69. The golden cicada sheds its shell

  At this time, the situation in front of Zhang Ming suddenly reacted, and Zhang Ming's eyes looked around in panic. His expression changed drastically, and he didn't know when his hundreds of subordinates had rapidly decreased, with fewer than a dozen people by his side.

  "The enemy general, come and surrender."

  Gan Xiong's face was ferocious, holding an iron spear with a fierce glow in his eyes, like a wolf and tiger rushing towards Zhang Ming. The five hundred soldiers behind him all had a fierce expression, with an overwhelming momentum.

  Zhang Ming's eyes widened as he saw Gan Xiong rush into the crowd, holding an iron spear and charging left and right. The spear's shadow filled the sky, and from time to time, a shrill cry of despair echoed in his ears. Zhang Ming's pupils involuntarily contracted, and his heart was shocked. This...this big man is too brave?

  In a state of deep absorption, Zhang Ming suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as a cold air entered his vertebrae. He couldn't help but shiver, and his eyes scanned towards Gan Xiong, only to see him holding his spear horizontally, grinning at Zhang Ming with a thick layer of fresh blood stuck on his face, making Zhang Ming feel a wave of dread.

  Zhang Ming looked at the towering figure wielding an iron spear, slaughtering his soldiers left and right, a cold killing intent flashed in the corner of his mouth, a chill gleamed in his eyes, and he roared angrily: "Brothers, kill this enemy general for me, I'll reward you with a hundred gold!"

  "Hmm...".

  A group of desperate men gathered around Zhang Ming's side, and after listening, their breathing became heavier.

  What is Baijin?

  Ten taels of gold were already a considerable fortune in the Eastern Han, let alone one hundred taels. At the very least, it could guarantee that an entire family would have no worries about food and clothing. Nowadays, even the best land only costs around ten thousand yuan per mu, and an average house only needs forty thousand yuan. With this hundred taels of gold, do you still need to risk your life fighting and killing?

  With this money, take the money to buy a house, buy a piece of land, marry a wife, have a child, go out with the sun and return with the sunset. How wonderful it is... Unlike now, always living in fear, one moment you're alive and kicking, the next moment you might be a cold corpse.

  Even death will leave a stench for ten thousand years.

  As soon as Zhang Ming spoke, these fugitives lost their minds in an instant. In a flash, more than a dozen self-proclaimed martial arts experts rushed towards Gan Xiong with a loud shout. Gan Xiong also heard the angry roar of Zhang Ming's insufficient energy, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "You guys want to take Laozi's life? Go cultivate for a few more decades."

  Gan Xiong gazed at the increasingly approaching enemy soldiers, his large hand tightly grasping the iron spear, his eyes involuntarily bursting with intense killing intent.

  "Drink..."

  Gan Xiong let out a loud roar, his body like a fierce tiger pouncing forward. With a "clang" sound, in an instant, Gan Xiong's iron spear pierced through the chest of an enemy soldier, and fresh blood spurted out like a pillar. Gan Xiong swept his tiger-like eyes around, seeing many enemy soldiers surrounding him, with swords and spears emerging, directly attacking him, some even making a piercing "cracking" sound, extremely powerful.

  Gan Xiong's eyes flashed with a hint of solemnity, and in the blink of an eye, his iron spear swept across the enemy army with a loud "whoosh". The majority of the enemy soldiers' swords and spears were caught by Gan Xiong, who stumbled slightly before raising his head to meet the incoming attack. His arms bulged with veins like writhing earthworms as he let out a low growl. With a fierce glint in his eyes, Gan Xiong unleashed a mighty roar, channeling all his energy into his arms. The iron spear stood upright, and Gan Xiong let out a long, triumphant cry. The spear opened and closed with a deafening "whoosh", generating a whirlwind that sent several more enemy soldiers to their deaths beneath Gan Xiong's iron spear.

  "Hah!" Gan Xiong roared again, his iron spear sweeping down like a meteor and cutting down the enemy soldiers who had been entangled in battle for a long time. Afterwards, Gan Xiong's thick eyebrows suddenly furrowed, his eyes scanning coldly behind him, and a sly smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Ambush me?"

  "Come on and kill me..."

  The iron spear in his hand shot out without hesitation, flashing like a cold star. The ambusher's eyes widened in disbelief as he fell backwards. Kan Xiong looked at the knife that had entered three inches into flesh, fresh blood flowing out, and in the blink of an eye, his robes were stained red. Kan Xiong's eyes turned completely crimson.

  That man cut Gān Xióng down, but also stirred up the ferocity hidden deep within his bones.

  His eyes turned a deep crimson, the iron spear suddenly shot out, and thousands of spear shadows dazzled people's eyes. Under the brilliant spear technique, however, was hidden a deep killing intent. In the flash of lightning, more than ten enemy soldiers fell to the ground with hatred.

  "Good grief, is this human?"

  "Can't you just die already?"

  "Come on, sons! I haven't killed enough yet!" Gan Xiong roared with rage, his eyes blazing like lanterns in the dark, as he faced the numerous enemy soldiers without a hint of fear. Fresh blood gushed out from his body... Before long, Gan Xiong was like a fish swimming in a sea of blood, his body drenched in gore, a terrifying sight to behold.

  Not far away, Zhang Ming's eyes were filled with fear as he stared at Gan Xiong standing in front of him. Let alone those fugitives, even Zhang Ming, who was used to being on the edge of a knife, felt a little apprehensive looking at Gan Xiong, who was like an iron tower. Zhang Ming's heart was heavy, and he thought about giving up, but then he remembered that today either Gan Xiong would die or he, Zhang Ming, would perish.

  At this point, Zhang Ming's eyes burst out with a thick and cold killing intent, leaving Lu Ganxiong, such a dangerous person, here. As long as he is alive, Zhang Ming will not be able to sleep soundly.

  "Get him, get him, damn it, kill that enemy general for me!" Zhang Ming saw that all his subordinates were staring at each other in shock and didn't dare to move forward. His heart was racing with anxiety and horror, he turned around and shouted loudly: "Whoever kills him, I'll reward him with a thousand gold coins."

  With a loud crash, Zhang Ming's words were like a stone thrown into a lake, instantly stirring up waves.

  "Money, money."

  "My goodness, I'm done for..."

  "If I had this thousand pieces of gold, where could I not go in the world?"

  It is said that where there is a lot of money, there must be brave men. This saying is true everywhere. Zhang Ming threw out a thousand gold coins, and those fugitives suddenly became chaotic, and from time to time, someone would charge towards Gan Xiong without hesitation.

  There is a first, there will be a second...

  Gan Xiong gripped his iron spear tightly, his eyes fixed intently on the ferocious enemy army charging towards him. As he saw the enemy getting closer and closer, Gan Xiong secretly blamed himself for being too arrogant. With a solitary spear, he charged straight at Zhang Ming, killing left and right, his body covered in wounds, his strength already greatly depleted. If not for following Gan Ning on many southern and northern campaigns, tempering his body into iron, Gan Xiong would have fallen by now. Forget about killing the enemy, even self-preservation was a problem.

  A moment later, Gan Xiong again raised his spear and killed several more people. He was finally struck down by the enemy soldiers once more. The blade flashed across, and with a "whoosh", blood splattered everywhere. Gan Xiong let out a low growl, swept his iron spear horizontally, and the spear pierced through the body of that enemy soldier, killing him beyond recognition.

  Gan Xiong wielded his iron spear, stumbling backward in a daze. Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, Gan Xiong felt his head spinning, his eyes sometimes clear and sometimes blurry. At this moment, all he wanted was a good long sleep. Looking at the ferocious faces of the numerous enemy soldiers and the glinting blades, a bitter smile spread across Gan Xiong's lips: Was he going to die here?

  In an instant, Gan Xiong only felt that the enemy soldiers had all jumped into the sky, and he himself was slowly sinking, as if falling to the depths of the underworld...

  ……

  According to this, Zhang Ming fought in the fifteen-mile area.

  Two people chatted and laughed as they quietly passed by, looking like they were heading in the direction of Xiangyang.

  "Gongzi, why must we go to Xiangyang?" Still dressed in black, Si hesitated for a long time before speaking in a low voice: "Didn't you say earlier that we would return to Xudu?"

  "What's that?" Ma Da sneered, "That's just a trick to lure Zhang Ming." As he spoke, his sharp eyes scanned in Zhang Ming's direction, and the corner of his mouth curled up into a cold smile.

  "Shouldn't it be over by now?"

  "Sir, you're referring to Zhang Ming?"

  Ma Da let out a burst of laughter: "Si Yi, don't tell Young Master Ben that you and Zhang Ming are on intimate terms."

  "Uh, I don't dare."

  "Zhang Ming is just a discarded son of this young master, the pursuing Jingzhou army must have formidable figures, Zhang Ming is foolishly dreaming of making merits and becoming a marquis, let him go."

  "We can retreat safely, isn't that wonderful?" As he said this, Ma Da let out another sinister laugh.

  It was unknown how long it had been... Gan Xiong suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze vigilantly sweeping left and right. His tired and fierce eyes were like a leopard sensing danger, his whole body tensed up, the veins on his hands bulging out.

  After observing for a moment, Gan Xiong was shocked to find that he seemed to be in a horse carriage? Just now, he was still fighting hard, how did he end up here... The huge contrast left Gan Xiong bewildered.

  But a sharp pain that followed immediately made Gan Xiong take a deep breath, his eyes wide with anger and his mouth twisted in a low growl.

  "Hiss..."

  "Awake?" The curtain suddenly opened, revealing Liu Xuan's face. Liu Xuan looked at Gan Xiong with a grin and said: "Brother Gan Xiong is really something. Single-handedly killing his way to the enemy general without changing color, yet almost got dissected in the end."

  "Hmm, this is it." Liu Xuan's eyes gleamed with interest as he looked at Gan Xiong: "Brother Gan Xiong, if you want to die early, just say so. Why bother going through all the trouble and troubling those enemy soldiers? I'll take care of it for you."

  "Besides, Brother Gan Ning asked you to protect me, but in the end I have to protect you instead, haha." Liu Xuan slightly shook his head and said: "Brother Gan Xiong."

  "Huh?" Gan Xiong looked at Liu Xuan with a puzzled expression, unsure of what was going on.

  Liu Xuan's eyes shone brightly as he gazed at Gan Xiong: "You, Liu Xuan, can only be called a mediocre martial artist today. Even if you are the strongest among mediocre martial artists, I, young master, can still defeat you with one hand." Liu Xuan's eyes were icy cold, and his voice was chilling as he said: "A martial artist can be an enemy of a hundred people... a thousand people... or even ten thousand people."

  "But one man's bravery is not the whole army's bravery, did Elder Brother Gan Xiong not know that Overlord Xiang Yu was defeated? The Overlord Xiang Yu who could defeat ten thousand enemies ultimately died at the hands of a mere scholar-official Han Xin. Alas, this principle makes one ponder deeply."

  "Can Brother Gan Xiong compare with the Hegemon King Xiang Yu?"

  Gan Xiong's face flushed with anger at Liu Xuan's words, but when he heard Liu Xuan say "Even if a martial artist is strong, what's the use?", Gan Xiong's eyes blazed with fury, thinking to himself that this wasn't an insult, calling him a brutish thug. But then he heard Liu Xuan mention that Xiang Yu, who could be called a hero among heroes, was defeated by Han Xin, a mere scholar, and Gan Xiong gradually suppressed his anger, furrowing his brow in thought.

  "His grandma's, I don't recognize a single character, is it not like playing the zither to a cow to tell me these grand principles?" In the carriage, Gan Xiong muttered, and immediately became depressed thinking: "Could it be that my old man is really a roughneck?"

  Outside the carriage, Liu Xuan rode his horse slowly forward, his eyes scanning the azure sky, his mood half joyful and half heavy, humming a tune from later generations as he headed towards Jiangling.