The Human Emperor - Chapter 1048

Chapter 1048: 1048

Chapter 1048: Divine Martial Army!

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Part of the Tang army had remained intentionally concealed, only waiting until the two armies had clashed to abruptly strike . This minor detail immediately had tremendous effects . Even though Jiudu Fuluo had promptly called for a retreat, he had still left tens of thousands of Turkic bodies on the battlefield .

Even those Western Turkic cavalry who had fled very far away could hear the shouts of the soldiers behind them . The battle had only lasted for a short while, but Jiudu Fuluo and his army had paid nearly eighty thousand lives . Meanwhile, the Beiting Protectorate had not even lost five thousand . This sort of casualty ratio had never happened before .

"Enough! Everyone come back! This battle is enough to restrain Jiudu Fuluo from any reckless actions for at least a year!"

With An Sishun's order, all the pursuing Beiting soldiers withdrew . The Beiting Protectorate had far too much infantry and supply wagons to match the agility of the purely cavalry forces of the Western Turkic army . Moreover, the ballista army also could not follow the army in the pursuit .

As An Sishun was awash with joy and all the soldiers of the Beiting Protectorate were celebrating, a cold and untimely voice spoke . "Lord Protector-General, our mission is complete and you have seen the power of the ballista army . It is now time to fulfill your end of the promise . "

The young and aloof commander of the ballista army had ridden up to An Sishun's side atop a Turkic horse .

Buzz!

In a flash, all fell silent, and even the cheers died away . The surrounding Beiting Protectorate soldiers all began to look at this young general, and An Sishun's expression turned gloomy as his brows creased .

"Young man, you've got quite some nerve . Do you know that as long as I wish it, I could kill you here?" An Sishun harshly said, his eyes slowly becoming as sharp as swords .

"If Lord Protector-General kills me, I naturally cannot resist, but that is an entirely different matter . I fulfilled my promise to Lord Protector-General . The Western Turkic army has been defeated and the Sanmi Great General Jiudu Fuluo has withdrawn . Now is the time for Lord Protector-General to fulfill his end of the promise . I presume that someone of Lord Protector-General's status will not go back on their words?" the young commander firmly replied . Even in front of an elite Great General like An Sishun, his face showed not a flicker of emotion .

"Impudent! A puny subordinate general dares to act so rudely before Lord Protector-General! I don't believe that our Beiting Protectorate army can't handle a puny officer like you!" A swarthy-faced general next to An Sishun finally could not hold back his rage .

"If Lord Protector-General wishes, you may kill me, but the transaction must proceed . The Beiting Protectorate army must send the promised soldiers to reinforce Talas . I might as well add that even though I might be a puny subordinate general of insignificant status, my transaction with Lord Protector-General has the seal of the Qixi Protectorate . This seal represents our Qixi Protector-General . I hope that Lord Protector-General can carefully consider his options!"

The aloof commander coldly stared at An Sishun, clearly not willing to yield .

"Bastard! You dare to threaten Milord!"

"Kill him! I don't believe that that Qixi Protector-General can do anything to Milord!"

The surrounding Beiting commanders all exploded with fury .

"You would dare!"

"Anyone who dares to touch our lord will have to contend with us!"

"At the worst, we'll just bring you down with us . Brothers, prepare for battle!"

In the rear, the 'Qixi Protectorate army soldiers' were also enraged . One of them even threw off his helmet to reveal his savage and fierce face .

"You would dare!"

Clangclangclang! Sabers and swords were unsheathed by the furious Beiting soldiers . These warriors of the Qixi Protectorate were not regular soldiers at all . Their temper and demeanor were more appropriate for bandits and brigands .

"Enough! Everyone stop!"

An Sishun's single order immediately had all the Beiting soldiers sheathing their weapons .

"Young man, tell me: what is your name?"

An Sishun turned his head to that aloof young commander . An Sishun had met countless commanders and had experienced many trials and storms, but he had to admit that this young commander's daring and insight were truly admirable . They had left an extremely deep impression on An Sishun .

"Su Hanshan!"

The young commander announced his name, neither proud nor meek, and his eyes shone with a fearless resolve .

"Not bad! I'll remember you! My words just now were just a joke . I will do everything that I have promised and will immediately give you the soldiers that I have promised . An Beiliu, select some elites for me and have them follow him back to Qixi . "

"Many thanks, Milord!"

Su Hanshan's expression grew much gentler, and with a wave of his hand, the ballista soldiers behind him fell silent .

Although these soldiers had all been bandits and brigands of the Silk Road who were used to a lawless and unruly life style, they all displayed incredible respect toward Su Hanshan . Su Hanshan's training had made it so that these people were no longer mere bandits . This was also a sign of Su Hanshan's powerful charisma and talent for command .

To put it bluntly, these people were willing to die for Su Hanshan if anyone dared to touch him .

Su Hanshan quickly departed with his ballista army and ten thousand elites of the Beiting Protectorate, leaving behind three thousand ballistae .

"Milord, ten thousand elites is far more than we agreed to with the Young Marquis . Is Milord really going to let them all leave?" an extremely intelligent-looking general next to An Sishun asked .

"Haha, why wouldn't I agree? I'm just loaning them, not really giving them to the Qixi Protectorate army . Moreover… did you really think I would agree so easily? Long before this, I submitted a memorial to the court proposing that I loan ten thousand elite soldiers . No matter how this battle turns out, our Beiting Protectorate army will stand to benefit . "

An Sishun faintly smiled .

"But, Milord, that fellow called Su Hanshan is quite daring," another general said, his words tinged with praise . "While Wang Chong is far away in Talas, he actually came on his own volition to propose a deal with Lord Protector-General . And it appears like the soldiers that he's trained would be completely willing to die for him . This sort of ability to train soldiers is one in ten thousand . It would be great if we could get him transferred to our Beiting Protectorate . "

This general was only casually giving his frank assessment, but his words immediately caused An Sishun's smile to fade, and he turned in the direction Su Hanshan had left with a profound gaze .

"Qi, that Su Hanshan… keep an eye on him for me . If it's possible, think of a way to bring him into our Beiting Protectorate . "

An Sishun's sudden words caused all his generals to shiver and stare at An Sishun, including the general known as Qi who had just sung Su Hanshan's praises . They all knew that someone who dared to speak so curtly before the Protector-General had some daring, but none of them knew that the Protector-General felt such admiration for him that he wanted to recruit him to the Beiting Protectorate .

"Yes, Milord!"

Qi's lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but he quickly lowered his head and respectfully affirmed his task .

The other generals docilely lowered their heads . Just like how those bandits trained into ballista soldiers felt about Su Hanshan, all the soldiers of the Beiting Protectorate bore absolute respect and submission toward An Sishun .

Daring, resourcefulness, initiative, command, fearlessness… this sort of person who can handle things completely on his own isn't just some potential general… This is someone with the potential to be a Great General!

Countless thoughts flitted through An Sishun's stern eyes .

A Great General would always get a feeling when they met another Great General . An Sishun had seen this quality in the young commander called Su Hanshan, because this was none other than a younger version of himself!

As he thought about how that Wang Clan scion in Talas had so many talented individuals under his command at such a young age, An Sishun couldn't help but feel a little envious .

……

Storms thundered across the Nine Provinces, stirred to life by the imminent Battle of Talas .

The Qixi Protectorate was like the eye of the storm, where countless elite soldiers gathered . Moreover, Wushang's City of Steel, as a place that had to be passed through on the way to Qixi, served as the greatest witness to this fact .

"Look at that!"

A child standing atop a high steel wall suddenly pointed into the distance .

These words instantly attracted everyone's attention . The children and craftsmen on the walls, and the many scions, merchants, and pedestrians around the city gate, all turned to look .

A cloud of dust was rising from the direction the child had pointed at . Seven thousand armored horsemen were silently riding with focused expressions, passing close by the City of Steel as they rode onward to the Qixi Protectorate . A war banner rose from the center of this formation of black-armored cavalry, and the seven stars upon it were visible even from a great distance .

"It's the Big Dipper Army! Great General Geshu Han's Big Dipper Army!" someone shouted out from the middle of the crowd .

"Look over there! It's the Divine Martial Army!"

A group of black-armored cavalry was riding at the very front of this army, standing out from the rest of the soldiers due to their composed and serene auras . They were at least three times stronger than the soldiers behind them, and even though there were only three thousand of them, their cohesion and discipline made them stronger than a force of thirty thousand .

Steam curled around their bodies, spreading as far as three feet, making them all indistinct and blurry .

"I didn't think that the Big Dipper Army would send the Divine Martial Army!" a merchant from Longxi standing at the base of the city walls excitedly called out .

The name 'Divine Martial Army' immediately sent the crowd into an uproar .