The Human Emperor
chapter-969

Chapter 969: Brigadier General Banahan Joins the Battle!

“Gangke King, you protect the giant ballista. I’ll deal with this giant!”

Flames seethed across the battlefield, Banahan’s loud voice emerging from within the sea of fire. Ghareeb Hassam’s Stellar Energy was imbued with the energy of fire and was extremely tyrannical. On the other end, Banahan’s Great Fire Crow Art was a renowned fire technique of the Western Regions, and after receiving Wang Chong’s pointers, Banahan had gotten even stronger. He was probably the only one who could fight blow-for-blow in fire arts against the King of Giants.

“Okay!”

The Gangke King’s eyes flashed as he immediately charged to the second giant ballista. The conflict between these two was too fierce, and there was a chance that a stray shot could hit the giant ballista. He had to move it away from this area as soon as possible. And if it was possible, he would also use the giant ballista to help Banahan against the King of Giants.

But the crisis was far from over. The giants in the surroundings all roared as they began to charge toward the giant ballista. Even Ghareeb Hassam, embroiled in his battle with Banahan, was still trying to make his way around and destroy the giant ballista. The Gangke King needed to place his full attention on protecting the Great Tang’s last hope.

Meanwhile, at the first defense line, the situation Wang Chong was facing was even more perilous than the one the Gangke King and Banahan were dealing with.

Rumble! The quaking of the earth was getting worse and worse, the armor worn by the Great Tang cavalry and infantry clattering with it. As the tension intensified, the four Behemoths were building up speed, the two hundred thousand Arab soldiers getting closer and closer.

The battle was on the verge of beginning!

Facing down the approaching enemy army, Gao Xianzhi finally spoke. “Wang Chong, Wang Yan! Get ready!”

The Behemoths were all incredibly strong. If they were to get past the defense line, the army would immediately suffer terrible casualties. The four had to act before this happened and keep the Behemoths out.

Clang!

Gao Xianzhi unsheathed his sword and began to exude a sharp energy aimed at one of the huge Behemoths.

Next to Gao Xianzhi, the earth quaked as energy gathered from all around, and in a bright flash, an enormous god rose from the earth. Cheng Qianli had manifested the Supreme Desolation God, standing before the defense line with countless chains rattling and coiling around his body. Cheng Qianli took one of the chains in his hand as he gravely looked forward.

“Mighty Miracle God Formation!”

At almost the same time, Wang Yan also roared, his body rapidly swelling into yet another majestic and weighty god.

The three had stern and vigilant expressions. After two battles with these Behemoths, they all had tired expressions and had still not returned to their peak prowess. Yet none of them, not Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, or Wang Yan, showed any sign of backing down. They stood like hardy pillars standing firm against a flood, the backbone upon which the confidence of the army resided.

This still isn’t enough!

The air was saturated with tension, and as Wang Chong stood to the right of Gao Xianzhi and looked at the three mighty figures, he still felt an unprecedented danger. These three were simply in no shape to oppose the Behemoth Army, Abu Muslim, and the two hundred thousand Arab soldiers.

I have to think of a way to deal with the Behemoth Army!

Wang Chong’s mind was in turmoil, countless thoughts flitting through his mind every second. The Behemoth Army was not an invincible existence. Wang Chong was clear on this point, as otherwise, the Arabian Empire would have used the Behemoth Army to conquer the entire world already. However, such a thing had never happened in his last life.

Moreover, from the information Wang Chong had gathered, he could tell that the Caliph of Arabia was extremely cautious when using the Behemoth Army, never mobilizing them unless absolutely necessary. On the surface, one could believe that the Caliph regarded this force as very precious or his opponents as not worth the trouble. But as the illustrious War Saint of his previous life, Wang Chong knew that the reality was completely different.

…Just what is it? What is the flaw of the Behemoth Army?

Wang Chong continued to ponder to himself. The earth shook with the stomps of the Behemoths, each stomp placing an incredible pressure on Wang Chong.

There was not much time left. Wang Chong knew that the strength of Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli was far from sufficient. Only a way to deal with the four Behemoths could truly resolve this crisis.

“Wang Chong! Hurry and call back the Wushang Cavalry!” Gao Xianzhi worriedly called out.

The Godking Yama Formation required borrowing the power of the five thousand Wushang Cavalry. With the battle imminent, Wang Chong needed to call back the Wushang Cavalry, but once he did, the Skyquaking Army would be unimpeded. Wang Chong found himself in a very challenging dilemma.

One hundred and eighty zhang, one hundred and sixty zhang, one hundred and forty zhang…

As the distance closed, a howling wind battered dust and gravel against the walls of the first defense line.

Wang Chong’s heart was thumping, the odor of death beginning to pour in around him. The lives of one hundred thousand soldiers, the several thousand li of the Western Regions, and the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people several thousand li from Talas were all weighing on him. Wang Chong felt almost suffocated by the pressure.

Time slowed to a crawl. Wang Chong could see the nearby Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli opening and closing their mouths, calling out his name.

In the distance, in the middle of a churning cloud of dust, the Behemoths were madly roaring. Wang Chong could even see the fangs in their mouths, glimmering with cold light. Their exhaled breaths seemed to be carried along by the wind to assail his body, allowing Wang Chong to take in their pungent stench.

What is the weakness? What is it?

Wang Chong’s mind madly spun, but then, boom! An enormous foot slammed down onto the earth, throwing up an explosion of gravel that brought Wang Chong’s mind back down to earth.

“Milord!”

“Careful!”

“Prepare for the attack!”

An air of panic ran through the first defense line as panicked shouts resounded to the horizon.

Clangclangclang! Countless spears and arrow tips were pointed to the surging tide of Behemoths and the Arab army. In these few short moments, the distance had been shortened to eighty zhang.

“Release!”

A rumbling came from behind the first defense line as a thousand Tang ballistae fired as one. A thousand black ballista bolts flew through the air, descending like locusts upon the heads of the four Behemoths.

More than half of the Tang ballistae had been turned around to deal with the Skyquaking Giants. These thousand ballistae were the only ones available to deal with the Behemoths.

Clangclangclang!

There was a metal clattering as the one thousand ballista bolts bounced off the sturdy armor covering the heads of the Behemoths.

“Hmph, it’s useless. The Reaper, the Devotee, the Burning One, and the Consecrated have all been equipped with armor forged from the best steel essence. A thousand tons of the best steel can only be refined into half a kilogram of steel essence. The armor for these four Behemoths required tens of thousands of tons of the finest steel. No weapon can pierce this steel essence armor!”

Masil was stationed in the rear of the army, seated upon his centipede monster. He inwardly sneered as he watched the ballista bolts bounce off the armor of his Behemoths.

Whether man or beast, damaging the heads of almost every living creature was lethal. This applied to the Behemoths as well. Even a normal person could reach this judgment. In the past, many enemy marshals and war gods, or some legendary heroes, had attempted to attack the heads of the Behemoths, but the majority of them had failed. Only a small number had succeeded in actually injuring the Behemoths at their heads. But these past experiences had made the Behemoth Army consider forging helmets for the Behemoths. This idea that Masil had thought up many years ago had led to the creation of these steel essence helmets.

These helmets were sturdy and dense, impossible to scratch with even the finest swords, making them the ideal armor for the Behemoths. But steel essence was too precious, and even the Arabian Empire, with all its resources, had only been able to forge four helmets. And though they had faced many formidable opponents, the Behemoths had never been truly threatened by death, so the plan came to an end with these four helmets.

Masil had never imagined that he would encounter such a powerful opponent in distant Talas, one capable of killing three of his Behemoths. However, the plan had clearly proved effective. With these four steel essence helmets, the four Behemoths were almost invincible on the battlefield. Even the giant ballistae would not be able to threaten them.

Buzz!

Masil began to chant various spells, once more adjusting the angles of attack for the four Behemoths as well as their distance. Then, he ordered his centipede monster to burrow back into the ground.

“Release!”

The one thousand ballistae fired their second volley. This time, while the heads were still the primary target, a significant portion of the bolts was aimed at the bodies of the Behemoths as well.

Clangclangclang! Just as expected, the ballista bolts aimed at the head were once more repelled by the steel essence helmets. The bolts aimed at the bodies, however, all struck true. Several hundred black bolts covered the four Behemoths in bloody holes as they pierced through their hides.

But other than a slight weakening of vitality, the Behemoths were unaffected. They continued to charge at the first defense line like nothing had happened, their speed unchanged.