mtl008 Chapter 210 Chief Li's Skillful Maneuvering of His Family Generals and the Military Advisor
Chapter 210 Chief Li's Skillful Maneuvering of His Family Generals and the Military Advisor
Inside Wolong Valley, it had become a scorching hell.
The towering flames gradually subsided, but the thick black smoke grew increasingly choking, turning the entire valley into a ghostly realm. The once verdant mountain walls were now nothing but charred rocks and trees reduced to charcoal ash. The earth at the bottom of the valley was churned up, plowed by countless iron cannons, the soil and flesh mixed together, emitting a nauseating stench of burning.
The ground was littered with wreckage. Fragments of the armor of the chained horses, the twisted carcasses of warhorses, and the shattered remains of government troops, limbs and torsos scattered everywhere. Occasionally, those not quite dead lay in pools of blood, emitting faint groans. The sounds were less a cry for help and more the last gasps of someone on the verge of death, quickly swallowed by flames or suffocated by thick smoke.
Three thousand linked cavalry, the elite of the Song Dynasty's imperial army, Gao Qiu's trump card, were reduced to charred remains and dead within half an hour. The Liangshan outlaws stood on the slopes on either side of the valley entrance, weapons in hand, silently witnessing this horrific scene. Many wore expressions of terror; though they were desperate criminals, they had never witnessed such brutal killing.
This was the strategy of their new strategist. Without firing a single shot, using only some unpredictable iron cannons, they completely burned away the pride of the government troops.
In this battlefield of deathly silence and wailing, amidst the smoke and sparks, a figure rose slowly from the pile of corpses, as steadfast as a rock.
The man was covered in blood, his Fanyang felt hat long gone, his disheveled hair matted with blood and stuck to his forehead. His black, inlaid armor was now pitted and bruised, the plates on his left shoulder blown off, revealing a bloody, mangled wound beneath. But he stood ramrod straight, his hands tightly gripping two water-polished octagonal steel whips, the blades reflecting a dark light in the firelight.
It was none other than the "Double Whip" Huyan Zhuo!
He looked around, and all he could see were the tragic fates of his own men. Those brave warriors who had followed him from Bianliang, the capital of the Eastern Capital, were now nothing but piles of bones in this valley. A tremendous sense of grief and anger gripped his heart, making him want to roar to the heavens.
Why? How did things come to this? He recalled the secret letter Li Hanxiao had sent that night, a few words warning him not to enter Wolong Valley, saying there was an ambush inside. At the time, he thought it was a ruse by the villains and burned it. But now it seemed it was true!
Why did Li Hanxiao save him? If he wanted to save him, why did he set up this deadly trap to slaughter all of his linked horses? Such scheming and such cunning are simply incomprehensible! Huyan Zhuo couldn't understand it. He felt a surge of anger rising in his chest, making his eyes bloodshot.
But he was a renowned general of the Song Dynasty, a descendant of Huyan Zan, and possessed an innate pride. Even if his entire army was wiped out and he was trapped in a desperate situation, he had no reason to surrender! Falling into the hands of the Liangshan bandits and suffering all kinds of humiliation was worse than dying a glorious death here!
"General! The general is still alive!"
"Protect the general!"
Amidst the smoke and fire, dozens of his personal guards struggled to gather around. Each was wounded, their helmets askew and armor askew, but seeing Huyan Zhuo standing firm, their eyes blazed with renewed ferocity. This was his last remaining force, the loyal and brave men of his Huyan family, passed down through generations.
Huyan Zhuo took a deep breath, the sharp pain in his chest making him dizzy. He braced himself against the ground with his steel whip and roared in a hoarse voice, "Brothers, things have come to this, there's no other way but to fight to the death! Follow me... and charge out!"
Having said that, he mounted a warhorse that had miraculously survived. The horse was also covered in wounds, but it still raised its head and neighed.
"Charge! Kill that bandit leader Li Hanxiao!" Huyan Zhuo pointed his double whips forward.
Instead of attacking the seemingly weakest point of defense at the valley entrance, he headed towards the most precipitous side of the mountain peak. There, beneath a large apricot-yellow banner proclaiming "Acting on Behalf of Heaven," flanked a banner bearing the character "Commander"—the very heart of Liangshan's army!
To catch the thief, first catch the king! Even if we are destined to die today, we will die on the charge, in front of the thief's leader!
"kill!!"
The remaining dozens of government troops, displaying their final courage, followed behind Huyan Zhuo like a blood-red arrow shot into the sky. Instead of retreating, they advanced and launched a desperate charge along the steep mountain wall towards Li Hanxiao's central command flag!
From the mountaintop, the Liangshan generals saw it all clearly and were deeply moved.
"What a fool who doesn't know his own death!" Leopard Head Lin Chong, holding his eighteen-foot spear, was about to step forward to meet the attack.
"This fellow is quite a man, I should deliver him from this world!" The Flower Monk Lu Zhishen could no longer contain himself. He channeled the strength of uprooting a willow tree into his arms, swung his iron staff, and strode forward to meet him. Behind him, the Pilgrim Wu Song also narrowed his eyes and drew two snowflake-patterned iron daggers.
Lu Zhishen was tall and strong, and his pace was swift. Like a moving iron tower, he instantly collided with the dozens of personal guards. With a loud "bang," his sixty-two-pound monk's staff swept out, striking one of the riders squarely. Both rider and horse were sent flying seven or eight feet away, their bones broken by the blow!
The guards were fierce and valiant, wielding their swords with deadly force. Lu Zhishen remained fearless, wielding his staff with ferocious power, killing anyone who touched him. Wu Song followed closely behind, his movements elusive, his large club flashing as he targeted the horse's legs and the rider's neck; where the cold light flashed, blood spurted out.
In the blink of an eye, the dozens of loyal personal guards were slaughtered by the two infantry leaders, leaving only Huyan Zhuo, the leader, on horseback, still charging forward like a madman.
When Huyan Zhuo saw that all his personal guards had died in battle, he was filled with extreme grief and indignation. His eyes turned bloodshot and almost bled.
He suddenly spurred his horse, and the steed beneath him, in pain, let out a long neigh and charged straight at Li Hanxiao like a black whirlwind.
Upon seeing this, Wu Song shouted, "Don't hurt my lord!" He snatched a heavy iron cudgel from the soldier beside him, and with a flick of his arms, the cudgel swung through the air, creating a wave of air, and stood straight in the middle of the road.
Huyan Zhuo was now resigned to his fate. Ignoring the blood gushing from his left shoulder, he saw Wu Song blocking his way and used his right steel whip with the force of a "Mount Tai pressing down," taking advantage of the momentum of the horses charging and bringing it down with the force of a thunderbolt.
Wu Song neither dodged nor evaded, but instead raised his large staff with both hands, executing a "fire-stirring" move, and brought it up to block. A loud "clang" resounded, making the eardrums of the surrounding soldiers ache.
The soil beneath Wu Song's feet sank half an inch, but his arms remained motionless, and the massive iron cudgel withstood Huyan Zhuo's whip strike.
Seeing that his first strike had missed, Huyan Zhuo immediately followed up with a "Poisonous Dragon Emerges from Cave" with his left whip, aiming straight for Wu Song's heart.
Wu Song slightly turned his body, and with a flick of his staff, he used the "parting the clouds to see the sun" technique to deflect the whip. Then, like a snake spitting its tongue, he aimed straight for Huyan Zhuo's horse's eye.
Huyan Zhuo was a seasoned warrior with superb horsemanship. He suddenly squeezed his legs together, and the steed understood his intention, its front hooves lifting into the air, narrowly avoiding the blow.
Huyan Zhuo steadied himself on horseback and began to wield his whips, his movements as fluid and unstoppable as a black dragon playing in the water. He was now completely enraged, each move a desperate attempt to take someone down with him. Taking advantage of his superior position, he alternated the whips, creating gusts of wind as they struck down.
Wu Song wielded his big cudgel with unpredictable skill, sometimes like a dragon sweeping its tail, sweeping away thousands of enemies; sometimes like a tiger descending the mountain, unstoppable.
Although he fought on foot, he used his astonishing explosive power to circle the horse like a revolving lantern. However, Huyan Zhuo's steed was indeed extraordinary, turning and maneuvering extremely fast. Whenever Wu Song's staff was about to strike the horse's leg, the horse would always manage to narrowly avoid it thanks to Huyan Zhuo's horsemanship skills.
After fighting for more than thirty rounds, Hu Yanzhuo's wounds burst open, and blood stained half of his battle robe red. However, he seemed unaware of this, roaring repeatedly and making his whip techniques even more ferocious.
Wu Song was secretly alarmed: "This fellow is incredibly fierce! If we were fighting on flat ground, I could definitely take his life. But now he's relying on his prized horse and fighting like this, he's so reckless. Even though my big stick is long, it's hard to break through his defense amidst his wild whipping."
The two fought for fifty rounds, the battle raging fiercely. Wu Song used all his skills, his staff flashing in countless shadows, but Huyan Zhuo, relying on his horse's strength, kept him at a distance of several feet.
Li Hanxiao, observing clearly from behind the lines, saw that although Wu Song still had enough strength, fighting on foot against cavalry was extremely taxing, and that Huyan Zhuo had gone mad, fearing something unexpected might happen. He immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Brother Wu, step back!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Song feinted with his staff, then used the steady strength of a "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg" stance to leap back more than ten feet, jumping out of the circle. He slammed his staff into the ground to calm his turbulent blood, then cupped his hands in a smile to Li Han and said, "Strategist, this Huyan Zhuo is truly a hero. He's riding this fine steed and is fighting desperately. Although my staff is heavy, I haven't been able to break through his mount's advantage for the time being. I really can't take him down."
"Huyan Zhuo, your death is near!" Ma Ji, Yuan Lang, and other cavalry leaders spurred their horses forward to attack.
"All of you, step back."
A calm voice rang out, yet it made everyone pull the reins.
Li Hanxiao slowly stepped out from under the commander's flag, still wearing that pale yellow robe, which seemed out of place on this battlefield stained with blood and fire. He waved his hand, signaling that the others did not need to come forward.
Lu Zhishen, caught up in the excitement of the fight, turned around and shouted, "Chief, hand this scoundrel over to me! Watch me finish him off with one blow!"
Li Han smiled and shook his head, his gaze falling on the figure charging towards him, radiating despair and death. "A renowned general dies for his country, and it is only right that I personally see him off."
What he wanted was not just Huyan Zhuo's life, but also to completely shatter the last bit of pride in this famous general of the Song Dynasty!
Upon hearing this, none of the leaders dared to move. They watched as Li Hanxiao stood empty-handed in the middle of the mountain path, as if he were waiting not for a fierce general, but for an old friend who had come to visit.
Wu Song frowned, staring intently at Li Hanxiao's retreating figure.
He was skilled in martial arts. It was clear that although Chief Li was dressed as a scholar, he had a steady lower body and long, deep breaths, indicating that he was skilled in martial arts.
Could he really go toe-to-toe with Huyan Zhuo's two deadly steel whips with his bare hands? That would be far too arrogant!
Huyan Zhuo's warhorse arrived in an instant!
Man and horse became one, carrying an indomitable and fierce momentum. His eyes were wide open, and he roared like a wild beast. The two whips in his hands danced with unstoppable force, transforming into two swirling black dragons that crashed down on Li Hanxiao! This strike gathered all his life's strength and boundless rage, capable of shattering even mountains and rocks!
Faced with this overwhelming force, Li Hanxiao did not retreat, but instead advanced!
Just as the whips were about to strike his body, he didn't even draw the sword at his waist. He suddenly ducked low, his entire body moving like a cat, cutting into Huyan Zhuo's arms from under the horse's head at an unbelievable angle!
The timing, angle, and speed were all exquisitely perfect!
Huyan Zhuo was shocked. His double whips were powerful and relied on wide, sweeping movements, making him extremely vulnerable to close combat. He never expected anyone to dare use their bare body to break through his whip's shadow!
Before he could change his move, Li Hanxiao had already begun his attack.
First move!
Li Hanxiao's left hand moved like a serpent emerging from its hole, seizing Huyan Zhuo's wrist holding the whip before he could even exert any force. The technique was extremely peculiar; the force exerted by his five fingers caused a tingling numbness in the tendons of Huyan Zhuo's wrist. At the same time, Li Hanxiao's right hand transformed into a palm strike, precisely slashing at the numb tendons in Huyan Zhuo's elbow!
"Silk-winding technique"!
Huyan Zhuo felt a numbness in his right arm, and half of his body went numb. His fingers involuntarily loosened. With a clang, the steel whip in his right hand flew out of his grasp and struck a nearby rock, sparks flying everywhere!
What kind of skill is this? It doesn't rely on brute force at all; it's all about exquisite joint techniques! Wu Song was greatly shocked. He prided himself on his martial arts skills, which were unmatched in the world, but he had never seen such a strange and unpredictable style before.