Chapter 1136: The Entire Army Retreats!

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

“Asmodai’s Fury!”

As Aybak, Huoshu Huicang, and Ziyad were flying backward in retreat, another vast storm of energy was approaching Wang Chong. A figure was in the air in front of Wang Chong, striding across it like a demon god, one of its hands covered in a bronze gauntlet that exuded an eerie light.

Abu Muslim!

Wang Chong’s expression went cold as he instantly recognized the man.

The Arab Governor of the East, seeing three of the Great Generals on his side faring poorly, finally felt compelled to attack Wang Chong.

Wang Chong’s eyes chilled as he faced down Abu Muslim’s heavy strike. Without the slightest hesitation, he fiercely punched. Clang! The largest of the golden halos at Wang Chong’s feet suddenly rose from the earth and fused into Wang Chong’s fist energy.

Raaaaa! As countless people looked on, Wang Chong’s golden fist energy transformed into a mighty dragon that rumbled toward Abu Muslim’s steely fist of roiling black energy.

Bang!

The two fists collided, and the surrounding space was instantly covered in a spider web of cracks, like a shattered mirror.

In this clash, Wang Chong remained motionless, but Abu Muslim’s shoulders shuddered as he took a small step backward.

“This is impossible!”

Abu Muslim had come with a furious momentum and intimidating aura, but this sight had caused his entire body to shiver from the impact.

Not long ago, Wang Chong had just been a Tang commander who wasn’t very strong but who could rely on his intelligence to influence the battlefield. Yet after just a few days, Wang Chong was able to fight on par with him—though one of the reasons he had come off worse in this clash was because he was in the air with nothing to anchor himself on.

But Abu Muslim had been able to tell from that strike that Wang Chong’s strength had risen to an absurd level. It was on the same level as the Governor of the East, or perhaps even a little higher.

“Hmph!”

Right when Wang Chong pushed back Abu Muslim, a cold snort came from overhead, a sound that would make anyone tremble in fear. Before Wang Chong could react, a golden bolt of lightning heavier than Mount Tai cleaved down at his head.

“Qutaybah!”

Wang Chong’s eyes narrowed, his muscles tensed, and his skull felt like it was going to explode, all his senses overcome by an unprecedented sense of danger. Without any time to think, Wang Chong’s body exploded with golden radiance, the golden halos bursting from his body and unleashing frenzied waves of Stellar Energy.

“Great Distortion Art!”

Everything around Wang Chong began to twist and distort.

Boom!

Qutaybah’s Sword Qi slashed down. The point of this Sword Qi’s collision with Wang Chong’s energy erupted with a light a thousand times more dazzling than the sun, imbued with a destructive might that would make anyone shrink back. At the moment of this explosion, Wang Chong slid backward several dozen feet, his feet digging out two long furrows in the hardy rock.

“Damn!”

Wang Chong managed to stabilize himself, and as he looked at that godlike figure in the air, countless thoughts flitted through his mind. Although he had succeeded in receiving this blow, both of his arms had been numbed by the dreadful strength. And inside his body, where nobody could see, Wang Chong sensed that several of his blood vessels had burst, unable to endure the enormous power.

There’s still not enough time! Wang Chong said to himself, his eyes turning sharp and vicious.

Although he was now at the Great General level and able to singlehandedly defeat Aybak, Huoshu Huicang, and Ziyad, there had still been too little time since his breakthrough. This lack of time to stabilize his foundations and steady his cultivation meant that there was still a gap between him and Qutaybah. Although ordinary people wouldn’t think this gap to be very large, it was enough to completely define the course of this battle.

“Li Siye, Kong Zi-an, Cui Piaoqi, abandon Talas and have the army withdraw at full speed!”

Wang Chong’s mind was in turmoil, his hair blown about by the fierce winds.

His father was heavily injured, as were Cheng Qianli, the Wushang Village Chief, the black-armored guard, the Demonic Emperor Old Man… The entire Tang army besides himself and Gao Xianzhi was burdened with severe injuries.

And in the few short moments that had passed, the Xuanwu Army, Divine Prison Army, and other elite Tang armies had sustained severe losses from the wholesale Arab assault and the attacks from Great Generals like Huoshu Huicang.

Su Hanshan’s ballista army had also sustained severe losses.

They had managed to pass through the last several days of this battle with barely an injury, but in this last battle, all the ballista bolts had been fired, so the twenty-five thousand ballista soldiers had immediately taken heavy losses. Only around twelve thousand were left, with the rest having died in battle.

The total manpower the Great Tang had on this battlefield was around thirty thousand, and this number was dropping at an alarming speed. If they didn’t retreat now, Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi might be able to escape alive, but the rest of the army would be wiped out and be buried here.

Bzzzz! The earth rumbled. The Great Tang soldiers had originally been willing to fight to the death, but Wang Chong’s order made them hesitate. Military orders were as immovable as mountains, and no matter the occasion, Wang Chong would always occupy an extremely high place in the hearts of the soldiers. Moreover, the Nine Dragon Blood Formation was in the final stages of collapse. If they persisted, all of them would die.

“Withdraw!”

Li Siye flourished his giant sword and reluctantly said, “Everyone, hear my order! The Wushang Cavalry will remain to cover the retreat! Everyone else, withdraw at full speed!”

Wang Chong’s order coupled with Li Siye’s prestige in the army finally convinced it to retreat.

“Kill! Avenge our brothers!”

A ballista soldier was so filled with bloodlust that he didn’t even hear the order. He cared only about charging forward, and the only thing in his eyes was the Arab cavalry on the other side. But a moment later, a palm reached out from behind and grabbed him.

“Stop!” Su Hanshan sternly said.

His voice was calm and emotionless. But to this ballista soldier, it was like a peal of thunder. He immediately stopped, his body frozen in the air.

Su Hanshan looked toward that familiar figure and said, “I know what you’re feeling, but military orders cannot be defied. I believe that Lord Protector-General has his reasons. Believe in him!”

Su Hanshan had never had anything like a friend in his life, so Wang Chong was the first person he acknowledged as such. Whether it was in ability or daring, even someone as proud as Su Hanshan felt compelled to admire him. This was why he had traveled a great distance to Qixi to help Wang Chong train a new ballista army and then hurried to Talas.

Su Hanshan certainly did not fear death, and if any other Great General had given this order, Su Hanshan would have never listened. But if Wang Chong gave this order, he would have to think long and hard.

“Withdraw!”

Su Hanshan waved his sword, and the ballista soldiers immediately began to recede like the tide.

“Do you really think you can leave?”

A cold voice came from behind them.

Qutaybah, clad in golden armor, his hands resting on his sword, was watching this all with eyes as sharp as a hawk’s. His attention had been on Wang Chong, but when he spotted the tens of thousands of Tang soldiers retreating, his face went cold. Boom! A magnificent beam of golden Sword Qi shot over Qutaybah’s head, extending tens of thousands of feet through the sky.

“Qutaybah, your opponent is me!”

Qutaybah’s sword was about to fall, certain to inflict heavy casualties on the Tang army in its current state. Wang Chong immediately lunged forward through the air to meet it.

“Seeking death! You’re no match for me!”

Qutaybah’s eyes oozed disdain, and he didn’t even glance at Wang Chong, nor did his destructive attack even slightly slow its progress.

Rumble! Just as Wang Chong lunged forward, Qutaybah jabbed with his right hand. A moment later, another dazzling beam of Sword Qi slashed out at Wang Chong.

The fact that Qutaybah could unleash two attacks of the same level of dreadful power at once had Gao Xianzhi instantly paling. Qutaybah’s cultivation combined with that mysterious ‘God’s Might’ created an absurd level of power. Not only that, Gao Xianzhi could sense that Qutaybah was seemingly getting stronger through this battle.

It seemed like he was constantly digesting the experience gained from fighting his foes and using it to strengthen himself.

This thought chilled Gao Xianzhi’s heart. He suddenly understood why Qutaybah was known as the War God of Arabia. It wasn’t just a simple matter of his strength.

“Wang Chong, watch out!” Gao Xianzhi anxiously called out.

With no time to think, Gao Xianzhi punched, the pillars of the Eight Ultimate Sunderings Art shooting forward to obstruct Abu Muslim, who was just about to attack Wang Chong.

This was all Gao Xianzhi could do at this time.

“Great Destruction Art!”

Seeing that Qutaybah was about to simultaneously obstruct him while also inflicting terrible damage on the Tang elites, Wang Chong exploded with Stellar Energy, his eyes going red as he used the final and most powerful move of the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art.

No one could describe the power of this move. The moment he used it, a lightning bolt seemed to cleave down, and a moment later, everything around him seemed to fiercely ripple.

All light for a hundred feet around him vanished, plunging the area into complete darkness. And this darkness contained an astonishingly powerful destructive energy.

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