Moreover, these two were by no means as rough as they appeared. Once they started fighting, their moves were varied and their offense and defense were well-organized. In just a few minutes, they experienced countless life-or-death moments.
While everyone was panting, Hua Rong nocked an arrow and stared intently at the opposite side. There, a general on horseback also had an arrow on his bow, his eyes fixed on Deng Yuanjue. It seemed that if the Grand Preceptor Deng made even the slightest mistake, a sharp arrow would inevitably pierce Lu Zhishen's throat first—Deng Yuanjue and Pang Wanchun had a close personal relationship, something I heard him say himself at Yucai High School.
After the two players battled fiercely for more than half an hour, they gradually began to tire. Their staff movements became noticeably sluggish.
Deng Yuanjue feinted with his weapon, but gained a slight advantage in footwork, kicking Lu Zhishen until he stumbled. Lu Zhishen, enraged, punched Deng Yuanjue away. Both lost their balance simultaneously, and in a flash, almost simultaneously brought their staffs down on each other's heads. This was clearly a mutually destructive... mutually fatal fight, and the tens of thousands of generals and soldiers on both sides cried out in alarm.
Seeing this, Pang Wanchun didn't hesitate at all. He glanced briefly at Lu Zhishen, then released his already fully drawn bow, and "whoosh—" the arrow shot out. Meanwhile, Hua Rong was also confident. Pang Wanchun drew his bow, and Hua Rong drew his, the arrowheads colliding perfectly on the same line. With a clang, the immense force shattered the two arrows into four bamboo-like strands…
But even if this temporarily saved Lu Zhishen, it couldn't prevent him and Deng Yuanjue from dying together... While everyone was thinking this, some sharp-eyed generals noticed that at the same time Hua Rong and Pang Wanchun's arrows clashed, another mysterious long arrow had already pierced through the space between Deng and Lu at an extremely precise angle. The arrowhead struck precisely where their iron staffs were about to collide, deflecting the weapons of the two monks by an inch—although Lu Zhishen and Deng Yuanjue were not as strong as usual at this moment, the strength of the person who fired the arrow was still terrifying!
Everyone looked in the direction of the incoming arrow and saw a handsome general emerge from behind Hua Rong, holding a strange, straight, stick-like bow. Most astonishingly, this man looked exactly like Hua Rong—though I can tell the difference now; if the second Hua Rong was holding a bow with a handle, then he was Hua Rong 2.
The most astonished was Pang Wanchun, who stared blankly at the two Hua Rongs. Suddenly, he said dejectedly, "I've always heard that Hua Rong is a master archer, but I never imagined that he has a brother who is also such a skilled archer. Based on this alone, I am no match for him." Then, he lowered his head and said, "Brother Fang, we've really lost badly this time."
The reason why Pang Wanchun said this was clear to Fang La's side: when Deng Yuanjue was in danger, Pang Wanchun was determined to take sides and kill Lu Zhishen, while Liangshan maintained fairness under favorable circumstances. Therefore, in this battle, they were inferior to the other side in terms of strength and morale.
At that moment, both sides sent men to drag Lu Heshang and Deng Yuanjue back to their respective camps. After this thrilling battle, neither side sent anyone to challenge them again for the time being. Especially on Fang La's side, the Eight Heavenly Kings all felt they had lost face.
Fang La's expression darkened, and he was about to temporarily withdraw his troops when suddenly a man rode out from his own camp, pointed at the Liangshan camp, and cursed: "Liangshan bandits, do not be so arrogant! If you really have the ability, you shall see the truth under your Grandpa Shi Bao's blade!"
An uproar erupted on Liangshan's side. The heroes hated being called bandits more than anything; even calling them outright thieves would have been better than being called out by the imperial court. And to use those words to expose their shortcomings, especially by the peasant Fang La, was infuriating. Song Jiang, in a fit of rage, shouted, "Which brother takes this scoundrel's head? I'll give him the greatest credit!"
Lin Chong then explained to me, "This Shi Bao was also one of Fang La's Eight Heavenly Kings, and he was the most skilled with a knife. Our brother Guan Sheng on the mountain never survived a fight with his knife, and he and Shi Bao only fought to a standstill before the battle ended inconclusively."
Seeing that several people in the crowd were eager to attack, Shi Bao glanced at their weapons and said, "I told you, if you have real skills, then use your swords to talk to me. Humph, the Liangshan bandits are indeed all petty thieves, they can't even find a single person who can use a sword."
Guan Sheng was so angry that his face turned thirty-seven percent redder than his ancestor Guan Yu. He gripped the hilt of his sword and spurred his horse forward, saying, "I must kill this man!" Lu Junyi and Wu Yong grabbed him on either side, saying, "If you go, there will be no end to it, and you will only cause the brothers more worry."
Seeing that the vast Liangshan Mountain had been halted by his call, Shi Bao smugly crossed his arms and half-reclined on his horse, sneering, "Oh dear, everyone says that the 108 heroes of Liangshan are all exceptionally skilled. But today, it seems that the word 'righteousness' is meaningless. They're nothing but a bunch of lackeys of the imperial court, and their abilities are utterly mediocre. My elder brother originally thought you were all men of responsibility and didn't want to exterminate you all, but in my opinion, you're nothing special. I'll go back and kill that Wang Ying of yours to offer as a sacrifice to the flag!"
His words were venomous and vicious, striking straight to the hearts of the heroes. The bandits, no longer caring about anything else, began to hurl insults. I had only one bite of steamed bun left, and seeing the heated atmosphere, I squeezed it in my hand and joined in the cursing: "Damn it, they're all bastards..."
Lin Chong said worriedly, "It seems we have no choice but to capture him, so that Fang La will have something to be wary of, otherwise he might really kill Brother Wang Ying..."
Shi Bao was happier seeing the heroes angry, so he stretched out on his horse, grinning as he watched them. Bored, he glanced casually at the sky above us and suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, why is there an extra flag this morning—'Undying Cockroach'? When did Liangshan get this good-for-nothing? What's with this guy hanging his flag so high? Cockroach, come out here!"
I was almost swallowing the last bite of my steamed bun when he suddenly shouted that, and I choked...
Why am I involved in this again?!
Chapter 124 The Drag-the-Knife Tactic
There's a saying: "People fear becoming famous, just as pigs fear growing fat." Another saying goes: "The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind."
Look at me, Xiao Qiang, only thirty-nine years old, yet I hold a high position, with more titles on my head than the chairman of a municipal writers' association. As for my skills, I once defeated Xiang Yu's hundreds of thousands of troops with a laugh, and I once wielded a shoe sole to beat the inhuman assassin Qin Wuyang beyond recognition. Moreover, in a real battle with Baozi, I made the name of the "Seven Times a Night" lose its legend... Uh, I'll write another book about that later under a different pseudonym.
This promising young man, a future immortal who always took the world as his responsibility, a renowned educator, military strategist, and unconventional time traveler, has finally aroused the jealousy of certain NPCs who find pleasure in obstructing the course of history—that brat Shi Bao keeps nagging at my name. I was hoping he'd just say a few words and that would be it, but unexpectedly, this guy got carried away with his insults, placing his broadsword across his horse, pointing at my banner, spitting everywhere, and insisting that I go out and fight him with my sword.
I'm not an expert at knife fighting; as you all know, my major was brick mechanics.
Lin Chong, fearing I would be embarrassed, comforted me, saying, "Xiao Qiang, don't pay him any mind. He can't just start a sword fight whenever he wants."
The Song Dynasty was the golden age of the spear, with many famous generals wielding it. Lu Junyi, Lin Chong, Zhang Qing, Dong Ping, and Fang La's subordinates Wang Yin and Li Tianrun, as well as later figures like Yue Fei, were all masters of the spear. The broadsword, after its peak during the Three Kingdoms period, gradually faded into obscurity. This weapon truly shone only in the era of the Three Kingdoms, a time when barbarity and refinement coexisted. From the Tang Dynasty onward, it could no longer satisfy the desire of military generals to demonstrate their combined martial prowess, wisdom, and composure.
There were certainly many swordsmen on Liangshan, but only Guan Sheng was truly skilled with a knife. According to Lin Chong, Guan Sheng had already fought Shi Bao for three hundred rounds that morning, and it seemed that Guan Sheng was still a step behind Shi Bao in terms of strength.
As Shi Bao cursed, many of our men turned their attention to me. Lin Chong and his 54 men knew I was only a half-baked fighter, so they smiled and remained silent. But there were 54 others who were unaware of the situation. They only knew that I had gotten along well with my half-brother over the past year, but they had never seen me display any skill. From the fact that I easily brought Fang Zhenjiang and Hua Rong here, they probably thought I had some mediocre courage, so they all wanted to see my reaction when Shi Bao challenged them. The bandits were usually lazy, but on the battlefield they were all men of courage. When they saw my calm demeanor, many of them frowned and felt contempt. Even the henchman who carried my flag felt humiliated and half-dead, burying his head in his neck.
Shi Bao moved closer and closer, cursing and gesturing wildly. Hua Rong nocked an arrow and said sternly, "Listen carefully, Shi Bao! We don't want to hurt you, so don't be so arrogant. If you take another step forward, you'll be lying dead on the spot."
Originally, Liangshan had Hua Rong, Fang La, and Pang Wanchun, each side possessing a deterrent weapon. But now, with two Hua Rongs on Liangshan, things were different. When Shi Bao saw two handsome young men simultaneously pointing arrows at him, his scalp tingled. He then spurred his horse and jumped around, laughing merrily, "Haha, the Liangshan villains are adept at using underhanded tactics, but not a single one of them is a true hero!" His arrogance was extreme.
Wu Yong frowned and said, "If we want Fang La to be convinced and stop fighting, we must first have a general whose swordsmanship is far superior to his to subdue him."
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, even Guan Sheng lowered his head in silence. If it came to fighting Shi Bao with other weapons, perhaps no one could defeat him. But in terms of swordsmanship alone, he far surpassed him; it was likely that no one in the entire Northern Song Dynasty could match him. The carefree Qin Ming, trying to save face for Guan Sheng, laughed loudly, "Then unless it's Guan Yu, the Second Master Guan, manifesting his divine power." But as soon as these words left his mouth, Guan Sheng's face darkened even more. Wasn't this implying that he had disgraced his ancestors?
But as soon as I heard that, I perked up, handed the dish to a soldier, raised my hands, and shouted, "I'll go! I'll go!"
Everyone has learned to ignore me and continues their discussion...
Guan Sheng slung the Green Dragon Crescent Blade behind his back, pulled on the reins, and said, "I'll give it another try!"
I said dejectedly, "Brothers, I'll go!"
Zhang Shun, Zhang Qing, and the others waved their hands, saying, "Xiao Qiang, stop fooling around." They continued their discussion...
I ran up to Wu Yong and the others, pointed at myself, and said, "I said I'll go!"
Lin Chong said seriously, "Xiao Qiang, this is not the time for you to show off. Not to mention that Shi Bao doesn't even know you, even if it were a fight between brothers, wielding a hundred-pound broadsword is no joke."
I waved vigorously in front of everyone: "Brothers, do you think I'm the kind of person who goes into battle unprepared?"
This time, everyone finally focused their attention on me. Wu Yong's expression flickered, and he tentatively asked, "You mean..."
I smiled mysteriously: "Don't forget, I'm not an ordinary person."
Everyone knew I was a sly and cowardly person who never suffered a loss. Zhang Shun nudged me and asked, "Did you bring a tranquilizer gun?"
I:"……"
Wu Yong, resting his chin on his hand, looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze and said to the others, "How about we let Xiao Qiang give it a try?"
Song Jiang was eager to break the deadlock, so he said without thinking twice, "Someone, give Brother Xiaoqiang a horse."
I said, "You also need to prepare a knife for me—who has the best knife around here?"