荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

“Yes!”

A booming voice came from behind Khatabah.

As the revered Hierophant of the Arabian Empire, Khatabah had a custom that everyone knew of. Before assaulting a city, he would set up a stele upon which the words he had spoken would be engraved. The words on the stele would record the fate of his foes. These steles held even more weight than the decrees of the Caliph, and no one in the empire could alter them.

As the Arabian Empire rose and expanded, Khatabah had erected five steles in total. Each time, a powerful country was wiped out and many of its people enslaved. At the site of every stele was a mountain of corpses with not a single hostage taken.

With this callous and cold behavior, Khatabah established that he would stick to his word, striking fear and terror into all his foes. Khatabah’s way of fighting influenced those who fought with him, and in a way, he had created the current ferocity of Arabia and the fearless fighting style of its soldiers!

In the City of Steel, everyone turned cold, flames burning in their eyes.

“These barbarians!”

Zhangchou Jianqiong clenched his fists. Even though his nearly two years as Minister of War had softened his personality somewhat, these arrogant words still filled his heart with murderous rage.

But Wang Zhongsi was rather calm.

“Let them be. What decides the outcome of a war will always be the strength of both sides, not their words. When the battle begins, we’ll just use force to make them submit!” Wang Zhongsi declared.

As the previous War God of the empire, Wang Zhongsi had faced many verbal challenges, but he had never been moved by them. And in the end, the corpses of his enemies fallen in the hills, plains, valleys, and underneath the banner of the Great Tang were far more intimidating than any words!

The eyes of Abusi, An Sishun, and Gao Xianzhi flashed. Khatabah’s words had provoked their killing intent.

No one had ever dared to challenge the Great Tang like this!

“Further words are pointless. Khatabah, three days from now, let’s decide things between us! This time, I will fulfill my promise and ensure that Arabia will no longer have a chance to rise again, that it will forever be a vassal of the Great Tang!”

Wang Chong’s eyes coldly flashed, and after saying this, he turned his horse around and rode back to his camp.

In front of the massive domed fortress, Khatabah and the other Arabs were all infuriated by Wang Chong’s words, but Khatabah did not retort. He had his elephant Behemoth turn around and stomp back into the Arab base.

“Prepare for battle! In three days, we will destroy the Great Tang and conquer the east!”

Khatabah’s cold and emotionless voice resounded in everyone’s ears.

......

Whoosh!

With Khatabah’s arrival, countless messenger birds took to the skies. Ü-Tsang, Mengshe Zhao, the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates, and even the distant Goguryeo Empire were paying attention to this unprecedented war.

“Your Majesty, who do you think will win this war?”

To the northeast, in the city of Hwando, a Goguryeon general with three swords sheathed on his back looked toward the stalwart and divine figure in front of him.

“Hmph, it’s hard to say. All the herding people know of the strength of the Arab cavalry. And we also have to consider those ancient technologies they found that allowed them to raise that Behemoth Army. If it were our Goguryeo under attack, it would be very hard for us to hold. As for the Tang... I have yet to meet that King of Foreign Lands, but he’s already defeated the Arab Behemoth Army once. Now that he has the help of the other Great Generals, the Great Tang’s unsurpassed infantry, and that steel defense line to hold off a cavalry charge, it’s really hard to say who will win between those two empires.”

The howling winds buffeted Yeon Gaesomun’s hair as he spoke. The cavalry charge had an unparalleled might, and probably only the Great Tang could use infantry to hold it off.

The generals behind him turned pensive.

“It’s just a pity that our Goguryeo cannot take part in this great war!”

Yeon Gaesomun sighed from atop the walls of Hwando as he turned his eyes in another direction. Numerous soldiers were standing to the southwest, black banners flying above them.

Youzhou! Zhang Shougui! The Andong Protectorate army!

The Western Regions and Goguryeo were far away from each other. If one were intent on it, they could make it through the Xi, the Khitans, and the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates to reach the Western Regions, but in Youzhou was that constant thorn of an existence that struck fear in Yeon Gaesomun’s heart and hindered his advance.

Zhang Shougui did not have many soldiers, but he remained heavily rooted into the earth, nailing down the Eastern Turks, the Khitans, the Xi, and Goguryeo. Yeon Gaesomun might have had one million soldiers, but he did not dare to lightly cross that man. When it came to savagery and ferocity, the Great Tang’s commander in Youzhou was entirely his equal.

The moment he sent out his soldiers, Zhang Shougui would immediately attack. Even if he completely locked down Hwando, that man would probably cross on boats to attack. The only person that man feared was Yeon Gaesomun himself. No one else could do anything to him!

Yeon Gaesomun was well aware of this, and it only made him feel more helpless.

The Great Tang had withdrawn the soldiers from all the other protectorates, but Youzhou’s garrison remained. It was probably out of consideration for Goguryeo that this decision had been made.

“However, Zhang Shougui, don’t celebrate just yet! It won’t be long before the land of Youzhou will be Ours as well!”

Yeon Gaesomun looked to the southwest, a sharpness in his eyes.

......

At the same time, a falcon flew up into the lofty Tibetan Plateau, and Wang Chong’s conversation with Khatabah was also relayed into the hands of Imperial Minister Dalon Trinling.

Even though the land from the Western Regions to the City of Steel was occupied by Tang and Arabs, by sending a few experienced scouts, it was not a difficult task to gather information.

“...Three days? What does that mean? It’s one thing that the King of Foreign Lands proposed it. He’s a crafty fox who certainly has his reasons. But Khatabah is hailed as the Hierophant of Arabia, and he has always appeared to be an extremely proud and aggressive person. Since the Arab army has arrived, why did he agree to start the battle in three days? This doesn’t at all match his reputation!” Namri Songtian commented, holding the report.

Wang Chong had proposed the battle in three days, and Khatabah had surprisingly accepted. This was truly abnormal.

“Heh, proud? Aggressive? Would a person like this, with so little intelligence, really be capable of becoming the Hierophant of Arabia? Could he really have been undefeated and invincible as he brought Arabia to its current status?”

Dalon Trinling’s eyes had a sharp light, and his words left Namri Songtian frozen in shock.

Yes!

If Khatabah were really as proud and aggressive as he put on, could he have ever reached his current revered status?

Namri Songtian could barely speak.

“His arrogance and aggressiveness are simply to confuse and paralyze his opponents. There’s even a chance that those of weaker resolve will throw down their weapons and surrender, avoiding any meaningless losses. But if the Hierophant of Arabia had really been this simple, someone would have killed him ages ago... That man, deep down, is just as crafty and cautious as his Great Tang counterpart,” Dalon Trinling nonchalantly remarked, his sharp words instantly revealing the true faces of the supreme commanders in that war.

“While the Arab commander might appear unrestrained, he is actually very apprehensive about the Great Tang and feels threatened. In these three days, he intends to settle his plans. While he will strike at the end, it will not be until he understands his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses!

“Despite having an army of more than two million elites and even that Behemoth Army, he is still so cautious. The Great Tang is probably in no better state. This is a true clash of dragons. Not even I can tell who will win in the end. However, there is one thing I can be sure of. Until this war is over, Namri Songtian, I do not wish to see the slightest movement of your side that could draw their attention.”

Dalon Trinling profoundly stared at Namri Songtian.

Namri Songtian hastily lowered his head in shock.

......

Three days went by in a flash. In this period, both the Great Tang and Arabia seized the moment to carry out their final preparations. On Wang Chong’s side, the main hall of the City of Steel was brightly lit throughout the day and night. Wang Chong and the other top commanders surrounded the model and simulated numerous scenarios, adjusting their distribution of soldiers, their tactics, how they would attack, and what sort of counterattacks they could expect from the Arabs.

It was an extremely intense session, with multiple scenarios being formed. At times, Wang Zhongsi or An Sishun would play the role of the enemy and attempt to simulate how the Arabs would attack and respond.

This level of simulation, this level of strategizing, was an extremely rare sight in the continent. Even Wang Chong derived much benefit from the discussion.

Six hundred thousand soldiers and the assistance of titans like Wang Zhongsi, Gao Xianzhi, and An Sishun—it was a formidable army that Wang Chong had only ever been able to dream about. With all these powerful figures at his side to help him plan and strategize, even if he faced an army of millions, what did he have to fear?