Chapter 1187: The Riddle of Destiny! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Rumble! The army swept forward in pursuit of Fadi. There was no one left to stop the Tang now, and in this pursuit, countless more Arabs were felled.
After just an hour of pursuit, Wang Chong's twenty thousand men had slain another eighty to ninety thousand Arabs, leaving a trail of corpses in their wake.
Bang! As the army was in the middle of the pursuit, the sound of a heavy object dropping to the ground came from the rear of the army. In the middle of the blizzard, it was nigh inaudible, but to a Great General like Wang Chong, it was a peal of thunder.
”Stop!”
Wang Chong suddenly raised his arm and ordered the entire army to halt. In a flash, Wang Chong turned his horse around and rode to the rear.
”Wang Chong, what's wrong?”
By the time Wang Chong had stopped at the end of the army, Gao Xianzhi, Bahram, and the others had caught up to him.
”How is it?”
Wang Chong did not reply, only looked at the Tang horseman who had fallen from the back of his horse.
”Mi-Milord, I'm fine. I can still fight.”
The Tang soldier was covered in wounds, and he needed the help of several other soldiers to stand up from the ground.
In this pursuit through the snow, the coalition army had killed an uncountable number of Arabs, but the Arabs were not ordinary opponents. Even though they had been greatly weakened by the extreme cold, their tenacity and ferocity had bored into their bones. The Tang had emerged victorious, but they had paid no small price. Many of their soldiers had been wounded in the pursuit.
Wang Chong gazed at the soldier's frozen wounds, and then glanced up to the blizzard, which was even colder and more ferocious than it had been before. He then glanced at the dim lights hanging from the sides of the horses around him, the metal lanterns on the verge of being extinguished, and his eyes flashed.
”Pass on my order! Prepare to withdraw! Everyone must immediately return to Khorasan!” Wang Chong suddenly ordered, his words leaving everyone dumbfounded.
”But, Wang Chong, we have the upper hand. Are we just giving up?” Gao Xianzhi said.
The army of six to seven hundred thousand Arab soldiers had been vanquished by this abrupt and historic blizzard, and together with this pursuit, the Arabs had suffered a blow like never before. As a commander, he found it rather regretful to have to relinquish such an excellent opportunity.
”We've reached our limit.”
Wang Chong shook his head.
”This extreme cold affects both sides equally. The Arabs have been weakened, but our soldiers have also suffered greatly. If this continues, we might never be able to return to Khorasan. And the Arabs have a new garrison stationed in Shandar. If we continue to pursue, we might not actually have much of an advantage!”
”But, Milord, to let go of such an opportunity is truly a great pity. Next year, they will come back with another large army to restart the war,” Bahram protested.
The Sassanids ardently desired a victory, and such an unprecedented victory was exactly what the Sassanids needed the most.
”Hah, who says that they can organize another army next year and come back?”
Wang Chong grinned, his expression proud and confident. Although he had ordered the army to retreat, that did not mean he had forgotten about the Arabs.
”Over the course of this battle, we've killed two hundred and fifty to sixty thousand soldiers. Although we're not continuing the pursuit, the main force of the Arab army has been broken. At least two hundred thousand soldiers are lost in the blizzard, and in this world of ice and snow, it's impossible for them to find any shelter. If the Three Titans of Black Radiance can return with two hundred thousand soldiers this time, then that would be quite impressive.”
Gao Xianzhi, Bahram, Cheng Qianli, Xi Yuanqing, and the many rebel leaders were all left dazed by Wang Chong's words. The Arabs had brought more than seven hundred thousand soldiers with them on this campaign. Had this blizzard and their pursuit been enough to eliminate five hundred thousand of these soldiers?
This number was truly unthinkable.
No one knew how Wang Chong had arrived at this number or why he was so certain, but no one had ever questioned his judgment. He had proved himself on countless battlefields, and even in the middle of this blizzard, everything had gone as he predicted.
”This…” Bahram hesitated for a few moments before finally replying. ”If this is the case, then Bahram has no objection!”
To be able to kill five hundred thousand Arab soldiers in this battle was far better than Bahram's most optimistic projections.
Rumble!
After one last glance in the direction of Shandar, Wang Chong and the others quickly reached an agreement, and the twenty thousand men rode back to Khorasan.
Rumble!
After several hours, Wang Chong led his men into Khorasan. Behind him, the gates of Khorasan closed with a boom, finally bringing an end to this battle!