荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

Huoba Sangye turned his head and yelled behind him, “Great Minister, hurry and go! I will cover your retreat!”

The Great Tang warhorses were creating a thunderous roar, the entire world quaking as they approached with astonishing speed. The dying wails of the Arabs pierced through the skies, causing the Tibetans to quail in fear. If they did not flee now, they would be next.

“What are you standing around for! Hurry and escort the Great Minister out of here!”

Huoba Sangye pointed at two Mutri Great Cavalry.

“Huoba.”

Suddenly, a calm and wise voice interrupted Huoba Sangye’s order. The sound of his name in his ears startled Huoba Sangye, and he instantly had an ill foreboding. For some reason, he sensed the aura of death in Dalun Ruozan’s voice.

“Great Minister, we’ll have time to talk when we get back. You two bastards, didn’t you hear what I said!”

Huoba Sangye’s eyes went wide, and before Dalun Ruozan could say anything more, he began to reprimand his two subordinates.

“Huoba Sangye, let us part ways here.”

Dalun Ruozan sat on the back of his horse and raised his head. Amidst the roars of fighting and killing, his voice was abnormally calm, so calm that it made Huoba Sangye uneasy.

“Great Minister, what nonsense are you saying! Hurry and go!”

Huoba Sangye’s eyes wildly twitched as if understanding what was about to happen.

“Haha, Huoba, there’s no need to say anything more. More than one hundred thousand soldiers were killed and the Mutri Great Cavalry has sustained severe losses. Someone has to take responsibility for all this, and moreover, Dusong Mangpoje and Huoshu Huicang have both died on this battlefield. Even if we return to Ü-Tsang, do you think that the Tsenpo will let us go?”

Dalun Ruozan faintly smiled, his expression growing even calmer.

“Great Minister.”

Huoba Sangye was frozen in shock. His mind was bursting with things to say, but in the face of Dalun Ruozan’s simple argument, he couldn’t manage to squeeze out a single one.

“Huoba, go. Only if I remain can you survive. My era is already over. In the future, Ü-Tsang can only depend on you. Tell the Tsenpo that I did all I could.”

Dalun Ruozan’s eyes seemed to see through everything. After one last glance at Huoba Sangye, he pulled on the reins of his horse and began to ride back to the rear.

“Wang Chong! Do you dare to come out for a meeting!”

Dalun Ruozan’s loud voice resounded over the battlefield, and he gave his horse a fierce slap, spurring it into a charge.

“Great Minister...”

Behind him, Huoba Sangye stared speechlessly at that confident and relaxed figure.

......

Meanwhile, the sound of Dalun Ruozan’s voice caused a minor disturbance in the pursuing Tang army.

“It’s Dalun Ruozan! This bastard must be up to something! Qianli, take some men to stop him!”

In the middle of the vast battlefield, Gao Xianzhi, mounted on a white warhorse, instantly spotted Dalun Ruozan riding over. Gao Xianzhi was deeply apprehensive toward Dalun Ruozan. Although Dalun Ruozan was a purely civil minister, this battle would have never been so complicated without him, nor would there have been a three-way alliance between the Arabs, Tibetans, and Western Turks.

Particularly in that final battle, Gao Xianzhi was practically certain that Dalun Ruozan had been greatly involved in the plan that had dispelled the God avatars of Wang Yan and Cheng Qianli, causing the Great Tang to almost lose the battle. There was even a chance that he had been the architect behind the entire plan.

Although he really couldn’t think of what sort of tricks Dalun Ruozan could play in this situation, Gao Xianzhi still felt instinctively wary toward him.

“Wait a moment! Let me do it!”

A voice came from the distance, and Wang Chong rode up atop his White-hoofed Shadow.

“Xue Qianjun, pass on my order. Have Cui Piaoqi continue leading the army in pursuit. As for Dalun Ruozan, leave him to me. Without my order, no one is to touch him!”

Dalun Ruozan’s actions were too abnormal, but unlike Gao Xianzhi, Wang Chong didn’t believe that he was up to any schemes. Dusong Mangpoje was dead, Huoshu Huicang was dead, and he had even personally killed Qutaybah. No matter how shrewd of a schemer Dalun Ruozan was, even he was powerless to change this situation.

Whoosh! Following Wang Chong’s order, ripples began travel through the Tang army. All the soldiers were like the waters of a river encountering rock, parting and rushing past Dalun Ruozan as they approached him. Wang Chong’s order was perfectly carried out, with all the soldiers acting as if they hadn’t seen Dalun Ruozan as they charged past him to continue the pursuit.

A group of soldiers naturally split off from the rest of the army to remain with Wang Chong, all this done in the blink of an eye.

After consecutive wars and consecutive victories, Wang Chong’s prestige in the army was like a towering tree. Even the Tongluo Cavalry that Wang Chong had bad blood with had chosen to obey Wang Chong’s orders at this time.

Gallop!

A black highland steed kicked up a trail of dust as it trotted forward with Dalun Ruozan. In front of it were piles of corpses, both Arab and Tibetan, and a bloody mist filled the air.

Dalun Ruozan’s expression was calm and indifferent. He seemed to have some invisible force field that caused everyone to focus on him.

Gao Xianzhi creased his brow and suddenly stopped.

“Yuanqing, Lou Shiyi, continue leading the army in pursuit. I’ll remain to keep an eye on Dalun Ruozan!”

The Demonic Emperor Old Man and the Wushang Village Chief also slowed down, frowning as they looked at the distant Dalun Ruozan. But when they saw the look in Dalun Ruozan’s eyes, the two seemed to understand something, and their creased brows relaxed.

“Hyah!”

Wang Chong’s eyes flashed as Dalun Ruozan approached, and he urged his own horse forward to meet him.

As Wang Chong and Dalun Ruozan approached each other, everything began to fall silent, countless gazes gathering on the pair.

Even the most unaware person knew that Wang Chong and Dalun Ruozan were mortal foes. In the war of the southwest, Wang Chong had risen off the back of Dalun Ruozan’s reputation, and in the distant Talas, the two had yet another destined encounter.

Clipclop!

When they were separated by ten-some paces, Wang Chong and Dalun Ruozan both came to a stop. The two of them silently stared at each other, and after what seemed like both a single second and like countless eons, everyone finally heard a long sigh.

“The victor is king while the loser is scorned. Wang Chong, you have won this battle. For the next ten-some years, no one in the entire continent will be able to contend against you or the Great Tang!”

The fierce winds constantly blew Dalun Ruozan’s robes here and there, but the turmoil in his mind was far more intense.

“You should have never even come to this battle!” Wang Chong calmly said.

To Dalun Ruozan, the final result of this battle might have appeared to be an accident, but in his own view, it was an inevitability. Dalun Ruozan had no idea just how much effort and preparation Wang Chong had put into this battle.

In truth, the battle had started from the moment he had erected a city in Wushang.

Dalun Ruozan had been fighting a war he had been certain to lose!

“Heh.”

Dalun Ruozan chuckled, his expression indifferent. It was like he had seen through everything.

“How could I not come? Whether it was for me or Ü-Tsang, it was imperative that I be at Talas. But... the victor is king while the loser is scorned. I lost, so I have nothing to say.”

Wang Chong was silent. Just as Dalun Ruozan had said, the victor was king while the loser was scorned. This was a principle that all generals understood and abided by. Although Dalun Ruozan had truly made a lot of trouble for him, Wang Chong had to admit that Dalun Ruozan was an opponent worthy of his respect.

“Wang Chong, I did all I could in this battle, and I feel no regrets in losing to you, nothing to be sorry about. I’ve spent half my life on military matters and have always been proud of my intelligence. I rarely encountered anyone who could contend against me, and even though I wasn’t physically strong, even Zhangchou Jianqiong had to keep his distance around me, wasting ten-some years in the southwest unable to make any progress. Wang Chong, you are the first and only person that has pushed me to the end of the line!”

Dalun Ruozan looked at Wang Chong with no hatred or resentment in his eyes, but pride and satisfaction. Putting aside their respective countries and standpoints, to be able to encounter a true foe in a lifetime could be considered a sort of blessing. At the very least, he felt no regrets on his part.

“Wang Chong, can you agree to a request of mine?” Dalun Ruozan suddenly said. Seeing Wang Chong slightly crease his brow, Dalun Ruozan smiled and continued, “Be at ease. I will no longer be your foe. Give Huoshu Huicang’s body to me and I will remain here to do whatever you want with! Please!”

With this last word, Dalun Ruozan’s smile slowly faded away, and he slightly bent at the waist, a begging look in his eyes. In that moment, the peerless and farsighted wise minister of Ü-Tsang was no more. In front of Wang Chong was an ordinary, humble, and insignificant Dalun Ruozan.

Bang!

Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, Li Siye, and Xue Qianjun all reeled in shock from this sight. Even Wang Chong was moved. Everyone had heard Dalun Ruozan’s words. None of them had imagined that Dalun Ruozan would even give up his life for the sake of Huoshu Huicang’s corpse.

And they had even less expected that he would lower his head to Wang Chong for the sake of Huoshu Huicang’s corpse.

Dalun Ruozan was proud and conceited, and few people in the world could easily make him lower his head. Not even Gao Xianzhi was capable of such a feat. But for the sake of Huoshu Huicang’s corpse, he had given up on all dignity and lowered his proud head.

At that moment, Wang Chong’s heart was overcome by an indescribable feeling.