The Human Emperor

Chapter 1118: Break the Cauldrons and Sink the Boats!

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

In the Beiting Protectorate, in the Qixi Protectorate, and now in this Battle of Talas, Su Hanshan was always fighting alongside his men.

Even though they were of lowly status, Su Hanshan was always willing to speak up on their behalf. In Su Hanshan’s mind, they were not subordinates, but brothers.

A drop of compassion would give birth to a spring of reciprocity. Su Hanshan had treated them as brothers, so all of them treated Su Hanshan as their brother and relative. As long as he did not retreat, none of them would say a word, not even if they lost their heads for it.

“Everyone, get ready!”

Rumble! As the ballista army got into position, a banner was thrust into the ground, shattering the hard rock. The black-armored guard firmly gripped the Nine Dragon Blood War Banner as he slowly emerged from the back of the army.

As the black-armored guard emerged, the winds began to howl and clouds began to gather. The Divine Martial Army, Divine Prison Army, Dragon Stallion Army, and the other top-class armies marched out according to their position in the formation. A vast wave of pressure surged out from them.

And as the Great Tang top-class armies emerged, the atmosphere began to grow more tense, with even the Arab soldiers on the other side appearing nervous. Yesterday’s battle was still fresh on their minds. The army across from them had been the world’s most terrifying killing machine.

Gallop!

As the air tensed, the clopping of hooves and the trembling of armor drew everyone’s attention. The Arab army parted, allowing a figure on a pure white highland steed to ride out from beneath the six war banners.

Dalun Ruozan!

Wang Chong’s eyes widened in recognition.

At almost the same time, Dalun Ruozan pulled on the reins of his warhorse, his intelligent gaze sweeping over Talas and immediately fixing into the figure of Wang Chong atop his White-hoofed Shadow.

“Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi, do you dare come out for a meeting!”

Dalun Ruozan’s eyes flashed as his loud voice was carried along by the fierce winds over the entire battlefield.

Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi exchanged a silent glance before riding out from the steel defense line.

On the other end, the moment he saw Gao Xianzhi, Abu Muslim rode forward without a word to join Dalun Ruozan. On the eve of this final battle, the four primary instigators of the Battle of Talas stared across at each other, and the mood became rather strange.

“Dalun Ruozan, at this stage in the battle, have you still not given up?”

Wang Chong’s hair was gently blown about in the wind as he stared at Dalun Ruozan. After so many battles, Wang Chong’s eyes had been imbued with a whole new level of resolve. Anyone who didn’t know the truth would find it difficult to believe that one of the commanders in such a large-scale war was just a seventeen-year-old youth.

“Hahaha, the victor is king while the loser gets nothing; that’s all it is. This battle is far from over, and until the very end, who can say who is the victor and who is the loser?”

Dalun Ruozan gave a hearty laugh.

“You won’t have any chance, nor would I ever permit you one,” Gao Xianzhi said. “Dalun Ruozan, Ü-Tsang has already lost. Even if you collude with the Arabs in another alliance, what meaning will it have? In the end, you’ll just suffer an even greater defeat.”

Gao Xianzhi didn’t understand Dalun Ruozan very well, and the two hadn’t interacted very much, but there was no doubt that Dalun Ruozan was one of the critical individuals in this war.

If not for him, the war between the Great Tang and Arabia would have been nothing like as complicated. At least in the first phase, the Great Tang wouldn’t have had to worry about being attacked from both the front and the back. In addition, the Tibetan Great Generals had also posed an enormous threat to the Great Tang. One could say that it was Dalun Ruozan’s ambition that had made each side suffer severe losses.

Even though the Great Tang had managed to throw back the trilateral alliance, the Tang, Arabs, Tibetans, and Western Turks had all paid an enormous price.

“Haha, Protector-General Gao, don’t get ahead of yourself. Until the final moment of this battle, how can you possibly know that the Great Tang will be the winner? Wang Chong, in the war of the southwest, I had four hundred thousand soldiers and lost to you, and for this war, I brought five hundred thousand. Before this final battle, why don’t we make a bet?”