The Human Emperor
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chapter-954
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Huoshu Huicang couldn't help but frown as he asked, "But if the 'Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation' of Talas is so formidable that not even the Behemoths can break through, aren't the Great Tang in an essentially invincible position?"
"Hah, it's not that easy."
Dalun Ruozan shook his head and grinned."The Myriad Rakshasa Earthen Stronghold Formation was set up more than two hundred years ago. Around a hundred years ago, this formation began to lose efficiency. Moreover, with the shifting of the world, the formation has grown less capable of absorbing energy from the earth. In this state, the formation has only around forty to fifty percent of its original strength, which means that it won't be able to last for very long. As long as that Arabian beast can keep up its attacks and push the formation to its maximum limit, the walls will fall."
Dalun Ruozan's expression was indifferent and assured, his confidence bolstering the confidence of those around him.
Through many years of campaigning and squaring off against all sorts of formidable opponents, Dalun Ruozan had forged for himself an astonishing intellect and skill for calculation. Although the Arabian Behemoth Army was a little surprising, Dalun Ruozan had quickly managed to predict the tempo of this battle.
There was usually very little that could exceed his predictions.
"Great Minister, then based on your experience, how long do you predict that beast will need to break the walls?" Duwu Sili suddenly asked.
"If the Tang cannot find any effective method of stopping it… it won't be more than five minutes," Dalun Ruozan confidently proclaimed.
……In the distance, the entire world was swaying. The black boar Behemoth outside the walls of Talas alternated between charging, shoving, and digging at the earth with its snout. Only those who had truly experienced its might understood why this Behemoth was called the Destroyer of Cities. The speed and frequency of its attacks had far exceeded everyone's imaginations. In the space of a second, it could attack the walls five to six times.
The sky resounded with its thunderous collisions, leaving everyone in the city quaking in fear.
Within the city, there was nowhere to escape. Each collision of the Behemoth was the god of death ringing the bell of their doom.
"Hurry and kill it! Don't let it approach the walls!"
Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, Wang Yan, and Banahan were all shocked and dismayed by this sight. The ferocity of the Behemoth's attacks meant that the city would not be able to last for long. Boom! Boom! Boom! A storm of blows crashed against the enormous body of the black boar. Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and Wang Yan were all frantic, their every strike carrying all the power they could muster.
"It's useless. The Destroyer is different from the other Behemoths. Any type of attack will be greatly reduced against it. All your efforts are in vain."
Masil coldly chuckled to himself as he watched the three Great Generals attack the Destroyer.
The Destroyer was produced with the possibility that it might be attacked by elite experts while attacking a city, so it had been designed from the start to have excellent defenses. The first Behemoth, the Sower, simply could not compare.
Not even after the walls were broken would the attacks of Gao Xianzhi and the other Great Generals have any sort of effect on the Destroyer.
Awooooo!
Just when Masil was sneering, a loud howl resounded in his ear. Shocked, Masil turned and saw that the scaled hippo, the Terrorizer, had encountered a giant four-armed god, its entire body burning with violet flames as it punched at the head of the Terrorizer. These violet flames were extremely vexing, spreading from Wang Chong's fist to the Terrorizer's body, even getting in through the chinks between the scales.
The Terrorizer possessed an extremely formidable defense: scales even better at staving off enemy attacks than the bristles of the Destroyer. But just a few punches from Wang Chong had been enough to make the Terrorizer howl in pain. Masil was completely caught off guard by this development.
He could sense that the Terrorizer had been severely wounded and was enduring terrible pain. Those attacks clearly posed an enormous threat to the Terrorizer.
"This is impossible! It doesn't make sense! No one can inflict this much damage to the Terrorizer."
Masil's eyes flew open, brimming with shock. He dared not believe his eyes.
"What's going on here?"
Let alone Masil, even Abu Muslim showed a look of surprise.
There was no question about the abilities of the Behemoths, so Abu Muslim was sure that his opponent had undergone some unforeseen change. Otherwise, a single Tang Great General would never be able to make the Terrorizer howl in pain.
"Li Siye, attack its joints! In addition, everyone, careful of the Behemoth's feet!"
Wang Chong's bellow thundered over the plains. His Godking Yama had seized the Terrorizer's head from the side, and his four arms were taking turns punching at it.
His speculations from before had now been proved. The Strength of Lu Wu was extremely effective against these Behemoths, with each of his punches siphoning a large amount of vitality from the Behemoth to Wang Chong. At the start, the Godking Yama had only been at the basic level of strength for a Great General, but the vitality of the Behemoth had caused it to madly rise in strength, pushing it all the way to the middle level of Great Generals. Besides that, Wang Chong's own strength was increasing, climbing from Saint Martial Tier 7 to Tier 8, well on the way to Tier 9, the level of Brigadier Generals.
If he could reach the Brigadier General level, his strength would undergo a fundamental transformation. Both he and the Godking Yama that was the condensation of his soldiers' strength would reach a higher stage.
Roooar!
The hippo-shaped Behemoth was infuriated by Wang Chong's attack, bellowing as it threw its body at Wang Chong. However, while Wang Chong was weaker than Gao Xianzhi, his proficiency and skills were not something that even the Celestial Wolf Great General Duwu Sili could handle, much less this ignorant beast.
Bang! Wang Chong flipped over, and the enormous body of the god moved from one side of the scaled Behemoth to the other. The moment he landed, his fists once more began to rain down incessantly on the Behemoth. The violet flames blazed even more brightly, as each punch caused the Behemoth's fire of vigor to dim.
The Arab Behemoth Army had never encountered such a situation before.
"Just who is this bastard! Someone, go and kill him!"
Masil's body was quivering in rage.
"Master archers, where are the master archers?"
"It's useless. The attacks of master archers are useless against Imperial Great Generals," said Ziyad, his face extremely solemn as he observed the battle. Not even Ziyad had expected this sort of situation to occur. There was a reason the Behemoth Army had become a tool the Caliph used to hold down the empire, and not even Ziyad, who could use ritual tools to reach the Great General level, had any confidence in fighting such monsters.
Not even a seasoned general like him could explain this situation.
He could only say that this young Great General on the enemy side had something that could counter the Behemoth Army. Perhaps it was the violet flames, or perhaps it was something else. Whatever it was, it was nothing good for the Arabs!
"Damn it! I don't care if master archers will be effective; that Tang has to die! Whether for the Caliphate, or for this battle!"
Masil pointed a finger at Wang Chong while his eyes looked toward the nearby Abu Muslim and Ziyad, the highest commanders of the east. His duty was to besiege the city, break stalemates, and vanquish the large army of the enemy. As for the experts within the army, those were the responsibility of Abu Muslim and Ziyad.
Masil's meaning was extremely clear. The Arab army of the east, particularly Abu Muslim and Ziyad, had a duty to neutralize this threat.
"Relax! He won't survive! No matter how this battle turns out, he will never return to the east alive!"
Abu Muslim spoke in his dignified and vigorous voice, his eyes oozing disdain, his tone one of iron resolve.
"In truth, of all the Tang you see now, not one of them will be able to leave. But before this, I still need you to complete our agreement. Destroy the Tang defense and break their walls!"
Abu Muslim gave Masil a profound stare. His meaning was clear.
In every aspect, it was a strategically unwise move for Masil's Terrorizer to pause outside the defense line and fight with a single Tang Great General. This was also not according to the wish of the Arabs. Abu Muslim needed the complete destruction of the Tang defenses. Without the steel walls, the battle would take on a completely different nature.
The hundreds of thousands of Arab soldiers would have probably already crushed their enemies.
"Understood! Lord Governor, be at ease. I will naturally do as we agreed."
Even though Masil had never cared for anyone else before, at this moment, his face turned red as he gave a deep bow. After all, neither the Terrorizer nor the Destroyer had succeeded in their objectives. This was an enormous disgrace for the Behemoth Army.
Without hesitation, Masil waved a hand behind him, calling over a person shrouded in black who appeared to be some sort of sorcerer.