"Release!"
With another order, tens of thousands of arrows rained down, engulfing the Arabs on the Tigris River. Bangbangbang! This time, the beehives were no longer targeting the Arabs on the boats, but the wooden boats crossing the Tigris River.
"Careful!"
"Protect the boats!"
The Arabs had reacted very quickly, but wooden boats were not soldiers. They were too densely packed and not easy to defend. Bang! Bang! Bang! With a series of crisp sounds, a wooden boat was riddled with holes. The rain of arrows had holes that looked like honeycombs, and it quickly sank into the rapidly flowing Tigris River.
One boat, two boats, three … one boat after another was quickly sunk into the river. The Arabs had made many preparations, all the boats being covered in metal to strengthen their defenses, but the powerful beehives that the Tang Dynasty had installed on the walls were still no match for them.
"No matter the price, all soldiers charge!"
The Three Titans of Black Radiance quickly appeared on the Tigris River as three enormous storms of energy approached. They raised their heads, their gazes sweeping over the walls toward Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi, and Bahram.
In their correspondence, Wang Chong's group had completely toyed with them, causing the Three Titans of Black Radiance to burn with rage. They wanted nothing more than to immediately kill Wang Chong's group.
In the entire Arabian Empire, no one had ever dared to humiliate them like this.
Rumble!
In the blink of an eye, the Tang, Khorasani, and rebel soldiers on the other side of the river watched as more than ten thousand wooden boats emerged from the rear of the Arab army and were tossed into the Tigris River. In just a few moments, the Tigris River was once more covered in wooden boats.
"Charge!"
With this order, the Hundred Vying Boats once more shot toward the majestic walls of Khorasan.
"Cui Piaoqi, Li Siye, Banahan, King Gangke, get ready!"
Wang Chong said without turning his head as he stared at the Arabs charging at him.
"Yes, this general obeys!"
Behind him, everyone responded in unison. They quickly turned around and headed down the city wall.
"Qianli, Yuanqing, Shiyi, the three of you should go as well."
Gao Xianzhi looked at the opposite side and ordered.
"Eben, you go."
Bahram spoke at almost the same time.
"This general obeys!"
Behind Bahram, an early-level Imperial Great General bowed and began to descend the walls.
The ships were getting closer and closer. People were constantly shot through by the rain of arrows, and there were also ships constantly falling into the water and sinking into the Tigris River. Along with their horses, they were overturned by the huge waves and washed downstream. Even though the Arabs had suffered grievous losses, with tens of thousands of soldiers dying in the Tigris River in just a few rounds of attacks, the Arabs had not been able to resist. But a mere several tens of thousands of soldiers was a negligible number to the more than seven hundred thousand Arab cavalry gathered in the army.
"Crash!"
The river trembled and white waves surged. A wooden boat was the first to cross the Tigris River and reach the opposite bank.
An Arab horseman clad in thick black armor jumped off the wooden boat and landed on the sturdy shore on the other side of the river. One, two, three … more and more horsemen leaped onto the shore and began to make their way toward the majestic walls of Khorasan.
"Kill them all!"
"Prepare the ropes!"
"Siege ladders, prepare!"
… …
Shouts resounded through the city walls as the Arabs once more displayed their immense ability to mobilize and organize. In terms of conquest, few civilizations could compare to the Arabs. Not only did the Arabs not fall into chaos under the assault of the beehives, they even began to organize siege ladders on the other shore.
From the imposing walls, one could see heavily-armored Arab soldiers assembling the steel parts into steel siege ladders. Translated by: Hypersheep325 Edited by: Michyrr In the middle of the army, the Arab horsemen took out large bags made of black leather, from which they extracted long ropes.
"Siege troops, get ready!"
An Arab general bellowed from below the walls. Following his orders, long ropes were quickly handed over to the burly, muscular, and explosive warriors who were a head taller than the other warriors.
Swish!
With a shrill whistle, these Arab 'strongmen' swung the ends of their ropes. After taking aim, they swung them, sending the thick and heavy ropes whistling through the air toward the high walls.
Xiu, xiu, xiu, just when they were a few feet away from the top of the city wall, an astonishing scene occurred. At the end of these ropes, steel ropes as thick as a finger suddenly extended out, and at the end of each steel rope was a sharp steel claw. Clangclangclang! Seven or eight sharp claws shot out and latched onto the walls, securing the steel ropes to the walls of Khorasan.
"Go!"
With this order, the ropes were pulled taut and fixed to the ground, and the agile Arab soldiers quickly began to climb up the steel ropes to the walls of Khorasan.
In just a few moments, the eastern shore of the Tigris River had been completely occupied by the Arabs. Even the rushing waters of the Tigris River had been blocked by the Arab warships, with not a single wave to be seen.
The atmosphere was getting tenser and tenser!
On the high walls, Wang Chong stood with his hands behind his back, silently looking down at the Arab army, his expression calm and unperturbed. Behind him, all the soldiers were waiting for Wang Chong's order.
Wang Chong said nothing, only silently gazed at the rapidly flowing Tigris River. More and more Arabs were crossing the river and reaching the eastern shore. Fifty thousand, one hundred thousand, one hundred and fifty thousand … When the number of soldiers on the eastern shore reached two hundred thousand, Wang Chong's eyes flashed with cold light and he immediately swung down an arm.
"Attack!"
With Wang Chong's order, the dense beehives on the walls began to attack, a torrent of arrows howling through the air. At almost the same time, the several thousand Tang ballistae suddenly changed directions. Instead of aiming at the Arab soldiers below the walls, they began to tilt, following the taut ropes as they aimed at the Arab soldiers climbing up the walls.
"Buzz!"
The Arab soldiers at the very front were in the midst of accelerating their charge when they suddenly saw a flashing arrowhead in front of them and a massive ballista in the rear. Their eyes went wide and their pupils constricted as an unprecedented sense of danger swept through their bodies.
"Not good! Jump! "
The Arab soldier at the very front immediately released his arm in fear and prepared to jump down. But before he could do so, boom! A massive ballista bolt shot out of the ballista like a dragon emerging from the sea, piercing through his shoulder and sending him flying backward.
Swishswishswish! Ballista bolts flew through the air and blood splashed through the air. The Arab soldiers climbing up the ropes were like skewered grasshoppers, pierced by the sharp ballista bolts one after another. The sound of arrows piercing through flesh and bone was enough to make one's scalp go numb.
Thudthudthud!
A few moments later, twenty-some Arab soldiers were pierced through by ballista bolts and dropped from the ropes. At almost the same time, the enormous ropes began to shudder and groan as tens of thousands of Arab soldiers began to drop to the ground.
Su Hanshan's ballista army had shocked the world with a single volley. In this volley, they had killed fifteen thousand Arab soldiers. Ever since the Battle of Talas had ended and all the ballista bolts had been used up, Su Hanshan had begun to strictly control the use of ballista bolts.
Until a new batch of ballista bolts arrived, the tens of thousands of ballista bolts that Zhang Shouzhi had repaired were their only remaining reserves.
And for the Tang Dynasty, the ballista bolts and beehives were only the beginning. A moment later …
Rumble!
As the Arabs looked on in shock, the massive and sturdy gates of Khorasan opened with a boom. The Arabs had predicted that this would have been the most difficult part, but it had been accomplished so easily. And then, something even more shocking occurred.
"Kill!"
War cries shook the heavens as tens of thousands of Tang, Khorasani, and rebel soldiers charged out of the open gate, their eyes wide with rage and killing intent seething from their bodies.
"Careful! Get into formation! "
At this sight, the Arab soldiers on the eastern shore fell into panic. In terms of soldiers, the Arabs had the absolute advantage. Six hundred to seven hundred thousand soldiers were more than enough to crush the 'mob' in the city. No one had expected that the Tang Dynasty would dare to attack even though they had the advantage in numbers.
"Damn it!"
On the other side of the river, the Three Titans of Black Radiance grimaced.
"Pass on my order! All soldiers, hurry up and cross the river! We can't give them a single chance!"
"Yes!"
Ten-some messengers scattered and began to issue orders in various directions. But it was too late. The surging tributary of the Tigris River had become a shackle around the neck of the Arab army.
The Arabs had hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but the soldiers on the west bank and the warships on the tributaries of the Tigris River were completely useless. Only the two hundred thousand soldiers on the east bank were truly fighting the Great Tang. In terms of numbers, the Arabs on the eastern bank had no advantage.
Attack halfway across the river!
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