NABC Page 34
Page 34
In an instant, Lü Fang and Guo Sheng felt a tremendous force coming from the halberds, and their feet were flung off the ground and into the air. This dying Hebei vanguard had actually flung both halberds and the two men at the base of the halberds into the air!
"It's so difficult!"
Suo Chao was somewhat exhausted. He only swung for a moment, allowing Lü Fang and Guo Sheng to land on their feet. The two women gripped their halberds tightly and activated their divine weapons. As the three clashed, the crimson flames and frost melted strange patterns on the surface of Suo Chao's armor—his left half of the armor was as red as a branding iron, while his right half was covered with dark blue ice crystals!
After initially learning the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Spear Technique, the two sisters' combat power was much higher than before, far surpassing Du Qian and Song Wan. They were the fourth and fifth people in Liangshan after Wu Song, Liu Hong, and Li Cunxiao. If their six-second daily divine possession could hit accurately, even Liu Hong and Li Cunxiao would not be a match for them.
Suo Chao had fought several people in a row and was now on the verge of death. He was being severely weakened by the elemental enchantments of the Crimson Flame Halberd and the Frost Halberd, and Liangshan soldiers were constantly launching surprise attacks from behind.
The three women fought for more than twenty rounds. After Suo Chao blocked Lu Fang and Guo Sheng's combined attack once again, he was so shocked that he spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground due to excessive blood loss, knocked unconscious.
Lu Fang and Guo Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, immediately took out ropes, and tied up the Hebei vanguard.
The two hundred river guards from the famous prefecture were already demoralized and unwilling to fight. When they saw the vanguard Suo Chao standing on the charge route, their morale collapsed and they all surrendered.
The Song soldiers who managed to escape the raging inferno, seeing the entrance to the bay blocked and Suo Chao captured at the dock, completely lost hope and surrendered one after another—"As long as you can put out the fire and save the lives of those brothers trapped in the fire, we will do anything."
In an instant, the entire Liangshan Mountain was in an uproar. Two hundred and forty men against one thousand five hundred, a six-fold difference in troop strength! We actually won?! Apart from four brothers who were shot dead by Suo Chao and sixteen ships that spontaneously combusted and exploded, there were no casualties!
For a time, the Liangshan heroes' respect and admiration for Liu Hong reached its peak! Whether it was provoking the enemy on the battlefield, luring them deep into their territory, or the ingenious plan to burn down the harbor and blockade the bay, it was all his idea.
Before following his brother, we saw that the Vanguard could only flee in panic.
After following my brother, even if the Vanguard led 1,500 men to attack our homeland, we wiped them all out!
The group immediately surrounded the harbor and extinguished the flames. About a hundred people from the Southern Great Village also came out to help put out the flames and salvage the ships. After a lot of effort, they found that the sixteen ships that had been used as ignition points were completely burned beyond repair.
But it doesn't matter. Amidst the flames and Huang An's fleeing forces, we captured five large merchant ships of 30 meters each and ten small ships of 15 meters each. The fleet's tonnage has increased rather than decreased. As for the remaining ships... let's find a shipwright to take a look. Whether they can be repaired is hard to say.
Moreover, the fire did not burn all 1,500 Song soldiers and 1,500 oarsmen to death. It was only because Suo Chao fell quickly that the Liangshan brothers were able to put out the fire and rescue them. Of the 3,000 people, 2,000 survived, and all 2,000 were captured.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that only 200 of the 500 Jeju soldiers remained, a casualty rate of 60%, and the commander, He Tao, had been killed in action.
Of the five hundred Yuncheng militia, four hundred remained. They were at the very back and were not affected by the flames. During their breakout attempt, they were overwhelmed by Li Cunxiao and Zhu Gui and ultimately chose to surrender. The militia commander Huang An was captured alive.
Of the five hundred guards from the Daming Prefecture, only three hundred remained—two hundred of whom had followed Suo Chao on the journey. So, although they were at the forefront and suffered the most severe burns, quite a few of them survived.
Of the 1,500 laborers, none were burned to death; a total of 1,100 survived.
Liu Hong thought about it for a moment and decided to analyze each situation specifically. First of all, all the prisoners' weapons had to be confiscated. It was impossible to let them continue to carry weapons, and he also lacked weapons to arm his troops.
Subsequently, Liu Hong led two hundred soldiers and quickly launched a surprise attack on Suo Chao's main camp south of Liangshan Marsh. In one fell swoop, he destroyed the Song army's camp, which was left unguarded due to the army's overwhelming numbers. He also captured the 1,500 laborers stationed in the camp and transported all of the army's food and supplies back to Liangshan Marsh to replenish their strength.
The grain looted from the Song army camp was even twice the amount of grain given by Chai Jin.
The spare weapons and supplies, along with the spoils of war, enabled Liu Hong to arm two thousand unarmored soldiers.
Immediately afterwards, he released all 2,600 laborers who had been forcibly conscripted by the Song Dynasty, allowing them to return home. Upon hearing this, the 2,600 laborers breathed a sigh of relief, kowtowed with gratitude and tears streaming down their faces, and returned to their respective villages with deep fear and profound respect for Liu Hong, spreading the infamous reputation of Liu Hong and Liangshan Marsh throughout the entire Jizhou.
Liu Hong did not make things difficult for the four hundred captured Yuncheng militiamen. He simply confiscated their weapons and released them all. Seeing them looking at him with a mixture of respect and fear, they fled Liangshan Marsh. However, he did not release Huang An, the militia commander in charge. He thought that these government lackeys should be imprisoned until they died.
He was now completely on the opposite side of the imperial court, and his only support was the masses. He couldn't afford to offend the people of Jeju after offending the imperial court, or he would be doomed.
However, the three hundred river guards of Daming Prefecture and the two hundred garrison troops of Jizhou were not so lucky. Liu Hong detained all of them, and none of them were allowed to leave.
After dealing with the prisoners, Liu Hong immediately began the second step of his plan: to deal with the biggest spoils of the battle. He used Star Healing to heal Suo Chao's badly injured body. She was so badly injured that her clothes and armor, melted by the flames, had become one with her melted flesh.
Liu Hong's palm lines, intertwined with healing galaxies, swept past the arrow wound beneath Suo Chao's ribs, causing the female general to suddenly let out a suppressed groan. Beneath the shattered brass chainmail, the burning silk undergarment had long since stuck to the wound and had to be completely removed.
As the last piece of fabric was torn away, moonlight suddenly poured down on her tall, beautiful, snow-white body, which looked like something out of a painting—her two round, snow-white breasts trembled with her rapid breathing, the tips of which were flushed with a faint blush from years of battle, and the old scar on her right breast, torn by Liu Hongtiangang, even added a touch of wildness.
Lu Fang unconsciously glanced at her own chest. Her prized large breasts looked like an unripe peach next to a ripe melon in front of Suo Chao. After all, there was a huge difference in their body size; a 1.8-meter man's breasts were simply incomparable to a 2.4-meter man's.
Guo Sheng, who had a flat chest, swallowed hard. She could clearly see Liu Hong's fingertips, which were wrapped in starlight, moving along Suo Chao's abs. The fine sand of the Milky Way stuck to the female general's firm abdominal muscles and slowly slid into her groin with the vibration of the healing energy.
"Hmm..." Suo Chao was still unconscious, but her body had already moved subconsciously. Her heavily injured body was easily suppressed by Liu Hong. His left hand pressed down on her struggling waist, while his right hand flowed like a galaxy to the arrow wound on her back. This action forced the female general to straighten her chest, and her proud breasts brushed against Liu Hong's nose, leaving a faint fragrance.
The most critical moment came at the end of the treatment. As the power of the stars gathered in Suo Chao's dantian, her wheat-colored skin suddenly flushed, her muscles tensed uncontrollably, and beads of sweat rolled down her V-line, forming small puddles on the deck, which woke up the Vanguard.
Suo Chao blinked. The tent top looked so unfamiliar. He remembered it. He had fallen into Liu Hong's trap, been defeated on the battlefield, and been tied up by Lü Fang and Guo Sheng...
Suo Chao's eyes widened suddenly, and a blush rose to his cheeks as he realized that he had been stripped naked, but was not tied up. Liu Hong was treating his wounds.
Besides Liu Hong, Wu Song, Li Cunxiao, Pan Jinlian, Lü Fang, and Guo Sheng, the whole family, stood in a row, all staring straight at him.
"You're awake! The treatment was very successful, and you're out of danger."
Liu Hong wiped the sweat from his temples, looked at the quick-thinking man with his eyes open, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Chapter 71: The Great Victory: The Ranking of Liangshan Members
"you!"
Suo Chao was both ashamed and angry. A hint of shame appeared in his blood-red phoenix eyes, and two blushes rose on his arrogant face. He suddenly raised his right arm and held it across his chest, barely covering the red nipples, but pressing his round, snowy breasts up and down to the sides, creating alluring waves of snowy white flesh.
Seeing how shy she was, Liu Hong immediately took off his brown robe and draped it over Suo Chao's body, letting her smell the scent of his clothes. Looking at Liu Hong's bare chest, although her private parts were covered, her face turned even redder. She turned her head away, not daring to look Liu Hong in the eyes, and said fiercely.
"Since you are a prisoner, you may kill me or torture me as you please!"
“Sister Suo Chao, I heard that Liang Zhongshu is indiscriminately dismissing and punishing all the soldiers who failed to capture the thieves! Now, the five hundred soldiers you led from Daming Prefecture have all been lost. Even if you return, how can Liang Zhongshu not punish you? How can he not pin the blame for the defeat on you, sister?”
"Going back now would only result in having two lines of gold tattoos on my face and being exiled to the army. It would be better to stay here at Liangshan Marsh, eat and drink heartily, and divide the gold and silver by weight. Wouldn't that be better than going back and suffering that humiliation?"
Liu Hong tried to persuade Suo Chao.
Upon hearing this, Suo Chao merely let out a cold snort.
"Suo Chao was born a citizen of the Song Dynasty, and he will die a ghost of the Song Dynasty. The court appointed me to the rank of commander, and Liang Zhongshu has never treated me unfairly. He may just be saying this in anger. How could I be a bandit, betray the court, and dishonor my ancestors?! If you want to kill me, then kill me. Don't expect me to submit to you!"
Liu Hong pondered how to subdue her, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, and he roughly understood Song Jiang's strategy for persuading them to surrender. The reason she was able to persuade so many powerful generals of the imperial court to join Liangshan was because she made a promise to Guan Sheng, Huyan Zhuo, Qin Ming, Xu Ning, and other Song army prisoners of war.
In the future, if we accept the imperial amnesty, we can return to the normal court order and even be promoted! Joining the outlaws now is just a roundabout way to save the country.
This is also one of the important reasons why, when Liangshan accepted the imperial amnesty later, there was almost no internal strife or division.
Of the thirty-six Heavenly Spirits, twenty-three were either court officials or wealthy landowners. If we include Wu Yong, a down-on-his-luck scholar who failed the imperial examinations, they comprise two-thirds of the total. The five members of the Liangshan Five Tigers were all generals of the imperial court.
This overwhelming proportion also explains why Liangshan was eventually granted amnesty – these people were originally government officials, and their reasons for becoming outlaws were not much different from those of the peasant uprisings in the Northern Song Dynasty. They all wanted to cause trouble, flex their muscles, and gain amnesty.
Although the consequences might be a bit troublesome, I can slightly modify Song Jiang's approach and use a roundabout way to achieve my goal.
Liu Hong pondered for a moment, then changed his mind and continued.
"Does my sister think I don't want to serve the country? I have also learned both literature and martial arts to serve the Emperor! But what happened? A wealthy man wanted to rape my wife, and he conspired with a constable to break into my house, wanting to imprison me and kidnap my wife as a slave."
I killed him, but now I'm branded a traitor! Even the recent amnesty couldn't pardon me!
Liu Hong gripped Suo Chao's hands tightly and spoke earnestly.
“If my sister goes back now, the result will be the same. No matter how much Liang Zhongshu values you, do you think he will take the blame for your sister’s defeat in battle? You will be branded on the face and imprisoned. Wouldn’t that be even more disgraceful to our ancestors’ reputation?! We are the same. We have been framed by treacherous people. We have no home to return to and no country to serve.”
Suo Chao was stunned for a moment, never expecting that Liu Hong had been forced to join the Liangshan bandits in this way.
"In that case, why can't we gather at Liangshan Marsh, raise the banner of righteousness together, and then await the imperial court's offer of amnesty? At that time, we can all return to the system and serve the country once again!"
Liu Hong spouted nonsense that even he himself didn't believe, trying to persuade Suo Chao to surrender.
"This is much better than my sister going back to prison and being conscripted into the army. If my sister goes back to prison, at best she'll have to climb back up from the thief to the army, at worst she'll be executed. How will my sister use her martial arts skills and her desire for revenge then?"
Suo Chao frowned, thought carefully, and realized that he had indeed been forced into a dead end.
His superior, Li Cheng, woke him up in the middle of the night, yelling and cursing that if he couldn't take down the Liangshan bandits in five days, he would be dismissed from his post and even imprisoned. His attitude was extremely despicable.
Five days have long passed. It was only after we discovered that Liu Hong and his gang had fled to Liangshan Marsh and swore an oath to Li Cheng that they would raze the marsh and capture Liu Hong alive that Li Cheng granted them some more time. The situation had already become very awkward.
Now, I've lost the battle against Liangshan Marsh, and my entire army has been wiped out! Even if I return to Daming Prefecture, where will I find refuge, and will I even get a good outcome?
Anyway, I haven't settled down in Daming Prefecture. As long as I'm fed, my whole family is worry-free. I might as well stay in Liangshan Marsh for now, wait for the Emperor Zhao to grant me amnesty, avoid that bastard Li Cheng, and return to the court to serve my country!
After thinking it over, Suo Chao sighed, put on his clothes, and knelt down in front of Liu Hong.
"I have wandered for half my life, only regretting that I have not met a wise ruler! If you do not abandon me, brother, I am willing to serve you, even if it means going through fire and water!"
At the same time, the seventh star on Liu Hongtian Gang's sword lit up.
【So Chao - Sky Star】: When you use the Heavenly Gang Slash, Strength +8, Attack +8, Damage +8.
"Having a younger sister is like a fish in water, or a tiger with wings!"
Liu Hong happily hugged Suo Chao, helped her up to her 2.4-meter-tall body, and they became sworn siblings!
After subduing Suo Chao, the three hundred river guards from Daming Prefecture who had been captured knew that returning home in defeat would not end well for them, so they all willingly surrendered to Liangshan, greatly strengthening Liangshan's power.
As for the two hundred captured Jeju soldiers, these people were either convicts who had been exiled to the army or peasant rebels who had been granted amnesty. Liu Hong repeated the same words he had used to persuade Suo Chao to surrender: You now have two choices.
Either go back now and wait to be punished for defeat.
Either stay in Liangshan, and the brothers go through the process of rebellion—amnesty—becoming local militia again! Maybe this time, the imperial court can offer a higher price, and you can live a carefree life in Liangshan, never having to put up with the wrath of those militia commanders and generals again!
The soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment. Liu Hong was right; they had suffered a crushing defeat and would certainly not be well received upon their return.
But if we surrender, the leader this time is a ruthless man. Not only did he rob the birthday tribute, but he also defeated 1,500 government soldiers with only 200 bandits. He's truly impressive. Maybe joining us this time will be a turning point in our lives?
Moreover, the five hundred men from Daming Prefecture and Jeju were all convicts and convicts who had no families or weaknesses. With this in mind, the two hundred Jeju soldiers also surrendered.
At this point, Liangshan gained an additional 500 soldiers, enough weapons to arm 2,000 men, and countless other provisions and supplies, making them instantly wealthy!
Liu Hong's reputation soared to 20 in one fell swoop, influenced by both the birthday tribute and the great victory at Liangshan.
The brothers and sisters even built a temple in the southern village to worship Lord Guan and the Dragon King of Jidu, and gathered together to form a sworn brotherhood under the watchful eyes of the two gods.
Based on his achievements, Liu Hong rightfully took the top spot, Wu Song took the second, Suo Chao took the third, and then Li Cunxiao, Pan Jinlian, Lü Fang, Guo Sheng, Zhu Gui, Song Wan, Du Qian, Wu Dalang, and Wang Lun lined up in a row, with twelve leaders jointly managing Liangshan.
Chapter 72: The Great Sage's Defeated Defeat Shocks the Heroes (Bonus Chapter 1550!)
At the same time, Liu Hong and Liangshan Marsh's formidable reputation spread far and wide, along with the more than 2,500 Jizhou residents and militiamen who had been released by Liu Hong. For a time, the entire Jizhou was filled with terrifying legends about Liu Hong.
"Alas, do you know that a band of outlaws has taken root in that remote corner of Liangshan! Their leader is known as the Great Sage of Chaos, with a pair of golden wings the size of clouds growing from his side, and he wields a ten-foot-long scale shadow spear, flying through the sky and committing all sorts of evil deeds! The more than three thousand men led by the Hebei Vanguard were all defeated by him!"
One of the laborers released by Liu Hong fled back to his hometown with lingering fear, spreading the news throughout the village.
Soon, his fellow villagers, while going to the market to buy and sell goods, casually spread the news to the surrounding villages and caravans.
“Friend, let me tell you, one of the people in the Liangshan battle a few days ago was from my hometown. He personally witnessed that the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, the Golden Roc Demon King, with three heads and six arms, a copper head and an iron body, soaring in the sky, single-handedly killing tens of thousands of government troops who were running away in terror!”
That demon was truly terrifying. Flying through the sky, he swooped down and captured the vanguard from the midst of ten thousand troops as easily as taking candy from a bag. He single-handedly routed tens of thousands of government soldiers, causing them to flee in disarray! He was practically a god descended to earth!
"Really? I heard people from the next village saying that Liu Hong is scary."
The caravan members, unsure of the truth, stopped at a teahouse in a nearby county town to rest and chatted with people. The storytellers listened with shining eyes and exclaimed in admiration. That very day, they urgently came up with new story content and began performing it in the theater!
"Just look at Liangshan Marsh, which spans over eight hundred li in circumference. The mountains are like giant waves, the water reaches the distant sky, the reeds are like thousands of swords and spears, and the strange trees are like thousands of layers of swords and halberds!"
The deer antlers by the moat are all made of bones; the bowls and ladles within the village are all made of skulls. Human skin is peeled off to cover war drums, hair is cut off to make reins, blood is drained to brew fine wine, and human flesh is cooked for a delicious feast!
The storyteller slammed his gavel and continued praising the story.
"And the seven mountains of Liangshan that entered the marshland were even more terrible. A few days ago, the government army sent 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals to attack Liangshan, but they were all killed by the Liangshan bandits. The land of the seven mountains was turned into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. It was truly a mountain of skeletons and a forest of bones. The bandits in the east took the living people and cut their flesh, while the demons in the west poured water on people's hearts and dissected them."
And the leader was none other than the Great Roc Demon King, who had transformed from a giant Kun leaping out of the water! He struck the water for three thousand miles and soared up ninety thousand miles! When the Great Sage of Chaos spread his wings, the sky darkened, the sun and moon lost their light, and the entire firmament was covered by his wings!
He single-handedly wielded a 108,000-foot-long Scale Shadow Spear, fighting his way from the mountain peak to the marshland for a full twelve hours, wiping out all 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals of the Song Dynasty!
The storyteller's vivid narration captivated the audience, while Liu Hong, upon hearing the rumors about himself, could only laugh and cry at the same time—who the hell is making me sound so extraordinary?
In Dongxi Village, a tall and imposing woman is practicing martial arts. Her physique is so large that it seems as if Nuwa added three extra handfuls of clay when she molded the earth. Her muscles are strong, and her arms are as gnarled and twisted as ancient pine trees.
A towering, 2.5-meter-tall man, shirtless except for a chest wrap, repeatedly lifted and lowered a five-meter-tall stone tower with his muscular arms, treating this behemoth as a piece of exercise equipment.
Drops of glistening sweat either trickled down her sexy back muscles, a perfect blend of feminine elegance and muscular power, into her buttocks, or flowed down her well-defined abs and beautiful V-lines, disappearing into the darkness.
"Guarantee! Guarantee! Come quick! Something terrible has happened!"
Suddenly, a servant rushed over in a panic and came to the side of the beautiful woman, telling her all the major events that had happened in Liangshan Marsh in the past few days.
Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, frowned and put down the stone pagoda.
"Oh, so a group of heroes from Liangshan have arrived? Very well, send some people to negotiate with them. These heroes are so close at hand, it would be a pity if we couldn't have a word with them!"
In Shijie Village, three beautiful yet bizarre six-armed mermaids with human bodies and snake tails were having a great time playing in the river.
The upper bodies of the three women were extremely alluring and gorgeous, their beautiful bodies completely naked, their proud snow-capped peaks concealed only by half a seashell, revealing large expanses of milky white skin.
Their slender waists traced sensual curves in the air, connecting to their serpentine tails, which granted the three women exceptional swimming and crawling abilities. Countless tiny, bluish-gold scales, densely packed together, shimmered like beautiful gems in the sunlight. A vibrant green dorsal fin extended from the nape of their necks to their tails, resembling a long, emerald-green sail.
What is most unique are the three women's shoulders, which have a total of six arms, like blooming white lilies, stretching out from their shoulders. Each of the six hands holds a bamboo pole, a harpoon, a meat hook, a fishing net, a hammer, and a nail. They can row a boat, fish, carve boats, and kill people at the same time. They are the three Ruan brothers.
The three women merely smiled faintly upon hearing the news. Whatever, let Liangshan fight the government if they want, as long as it doesn't interfere with their fishing and leisurely activities.
In Yuncheng County, a stunningly beautiful and sexy dark-skinned girl, only one meter tall, sat in a chair, struggling to handle official business, looking at the approval documents on the table with a frustrated expression.
"What's wrong, Clerk? Who made my sister angry and lose her temper?"
Two constables entered the main hall and asked Song Jiang questions out of curiosity. The woman who spoke, like Liu Hong, had wings growing from her sides, but they were white swan wings. She was none other than Lei Heng, the Winged Tiger.