The Human Emperor

“I can allow the people of the Eastern Turks, the Khitan Tribe, Goguryeo, and the Xi Tribe to enter Youzhou to avoid the storm, and I can also spare your lives, and I can even provide food to you, but there is one condition.

“From now on, there will be no more Eastern Turkic Khaganate, no Khitan Tribe, no Goguryeo, no Xi Tribe on the continent.

“On this continent, there will be only one empire, called the Great Tang!”

Wang Chong’s face was cold, his body slightly pausing before erupting with a domineering energy.

The sovereigns were taken aback at first, but they quickly got Wang Chong’s meaning.

Wang Chong wanted to represent the Great Tang in totally subduing the other countries and uniting the entire continent. The Eastern Turkic Khaganate, the Goguryeo Empire, the Xi, and the Khitans needed to yield to the Great Tang.

This also meant that they would no longer be sovereigns of their own countries, but subjects of the Great Tang.

Complicated expressions appeared on their faces.

The victor was king while the loser was a scoundrel. They had thoroughly and utterly lost.

Despite the bitterness in their hearts, they didn’t hesitate for long.

On one hand was pledging loyalty to the Great Tang. On the other hand was complete annihilation of themselves and their countries in the cold wave. There was no choice for the countries.

“King of Foreign Lands, we are willing to submit!”

The sovereigns simultaneously lowered their heads.

Wang Chong casually smiled in response.

All of this was as he had expected. War had only been a means to an end. This was what Wang Chong had truly been pursuing all this time.

The Western and Eastern Turkic Khaganates, the Xi and Khitan Tribes, and the Goguryeo Empire were all serving the Great Tang, while the Youzhou rebel army had been subdued. The Great Tang had truly managed to realize what countless sovereigns of numerous dynasties had only dreamed about.

A single empire had truly managed to unite the entire continent!

Rumble! As Wang Chong nodded his head, thundering hooves began to converge from all sides, and a few moments later, all of the remaining soldiers and common folk of the alliance had gathered within Youzhou.

“Put down your weapons!”

Greeting them were countless armored Tang soldiers.

With a metallic clatter, countless weapons dropped to the ground, and the alliance soldiers raised their hands and dropped to their knees.

Wang Chong would not permit them to carry weapons within Youzhou.

As he stood in front of an open window within the Andong Protectorate headquarters and watched the busy scene outside, Wang Chong thought to himself, All that’s left is the Ü-Tsang Empire!

……

At the same time, at the City of Steel in the northwest…

Whoosh!

A howling snowstorm blanketed the world in white.

Some time had passed since the battle, and after several days of repair, the battered City of Steel had been restored, the sturdy steel walls and defensive fortifications all rebuilt and reinforced.

Neigh!

Around the City of Steel, groups of cavalry patrolled the area.

Even though Dalon Trinling’s army had already withdrawn, the City of Steel remained vigilant, countless soldiers manning the walls.

But there was something different about the City of Steel today.

On the eastern face of the City of Steel, near the eastern gate, Young Master Qingyang, Li Junxian, and Barshad had all gathered. Behind them were numerous Tang and Western Turkic generals, organized in several rows. All of them were seemingly waiting for something.

Buzz!

A few moments later, a gust of wind stirred the snow in front of the trio, the snow rising up and forming into a vortex.

Soon, the ground began to ripple, the waves spreading outward.

A moment later, in a flash of light, a familiar figure emerged from the ground.

“Your Highness!”

Their eyes brightened, and they joyfully bowed.

The person emerging from the ground was none other than Wang Chong’s first clone, the Earth Divine Embryo.

Since Wang Chong’s Earth Divine Embryo could travel through the earth, it was unaffected by the frigid weather. Moreover, it could move extremely quickly through the earth, which was why Wang Chong had sent it to the City of Steel to resolve this area’s danger.

“Rise. There is no need for excess courtesy.”

Wang Chong waved his hand as he extracted his feet from the ground and walked over.

“Any news on Dalon Trinling?”

Once the war in Youzhou had ended, Wang Chong’s clones had begun to make their way here.

Though he didn’t know exactly what had been going on in the City of Steel, with a single glance, Wang Chong could tell that his plan had been effective.

“No. Ever since he received Your Highness’s letter, Dalon Trinling withdrew with all of the Ü-Tsang Empire’s soldiers, and we do not know where he is,” Young Master Qingyang respectfully said.

“Mm.”

Wang Chong nodded, completely unsurprised.

Barshad stepped forward and asked, “Your Highness, we should deploy our soldiers to attack Ü-Tsang?”

No one was happier to see Wang Chong arrive at the City of Steel than Barshad.

In this battle against Ü-Tsang in the northwest, the Western Turkic Khaganate had suffered the greatest losses, as it had formed the primary force in the City of Steel.

The Western Turks had used their lives to stop the Tibetan assault again and again.

But now that Wang Chong had arrived, everything was over.

The outcome of the battle in the northwest was certain.

With the victory in Youzhou, the only foreign country that had yet to submit to the Great Tang was Dalon Trinling’s Ü-Tsang Empire.

The Western Turks had gambled the fate of their country on the Great Tang, on this unprecedented war of empires. In the end, it was proved that Barshad had made the correct choice.

As the Great Tang’s sole ally amongst the bordering empires, Barshad was confident that the Western Turks would benefit from the Great Tang’s rule over the world.

As for the missing Dalon Trinling, Barshad wasn’t overly worried. With Wang Chong here, they wouldn’t be able to run.

“There’s no need. Dalon Trinling will come himself, and the Ü-Tsang Empire has been defeated already,” Wang Chong breezily proclaimed.

“Ah?”

Everyone was taken aback by Wang Chong’s words.

Had Wang Chong not appeared in the City of Steel to deal with Dalon Trinling? Why did he say that the Ü-Tsang Empire had already been defeated?

Without explaining, Wang Chong turned to Young Master Qingyang.

“Young Master Qingyang, did you do as I asked?”

“Your Highness, everything is ready.”

Young Master Qingyang quickly came back to his senses and bowed.

“Mm. Raise the war banner on that side and leave the rest to me.”

With these words, Wang Chong strode into the City of Steel’s main hall.

Matters in the northeast had yet to be settled, and Wang Chong didn’t plan to waste too much time on this.

Whoosh!

A few moments later, a giant banner was slowly raised over the City of Steel’s main hall, standing out as it flapped in the snowstorm.

Besides the dragon banner of the Great Tang, there was no banner in the world that could match the King of Foreign Lands’ banner in terms of influence.

All was quiet in the City of Steel. The plum blossom trees were in full bloom, radiating vitality and their fragrant aroma.

Amongst the plum blossom trees, countless eyes looked up at the massive banner, countless thoughts going through their minds.

No one knew what Wang Chong was doing, but they knew that he had his reasons.

Crssh!

Not long after the banner representing Wang Chong was raised, in a place that no one noticed, a pair of bright eyes stared at the banner above the City of Steel. With a whoosh, that hidden figure charged out from under the snow and began to move to the northwest with astonishing speed.

Rumble! A few moments later, a great rumble began to rise from the northwest.

A Tang sentry atop the walls peered into the distance and cried out, “Enemy attack!”

Boom!

The City of Steel came to life, and the mood became tense.

Countless soldiers mounted the walls and prepared to defend.

To the northwest, an army charged out of the raging snowstorm.

“It’s the Tibetans!”

Everyone became even more nervous.

After numerous gruesome struggles to defend the walls, all of them keenly understood the ferocity of the Tibetans.

“Your Highness, the Tibetans really did appear!”

Atop the walls, Young Master Qingyang, Barshad, and Li Junxian turned Wang Chong with strange looks on their faces.

The Tibetans had completely vanished after the battle was over, and though they had gone to great lengths, they had never managed to find them.

Qixi was completely deserted.

It was like the Tibetans had vanished from the northwest. Everyone had wondered if they had already withdrawn to the Tibetan Plateau.

But from the situation before them, it appeared that they had guessed wrongly.

Dalon Trinling had not led his soldiers very far, instead remaining in the vicinity.

From this alone, one could see that Dalon Trinling was truly an outstanding individual.

Most astonishing was that things really were happening as Wang Chong had expected. When that banner representing Wang Chong was raised, those missing Tibetans had appeared as if they were drawn to it.