Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 173 Little Li Guang's Hidden Arrow Kills Him; Sky-Piercing Spear Pierces Him to Death

While Zhang Shuye and "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong were discussing how to directly recapture the villages and towns occupied by Liangshan Marsh, Li Hanxiao and others had already led their troops back to Liangshan Marsh.

So much had happened along the way, it was a journey fraught with hardship and danger. When Li Hanxiao and the others returned to the mountain stronghold, the leaders were filled with emotion upon hearing about what had transpired along the way.

Li Hanxiao was also pleasantly surprised to find that "Big Knife" Guan Sheng and "Well Wood Wolf" Hao Siwen had actually been brought back to Liangshan Marsh by "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu and officially joined the gang.

This was an unexpected bonus, as it added another great general, "Big Knife" Guan Sheng. As for "Well Wood Han" Hao Siwen, he was still recuperating at "Divine Doctor" An Daoquan's place, having been tortured too badly before.

"Chief, your return this time, along with the addition of so many new heroes, is truly a joyous occasion. As for Brother Wu Song, he and Jin'er are getting married, and they have already chosen an auspicious day. Today is the perfect day for double happiness!"

Lin Chong had just happily told Li Hanxiao about this, and Li Hanxiao was overjoyed. He immediately decided to be the officiant at Wu Song and Jin'er's wedding.

"Brother Wu Song, you have finally achieved enlightenment! Amitabha!"

Lu Zhishen patted Wu Song on the shoulder and joked, while Wu Dalang next to him kept wiping away tears.

When Lu Zhishen saw this, he asked in bewilderment, "Brother, why are you crying on such a joyous occasion?"

As Wu Dalang wiped away his tears, he said, "I'm happy! I raised my brother with great difficulty, and now seeing him settle down and start a family fills me with mixed emotions..."

"Brother Wu, we'll have someone find you a wife another day!"

Lin Chong joked from the side.

"No rush, no rush. My Erlang should hurry up. I'm still waiting to hold my nephew!"

Just as everyone on Liangshan Marsh was celebrating, Zhang Shuye had already made a decision: "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong would lead "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun and "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying with two thousand men to attack Dongxi Village, while Zhang Bao would lead Jin Ding and Huang Yue with two thousand men to attack Xixi Village. Both were to launch a frontal attack on the villages.

This time, Zhang Shuye was ruthless towards the villagers. Before that, Wu Yong, the "wise strategist," had told him that the local people were colluding with the Liangshan bandits and could not be allowed to live. If they could not "replace the people," then all the residents would have to be forcibly relocated to create a no-man's land around Liangshan.

Zhang Shuye's advance was determined to succeed.

Outside Dongxi Village, the village is now completely under the control of Liangshan Marsh. "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai has built a defensive perimeter around the village, with simple chevaux-de-frise and wooden fences, aiming to turn Dongxi Village into a manor fortress like the Zhu Family Manor.

Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," led two thousand soldiers to Dongxi Village. The villagers had already discovered them. When Chao Gai learned that the government troops were coming to attack, he sent people back to the mountain stronghold to report the news and ordered his men to set up defenses immediately. At the same time, he sent someone to Xixi Village to seek help from Ou Peng, nicknamed "Golden-Winged Cloud-Piercing Cloud."

But in reality, "Golden Wings of the Clouds" Ou Peng can't come over now, because Zhang Bao has already arrived at Xixi Village with his troops, and he has to fight them.

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," did not launch an attack but instead guarded the village. Hua Rong, the "Little Li Guang," received instructions from Zhang Shuye to lure the enemy out of battle, so he sent Wang Ying, the "Dwarf Tiger," to shout loudly, "If the bandits don't come out soon, we'll set fire to the village and the fields!"

After saying that, he brought out the kerosene and firewood that had been prepared in advance.

"King Chao, we can't let them burn down the village! The villagers have only just planted their seedlings, otherwise the whole year's harvest will be gone!"

Zhu Jingxin, nicknamed "Sky-Piercing Spear," said that the village was surrounded by simple fortifications, but the fields were not. If they set fire to the fields, Dongxi Village would suffer from famine for the whole year!

"Then do you dare to go out and fight? If you stall for time, I think the chieftain should send reinforcements in half an hour!"

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," estimated.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jing, nicknamed "Sky-Piercing Spear," grabbed his spear and mounted his horse. Chao Gai reminded him, "Wait a minute. I've never met any of the government troops leading this army before, so I don't know their backgrounds. Be careful, brother!"

"Don't worry, King Chao!"

Zhu Jing, nicknamed "Drilling Spear," was quite confident in his abilities. He had previously heard Chao Gai, nicknamed "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," talk about the martial arts skills of Zhang Shuye's two sons and Zhang Bao. He was confident that he could handle them all and had no worries.

As for "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong and others, he had no idea of ​​their existence and wouldn't care about them at all.

Regardless, his strength was enough to make Zhang Qing, the "Featherless Arrow," flee in twenty rounds in the original work, which is the standard strength of one of the Eight Tiger Generals.

"Hey! You government troops, how dare you come begging for wildfire! Who among you dares to fight us!"

"I'll meet you!"

"Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying, wielding a flowery spear, charged out directly. The two spears immediately clashed. But how skilled was "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying? He was no match for Zhu Jing. In just one exchange, Wang Ying's arms went numb from the shock of Zhu Jing's spear.

"Ouch!"

"Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying cried out in alarm and used all his strength to defend against the attack, but "Sky-Piercing Spear" Zhu Jing saw that he was weak and easy to bully, and with a few "swish swish swish" of his spear, he launched a fierce attack, directly forcing Wang Ying to retreat step by step. Before even ten rounds had passed, he had already defeated him.

"brother!"

Seeing this, "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun spurred his horse and brandished his sword to meet him. However, this guy's martial arts skills were not high. In the original work, he was able to be driven away by "Meiyujian" Zhang Qing in a few rounds, and that was without even using flying stones. Coming here now would just be a free kill!

However, Yan Shun, nicknamed "Jinmaohu," recognized the man before him from Huangnigang. Startled, he loosened his grip on his knife and was struck in the back by Zhu Jing, nicknamed "Zuantianqiang." In an instant, the two-on-one situation was reversed by Zhu Jing, who found himself unable to defeat the man.

"Help!"

The two men were chased by "Sky-Piercing Spear" Zhu Jing and ran for their lives, shouting for help. "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong was watching from the sidelines, feeling utterly humiliated, but he had to save them. So he picked up his bow and arrow, aimed at "Sky-Piercing Spear" Zhu Jing, and shot him right in the throat!

"To attack someone from the shadows is despicable!"

Seeing Zhu Jing, nicknamed "Drilling Spear," fall from his horse, Chao Gai, nicknamed "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," grabbed his broadsword and, along with Shi Yong, nicknamed "Stone General," and a group of men, rushed out and snatched Zhu Jing back.

At this very moment, Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," immediately led his troops forward in a charge, entangled the retreating Liangshan forces.

"Shi Yong, quickly take the protagonist away, I'll hold them off!"

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," wielded his broadsword to block the enemy. No matter the time, this "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" remained the most loyal and righteous person.

"Heavenly King, he's already dead!"

General Shi Yong picked up the body of Zhu Jing, the "Sky-Piercing Spear," since Zhu Jing was already dead after the arrow pierced his throat!

"what!"

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," cried out in grief and indignation, then roared and retreated. But at that moment, Hua Rong, the "Little Li Guang," wielding a silver spear, charged forward. With the force of his warhorse, Hua Rong was immediately struck by the spear, knocking Chao Gai to the ground.

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," clutched his wound and got up. Looking at the white-faced general with the silver spear before him, he couldn't help but exclaim, "What superb spear skills!"

"Humph!"

Ignoring the attack, Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," used his spear to deflect the knife from the hand of Han Bolong, nicknamed "Mountain Demon," who had come to provide support. He then thrust his spear forward, aiming straight for Han Bolong's chest.

"puff!"

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," barely managed to shift his body three feet to the side, blocking the spear, but was pierced through the shoulder.

"King Chao!"

Han Bolong couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Upon hearing this, Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," nodded and said, "So you are Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King!"

"It's me!"

Chao Gai suddenly opened his eyes wide with anger, grabbed "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong's spear shaft with his left hand, and slashed up the shaft with his broadsword with his right hand.

Hua Rong hurriedly tried to pull back his spear, but Chao Gai's strength was no joke, and he couldn't pull the spear out for a moment!

The blade should have struck Hua Rong, but two henchmen, "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun and "Aijiaohu" Wang Ying, intervened and blocked Chao Gai's broadsword.

"Chief Hua, capture this man alive and claim the reward!"

Wang Ying's spear struck Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," in the thigh, rendering Chao Gai unable to escape.

Han Bolong was shoved aside by Chao Gai, who gestured for him to run, as he himself couldn't escape...

Meanwhile, the situation in Xixi Village was also not optimistic. "Golden Wings of the Clouds" Ou Peng was already struggling to deal with Zhang Bao, while "Iron Flute Immortal" Ma Lin had to fight against Jin Ding and Huang Yue alone. With his twin swords flying, he was already no match for them.

However, the reinforcements from Liangshan Marsh arrived the fastest. It was led by "Leopard Head" Lin Chong, who personally led "Beautiful Beard" Zhu Tong and "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng to be the first to charge over.

However, only the three of them arrived ahead of time; the main force was still following behind and couldn't catch up.

"Only three people came to provide support?"

Jin Ding and Huang Yue, who were besieging "Iron Flute Immortal" Ma Lin, burst into laughter when they saw the three who had come to their aid.

When "Iron Flute Immortal" Ma Lin saw the newcomer, he laughed loudly, "Hahaha, Instructor Lin, Instructor Lin!"

"Leopard Head" Lin Chong, wielding his eighteen-foot spear, rode his warhorse directly past the three combatants and headed straight for Zhang Bao, who was suppressing "Golden Wings of the Clouds" Ou Peng.

"Everything changes!"

Zhang Bao's iron rod pressed down firmly on Ou Peng. He still remembered how Ou Peng had beaten him so badly that day that he was running for his life.

"Don't be too happy yet!"

Ou Peng had already heard Ma Lin shout "Instructor Lin" long ago.

"Bah!"

Lin Chong rode up on his horse, his eighteen-foot spear pointing forward. With a move called "Iron Ox Plowing the Field," he thrust upwards towards Zhang Bao!

Zhang Bao was taken aback. This guy's marksmanship posed a great threat to him, so Zhang Bao immediately raised his iron rod to block.

Unexpectedly, he was sent flying backwards by the sudden attack!

The burly man before him was far stronger than him.

"Brother Ma Lin, we've arrived!"

Zhu Tong and Lei Heng arrived on horseback, each wielding a broadsword, and separated Jin Ding and Huang Yue from their fight. Only then did "Iron Flute Immortal" Ma Lin finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhu Tong, mounted on horseback, wielded a broadsword and forced Jin Ding to retreat quickly with just a few strikes. Although Lei Heng, nicknamed "Winged Tiger," was far inferior to Zhu Tong in mounted combat compared to Zhu Tong in foot combat, he was still more than capable of beating up Huang Yue.

"Go!"

With a flick of his spear, Lin Chong conjured a cluster of spearheads in front of Zhang Bao, making it impossible for Zhang Bao to pinpoint where Lin Chong was attacking.

By the time he realized what was happening, Lin Chong's spearhead was already embedded in his chest. Luckily, he took a step back, which mitigated the damage, and the spearhead didn't penetrate too deeply, otherwise he would have been crippled.

"withdraw!"

Zhang Bao finally understood why these three dared to come to the rescue. They were experts, truly experts!

If the fighting continues, those few will be the first to give way!

"Run! It's not that easy!"

Zhu Tong, nicknamed "The Bearded Gentleman," entangled Jin Ding. Jin Ding's broadsword clashed with Zhu Tong's scimitar. Jin Ding's strength was clearly inferior to Zhu Tong's. Zhu Tong somersaulted off his horse and, using the force of his fall, knocked Jin Ding's broadsword out of his hand, pinning him to the ground.

When Huang Yue saw that Jin Ding had been easily captured by Zhu Tong, he panicked and turned to run away.

"Where to go!"

When Lei Heng, nicknamed "Winged Tiger," saw that this kid dared to expose his back directly to his attack range, he didn't hold back. He used his broadsword to cut a wound on Huang Yue's back from top to bottom.

"what!"

Huang Yue let out a pig-like scream, but he didn't stop running. Instead, he ran even faster, so he wasn't caught.

The situation in Xixi Village has basically improved, but in Dongxi Village, "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai was wounded and captured alive, and "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong led his army directly into Dongxi Village, making the situation critical.

Meanwhile, reinforcements from Liangshan were about to arrive, led by Guan Sheng, the "Big Knife" who had just joined Liangshan, along with Li Zhong, the "Tiger Slayer," and Zhou Tong, the "Little Overlord," to come to the rescue.

When they arrived at Dongxi Village, Guan Sheng, nicknamed "Big Knife," saw that the villagers had been forced out of the village by government troops.

Wang Yingzheng, nicknamed "Short-legged Tiger," had captured a group of female villagers. He was a lecherous man, and his intentions were self-evident.

"drive!"

"Big Knife" Guan Sheng spurred his Red Hare and charged directly at "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying.

"Ok?"

Wang Ying, nicknamed "Short-legged Tiger," rubbed his eyes and looked at Guan Sheng carefully.

Could this be the Martial Saint Guan Yu descended to earth? It looks so much like him!

While Wang Ying was still in a daze, Guan Sheng's Red Hare had already arrived. Guan Sheng's Green Dragon Crescent Blade swept down towards Wang Ying.

"Crack!"

When Wang Ying hurriedly raised his spear to block, the eighty-one-pound Green Dragon Crescent Blade cleaved the spear in two with a single blow. The blade's power remained undiminished, and it then struck Wang Ying's shoulder, knocking him off his horse!

"Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying's entire arm was nearly chopped off by "Big Knife" Guan Sheng's blade, and he fell to the ground, seriously injured.