Duwusili was far smarter than many people imagined. Dalun Ruozan wanted to preserve his strength, and Duwusili valued his soldiers even more than he did. Thus, despite his fierce words, Duwusili had no intention of sending his own soldiers. This could fool others, but not Dalun Ruozan.
The two of them stared at Duwusili's back in understanding.
"So Prime Minister already guessed that he would strike?"
Huoshu Huizang said.
Dalun Ruozan only smiled. His gaze swept over the front of the battlefield, but as it passed over the distant defense line, a hint of gloominess appeared on his face.
The Arabian Empire was simply too powerful. In this long-distance raid to the City of Talas, Dalun Ruozan had originally believed that he and Wang Chong would have a decisive battle, a contest of strategy, strategy, and tactics. In this world, both Dalun Ruozan and Wang Chong were top-class tacticians, and those who could compete with them were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
This was a contest between the wise, and Dalun Ruozan had been very much looking forward to it. Day and night in the Ouzan Royal Capital's prison, Dalun Ruozan had not waited for a single moment for this moment to arrive. But it was now apparent that this wish was destined to come to naught.
The strength the Arabian Empire had displayed was far too enormous. This sort of strength suppressed all tactics, strategies, and schemes, rendering all schemes useless. Even someone as proud and conceited as Dalun Ruozan couldn't help but feel fear and apprehension.
Only the Tang dynasty and Wang Chong could last so long under such fierce attacks. Any other faction, not even the Ouzan Empire or the Western Turkic Khaganate, would have been able to last so long.
"It's a pity that the Tang Dynasty is destined to fail. Although I cannot defeat you in person to fulfill my long-cherished wish, it is enough for me to witness your death and watch your last journey!"
Dalun Ruozan sighed deeply. He knew that Wang Chong's fate truly did not bode well. Although he was unwilling to admit it, Dalun Ruozan couldn't help but feel a deep sense of regret at seeing Wang Chong die at the hands of the Arabs.
…
"Kill!"
In front of the defense line in the distance, the battle cries were deafening. The situation that the one hundred thousand troops of the Tang dynasty were facing was much more dangerous and perilous than anyone had imagined.
"Kill these heathens!"
Tens of thousands of Arab cavalry surged past the defense line and into the Tang Dynasty ranks. In the past, the Arabs would have had to pay a heavy price to cross this defense line, but now, large gaps had appeared in the Tang Dynasty's defense line, and the orderly and well-fortified Tang Dynasty phalanxes were in shambles under the charge of the Behemoths.
"Warning! The battle is about to be lost! Twenty thousand Tang Dynasty soldiers have died!
"Warning! The battle is about to be lost! Talas is about to be lost! User is about to be obliterated!
"Final warning! If the battle is lost, all user's Destiny Energy will be erased! At the same time, all user's imprints will be erased.
… …
A series of callous and emotionless voices rang out in Wang Chong's mind. The terrifying white shockwaves of the giant ape sent Wang Chong plummeting several hundred zhang away like a ragdoll.
The wind howled on both sides, and the airflow surged. Countless lights and shadows flew past his ears, and at that moment, time seemed to slow down countless times. Wang Chong's head was down, and he could see the entire battlefield.
He could see the roaring Skyquaking Giants striding toward the last giant ballista, and he could also see the chaos of the Tang dynasty army. As he looked closer, Wang Chong could see countless cavalry fleeing in panic, some from the Tang dynasty and others from the mercenaries. All of them had pale faces and panic in their eyes.
The four giant beasts had completely destroyed everyone's confidence.
Roooar! The Behemoths roared, and as his gaze followed the fleeing cavalry, Wang Chong saw an endless sea of red. Severed limbs littered the earth, human corpses, horse corpses, countless pairs of eyes weakly staring up at the sky.
And beneath these severed limbs, Wang Chong could see rivers and lakes of blood flowing in all directions. Thousands upon thousands of broken weapons and halberds were thrust into the ground, their banners stained red as they were trampled under the feet of the Arab soldiers.
Further ahead, near the first defense line, Wang Chong could see the devastation of the battlefield. The eyes of the other three Behemoths were scarlet, and their massive paws and feet blotted out the sun as they smashed down again and again.
The attacks of these three Behemoths caused even the sturdiest ground of Talas to crack, and boulders weighing one thousand jin were thrown ten-some zhang into the air by the shockwaves of the explosions. In the face of such ferocious power, the strength of a human was far too petty and insignificant.
This was not something that any shield soldier or cavalry could contend against.
This was the place where the Tang dynasty soldiers had suffered the most casualties. Even Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and his father Wang Yan had been sent flying. Wang Chong could see that they were frantically trying to say something to him, but Wang Chong could hear nothing.
He could only see the endless corpses on the ground and the despairing and lifeless eyes of the dead.
In that instant, a boundless pain surged into his heart.
Am I about to fail?
As a bolt of lightning flashed through his mind, Wang Chong's heart trembled, and the pain made it hard for him to breathe. Soldiers were the Dao of life and death, the principle of survival and destruction. It was common sense for a general to die on the battlefield.
Wang Chong had originally believed that other than victory, reversing the desperate tide, changing the fate of Talas, and saving the Tang dynasty, he could ignore everything else, calmly view them all.
But when he saw the corpses strewn across the ground, especially the corpses of the soldiers, Wang Chong was able to recognize them, even recognize their names. Some of these people had followed him from the southwest and had never retreated a single step. They had absolute faith in him, even more faith in him than in himself, but in the end, they had died here.
An intense electric current ran from his toes to his hair. Wang Chong's entire body trembled as he felt a pain that came from the depths of his soul.
These were the strongest soldiers he had raised. They should not have died here!
He had prepared for at least half a year for this battle. Three thousand Tang dynasty ballistae, five thousand elite Wushang cavalry armed to the teeth, and many mercenaries and well-trained protectorate soldiers …
This battle should have been a complete victory. Just what had gone wrong?
It shouldn't have been like this! It definitely shouldn't have been like this!
Countless thoughts flew through his mind. Wang Chong's eyes were wide open as he clenched his fists. The Tang Dynasty's defense line had already been broken, and the steel defense line that he had personally set up was useless.
Even though they had done all they could, they had still been unable to stop the four terrifying Behemoths. Even he himself had been sent flying by the Behemoths. But no matter what, no matter what the situation, he would never give up, much less admit defeat.
"No, there must still be hope, there must be!"
Wang Chong clenched his teeth.
"Boom!"
Finally, Wang Chong crashed into the ground like a cannonball, creating a massive crater. Time returned to normal. Wang Chong vomited blood and stood up. At this moment, countless voices began to swarm toward him, and Wang Chong could finally hear the voices of Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli.
"Wang Chong, retreat! Retreat! "
"There's nothing we can do. We can't fight against the Behemoths."
"We've already lost Talas. Retreat!"
"Preserve our strength! We still have a chance!"
… …
Wang Chong saw Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli anxiously looking at him.
Neither Gao Xianzhi nor Cheng Qianli were cowards. In the Battle of Talas, the fact that Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli had managed to hold their ground for more than two months was enough to prove their worth.
Gao Xianzhi had never given up during this entire battle, but now, Gao Xianzhi had been forced to give up. Although this decision was painful, it was the wisest one.
Gao Xianzhi's heart was extremely heavy as he looked at the four tireless Behemoths and the bloody corpses strewn across the battlefield. There was no doubt that the Tang Dynasty had been utterly defeated in this battle. Continuing to persist would only result in meaningless casualties.
They had been able to put up a desperate fight against humans, but against these Behemoths, they had to retreat!
They could not allow the last bit of the Tang Dynasty's strength in the Western Regions to be completely buried here. If they knew that they would lose this battle, why would they resist?
As the commander-in-chief, the wisest decision was to lead the army out of the encirclement and do their best to preserve their strength so that they could fight again in the future.
"Chong-er! Run! "
Wang Yan also spoke, his face fraught with panic.
In all battles, Wang Yan had always bravely pressed forward, never retreating even half a step. Even in the arduous war of the southwest, he had never had the slightest thought of retreating. But in the face of these Behemoths and the vast army behind them, Wang Yan could see no hope of survival.
Even though his heart felt like it was being cut by a knife, Wang Yan was forced to make this decision.
The strength of the Behemoths was not something that humans could contend against. They had done all they could to stop them, but they had still failed.
If they did not retreat now, even if the Tang Dynasty still had more than eighty thousand soldiers, the terrifying strength of the Behemoths would instantly destroy more than half of them. Moreover, there were still two hundred thousand Arab cavalry in the rear, and in the distance, Dalun Ruozan was still glaring at them.
They could only retreat as quickly as possible to preserve their strength. Although they didn't want to admit it, they had truly lost this battle.
"No, impossible! The Battle of Talas will never end like this. I will never retreat! "
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.
