Roooar!
Roooar!
The Behemoth's roars echoed throughout the City of Talas as its massive body continued to press and advance on Wang Chong. Although Abu Muslim's arrow had missed, it was not completely ineffective. While Wang Chong was distracted, the scaled Behemoth had seized the opportunity to charge forward. It was now less than one hundred feet from the first defense line. Its breath blew against the steel walls with thunderous booms, and some of the closest Tang Dynasty soldiers were unable to stop it and were sent flying along with their horses.
The arms of Wang Chong's Godking Yama wrapped around the neck of the Terrorizer as he stubbornly resisted. Although Wang Chong was doing his best, he was finding it harder and harder to hold on. The power of the Godking Yama's Descent was not limitless. With each passing second, Wang Chong's strength would weaken a little. Wang Chong had been able to stop the scaled Behemoth's advance at the start, but now, Wang Chong's entire body was being pushed forward.
"Damn it!"
Wang Chong bellowed, his metal cudgel slamming against the Behemoth's head again and again. The violet flames of Lu Wu's Strength wrapped around the cudgel and spread into the Behemoth's body. With each passing second, the Behemoth's vigorous flames of life would dim a little. Boundless vitality poured into Wang Chong's body, but it still could not stop the frenzied Behemoth. Although Wang Chong had punched a hole in its skull, this was already its limit. An invisible energy seemed to be stopping Wang Chong, preventing him from advancing any further.
"Release!"
On the ground, Chen Bin's right hand swung down once more. From all directions, countless crossbow bolts pierced through the air and shot toward the Behemoth in front of them. But this time, a considerable portion of the crossbow bolts bounced off the giant beast's hard scales. Only a small portion managed to penetrate the gaps between the scales.
— Wang Chong might have stalled the giant beast, but his enormous Yama Devil body had also greatly affected the attacks of the ballistae on the ground.
"Again!"
Chen Bin's expression remained unchanged as he issued another order. This was the last attack they could launch. The behemoth could leap over at any time. With just one kick, the ballista army would suffer heavy losses.
"Zhang Shouzhi, are you done yet?"
Wang Chong's anxious voice resounded in the sky. In a place where no one could see, Wang Chong's face was as white as a sheet of paper. Fresh blood flowed from the web between his thumb and forefinger. Forcefully fighting against a giant beast that he couldn't defeat was a huge burden on his body. Kacrack! A massive crack spread from the Godking Yama's shoulder to his back like a spider's web, all the way to his waist. And these fine cracks were increasing at an astonishing rate on the body of Wang Chong's four-armed Godking Yama. In just a few moments, the Godking Yama's body was covered in these fine cracks, making it look like a porcelain doll on the verge of shattering.
This was a sign that the Godking Yama had reached the limit of its endurance and was on the verge of collapse.
On the ground, the atmosphere was tense and confrontational to the extreme. All the craftsmen were frantically assembling the ballistae, their faces pale and their scalps numb.
"Just a few more moments! Marquis, hold on! "
Zhang Shouzhi's anxious voice came from the ground, his beard fluttering in the wind.
At this moment, no one knew just how much pressure he was under.
Not enough time! Far from enough!
Zhang Shouzhi could very quickly assemble the ballistae, but something like a giant ballista had never appeared in the history of the empire. None of the craftsmen, including Zhang Shouzhi himself, had any experience with it. This little bit of time simply wasn't enough.
Bang!
As soon as Zhang Shouzhi's voice fell, the gigantic scaled beast immediately pushed the gigantic Yama Heavenly God forward. The Godking Yama's massive heel kicked up a great deal of dirt and sand as it smashed into the steel walls behind it. With a heaven-shaking boom, seven or eight steel walls were uprooted and sent tumbling through the air like broken kites.
"Retreat! Hurry and retreat! "
Cries of alarm resounded through the sky. There was chaos in front of the huge beast as countless soldiers retreated in panic. In front of the Behemoth, they were nothing more than ants, so weak that they couldn't even injure it, let alone resist.
"Seventh Square Formation, Tenth Square Formation, Twenty-third Square Formation … all of you, retreat!"
A familiar voice resounded in everyone's ears. It was Wang Chong's. Even though he was in the middle of a fierce battle and had his back to them, Wang Chong was still able to grasp the situation on the battlefield. Even though he was in a perilous situation, his square formation did not fall into disarray.
Boom!
Upon receiving Wang Chong's order, the army in front of the Behemoth began to scatter to the sides.
Roooar!
At almost the same time, the scaled Behemoth unleashed its ferocious nature. With a fling of its massive body, its massive body kicked up a cloud of dust as it shot forward. "Aaaah!" Screams filled the air. The seemingly ordinary sand was instantly transformed into the most lethal 'weapons' under the Behemoth's terrifying strength.
Neigh! Amidst miserable neighs, warhorses that weren't able to dodge in time were struck by the sandstorm, instantly becoming badly mangled, and their bodies were covered in bloody holes that resembled honeycombs. As for the warrior on horseback, although he was wearing armor, he was still sent flying from the back of the horse and fell heavily. His internal organs were already injured in the air, and he stopped breathing. Even a sneeze from a giant elephant was a devastating blow to an ant. The same was true for the Tang Dynasty army in front of Talas. Manpower was far too insignificant in the face of these legendary Behemoths.
"Damn it!"
In an instant, Wang Chong's eyes reddened. With no time to think, Wang Chong thrust the ten-meter-long cudgel that had been used to deal with the Behemoth into the earth behind the defense line. One end of the cudgel sank into the rock while the other end pressed against the Behemoth's body.
In order to avoid heavy casualties, Wang Chong had no other choice.
But even so, this was only temporary. The danger to the army was far from over.
Kacha!
At this moment, there was a crisp sound. Under the shocked gazes of countless people, the huge Godking Yama's arm was severed at the base. It fell heavily from the sky and landed on the ground, causing a cloud of dust to rise into the air. This was the second arm of the four-armed Godking Yama that had been severed!
In a place where no one could see, the moment the second arm fell, Wang Chong vomited a mouthful of blood.
"Marquis!"
On the ground, Chen Bin, Sun Zhiming, Chen Burang, and Zhuang Zhengping all paled at this sight. Even though his cultivation level was far from enough, they could all sense that Wang Chong's body was at its limit and that he wouldn't be able to last much longer.
But this was not the end. Rumble! The scaled Behemoth, the Terrorizer, suddenly slammed its head against the Godking Yama, sending Wang Chong flying more than a dozen zhang away. Without Wang Chong's obstruction, an empty space of more than a dozen zhang appeared in front of the Behemoth. The army was now completely exposed.
"Not good! Get out of the way! "
"Retreat! Retreat! Army, retreat! "
"Get out of here! We can't hold on any longer! "
… …
At this sight, the tens of thousands of Tang soldiers fell into chaos. Panic began to spread, and every one of them could sense the thick stench of death.
The army, which had maintained its composure a moment ago, was instantly routed.
No one could imagine the damage a Behemoth could inflict on an army without anyone to stop it.
"Marquis! The giant ballistae are ready! Everyone, get out of the way! "
Just as the army was about to suffer grievous losses, a loud shout came from the crowd. Without any warning, the several thousand craftsmen who had been gathered together suddenly scattered, retreating in every direction. In the center of the craftsmen, a massive and heavy ballista had already been assembled. This ballista was more than ten meters long, and its body was pitch-black. Many of its parts were still steaming. These were the parts that had just been forged and were immediately used on the giant ballista.
After spending a great deal of time and energy and gathering the strength of the craftsmen, Zhang Shouzhi had finally completed this giant ballista!
"Awooo!"
The Behemoth roared. Just as the craftsmen finished, the Behemoth's muscles bulged and it squatted down, its massive head slowly lowering. Its scarlet eyes brimming with the desire to destroy glared at the army below. This was a sign that the Behemoth was preparing to attack.
"Senior Zhang, give us the giant ballistae!"
"The seventh, tenth, twelfth, fourteenth square formation … everyone, advance!"
"The thirtieth, thirty-eighth square formation, load the ballistae!"
… …
With no time to think, Chen Bin unsheathed his sword and rushed forward, issuing a series of orders. The army was in chaos, and everyone was fleeing. The craftsmen and Zhang Shouzhi were almost out of strength, and Wang Chong had been sent flying by the Behemoth. At this time, besides Chen Bin and his ballista army, no one else could stop the Behemoth.
Bang!
Chen Bin and the ballista army's training was on full display at this moment. As soon as Chen Bin's voice fell, the ballista soldiers, who had been preparing to retreat, changed directions and charged at the giant ballista.
Several hundred ballista soldiers had a clear division of labor, and there was no chaos.
Creakcreak! Several dozen Tang Dynasty soldiers worked together to load a ten-meter-long ballista bolt weighing nearly a thousand jin onto the giant ballista. Boom! A massive foot stomped down heavily, landing in the area within the defensive line. The massive power seeped into the ground through the sole of the foot, causing the ground within the defensive line to tremble. Hundreds of feet away, screams could be heard as hundreds of fleeing cavalrymen were thrown into the air along with their horses.
The Behemoth had finally broken through the defense line and launched its attack!
The army of nearly one hundred thousand was in grave danger!
"Fire!"
Chen Bin finally gave the order to fire. At that moment, time seemed to stop. Everyone held their breath and their hearts were in their throats. The giant ballista had always been an idea that had never been realized. Not even Zhang Shouzhi, the creator and executor of the plan, knew if the giant ballista would succeed or not, or if the bolts it fired would be able to harm the Scaled Behemoth, let alone anyone else.
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.
