The Human Emperor
chapter-956

Chapter 956: Golden Bow, Release the Mighty Arrow!

“How could this be? The strength of a Behemoth is not something a single Imperial Great General can stop!”

Huoshu Huicang’s eyes were wide in shock and surprise. He was stronger than Wang Chong, but not even he could confidently claim that he could stop this Behemoth.

“Nothing is impossible. A price is always required to perform a feat beyond one’s abilities. He has merely used his own body to take on the charge of the Behemoth. It seems shocking, but in truth, he’s already been wounded. It is truly a foolish move.”

Duwu Sili’s eyes were bright as he sneered. Although they were all Great Generals, Duwu Sili sat firmly above Huoshu Huicang and Dusong Mangpoje in terms of cultivation. He could already sense that Wang Chong had taken on significant internal injuries from this move.

As if in response to Duwu Sili’s words, there was a crack as one of the Godking Yama’s arms snapped neatly at the base and thudded to the ground.

“Ah?!”

“General!”

“Milord!”

Cries of alarm rose from behind the defense line, and Zhang Shouzhi paled. Wang Chong was currently the only barrier between the army and the Behemoth. If he was injured and no longer able to stop the Behemoth, everyone would be doomed before the giant ballista could be finished.

“I’m fine! I can still hold!”

Wang Chong’s voice came from above, apparently sensing the worries of his men.

“Zhang Shouzhi, where is my weapon? Give it here!”

Wang Chong’s voice was tinged with worry. ‘Yama Descends Upon the World’ was one of the Godking Yama’s supreme techniques. By absorbing the Origin Energy of the world, one could greatly boost oneself, but this boost would not last for long and would have a large side effect. He could not place his hopes on the giant ballista, so he could only rely on the other weapon—the Stellar Energy vajra pestle was far from enough.

“Wuming, Wujia, Wuyi, Wuding1, how is the progress on the weapon? Is it done yet?! Can all of you not even forge a simple metal cudgel?”

Furious, Zhang Shouzhi glared at a nearby forging mold.

Several young craftsmen rushed to respond. “Master, it’s finished. It just needs to be removed from the mold, which will only take a little while.”

“Bastard!”

Zhang Shouzhi strode over and kicked at his trusted disciples.

“Mold! The mold! Is there really time to care about the molds! Truly inflexible… Hurry and get the cudgel out!”

Zhang Shouzhi was so angry that his mind was growing clouded. Without another word, he pushed aside his disciples and personally pulled the lever on the forging mold.

Boom! A metal cudgel more than ten meters long and one meter thick slid out of the forging mold, its surface still seething with black smoke.

The cudgel had carried away parts of the mold with it, even a few screws.

“Wang Chong! The weapon is here! The rest is up to you!” Zhang Shouzhi yelled out, his hair messily blown about by the wind.

“Okay!”

A massive foot suddenly stepped over the first defense line, and then an enormous palm descended from the sky and took up the freshly forged cudgel.

“Heave!”

With a grunt, Wang Chong grasped the cudgel.

Awoooo! Wang Chong’s pressure on the Behemoth relaxed as he reached for the cudgel, and the scaled hippo’s eyes flashed with vicious light as it suddenly pressed forward. Such was its strength that even a mountain would probably collapse to this blow, but Wang Chong held it.

“Beast! A good show!”

Wang Chong roared, two hands gripping the enormous cudgel and smashing it down.

Boom! Wang Chong struck with all his strength, and such was his might that the scaled Behemoth’s head was smashed right into the ground. It immediately gave a howl of pain as if its skull had cracked.

The Behemoth lost its balance, and more than half of its body crashed into the ground, creating a large depression.

“Beast, take another one!”

Wang Chong stepped forward, pressing his right foot on its head. He shook the pieces of the mold off the cudgel with two arms, and then flipped it over, stabbing the sharp end of the cudgel at the beast’s head.

Awooo!

There was a crack as the sharp point pierced right through the hardy scales and hide, a part of the tip sinking straight into the skull. This blow dealt severe damage to the scaled Behemoth, its vigorous flame of life instantly losing half of its radiance.

“Damn it! This bastard!”

Masil paled as he heard the plaintive screams of the Behemoth. His nails dug into his palms and his eyes burned with loathing and fury.

Even he could sense that the Behemoth was in unprecedented danger. If this continued, the illustrious conqueror of cities and countries, the Terrorizer whose name was synonymous with death, would end up being killed by an Easterner at Talas.

“Bring me my bow!”

A cold and dignified voice arose from the rear. Abu Muslim narrowed his eyes as he stretched out an arm. A golden bow, half a man tall, was quickly delivered into his hands. Its red bowstring was made from the tendons of some unknown enormous beast.

This was Abu Muslim’s prized bow, the Bloody Massacre. It was rarely used; Abu Muslim only took it out when facing extremely troublesome opponents or situations.

The Terrorizer and the Destroyer were the Caliph’s symbols, and were vital for the empire’s war efforts. Whether it was for the majesty of the Caliph or victory in this battle, Abu Muslim could not allow Wang Chong to succeed.

Buzz!

Abu Muslim spread apart his feet and nocked a golden arrow to his bow, pulling the bowstring back so far that it made a full circle with the bow.

Booom! A sound more resounding than a peal of thunder tore through the world. Abu Muslim had loosed the bowstring, unleashing the arrow. The speed of this arrow was indescribable, and in a flash, it had already covered half the battlefield, appearing right behind the Behemoth.

The arrow left a long vacuum trailing behind it, a white trail several thousand zhang long. But concealed behind this gorgeous sight was an extremely dreadful killing intent.

No one had expected Abu Muslim to fire an arrow into the battlefield. Let alone Wang Chong, even Duwu Sili, Huoshu Huicang, and Dalun Ruozan were deeply stunned by this attack.

Abu Muslim had fired at just the right time, precisely when Wang Chong was completely focused on his battle with the Behemoth.

“Not good!”

The first to notice this oncoming attack was the distant Gao Xianzhi. During his battle with the black boar Behemoth, he just so happened to be looking in the direction of the defense line, so he could see Abu Muslim’s arrow headed straight for the center of the Godking Yama’s chest.

This was the location of Wang Chong’s actual body when he was using the Godking Yama Formation. If Abu Muslim’s arrow struck true, Wang Chong would be doomed.

Abu Muslim had struck swiftly, but Wang Chong reacted even more swiftly. Wang Chong had immediately sensed something the moment the arrow was fired. Although he had still not reached the level of martial arts he had achieved from his last life, his mental state had long ago reached the peak of the Saint Martial realm. Abu Muslim’s attack had been abrupt, but it could not escape Wang Chong’s perception.

Bang! Wang Chong’s body moved to the side as he smashed the cudgel at Abu Muslim’s arrow, unleashing a powerful shockwave and smashing the arrow into splinters.

“How could this be?!”

Ziyad’s body trembled in shock as he stared into the distance, not daring to believe his eyes. The governor rarely fired an arrow, but when he did, he always chose the exact moment when the opponent could not dodge. Yet the young Tang commander in the distance had not only sensed the coming of the arrow, but had even shattered it into pieces. Ziyad had never seen such a thing happen before.

“Milord!”

Reeling in shock, Ziyad turned to Abu Muslim. His commander’s body seemed just as composed and steady as before, but Ziyad could sense a tinge of shock. It was obvious that Abu Muslim had also been taken by surprise.

But Abu Muslim said nothing. He slowly put down his bow and seated himself back on his throne as if nothing had happened.

“Take it away.”

Abu Muslim gave the bow to a nearby guard.

“But, Milord! This might have just been a coincidence!” Ziyad couldn’t help but speak up, his expression tinged with anxiety. “If you shoot a few more arrows, that Tang definitely won’t be able to stop them!”

“There’s no need!”

Abu Muslim immediately refused.

“Since the first arrow was useless, a second and third arrow will be useless as well. This Tang is more formidable than I imagined… and besides, I have never loosed a second arrow.”

As the rear of the Arab army once more fell into silence, Wang Chong’s battle with the Behemoth was just beginning.

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1. The names of Zhang Shouzhi’s disciples literally translate to: Nameless, Nobody A, Nobody B, and Nobody C.↩