Chapter 957: Step Onto Stage, Giant Ballista! I (1/2)
Chapter 957: Step Onto Stage, Giant Ballista! (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Roooar!
The Behemoth's roar resounded over Talas, its enormous body continuing to press forward against Wang Chong. Although Abu Muslim's arrow had failed to strike true, it had not been completely ineffective. While Wang Chong was briefly distracted, the scaled Behemoth had used the opportunity to suddenly advance, and it was now less than ten zhang from the first steel defense line. Its exhalations battered against the walls like mighty waves, causing them to ring and clatter. Some of the closest Tang soldiers couldn't withstand this pressure and were swept away along with their horses.
Wang Chong's Godking Yama was using its two free arms to hold the Terrorizer's neck, but despite Wang Chong's best efforts, he was finding it harder and harder to hold on. The energy provided by 'Yama Descends Upon the World' was not limitless. With each second that passed, Wang Chong grew weaker. While Wang Chong had been able to completely halt the scaled Behemoth's advance at the beginning, he was now slowly being pushed back.
”Damn it!”
Wang Chong roared in fury as his cudgel slammed again and again on the Behemoth's head, the violet flames manifested by the Strength of Lu Wu continuing to spread into the monster's body. With each passing second, the exuberant flames of life within the Behemoth dimmed and vitality surged into Wang Chong. But even in this state, Wang Chong could not stop the frenzied beast. Although a hole had been pierced through its skull, this was apparently the limit. Some invisible power prevented Wang Chong from going any deeper.
”Release!”
On the ground, Chen Bin was swinging down his right arm over and over. Countless ballista bolts flew through the air at the scaled Behemoth. This time, however, most of the ballista bolts bounced off the scales, only a few of them being able to get in through the chinks.
Wang Chong was holding down the Behemoth, but the enormous girth of the Yama was significantly hindering the attacks of the ballista army.
”Release again!”
Chen Bin was unmoved as he once more gave the order to fire. This was the last attack they would be able to make. The Behemoth could cross the boundary at any time, and a single stomp would be enough to inflict horrifying losses on the ballista army.
”Zhang Shouzhi, is it still not done?!” Wang Chong's worried voice resounded in the sky. Within the Godking Yama, where no one could see, Wang Chong's face was as white as a sheet of paper, blood trickling down from his lips. Forcing himself to fight against the much stronger Behemoth was placing an enormous burden on his body.
An enormous crack suddenly began to creep across the Godking Yama's back, from the shoulder to the waist. Moreover, such cracks continued to appear on the Godking Yama's body at astonishing speed. In just a few moments, the Godking Yama was engulfed in this fine network of cracks, making it appear like a porcelain doll on the verge of falling to pieces.
This was a sign that the Godking Yama was at the limits of what it could take and was going to collapse soon.
On the ground, the air was saturated with tension. All the craftsmen were frenziedly at work, their faces pale and their heads feeling like they were going to explode from the anxiety.
”Just a little longer! Lord Marquis, you must hold!”
Zhang Shouzhi's beard was flying in the wind as he anxiously called out from the ground.
At this moment, no one could understand just how much pressure he was facing.
There was not enough time! Far from enough!
If he had some diagram as a guide, Zhang Shouzhi would be able to quickly set it up, but the giant ballista had never appeared in the history of the empire. All the craftsmen, including Zhang Shouzhi himself, had no experience in building such a thing. There was simply too little time.
Bang!
Just moments after Zhang Shouzhi called, the giant scaled Behemoth pushed the Godking Yama back once more. The Godking Yama's enormous foot scraped dirt and dust as it smashed into the steel walls behind it. Boom! Amidst a chorus of gasps and screams, seven steel walls were pulled out of the ground and sent spinning through the air.
”Retreat! Hurry and retreat!”
Screams rang out in the air as countless soldiers began to back up in panic. Before this Behemoth, they were just puny ants, so weak that they couldn't even harm it, much less hold against it.
”Seventh unit, tenth unit, twenty-third unit… fall back!” Wang Chong's familiar voice rang in everyone's ear. Even in the midst of an intense battle and with his back to the army, Wang Chong still had a grasp of the battlefield situation. He himself was in extreme danger, but he still knew which units were stationed where.
Boom!
Upon receiving Wang Chong's order, the army standing in front of the Behemoth quickly scattered to the sides.
Roooar!
At almost the same time, the scaled Behemoth turned savage, swinging its body with an agility unbefitting its girth and sending out a thick cloud of dust. Aaaah! Screams filled the air as the Behemoth's dreadful power turned this ordinary sand and dust into lethal weapons.
Neeeigh! Unable to move in time, the warhorses caught in this sandstorm were battered into pieces, their bodies covered with tiny holes. Even their riders, wearing heavy armor, were smashed off their mounts, their insides pulped before they had even hit the ground. To an ant, even a snort from an elephant was a destructive blow, and the same principle applied to the Tang soldiers arrayed in front of Talas. The strength of man was truly insignificant before a legendary existence like this Behemoth.
”Damn it!”
Wang Chong's eyes immediately turned red. With no time to think, Wang Chong took his iron cudgel and stabbed it into the earth behind the defense line. With one end of the long cudgel propped against the bedrock, he used the other end to push back against the Behemoth's body.