Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The clouds scattered, and the sunlight occasionally cast shadows. The spring breeze rustled the flags, and the deafening sound of war drums from outside the city reached inside. The hysterical shouts had moved from the city walls to the city below.

Infantrymen clad in black armor and wearing iron helmets ran through the city streets. When the command was given, soldiers carrying powerful bows and crossbows stepped forward, drew their bows, and pulled the triggers. Moments later, the hum of the bowstrings filled the air.

The black arrow flew towards the distant battle formation. After a short distance, the Song soldiers, who were shielded by wooden shields and door panels, took cover below. Soldiers with swords and shields rushed forward, covering those behind them as they moved aside the deer antlers. The Song soldiers at the forefront retreated.

Immediately following, a similar barrage of arrows rose from the Song army's defensive formation. Screams erupted from both sides. Hidden behind a wooden shield, Chu Mingyu grew increasingly anxious, turning and roaring, "Firearms! Get the men in the back to clear the way! Quickly—"

He then raised the wooden shield a few more points to block the falling arrows. Hearing the roaring sounds coming from ahead, he looked up during a break in the rain of arrows.

Several Song army generals' flags were retreating, and those bearing the character "武" (military) were rapidly approaching this side after dodging the rain of arrows.

"Send some men to hold them off, the rest of you continue clearing the roadblocks!"

Chu Mingyu shouted to the soldiers beside him, and more than a dozen soldiers stepped forward with swords and shields in hand.

He himself carried a sword and shield and continued forward. Someone ran over and hid behind his shield. After the sound of arrows piercing the air, he stepped forward and raised the wooden deer antlers.

Chu Mingyu, who was holding the shield, put it down again, looked up and glanced around. His eyes suddenly widened. In his line of sight, a Song general wearing a crimson battle robe and leather armor, wielding two swords, was cutting down the soldiers who came forward to intercept him.

The soldiers following him roared and advanced beside him, slashing and thrusting with their swords and spears. The dozen or so Qi soldiers raised their shields to block the swords and spears. In the instant that they did, a figure wielding two swords rushed over, slashed the spear shafts with his swords, kicked away the soldiers with shields, and charged forward, brandishing his two swords.

Screams echoed in the ears of those around as blood splattered. After only a dozen or so cuts, half of the Qi infantrymen lay on the ground. Chu Mingyu gritted her teeth and roared, "You continue cleaning this area. Men, come with me up here."

"kill--"

He brandished his sword and charged forward. Arrows rained down from the sky. Chu Mingyu's raised arm trembled twice, and several powerful arrows stuck into his shield. When he lowered his hand, he saw that the general in the crimson battle robe was also looking over.

Footsteps kicked up dust, and the running crimson figure, his face smeared with blood, stared intently at the approaching Qi army general.

The thought that flashed through everyone's mind was to kill the opponent and push the front line towards the other side.

The black and red colors rushed upwards and collided with a loud crash.

Chu Mingyu, clad in black armor, roared "Ahhhhh!" and threw her shield at the approaching Song army. The enemy soldier raised his sword in his right hand.

bang——

The shield was cleaved away, flying diagonally back, only to be blocked by the shields of the Qi soldiers beside it. Without stopping, as the two sides closed in, the charging foot slammed into the ground, and the horizontal blade slashed forward with a thunderous roar.

The figure opposite was also fast. He blocked with his left hand holding the knife in reverse, and then slashed down with his right hand following the momentum of the charge.

It was a clanging sound of metal striking metal as the blades collided instantly. Chu Mingyu caught a glimpse of another blade flashing to his right, cursed inwardly, and tried to block with his sword to the right, but missed.

bang——

As if struck hard in the abdomen, Chu Mingyu was kicked backward.

His gaze followed his body as he fell. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw soldiers on both sides locked in a fierce battle. Before he could see clearly, everything went dark. A figure blocked out the light, and a metallic glint entered his vision from the left.

boom--

Before Chu Mingyu could even react after landing on her back, a knife was pressed against her throat with a "thud," and she was pulled to the side.

hiss--

Blood gushed from his throat, splashing like a fountain all over the Song general's head and face, instantly turning his wheat-colored face red with blood.

"Heh, heh..." Chu Mingyu stared wide-eyed, the words "Who are you?" stuck in her throat, as blood gushed out from the wound in her throat.

"The Pilgrim Wu Song is here—"

With a thunderous roar, Wu Song, who had been half-crouching in front of Chu Mingyu who was about to become a corpse, stood up, brandished his twin swords, and, ignoring the blood dripping from his chin, roared, "You'd all have to give up your lives!"

The sounds of battle cries rang out in the area, but under the leadership of this fierce general, the dozen or so infantrymen were quickly cut down and fell to the ground.

Wang Yin, riding his warhorse from the rear, watched anxiously. He was even more furious when he saw that his own military commander, who had led the infantry to clear the barricades, had been killed in battle.

He reached out and pulled out a powerful bow, then fired an arrow at Wu Song.

Wu Song, who was engaged in fierce fighting, had long been on guard against an ambush. Arrows whistled through the air, but he immediately swung his sword diagonally, deflecting the arrows with a clang. Feeling the force of the arrows, and seeing that both the Qi army's cavalry and infantry, with their archers and crossbowmen, were aimed at him, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Retreat—"

As they retreated, a rain of arrows fell and struck the ground, leaving only a few slow-moving soldiers stranded on the spot.

The sky was slanting, and the midday sun was scorching. Wang Yin, carrying a powerful bow, looked at the retreating Song infantry and shouted, "Dismount and clear the deer antlers ahead!"

Turning his head to look behind him, the "Yao" flag came into view. He gritted his teeth and said, "Go tell the armored cavalry behind us that there are barricades ahead. Tell them to wait a moment. Distribute cavalry in all directions and find a way in."

Several cavalrymen returned beside him, and the sound of hooves echoed along the city wall in another direction.

……

"Commander Wu Song has returned."

Dai Zong's shout made Song Jiang, who was looking into the distance, turn his gaze over. He spurred his horse forward two steps, jumped off his warhorse, and reached out to grasp Wu Song's arm: "Brother Wu Song, you've worked hard. The enemy has many archers and crossbows. Let's rest for a while."

Wu Song rubbed his face, and the half-dried bloodstains spread across his face, making him look like a burly man with a red face: "Sir, the enemy has a large number of troops, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to hold out."

"We have to give it a try." Song Jiang took a breath and looked around. "I have already ordered men to sabotage the roads in the city to slow down the Qi bandits' attack as much as possible."

Wu Song frowned and remained silent.

Liu Tong, his face pale, looked at the newly hung "Qi" banner on the distant city wall: "General, if all else fails, let's surrender. I've heard that the Qi army rarely mistreats prisoners, so there's no need for us to..."

Clang——

With a long sword resting on Liu Tong's shoulder, Song Jiang's resounding voice rang out: "Song Jiang was born in the east of the capital and raised in the land of Song. His family became wealthy because of the emperor's favor, and he himself became an official because of the emperor's grace. How can I defect to the north and betray the people to a traitor who has no compassion for them! Wouldn't doing so make me an unfaithful and unfilial person?!"

Liu Tong's face turned pale. Song Jiang softened his tone and said, "I know you are afraid, brother. But a true man should know what to do and what not to do. We are officials who eat the emperor's rice and should be loyal to the court. How can we think of betraying the court just because we have some difficulties? Wouldn't that make us a person without any sense of loyalty?"

As the longsword left Liu Tong's neck, Cao Shangfei took a couple of breaths, touched his neck, and swallowed.

Song Jiang patted him on the shoulder, his gaze sweeping over Wu Song, Dai Zong, Xie Zhen, Tang Long and the others around him, a gentle smile appearing on his face: "If we really come to a dead end, you brothers can just tie up Song Jiang and hand him over to the Qi army in exchange for your safety. They certainly won't make things difficult for you."

"Brother, what are you saying!"

Jie Zhen, being the most straightforward of them all, immediately frowned and changed her address to the old one: "We come from humble backgrounds, and the most important thing to us is loyalty. How can we do such a thing? I would rather die here with my brother than betray him for my own safety."

Wu Song was also displeased: "Let's not talk about exchanging your life for your future anymore. Do you want to humiliate me? Although I am a rough man and I didn't like you joining the court, I am willing to die on the battlefield with you."

He patted his chest and said, "If it weren't for you, brother, this hot blood would have died in Chai Family Village. Today, I'm fighting to the death for you, brother, to repay your kindness."

Dai Zong, Tang Long, and the others nodded repeatedly, while Liu Tong, looking somewhat reluctant, also acquiesced along with the others. Song Jiang quickly bowed deeply to the crowd, saying, "My brothers are so righteous; I will remember it. If we manage to break through the encirclement one day, I will repay your kindness in following me to the death today. If anything happens..."

He paused, took a breath, and said, "In my next life, I'll be your slave to repay your kindness!"

Woohoo——

The sound of a horn rang out from the front of the long street, and the group quickly turned their gazes in that direction. In their sight, soldiers were running up.

"It's my turn." Xie Zhen took a breath, slung the hard bow over her shoulder, picked up the steel fork, and strode forward.

……

The air was thick with the stench of blood, mixed with the smell of burning wood, making one want to vomit.

Yu Deyuan was stabbed several times and fell to the ground, his eyes wide open as he stared at the sky. Beside him were Song soldiers who had also died from stabs and gunshot wounds.

Corpses stretched from here into the street, with Qi infantrymen carrying swords and wooden shields leading the way, followed by their comrades holding spears on both sides, and archers carrying crossbows following behind.

When they encountered Song soldiers who had formed ranks and advanced, a fierce battle ensued, leaving behind several corpses on the ground. They then continued forward, stepping over pools of blood.

Wu Yong stood on the west side of the city's tavern, swallowing hard. As soon as the Qi army came down from the city wall, the defenses on this side began to collapse. The three hundred soldiers guarding the gate below only managed to hold them off for a moment before they scattered, leaving that damned gate wide open.

The generals' flags outside were moving inwards, and it was unclear whether the fluttering "Congratulations" banner belonged to the Qi army's leading general who had come down from the city wall.

Wu Yong bit his hand, leaving clear teeth marks. He took a breath, his voice hoarse: "Have the crossbowmen lying in ambush in the houses on both sides prepare—"

The sound of birdsong came from the mouth of a soldier nearby, and the same birdsong soon followed in the distance, fading into the distance.

Countless soldiers rushed inward, transforming into several black torrents that began to sweep across everything in the street.

After a brief encounter with the Song soldiers wielding swords and spears, a dozen men fell to the ground, followed by hundreds of others running backward, crying out for their parents.

Wearing a black iron helmet and carrying a three-pointed double-edged sword, He Zhongbao roared and commanded his soldiers to charge forward, while he and his two brothers ran forward among the infantry.

Behind them, Guan Sheng and Han Chang shouted loudly, gathering their troops to follow He Zhongbao ahead. Their two general flags were then raised.

"Three..."

Wu Yong, hiding behind the window, narrowed his eyes as he looked outside. After a moment's thought, he looked at the character "贺" (He) in front of him and said, "Who told you to rush to the front? You're just unlucky."

He glanced at the fleeing soldiers with a look of disappointment and disapproval, then looked away from them.

He never expected these men to be able to stop the Qi army; they were just sent forward to lull people into a false sense of security. His real trump card was the two hundred archers he brought with him.

General Song Jiang was determined to defend this place to the death. Wu Yong had spent so many years wandering the Jianghu and finally managed to join the imperial army, so he naturally couldn't easily give up this hard-won identity.

As for what happens next...

Wu Yong closed his eyes tightly for a few breaths, then opened them, his refined face now showing a hint of ferocity.

The most righteous are often the lowly butchers, while the most ungrateful are often the scholars…

I bother!

I, the strategist, will show you all that when it comes to going all out, I'm not one to back down.

Just moments later, thunderous footsteps came from below. Wu Yong picked up the gong, held his breath, and watched the black-armored figure run into the ambush. He then waved his hand forcefully.

when--

The sound of metal clanging startled the Qi soldiers, who instinctively raised their swords. The windows of the surrounding restaurants and shops were flung open with a loud bang, and a burst of crossbow bolts shot out.

hum-

"General, be careful!"

"Big brother!"

Suddenly, a scream of terror rang out from the Qi army formation, and several figures rushed over with shields, raising them diagonally.

He Zhongbao suddenly crouched down, covering his head with his arms to minimize the area where he would be hit by the arrow.

crackling and popping—

The sound of arrows striking wooden shields rang out, occasionally interspersed with screams of agony.

"Damn it, it's an ambush!"

"Charge into the houses on both sides and drag the people out!"

Guan Sheng and Han Chang were shocked to see this and immediately gave the order to move out. The soldiers around them shouted and ran while shooting arrows into the houses on both sides, pointing their swords and spears at the houses and cursing.

The sound of an arrow piercing the air had passed.

He Zhongbao raised his head. Soldiers with shields stood around him, blocking the way. Some of them had their shields pierced by arrows and were already dead. He slowly stood up, and someone fell forward with a thud to his side.

He Zhongbao turned his head to look, then carelessly bent down and turned the person over: "Brother!"

"Second brother!"

He Chai's pale, ashen face was turned towards the two of them.

……

dong dong dong-

Wu Yong dashed down from the second floor of the restaurant in a flash, and without hesitation ran into the backyard he had already planned. He took three steps at a time to the door, pulled it open, glanced at both sides to make sure no one was there, and darted out like the wind.

A few moments after he ran out, Song soldiers came running out of the gate, and then the sounds of fighting came from the street.

A Qi soldier dressed in black armor ran over, angrily scolded the soldier as he looked at the open back door, and went outside.

……

Black smoke was rising from three sides of the vast Hejian Prefecture.

Outside the city's eastern border, a long military formation stretched out, and the sounds of shouting could be faintly heard from within. A dozen or so armored soldiers were pushing open the city gate on this side, and through a crack in the city wall, figures were anxiously rushing in.

The figure wielding a monk's staff, who had been fighting within the city, strode forward, leading a small number of soldiers towards Sun Li's position. (End of Chapter)