"Lower your eyes and avoid the sunlight. Pay attention to the shadows on the ground!"
A familiar voice came from the rear. At this moment, Wang Chong suddenly spoke. Upon hearing this voice, everyone immediately fell silent and adjusted their gazes. Xu Keyi also rapidly calmed down.
"Change direction! Pay attention to the area below the horse's belly! Get ready!"
Xu Keyi swiftly issued a string of orders, but just as he raised his sword and prepared to swing down, there was a shrill whistle as a fist-sized black shadow rapidly expanded on the ground behind the second defense line. Before anyone could react, a massive rock the size of two men hugging each other fell from the sky, smashing into the rear of the ballista army.
"Stone bullet!"
Mounted on the White-hoofed Shadow, Wang Chong's eyes widened at the sight of this massive rock.
"Careful!"
But before Wang Chong could issue a warning, a heaven-shaking explosion came from behind him. Wang Chong turned his head and saw thick smoke and flames roiling behind him. On the ground, a thick black liquid was flowing and burning. The flames and smoke had come from this black liquid.
Arabian Kerosene!
Wang Chong's pupils constricted as he immediately recognized what it was. Countless thoughts flitted through his mind, and Wang Chong suddenly understood.
Catapults!
The Arabs and Ouzan had both prepared these things to deal with him.
"Release!"
In the east of the battlefield, hundreds of tall catapults stood behind the hills that could not be seen from afar. Next to these catapults, the Ouzan soldiers were still removing the wooden components of the catapults and anxiously assembling them.
The Ouzan Plateau was dominated by grasslands, with very few tall trees. All the large lumber used to make these catapults had been purchased by Dalun Ruozan from the Mengshe Zhao merchants. The structure of Wang Chong's City of Steel, its internal connections, and its modular construction were still a secret to all the countries. But Dalun Ruozan had obtained inspiration from this and thought of a method to make the catapults modular, which he had transported all the way to Talas.
The ballistae of the Tang Dynasty were renowned throughout the world, invincible and unstoppable on the battlefield.
And these constantly assembled catapults were the weapons that Dalun Ruozan was using to deal with Wang Chong.
"Release!"
With just one command, huge rocks immediately soared into the sky from behind the catapults. They drew huge parabolas in the air, passing over the hills and the eastern battlefield, and smashed heavily towards the ballistae behind the first defense line.
Boom!
One ballista, unable to dodge in time, was struck by a massive stone ball, pulverizing the troop transport beneath it. Pieces of steel, ballista bolts, and even the wheels of the ballista were hurled into the air. The five ballista soldiers around the ballista were flung into the air by the immense force, flying like ragdolls.
Boom! Another massive boulder crashed down, and two Qixi soldiers screamed as they were crushed into meat paste by the falling boulder. One boulder, two boulders, three boulders, four boulders … The sharp whistling sound in the sky rang out incessantly. Lifting his head and looking up, he saw hundreds of boulders tumbling in the sky, smashing toward him one after another.
"Release!"
At almost the same time, on the western side of the battlefield, behind the more than two hundred thousand Arab soldiers, massive and imposing catapults more than ten meters tall were lined up. In front of these catapults, an Arab general, his eyes sharp and vicious, swung down his arm.
Boomboomboom! Massive metal balls howled into the air, crossing more than half the battlefield to land between the first and second defense lines. As the metal balls hit the ground, they shattered into countless shards, spilling the thick black Arabian kerosene onto the ground and instantly igniting into flames.
One giant metal ball after another fell to the ground, instantly transforming the area behind the first defense line into a sea of fire. In a few short moments, the situation had become extremely disadvantageous to the Tang Dynasty. Boomboomboom!
Taking advantage of this chaos, the vanguard of the Arab army succeeded in getting close. One Arab soldier after another howled as they slammed into the steel walls and heavy shields at the very front. All the steel walls and heavy infantry shields trembled violently, letting out a series of ear-piercing metallic roars.
"Charge!"
"Kill them all!"
"All infidels must die!"
… …
Roars in Arabic resounded through the sky.
On the eastern side of the battlefield, the thundering of hooves allowed the Ouzan cavalry and Western Turkic cavalry to rapidly approach under the barrage of catapults and the blinding sunlight. And at the very front of these cavalry, the giant wolves were already lunging forward.
"Marquis, what do we do? The Ouzan are aiming at the ballistae! "
Xu Keyi's anxious voice came from the front. The situation on the battlefield had changed far too quickly. A moment ago, the Tang army had held the upper hand, but a moment later, the more than one hundred thousand Tang soldiers had fallen into an extremely disadvantageous position.
"Can we see where the enemy's catapults are?"
Wang Chong rode on the back of the White-hoofed Shadow, his long hair flapping in the wind. Rock after rock continued to fall, some of them just a few paces from Wang Chong, the shockwaves stirring up by them even striking the White-hoofed Shadow. But Wang Chong remained extremely calm.
"I can't see it! All the catapults are hidden behind the hills. We can't fire at them! "
Xu Keyi anxiously said.
On their way from Qixi to Talas, they had passed through those hills. It was precisely because they had gotten so close that they had been able to catch Umar and the Arabs off guard. But none of them had expected that Dalun Ruozan would be using these hills to deal with them.
The catapults were in the rear, essentially invincible, and Dalun Ruozan's formidable calculative abilities allowed him to constantly adjust the direction of the catapults, allowing them to strike at the ballistae.
And the weakness of the ballistae being unable to shoot as fast as the catapults was now exposed.
"Marquis, what do we do?"
Chen Bin's anxious voice came from behind the first defense line.
Large iron balls filled with kerosene kept falling down, and a large number of fire holes burst out. Thick smoke and heat waves were everywhere. Many people were even hit by the kerosene, and their bodies were set ablaze. The roiling smoke even affected the vision of the ballista army.
This kerosene was even more powerful than the rock attacks of the Ouzan army.
"Dalun Ruozan!"
Wang Chong's eyes flashed with cold light as he looked across the first defense line, at the fierce eyes of the white yak atop the hill. If one were to say that Dalun Ruozan had not come prepared, that all of this was just a coincidence, Wang Chong would never believe it. It was obvious that Dalun Ruozan had prepared for a very long time to deal with him.
At the very least, Dalun Ruozan's catapults had not been prepared in a short period of time.
"Marquis, I'll lead the Wushang Cavalry in a charge and destroy those catapults!"
A tightly clenched voice came from the side amidst the torrential rain of rocks. Li Siye's eyes were blazing with killing intent.
The situation was urgent, and Dalun Ruozan had at least several hundred catapults, all of them out of range. The rolling hills were the best protection for the catapults. The situation was rapidly becoming dangerous for the more than one hundred thousand Tang soldiers.
"There's no need!"
At this moment, a voice rang out. As the winds howled, Wang Chong listened to the crashing of the catapults and the screams of the army, his face remained resolute and extremely composed.
"The current situation is not that dangerous. Moreover, Duwusili, Huoshu Huizang, and Dusong Mangpoje are all on the hills. How do you plan to get through?! "
Li Siye's expression froze, and he froze on the spot, unable to speak.
Duwusili, Huoshu Huizang, Dusong Mangpoje, Ouzan, and the best Great Generals of the Western Turkic Khaganate were all gathered here. They were like a mountain, an insurmountable chasm. This natural moat was even more difficult to cross than the hills.
Although Li Siye would eventually become an Imperial Great General with the title of Invincible Great General, that was a matter for the future. At the very least, he had not reached that level yet. In fact, he was still half a step away from breaking into the Saint Martial realm. If he encountered three powerful Great Generals, he would be doomed.
"But Milord, are we just going to watch Marquis?"
Li Siye spitefully said, his heart filled with unwillingness.
Wang Chong said nothing, his eyes fixed on that azure-robed figure on the hill, countless thoughts flitting through his mind. Dalun Ruozan had made far more preparations than he had imagined. The Arabian ballistae were renowned throughout the world, and if Dalun Ruozan had been paying attention to him this entire time, he would have gathered a great deal of information on them. These catapults were hidden to be used against him.
But no matter how much preparation Dalun Ruozan had made, he was destined to fail. Because he was far from the only one who had prepared for this battle.
"Senior Zhang, get ready!"
Wang Chong suddenly said.
"Yes, Marquis!"
An elderly voice came from behind him. Stunned, Li Siye turned his head and saw that Zhang Shouzhi, dressed in a black robe, was standing on a carriage. At some point, he had appeared behind him. After giving a respectful bow, Zhang Shouzhi did not even look at Li Siye. Instead, he led his ten-some personal disciples toward the towering City of Talas, quickly vanishing through the city gates.
"Chen Burang, you go as well! In this battle, we need your strength to deal with the Arabs and Ouzan! "
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.
