Chapter 872: Talas, the Final Step! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Only the members of the eagle team knew of the heavy price that had been paid to seek out information on the Arabs. Eleven members of the team had died in the region east of Talas, and twenty to thirty eagles had died in battle. Even Little Sha had been heavily wounded. However, Zhang Que had succeeded in realizing some of the rules the Arabs operated on.
The Arabs had an independent way of fighting. The birds in the air would often fly very far from the scouts on the ground, with the hunting falcons observing areas several dozen li away. When these Arabian hunting falcons encountered an enemy bird, one of them would immediately turn back to inform the scouts in the rear.
If one wanted to prevent discovery by the Arabs, one first had to bring their scout birds to the ground. Meanwhile, if the hunting falcons did not encounter any enemies in the air, they would continue forward, circling in the air once to determine the enemy numbers before leaving.
To stop being discovered, these massive hunting falcons skilled in aerial combat needed to all be exterminated before they managed to complete a single circle. If one of them were allowed to escape, all their efforts would be in vain, and the silent advance of the more than one hundred thousand soldiers of Qixi would have been for nothing.
One circle! Only one circle! No matter what, we must succeed!
Zhang Que nervously looked up to the skies.
The Arabs currently had their army distributed in all directions, with only a part of it on the western side. This was their best chance. The eagle team had fully mobilized, and this battle would determine the success or failure of both the Qixi and Anxi armies!
As these thoughts flew through his mind, the dense flock of Great Tang eagles had already made contact with the Arabian hunting falcons.
Creeee!
Shrill cries echoed through the skies. There was no skirmishing or probing. On first contact, the birds on both sides had plunged into a bitter melee. Feathers flew and blood splashed, not in drips, but in a great shower from the very start.
Bang!
There was a black flash as an Arabian hunting falcon dropped from the sky like a stone, crashing against the gravelly ground and turning into a ball of pulped flesh and shattered bone. Behind it came three Great Tang eagles, also crashing into the earth.
And then five, six, seven, eight…
The fighting was far fiercer than expected, the Arabian hunting falcons far more vicious. Their beaks were like steel picks, their claws like iron hooks, each of their strikes tearing out large chunks of flesh and feathers. Each hunting falcon could contend with two, three, or four other birds. It was precisely under these vicious attacks that Zhang Que's Little Sha had been injured.
But at this moment, Zhang Que and his eagle team were using completely different tactics. Whoosh! Thirty to forty eagles descended like a wolf pack on a single Arabian hunting falcon, their beaks pecking and claws slashing. With this single clash, the massive and fierce hunting falcon was felled, its body plunging out of the skies.
In this process, all the eagles were single-mindedly focused, ignoring the attacks of the other hunting falcons. None of them turned their heads, and none of them tried to escape. They bore the pain as they converged and finished off one hunting falcon before turning to their next target.
In these circumstances, the eagle team suffered large losses as many of their eagles sustained grievous wounds and dropped from the skies. This sight caused the eyes of the eagle team to redden in grief.
Each of these eagles had gone through intense training, training that had been infused with their deep affection. The death of each eagle was like a piece of themselves being torn away, but all of them could only bury these emotions deep within their hearts.
One, two, three… Zhang Que's tactics were effective, and in the space of a few seconds, many of the hunting falcons had been killed. Not even the fiercest hunting falcon could resist the attacks of so many eagles, but Zhang Que's heart was still taut with tension.
We can't let them escape, not a single one…
Zhang Que continued to clench his fists as he surveyed the situation in the air. No matter how many Arabian hunting falcons they killed in this battle, it would all be meaningless if they were not completely wiped out. If even one were allowed to return, it would mean complete defeat. The number of Arabian hunting falcons in the air continued to fall, and in the face of this undaunted flock of eagles, the hunting falcons finally lost their courage, with several of them shrilly crying out as they turned to flee.
The hearts of the eagle team leapt to their throats at this sight, and Zhang Que himself greatly paled.
At this moment, there was a black flicker as a rock eagle lunged forward like a lightning bolt, its claws tearing through the back of one of the hunting falcons and dropping it to the ground. It struck a second, then a third, which tried to turn and fight back, but it quickly joined the rest of its comrades in a plunge to the ground.
Bang!
As the last Arabian hunting falcon dropped to the ground, the eagle team broke into cheers.
”Little Sha!”
”Little Sha!”
”Little Sha!”
The rock eagle that had ended the lives of the three Arabian hunting falcons was Zhang Que's Eagle King, Little Sha.
”Success!”