The Human Emperor

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Their enormous bodies allowed the seemingly slow pace of the Behemoths to reach the level of a cavalry charge.

And at this distance, one could even see the thick armor covering the Behemoths.

“They’re completely covered in armor!”

Upon seeing that every inch of the Behemoths was covered in armor, even their underbelly and head, Gao Xianzhi grimaced.

In the Battle of Talas, the Behemoth Army had also been covered in armor, but not to this level.

It was clear that after the battle, the Arabs had gone to great lengths to extend the armor to every part of the Behemoths’ bodies. This would greatly reduce the effectiveness of the Tang ballistae.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind blew into the Tang army, causing Wang Chong’s hair to dance, but that young face remained cold and unperturbed.

The Behemoths possessed unimaginable ferocity and savagery, and in front of these massive beings, martial artists were insignificant ants. But this was not Wang Chong’s first time dealing with these enormous creatures.

When the Behemoths were about ten thousand feet from the defense line, Wang Chong bellowed, his eyes gleaming. “Su Hanshan, get ready!”

Crack!

Following Wang Chong’s order, there was an explosion from the back of the army. A wooden crate that had been more than five hundred feet wide and seventy feet long burst open, revealing the giant metal weapons within.

Each of these metal weapons was about ten meters long. They looked very similar to ballistae, but they were ten times larger.

“Giant ballistae!”

In the distance, Abu Muslim immediately recognized those weapons, and his face paled.

“How did he manage to produce so many of them!?”

In the Battle of Talas, Abu Muslim had treated the Behemoth Army as his trump card, but in the end, it had fallen at the hands of Wang Chong. And amongst Wang Chong’s many tricks, his giant ballistae had left the deepest impression.

If not for the fatal damage this weapon had done to the Behemoths, the Battle of Talas might have turned out entirely differently.

But there had been only two giant ballistae at Talas. Here, he could see at least thirty, perhaps even up to forty of them.

Moreover, these giant ballistae were intricately constructed, both beautiful and brimming with explosive force. They were on a completely different level from the ones at Talas.

More importantly, the Great Tang side was amply prepared. Each of these giant ballistae had a metal platform about ten meters high below them, allowing them to fire while still protected by the steel defense line.

“This bastard!”

Abu Muslim clenched his fists, his face turning ghastly white.

Scouting and intelligence gathering was a basic skill in war. Before this battle, Abu Muslim had sent numerous spies, scouts, hunting falcons, and even Hu spies to investigate how Wang Chong’s army was arranged within the City of Steel.

Those massive wooden crates—or perhaps they would be better called wooden houses—had been reported to Abu Muslim as storehouses for weapons.

As numerous metal components had been moved into these storehouses, Abu Muslim had taken them to hold replacement parts for the steel walls, or else held steel modules that Wang Chong would use to fill gaps in his defense line.

He had never imagined that they contained these giant ballistae.

Bang!

As these thoughts were going through Abu Muslim’s mind, the air exploded.

A massive ballista bolt, more than ten meters long and as thick as a child’s arm, howled through the air like a dragon and shot straight toward the rhino Behemoth at the very front.

Awooooo!

There was a scream as the Behemoth that weighed thousands of tons threw its head back. The heavy armor around its head had been instantly pulverized by the ballista bolt, and the bolt had pierced deeply into its head.

The enormous impact forced the rhino Behemoth to stop so suddenly that the Behemoths behind it crashed right into it.

Boomboomboom!

This was like a sort of signal, and the thirty-some giant ballistae began to fire, the long ballista bolts wreathed in the aura of death as they struck the mountainous Behemoths.

Plush! Plush! Plush! Blood splattered as the thick armor crumpled like fragile roof tiles. This sudden barrage caused the Behemoths to run into each other and threw their ranks into disarray.

Buzz!

In front of his golden tent, Khatabah trembled, losing some of his initial composure.

These weapons of the east had clearly surpassed his expectations. Even though Abu Muslim had spoken of them, neither of them had imagined this weapon to be this powerful.

“Hmph!”

But a few moments later, the High Priest snorted. His black robe rustled as his staff tapped down. A moment later, an immense wave of Psychic Energy spread out and engulfed the Behemoths.

In a flash, the disorderly ranks of the Behemoth Army became orderly once more.

“Bad!”

King Song was alarmed by this sight.

He had known about these giant ballistae for some time. The military had even allotted money to the Bureau of Works so that they could assist in building them.

The original plan was to use the barrage to cause chaos in the Behemoth ranks and at least hamper their momentum, but it seemed less effective than they had predicted.

“Something’s not right!”

Wang Chong immediately sensed something strange and frowned.

Wang Chong was somewhat familiar with these massive beasts created using the technology of a lost civilization. These beasts had enormous vitality, so strong that Wang Chong could use the amount of vitality they lost to determine just how powerful his ballista bolts were.

All of the giant ballistae had hit their targets, but the results were far weaker than anticipated. Though a good chunk had been taken out of the Behemoths’ enormous vitality, it was far from a fatal level.

As his eyes passed over the thick armor and the complicated patterns that covered it, he understood.

“…It’s because of the armor. The Arabs strengthened the armor with many inscriptions so that the ballista bolts were greatly weakened by the time they struck!”

On the other side, after soothing the Behemoths, the High Priest raised his hand and gently stroked the air.

“Go, my pets!”

The Behemoths roared and kicked up clouds of dust as they once more charged at the Tang defense line.

The giant ballista bolts, rather than forcing the Behemoths to retreat, provoked them into a frenzied charge.

Right behind them were Apolis and his soldiers.

Eight thousand feet! Seven thousand feet! Closer and closer!

Wang Chong’s eyes coldly flashed as he ordered, “Change tactics! One team to each giant ballista! Focus fire!”

Boomboomboom!

On the metal platforms, the elite ballista men swiftly adjusted their ballistae and began to fire, two men to each ballista.

With thunderous booms, the thick ballista bolts flew at a Behemoth.

Awooo!

One bolt, two bolts, three bolts… That rhino Behemoth charging at the very front howled as ten-some ballista bolts thudded into its head. After running another four-thousand-some feet, it crashed to the ground, leaving a long furrow of around seven hundred feet behind it.

As the giant ballistae continued to fire, one Behemoth after another howled and was brought down to the ground.

Their blood gushed across the landscape. Even these kingdom-destroying Behemoths were weak and fragile in the face of the giant ballistae Wang Chong and Zhang Shouzhi had worked together to create.

At the very least, they were no longer invincible.

The threat of the Behemoths was simply too great, and Wang Chong had been making a plan to deal with them this whole time. The giant ballistae were one of the most effective methods to deal with them, so Wang Chong had been secretly constructing them this whole time, allowing him to field more than thirty of them in this battle.

Awooooo!

As the Behemoths got closer, Wang Chong gestured to Su Hanshan. “Loose!” Su Hanshan cried out, and another barrage of bolts soared through the air at the charging Behemoths.

It’s about time for me to make my move! Wang Chong said to himself.

The Behemoths were now so close that he could smell their powerful stench and even see the dust and sand coming out from between the chinks in their armor.

The moment he failed to stop them, his defense line of several hundred li would become like toys and be instantly uprooted by the Behemoths.

Buzz!

The several dozen Behemoths were now three-thousand-some feet from the defense line. Wang Chong’s eyes flashed, and a massive stream of Psychic Energy flew out of his body, transforming into a visible shadow that surged at the mountainous Behemoths.

The Beast Taming Art!

The ability that Wang Chong had used against Masil at Talas once more took the stage.