These militiamen were different from the fifty men Wu Shuangren had taken away; they didn't wear leather armor, hadn't been trained for as long, and had no combat experience.
Bai Jinhuan used to dream that one day he could lead troops into battle and make a name for himself!
He could recite from memory all the military books, battle examples, and strategies he had memorized.
But at this moment, when he really needed to lead troops into battle and fight against overwhelming odds, he couldn't recall any of the tactics and strategies he had memorized.
The only thing I can recall is a line from a military treatise—
'Fight bravely and you will live; be cowardly and you will die!'
Bai Jinhuan took a deep breath, turned to the militiamen behind him, and said, "If we win this battle today, Militia Commander Wu will give each of you a paycheck! If we lose, all our good days are over, and everyone might die here!"
He knew that at this moment, nothing could boost morale as much as money or life and death.
After the ambush outside Bo County, Wu Shuangren gave each of the participants one hundred coins in front of all the militiamen upon returning to the city.
Many of the militia members present at the scene witnessed this event.
Therefore, Bai Jinhuan openly promised that if they won the battle, Wu Shuangren would give everyone money, and all the militiamen believed him.
If we lose, the good life of eating meat every three days and having three meals a day will be over, and we might even die!
This is also a very real consequence.
"Everyone, line up! Follow me and we'll kill!"
Bai Jinhuan finished speaking, then raised his Guan Dao high and was the first to charge out!
Chapter 80: Bloodbath on the Long Street (5000+ words, please continue reading)
Changsheng Street.
A battle is about to break out.
As local bullies who have monopolized the gambling dens in West River Market for many years, the West River Gang is naturally a formidable force.
The five hundred gang members, like the militia of the local militia and Xie Clan's household servants, were all 'private soldiers' that Li Ming and others paid to support.
However, Li Ming and his men didn't know how to train soldiers, and these gang members hadn't received any proper training on a regular basis.
Li Ming and his group simply taught these gang members martial arts. Even if they couldn't develop Internal Skill, they would at least know a few moves, enough to bully ordinary people.
They also encouraged their members to fight fiercely, with frequent internal martial arts competitions used to determine seniority.
Li Ming and others believed that this would enable them to train strong soldiers.
The two hundred people selected today to participate in the ambush are almost all bloodthirsty, and they are the most skilled fighters in internal gang battles and duels!
Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu were at the very front.
"Release the arrows!"
Chen Xiao shouted loudly in the crowd.
Inside the houses on both sides of the street, forty crossbowmen who had been lying in ambush aimed their repeating crossbows at Wu Shuangren and Xu Yu, who were charging forward!
With his animalistic instincts, Xu Yu abruptly changed direction before the arrows even left the bowstring. His slender body burst forth with incredible speed, causing almost all the arrows aimed at him to miss their mark.
As Wu Shuangren ran quickly, he parried with his sword. His Fish-Dragon Saber danced like a curtain of light, knocking down more than a dozen arrows. However, a few arrows also struck his leather armor!
Fortunately, the crossbow wasn't powerful enough; after penetrating the leather armor, it didn't have much force left, and Wu Shuangren only suffered some superficial wounds.
After surviving the volley of arrows, the two had already charged into the ranks of the West River Gang!
Three skilled fighters from the West River Gang approached Wu Shuangren.
On the left, a burly man wielding a flail swings it with a whooshing sound, specializing in attacks on the lower body; in the middle, a short man wielding a spear has a cunning and ruthless spear technique, targeting vital points; on the right, a bald, strong man wielding a horse-slaying saber strikes with tremendous force, blocking all avenues of advance.
Wu Shuangren took a step forward, his body suddenly lowered, and the Fish-Dragon Saber swept out almost touching the ground. This move was originally a low crouching stance before a tiger pounces, but when combined with the Cloud Tide Returning Wave Steps, it became a dangerous move of rushing close to the ground.
The flail swept overhead, the spear missed its mark, and the saber lost its target because the opponent suddenly ducked.
A flash of light, and the man in the flail had his leg severed at the knee, collapsing to the ground with a scream!
Wu Shuangren rolled to his feet and immediately changed targets with [Match for One Person]. He raised his Fish-Dragon Saber from bottom to top and slashed at the short man with the gun with a move called ' Whirling Gale Shocks the Mountain '. The man hurriedly returned to defend.
Clang!
As the blade and spear clashed, the spinning force erupted from the blade, deflecting the spear shaft. Wu Shuangren seized the opportunity to step closer to his opponent, thrusting his blade toward his abdomen.
The short man quickly retreated, and the bald man wielding a horse-slaying saber attacked from behind Wu Shuangren.
Wu Shuangren ignored what was behind him. He took several steps and chased after the retreating short man, slashing three times in succession, breaking through the man's spear, and then stabbing the man in the chest with his own blade!
Behind him, the bald man missed Wu Shuangren and was instead punched in the back by Xu Yu, sending him flying!
After today's bloody battle, Wu Shuangren has gradually become accustomed to using Traits in one-on-many combat.
Although he had practiced before, daily training and life-or-death combat are ultimately different. Now, Wu Shuangren has truly found his 'rhythm'.
Identify a target, equip the Traits to lock onto the enemy, engage in one or two moves, then immediately switch to the next target, repeat one or two moves, and so on.
This allows you to focus on the enemy while also making you less vulnerable to surprise attacks.
The principle seems simple, but if you just blindly or mechanically keep switching targets, you're just wasting your energy. You'll be exhausted, but you won't kill a single enemy.
Timing, judgment, when to attack, when to switch, and which moves to use for the most reasonable and efficient combo... all of these require Wu Shuangren to grasp on his own.
This is the rhythm of one to many.
Wu Shuangren is getting into his stride!
More importantly, his cooperation with Xu Yu is becoming increasingly seamless.
Xu Yu always managed to shield him from some difficult attacks at crucial moments, and he never attacked the same target with him, thus pulling him out of the "Match for One Person" state.
Not long after the two charged into the enemy lines, the militia's shield formation clashed with the West River Gang.
"Forward!"
Mo Zhengxing within the formation, his voice becoming hoarse.
This Third Master Mo was now in a bloodthirsty frenzy, wielding a long spear and striking repeatedly, piercing the throats of two enemies in the blink of an eye!
The militiamen were also pushing forward desperately, thrusting their spears out with all their might!
The dull thud of shields clashing against blades, the splatter of spears piercing flesh, the screams of the dying, the roars of rage... all these sounds blended into a deathly symphony in the narrow street.
The West River Gang had more members and higher individual combat strength, and they were the ones who kept retreating!
These people can't use the martial arts they practice normally. Except for martial artists who have truly mastered Internal Skill, most people have no chance to use any moves in this environment.
On the contrary, the militiamen's simple thrusting of their spears proved to be more efficient and lethal in the chaotic battle!
The methods used in street brawls immediately show their weakness when compared to a real military formation!
Seeing this, Li Ming immediately ordered more skilled fighters to surround and kill Wu Shuangren.
If this person is killed, the Fist Academy will definitely collapse!
The order was given, and five more elite West River Gang surrounded them.
These five men clearly worked together frequently; two held shields in front to defend, two wielded long weapons to provide support from both sides, and one carried a powerful crossbow in the middle, looking for an opportunity.
Just as Wu Shuangren was about to engage in battle, Xu Yu suddenly attacked from the flank.
The boy picked up an axe from somewhere and chopped it down on the shield, sending the man holding the shield staggering back three steps! Another shield came crashing down, but Xu Yu didn't dodge at all; he simply sidestepped and rammed it with his shoulder.
Bang!
Xu Yu smashed open both shields with brute force.
The crossbowman in the middle seized the opportunity and decisively pulled the trigger. The crossbow he was using was a single-shot type, far more powerful than a repeating crossbow, and capable of piercing armor within thirty paces!
Xu Yu dodged the arrow in advance and threw his axe at the crossbowman.
"Ah--"
With a scream, the crossbowman was struck in the right shoulder by an axe, and the powerful crossbow fell to the ground.
While Xu Yu was drawing fire, Wu Shuangren attacked the man wielding an iron rod on the Xu Yu left and killed him in just five moves!
The crossbowmen in the houses on both sides were no longer able to fire arrows. The two sides were engaged in a melee, and if they fired their repeating crossbows, they would accidentally injure friendly forces.
However, three of them switched their crossbows for bows and arrows, aiming at Wu Shuangren in the midst of the melee!
These three archers were from the Xie Clan Chamber of Commerce; they were highly skilled and confident that they could hit their targets even in the midst of the melee.
Once they had the chance, the three archers fired their arrows almost simultaneously!
Xu Yu reacted first.
Without even looking, he grabbed a round shield from the ground with his left hand and hurled it with all his might toward Wu Shuangren's side.
Bang! Bang!
The two arrows were precisely intercepted by the spinning round shield.
But in the end, they couldn't stop the third arrow, which was aimed straight at Wu Shuangren's face!
Wu Shuangren was sparring with a knife-wielding member of the West River Gang at the moment, and quickly turned his head away.
"Laugh--"
An arrow grazed his cheek, leaving a trail of blood.
A searing pain shot through him, and warm blood trickled down his neck. Wu Shuangren it no heed and continued his charge towards Li Ming's location.
After killing four people, the three archers seized the opportunity to fire arrows again, and Wu Shuangren in the thigh by an arrow!
It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark!
He drew his arrow and, without warning, threw it at an archer by the second-floor window on the left.
If an ordinary martial artist has not specifically practiced the technique of throwing hidden weapons, relying solely on brute force, the arrows they throw are far less effective than those thrown with a bow and arrow.
But the moment Wu Shuangren threw the arrow, he displayed extremely mature power generation skills. The arrow whistled through the air and accurately pierced the archer's forehead, killing him on the spot!
Xu Yu followed suit and threw a knife, but he only had brute force and lacked speed and accuracy, so he failed to kill his target.
Even so, the remaining two archers were frightened and dared not shoot arrows recklessly anymore.
At this moment, the front ranks of the West River Gang have been forced to retreat steadily!
If it weren't for Li Ming and his fellow leaders watching from behind, constantly boosting morale and directing men to push forward, the two hundred members of the West River Gang might have been completely scattered, just like the Xie Clan family's servants.
They relied on a sense of brotherhood and fear of the leaders to keep going.
On the other hand, it relied on the psychological suggestion of aligning in formation time and time again during training, and the certainty and trust of being caught by comrades time and time again.
The difference became apparent in the actual confrontation!
The leaders all looked grim. Two hundred men against forty-odd men and they still couldn't win?
They couldn't understand why the gang members, who were usually as fierce as wolves, were so afraid that they pushed back after only a short while.
Why weren't the militiamen from the Fist Academy afraid? Why were they able to maintain their formation and keep pushing forward?
Li Ming originally wanted to continue sending people to wear down Wu Shuangren, but the current situation did not allow him to delay any longer.
He stared intently at Wu Shuangren.
From the moment Wu Shuangren charged into the formation, he clearly sensed that Wu Shuangren's strength was far inferior to that of the day of the duel.
It takes several moves to defeat some opponents of the eighth or Ninth Rank.
Given the perilous situation today, Wu Shuangren has absolutely no need to deliberately conceal his strength.
Therefore, there is only one possibility—the opponent is not a top -First Rate tier expert at all, and because of the injury, their condition has declined significantly!
He's almost gone!
Li Ming pointed at Wu Shuangren, who was covered in blood, and said, "Brothers, follow me and kill him! Victory is assured!"
After saying that, the leader of the West River Gang took the famous "Scarlet Blood Saber" from West River Market and charged towards Wu Shuangren.
Chen Xiao, Zhao Kui, and Du Jianghe followed closely behind.
The four leaders of the West River Gang made a joint attack!
Seeing this, Wu Shuangren was not surprised but delighted, and took the initiative to go to greet him.
In fact, Li Ming's judgment was correct. The depletion of physical and Mental Power, as well as the accumulated injuries, had caused Wu Shuangren's condition to decline significantly.