Chapter 46: Chapter Forty‑Seven

If he doesn't use the pair of halberds, it actually adds variety to Bai Lang's attacks, but carrying a 128‑jin Purple Gold Halberd is still a bit unwieldy, so when Bai Lang lunged forward he also drew this Purple Gold Halberd, letting it fly from his hand and reap two lives.

The flung Purple Gold Halberd struck two Qing soldiers whose armor was clearly different, immediately piercing straight through; their double‑layered armor was of no use. Both men gushed blood, looked up to the sky and fell, the halberd passing from chest to back. With the 128‑jin burden gone, Bai Lang's speed increased.

But the two Qing soldiers he killed were quickly dragged away, apparently because of their status. "Damn! Do I have a grudge against weapons? This was exchanged for points! Now it's leaving me again." Bai Lang has no time to retrieve the weapon; he's busy killing people.

These soldiers are equally formidable—compared with the ordinary people he's met before, they are accustomed to cold‑weapon warfare and won't flinch at a bloody scene. Their armored infantry combat power is also high, and they wield weapons designed for someone as skilled as Bai Lang—grappling hooks and lassos.

They still haven't caught Bai Lang with a lasso, but they brandish heavy shields, disregarding casualties, to restrict his movement—yet that seems ineffective now. Bai Lang's actions are swift and agile, especially his skill of leaping using momentum; it will be hard to contain him for any length of time.

Most crucially, Bai Lang's attack power is unusually massive; the force of his fists and kicks is likewise hard to block—only slightly better than an Iron Halberd, but the shock from his punches can pierce armor and shields. Once he abandons the pair of halberds, his leg strength is also formidable, and the most terrifying is his hands: a tiger‑claw strike is truly like a real tiger...

The vigor flows through his fingertips like a real tiger's claws; this is the result of Bai Lang mastering the Tiger Form True Meaning to an advanced stage. He knows he hasn't reached the pinnacle yet, but now he can let his claw force manifest, leaving deep marks on those shields.

So forget about armor; a tiger‑claw strike deforms the plates, then tears them—cotton armor tears easily, and the armor's makers never considered being ripped apart. After a tear, another grab hits, this time against chainmail, yet it can still cause serious injury; a hit to the chest or abdomen could even gut someone through the chainmail.

"What a pity, still didn't reach the fourth stage! Otherwise I wouldn't fear such a mass battle!" Bai Lang clashed left and right, his subordinates again claimed four or five lives, but the lassos and grappling hooks kept increasing, and more Qing soldiers surged forward—he was ultimately being slowed. "Time to go!" Bai Lang decided, let out a roar, split his twin claws, violently opening a passage, then fully employed Lightness Skill, sprinting out of the circle in a few steps. "They're surrounding us…" Bai Lang quickened his pace, as if gliding across the ground.

His toe paused on the ground, Internal Force causing a slight tremor in the earth; using the reaction force, Bai Lang vaulted into the air, flipped mid‑air and landed several zhang away, having already created distance. A brave subordinate brought his warhorse over; Bai Lang mounted, "Go!" and turned the horse's head to begin the retreat.

After running over a hundred steps, Bai Lang halted the horse; the Qing troops had already begun to regroup—being chased would be fatal, essentially handing them a free head. Bai Lang gave a downward thumb gesture toward the Qing camp, then let out a wild laugh and fled. "He'll come again…" Abatai said, watching Bai Lang disappear.

This time was truly a loss outweighing the gain—though one could say Bai Lang abandoned that pair of Iron Halberds, they're no longer just Iron Halberds; they now seem to contain bronze and gold, yet remain extremely heavy. Even Abatai can lift them with one hand, but wielding them like Bai Lang is impossible. To besiege Bai Lang, two Niu Lu Zhang Jing, four Fen De Bo Shi Ku, and eleven Ba Ya La Jia Bing died, plus six armored soldiers; normally they would crush a Ming army division, never suffering such casualties...

In the end they only captured the opponent's pair of halberds, without taking any heads… that's a pathetic victory. Losing our own men is a stark reality, and if this fellow still lingers nearby, seizing an opportunity to strike—whether during a march or a siege—just the thought makes my scalp tingle. Such a fierce general as a vanguard, if he leads a large cavalry or infantry to break a siege, would be truly troublesome.

At this point, the ordinary Qing soldiers' morale had already plummeted; the enemy had slain so many warriors, yet they left looking unscathed and seemed likely to return—no Qing soldier would feel high morale. A serious dilemma now stands: admit that the Shandong offensive has failed and withdraw while supplies are still adequate, troops' stamina and morale remain acceptable, or stick to the original plan, continue fighting in Shandong to loot more children's gold and silver?

The latter option is unthinkable; a siege and plunder held in strict formation might give Bai Lang little chance, but escorting looted children back? That's impossible. When the clumsy Lang Kang's army is out, there will be gaps everywhere for Bai Lang to burst through. Once he does, the speed at which he could slaughter ordinary foot soldiers is easy to imagine.

Before he exhausts himself and retreats, he might indeed slay hundreds of Qing soldiers…

"Retreat." The decision made Abatai's old face even more bitter; he had never been favored even when he was a low‑rank servant, and after Huang Tai Ji ascended the throne, although Abatai could fight, now he is merely a Beile. Within the Eight Banners system he ranks behind his brothers—doing the hard, tiring work, with no chance of promotion. Having made this decision, it's clear Abatai will take the blame again; preserving his Beile title this time is already good. If Huang Tai Ji intends to punish and humiliate him, demotion to Beizi is possible…

Thinking of this, Abatai felt extremely humiliated—why would such a fierce general appear on his route? He should be laughing; historically this incursion caused substantial Qing losses, even many high‑ranking officials, including several commanders of the guard, died. Compared with history, the casualties from this withdrawal are actually smaller.

Nevertheless, the Qing troops were ultimately demoralized; as they broke camp and withdraw, Bai Lang attempted a charge, but the enemy protected themselves with large carts, and archers and muskets fired desperately, while almost everyone deployed grappling hooks in a tight formation. Thus Bai Lang could only snatch a few heads and could not delay the Qing for long—their numbers were too few, and the others lacked the ability to charge alone, and the nearby Ming provincial forces dared not engage in open field battle; defending the city would suffice…

A month later, the Qing troops withdrew completely, and the roads were finally reopened. After several failed charges, Bai Lang had already returned to Yanzhou, and now it was time to formally receive the court's reward. "It's just a pity about my water‑polished Purple Gold Halberd! Damn, that was a good item bought with points."