Magical Water Margin: They all call me brother

Page 129

Lu Junyi was stiff all over, like a statue weathered for thousands of years, as that large hand steadily supported her swaying body.

"Sister, why have you gotten yourself into such a mess? Come on, let's go inside."

Liu Hong's voice was resolute and left no room for doubt. He led Lu Junyi to the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness. As they pushed open the door, a delicate and warm fragrance wafted out, dispelling the chill and blood stench that clung to Lu Junyi. The room was meticulously furnished, spotless, with soft brocade quilts, a brand-new screen, a bathtub with rising steam, and warm wine and dishes on the table.

Several pretty, taciturn maids entered silently, as if the air itself were filled with their presence. They carried medicine boxes and hot water, their eyes lowered as they gathered around the bathtub. Their movements were gentle yet undeniably forceful. The warm water soothed her cold, stiff skin, washing away the blood and grime, and seemingly cleansing her heavy past.

As the men helped her change into a brand-new women's dress and tied the sash, Lu Junyi felt an unprecedented sense of unfamiliarity and vulnerability. The face reflected in the bronze mirror was pale and thin, with the heroic spirit still lingering in her eyes, yet it was also imbued with a broken fragility ravaged by the vicissitudes of life, making her feel like a stranger to herself.

Dressed neatly, she went to the outer room. Liu Hong was already sitting at the table laden with exquisite dishes, waiting for her. The candlelight flickered, illuminating his face, which was much more somber than before. The two sat facing each other, a subtle tension hanging in the air.

There was no mention of Lu Junyi's numerous bloody battles with Liangshan, no discussion of the different stances of the individuals, who betrayed whom, and not a single word of blame or merciless complaint during the battles. Liu Hong personally ladled a bowl of soft and nourishing soup for her and placed it in front of her, while also taking out a brocade pouch containing fifty taels of broken gold.

"It seems like my senior sister is having some trouble. Take this money and use it first."

Liu Hong's words remained brief. Hungry and exhausted, Lu Junyi silently drank the soup. The hot broth warmed her cold insides and softened the icy chill in her heart. Afterwards, Lin Chong, Lu Zhisheng, Wu Song, and their fellow disciples arrived one by one, sitting beside Lu Junyi and offering words of comfort, as if the bloody battle of the past few days, where both sides had fought with all their might, had never existed.

Her wife's alluring yet ruthless betrayal surfaced in her mind, forming an incredibly ironic contrast with her silent yet supportive younger siblings. She looked up; in the candlelight, Liu Hong's eyes were as deep as an abyss, concealing too many emotions she couldn't understand. That look was utterly unfathomable to her.

"I... I have nowhere to go. I fought valiantly on the front lines, killing enemies for my country and serving the court with all my heart. But my steward betrayed me, my wife sold me out, and the official I served has labeled me a criminal without any reason. The entire Song Dynasty is after me. I don't understand why! I want to go home and ask my wife and my steward! Why is all this happening!"

Looking at his younger siblings surrounding him, Lu Junyi once again felt the warmth of home. He couldn't help but throw himself into Liu Hong's arms and burst into tears, pouring out his grievances and resentment of the past few days. Lin Chong and the others also silently stepped forward, hugged Lu Junyi, and comforted him one by one, allowing Lu Junyi to vent his dissatisfaction and grievances of the past few days.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Junyi's sobs gradually subsided, and he regained some composure. Liu Hong then solemnly placed his hand on Lu Junyi's shoulder.

"Senior sister, don't worry! We were able to storm Daming Prefecture once, and we can storm Daming Prefecture a second time! We will definitely clear your name and demand an explanation from your sister-in-law and that steward for betraying and framing you!"

Lu Junyi nodded, sobbing, and chatted with everyone for a while longer. He was so tired that he fell asleep under everyone's care.

On the third day, just as Liu Hong was reorganizing his troops and preparing to fulfill the vows of Dong Ping and Lu Junyi, another girl, looking as destitute as a beggar, rushed up Liangshan. Upon meeting Lu Junyi, she hugged him and wept bitterly. Lu Junyi looked closely and realized that she was his personal maid, Yan Qing.

"Master! I've finally found you! I heard you went to Liangshan, so I came here immediately! Something terrible has happened at home! That despicable couple is using you as a pawn to escape punishment! The madam and the steward have both betrayed you! They've both abandoned you!"

"I know I know."

Lu Junyi comforted Yan Qing, saying that three days was enough time for her to come to her senses. His eyes, like those of a Qilin, burned with terrifying anger and sharpness.

"Let's storm back to Daming Prefecture and see what those two scoundrels have to say!!!"

-------------------------------------

I highly recommend this site's classic, "Time Travel Game: Starting with Kingdom Come: Deliverance," which adheres strictly to the rules.

Bad news: I've been transported to the Middle Ages.

Good news: We can also open the door back to the modern era.

Even better news: the door can also lead to multiple worlds.

……

President of a Hanfu (traditional Han clothing) club, a Bohemian warlord, a disciple of Zhang Sanfeng, and the underground emperor of Chicago...

As Mo Jiang's ability to travel through time begins to extend to more and more worlds, an empire spanning the multiverse is being born.

Chapter 369: Guan Sheng Displays Divine Power and Subdues the Two Generals of Water and Fire

However, before returning to Dongping Prefecture and Daming Prefecture to take revenge, Liu Hong began to rebuild his army a second time, based on Guan Sheng's advice. He selected elite troops to create an invincible, extremely elite, swift, and brave spearhead!

During this time, Gao Qiu was also scratching his head in the face of Guan Sheng's huge defeat, thinking about how to shift the blame. Therefore, he sent a small force to rescue Guan Sheng. There were two generals in charge: Divine Fire General Wei Dingguo and Holy Water General Shan Tinggui. They did not mention a word about the news that Guan Sheng's entire army had been wiped out.

Therefore, when the two generals, leading ten thousand men, discovered that Guan Sheng's entire army had been wiped out, they panicked. They set up camp a hundred miles away from Liangshan, not daring to advance a single step, and even considered how to retreat—Guan Sheng had led the entire Imperial Guard of Hebei and ten thousand cavalry from Guanzhong, all wiped out by Liangshan? What was the point of my ten thousand Lingzhou garrison troops then?! What was Gao Qiu trying to do? Was he sending us to our deaths?

At this moment, Guan Sheng thought that he had just arrived at Liangshan and had not yet made any contributions, so he volunteered to lead five battalions of soldiers, five thousand men, to meet the Water and Fire Generals! Seeing that Guan Sheng had few men and was far from Liangshan Marsh, the two generals also led their troops to fight, and they stood on the south bank of the Yellow River and engaged in a fierce battle.

Above the battlefield, dark clouds hung low, and the air trembled. Divine Fire General Wei Dingguo stretched out his arms in fury, his crimson robe seemingly soaked in the core of molten lava, spontaneously combusting without wind! His flesh and bones blurred and burned in the blinding red light, transforming into endless, raging flames.

The crimson-gold flames twisted and rose, emitting a deafening roar, and in an instant condensed into a raging fiery dragon that stretched for tens of feet! The dragon's head was ferocious, and its eyes were two churning balls of lava fire. Every scale on its body was made of leaping orange-gold flames, and its tail trailed destructive black smoke. Wherever it passed, the air was scorched and crackled, and scorched earth spread across the ground.

Almost simultaneously, the holy water blurred Shan Tinggui's figure like a bubble. Where she stood, the space seemed to ripple like water. He was no longer the one who controlled the water, but rather his entire flesh and blood had transformed into the water itself. The bottomless indigo water surged in from all directions, covering and swallowing his form, reshaping him into an equally enormous, raging water dragon that burst forth from the sky!

The dragon's body is formed like the clearest and heaviest ocean current, with water ripples and halos flowing across its surface. When the dragon's claws swing, they bring up bone-chilling cold waves, and when it spits out a little, it creates raging waves.

"Gentlemen! Our fight is pointless!"

Guan Sheng, his green robe fluttering and his greatsword wielding, faced the earth-shattering elemental pressure with a stern expression and no fear.

"The memory of Huyan Zhuo's defeat and Gao Qiu's blame-shifting is still fresh in my mind! I, Guan, have indeed been defeated this time, and the defeat was devastating! We lost 100,000 soldiers, including three high-ranking officials at the prefectural level! Countless other officers and county magistrates were killed in action! The entire Shandong province is in ruins!"

He, Gao Qiu, can't bear the responsibility, and has probably already shifted all the blame onto me. But a defeat of this magnitude is something I, Guan, cannot bear alone! I even surrendered to Liangshan, and Gao Qiu has no way to explain himself, so he's using you two as scapegoats! You're just here to take the fall for Gao Qiu!!!

The two generals, one of water and one of fire, exchanged a glance and admitted that Guan Sheng was right. That damned Gao Qiu was simply insane for pushing the two of them here.

In this situation, if we continue our attack on Liangshan, we will die. If we retreat and refuse to rescue our allies, we will still die, bearing the blame for the defeat.

However, there is another solution to this problem: if we capture Guan Sheng alive, the dilemma will be resolved!

Seeing that the Water and Fire generals were unwilling to surrender, Guan Sheng let out a thunderous roar, combining her ancestral Green Dragon Crescent Blade with the one she had stolen from Yun Tianbiao, instantly unleashing a soaring azure light! This light was so dense it seemed tangible, instantly enveloping and devouring it! Within the azure light, a vast and boundless will, imbued with supreme majesty, rose up! The azure light surged, and a powerful dragon roar that shook the heavens resounded throughout the universe!

When the light faded, where was Guan Shengren? In his place stood a magnificent and awe-inspiring dragon with golden whiskers and green scales!

"Roar!!!"

The raging fiery dragon roared, its tongues of flame tearing through the air, its blazing claws aimed straight for the Azure Dragon's heart. A scorching shockwave spread like a tsunami, instantly turning vegetation to ash and rocks to molten lava! Meanwhile, the Mystic Water Ice Dragon surged like a reversed celestial river, its claws slamming down with massive waves, its tail carrying immense water pressure, like a colossal deep-sea surge, overwhelming and unstoppable!

However, the Azure Dragon that Guan Sheng transformed into held its own against the two opponents. The three dragons fought fiercely in the air for sixty or seventy rounds without a clear victor.

Faced with the raging dragon's tearing, explosive claw attack, the Azure Dragon's giant claw met it head-on. The jade-like dragon claw collided violently with the lava giant claw, like two stars clashing! Golden flames burst forth, but the seemingly fragile jade scales were filled with azure light, forcefully shaking off the burning attack of the fiery claw. The force of the shock caused the raging dragon's body to ripple violently!

Guan Sheng seized this rare opportunity to win, and suddenly opened his blood-red maw. Amidst a terrifying explosion, he spat out a beam of scorching light that blotted out the sky. It was not the light of ordinary flames, but a kind of highly condensed and compressed Confucian fire essence!

It was almost tangible, thicker than a giant rafter, and burst forth from the Azure Dragon's mouth. The instant it left its body, this condensed beam of light expanded into a torrent of azure-gold that covered most of the sky! Wherever this torrent of dragon breath passed, space wasn't just scorched, but directly erased, leaving behind a long, dark, vacuum-like corridor. The intense radiation made the skin of distant spectators feel as if it were being branded with a hot iron.

Even Wei Dingguo's divine fire, capable of melting gold and iron, was burned through by the beam of light at a speed visible to the naked eye, like the first snowflakes under the sun! A huge burning hole was left in his chest.

The outcome hinges on this moment!

Guan Sheng, transformed into a blue dragon, suddenly extended his claws, using the explosive blue-gold dragon fire to transform into a blue dragon crescent blade that stretched across the sky, cleaving down with the force of splitting the heavens and earth! Wherever it swept, it slew two dragons in succession, and nothing could stop the blade's light!

Wei Dingguo, already off balance, had taken a fatal blow from a dragon's breath, severely wounding him. Now, unable to resist Qin Long's Crescent Blade, he was cleaved in two! Endless crimson-gold flames exploded and scattered like celestial flowers, finally extinguishing, leaving only charred voids and scorching heat in the air. The raging flames transformed back into Wei Dingguo's severely injured flesh, leaving him kneeling helplessly on the ground.

Guan Sheng didn't make things difficult for her. He turned around and fought against the Holy Water General Shan Tinggui. She and Wei Dingguo together could only fight Guan Sheng for about seventy rounds. At this moment, Wei Dingguo was defeated, and she was also unable to fight alone. After fighting for more than ten rounds, the source of the water dragon was shattered by the domineering sword intent, turning into a torrential downpour of cold rain, which poured down on the scorched earth and rose up in large white mist. The structure of the entire water dragon, cut by the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, collapsed and turned into a pool of lifeless, heavy, cold water that slowly seeped into the ground.

The wind swept away the clouds, and the dust gradually settled. After a hundred rounds of bloody battle, Wei Dingguo and Shan Tinggui lay disheveled and exhausted on the ground, their faces as pale as paper. Their elemental power was completely depleted, and their eyes were filled with immense shock and bewilderment at surviving such a catastrophe. They couldn't even support themselves; their meridians ached as if they had been scraped by knives—the invisible, lingering power of the Azure Dragon Blade Intent!

The azure light receded, and the colossal figure of the Azure Dragon rapidly shrank back into human form. Guan Sheng's robust body stood firmly in place, her Azure Dragon Crescent Blade pointing diagonally at the earth, its blade gleaming with azure light, as if the earth-shattering battle just moments before had been nothing more than a few casual swings. Her chest rose and fell slightly, her face as calm as still water, but her eyes, deeper and brighter than ever before, held the boundless starry sky after a storm, invincible!

Seeing that they were no match for the enemy, and with Guan Sheng's words of persuasion to surrender on the battlefield being quite reasonable, and Gao Qiu being too inhuman, they could no longer bear it and immediately knelt down on the ground, willing to surrender to Liangshan.

Chapter 370: Gathering Demons - Liu Hongyi's Second Army Reorganization

After Guan Sheng subdued the two generals of water and fire, his reputation soared, and he established his authority in Liangshan. Liu Hong's second attempt to rebuild the army also yielded results.

First, the organization was downsized. Although, as Guan Sheng said, it is better to cut off one finger than to injure all ten, and it would be more lethal to concentrate all the elite troops and strike at the enemy's vitals, Liangshan still needed to divide its forces for combat. Therefore, Liu Hong condensed the troops into six legions, including four infantry legions and two naval legions, and gave command of the legions to the six most capable fighters in Liangshan.

First Army Corps: Commander of the Army, Flower Nun Lu Zhisheng. Deputy Commanders of the Army, Divine Fire General Wei Dingguo and Holy Water General Shan Tinggui.

Second Legion: Commander of the Army, Guan Sheng, the Great Swordsman. Deputy Commander of the Army, Hao Siwen, the Well-Wooded Wolf. Xuan Zan, the Ugly Steed.

Third Army Corps: Commander of the Army, Huyan Zhuo, the Double Whip Commander. Deputy Commanders of the Army: Han Tao, the Hundred-Victory General, and Peng Qi, the Heavenly Eye General.

Fourth Army Corps: Commander of the Army and Cavalry, Song Jiang, the Timely Rain. Deputy Commander of the Army and Cavalry, Wu Song, the Pilgrim, and Huang Xin, the Mountain Guardian—There's no other way. Song Jiang's command ability is indeed strong, but his close combat ability is too weak. Liu Hong simply let Wu Song help out and also play a supervisory role.

The other legions were basically led by an extremely brave and skilled general, supported by two equally experienced deputy generals.

The First Naval Legion: Commander-in-Chief, Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Chao Gai; Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Earthly Tyrant Ruan Xiao Er; Living Yama Ruan Xiao Wu; and the three sisters, Short-Lived Second Brother Ruan Xiao Qi.

Second Naval Army Corps: Commander-in-Chief, Li Jun (River-Crossing Dragon); Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Zhang Heng (Boat-Fire Girl); Sisters Zhang Shun (White Stripe in the Waves); Sisters Tong Wei (Cave-Emerging Dragon) and Tong Meng (River-Turning Mirage).

The size of these six legions has been greatly reduced, retaining only the most basic elite troops, and their numbers have been restored to between one thousand and three thousand.

Following these six legions was the Imperial Guard, personally created by Liu Hong. It was small, with only two thousand cavalrymen, but these two thousand cavalrymen were the elite of all cavalrymen! They were completely under the command of Liu Hong!

Among them was the Imperial Guard Commander, Jade Kirin Lu Junyi. There were three deputy commanders: Leopard Head Lin Chong, Thunderbolt Qin Ming, and Double-Spear General Dong Ping. These four fierce generals each commanded a battalion of five hundred cavalry.

Each battalion has 500 cavalrymen, which can be further divided into 20 districts, each with 100 men.

Four of the cavalry units were directly commanded by Lu Junyi, Lin Chong, Qin Ming, and Dong Ping.

The other sixteen cavalry units were the Ten Tiger Generals of Liangshan: Little Li Guang Hua Rong, Golden Spear Xu Ning, Blue-Faced Beast Yang Zhi, Vanguard Suo Chao, Iron Cudgel Luan Tingyu, Sick Yuchi Sun Li, Featherless Arrow Zhang Qing, One-Zhang-Qing Hu Sanniang, Little Protector Li Cunxiao, and Nine-Tattooed Dragon Shi Jin.

And the six strongest generals among the Earthly Fiends: Little Wenhou Lü Fang, Sai Rengui Guo Sheng, Flower-Necked Tiger Gong Wang, Arrow-Struck Tiger Ding Desun, Cloud-Piercing Golden-Winged Ou Peng, and Fiery-Eyed Suanni Deng Fei, these sixteen Heavenly and Earthly Fiend generals are in charge.

Thus, Guan Sheng's strategy was realized. The twenty great demons and two thousand cavalrymen personally selected by Liu Hong formed the sharpest blade of Liangshan. The composition of this charging cavalry force was quite outlandish. Three of the Five Tiger Generals of Liangshan were here, all ten of the Ten Tiger Generals were here, and six of the most capable charging soldiers were also transferred from the deputy generals and adjutants. In addition, there was the bug-like Lu Junyi, and the Great Sage of Chaos Liu Hong himself.

With this lineup, even Guan Sheng, who has Lu Junyi and Shi Wengong, would have to avoid its sharp edge!

As for the other capable soldiers of Liangshan?

Li Ying, the Sky-Soaring Eagle, and Mu Hong, the Unobstructed Guardian, were two powerful individuals responsible for protecting the grain transport route.

Zhu Tong, the Bearded Gentleman, and Lei Heng, the Winged Tiger, are two equally capable generals who work for the Liangshan government as head and deputy head constables. They are responsible for maintaining the stability of all the territories that Liangshan has conquered and serving as the last line of defense should their base be attacked.

Wu Yong, Gongsun Sheng, Zhu Wu, and Fan Rui, the four spellcasters, jointly serve as secret military advisors. When it is time to go to war, they are temporarily assigned to the army, which is quite flexible and not fixed.

The remaining demons of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends served as lower-level commanders, captains, generals, and other junior officers in the six legions of land and water.

There's also Dai Zong, the intelligence chief, and Chai Jin, the clerical devil in charge of finances and logistics. Then there's Xie Zhen and Xie Bao's mountain corps, and Ling Zhen, the artillery commander—a junior officer in a special forces unit.

Liu Hong counted and found that there were 108 great demons. He had already obtained 107 of them, and was only missing the divine doctor An Daoquan, whose whereabouts were unknown.

Liangshan is now almost at its peak.

As for the six legions and a cavalry of two thousand men, the number of troops is not enough.

It's alright. After careful consideration, Liu Hong began to turn back the clock of history and restored the Fubing system of the Sui and Tang dynasties. This system allowed local people to farm in peacetime and immediately come to Liangshan Marsh to collect matchlock guns and armor in times of war, instantly turning them into soldiers to join the battlefield.

This system was quite effective. It closely integrated the military service of the soldiers with agricultural production, combining soldiers and farmers, which reduced Liangshan's expenses while ensuring the continuation of agricultural production.

The Song Dynasty initially intended to continue the Fubing system, but unfortunately, the Fubing system was based on the Equal-Field System. People had to have their own land and property before they could serve as soldiers in wartime and farmers in ordinary times.

The land annexation in the Song Dynasty was extremely serious. When Emperor Taizu of Song inherited the Zhou Dynasty's legacy, he also inherited the Zhou Dynasty's extremely serious land annexation situation. Moreover, he had to take care of his officials and could not change it. Within a few years, the people became garrison soldiers in wartime and serfs in peacetime, and could not be mobilized at all.

Forced into a corner, the Song Dynasty smoothly transitioned from the Fubing system to a mercenary system. Since all the land had been seized by powerful clans, and they lacked the land to support their troops, they simply used money to create millions of Xiangjun (local militia)!

However, this also revealed the drawbacks of recruiting soldiers. First, the costs were exorbitant: the salaries, equipment, training, logistics, rewards, and pensions of professional soldiers far exceeded those of the Fubing system. Soldiers fought for a living, and sustained high levels of investment were necessary to maintain their fighting capacity. If the war dragged on or the army became too large, military expenditures would become the largest expenditure item in the national treasury, forcing the state to impose heavy taxes and inciting public resentment.

The conscription system was so expensive, but the returns were not high. On the surface, the conscription system was highly professional, but under the monetary employment relationship, the soldiers lacked intrinsic loyalty and a sense of responsibility. The Song Dynasty's Xiang Army as a whole focused more on personal gains and survival, and was prone to collapse or desertion in arduous and adverse battles. Liu Hong witnessed this far too often.

Moreover, huge expenditures do not necessarily translate into effective combat power. It is very common for officers to embezzle military pay and falsify troop numbers, resulting in poor equipment, lax training, and low morale among soldiers, especially in Hebei Province.

These local militia had no families, no land, and most were even convicts or exiles. They fought for money, so their fighting strength and will were truly questionable. This recruitment system was one of the biggest reasons for the poor performance of the Northern Song army.

Now, Liu Hong has used force to purge the powerful clans in Shandong and return the land to all the people. In this way, the Fubing system can be re-established. The first batch of Fubing consisted of 400,000 people from Jizhou, 200,000 people from Dengzhou, and more than 600,000 people from Shandong and Henan, totaling 1.2 million people.

Following the ancient system of military garrison, Liu Hong assigned one soldier to every five households. The five households were all proud of this child, and he knew that he was fighting for his family, his neighbors, and all the land and property of this small community.

Based on a calculation of five people per household, these 1.2 million people could produce at least 40,000 soldiers and farmers who would fight for Liangshan. They could easily fill the six legions, which had been reduced to only the skeletons of elite soldiers, into a terrifying behemoth full of flesh and blood.

Volume Four: The Humiliation of Jingkang

Chapter 371: The Sky-Soaring Eagle Deploys Surprise Troops

After assembling such a large elite force, Liu Hong immediately put his skills to the test by attacking Dongping Prefecture! He assigned Li Ying, the Sky-Soaring Eagle, for transport and Gongsun Sheng, the Cloud-Piercing Dragon, for magical damage output, to cover the operation.

That night, Li Ying transformed into a gigantic, terrifying golden eagle that blotted out the sky. With its wings reaching the heavens, it soared through the air, carrying twenty-one commanders of the Liangshan Imperial Guards, including Liu Hong, on its back, and flew towards Dongping Prefecture.

Li Ying's demon prince form was indeed enormous and conspicuous, but it was already dark, and the garrison of Dongping Prefecture only discovered the Liangshan troops when Li Ying was less than a hundred meters away from the city wall!

They scattered in a panic, some operating the enormous triple-bow ballistae on the city wall with a range of up to a thousand meters, trying to retaliate. Others scrambled to the city gate tower, wanting to sound the horns and beat the war drums, using the deafening sound to warn the entire city of the approaching enemy.

However, none of them completed their missions; they were all sniped by Hua Rong halfway there, none of them escaping.

Inside the city gate tower, a troop of soldiers frantically drew their crossbows, intending to fire, when suddenly the roof tiles exploded like a spiderweb! A heavy, mountain-like black shadow, accompanied by wind and thunder, crashed down—it was none other than the Hebei commander!

The blue bricks beneath Lu Junyi's feet shattered with a crash, and the Qilin Step shook the entire watchtower. Before a squad of soldiers could even cry out, the necks of two guards were severed by the Golden Dragon Spear, their bloodied heads flying off and embedding themselves in the walls and beams. Standing only three meters tall, Lu Junyi looked down at the remaining soldiers as if they were infants. With a spinning dragon spear, she effortlessly annihilated the thirty-odd soldiers as if cutting melons and vegetables, and no one could even touch her with a weapon.

"Squeak—" The small crack in the side gate of the city gate tower had just been opened when several points of cold light appeared in the darkness, tearing through the night and swirling towards them!

Li Ying stretched his arms out like an eagle spreading its wings, and a series of sharp throwing knives, like golden eagle feathers, flew like deadly tongues flicked out by ghosts. With a series of sharp clangs, the throats of the seven guards who were about to rush to block the gate instantly bled. They clutched their bleeding throats, convulsing and collapsing, their shrill cries immediately drowned out by the footsteps of the Liangshan heroes!

Another twenty or so Song soldiers rushed out from the city wall. A cold glint flashed in Lin Chong's eyes, and his eighteen-foot spear transformed into a black, venomous dragon tearing through the darkness, swooping down. Before the first five or six soldiers could react, their heads were chopped off by the spear, forcing everyone back into the gate. Lin Chong then swept his spear horizontally, the shaft shaking wildly, single-handedly blocking the entire gate. The Song soldiers who showed their heads died instantly, and those who rushed out were instantly killed. They had no way to rush out from the side gate to provide reinforcements!

Not only that, Dong Ping didn't land on the city wall, but instead landed in front of the gate. Her entire body transformed into a terrifying beam of destructive light, with speed and power in an instant. In just a flash of golden light, she smashed through the half-meter-thick wooden city gate! Twice! The entire wooden gate burned in the intense light, and the steel-forged gate lock melted in that terrifying halo.

"Intruders! Close the city gates! Lower the floodgates!!!"

The Xiang Army soldiers responsible for defending Dongping Prefecture were shocked. Seeing that the gate had been breached, they immediately initiated follow-up measures.

Inside the gate passageway, a massive five-ton gate, entirely cast in brass, crashed down with a deafening thud, accompanied by the scraping of iron chains. The dull sound was like a giant hammer striking a drum.