battle! "
Abu Muslim waved his hand.
"Yes!"
Ziyad had a complicated expression on his face, and after a few moments of hesitation, he finally left to carry out the order.
… …
While the Arabs were observing the Tang Dynasty, Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi, and the others were also observing this unprecedentedly powerful Arab army.
"Milord! The Arabs are preparing to move! "
Xue Qianjun suddenly said next to Wang Chong.
"Pass on my order! Prepare for battle!"
Bwoooom!
At this moment, the blare of a horn came from the distant Arab camp. In an instant, the mood changed, and all sound vanished. Rumble! The earth quaked as the halted Arab army began to move once more, the four hundred thousand soldiers once more advancing toward Talas with a momentum that seemed capable of toppling mountains and overturning seas.
Clang!
At the very front of the army, an Arab general with sharp eyes suddenly trembled. There was a clattering of metal as a dark moon war halo erupted from the feet of his warhorse. This halo was enormous, and it rapidly expanded from his feet to the tens of thousands of Arab soldiers behind him.
As if acting as a signal, clangclangclang! Sharp rays of light began to shoot out from beneath the warhorses of the Arab cavalry. Unlike the Arab cavalry, the halos beneath these horsemen were twice as large, and the energy they exuded was even more dazzling and powerful.
From a distance, one could even smell the oppressive stench of blood.
"Buzz!"
A second later, all the Tang Dynasty soldiers watched as a dark shadow suddenly shot out of the ground, surging toward Talas like a tide. In a flash, the Arab cavalry seemed to be covered in a layer of mysterious black fog, fusing with each other and making them difficult to identify.
Brrrooom! The four hundred thousand Arab cavalry surged forward like an avalanche, their speed exploding as they charged toward the Tang soldiers. They were traveling with incredible speed. At the start, they were still six li away, but in the blink of an eye, they had crossed several thousand feet and were still rapidly advancing.
"Buzz!"
Wang Chong's eyes widened at this sight.
So fast!
Abu Muslim's army could never advance at such a terrifying speed. Wang Chong was sure that this was the army of that Arab War God Qutaybah.
"What powerful strength!"
Wang Chong looked forward, his expression extremely solemn. This charge was so concentrated that it was almost tangible. Just this point alone was enough to surpass the vast majority of armies in this world, and not even Abu Muslim's army could compare.
"Wang Chong!"
At this moment, a voice rang out in his ear. Cheng Qianli had stopped his horse at Wang Chong's side, his eyes focused on a certain place in the sky, his expression extremely grave. Wang Chong followed his gaze and saw that the Arab army had been shrouded in shadows at the start, but now, an invisible energy seemed to engulf the world, creating a sandstorm.
— — This was clearly a powerful army that had simultaneously cultivated some kind of powerful technique and raised it to the limit to produce an illusion!
"… The enemy we're facing this time is probably even stronger than we imagined!"
Cheng Qianli muttered.
In his many years of campaigning in the Western Regions, Cheng Qianli had seen many powerful armies, but none of them, not even the Western Turks or the Ouzan, had ever displayed such astonishing momentum. From a certain perspective, this was already similar to the 'formation phenomena' of cavalry formations.
"We've all underestimated Arabia! The Tang Dynasty has always limited itself to the borders of the Central Plains and never paid much attention to Arabia. We know far too little about them! This empire is far more difficult to deal with than we imagined! "
Cheng Qianli grimly said.
It wasn't that the Tang Dynasty had never interacted with Arabia, but their interactions were mostly economic and trade. A caravan would take a long time to transport goods, a round trip taking at least six months. As for those chubby and charmingly naive Arab merchants in the capital, they only knew that they were extremely wealthy and had access to corals, agates, jadeite, jade, gems … the Tang Dynasty knew almost nothing about Arabia.
Arabia, on the other hand, had a much greater understanding of the Tang Dynasty. Arab caravans could enter the Tang Dynasty, but Tang dynasty caravans could rarely enter Khorasan, much less Baghdad.
"I also cannot escape the blame for this matter. As the Anxi Protector-General, I patrol the Western Regions for many years, but I only have a limited understanding of Arabia, much less anyone else."
After a long period of silence, Gao Xianzhi sighed, a look of self-blame on his face.
There were many reasons why Gao Xianzhi had not gone to gather information on Arabia in his ten-some years of guarding the Western Regions. The power structure of the Western Regions was complex, and suppressing the kingdoms of the Western Regions had consumed far too much of his energy. Moreover, Arabia and the Tang Dynasty were far apart, and there were many small kingdoms in between … But no matter what, these were all excuses.
"After this battle, whether we win or lose, if we are lucky enough to survive, I will definitely submit a memorial to the Imperial Court and think of a way to expand the horizons of the Tang people of the Central Plains so that they can see the world beyond the Central Plains and gain a greater understanding of Arabia and the other kingdoms!"
Gao Xianzhi sternly said.
"Lord Protector-General, now is not the time to talk about this. It won't be too late to talk about it after we defeat the Arabs. Moreover, the Arabs … aren't that strong! "
Wang Chong suddenly said, his eyes suddenly turning profound.
The Arabs truly were powerful, but the Tang Dynasty was not an opponent that Arabia had ever encountered.
"No matter what, we must win this battle!"
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