Chapter 907: Sharp Edge, the General Stars of Deflecting Blade Manor! (1/2)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

”Release!”

Xu Keyi led the remaining ballista teams in working with the beehives to frenziedly fire at the oncoming Western Turkic and Tibetan cavalry.

Dalun Ruozan's catapults had been far more effective than expected, especially against Xu Keyi's ballista teams, as they had been the primary target. In those successive rains of stones, forty to fifty ballistae had been destroyed, and a significant portion had been damaged and were still being repaired.

Even though the steel catapults on the walls had succeeded in bringing an end to the attacks, the Turkic and Tibetan cavalry had succeeded in reaching the second defense line. Xu Keyi could only make as much as he could of the time remaining to fire on the enemy soldiers.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Volley after volley of ballista bolts was fired, howling through the air and causing chaos in front of the second defense line. Tibetan and Turkic cavalry were dying in droves, their bodies kicking up dust as they were dragged along the ground. But in truth, the lethality of Xu Keyi's assault was far less impressive than it seemed.

Dalun Ruozan and Duwu Sili had equipped almost all their cavalry with those round shields, which their soldiers hid behind, pressing their bodies against their horses. Thus, the same ballista bolts were made several times less effective.

A ballista bolt would only kill four or five, at most six enemy cavalry. To an army of one hundred and twenty thousand, this did not even count as a severe wound.

”Ready!”

A calm and energetic voice roared over the eastern battlefield. Li Siye rode forward on his Ferghana steed and flourished his emblematic Wootz Steel sword. As this massive sword was raised, the five thousand Wushang Cavalry quickly assembled behind him.

All of them wore Meteoric Metal armor and wielded Wootz Steel swords. In terms of both mental and physical strength, they were at their prime and could be considered the strongest force of cavalry in the history of the Central Plains. More importantly, these five thousand cavalry were all extremely disciplined and coordinated, in a way that no other cavalry force could compare.

”All soldiers! Prepare for battle!”

The sounds of more swords unsheathing could be heard behind the second defense line. Li Siye and his Wushang Cavalry were not the only ones getting ready for battle. Sun Zhiming, Zhuang Zhengping, Chi Weisi, and the other elites of Deflecting Blade Manor were lining up with the soldiers of Qixi and the mercenary cavalry from the Western Regions, forming neat squares and rows as they readied for the fight.

This Battle of Talas was not the first time the people of Deflecting Blade Manor and the mercenaries of the Western Regions had fought alongside Li Siye, and all of them were prepared to launch a joint assault.

Awooo!

The tens of thousands of gray wolves were rushing over. No one knew how many wolves Duwu Sili had brought with him, but they seemed endless. The beehives would clear a batch, only for them to be replaced by yet another batch. In the skies, the vultures continued to give their strange cries as they flew back and forth, up and down. But the most concerning force of all was still those tens of thousands of Turkic and Tibetan cavalry.

”Kill!!”

The enemy cavalry roared as they increased their speed. Neither the beehives nor the ballistae could stop them now.

Twenty zhang!

Ten zhang!

”Charge!”

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Siye aimed his sword forward and charged out from the steel walls like a lightning bolt. Rumble! The earth trembled as the five thousand Wushang Cavalry shot forward like a sword leaving its sheath, following Li Siye in his charge.

So incredible was their momentum that their charge of five thousand exuded the power of fifty thousand.

”Kill!”

At the same time, Sun Zhiming, Zhuang Zhengping, Chi Weisi, and the Qixi soldiers charged forward as well. All of them were bellowing, afraid to fall behind as they streaked toward the Turks and Tibetans with terrifying speed. Wang Chong had chosen to execute a completely different strategy on the second defense line. More than forty thousand Tang cavalry charged out from behind the steel walls to confront the Tibetans and Turks. They had not chosen to retreat, but to charge at the enemy.