Chapter 1854 - Wolf-Shaped Monster!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The millions of Arabs roared like an approaching tsunami as they approached the Tang lines.
Behind the steel walls, all was still, the war horses snorting uneasily.
“Giant ballistae, prepare to shoot!” a voice bellowed over the army.
If things went as expected, the Arabs would again use the Behemoths to open the path and force their way through the defense line, with all the cavalry following right behind.
They were ready for this tactic, but they managed to underestimate just how prepared the Arabs had come for this battle.
“Begin!”
In the back of the Arab army, an officer suddenly swung his hand down.
Clang!
With a great clatter, a thick Deep Sea Xuan Metal chain was cut apart. Behind the chain, a massive wolf-shaped monster stretched its limbs, its claws leaving deep gouges in the earth.
Awoooo!
A savage howl pierced through more than half the battlefield. The wolf monster shook its body, which erupted with flames that completely engulfed it.
In the blink of an eye, this monster had become a being of flames.
Swoosh!
The wolf monster leaped, crossing more than a hundred feet with a single bound, and swiftly began to make its way toward the Tang defense line.
This monster was not as large as the other Behemoths, only one-fifth the size, but it had exchanged size for agility. In just a few leaps, it had crossed one thousand feet.
The searing flames left a long and scorched path behind it.
“Ah!”
An Arab horseman, unable to move in time, was struck by the wolf monster’s flames. A shriek left his lips as his body and the armor around it began to burn. Thud! He crashed to the ground and was soon nothing but ash.
“Watch out! Giant ballistae, shoot down that fire wolf!” Su Hanshan firmly ordered, his eyes narrowing.
Although the wolf monster was still some distance away, his intuition told him that it was incredibly dangerous.
“Ballista unit one, move left four degrees and up five degrees! Shoot!”
As the giant ballistae slowly began to turn, Su Hanshan commanded his ballista units to attack the wolf monster.
“Release!”
“Release!”
“Release!”
Su Hanshan’s reaction was swift, but he had underestimated the wolf monster’s power. More than half of the ballista bolts were dodged by the wolf monster’s incredible speed.
The remaining ballista bolts struck the burning wolf’s body, but they seemed to have no effect.
Awoooo!
With a heaven-shaking roar, the flames around the wolf monster suddenly swelled. And then, as countless eyes stared in shock, what appeared to be an enormous blazing sun slammed into the steel walls on the Great Tang’s left flank and exploded.
It was impossible to describe the power of that explosion. Scorching flames and destructive power swept out like a storm.
The heavy steel walls that weighed tens of thousands of jin seemed to be made of paper, and the high-temperature flames twisted, melted, and blasted them away. All the steel walls within an area of one thousand feet, along with the soldiers and beehives in the area, were blasted into oblivion, the ground scorched black.
In this region, all traces of existence were wiped away, a large pillar of smoke rising into the air. With just one strike, a massive hole had been torn through the Great Tang’s left flank.
Everyone paled at this sight.
Awooo!
But this was only the beginning, and more howls began to rise over the battlefield.
In the rear of the Arab army, great balls of flame began to ignite and hurtle toward the Tang defense line with astonishing speed.
“Careful!”
Anxious cries of alarm rose up from all across the defense line.
Boomboomboom!
Those blazing balls of flame began to explode along the steel defense line.
On the elephant Behemoth, the High Priest suddenly commented, “It seems that these things you created are more impressive than I expected!”
As he stood in front of the golden tent, those explosions across the steel defense line seemed exceptionally brilliant.
“Heh, without the High Priest’s help, even with the power of that ancient civilization, I would have never been able to create these wolf monsters.”
Khatabah chuckled as he replied.
These flame-wreathed wolf monsters were apparently a product jointly created by the High Priest and Khatabah.
“These wolf monsters might only be one-fifth the size of other Behemoths, but they mature much faster. If I had known before how easy these things were to use, I might have made more,” Khatabah said.
The High Priest merely smiled.
“Both big and small have their own advantages!”
Regardless, these explosive monsters he and the Hierophant had created had done their job.
In the distance, even though the Tang had done their best, massive holes had still been blasted through the steel defense line.
In yesterday’s battle, the Arabs had expended two hundred thousand cavalry and several dozen Behemoths, but had failed to achieve what these wolf monsters had accomplished in a few seconds.
The situation rapidly turned against the Great Tang. The suicidal explosions of the wolf monsters had created large gaps in the line. While the giant ballistae managed to kill one or two, their attacks had barely any effect on the overall result.
“This is bad. The front part of the defense line is extremely important. All the beehives are installed there, and the shield soldiers are stationed there. These explosions are extremely damaging to us. Elite shield soldiers are very difficult to train!”
A hint of worry flashed across Zhangchou Jianqiong’s eyes.
These explosions had slain nearly one thousand elite shield soldiers each, and injured even more of them. These constant explosions had already dealt a critical blow to the first defense line.
“It’s not time to worry yet. No matter how strong these wolf monsters are, their numbers must be limited. They can’t have enough to affect the entire battlefield. This isn’t my greatest worry yet.”
Wang Chong frowned as he glanced at the rear of the Arab army.
He sensed that the true threat was neither the wolf monsters nor the Behemoths. It was something else.
Buzz!
As Wang Chong spoke, the other Great Generals turned grim and also looked toward the rear of the Arab army.
After a few moments of thought, Wang Chong suddenly ordered, “Order Su Hanshan to scatter the ballistae and prepare to defend!”
This sudden order left Xue Qianjun and Xu Keyi startled. They instantly sensed that they were about to face a major foe.
Kaclack!
In the distance, as if in response to Wang Chong’s order, the loud groaning of gears and scraping of metal came from the rear of the Arab army. Hundreds of metal catapults were arranged in a row, armored giants pulling back the mechanisms to their maximum extent and aiming the catapults in the direction of the Tang army.
“Release!”
“Release!”
“Release!”
As these orders were issued, the curled-up armored giants in the catapults were tossed high into the air and across the vast Arab army. With the help of the catapults, they hurtled through the air like blazing meteors.
These armored giants were even moving faster than the Arabian Behemoths.
Buzz!
As the armored giants hurtled through the air like a meteor shower, all the Tang soldiers grimaced.
“Careful!”
A sharp cry cut through the air like a sword. Su Hanshan’s pupils constricted, his face scowling. He had already noticed that the armored giants were heading for his ballistae and the several dozen giant ballistae.
This wasn’t Su Hanshan’s first time seeing the Arabs use this tactic, but the armored giants were even more accurate than they had been at Talas.
“Coiling Dragon Formation! Scatter!”
Su Hanshan pulled out his sword and raised it high over his head! All the ballistae immediately began to change formation.
Wang Chong had adjusted the original ballista cart design, adding wheels to the flat platforms on which they had originally been placed. This added flexibility immediately showed its worth. Normally, the heavy and clumsy Tang ballistae would crumble the moment they were targeted.
But with Su Hanshan’s order, the tens of thousands of ballistae immediately altered formation, scattering apart into a twisting and coiling dragon.
“Aim three feet higher at the air! Shoot!”
At almost the same time, Chen Burang led his master archers in a counterattack.
Thwishthwishthwish!
Sharp whistles pierced through the air as arrows exploded toward the armored giants.
Many of the armored giants were struck by these arrows and died before even hitting the ground.
With the Great Tang deploying all its elites for this battle, while it still could not effectively kill these armored giants, it was not so helpless as before.
“Ready!”
But there wasn’t much time. A few seconds later, the armored giants crashed into the Tang army.
