Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 109: The Swords and Spears Meet Ends in Mutual Injury; The Hammer Clashes with the Spine, a

Zhang Zhongxiong's long sword clanged as he clashed with Lu Hui, the "Yin-Yang Hand," who was Zhang Zhongxiong's opponent. Both of them were incredibly fast.

Compared to a single-handed sword, a two-handed sword requires less strength and is easier to control. Most people can wield a two-handed sword and chop repeatedly, while many beginners, even with a single-handed sword, experience hand fatigue after swinging it dozens of times. This is because two-handed strikes are more likely to cause damage and have greater stopping power.

This also utilizes the leverage of a two-handed grip, allowing for rapid, short-distance power generation while leveraging the strength of the waist and abdomen. A single-handed sword, when swung in a wide arc, can also produce a terrifying slashing effect, but compared to that, two-handed weapons are easier to control and generate power more easily.

A single-edged sword generally refers to a sword tip used with one hand, while a two-edged sword requires both hands to hold it. Therefore, a two-edged sword is generally longer or heavier than a single-edged sword; otherwise, it would be fine to use it with one hand.

One-handed swordsmanship primarily relies on wrist strength because the strength of a single hand is less, and the wrist is more flexible. It generally follows an agile approach, with more varied angles, and rarely uses techniques that rely on brute force.

Conversely, two-handed knife techniques generally rely more on either length or force to overwhelm the opponent, making them simpler and more direct than single-handed knife techniques. Moreover, since both hands are used to exert force simultaneously, the speed of force exertion in short bursts is faster than that of a single-handed knife, as swift as lightning.

Lu Hui, known as "Yin Yang Hand," initially thought that a teenager like this wouldn't be too difficult to deal with. However, now that the fight had started, he discovered that his usually proud rapid shooting skills were actually about the same as the child's speed, offering no clear advantage.

He couldn't help but doubt himself. Was his skill not as impressive as he had imagined, or was the young man in front of him a genius, one in a million?

"kill!"

Zhang Zhongxiong executed a "shifting step and changing form with a thrusting bayonet." The instant his weapon clashed with Lu Hui's "Yin Yang Hand," he dodged to the side, then swiftly slid forward, thrusting his bayonet forward, the entire five-foot blade aimed at Lu Hui's shoulder.

"Woo!"

Lu Hui was holding the spear with a yin-yang grip. Under these circumstances, the spear's attack range would naturally be shortened due to this gripping method. Zhang Zhongxiong's sudden change of move also meant that the spear in Lu Hui's hand was not long enough to block the long sword, and this strike allowed Zhang Zhongxiong to succeed.

The long sword, like an awl, pierced through the shoulder of "Yin Yang Hand" Lu Hui, forcing him to retreat repeatedly until he reached the manor wall. There, the sword embedded itself in the wall, pinning Lu Hui's shoulder to the wall.

This stab caused "Yin Yang Hand" Lu Hui to spit out blood gushing out, the blood flowing like a torrent, directly staining Lu Hui's body red. The intense pain made his face turn pale!

However, Lu Hui, the "Yin-Yang Hand," was not a newcomer to the martial world. He endured the pain and gripped his double-headed snake spear tightly with his right hand. Because the distance between the two was too close, he only gripped the area below the spearhead, leaving the rest of the spear dragging on the ground. This was the method of "using a long spear in a short way."

"puff!"

Just as Zhang Zhongxiong was feeling smug, "Yin Yang Hand" Lu Hui grabbed the spearhead and stabbed Zhang Zhongxiong in the lower abdomen. Zhang Zhongxiong was jolted. The two were too close, and he was only focused on stabbing "Yin Yang Hand" Lu Hui, so he didn't continue to guard up. He was a little careless and ended up getting injured as well.

The reason why Lu Hui's "Yin Yang Hand" double-headed snake spear is called "double-headed snake" is that the two spearheads of this spear are like the tongue of a venomous snake. Both spearheads are shaped like a winding snake tongue. If such a spearhead pierces the abdomen, it is probably difficult to suture it.

Fortunately, Zhang Zhongxiong was wearing a rhinoceros hide inner armor, which, although not completely blocking the attack, cushioned it considerably. Otherwise, if the attack had damaged his internal organs, he would have been beyond saving.

Even so, Zhang Zhongxiong's body went limp and he fell backward. As he leaned back, he pulled out the long sword that had pierced through Lu Hui's "Yin-Yang Hand" with a single tug.

"what!"

Lu Hui, the "Yin Yang Hand," couldn't help but scream again. The moment the long sword was pulled out, the sharp blade caused secondary damage to his arm due to the dragging and cutting, almost severing half of his arm. How could he not be in pain?

"Kill him!"

Meanwhile, Han Bolong, the "Ghost Mountain Demon," and Shi Yong, the "Stone General," saw that Zhang Zhongxiong had injured Lu Hui, the "Yin-Yang Hand," and that the two had fought to the death. They immediately rushed forward to hack Zhang Zhongxiong to death and avenge Lu Hui.

"kill!"

At this moment, the two hundred government soldiers behind them were not idle either. Seeing that the second young master had fallen to the ground and was injured, they were worried that if he died, Zhang Shuye would kill them when they returned. So they immediately rushed forward and stabbed "Ghost Mountain Demon" Han Bolong and "General Stone" Shi Yong with their spears.

The two men quickly brandished their swords to defend themselves. Although they couldn't defeat Zhang Zhongxiong, they were more than capable of dealing with the soldiers. Killing twenty or thirty of them would be a piece of cake. "Ghost Mountain Demon" Han Bolong rushed forward and hacked down seven or eight men, but they still managed to drag Zhang Zhongxiong away. "General Stone" Shi Yong carried the blood-loss-prone "Yin Yang Hand" Lu Hui back to the manor for treatment before returning to the battlefield.

The two hundred-plus government troops rushed forward, while the people inside Chao Gai's manor set up their pre-prepared crossbows and fired at the government troops from the walls. The government troops did not carry any long-range weapons such as crossbows, after all, they could not imagine that Chao Baozheng's manor in Dongxi Village had such a large reserve of crossbows and arrows, and for a moment they dared not advance because of the barrage of arrows.

When Zhang Bofen saw that his younger brother was injured, he was furious. He clashed his two hammers together, knocking away the broadsword in the hand of "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai, and then smashed it down fiercely.

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," was greatly alarmed and quickly dodged every blow. He dared not engage in a direct confrontation, even though their strength was roughly equal. In the end, it was Chao Gai who was at a disadvantage.

The hammer is a short weapon among the eighteen weapons. Compared with bladed weapons such as swords, its usage is very different and its style is also different. Its main characteristics are decisiveness, bravery, agility and variety, especially emphasizing the word "hard".

It consists of routines composed of techniques such as embracing, craning, striking, sweeping, and dancing on the cloud top. When performed, it involves rolling up and down, spinning left and right, alternating between embracing and sweeping, and continuous striking, with the momentum of a mountain and the might of the sea, making it unstoppable.

As the saying goes, "A general with a hammer and cudgel cannot be defeated by force," which means the same thing. If Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," were hit by his broadsword, he could probably be smashed into a pretzel with one blow. At that time, Chao Gai would be no different from being unarmed, so what would be the point of fighting?

"Take this!"

Zhang Bofen learned the "Li Yuanba's Falling Horse and Parting Mane Hammer," which was extremely powerful. He used the "Starting Stance: Hate the Heavens Without a Handle" move, starting from a side stance, facing south, with his feet together, his hands tightly gripping the hammer handle, and placing the hammer horizontally on his sides at his hips with his tiger's mouth facing forward. The two hammers then came down from above onto the head of "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai, which was a move called "Mount Tai Double Pressing Down."

At this point, Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," had nowhere to dodge or hide. He could only grit his teeth, muster all his strength, and raise the broadsword to meet the attack. As expected, the two large bronze hammers shattered the broadsword into pieces, turning its blade into sharp iron shards.

It was as if "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai was standing behind a shard of glass, and the shattered blades were like pieces of glass, flying directly in front of him. Irregularly shaped pieces of iron instantly slashed his face, leaving it riddled with holes. If Chao Gai hadn't closed his eyes immediately, he would probably be blind by now.

Although Chao Gai did not lose to Zhang Bofen in terms of strength, the poor performance of his weapon caused him to lose this move. The two took a step back. "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai opened his eyes, wiped the blood off his face with his hand, looked at the plain knife with only the hilt left, and then looked at the young man Zhang Bofen. He snorted with great disdain.

"If it weren't for the inferior weaponry, I wouldn't have lost to you!"

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," said something rather unconvincing.

Meanwhile, Zhang Bofen, hearing "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai's blatant defiance, also lost his temper. After all, he was just a teenager, and in later terms, that was an impulsive and rebellious age. He was determined to beat "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai into submission, so he retorted, "Can't win? Blame it on your weapon! Didn't you choose the weapon? Come on!"

After saying that, Zhang Bofen threw the copper hammer in his hand directly at the feet of "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai. With a "bang", it smashed a two-inch deep pit.

"what do you mean?"

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," was utterly baffled by Zhang Bofen's actions.

"You're not convinced, are you? Since you're not convinced, let's each use a hammer. My two hammers are the same weight. Let's have three blows against each other and see who wins. How about it?"

Zhang Bofen's suggestion to go was something that Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," had not expected.

Under normal circumstances, Zhang Zhongxiong would definitely oppose and stop Zhang Bofen from doing this. After all, the two of them were there to arrest people, not to have a fight. Who cares about whether he submits or not? Just arrest the person first; that's the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, Zhang Zhongxiong has now been forced to leave the front lines due to injury and can no longer care for his older brother.

Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," was also unconvinced. He wanted to have a match with this kid, so he picked up the copper hammer that Zhang Bofen had thrown at him. He weighed it in his hand and found it to be over forty pounds. Considering Chao Gai's strength, this was not considered heavy and was usable.

"Come!"

Seeing that Chao Gai had already picked up the copper hammer, Zhang Bofen shouted loudly, and the copper hammer in his hand spun with his body and smashed down on Chao Gai.

Zhang Bofen struck first, while Chao Gai reacted abruptly, a beat slower. Therefore, Chao Gai's attack was just a normal swing of the hammer, unlike Zhang Bofen who rotated his body to gather power and use the momentum.

"Oh!"

The two hammers collided, producing a sound like striking a bell, and seemingly generating a small shockwave due to the force of the impact.

The two men who struck the hammers instantly felt two forces transmitted directly from their tightly gripped hammer handles to their arms. In an instant, they both felt a tingling and swelling sensation, which then spread from their arms to their shoulders and throughout their limbs.

"it is good!"

As they were forced back, the two of them uttered these words almost simultaneously.

Zhang Bofen was young and strong, but he also felt that he hadn't gained any advantage from this blow, and his wrist was a little sore.

In fact, he had an advantage because he used the power of turning around when he swung the hammer earlier, which made the force of this blow much greater.

As for Chao Gai, the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," he didn't use any leverage when swinging his hammer, so theoretically, the force of his hammer strike was much less than that of Zhang Bofen's.

However, when the two men's hammers clashed, Chao Gai only took a step back and did not suffer much loss.

This also proves that, in terms of sheer strength, Zhang Bofen seems to be slightly inferior to "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai.

Chao Gai wasn't entirely unharmed. His own strength was less than Zhang Bofen's hammer blow, and he had to add force halfway through to block it. The price he paid was that his arm was somewhat overstretched.

Although it wasn't a major issue, it did significantly impact his performance.

"Come again!"

Zhang Bofen put in even more effort, striking while the iron was hot. He refused to believe that he couldn't take down the "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai in front of him!

So, a moment later, the two clashed again. This time, "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai was caught off guard and, like Zhang Bofen, spun around and used the momentum to swing his hammer.

"Oh!"

The hammers clashed again, and the violent metallic clang almost made everyone present experience tinnitus.

"Ok!"

When Zhang Bofen struck the hammer, he held his breath, but the force of the impact caused this breath to hit his trachea, disrupting his breathing.

They're young, after all; they lack experience.

Chao Gai wasn't in much better shape; the wrist of the hand that gripped the copper hammer was swollen, and the injury was clearly visible due to the force of the impact.

"The third strike!"

"The third strike!"

Both of them were practically at their limit, barely holding on for the last breath as they made that third strike.

Another deafening sound rang out. This time, both hammers slipped from his hands. Zhang Bofen fell backward onto the ground, his left arm, which was holding the hammers, had its sleeve burst from the muscle, and the veins on it were throbbing incessantly.

Chao Gai's hand holding the hammer fared even worse; three of his five fingernails were cracked, and his thumb nail was torn off by the recoil!