Chapter 2158 - The Battle Begins! (1/2)

Chapter 2158: The Battle Begins!

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

“Good, very good! An Yaluoshan, Gao Shang, Cui Qianyou, Tian Chengsi… you truly were this old man’s most trusted subordinates. This time, this old man will personally send you on your way!”

Zhang Shougui trembled in rage upon seeing all these people deny his identity, his mouth twisting into a furious smile.

On the other side, whether it was An Lushan, Gao Shang, or even Ozmish Khagan, none of them dared to permit Zhang Shougui to continue speaking.

Wang Chong’s methods were far more formidable than they had envisioned, and they could gain no advantage in continuing to talk.

“All soldiers, prepare for battle!” An Lushan immediately ordered, and then he turned his horse around and headed back into his army.

He was worried that if he remained, Wang Chong would use the chance to stir even more trouble.

Bwoooom!

Horns began to blare, and armor clattered as the alliance soldiers thumped their weapons against the ground. A somber energy erupted from their bodies and soared into the heavens.

Thumpthumpthump!

At the same time, atop several dozen war carts in the rear of the army, bare-chested Hu warriors pounded on war drums, whose rumbling was audible from several hundred li away.

“Bastard!”

Zhang Shougui almost exploded from fury at this sight. He wanted nothing more than to jump down from the wall, cut off An Lushan’s head, and wash away all his humiliation.

He had fallen from a majestic Protector-General to the laughingstock of the court. He would return his shame to An Lushan a hundredfold!

Wang Chong patted Zhang Shougui on the shoulder and soothed, “Lord Protector-General, restrain yourself for now. You have already waited for so long. Are you afraid that you will not be able to handle that Hu scoundrel?”

The sound of Wang Chong’s voice finally made Zhang Shougui calm down.

Zhang Shougui held a great deal of respect for Wang Chong—or perhaps it was better to call it gratitude. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for someone as proud and arrogant as him to calm down so quickly.

“Wang Chong, this old man has only one request. In this war, you must let me personally execute that unfilial son no matter what! He must die under my saber!” Zhang Shougui sternly said, his eyes red.

“Mm!”

Wang Chong merely nodded.

Looking at the somber and threatening alliance army across from him, Wang Chong raised his right hand and firmly ordered, “All soldiers, prepare for battle!”

Bang!

As Wang Chong gave the orders, the silent fortress instantly transformed.

Boom!

The banging and clattering of metal came from within the fortress.

Soon after that, large, curved pieces of metal began to rise from the fortress. A few moments later, all of the exposed parts of this steel fortress were closed, the walls completely sealed together so that there were no gaps, creating a true steel wall.

And this was only the beginning. With a second rumbling, secret apertures opened up along the outer wall of the fortress. Amidst groaning gears, thousands of Tang ballistae emerged.

Two hundred thousand ballistae appeared, all of them aimed at the alliance army, the ballista bolts carved with grooves and inscriptions. At this moment, the steel fortress truly was a giant beast of war.

Under the supervision of the Bureau of Works, tens of thousands of Tang craftsmen had been working night and day until they had finally produced two hundred thousand ballistae and delivered them to the fortress in the northeast. These ballistae served as Wang Chong’s most important weapon against the alliance army.

And right after the ballistae appeared, rows of armored soldiers began to appear on the walls, and a significant number of them were equipped with bows. These archers swiftly nocked arrows onto their bows and took aim at the alliance soldiers.

Each of these armored soldiers was bursting with energy, at the very least at Tier 8 of the True Martial realm, with some of them having even reached the Profound Martial realm, clearly much stronger than ordinary soldiers. Their equipment and strength clearly indicated that these were master archers.

The number of master archers that had appeared atop the walls was around twenty to thirty thousand.

“!!!”

The developments that had taken place in the steel fortress over the course of a few seconds left everyone stunned.

“What’s this? How could this be?”

Yeon Gaesomun stared in shock at the ‘steel monster’ before him.