Free Web NovelChapter 631: Chapter 90: Blazing a Path Through Blood (Part 2)
And now, it is the perfect time to showcase the Great Tang’s superiority to the fullest!
"It’s an ambush!!"
"Shields! Raise the shields!!!"
The panicked shouts exploded within the Tubo army, but chaos was already forming.
"Boom!!!"
An even larger tremor came from the flank of the Tubo army!
At the edge of the camp, the earthen ramparts that seemed to be trampled loose by retreating soldiers suddenly collapsed with a roar!
Amid the swirling dust, countless Tang soldiers wielding long spears and Mo sabers marched forward in a strict formation, pressing down like a mountain!
Leading them was the bearded and fierce-eyed Guo Ziyi!
These were the most elite troops within the Tang Army.
Even though they had not donned armor at this moment, they showed no fear.
Indeed, this move seemed like cutting off one’s arm.
But in reality, it was entirely different.
Although under Gu Yi’s gradual strategy, the Tang Army had gradually adapted to the plateau environment, heavy armor would still greatly impact them.
This battle was a decisive one.
Gu Yi had to let the soldiers unleash their full potential.
Although this might result in more casualties, forsaking armor on the battlefield is akin to cutting off one’s arm.
But in comparison, this was the only way for the soldiers to display their full strength.
Great achievements never concern themselves with trifles.
Having already decided to determine the outcome through this battle, Gu Yi would not consider such things anymore!
The thundering cavalry charged forward from within.
This threw the already somewhat disordered Tubo army into chaos once again.
"Young men of the Great Tang! Follow me—kill!!!"
"Slaughter the barbarians—!"
Thunderous roars erupted from all directions in that instant!
The Tang army, long poised and ready, poured forth like a tidal wave, each soldier prepared to sacrifice himself, forgetting life and death!
This is where the army’s spirit lies!
Gu Yi harnessed the ritual performed by Gu Xuan, and as the soldiers’ bodies gradually adapted to the environment, it achieved its greatest effect.
Just as the Tubo believed that altitude sickness was a blessing from their gods.
The Tang soldiers saw this as the aid from past emperors and the ancestors of the Gu Clan.
And for centuries... never had the Gu Clan been defeated by a foreign race!
This confidence is beyond what others can imagine.
—The situation had spiraled into complete chaos.
Wails of despair erupted everywhere; as the Tang army charged up, Tsri Songtsen Gampo realized retreating would not be easy.
Fight we must!
Seeing the Tang soldiers had mostly abandoned heavy armor, a fierce gleam burst in Tsri Songtsen Gampo’s eyes — he refused to believe that on this snow-capped peak blessed by the gods, his warriors would fall to an unarmored enemy!
"Woo—woo—woo!!!" The urgent yak horn shattered the air, conveying the will of the Zanpu.
Tsri Songtsen Gampo raised his bloodstained hunting knife, his beard bristling, and howled at the sky with a voice imbued with ancient divine power:
"Eagles and vultures of the snow land! The mountain god watches over us!"
"The souls of the Tang people have been scattered by the cold wind! Their hearts and lungs pierced by the ice spikes of the gods!"
"Kill!"
"With their flesh and blood, offer sacrifices to our Divine Mountain!"
"May the Tang banners fall forever into the Ice Valley!"
"Kill! Kill!!!"
His personal guards, like frenzied shamans, galloped across the chaotic battlefield, spreading Tsri Songtsen Gampo’s words throughout.
"Mountain god’s protection! The curse has descended! Tear them apart!!"
In the face of a sudden assault, Tsri Songtsen Gampo had to stabilize the army’s morale.
And this was the only way!
Of course, this was also Tsri Songtsen Gampo’s true belief.
Even at this point, he didn’t think the Tang army could hold out; no one could withstand the high mountain god’s curse.
Shouts resounded throughout the battlefield.
In the face of these calls, the elite Tubo troops quickly calmed down.
They steadied their formation and clashed head-on with the incoming Tang army.
Pure faith smoothed their fears.
And seeing the unarmored Tang army gradually rekindled their rationality, both sides thus began the most blood-soaked slaughter.
—Gu Yi, of course, had already anticipated all of this.
The power of faith is one of the Gu Clan’s tools for manipulating hearts.
He knew more clearly than anyone else the terrifying power that could erupt from deep-seated devotion in a desperate situation.
As those shouts resounded—
In the next moment, the cries from the Tang Army also rang out.
"Soldiers of the Great Tang—"
"Let the spirits of our ancestors witness this!"
"Let us use the blades in our hands to plant the Great Tang’s banner atop the snowy peaks!"
"Just as we crushed the Turkic Wolf Mountain in years past! Make the barbarians tremble!!"
The banners fluttered fiercely!
The imperial flag symbolizing Li Tang’s power and the banner representing the Gu Clan stood on this mountain, as they did in the past, flapping loudly against the cold wind.
This was a battle of belief between the soldiers of both sides.
The deeds of the Gu Clan over the centuries collided with the stories these Tibetan soldiers had heard since childhood.
In such circumstances, both sides exerted their full power.
Standing directly and unwavering atop the high mountains.
Time passed swiftly.
It must be said, although the Tang Army had gradually adapted to the plateau, compared to those who had lived there from a young age, they were still somewhat inferior.
But they had a purer belief!
This belief was different from that of the Tibetans.
It was the stories passed down from generation to generation, the trust in the Gu Clan’s undefeated record over the centuries!
Conversely, the Tibetan soldiers were entirely different.
Their faith was equally resolute, but the legends of the Gu Clan constantly influenced them.
The most critical point was—
With time, they all gradually realized a problem.
"Why hasn’t the high-altitude calamity appeared?"
This was an obvious question.
Because they knew the plateau too well, they were very aware of what it was like for the people of Kyushu to experience high-altitude sickness.
And now, none of this was evident among the Tang Army.
Not only the Tibetan soldiers fighting against the Tang Army, but even the nobles of various clans, including Tsri Songtsen Gampo himself, gradually developed this doubt.
And under the current circumstances.
Once a bit of doubt crept into their minds, it could not be easily reversed.
Moreover, how could Gu Yi let go of this opportunity?
When he saw a slight disorder in the Tibetan formation, the cries echoed across the battlefield.
"Soldiers of my Great Tang!!!"
"—This peak of West Incline Mountain acknowledges Huaxia as its master! The god of this plateau has bowed to our Great Tang!!"
"Where the Gu Clan banner points is where the Celestial Mandate lies! Wherever the sun and moon shine, wherever the rivers flow, all are Han territories! The mere snowy region is no exception!"
"The natural barriers that the bandits rely on are now a smooth path for our army! The deities they worship have already blessed the might of our Great Tang’s military!"
"This is the will of Heaven!!!"
"It is the protection of the spirits of our ancestors! It is the glorious Celestial Mandate bestowed upon us!"
"The Celestial Mandate—lies with our Great Tang!!!"
—Still an attack on the mind!
The war strategy Gu Yi employed was about the information gap regarding altitude sickness and the reputation accumulated by the Gu Clan over centuries.
This was Gu Yi’s sharpest weapon!
The declarations, like a death knell wrapped in the might of Heaven and Earth, crashed into the ears of every Tibetan soldier!
Watching the "Highland Calamity" that never appeared, the generation-old lie of "divine protection" on which they depended for survival was shattered by the ironclad facts before them!
"Why has divine punishment not descended?!"
"Could it be that the mountain god has truly... abandoned us?!"
"..."
Invisible fear suddenly descended at this moment.
Conversely, at this moment for the Tang Army—their morale soared!
"Not good!"
Tsri Songtsen Gampo’s expression changed instantly, even his facial color turned somewhat pale at this moment.
The sense of crisis regarding the current situation and the doubt in his faith brought forth all the fears hidden in his heart.
He desperately wanted to do something immediately.
But before he could act, the situation on the battlefield dramatically changed.
The Tibetan formation was in chaos!.....
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