Chapter 39 The Real Heroes of Liangshan

  Di Lie's eyebrows jumped slightly, such a powerful thunderbolt strike, if it were the original timeline, he wouldn't have been able to do it no matter what. But after the mysterious strengthening of the space-time tunnel, perhaps now he could do it too. However, even so, this half-way killer, Cheng Yaojin, was really strong.

  Through the sight, it is clear that this is a young man of twenty-seven or eight years old, with a square face and broad forehead, rough features, and a thick neck. He is bare-chested, his skin smooth and shiny, with block after block of full and powerful muscles, his whole body filled with explosive power.

  He was originally a bodybuilder, comparable to Arnold Schwarzenegger, no wonder he had such a domineering power.

  Di Lie thought for a moment, then put down the gun and ejected the bullet. No matter what this person's intentions were, why did he want to hide at the bottom of the water? As far as everyone could see now, they seemed to be on the same front line.

  At this moment, only to see that person a whistle, within dozens of feet of the water and reeds, actually drilled out more than ten people's heads, mouths biting half-foot long wrist knives, one by one wearing loincloths, almost naked big men jumped out from the middle.

  The group of big men gathered around the small boat, patting the side of the boat and pointing at Gu Xin's corpse, bursting into loud laughter. The kind of unbridled arrogance was fully revealed. After a while, seven or eight big men climbed onto the boat and searched Gu Xin's body from head to toe, stripping off his clothes, armor, and boots. One of them drew out a beautifully decorated curved knife from its scabbard, swung it with great force, and brutally chopped off Gu Xin's head. He then held up the severed head high in the air. The men cheered loudly and lifted up the handsome young man.

  It's probably because of the elevated position, with a broad view, that the robust man immediately spotted the knight standing silently on the hill. As he raised his hand and shouted a few words, the burly men hastily put him down, either rowing or swimming back to the shore. They took off the wrist knives they had been holding in their mouths and surrounded Di Lie.

  Di Lie remained calm and sat upright on the horseback, pressed the fully loaded magazine into the slot, then quietly placed the gun horizontally on the saddle, with the muzzle pointing diagonally at the leading muscular man.

  The handsome man looked up and down at the strangely dressed young man for a while, then was attracted by the shiny thing in his hand: "What is this thing? It looks very pleasant."

  That big man, holding a knife in one hand and the head of Gongsun Zan in the other, immediately shouted in a loud voice: "You, fellow! My elder brother has taken a liking to that thing in your hand. Hand it over quickly, or you'll be asking for a beating!"

  Di Lie smiled calmly: "So you're robbers, unfortunately, I don't have any wealth to make you rich..."

  The crowd immediately interrupted Di Lie's words and said in unison: "Who says there isn't? Hand over the family heirloom in your hand to Big Brother and that'll be fine."

  "And this fine horse is worth at least five hundred strings of cash."

  "This set of clothes on me and the helmet, although it looks like it's all patches (actually pockets), but the material is very good."

  One of them, a slender and slightly short youth of seventeen or eighteen years old, suddenly flew quickly close to Di Lie, swiftly stretched out his hand from the outer pocket of his clothes and pulled out an object. Then he retreated while chuckling and said: "And this jade bangle... Bah, such low-quality jade material, I'm afraid it's not worth much money..."

  When the crowd of big men surrounded him, Di Lie had already raised his vigilance, but most of his attention was focused on that strong and handsome man, while the others were not taken seriously. However, he did not expect that among these people, there was still a guy with quick hands and feet, whose speed could rival that of an experienced thief. In a surprise attack, he managed to snatch away the green jade bangle that Zhang Xiaomei had entrusted to him before her death.

  Di Lie's reaction was incredibly fast, and just as the young man was about to retreat with his prize, Di Lie swiftly extended his arm, adding the length of the sniper rifle to his reach. With unerring accuracy, he threaded the muzzle of the gun through the jade ring on the young man's hand, and with a flick of the barrel, the green jade ring traced out a pale green arc before settling back into Di Lie's palm.

  "Good job!" The big man carrying the head couldn't help but cheer.

  The young man lost face in front of his companions and was obviously very unhappy. He rushed over again, but was kicked by Di Lie and fell to the ground with his limbs splayed out in all directions.

  "Everyone had better not act rashly, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless..."

  Di Lie's words were interrupted again, this time by the handsome man. Seeing him with his eyes wide open, step by step approaching, pointing at Di Lie, his voice was like ice: "Hand over that jade bangle."

  Di Lie responded with action - putting the green jade bangle back into his sleeve pocket.

  The handsome man let out a loud roar, like a wild beast rushing over, waving his fist and heavily striking the war horse's head.

  A loud crack, like a horse's head bursting open, blood and flesh flying everywhere, a mournful cry as it falls.

  Di Lie took a step forward and kicked out, Bang! Several consecutive shots were fired, knocking down several big men. The young man gritted his teeth and got up, like a wild cat that had been provoked, and charged over. Di Lie dodged to the side with a sliding step, his palm formed into a knife, and slashed at the base of the youth's ear. The young man's eyes rolled back, and he fell backwards.

  The big man who cut off Gu Xin's head whistled, and the men immediately formed a tight encirclement, with flashing knives, pressing in on Di Lie.

  Di Lie let out a faint sigh, his index finger tapping on the machine gun - he didn't want to kill these people, or rather, he didn't want to waste his limited bullets on this mob. But now there was no choice, surrounded by over ten burly men holding sharp blades, including one who was strong and abnormal, if he didn't take the initiative, he would be the one to suffer.

  At this moment, the robust man shook his wrist stained with horse blood, glared with his crimson eyes, and roared at his subordinates: "Jia Hu, what are you doing! When has Zhang Dalang ever bullied the minority with the majority? Everyone retreat! This person, I will deal with him personally." The last few words were almost squeezed out from between his teeth, and the hatred in his expression was palpable even to a blind man.

  Di Lie Mo Ming Qi Miao, himself and this guy have such a big grudge? Wait, Zhang Da Lang? This name seems to be familiar, as if someone had mentioned it before...

  But before Di Lie could think clearly, this Zhang Dalang had already brought a fierce aura and pounced violently, punching out with a loud "whoosh" - this person had thrown two punches. The first punch exploded Fang Xin's head; the second punch shattered the skull of a strong warhorse. Now this third punch, the target was still the head, Di Lie's head.

  Di Lie swiftly slung the sniper rifle over his shoulder, facing the overwhelmingly powerful fist that was making his clothes flutter. In a split second, at least seven or eight methods to break and counterattack flashed through his mind. In the end, Di Lie chose the simplest and most direct one - to meet the opponent's fist with his own, and engage in a fierce collision. He wanted to try out whether his own fists had such explosive power.

  Bang! Crack! A dull and crisp sound burst out between the fists, this is the collision of power and power, the result...

  With a fierce and violent force, Zhang Dalang swung his fist, his thick arm straightened in mid-air. If observed more closely, it can be seen that his fist was slightly trembling.

  Di Lie was caught off guard and was knocked back several steps by his opponent's full-force blow. Although his arm was numb from the shock and his fist ached, he knew he had won. This freak named Zhang Dalang was indeed terrifyingly strong. His strength was comparable to his own enhanced self, but his bone density and tendon resilience were still within the normal human range, unable to withstand the rock-hard punches of his enhanced self.

  So, as a result of the collision, Di Lie was fine, while Zhang Dalang's right fist ring finger, middle finger, and little finger were all fractured.

  Seize the moment! Di Lie's body was like a spring, his right leg kicked out, and he swiftly grabbed Zhang Daliang's right wrist. With a swift and clean over-the-shoulder throw, he sent his opponent crashing to the ground. Immediately after, he twisted his arm and pinned him firmly to the ground.

  In the process, Zhang Dalang also tried to break free from the counter-control. However, Di Lie's arm strength was not inferior to his, and he had multiple finger fractures, which made it difficult for him to exert force, and he was firmly controlled.

  A group of onlookers led by Jia Hu, never thought that their big brother, who was known for his bravery and feared by many, would be knocked down in the blink of an eye. When they came to, they all rushed forward, crying out loudly. As for Zhang Dala's previous words about "single combat", they were naturally selectively forgotten at this point.

  But just over a dozen Han soldiers had rushed out a few steps when their bodies suddenly froze, staring blankly at the hilltop - where rows of gleaming armor and blood-stained heavy cavalry had appeared. In those pairs of crimson eyes that exuded an aura of murder, there was a surge of confidence and pride from having just defeated a powerful enemy.

  Iron armor, sharp spears, long knives, fierce horses, and the iron-blooded killing aura after a brutal battle, actually intimidated this group of fearless and daring bare-chested men to the point where they didn't dare move.

  The first one was an iron-clad knight, who raised his long sword and gave a cold order: "Brothers of the signed army, prepare to charge!"

  "Wait a minute!" Di Lie released Zhang Da Lang, stood up straight, turned his head to the leading knight and said, "Fang Da Tou, send two people to bring Ye Xiao Niang Zi over."

  Nearly two hundred cavalrymen, who were the vanguard of Fang Hong's signed army, happened to arrive just in time. Although he didn't know why Di Lie wanted to bring Ye Xiaoniang over, as a subordinate, he had no choice but to follow orders despite his doubts.

  After Di Lie finished speaking, he looked down at Zhang Dalang, who was slowly getting up and panting, and took out the green jade bangle, holding it in front of him: "Do you recognize this bangle?"

  Zhang Dalang's face changed, and he raised his hand to grab.

  Di Lie turned his palm over, grasping the jade bangle in his hand, and said calmly: "This is something a woman named Zhang Xiaomei asked me to pass on to her brother. If you are Zhang Dalang of Dongping Prefecture, take it. Otherwise..."

  "I am indeed Zhang Dalang from Dongping Prefecture's Liangshan Marsh, and Zhang Xiaomei is my sister. I have brought over a dozen brothers with me, traveling hundreds of miles along the river. We heard that Bianjing City has fallen, and its women and children have been taken captive. I was worried about my sister's safety, so we followed the trail all the way here... But how did this green jade bangle end up in your hands? And where is my sister now?"

  Di Lie heard Zhang Dalang mention Liangshan Po, and his heart moved. Now isn't it the late Northern Song Dynasty? It seems to be the time when the heroes of Liangshan were active. So, are the characters in Water Margin really existent?

  "Liáng Shān Pō? Do you know a man named Sòng Jiāng?"

  "Song Jiang?" Zhang Daliang suddenly received news of his sister and was somewhat dazed, unable to think for a moment.

  It was Jia Hu who replied, "As for what General Hui said, during the Xuanhe era, there indeed was a group of fierce bandits at Liangshan Marsh, with their leader being called Song Jiang. With dozens of men, they roamed freely in Hedong, but later were pacified by Grand Marshal Zhang and taken to fight against Fang La in Jianghuai. Now it's already the second year of Jingkang, that Fang La has long been destroyed, as for what happened to Song Jiang and his men, no one knows."

  Di Lie rubbed his chin, seemingly deep in thought. If that's the case, then this real-life version of Song Jiang and the so-called "Liagnshan Good Men" don't seem to have any impressive achievements either, a name that doesn't live up to reality! Looks like it can't be taken seriously after all!

  At this moment, a horseshoe sound came, and Ye Die'er arrived.

  "Follow this Miss Ye and she will lead you to your sister." Di Lie ordered ten cavalrymen to escort Ye Die'er and Zhang Dalang's group across the river, but first confiscated their knives and other weapons. Under such intense scrutiny, the men naturally did not dare to raise any objections.

  Zhang Dalang boarded the small boat, turned around and clasped his fists, saying: "I, Zhang Rong, have dominated the 800-li waterways, and I will not be defeated by many heroes. Under my command, there has never been a rival hand. I did not expect to lose to General today. May I ask General's surname and great name."

  "Di Lie." Di Lie replied while racking his brains, but in his limited knowledge of the Song Dynasty, he seemed to have never heard of a person named "Zhang Rong". However, this guy was indeed a rare and fierce warrior.

  In fact, Di Renjie was limited to the knowledge of Song history and did not know that Zhang Rong, who led the Liangshan Po water army, known as "Zhang Enemy Wan", was actually the real hero in history. In the subsequent Song-Jin War, Zhang Rong's Liangshan Po water army continuously inflicted heavy blows on the Jin army invading Hebei, and captured and killed more than 5,000 people including Wanyan Te, a general of the Jin army, and Wanhu Pu Cha Kuang Ba Lu, son-in-law of Wanyan Chang. Compared to his achievements, the so-called "Liangshan heroes" in Water Margin are far behind.

  In this time and space, due to Di Lie's appearance, Zhang Rong and the Liangshan Po water army will achieve more brilliant military exploits than in history.