Chapter 70

Seeing the situation suddenly change, Xiao Rang and Jin Dajian, who had originally been working without putting in much effort, had no choice but to raise their weapons. Although Wu Yong was a sly person, his words to Chao Gai that night still made sense. If they were caught between the Liangshan bandits, it would be hard to say whether they could even keep their bodies intact in the chaos. The only way out was to capture the bandit leader Wang Lun, which would make the cavalry behind hesitate. If they were a bit luckier, when the Jizhou troops came to reinforce, there might still be a chance to turn the tide.

It was unknown whether Chao Gai had spent a lot of effort after the mutiny that night, or whether everyone had the same thoughts as Xiao Rang and Jin Dajian. Under Chao Gai's encouragement, the seven or eight hundred village soldiers all raised their weapons and pressed forward.

Seeing this, Mi Sheng roared and charged into the crowd with his axe. As he swung his axe, people around him fell one after another, bidding farewell to the world in fear.

The village soldiers initially thought they could win by sheer numbers, but as they saw their comrades either lose limbs or die on the roadside, and realized that Mi Sheng was wearing a very sturdy armor that was hard to damage, they all retreated and moved to the sides.

Mi Sheng, like a pillar in the middle of a river, split the surging crowd in two. However, as soon as these people bypassed Mi Sheng and were still celebrating their narrow escape, they ran into a row of spears. Thirty or so men in leather armor mechanically thrust and retracted their spears, causing the village soldiers to suffer greatly. The front row of people didn't even have time to react before they felt the hard spearheads pierce their bodies, and they fell to the ground unconscious.

The people behind, seeing the situation, tried to retreat, but how could they resist the overwhelming pressure from those behind them? Many were pushed onto the spear tips by their own comrades and died unwillingly.

Seeing the spear formation was too powerful for ordinary village soldiers to break, Chao Gai shouted, "The people in front, flank from the sides! The rest, follow me!"

The village soldiers, hearing this, ran to the sides of the spear formation as if they had been granted a pardon. Soon, Chao Gai, Wu Yong, Han Bulong, Xiao Rang, and Jin Dajian, the core figures, were exposed. Wang Lun, seeing this, shouted, "Withdraw the spears, let the guards take over, and bring Mi Sheng back!" He knew that although the Xixi Village soldiers had been through nearly ten battles, it would still be difficult for them to hold off Chao Gai. To minimize unnecessary losses, it was better to let the skilled close-combat experts around him tie up Chao Gai. Once Lin Chong's cavalry arrived, the battle would be won.

"Understood!" The guards, the best among the entire bandit camp, stepped forward with their knives, eager to show their skills in front of the leader.

Seeing the imposing presence of Wang Lun's guards, Chao Gai and his men were all taken aback. Chao Gai roared and charged forward with his mountain-splitting knife, and the others, hearing the approaching hooves of the cavalry, joined the fray without hesitation.

Although the battle in the center was intense, a strange standoff appeared on the flanks. The village soldiers who had narrowly escaped the spear formation and moved to the sides were met by the Xixi Village villagers holding hoes and rakes. Suddenly, a rain of stones fell on the village soldiers, causing them to wince in pain. Before they could react, a loud voice shouted, "Li Sanwa, you donkey! Your father calls me 'sir,' and now you dare to fight me?!"

With Old Ma's curse, the villagers woke up and joined in, shouting insults. "Chunsheng, you thief! Your mother was saved by my wife when she had a difficult labor, and now you're threatening me with a knife?" "Dawang! Who tied the knot for your wedding? You little beast, now you're even trying to kill the matchmaker!" "Goudan, you scoundrel, you used to steal from my fields..."

The village soldiers, who had been red-eyed and ready to fight to the death, were silenced by the villagers' curses. They lowered their heads like guilty children, and the new recruits, who had no ties to the villagers, also lost their fighting spirit. The Xixi Village soldiers then withdrew to the flanks and raised their spears, making the village soldiers even more hesitant to advance. They just stood there, enduring the curses of the Xixi Village elders.

As the sound of hooves approached Chao Gai's group, the outcome of the battle was already clear. Seeing their comrades trampled and killed by the cavalry, most of the village soldiers stopped fighting, dropped their weapons, and knelt by the roadside.

Wu Yong sighed, "Is this the will of heaven? Is this the will of heaven..." Xiao Rang and Jin Dajian also dropped their weapons, staring at Wu Yong with complex emotions. Han Bulong had already been knocked off his horse and lay on the ground, unconscious.

The battlefield was now left with only Chao Gai and Mi Sheng in a fierce duel. Seeing the situation, Mi Sheng mustered his strength, roared, and delivered a powerful blow, breaking Chao Gai's long knife. He then kicked Chao Gai to the ground and laughed, "Brother Strategist, I want a reward, just one coin!"

"That was your own shout, not Brother's order! Where's the money for you?" Zhang San, who had just experienced his first battle, put down his bloody long knife and replied, still out of breath.

Everyone laughed. Then, the general who had led the charge saluted Wang Lun, "Lin Chong is late, and I have caused you alarm!"

Wang Lun waved his hand, indicating it was no problem. Seeing the bloodshed, he feared for the safety of the villagers and ordered Zhang San and Li Si to count the casualties and tie up the defeated soldiers. Lin Chong dismounted, bringing the captured Zhu Tong to Wang Lun, "This man saw his entire team scattered but refused to flee. He rushed to report to Chao Gai, showing some loyalty!"

Wang Lun nodded, "Zhu Tong, the man with the fine beard, is one of the few loyal men in Yuncheng!" He then removed a clod of mud from Zhu Tong's beard, "Zhu Doutu, your report is finished, you can go!"

Zhu Tong was surprised, opening his phoenix eyes, "Let me go?!"

Wang Lun smiled, "Why, do you want to join us on the mountain? I would be delighted!"

Zhu Tong, realizing Wang Lun was not joking, bowed, "Thank you, Leader! But what about Lei Doutu and Chao Baozheng..."

"Zhu Doutu! It's a great taboo to speak deeply to someone you barely know!" Wang Lun interrupted, calmly.

Zhu Tong sighed but did not leave, continuing, "Lei Heng has an old mother who depends on him! Chao Baozheng is not a bad person, but..."

Wang Lun waved his hand, stopping him, "Since you don't want to leave, rest for a while!"

Zhu Tong, being straightforward, neither complained nor cursed, just closed his phoenix eyes, ready to be dealt with.

Seeing Zhu Tong's attitude, Wang Lun sighed. He knew that this man was a complex and contradictory person. He had high personal morals but lacked professional loyalty. In Yuncheng, he had three friends whom he had helped escape using his position. The first two times, when he helped Chao Gai and Song Jiang escape, he faced no consequences. But the last time, when he helped Lei Heng escape after killing Bai Xiuying, he had to take responsibility as the prison warden and was exiled to Cangzhou. Even when Song Jiang invited him to join the bandits, he showed a natural aversion to banditry, even though his friends Lei Heng and Song Jiang were already on the mountain. He still wanted to serve his sentence and return home to start anew.

Looking at the silent Zhu Tong, Wang Lun felt that this man was very "strange." He had the virtues of the underworld but kept his distance from it, and while he had no loyalty to the court, he was extremely enthusiastic about his career.

Wang Lun shook his head, thinking that such a person might risk his life to save you in your time of need, but when you wanted to work together on something, he would hold back or even sneak away. For a moment, he really didn't know what to do with this man who could be a friend but not a follower.