Chapter 752: First Battle! I (1/2)
Chapter 752: First Battle! (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”Lord Marquis, the Tibetans have discovered us and are quickly forming up!”
On the steppe, Li Siye galloped behind Wang Chong, his gaze cold, his expression as calm and steady as a mountain, as if nothing could ever move him.
”It's fine. Let them form up!”
Wang Chong grinned and raised an arm. Suddenly, the galloping Wushang Cavalry stopped, coming to a complete halt within a single second. All five thousand moved in unison, making no error, as orderly as if they were all part of a single person.
'Strike like fire; be as immovable as a mountain.' In these aspects, Wang Chong's five thousand soldiers were so well-trained that even Fumeng Lingcha's most elite infantry could only sigh in praise.
Bwoooom!
As the mournful horns blew, attracting the attention of Wang Chong's forces, the Tibetans reacted very quickly. In the short time since their birds had discovered Wang Chong's forces, all the Tibetans had formed up, and even those bare-chested blacksmiths had put on armor and joined the ranks. Thousands of Tibetan soldiers, mounted on the renowned highland steeds, were charging toward Wang Chong's forces with a momentum that could knock over mountains, stirring a massive cloud of dust in their wake.
In front of this sea of Tibetan cavalry, the five thousand Wushang seemed like the light of a firefly in the face of the bright moon.
”Milord, the enemy's soldiers far exceed ours!” Li Siye's voice came from the side, tinged with the slightest hint of concern.
”Mm. They do have many more than us,” Wang Chong lightly said, but his face showed no change of emotion. Tsongkha's Zhangzhung Recruit Training Camp should have had around twenty thousand recruits, and if one added onto that the regular soldiers guarding the camp, this number climbed to twenty-five or twenty-six thousand. In pure numbers, they were five times the size of the Tang force.
In addition, the Tibetans were naturally courageous and pugnacious people, so even though these were recruits, they were not one bit inferior in terms of bravery or strength to regular soldiers of other countries. They could not be thought of as just simple recruits.
Buzz!
The plateau trembled. The Tibetans weren't traveling very fast, but their momentum was frightening.
Gallop!
While Wang Chong's troops quietly waited, a Tibetan horseman suddenly broke out of the ranks and began galloping ahead of the rest.
”Milord, they're sending an emissary!” Zhang Que said.
From the moment he had created the 'eagle team', Zhang Que had been formally registered into the army by Wang Chong and given the duties of both messenger and scout.
”There's nothing to discuss!”
Wang Chong looked at the emissary and sneered. If two armies were of equal strength, they had a custom of sending emissaries to each other. However, although they were called emissaries, they were actually meant to seek out information. The Tibetans still had no idea of the capabilities of the Tang force, nor did they know how the Tang had managed to get onto the plateau.
Wang Chong naturally would not give them this chance.
”Xu Keyi, get ready!”
”Yes, Lord Marquis!”
Xu Keyi immediately took a large bow from his back. The bow was nearly four fingers wide, and the bowstring was made from a combination of alligator sinews, water buffalo tendons, and metal string, endowing this bow with incredible strength.
Bang!
There was a whistle as the bowstring vibrated. A moment later, a metal arrow four feet long shot through the air like a lightning bolt, swiftly piercing through the Tibetan horseman some several li away. The sharp arrow stabbed through the front of the neck and out the back, the enormous power within it separating the head from the rest of the body.
This sight was so sudden and unexpected that the vast sea of Tibetan cavalry came to a sudden stop.
”Bastard!”
A thunderous roar of fury came from the distance, not in Tibetan, but in the familiar Han language. In front of the sea of Tibetan soldiers, a muscular general riding a red warhorse angrily unsheathed his sword, his eyes fixed on Wang Chong's forces, his body churning with an aura as vast as a mountain.
”Ready! Attack!”
Rumble!
The clattering of metal rang out through the earth. Even from several li away, it was still possible to hear this sound. A dark red Halo of Thorns emerged from that general's body and sank to the ground, forming halo after halo that spread to the rest of the army.
In the blink of an eye, the twenty-thousand-some Tibetan warriors began to exude an intimidating aura, their strength rising to a completely different level.
Bwoooom!
The earth quaked, and the release of that massive halo seemed to be a sort of signal. The plaintive yak horns began to sound from the side of the army, and the vast wave of Tibetans began to move once more, rapidly picking up speed.
In a few seconds, the army of twenty thousand had reached an incredible speed, traveling with the force of an avalanche toward the five thousand Wushang Cavalry.