Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 12: Heavenly Blade's Defeat
Facing the master Song Jue, Zhu Wen, who had not received too much systematic martial arts training, was able to hold on for dozens of rounds before ending up in this critical situation. He was already proud of himself.

What he relied on, of course, was the youthful bloodiness and arrogance, as well as his strong belief that he would never bow to people like Song Jue.

But the cracked shoulder blade and the blood that was boiling and about to burst out of his body told him that he could not hold on any longer, and perhaps the end would come today.

Threads of blood began to trickle from Zhu Wen's eyes. If he continued to resist, even if he didn't fall to his knees like his horse, his legs would be broken and he would still be bleed from all seven orifices under Song Jue's overwhelming force, unable to resist, and finally be killed by Song Jue's Heavenly Sword!

The pure white tiger in his heart roared with unwillingness, his teeth gritting and sweat dripping from his pores. Zhu Wen was about to make a decision.

When he was a young knight traveling around the world, he learned a secret technique that could burn the power of his blood in a short period of time, gaining physical strength far beyond his limit, but the price was his own life.

If you use this forbidden method of burning blood, after the explosion, you will spontaneously combust from head to toe and turn into ashes on the ground, with no way to save you.

But Zhu Wen refused to accept his fate. He preferred this death to the humiliating death of Song Jue. He had already begun to calculate whether, if he used forbidden techniques in a desperate fight, he could kill Song Jue, or at least inflict a severe blow that would severely damage his fighting ability, allowing his fellow rebels to avenge him.

But he still had doubts in his heart.

Not only because there are more concerns in this world, but also because of a trust and intuition that comes from the bottom of my heart.

Those people will not abandon him. Once they find that he has underestimated the enemy and gone deep into the enemy's territory and is out of sight, they will risk their lives to rescue him!
With a clang, Zhu Wen's left arm broke, leaving only his right arm holding the knife. In an instant, Song Jue's Heavenly Sword was approaching. The Heavenly Sword was about to slide across the blade of the Great Xia Dragon Bird and cut off Zhu Wen's head in one stroke.

But Zhu Wen's expression suddenly showed one of complete happiness, and there was no sign of the pain of his broken arm at all.

His contemptuous eyes still expressed deep mockery of Song Jue, as if he was watching a clown's funny performance.

Song Jue would never understand how a poor boy could be so arrogant in front of a noble like him!
At the critical moment, with the sharp sound of breaking wind, a javelin came from the air and hit Song Jue's Heavenly Sword. The power was so strong that it was like a comet hitting the moon, and the Heavenly Sword was deflected in an instant, and the attack missed.

"Meng Juehai is here! Old dog Song Jue, don't hurt my junior brother!" Meng Kai roared loudly.

Seeing Zhu Wen's eyes bleeding and his arm broken, Meng Kai gnashed his teeth in anger. He swung his Bagua Xuanhua axe and aimed at Song Jue's neck: "Old dog, watch me chop off your head!"

This Meng Juehai comes up and calls people old dogs. Does he still have the dignity of a general?
Song Jue was confident in his ability to fight on foot, and he would never be defeated by Meng Kai. Ultimately, although Meng Juehai was brave, he was young and lacked experience.

However, Meng Kai had no intention of engaging Song Jue in a duel. Meanwhile, Zhu Wen's second brother, Zhu Cun, a burly figure, shouted, "Sanlang, are you alright? That old fellow over there, you dared to bully my brother? I'm afraid you wouldn't have enough heads to chop off. Watch out, spear!" As he spoke, he swept his spear across, stabbing Song Jue in the face.

Another rider came charging fiercely. The man on the horse was thin, with a straight nose, an oval face, phoenix eyes, a hard and slightly wide chin, and facial lines like blades. He was wearing a silver-white armor and exuded a heroic temperament as strong as the scorching sun. It was Meng Kai's deputy general Ban Fanlang.

Ban Fanlang wielded a heavy iron sword. The patterns on the sword reflected light, refracting it like dancing snowflakes. The sword's power was as surging as the tide in the blue sea. As he rode his horse and swung the sword, the cold light gathered and dispersed, and in an instant turned into a rain of light all over the sky.

At that moment, Meng Kai and Zhu Cun attacked from the front, Ban Fanlang fought from the side and rear, and Song Jue's horse was killed by Zhu Wen. It was inconvenient for him to fight off horseback, and he could not actually exert the maximum power of the "Eight Methods of Bloody Battle"; therefore, he was exhausted after only a few rounds of resistance.

"How despicable! These ignorant little thieves..." Song Jue's face was covered in blood, his features distorted and horrible. But he knew he couldn't continue the fight; Zhu Wen's life was the only thing he could save. If he delayed any further, Huang Chao would probably lead his chariots and pursue them.

Not far away, a burly, purple-faced man rode up on horseback, holding a gilded spear. He carried a powerful presence, evidently a skilled fighter. This man was none other than Dai Xiaolou, a brave general under Huang Chao.

"Wash your necks first. When my brother's army sweeps through, I will slaughter your entire clan, leaving no one alive, not even a chicken or a dog... Pinglu cavalry, follow me in retreat!"

Song Jue leaped out of the battle group like a rabbit, and with a wave of his hand, the Pinglu cavalry formed a tight formation, moving in a single file, leaving no gaps. Song Jue followed the galloping horses on foot, his steps swift and unstoppable, not lagging behind.

Meng Kai's cavalry was actually quite small, and Huang Chao's chariot convoy had not yet arrived. It was only when a few of them joined forces to attack and defeat Song Jue that they managed to intimidate the Pinglu cavalry. Therefore, no one dared to pursue them. Furthermore, Zhu Cun was concerned about Zhu Wen and had no intention of pursuing them.

"Fortunately, General Zhu is not seriously injured," said Dai Xiaolou, a burly, purple-faced man. Meng Kai then called for a sedan chair, lifted Zhu Wen onto it, and bandaged him briefly with a white cloth soaked in boiling water, preparing to administer the precious medicated medicine after returning to camp. Otherwise, with his scapula shattered, his martial arts skills would be ruined.

"Senior brother, second brother, thank you for coming to rescue me." Zhu Wen sighed and looked at Meng Kai with gratitude.

Today, he owed Meng Kai a favor.

Zhu Cun shook his head. "Sanlang, you're still young and impetuous after all. The battlefield isn't a place for knights, so how can you take your life lightly? If anything were to happen to you, what would my mother and I do? How miserable would your master be? Have you ever thought about that?"

Zhu Wen looked ashamed, but Meng Kai patted Zhu Cun on the shoulder and laughed, "Don't be so harsh on your younger brother, Zhu Erlang. It's a shame to be so frivolous in youth. How can one be so cautious and tread so carefully in everything? Ultimately, there's always a way out when the car reaches the mountain, and there's always happiness after surviving a disaster. I, Meng Juehai, have always been a relentless warrior, putting my life at risk, seeking only to fight to the bitter end on the battlefield. I've been on the brink of death countless times, but now I'm still alive and well."

Zhu Wen knew he was no match for Meng Kai's martial arts, but he couldn't lose face. He said with a smile, "Regardless of whether the fight was enjoyable or not, today I cursed that 'Heavenly Blade Song Jue', and it was extremely satisfying."

As they were talking, the sound of horse hooves rang out, as rapid as raindrops. A light cavalryman from the Grass Army came galloping over, shouting, "General Meng, bad news! Miss Duan left the camp to collect military supplies, and encountered a group of dozens of Song Wei's scout cavalrymen. They've been surrounded!"

Meng Kai was immediately startled: "Junior sister... why are you here?"

The light cavalry responded, "Our army was ambushed and scattered. I knew we would be killed if we continued fighting, so I rushed back to report the news. Miss Duan is still fighting hard over there..."

Zhu Wen's expression suddenly changed. "I remember she brought fifty cavalrymen with her to protect the food when she left the camp. They were all quite skilled, while the enemy numbered only a few dozen. So, you didn't put up a fight, nor did you try to help her break through, and simply abandoned your junior sister and fled back?"

The cavalryman said awkwardly, "This... The enemy's martial arts skills are indeed not very strong, but their charging and fighting are very methodical. They slaughtered us in a single encounter. I was panicked, so..."

Before he could finish his words, there was a loud slap and the cavalryman was slapped hard in the face. Five red marks were immediately left on his cheek, which immediately swelled up like a hill.

Zhu Wen's eyes flashed with a sharpness. He thrust out his still-movable right arm and struck the soldier hard in the face. "If that's the case, what use is there to me?"

The palm strike was so powerful that it affected the wound, causing pain all over his body as if it were being cut by a knife. This caused blood to seep from the corner of Zhu Wen's mouth again, and he gritted his teeth and endured it.

The knight was stunned by Zhu Wen's blow. When he came to his senses, he saw Zhu Wen's fierce eyes and was filled with fear. He shouted, "It's my fault, General Zhu, please spare my life!"

Meng Kai was furious at the man's desertion, but Zhu Wen's slap across the face somehow pityed him. He said, "Brother, never mind. He's just a scoundrel trying to make a living in our army. While the government army has military rules against abandoning their commander, ours doesn't. Besides, if the enemy is truly formidable, his escaping and reporting back wouldn't be a bad thing."

Dai Xiaolou, the purple-faced general who wielded the golden tiger-head spear, also tried to persuade him, saying, "Although this man made a mistake, Zhu Ying gave you a slap in the face, and that's enough."

Zhu Wen then realized that this person did not flee directly after all, but at least took the responsibility to come back and report the news. Perhaps what he had done was really a bit too much.

He was just subconsciously upset and slapped him hard without thinking.

But Zhu Wen was proud and didn't want to admit his mistake. He paused before saying, "It's just that my junior sister is used to using bows and arrows, not close combat. If she is surrounded by the enemy, wouldn't it be..."

"Uh..." Meng Kai scratched his head: "Who said she is not good at close combat?"

"Brother, you said it yourself last time, how come you forgot it again?" Zhu Wen remembered that when they were having tea together in the camp last time, Meng Kai went to watch the dance and music in Wang Xianzhi's camp, and came back and told him.

"I mean she's afraid of pain. Girls don't want to get hurt and don't like close combat, but that doesn't mean she's not good at it... I still remember the day I met her clearly, as if it were yesterday..." Meng Kai said slowly, with memories flooding his eyes.

　The book club group number is 469137819. Brothers and sisters who haven't joined yet, come and join. Once you join, you are all family. There are often red envelopes in the group, and there are many Zhihu big Vs and history circle big men explaining historical knowledge.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)