The Human Emperor

Boom! Boom! Boom! Screams rose from the alliance ranks as the boulders tossed by the catapults struck numerous soldiers.

But just like with the volley of arrows, after taking this attack, the alliance ranks rippled like a lake stirred by a gust of wind, and after a few seconds, everything calmed back down as if nothing had happened at all.

With an extremely cold and calm manner, the alliance army firmly advanced toward the Great Tang. No matter what happened, nothing could stop them.

Atop the walls of the steel fortress, the Tang army engaged in volleys of attacks in a cold and rational manner.

The master archers and the catapults continued to alternate, and even though their attacks did not affect the advance of the army, they continued to maintain their firing rate.

Wang Chong had been observing the alliance army’s advance this whole time, and when they had reached a distance of three thousand feet, he suddenly gave an order.

“Pass on my orders to the city defense division. Have them prepare for the second phase.”

Thudthudthud!

The soldiers of the city defense division swiftly came forward and began to push metal caltrops from the wall, immediately creating a new defense line beneath the walls.

An attack on the city had to start from the base of the walls. Laying down caltrops at the base of the walls would serve as a major hindrance to the alliance while also covering the offensives from his own side.

It was only a matter of moments before the steel caltrops had all been laid down.

“King of Foreign Lands, all teams have finished their work.” Amidst howling winds, a voice spoke up. At some point, Zhangchou Jianqiong, Wang Zhongsi, and Zhang Shougui had stepped up to the walls.

“Mm, thank you for your trouble.”

Wang Chong nodded without turning his head.

“All preparations are complete. Victory or defeat will be decided tonight.”

The highest military commanders of the empire watched from the walls as the alliance army continued its determined advance, and each person felt something strange in the air.

The distance was growing smaller and smaller.

Two thousand feet!

One thousand feet!

“Kiiill!”

With frenzied war cries, countless alliance soldiers accelerated toward the steel fortress.

The howling winds made their roars even louder.

Thudthudthud!

At a distance of around eight hundred feet, the advancing alliance army finally showed movement. In the army, rows of soldiers holding square mechanisms in their hands pointed them at the walls. As gears clacked, short arrow bolts exploded out of the mechanisms and struck the walls.

These bolts were unbelievably sharp, and few moments later, those short bolts had penetrated into the walls in a systematic pattern.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers on the walls paled.

“What sort of bolts are these? How could they be so sharp?”

Before the war, some of the bored soldiers in the fortress had tried hacking at the walls, but all of them had had a hard time leaving behind any marks on the steel. The toughness of these walls was simply incredible.

This was why they were so confident in these walls.

But those unremarkable arrow bolts were terrifying to behold, easily piercing through the tough steel walls.

“Go!”

Before anyone could react, nimble soldiers in the alliance ranks lunged toward the walls.

They moved so quickly that it took only a few moments for them to reach the base of the walls. Like monkeys, they began to scale the walls, at the same time fitting specially designed metal plates onto the bolts.

“Stop them!”

Even the slowest of the soldiers on the walls began to understand that these bolts had not been ‘misfired’. Rather, the alliance army was using this method to create a path on the smooth walls.

With these things, it would be much easier for the alliance army to reach the top of the walls.

Thwishthwishthwish!

A portion of the Tang master archers changed targets, taking aim at the agile alliance experts down below and those soldiers carrying the mechanisms that launched those short arrow bolts.

Plush! Plush! Plush! The nimble alliance experts failed to dodge and were quickly cut down by arrows. But even more experts came out from the rear and rushed to the walls to constantly install more metal plates.

In the distance, the alliance soldiers with the firing mechanisms hid away like turtles, using the metallic, rectangular mechanisms in front of them as shelter from the volley of arrows.

With a metallic clang, the vast majority of the arrows were blocked.

Rumble!

Another wave stirred before the first had time to settle. The ground began to tremble as the alliance ranks parted, allowing a giant silhouette like a prehistoric beast to slowly come forward.

Siege towers!

These siege weapons that had been built specifically for this war had once more appeared on the battlefield.

Compared to last time, the siege towers had a much easier time advancing. The darkness and the snowstorm provided a double layer of protection that greatly reduced the number of attacks the siege towers faced.

“Shoot!”

With a boom, a thick hook shot out from the top of the siege tower toward the top of the walls.

As the metal cables tightened, two paths instantly appeared in the air.

“Kill!”

Warhorses thundered as countless soldiers surged toward the steel fortress.

There were no probes or skirmishes this time. At the very outset of the battle, the alliance had launched a fierce assault, and waves of soldiers surged forward endlessly.

Wang Chong stood on the wall, watching the alliance soldiers sweep forward with a confident expression.

At this point, Wang Chong had many fierce generals under his command. Many things no longer required his personal intervention.

As the alliance army began its offensive, order after order was issued as numerous Tang generals faithfully executed the plan that Wang Chong had decided on earlier.

Countless attacks poured down from the walls.

While charging at the walls, countless alliance soldiers were cut down.

Wang Chong was completely unperturbed as he watched. In the first battle, when they had been fighting in the open field, the alliance had a slim chance of defeating the Great Tang. But in a city defense battle…

The Tang were famous for fighting such battles. An ordinary general could rely on sturdy walls to resist stronger foes, and when Wang Chong was in a fortress, no one in the world would be able to breach it.

These frenzied attacks were simply suicidal in Wang Chong’s eyes.

“Heeheehee, it seems that our foe is very proud.” At this moment, a soft chuckle came from the alliance army. The Xi Queen wore a suit of armor, appearing heroic and valiant.

Her eyes were focused on Wang Chong atop the walls, taking in every shift on his face.

“It’s my turn to make a move. Otherwise, we won’t be able to do anything to him.”

As the Xi Queen spoke, she made her horse trot forward, her intentions obvious.

The others smiled. It was said that the women in the Xi Tribe admired warriors that were stronger than them, and it seemed that the Xi Queen had eyes for the King of Foreign Lands.

“Then I leave it to Your Majesty!”

An Lushan smiled and didn’t try to stop her. The Xi Queen’s abilities were extremely useful in city assaults like this.

“If Lord Protector-General says this, this lowly woman must do her best.”

The Xi Queen said no more. Her smile faded as she slapped the back of her horse and shot toward the walls of the steel fortress.

When she was around two thousand feet away, the Xi Queen smiled, made her horse stop, and activated her powerful Ice Element ability.

“Ancient Glacier!”

Boom!

Her surroundings shuddered, and the snow falling around her suddenly froze in place. The winds began to howl as the boundless energy of the cold wave began to converge on the Xi Queen.

The Xi Queen’s body groaned as her energy levels soared.

The Yeluohe were not the only ones to benefit from the frigid weather of the cold wave. So did powerful Ice Element experts like the Xi Queen.

The Xi Queen was the only female sovereign in the alliance, and she was also the weakest. But not even the Xi Queen had imagined that she would benefit from the cold wave. Not only had she broken through a threshold and reached a new level, her Ice Element abilities had also evolved to a higher level.

Ancient Glacier was a supreme technique recorded in the texts of the Xi Tribe. Only the Xi Queens could cultivate this technique, but because it was so difficult to cultivate, no one had succeeded in the last several hundred years. But with the power of the cold wave, the Xi Queen had done what numerous predecessors could not and once more brought this supreme Ice Element ability into reality.

Rumble!

Following the Xi Queen’s will, the wild snowstorm stirred, and several dozen glaciers that were tens of thousands of feet long and several thousand feet wide appeared in the air.

Before anyone could react, these enormous glaciers descended while also turning from illusion into reality.

With a great boom, the several dozen glaciers appeared on the battlefield. One end of the glaciers was linked to the top of the walls while the other end extended deep into the alliance army.

Moreover, the Xi Queen had willed it so that countless steps had appeared on the Ancient Glaciers, making it easier for warhorses to charge up them.

Bang!

The sight of those enormous glaciers immediately silenced the battlefield. But after that brief moment of silence, an enormous cheer exploded from the alliance army.

The abilities of the Xi Queen were many times stronger than they had been in the first battle, and everyone was stunned by this power.