荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

The Great Tang had just been through a bitter battle. The army had originally stood at more than one hundred thousand soldiers, but now, even with Gao Xianzhi’s Anxi Protectorate army, the Great Tang had only sixty-thousand-some soldiers. Moreover, quite a few were wounded. They could truly be considered to have suffered severe casualties. And this was not even considering the damage done to the primary intimidation force, the ballista army.

The army of what was once more than three thousand Tang ballistae now had only around one thousand, even after adding the Anxi Protectorate army’s ballistae and doing the utmost to repair the rest. One could easily imagine how severely its fighting capability had been reduced.

These forces were definitely not sufficient to defeat seven Great Generals and four hundred thousand elites. Moreover, Talas was surrounded by plains. Other than some hills, there was no other usable terrain to speak of. To a general, this was the most disadvantageous geographic terrain possible.

In this place, one could only rely on strategy, formations, and the abilities of the commanders on both sides to decide the battle.

“The Central Plains is very far away from Talas. Even cavalry will need a month to get here. We might not have that much time,” Gao Xianzhi said with a bitter smile.

“We truly don’t have much time, but the Arabs won’t be acting too quickly. Based on what that Khorasani said, the two other Arab governors will need some time to arrive with their troops. Considering that the three armies will then need to reorganize before setting off, they’ll need a lot of time before they’re ready. I estimate that even if we don’t have a month, it won’t be much less.”

Wang Chong faintly smiled, surprisingly unconcerned by this worry of Gao Xianzhi’s.

“One month?” Gao Xianzhi said in shock, not daring to believe his ears. Arabia was much closer to Talas than the Great Tang, and Gao Xianzhi’s greatest concern was that there wouldn’t be enough time. If the Arab army finished gathering and descended upon the city with four hundred thousand soldiers, a late-coming army of reinforcements from the Great Tang wouldn’t be able to do a thing.

“Absolutely!”

Wang Chong gave a confident smile.

The Great Tang knew far too little about Arabia, and even Great Generals like Gao Xianzhi knew almost nothing about it. With regards to Tarsus and Cairo, Gao Xianzhi and the other Tang commanders knew only their names and nothing more.

They didn’t even know how far away they were.

But Wang Chong did know.

The Arabian Empire of this period had the largest territory in history, more than one million square kilometers larger than the Great Tang. One could imagine just how huge this empire was. Tarsus was located on the central northern periphery of Arabia and was extremely far away from Talas.

Marching troops over from such a distant place was certain to require a large amount of time.

This was why Wang Chong was so certain that the Arabian Empire would need at least one month to renew its assault.

To the Great Tang, this was still enough time to prepare for battle. At the very least, the situation was not as bad as imagined.

“Lord Protector-General, have you recovered from your injuries?” Wang Chong said, changing the topic.

“I’ve recovered about ninety percent of my strength, but it’s still not enough if I want to deal with Abu Muslim.”

Gao Xianzhi gave a deep sigh.

Wang Chong’s face darkened, his brow creasing. Gao Xianzhi’s words exemplified the state of the entire Tang army at Talas. The Arabian Empire would be sending three governors in total for this operation. The only person who could face off against them was Gao Xianzhi.

If not even their strongest, Gao Xianzhi, could deal with them, the rest didn’t even need to be mentioned.

But Wang Chong quickly turned his gaze to several thin sheets of paper on his desk. He could only depend on the contents of these papers.

“Milord, in the capital, I once obtained a supreme martial technique, but because it was unsuited to my nature, I’ve never cultivated it. After fighting alongside Milord, I felt that the nature of Milord’s Stellar Energy was rather similar to this technique. Perhaps it can be of assistance to Milord.”

Wang Chong’s eyes focused as he extended a finger and flicked the two sheets of paper in front of him to Gao Xianzhi.

“Is that so?”

Gao Xianzhi faintly smiled, almost subconsciously wanting to refuse. As the Anxi War God and a supreme Great General, he could count on his fingers the number of people in the world who could instruct and assist him. And Wang Chong’s cultivation was even lower than his, so where could he have gotten such a thing?

But when he saw Wang Chong’s serious and expectant expression, Gao Xianzhi hesitated. Talas was in desperate straits. Any sort of strength would be of enormous help, and besides, Wang Chong clearly meant well.

“Okay. I’ll take these papers and take a look.”

Gao Xianzhi casually took the two sheets of paper and put them away.

At this sight, Wang Chong breathed a light sigh of relief. This technique was one he had chosen after combing his memories for several days, selected from amongst countless other techniques and mantras. And from a certain perspective, it had an extremely close relationship with Gao Xianzhi and would probably be of the most aid to him.

But not even Wang Chong was sure how it would actually turn out.

After all, this scene had never happened before.

It’s enough. As long as he takes it back and looks it over, he’ll naturally understand, Wang Chong quietly said to himself.

He could sense that Gao Xianzhi didn’t pay much regard to this technique, but Wang Chong did not push the matter. Some situations could only be made worse by rushing.

“That’s right, there’s one more thing.”

Wang Chong’s eyes refocused as he came to his senses.

“Lord Protector-General’s armor was shattered when fighting with Abu Muslim, so I made a special order to have a suit of armor forged from Meteoric Metal for Milord.”

“Oh?!”

Gao Xianzhi’s body trembled and his eyes exploded with a bright and enthusiastic light. Meteoric Metal was one of this world’s rarest objects. Even the armor the Sage Emperor had given him did not have very much Meteoric Metal in it. But Wang Chong’s existence went completely against common sense.

Gao Xianzhi had no idea how Wang Chong had done it, but he had never in his life seen so much Meteoric Metal. In Wang Chong’s hands, this extremely rare material was like common steel. It truly made one gasp in wonder and praise!

“Heh!”

Wang Chong softly chuckled. Not keeping Gao Xianzhi in suspense, he extended a finger and lightly rapped it on a wooden chest leaning against the desk. Bang! A wooden slat exploded, revealing a black and red suit of armor. Even someone as experienced as Gao Xianzhi couldn’t help but widen his eyes at the sight of this armor.

This suit of armor was exceedingly beautiful, each scale polished thousands of times so that it shone like a mirror. Even in the dim light of the room, the suit of armor gave off a dazzling light. The suit of armor as a whole was both intimidating and elegant. Each contour had been carefully designed; each was capable of standing on its own and yet perfectly fused with the others. From a distance, it exuded a savage strength like that of a dragon or tiger.

“Impossible!”

Gao Xianzhi couldn’t help but exclaim upon seeing this suit of armor. The armor that Wang Chong had ordered to be forged for him was different from any other suit of armor he knew. This sort of style and the forging expertise behind it far surpassed that of any other armor he had seen.

Just a glance made Gao Xianzhi adore and cherish it.

“How is it?”

Wang Chong faintly smiled.

“Unbelievable! Wang Chong, just how did you pull it off?” Gao Xianzhi sincerely said. Wang Chong appeared to be capable of everything and anything.

“Hah, has Lord Protector-General forgotten? I myself am a formidable master weaponsmith,” Wang Chong said.

Gao Xianzhi stared blankly at Wang Chong before breaking into laughter. “Haha, I really did almost forget. No one is better at forging weapons than you. Since you could forge Wootz Steel swords, you can naturally forge a suit of armor.”

In this world, anyone who claimed to be a master weaponsmith would appear to be boasting, but when Wang Chong made this claim, it did not feel like an exaggeration. On the contrary, it felt like he was being a little too humble. The Wootz Steel swords that could cut through iron like mud, the vast and impregnable steel fortresses, and the unstoppable giant ballistae that could kill even Behemoths... Wang Chong’s deeds had far exceeded those of a master weaponsmith.

With his abilities, he could easily forge a suit of armor.

Wang Chong silently smiled. He had personally designed this suit of armor and had been assisted and observed by Zhang Shouzhi during the process. Using many of the physical principles and the knowledge that he had from his life in that other world, he had succeeded in creating a suit of armor that was both beautiful and extremely sturdy.

Wang Chong had even further strengthened the parts of the armor covering the weak points of the body. In this way, he could minimize the threat posed to Gao Xianzhi in his battles with supreme experts like Abu Muslim.

Gao Xianzhi was energized, and after obtaining Wang Chong’s approval, he immediately put on the suit of armor.

“Not bad! It fits extremely well!”

Gao Xianzhi became happier the more he inspected this armor. The armor had been exquisitely crafted so that each piece, curve, and joint was close to his body, making him feel like the armor was merely an extension of his body. It almost seemed like the armor was breathing with him. He had never felt this sort of feeling before.

“It’s fine as long as Lord Protector-General likes it.”

Wang Chong faintly smiled.

Once the matter of the suit of armor was finished, the two began to speak about fortifications, defenses, and any future threats they could face.

“Oh, that’s right. Lord Protector-General, there’s one more thing.”

Just when the two were about to finish their talk, Wang Chong suddenly brought up the other matter on his mind, the primary reason he had called Gao Xianzhi over.

“I wish to discuss a matter with Lord Protector-General. For soldiers, quality is superior to quantity. I want to select a few of the best soldiers from the Anxi Protectorate army, Qixi Protectorate army, and the mercenary soldiers to form a special army to deal with the Arabs.”

“Oh?”

Gao Xianzhi’s brows rose in surprise. The Great Tang didn’t have enough soldiers at Talas, so he had never imagined that Wang Chong would choose a time like this to propose organizing a new army.

“What sort of army do you want to organize?” Gao Xianzhi probed, not yet revealing his position on the matter.