Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 198 Bloodbath at Wangzhuang Meets a Strange Man, Raging Waves Arouse Ambitious Hearts

The night was as dark as ink, and the murderous aura as sharp as frost.

The two vermilion gates of the Wang Family Manor, crafted from fine ironwood and edged with copper nails, let out a dull, mournful groan of unbearable strain under the combined force of the battering rams operated by Ma Bian and four strong men. These rams, hastily taken from the county yamen's armory, had three inches of thick cast iron at their tips. With a single impact, seven or eight large copper nails flew off the gates, and the hinges creaked loudly, as if the gates were about to collapse completely.

"Again!"

With a shout from Ma Bian, the four men once again raised the heavy battering ram high and slammed it down with all their might!

"boom!"

This time, the gate could no longer hold on and collapsed inward with a crash, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Evil extermination team, heed my command! Tonight, leave no one alive!"

Ma Bian's voice was like a death warrant from the deepest hell, cold and devoid of any emotion. Behind him, more than thirty elite Liangshan warriors, dressed in black and with their faces covered by black cloths, surged into the normally heavily guarded manor like tigers released from their cages in the dark night, silently yet with overwhelming force.

The head of Wangjiazhuang, Master Wang, was the last mastermind behind the conspiracy to secretly collude with local gentry to murder the "land reform political commissar." Li Hanxiao's patience finally ran out tonight. He gave Ma Bian a death order!

However, what greeted them was not the cries and pleas for mercy they had imagined, but a deathly silence.

The silence was palpable, yet it held a chilling, palpable killing intent. The air was devoid of the usual floral and cosmetic scents of a wealthy household; instead, it was filled with a faint, pungent odor, a mixture of rust and animal hides.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The moment the vanguard of the extermination team stepped into the front yard, dozens of crossbow bolts gleaming with an eerie light suddenly shot out from all the unexpected dark corners of the manor—behind the rockery, on the corridor, and even from the dense osmanthus grove—like venomous snakes spitting their tongues!

The sound of the arrow piercing the air was sharp and piercing, completely different from ordinary feathered arrows, and even carried a kind of unsettling "buzzing" vibration!

"Watch out! There's an ambush!"

Ma Bian's pupils constricted sharply. As a top assassin, his perception of danger far surpassed that of ordinary people. The instant the arrow left the bowstring, he executed a backflip, his body arching backward until he was almost parallel to the ground. The poisoned dagger in his hand drew a strange arc in the air, like a serpent's tail, and with three crisp "clangs," accurately deflected three crossbow bolts aimed at his face.

But the two Liangshan soldiers following behind him were unable to dodge the sudden attack. Although they raised their broadswords to parry, the force attached to the crossbow bolts was surprisingly heavy!

Two muffled thuds were heard as one soldier was struck in the throat, and the other in the heart, each struck by an arrow! Before they could even scream, they collapsed limply to the ground. Even more horrifying, the blood from their wounds was jet black, and their skin visibly turned a bizarre bluish-black, emitting a nauseating stench!

"The arrows are poisoned! Form ranks!"

Ma Bian shouted sharply, then sprang to his feet with a somersault. He was horrified; the poison was so potent that it would kill instantly upon contact with blood! It was something no ordinary bandit or outlaw could possess!

However, before they could form a defensive formation, more than thirty servants and guards, wielding all sorts of strange weapons, suddenly rushed out from behind the artificial hill and around the corner of the corridor deep in the courtyard!

These men were incredibly tall and imposing, like moving mountains. Each one was exceptionally robust, a truly astonishing sight; almost everyone possessed a staggering height of seven feet five or six inches. Their cheekbones were high and prominent, like towering peaks, while their eye sockets were deeply sunken, like deep caverns, giving them an air of mystery. Their thick, powerful arms were as thick as an average person's thighs, exuding strength and a commanding presence.

Their appearance was strikingly different from that of the Han Chinese of the Central Plains; in fact, it was quite unlike their features. Their faces were sharply defined, with strong lines, exuding an undisguised ferocity. Especially their eyes, sharp as a hawk's and savage as a hungry wolf's, seemed capable of piercing the soul. This innate ferocity and wildness seemed to emanate from the depths of their very bones, sending chills down one's spine.

Illuminated by the blazing torches, the group's shadows were stretched long and distorted, casting long, twisted patterns on the ground. They wielded a variety of strange and unusual weapons, many of which were unseen and unheard of before. Most striking was the enormous spiked club, as thick as a bowl, forged entirely from solid iron, covered with a dense array of menacing, terrifying fangs—a truly frightening sight. Next was a mace meticulously carved from the leg bone of some unknown behemoth, its tip inlaid with sharp iron spikes; its weight in the hand seemed to contain boundless power. Finally, there was a bizarrely shaped hand hook, resembling a scorpion's tail, curved in an arc, each barb gleaming with an eerie blue light, radiating a chilling aura—clearly a formidable weapon as well!

Although they were dressed in Han Chinese clothing, their wide robes could not conceal their muscles, which were as bulging as granite!

"kill!"

The leader, a burly man with a face full of scars and a strange "Mediterranean" hairstyle, let out a roar that was not human, but like that of a wild beast. The heavy spiked club in his hand, with a bloody wind that could split stone tablets, smashed down on Ma Bian!

Ma Bian swayed like a ghost in the night, narrowly avoiding the devastating blow. The spiked club slammed into the bluestone slab where he had just stood, creating a deafening crash that shattered the thick stone, leaving a deep crater the size of a bowl, with fragments of stone flying everywhere!

What incredible strength!

Ma Bian's heart skipped a beat, and the short sword in his hand moved like a nimble snake, silently stabbing straight at the burly man's unsuspecting throat.

The burly man reacted extremely quickly, neither dodging nor avoiding the short sword thrusting at him. At the same time, he swung his other hand and a heavy iron mace, accompanied by a whistling sound, smashed into Ma Bian's head at an extremely tricky angle!

It was a move that resulted in mutual destruction and mutual destruction!

Ma Bian was startled and cursed under his breath, "madman!" He had no choice but to abandon his sure-kill attack and retreat.

At that very moment, the thirty-odd servants and guards, as if possessed, clashed violently with the Liangshan extermination team!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The sounds of metal clashing were incessant, sparks flew, and blood splattered everywhere!

The soldiers of Liangshan were all veterans of countless battles, highly skilled in martial arts and with excellent teamwork. Normally, one could easily take on ten men. But facing this group of unpredictable and fearless villagers, they couldn't gain the slightest advantage for a time!

The martial arts techniques of these villagers were powerful and fierce, yet seemingly chaotic and without any discernible pattern. However, it was precisely this seemingly disordered fighting style that contained boundless killing intent and ruthlessness in every move, making one tremble with fear!

They seemed completely immune to pain and fear, remaining unfazed and calm no matter how brutal the attack. Even when their bodies were riddled with wounds and bleeding profusely, as long as they had a breath left, they would unhesitatingly brandish their weapons and launch an even more ferocious offensive against the enemy's most vulnerable parts!

Just then, a Liangshan soldier, wielding a broadsword, slashed fiercely at the shoulder of a villager. In an instant, a muffled "thud" was heard as the broadsword embedded itself deeply into the villager's flesh, blood splattering everywhere. Surprisingly, the villager showed no sign of flinching, not even a flicker of his brow. He swiftly turned and, with all his might, swung a hand hook, like lightning streaking across the sky, striking the soldier squarely in the face.

With a scream of agony, half of the soldier's face was torn apart in an instant, a gruesome sight!

"puff!"

Bai Sheng, nicknamed "White Day Rat," was always agile, as slippery as an eel. Taking advantage of his short stature, he slipped under the arm of a farmhand, his short knife just slicing a deep, bone-revealing wound on the farmhand's waist. Unexpectedly, the farmhand suddenly turned around, and without even looking, swung the mace he was holding at him backward!

Bai Sheng felt a gust of wind come from behind him and knew he was in trouble. He quickly rolled to the side, but he was too slow. The heavy mace slammed into his chest!

He felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had been hit hard by a galloping wild bull. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and a mouthful of scalding blood gushed out. He flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground. He saw stars and immediately lost consciousness.

"Brother Bai Sheng!"

Upon seeing this, Ma Bian's eyes widened in fury. He let out a roar, his body spun rapidly, and the short sword in his hand transformed into deadly streaks of cold light, like the scythe of death, instantly ending the lives of the three farmhands.

But many more villagers, like sharks smelling blood, attacked him even more frantically!

Although Ma Bian was highly skilled in martial arts, he was no match for the overwhelming force of seven or eight weapons. Under their combined attack, he gradually felt his strength waning, and several deep, bone-revealing wounds appeared on his body in an instant. He knew that if this continued, everyone would likely perish here today!

Just at this critical moment, a thunderous roar suddenly came from outside the manor!

"The Yang family's treasured sword is not meant to kill beasts, but today, to rid the people of this scourge, we will make an exception!"

Before the words were finished, a cyan blade of light, like a divine punishment descending from the heavens, tore through the thick darkness of the night, carrying an unparalleled power capable of destroying the world, and crashed down!

It was none other than Yang Zhi, the "Blue-Faced Beast," who happened to be on patrol tonight and rushed to the rescue after hearing the commotion!

Behind him was a hundred or so Liangshan patrolmen, armed with three-barreled guns, who were already on high alert!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The deafening gunshots instantly echoed throughout the entire Wang Family Manor.

The dense barrage of lead bullets, like the scythe of death, ripped bloody furrows into the bodies of those fearless farmhands.

Although those farmhands were fierce, they were still flesh and blood. How could they withstand this dimensional attack that transcended their time?

Amid screams, people and horses fell to the ground.

Yang Zhi charged ahead, his ancestral sword, passed down through the Yang family generals, tracing deadly arcs in the firelight. Wherever the blade flashed, severed limbs and scalding blood flew—no one could withstand a single blow from him!

The tide of battle turned in an instant.

Half an hour later, within the Wang family manor, blood flowed like a river and corpses littered the ground.

More than thirty servants guarding the courtyard were all wiped out, with not a single survivor.

Ma Bian, clutching the deep, bone-revealing wound on his arm, walked up to Yang Zhi and said with lingering fear, "Commander Yang, thank goodness you arrived in time! This group of people is incredibly strange! They don't seem like men from the Central Plains at all!"

Yang Zhi nodded, his brows furrowing as he looked at the unseeing corpses on the ground.

"By order of the chieftain, search and confiscate all property from Wang Family Manor. Also, search thoroughly! There's something fishy about Wang Family Manor!"

An hour later, Ma Bian discovered an extremely well-hidden door made of cement at the bottom of a dried-up pond in the backyard of a manor.

They burst through the hidden door, and a bottomless staircase appeared before them.