Ciwen seized the opportunity to press forward, sweeping his iron rod towards the outside of Wu Shuangren's left leg. Wu Shuangren stepped aside, but was still a beat too slow due to the influence of Lin Qian's spear.
Bang!
The foot soldier's body dented, and Wu Shuangren staggered.
Before he could even regain his footing, Lin Qian's gun arrived again, its tip emerging from the billowing dust like a dragon rising from the water!
Wu Shuangren only felt a flash of white light in front of him before the spear tip struck his neck guard!
He leaned back, swung his knife and struck the middle of the spear shaft. His body moved like a wave, using the momentum to dodge to the right, and then clashed head-on with the iron bar that Ciwen was throwing.
Using the Wu Shuangren dodged again, rushing towards Lin Qian at an even faster speed.
Lin Qian thrust his spear forward, and as the spear and sword clashed, Lin Qian's wrist went slightly numb.
Wu Shuangren once again used the momentum to charge towards Ciwen, the Traits switching to Ciwen...
He moved back and forth between the two of them, and even when they attacked at the same time, he could always find a 'gap' in their coordination.
Cloud Tiger Seven Kills, Yin and Yang in one, using the opponent's strength against them!
Wu Shuangren had previously used Zhigang's power to continuously ' Stacking Waves ', eventually allowing his power to crush Zhigang.
At this moment, he was fighting two First Rank experts simultaneously, making it difficult to continuously ' Stacking Waves '. However, he gradually found a suitable rhythm to switch between them, using the enhanced new "Cloud Tiger Seven Kills" to borrow strength from both of them!
[Match for One Person] allows him to handle situations almost perfectly whenever he faces a single opponent.
With the added benefit of heavy armor, which increased their margin for error, they barely managed to hold on!
Wu Shuangren's figure darted and weaved amidst the flashes of spears and staffs, and the raging waves and collapsing mountains engulfed him time and again, yet they could never crush him.
Even with two First Rank experts joining forces, they were unable to subdue him for a time!
The three exchanged more than twenty blows in the blink of an eye. Wu Shuangren suffered five more tears, but he was ultimately not seriously injured.
The hundred or so riders galloping towards them were only a hundred paces away from the three of them, and the yellow dust kicked up by their hooves was already clearly visible.
Ciwen suddenly knocked Wu Shuangren away with his staff, retreated rapidly, and turned to rush towards the city gate without hesitation.
Lin Qian also wanted to leave, but Wu Shuangren had already pounced on him, attacking relentlessly with every strike, all with a suicidal fighting style!
In a one-on-one situation, Wu Shuangren had no more scruples and went all out!
Lin Qian thrust his silver spear repeatedly, but he could never shake off Wu Shuangren. He was clearly faster than Wu Shuangren, but every time he tried to break free, Wu Shuangren's blade would block his escape route first.
Zhigang had already returned to the city wall. He peered out from the crenellations and saw Lin Qian being entangled by Wu Shuangren, while cavalry were about to arrive in the distance.
He suddenly turned and rushed down from the city wall, shouting, "Open the gate! Come with me out of the city to rescue Instructor Lin!"
Liang An grabbed him. "We can't open the city gate!"
Zhigang shoved Liang An aside, his eyes wide with anger. "Are you going to just stand by and watch me die?!"
Liang An paused, glancing at the group of Mount Liang elites on the city wall, and noticed that many of them were looking at him coldly.
This "Twin-Saber Mad Eagle," renowned for his quick wit among the First Rate masters of Mount Liang, suddenly realized a problem—
Even if he had a thousand reasons not to open the city gates to rescue people, no matter how he explained it afterward, he could not get rid of the reputation of "not saving his brothers and not being loyal"!
And 'loyalty' is precisely the foundation of Mount Liang!
Whether one believes in this doctrine or not, this was the guiding principle for the Mount Liang uprising.
Anyone who goes against it, even the current Grand Commander Song Hai, will lose much of his prestige!
By not opening the city gates and guarding the city for his brother, he would naturally be rewarded later.
However, once burdened with the accusation of "not saving brothers and being disloyal," even if one makes great contributions, it will be difficult to gain a foothold in Mount Liang and to win the respect of the people!
In just a moment, Liang An raced, and he understood the pros and cons of the situation.
"Alright, open the city gates, I'll go with you out of the city to rescue Instructor Lin!"
Liang An shouted loudly.
From an official standpoint, he should have stopped Zhigang.
Personally, though a city can be retaken, a ruined reputation means no future for oneself in Mount Liang!
"Walk!"
Upon hearing this, Zhigang's expression softened, and he turned and descended the city wall.
Liang An followed closely behind, leading a group of Mount Liang elites down from the city wall.
When Ciwen grabbed the rope and returned to the city wall, the drawbridge outside was being lowered.
Who lowered the drawbridge?!
Ciwen questioned him sternly.
"Abbot, they are from Mount Liang. They are going out of the city to rescue people."
A martial monk stepped forward and said.
"Foolish! We can't open the city gates!"
Ciwen was furious and was about to chase after him to stop him.
But he stopped after taking just one step, because he also realized an awkward problem—
If I were to stop the Mount Liang heroes from going out to rescue their brothers, what kind of person would I be?
Should I still join Mount Liang?
Bang!
Ciwen slammed his palm heavily on the battlement, cracking a brick!
PS: I can only update once today. I owe two updates so far. I'll try to update more tomorrow and finish writing this part of the story in one go.
141. Capture the city!
"The Mount Liang bandits are united by the spirit of 'righteousness.' If you can lure out one of Mount Liang's top leaders, we might have a chance to retake Yi Prefecture City!"
These are the words Guo Jiwang said to Wu Shuangren last night.
In his plan, if Ciwen was the one who went out of the city to fight Wu Shuangren, he would find a way to use Ciwen to lure the martial monks of Mist Hidden Temple out of the city to rescue him. If the Mount Liang people tried to stop him, it would also cause infighting between the two sides.
As it turned out, the person who came out of the city to fight was Zhigang, and what happened afterward went even more smoothly than Guo Jiwang had expected!
Outside the Yi Prefecture City, more than 110 riders galloped in from the north, their hooves beating so fast they sounded like drums.
Most of these riders were Wu Shuangren's personal guards and militiamen, while others were newly recruited Rong Province Militia.
In yesterday's ambush, Wu Shuangren's personal guards suffered more than 30 casualties, and there are now less than 100 people in the militia who can ride horses. Today, a group of people who can ride horses were temporarily gathered from several militias in Rong Province to join the team.
Thirty-odd riders were clad in infantry armor, the plates of which appeared dark and indistinct in the morning light; twenty-odd riders wore iron armor stripped from the Great Saber Guards, still bearing the marks of the blades; the rest wore lamellar armor.
Everyone carried a spear and had a sword at their waist.
Dust churned at the point of battle between Wu Shuangren and Lin Qian, as swords and spears clashed fiercely. Xu Yu, leading the charge, was about to spur his horse to assist when Wu Shuangren's shout echoed from within the dust:
"Never mind me! Go and seize the city gate!"
Upon hearing Xu Yu, Xu Yu turned his horse around without hesitation and charged toward the city gate.
More than a hundred riders bypassed the battle between Wu Shuangren and Lin Qian, rushing towards the north gate like a gust of wind!
The drawbridge had now been fully lowered, and the city gate slowly opened.
Before Wu Shuangren's hundred or so cavalrymen could get close, Zhigang and Liang An led over a hundred Mount Liang cavalrymen out of the gate!
Despite losing his right arm and suffering internal injuries, Zhigang still charged ahead, carrying his staff with only his left hand to meet the oncoming enemies.
The two cavalry units collided with a thunderous crash about ten feet in front of the drawbridge!
Warhorses neighed, and swords and spears clashed.
Apart from the eleven archers brought by Xu Jing, the rest of Wu Shuangren's men were not skilled in mounted combat.
The cavalry of Mount Liang were even more diverse. Some of these riders were former bandits, skilled in mounted combat, while the rest were more adept at foot fighting.
Two groups passed each other, swords and spears clashing on horseback, horses neighing in terror, dust billowing everywhere. Some were thrown from their horses in a single exchange, others lost their footing and tumbled to the ground, only to be trampled by the hooves of the horses behind them in the blink of an eye...
The cavalry charge threw both sides, numbering over two hundred men, into complete chaos and a melee ensued!
Soon, most people chose to dismount and fight on foot.
Many of the elite soldiers from Mount Liang wore heavy armor, while the rest wore light armor similar to lamellar armor; their equipment was not bad.
The Mount Liang heroes were stronger individually, while the militia were better at teamwork, and the two sides fought fiercely for a time.
Xu Yu was one of the first to dismount, as he could only unleash his full strength on horseback. After landing, he cleaved down a Mount Liang elite soldier who charged at him with a single blow, and then scanned the chaotic army with his eyes.
Wu Shuangren had instructed him that in the chaos of battle, he must first find the enemy's experts.
Xu Yu quickly identified Zhigang.
Zhigang, using only his left arm, still wielded his staff with great force, smashing down several armored guards in succession!
Xu Yu charged forward with his knife. Zhigang turned around and noticed Xu Yu. Not to be outdone, he swung his left arm, holding his staff in one hand, and swept it horizontally towards Xu Yu.
Xu Yu gripped the hilt of the knife with both hands and swung it to meet the attack head-on.
With a clang, both of them jolted, and Zhigang took a step back.
He used only his left arm and suffered internal injuries, so his strength was greatly reduced. Against Xu Yu, who was also born with superhuman strength, he was suppressed in terms of power!
Xu Yu's sword strikes continued unabated as he unleashed the "Cloud Tiger Seven Kills" technique taught to him by Wu Shuangren, stepping forward to strike again.
Upon seeing the swordsmanship that had recently defeated him, Zhigang was startled and instinctively chose to defend.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Xu Yu unleashed his full power, the [Lean Tiger] Traits above his head blazing like flames. He unleashed seven consecutive strikes, forcing Zhigang to retreat steadily, and with the final strike, he knocked the monk's staff from Zhi Gang's hand!
Just as Xu Yu was about to step forward and slash at Zhigang's neck, a cold light flew in from the side.
With two swords in hand, Liang An used his Xu Yu sword to block Xu Yu's fingers that were holding the sword.
Xu Yu had no choice but to sheathe his sword and return to defense.
"I'll deal with him!"
Liang An spoke to Zhi Gang, then brandished his twin swords, the dazzling flashes of light instantly enveloping Xu Yu.
Xu Yu. Startled, he instinctively retreated to dodge.
Liang An flashed and suddenly appeared to Xu Yu's left, slashing his blade at the gap in the armored infantryman's armor!
Xu Yu quickly turned to the side, the blade slicing past his ribs and knocking away several armor plates.
Liang An kept moving, his twin swords flashing silver light as he continuously swung them around Xu Yu.
His nickname is "Twin-Saber Mad Eagle," and his speed isn't just limited to his blades, but also his agility!
His movements were unpredictable, shifting left and right, and every time Xu Yu swung his sword to chase him, he was always half a beat too slow.
Wu Shuangren's Cloud Tide Returning Wave Steps utilize the momentum of the waves, with swift and direct turns that can increase in speed over time; while Liang An's movements are like feathers breaking in the wind, with more varied turns and changes of direction, making him superior in terms of sheer number of variations.
Despite being First Rate martial artist, Liang An was naturally small in stature, and even with the same five times his body weight exerting force, his strength was weaker than that of many other First Rate masters.
Even if he intentionally eats more and gains weight, exceeding a certain weight will actually hinder his ability to generate power. Due to innate physical limitations, there is an upper limit to the optimal weight for martial artists.
However, First Rate fighter who is lighter in weight is not necessarily weaker than First Rate fighter who is heavier.
Below the top First Rate, the advantage of weight becomes more pronounced. However, above the First Rate, the advantage of strength no longer plays a decisive role.
Martial arts competitions are not arm wrestling matches.
At this moment, Liang An exerted all his strength, his blade enveloping Xu Yu and constantly tearing off the armor plates on his body. It seemed that he was going to use his swordsmanship to forcibly 'strip' Xu Yu of his infantry armor!
This was the first time in Xu Yu Yu's life that he had encountered such an opponent. He had previously been accustomed to the open and aggressive style of the battlefield, relying on brute force to charge forward.
At this moment, he encountered a powerful opponent he couldn't use his strength against, and he was having a very difficult time fighting. He was completely suppressed by Liang An, and for a time, he was in grave danger!
On the other side, Wu Shuangren's thirty-odd guards in armor had already formed a battle formation. They fought their way out of the melee, like a sharp dagger, cutting through the crowd and heading towards the city gate!
Just as they were about to rush onto the suspension bridge, a row of figures suddenly emerged from the doorway.
The one leading the way was Ciwen, followed by fifty-nine warrior monks clad in armor!
Ciwen understood that since he couldn't stop the Mount Liang people from opening the city gates to rescue people, he could only lead his men to help and try his best to salvage the situation.