Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

"Chirp!"

No sooner had Zhu Biao finished speaking than a whistle suddenly rang out from the woods.

Immediately afterwards, a large group of people surged out, at least twenty or thirty at a glance.

These guys were all dressed in tattered clothes, carrying broken spears, rusty knives, and short axes. Their faces were deliberately smeared with mud, and their teeth were yellowed and blackened, making them look like a group of ghosts crawling out of a mass grave.

Their identities were obvious: bandits!

The world in the Song Dynasty had long been in chaos. Along the way, Zhu Biao encountered bandits gathering on almost every mountain peak. However, with Luan Tingyu backing him up, he didn't even have a chance to make a move.

"Men, charge! Kill them, seize the horses!"

Before the bandits could even form a battle formation, a burly man with a full beard raised his steel fork and roared from the rear of the group.

"kill!"

The bandits responded in a chaotic manner, raised their knives and spears, and charged forward in a swarm.

"How dare you!"

Wu Song's tiger-like eyes flashed fiercely, and he drew his sword, ready to dismount and fight to the death, but Zhu Biao hurriedly pulled him back.

"Second Brother! Don't act recklessly, retreat with me, sheathe your sword, and steady your horse!"

To be honest, Zhu Biao was also flustered when facing so many bandits alone for the first time, but he did not forget the basic tactics of cavalry.

After galloping a few dozen steps and creating some distance between them, they rode off.

"Turn around and shoot!"

He suddenly let out a low shout, and at the same time, he turned around first, glanced at it briefly, and then raised his hand to shoot.

call out!

The arrow flew like a shooting star.

The one running in front was a skinny bandit. He was shot in the abdomen, his body suddenly stopped, and he fell to the ground without uttering a sound.

"Damn it!"

The two bandits following closely behind him couldn't dodge in time and were tripped up and rolled on the ground.

shhhhh!

Only then did Zhu San and Zhu Wu shoot their arrows one after the other.

Moreover, they were shooting arrows, and they didn't hit a single one. They only frightened the bandits into shrinking back and slowing their pace.

Riding a horse is not difficult, nor is archery, but mounted archery is extremely difficult. It is the secret weapon of the elite cavalry of the grasslands. The Song Dynasty lacked horses, making it even more difficult to learn this skill.

The Zhu family was wealthy and martial, which is why they kept more than a dozen horses.

Zhu Biao learned to ride at the age of six and to shoot at the age of seven. He was then trained by Luan Tingyu for several years and spent more than a month honing his skills before achieving his current accuracy.

Sixty steps, seven or eight out of ten hits.

Archers like Hua Rong, who can hit a willow leaf from a hundred paces away as easily as drinking water and can casually shoot down a flying goose, are purely gifted geniuses.

"Doggy's dead! They have a sharpshooter!"

At this moment, one of the bandits who had been tripped staggered to his feet, one arm hanging limply, and raised his blood-soaked other hand, roaring loudly.

Upon hearing this, the bandits, who were already considering retreating, looked at each other and hesitated to move forward.

"Do not disrupt the morale of the troops!"

The leader-like man with a thick beard suddenly ran a few steps, stepped out from the crowd, and stabbed him to the ground with a fork.

"All of you, get on top of them! Otherwise, this will be your fate!"

"There are only a few of them, what are you afraid of? Let's all attack together!"

Several of his confidants hid in the crowd, inciting and shoving. The bandits, under duress and relying on their numbers, reluctantly ran away again.

However, the bearded leader, along with several of his confidants, began to slowly move backward.

He was somewhat knowledgeable and had a brain; he knew he had run into a tough opponent today.

If everyone turns and runs for their lives, the only outcome will be that they are shot one by one. How can a man outrun a horse?

If someone shields him from the arrows, he can save his life if he escapes back into the woods.

Zhu Biao was making a grand plan, but how could he let him have his way? Just as he was about to nock an arrow and turn to shoot, Zhu Biao noticed something amiss.

He understood the principle of capturing the leader first, and kept a close eye on the bearded man!

"Turn back! Charge with me!"

Zhu Biao gave a sharp, decisive shout.

Immediately, he sheathed his bow, reined in his horse, and turned around in one swift motion. At the same time, he drew his spear and quickly assembled it.

In just a few breaths, the ten-foot-long iron spear pointed straight at the bandits, the black horse beneath them accelerated to its maximum speed, and Zhu San and Zhu Wu also raised their waist knives, shouting and following closely.

Da da~ da da~

Spears like dragons, horses like tigers, stirring up a flurry of snowflakes. Though only three men and three riders, they brought with them the imposing aura of a thousand troops, captivating and awe-inspiring.

These bandits are just a rabble; they only recently put down their pitchforks and hoes.

They had never seen such power before, and were instantly stunned, like chickens with their necks being choked. The timid ones already had a wet and hot groin.

Zhu Buma was fast; in an instant, he had closed in by several dozen paces, the gleaming spear tip like the fangs of a venomous snake, about to pierce the throat.

"Mother!"

Finally, some of the bandits came to their senses, threw down their weapons, and ran crying and shouting towards the desolate snowfield. With someone taking the lead, the other bandits also seemed to wake up from their daze and scattered like birds and beasts.

Snapped!

Zhu Biao tucked his arm in and swept his spear horizontally, sending a bandit who was blocking his way flying several meters away. Without even looking back, he continued to urge his horse to gallop.

At this moment, he was only about thirty paces away from the bearded man.

This guy seems to have a military background.

Hearing the approaching hoofbeats behind him, he stopped fleeing and instead turned around, blocking the road and holding the steel fork diagonally in front of him—this was the infantry chevaux-de-frise stance.

"Come on! Let's see who dies first!"

The bearded man stared intently at Zhu Biao, roaring, his features contorted in pain.

"Heh~"

Zhu Biao scoffed, squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, raised his spear high, and, taking advantage of the horse's momentum, swung it with force.

Bang!

The bearded man, along with the steel fork in his hand, flew high into the air like a scarecrow, then crashed heavily into the snow.

"Whoa~"

Zhu Biao pulled the horse back, shook his throbbing arm and the back of his hand, and gave him a cold glance.

"Hoo~"

The bearded man struggled to get up, but vomited a mouthful of blood and collapsed back down. With just one blow, he had broken several bones and displaced his internal organs.

As Luan Tingyu explained in detail before, infantry barricades need to be equipped with 18-foot rifles and form a dense military formation.

Single person, short fork, no different from a signboard for sale.

"Young Master, what should we do with these thieving birds?"

At this moment, Zhu San rode over, brandishing his knife and pointing at several of his trusted henchmen with thick beards who were already kneeling by the roadside.

call out!

Zhu Biao's answer was a cold and resolute snap.

puff!

The next instant, an arrow pierced through the chest of one of his trusted men, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

These guys are the hardest-hit bandits, daring to ambush and kill people in broad daylight. They've taken countless innocent lives and deserve to die!

The second time he killed someone and drew blood, Zhu Biao was noticeably calmer, only feeling his heartbeat slightly faster and his breathing slightly heavier.

Small words rushed out from the corner of his eye. He let out a long breath, turned his head away, and resisted the temptation to continue the execution.

Zhu Biao himself blocked the shortcut of killing to become stronger.

"drive!"

Zhu San and Zhu Wu understood instantly. Without the slightest hesitation, their eyes flashed, and they spurred their horses forward, brandishing their swords.

Their martial arts skills were far inferior to Zhu Biao's, but they were considered veteran killers, and they were the main force in the past when fighting against neighboring villages.

The current rural brawls are no small-scale fights; they often involve battles of over a thousand people, with weapons, bows, and horses at their disposal, and it is common for dozens of people to die.

A war of this scale, if it were fought in the island nation of Japan, would be comparable to a major battle between daimyo.

"Saburo!"

Only then did Wu Song arrive late, his forehead covered in sweat. His horsemanship was far from good enough to keep up with Zhu Biao and the others.

"No, is there no need to escort us to the authorities? Won't this lead to legal trouble?"

Seeing Zhu San and his men slaughtering the bandits' trusted men like chopping melons and vegetables, Wu Song's eyelids twitched, and a look of horror appeared in his eyes.

Seeing his trembling appearance, Zhu Biao laughed.

The current Wu Er is not yet the ruthless killer he once was; he is just a novice afraid of getting into legal trouble.

"Second brother, they're mountain bandits, robbing and plundering. Everyone has the right to kill them. How could they possibly get into trouble with the authorities? Maybe the government will even give them a reward!"

Having said that, he planted his spear in the ground, dismounted, and strode over to the bearded man.

Whoa!

Three steps away, Zhu Biao suddenly drew his knife and slashed at his right arm, then slashed at his leg before turning him over.

Only an enemy that is dead or completely incapacitated is a good enemy.

This didn't need to be taught; Zhu Biao summarized it himself.

"Heh~ Heh~"

The bearded man rolled over, spitting out a large mouthful of black blood, but his breathing became easier, and his purplish-blue complexion lightened.

He didn't wail or speak; he just glared at Zhu Biao with resentment.

Ignoring his murderous glare, Zhu Biao pressed the knife tip against his chest and said coldly:

"Answer a few questions honestly, and I'll give you a quick and easy answer."

"Pooh!"

The bearded man was quite defiant; he tilted his head and spat at him, but he didn't spit hard enough and ended up spitting all over his own shoulder.

"Ha, a tough nut to crack, huh?"

With a flick of his wrist, Zhu Biao plunged the long knife into his shoulder blade, pressed it down, and twisted it, instantly producing a chilling scraping sound.

"Ah~"

The bearded man could no longer bear the pain; his eyes turned red, and he said resentfully:

"You son of a bitch! Kill me if you want!"

Zhu Biao gritted his teeth, trying to steady his trembling hands, and continued to turn the knife handle.

To survive in this cannibalistic world, he must overcome the hurdle of ruthlessness!