Rumble! The Arab cavalry in the distance began to grow restless as the army charged.
"Bastard! How could there be so many Tang people? Why haven't we received any news!!! "
On a distant hill, a furious roar in Arabic resounded through the air as a heavily-armored Arab general glared at the vast army before him, his face contorting in shock. Translated by: Hypersheep325 Edited by: Michyrr
The order he had received was that an army of around twenty to thirty thousand soldiers was heading toward Talas. Although he could not be sure if it was the Tang Dynasty's army, his superiors had still dispatched a force of seven to eight thousand cavalry to investigate. The Arabian Empire was a country of war, and all its subjects, from top to bottom, were seasoned warriors. A force of seven to eight thousand cavalry equipped with the strongest Arabian steeds on the continent was enough to deal with sixty to seventy thousand soldiers, but the enemy army was far larger than that.
The Arabs had never shied away from battle, but the army they were facing was no ordinary army. The stern and imposing aura and the sharp aura it exuded indicated that this was an army that had been through many battles, the elite of the elite.
Only a madman would use seven thousand soldiers to deal with an army of more than one hundred thousand.
"Retreat! Retreat! Quickly! "
"Someone! Report to Lord Governor! "
Screams resounded through the heavens as the seven thousand Arab cavalry fell into panic and began to retreat. In front of them, the more than one hundred thousand Qixi reinforcements were surging toward them with thunderous speed.
… …
In a place seven or eight li from Talas, the low hills faintly swayed in the cold wind, causing the weeds at the top of the hills to sway. Although the nearby Talas had long ago become a sea of blood and mountains of corpses, this place was completely silent, as if time had stopped.
"Kiiiill!" "Kiiiill!"
At this moment, a shrill cry pierced through the sky and broke the silence of the entire area.
"Run!"
"The Tang army is here!"
… …
Amidst these shouts, the Arab cavalry began to pour down the hills, their faces filled with fear as they madly fled toward Talas. This sudden change quickly attracted the attention of the distant battlefield. The Arab army on the easternmost side of the battlefield was the first to notice.
"What happened?!"
"Isn't this Abdullah's army? Didn't they just set off? Why did you come back? "
"Bastard! Why are they in such a mess? What scared them so much? "
…
Some of the Arab soldiers immediately began to curse at the panicked cavalry. Arabia was a country of war and revered courage. Those who refused to retreat and persisted in fighting on the front lines would always be the people most revered by the army. Those who panicked and ran away in fear would forever be the target of disdain.
"Quick, inform the governor! The Tang army is here! "
"The reinforcements of the Tang dynasty are here! — "
The Arab horseman at the very front ignored the curses of his men and used all the strength in his body to madly shout at the Arab horsemen from afar.
"Absurd!"
However, his hoarse warning was met with a stern rebuke. The army parted, and a fierce-looking Arab general, clad in heavy armor and riding a divine steed, rode out from the ranks. His right hand held the scimitar at his waist, and he seemed to seethe with killing intent.
"The most elite army of the Tang dynasty is here. What other formidable army does Anxi have?"
"Even if the Tang dynasty really did send reinforcements, what's there to be afraid of? We've gathered more than three hundred thousand soldiers. Lord Governor has already given the order that anyone who dares to retreat on the battlefield will be immediately executed! Are these scoundrels seeking death? "
As the strongest existence on the continent, Arabia had already subdued several dozen countries of various sizes on its borders. And in this battle, the Arabian Empire had gathered more than three hundred thousand elite soldiers near Talas. What could possibly threaten them at this time? What could possibly make them panic?
But a moment later, the Arab general found himself unable to continue. The hills behind the fleeing Arab cavalry began to rumble and tremble as if they were being shaken by a pair of invisible hands. The trembling was not very loud at first, but as time went on, the trembling grew more and more intense. Even the earth and the battlefield of Talas began to shake.
"What's going on here?"
The Arab general slightly grimaced. This was definitely not the work of those seven or eight thousand soldiers. With just seven or eight thousand people, it was impossible to create such a huge commotion. This disturbance was the work of an army of at least one hundred thousand soldiers.
"Buzz!"
A moment later, Neigh's horse neighed, and as the Arab general and countless Arab soldiers watched, a black dragon-patterned war banner slowly rose from the hills. Accompanying this war banner was an abnormally large and majestic horseman.
One horse, two horses, three horses … In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of cavalrymen had appeared at the top of the hills. They covered almost every corner of the crowd's field of vision, and their numbers were increasing at an extremely fast rate. These horsemen did not pursue the Arab horsemen in front of them, nor did they speak. All of them were coldly gazing in the direction of Talas.
These horsemen were facing off against the countless Arabs, and in the blink of an eye, an indescribable and suffocating pressure had enveloped the battlefield. For a moment, the entire battlefield was eerily still, even the sounds of fighting becoming much quieter.
"The Tang people …"
The easternmost Arab general gulped and subconsciously took a step back, a hint of fear in his eyes. He was definitely not a weak-willed person, but the pressure this army gave him was too great. Tens of thousands of soldiers didn't say a word and just stood there silently. Their disdainful gazes and disdainful auras were like mountains pressing down on everyone's hearts, making it hard for them to breathe.
"Impossible! How could the Tang Dynasty still have such a powerful army? "
The Arab general's eyes were as wide as saucers, not daring to believe his own eyes. Weng, it was also at this moment that a strange feeling welled up in their hearts. At the very center of the hills, the army parted like a tide, and a massive silver-white dragon-patterned banner suddenly rose up from behind the hills, appearing before everyone's eyes.
Beneath the banner, the Arab general finally saw the commander of the Tang Dynasty. This was a thin youth riding a divine steed with hooves as white as snow. His eyes were filled with disdain, and his entire body exuded a radiant light. On his left and right side, a powerful general accompanied him like a myriad of stars surrounding the moon.
"We've finally arrived!!"
Wang Chong stopped at the top of the hill and looked into the distance. After more than five days of trudging, they had finally arrived at the City of Talas. From the top of the hill, one could see the smoke of beacons and blazing fires. Arab soldiers and banners were everywhere.
This was the first time Wang Chong had seen such a large Arab army. Unlike the Mengshe Zhao people, the Arabs had much larger bodies, and unlike the Ouzan people, the Arabs were more aggressive. When tens of thousands of Arabs gathered together in the form of an army, they exuded an aura that no other faction or army around the Tang Dynasty could compare to.
Flames!
Black flames that could incinerate all things and invade all!
This was what Wang Chong felt when he stood on the summit and saw the Arab army.
These tens of thousands of Arab soldiers were like a vast ocean, encircling and encircling the City of Talas.
This famed fortress of the Silk Road had long ago lost its former grandeur, and all its walls were in tatters. Fresh blood flowed down from the city walls, dying the outer walls of this military town a dark red color. The sky was aflame, roiling flames covering the walls. From the summit, Wang Chong could smell the thick stench of blood wafting from the distance.
In the rear of the Arab army, catapults were still hurling massive boulders into the walls of Talas. Accompanying these catapults were countless Arab soldiers with scimitars in their mouths, rapidly climbing up the scaling ladders on the outer wall.
The battle for the City of Talas had reached its most critical juncture.
After two months of fighting, the Anxi Protectorate army in the city had reached its limit. Wang Chong could see a steady stream of Arab soldiers climbing up the walls. Outside the massive gate, a massive battering ram more than one hundred zhang long and so large that it would take several men to encircle it was madly battering at the gate.
The thick steel gate was already severely deformed and would not be able to last for much longer.
"Feng Changqing was right. The Arabs really have launched an all-out attack!"
Wang Chong only slightly creased his brow as he looked into the distance, and then he paid it no more mind. No matter what the Arabs were planning, the moment he had appeared here, everything had been decided. He wanted this City of Talas to become the place where the Arabs suffered their most grievous setback.
With this thought in mind, Wang Chong's gaze quickly followed the scaling ladders to the top of the walls of Talas. At the most illustrious place on the walls of Talas, Wang Chong finally saw that imposing figure whose name resounded through the entire Western Regions. Standing on the high walls, this figure was constantly cutting down the Arab soldiers climbing up the scaling ladders, roaring as he commanded the other soldiers. His armor was stained red, and there was not a single spot on it that was clean.
Gao Xianzhi's figure was deeply rooted in the wall, seemingly one with the earth. From a distance, he appeared like a giant. No matter how many Arab soldiers charged at him, no matter how powerful their charge, they would always be stopped in front of him, forever unable to break through.
Around him, Wang Chong could also see the countless figures of the Anxi Protectorate army engaged in fierce battle.
After several months of fighting, all of them had reached the limits of their physical strength. They were so exhausted that they seemed ready to collapse at any moment. But a pride ingrained in their bones continued to support them as they tirelessly fought on the walls. No one knew how long they could last, but each of them was using their own methods to persevere.
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