The Human Emperor
chapter-971

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Whoosh! The sky was suddenly filled with milky-white Sword Qis, each one ten-some zhang long and as dazzling as the sun, flitting to and fro across the giant ape's body. In the space of a few seconds, fur was flying through the air as thin trails of blood began to appear on the ape's thick arms, pungent blood bursting out from them.

Wang Chong did not pause, leaving behind afterimages on the ape's arm as he continued to rush toward the ape's head.

The eyes! The eyes must be their weakness!

As the winds roared around him, Wang Chong shot a glance upward. There, he could see two scarlet eyes glowing like enormous lanterns in the sky: the giant ape's eyes. Although the Arabs had used the helmet made of some unknown metal to cover the head of the giant ape, the eyes were unprotected. They were the only place available to Wang Chong for attack.

Roooar!

The giant ape roared as its scarlet eyes swiftly locked onto Wang Chong. Although everyone appeared like fleas to the giant ape, it could remember fleas that had hurt it. Whoosh! The giant ape raised its other arm, its five fingers spreading apart as it swatted its hand at Wang Chong.

Wang Chong immediately jumped away, barely escaping the fingers of the ape by a hair as he moved from the ape's right arm to its left. Thud! He jumped forward, continuing his smooth ascent toward the ape's head.

As he charged, he continued to use the Wootz Steel sword in his hand to unleash thousands of streams of Sword Qi that cut and hacked at the ape's body.

Though the Tang ballistae could not pierce the giant ape's hide, the Art of God and Demon Obliteration could. But it soon became obvious that the Wang Chong had not cultivated this technique enough. If Su Zhengchen were using this technique, he would assuredly have dealt this giant ape a severe injury, but Wang Chong was still far from this level. At his stage, the Sword Qi could only get a few feet deep before running out of steam. It was simply not possible for his Sword Qi to break through the tough and pliable defensive hide of the ape.

Boomboomboom!

Wang Chong's constant attacks of Sword Qi were unable to severely injure the giant ape, but the biting pain had succeeded in infuriating the Consecrated!

The ape bellowed, and as the figure of Wang Chong was reflected in its eyes, they erupted with savagery and a craving to maim and crush. With astonishing speed, the ape raised both of its hairy arms and began to swing them at Wang Chong.

However, Wang Chong at this moment was like a leaf in the breeze. While the ape's attacks seemed fierce, none of them were able to find purchase on Wang Chong. Wang Chong was getting closer and closer to the Behemoth's head, but just when he was about to make the final leap, an invisible ripple of energy swept through the air, and then…

Bang!

The berserk ape that was randomly lashing out around it suddenly calmed down, and a hint of clarity appeared in its eyes.

And then, it did something very unexpected.

The ape brought its palms together with a thump and gave a mighty roar, upon which a powerful vibration began to spread from it. This vibration was suffused with a destructive energy, causing white ripples of energy to spread through the surroundings.

"What's going on here?"

Wang Chong was astonished by this sight. Other than incredible strength, Wang Chong had not seen this ape display any other abilities. He had never imagined that just when he was about to leap onto its head, it would suddenly do something like this.

This Behemoth was a dreadful monster, its strength so great that even Imperial Great Generals could not match up to it. And unlike the rhino-shaped Behemoth, the Destroyer, or the Terrorizer, the Consecrated was in the shape of an ape, bestowed with nimble arms and an agile body, making it a much more formidable combatant.

Even when Wang Chong combined his strength with Gao Xianzhi and the others, they could not stop an ordinary Behemoth, much less this finest of the Arabian Behemoths. Although the ape did not use any Stellar Energy in this unique form of attack, its prodigious strength could shatter the earth. Until he took up the form of the Godking Yama, Wang Chong was no match for it.

Boom! There was no time to think, and Wang Chong jumped backward in the air and back to the ground. But though Wang Chong's reaction was fast, he was still caught up in the white ripples of energy, which immediately began to batter and jolt against the Stellar Energy within his body.

Bang!

There was an explosion in the sky as Wang Chong's body shook. The Stellar Energy around him dimmed and his face paled as he went flying through the air like a ragdoll.

"Lord Marquis!"

Xue Qianjun, Sun Zhiming, Zhuang Zhengping and the others on the ground all paled at this sight, the blood draining from their faces.

Wang Chong was the guiding light of the army, the heart of its morale. For him to be wounded was an enormous blow to the army.

"Hurry and save Lord Marquis!"

Xue Qianjun and the others immediately rushed toward where Wang Chong had landed. At this moment, the area around the giant ape was a storm of dust and sand, a zone of death. Anyone with insufficient strength who lingered there was inviting death.

But they had no time to worry about such things. Blessings did not come in pairs, whereas disaster never came alone.

As Xue Qianjun and the others rushed forward, three other explosions could be heard, followed by three loud thumps. Xue Qianjun subconsciously turned his head to look, and what he saw was two enormous gods and one tall and slender figure being thrown back by powerful blows.

"Lord Gao! Vice Protector-General Cheng! General Wang!"

As everyone began to realize who those three figures were, they began to cry out in panic. At this moment, Xue Qianjun and all the other Tang soldiers who had witnessed this sight began to tremble in fear.

Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and Wang Yan, the four highest commanders of the Tang army, were the anchors of Talas. While they were still present, the one hundred thousand soldiers of the Tang army could still maintain their cool, even when attacked from both within and without.

No one had expected all four to be injured at the same time.

Whether it was Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, or Wang Yan, it was impossible for any of them to individually take on the Behemoths.

Roooar!

After knocking aside the four Tang commanders, the four Behemoths now had no more obstacles before them and began to advance past the Tang defense line. Boom! Bang! Crash! The steel walls toppled in clouds of dust while the powerful shockwaves created by the four Behemoths sent countless soldiers flying through the air like they were made of paper. "AAAAH!" Screams filled the air as the casualties on the Tang side began to soar.

"Kill!"

The Arab soldiers were overjoyed by this sight. The Arab soldiers had originally been maintaining a set distance between them and the Behemoths, not daring to get close, but upon seeing the current devastation, they changed plans. Making sure to keep a distance of a hundred-some zhang between them and the Behemoths, they surged around the Behemoths and began to assault the Tang forces.

"Release! Release! Release!"

The one thousand ballistae were still firing at the four Behemoths, but when the ballista teams saw what the Arabs were doing, they immediately changed targets and began to fire upon the savage-faced Arab warriors.

Swooshswooshswoosh! Each ballista bolt was like the reaper's scythe, harvesting the lives of seven or eight Arab soldiers. But despite the power of the Tang ballistae, they could not stop the frenzied tide of Arab soldiers.

"Dalun Ruozan, Huoshu Huicang, we should also go!"

Duwu Sili's hair was blowing in the wind as he watched the fierce battle from the hills.

"The situation has changed. The Tang won't be able to last through the day. Now is the best time to strike."

Duwu Sili's eyes glimmered as his body thrummed with a burning will to fight. So great was this desire that the air around him began to twist and writhe.

The Arabs had displayed such a tremendous strength that Duwu Sili felt his will to fight being stimulated.

"Wait a little longer! Don't make a decision like this too rashly!"

Dalun Ruozan shook his head, his eyes extremely cold and calm as he observed the battle.

"Abu Muslim and Ziyad have still not entered the battle, so now is not the best time for us to do so. Wait a little longer. Once the Tang have suffered severe casualties, we'll still have time to enter the field!"

Duwu Sili said nothing, but he shot a glance at the nearby Huoshu Huicang and Dusong Mangpoje. Their eyes were as cold as those of a statue and fixed upon one person. It was clear that they would follow Dalun Ruozan's lead.

"Hmph!"

Duwu Sili snorted and suddenly charged forward. Before anyone could react, his stalwart Turkic steed was galloping through the air toward the Tang rear.

"Duwu Sili!"

Behind him, Huoshu Huicang and Dusong Mangpoje called out in surprise and shock. But such was Duwu Sili's speed that he was gone in the blink of an eye.

"There's no need to dissuade him. Don't you see that he's gone alone without bringing a single one of his soldiers?"

Dalun Ruozan enclosed his hands in his sleeves and faintly smiled. He appeared unperturbed as he watched Duwu Sili ride away, apparently long having predicted this course of action from Duwu Sili.