Chapter 893: Calamity on the Doorstep (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Fuck!
This was the only thought in Dalun Ruozan's mind as he watched that sparrow fly away.
Although sparrows were a common sight in the Western Regions, in the barren and rocky lands to the west of the Cong Mountains, they were extremely rare, as they simply couldn't find much food to eat. In addition, the weather was gradually chilling, and sparrows should not have been seen in this season.
Twang!
A massive boom rang through the air, a bowstring vibrated, and an arrow shot out from the rear, striking the sparrow with such tremendous force that it nailed the corpse to the ground. But Dalun Ruozan's complexion was little improved by this sight, because a tiny silhouette at the very edge of his vision had already vanished into the distance.
That had been a gray sparrow hawk.
While everyone had been focused on the five rock eagles in the air, that gray sparrow hawk had taken off from a distant tree branch. It had moved with such incredible speed that it was already out of their field of vision, and no arrow could reach it, much less vultures in the sky.
”I miscalculated!”
Dalun Ruozan closed his eyes and gave a deep sigh, the hands hidden in his sleeves slightly trembling.
In this invisible competition between him and Wang Chong, he had been constantly on the winning side. His thousands upon thousands of Tibetan soldiers had reached eighteen li from Talas without Wang Chong noticing, but little had he anticipated that when he was so close to victory, he would meet disaster at the hands of that sparrow hawk hidden on that tree branch.
In military patrols, birds were almost all in the air, as the higher they could fly, the more they could see. Very rarely did anybody place surveillance birds on the ground or on tree branches. Dalun Ruozan had accurately predicted where Wang Chong had placed his observation points, but he had not expected to completely lose on a point like this.
”Great Minister, what do we do?”
The people around him seemed to sense something and began to focus on Dalun Ruozan, and even Huoshu Huicang and Dusong Mangpoje seemed rather unsettled. Never had they expected a single sparrow hawk to wreck their plans.
It was too late to stop the bird. A prepared and an unprepared Wang Chong were two completely different things, and there was no doubt that with the departure of that sparrow hawk, the Tibetans had been exposed.
The mood instantly turned grim.
”Great Minister, should we alter the plan? Should we continue to advance?” Huoshu Huicang probed.
Dalun Ruozan said nothing, his eyes constantly shifting and flickering so that it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
After what seemed like both a second and like endless epochs, Dalun Ruozan finally chuckled and shook his head, breaking that stifling atmosphere.
”As expected of someone I've acknowledged. If we had really managed to remain undetected all the way to Talas, I would only feel more uneasy. Now, he can truly be considered our opponent. Since we've been discovered, we don't need to hide ourselves. Unfurl the banners, remove the muffling on the hooves. We will launch an open assault on Talas!”
”Yes! Great Minister!”
Rumble! The earth quaked and the heavens swayed. No longer attempting to hide their movements, the tens of thousands of horses of this Tibetan army churned up a great cloud of dust as they galloped toward Talas.
……
”Lord Marquis! It's bad!”
Meanwhile, outside Talas, in the early morning, Zhang Que rushed toward Wang Chong in panic.
”What's wrong?”
Wang Chong was currently with Wang Yan, Wang Fu, Li Siye, and the Gangke King, watching for any sign of activity from the Arabs. Seeing the look on Zhang Que's face, he slightly frowned.
His face pale beyond belief, Zhang Que kneeled on the ground and said, ”Lord Marquis, it's a huge problem! An army of tens of thousands of soldiers has appeared in the rear. They're moving with incredible speed, and they managed to eliminate all our lookout posts, both open and hidden, and all our patrolling birds. They've already advanced to Talas's vicinity and are no less than ten li from us!”
”What!”
At Zhang Que's words, Wang Yan, Wang Fu, Li Siye, and the Gangke King all shuddered in surprise. They had been discussing the strategy for dealing with the Arabs just moments ago, but now, only silence could be heard.
To the east of Talas, across an open plain, more than two hundred thousand Arab elites and Governor of the East Abu Muslim were waiting like a hungry tiger. When all their attention had been focused on this powerful adversary, tens of thousands of enemy soldiers had suddenly appeared in the rear, a most lethal development.
The Great Tang was suddenly beset by enemies from the front and back, a massive taboo in the art of war!