Chapter 1072: Su Hanshans First Battle! (1/2)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Boomboomboom!

The ballistae were still firing, but the vast wave of Arabs showed no signs of stopping. And there was a particularly loud rumbling that could be heard over the sounds of fighting.

”Look over there!”

A voice suddenly sounded from the army. Zhang Que, standing on a transport carriage, was pointing into the distance with a look of shock on his face.

”It's those silver war machines!”

Following Zhang Que's gaze, everyone saw the enormous silver siege weapons gleaming in the distance, slowly proceeding toward the Tang.

All of them were rather familiar with the power of these Arabian siege weapons. They had been brought over from Qutaybah's northern war zone for the express purpose of dealing with the Tang defense line. They were incredibly sturdy as well as offensively powerful, and no one could underestimate them.

”They've changed their tactics!” Huang Botian suddenly called out, his expression grim.

On the first day, Qutaybah had sent several hundred of these Silver Behemoths. The Arabs had pushed forward the Silver Behemoths as quickly as possible to the Tang defense line in the hopes of ending the battle quickly.

But this time was completely different. The Silver Behemoths were now moving extremely slowly. More than a thousand of the Silver Behemoths were arrayed in a single line, forming a steel wall. Behind this steel wall were tens of thousands of Arab soldiers.

”They're using those silver war machines as defensive tools to cover the approach of their soldiers. Our ballistae will find it very difficult to pierce through this defense, and it will be impossible to deal any harm to the soldiers behind them.”

Sun Zhiming sat atop his horse, in the third row behind Wang Chong, his face tinged with deep concern.

Bang!

A ballista bolt shot forward, immediately striking one of the Silver Behemoths. There was an enormous clang, but the ballista bolt snapped without even piercing through this Silver Behemoth. Su Hanshan's eyes widened at this sight and he gestured behind him to bring this probing assault to a close.

”Their defenses are extremely formidable, but we don't need to worry about that. Change targets and attack other Arab cavalry!”

Su Hanshan's face remained aloof and his eyes remained emotionless as he gestured at the ballistae to his right. Quickly, three thousand ballistae began to move to another area.

There were more than a thousand of these Silver Behemoths, but the battlefield was long and vast. There were not enough of these machines to cover the entirety of the Arab army.

”Release!”

Once the ballistae had finished moving, Su Hanshan's men once more began to fire their volleys. Squelchsquelchsquelch! In a chorus of meaty thumps, one Arab horseman after another was sent flying backward together with their horses, their corpses stirring up clouds of dust.

”The Earth Shield Army still hasn't arrived yet?”

Beneath the fluttering black hell flame banner, Qutaybah coldly spoke, his face calm and unperturbed.

A general so fully wrapped in armor that only his eyes were showing spoke from behind Qutaybah. ”Milord, the Earth Shield Army has already been deployed. They should be arriving on the battlefield soon.”

The Earth Shield Army was the only defensive army under Qutaybah's command. Qutaybah had made his name through constant and unending war, and he was rarely ever on the defense. But nothing in the world was absolute. The Earth Shield Army was a heavy shield army Qutaybah had established to deal with enemy attacks.

This army did not have many soldiers, only around ten thousand, but each of them had undergone strict training and been tempered through a hundred battles, in the end forging an army made of steel.

They had stopped countless foes on the battlefield, some even approaching the Mamelukes in terms of power.

Qutaybah's basic requirement for this army was that it had to take one hundred attacks from him.

This general had barely spoken when a shift occurred on the battlefield. The soldiers on the right flank of the Arab army suddenly parted, allowing a vast and powerful flood to surge forward.

There was a metal clattering as massive shields, glimmering beneath the overcast sky, suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes.

These shields were each seven to eight feet high. Only the shields were visible, completely obscuring the soldiers behind them.

Awooooo!

With this loud howl, the ten thousand Earth Shield warriors pressed forward like a moving wall.