Chapter 83: Slay the Spider, Kick the Toad (Combined)

To be safe, after Jiang Jinshi had a discussion with Xiexiezi, they decided to first go to Spider Stronghold and take down Du Zhizhu.

At this moment, Du Zhizhu was still sound asleep in his dream, unaware that several hundred people were marching toward Spider Stronghold.

Last time, even if Du Zhizhu had set traps in advance, he could not defeat the two strongholds; if Yangguangzhai had not suddenly attacked, Du Zhizhu would have been wiped out completely.

Now Yangguangzhai and Scorpion Stronghold have joined forces; each alone could press Spider Stronghold into the ground and rub it.

So everyone lit torches and went up the mountain, with no intention of hiding their tracks.

Soon, the still-sleeping Du Zhizhu was startled awake by a pounding on the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boss, someone's attacking! Wake up, boss!"

Du Zhizhu opened his eyes, confirmed once more that he wasn't dreaming, then leapt up from bed, not bothering to put on shoes, and hurried to open the door.

"What's going on? Explain clearly!"

"Mid-mountain! The mountainside is full of people, coming our way." The messenger had only seen a dense mass of torches and dared not approach to scout.

"Quick, wake everyone up, hurry!" Du Zhizhu almost bellowed the last sentence.

Having received the order, the bandits rushed out in a hurry to summon people.

Du Zhizhu turned back to his room, put on clothes and shoes, took his soft sword, and ran toward the stronghold gate.

Even now he still couldn't figure out why someone would suddenly attack his Spider Stronghold.

Because they lost many members last time, during this period Spider Stronghold has been constantly recruiting new bandits.

Coincidentally, Yangguangzhai was also recruiting, offering better treatment, so Spider Stronghold gained nothing during this period.

Du Zhizhu initially wanted to raise pay and compete with Yangguangzhai, but then thought, Yangguangzhai can't recruit many bandits either, so why bother fighting over these few days?

Once you've filled your quotas, those later refugees will have nowhere else to go and will still come to my Spider Stronghold.

So Du Zhizhu took it easy for a while; later, seeing Yangguangzhai stop recruiting bandits, he then began to recruit.

But it hasn't been even a few days! The numbers still haven't been filled, so how did trouble arise again?

Full of doubt, Du Zhizhu went up to the watchtower.

As expected, he could see at a glance the dense torches in the mountainside, already quite close to his stronghold.

At this distance, not to mention digging traps, even gathering everyone would take considerable time; with no better option, Du Zhizhu could only steel himself and stay on the watchtower.

At the same time, he secretly wondered, who exactly is coming? Scorpion Stronghold? Or Toad Stronghold?

Yangguangzhai was automatically ruled out by him; in his view, Yangguangzhai had just gained a foothold in Lianhuan Shan and would certainly not stir up trouble, otherwise it would surely be besieged by all.

Meanwhile, Toad Stronghold finally got the news at this moment; the sleeping Lazy Toad was awakened, furious, and ordered all of Toad Stronghold to take up arms and reinforce Spider Stronghold.

Du Zhizhu stood on the watchtower for a while, and finally saw the main force—unexpectedly, it was Yangguangzhai, which he considered the least likely.

Jiang Jinshi shouldered his long spear and shouted at Du Zhizhu: "Du Zhizhu, leave Lianhuan Shan, and I will make things easy for you."

Du Zhizhu's face darkened: "Boss Jiang, I have no grudge with you; why are you doing this today?"

"No reason—either you leave Lianhuan Shan, or I attack and you choose!" If Du Zhizhu could leave, Jiang Jinshi would naturally not want to launch a major assault.

"Must we come to this?" Du Zhizhu demanded in a low voice.

Xiexiezi stepped out from the side and said to Jiang Jinshi: "Brother Jiang, why waste words with him? I'll go first."

At this moment Du Zhizhu saw Xiexiezi and immediately realized that Yangguangzhai likely came prepared, probably having already allied with Scorpion Stronghold to unify Lianhuan Shan.

Even so, Du Zhizhu did not give up, believing there was still room for a turnaround.

"Gentlemen, couldn't we sit down and talk properly?"

"Talk your mother!" Xiexiezi cursed loudly, then led the Scorpion Stronghold members in a charge toward Spider Stronghold.

Jiang Jinshi never expected the seemingly refined Xiexiezi to also swear; he immediately shouted in a deep voice: "Yangguangzhai, follow!"

Afterward, gripping his long spear with both hands, he took the lead ahead of Yangguangzhai.

Seeing the enemy attack at the slightest disagreement, Du Zhizhu also panicked, quickly drew his soft sword and shouted to the people behind him in Spider Stronghold: "Defend against the enemy!"

Xiexiezi led the charge to the gate, a dozen strong men lined up shoulder to shoulder and rammed the gate with their shoulders.

Know that such a stronghold gate is not a city gate; it's merely wooden, already extremely crude, and under this impact it was smashed open after just a few blows.

The Spider Stronghold folk who had just been dragged from their beds hadn't yet grasped the situation when they saw their own stronghold gate broken, with enemies continuously pouring in at the entrance.

The moment Jiang Jinshi stepped into Spider Stronghold, his gaze locked onto Du Zhizhu; the principle of capturing the bandit by catching the leader applies anywhere.

Obviously, not only Jiang Jinshi but also Xiexiezi had their eyes on Du Zhizhu.

Being stared at by both of them, Du Zhizhu's hairs stood on end and his back became soaked without him realizing it.

"Lazy Toad! Hurry up and come!"

Du Zhizhu let out a silent roar, as if bolstering himself; he knew such a commotion could not be hidden from Toad Stronghold, and if he could hold out until Toad Stronghold's aid arrived, everything would still have a chance.

But Jiang Jinshi and Xiexiezi would not give him that chance; what Du Zhizhu thought, they naturally knew as well—although they did not fear a union of Toad Stronghold and Spider Stronghold, a quick victory was needed to reduce their own casualties.

The tip of the long spear, accompanied by a wind-like sound, shot straight at Du Zhizhu, as if trying to tear the air apart.

Such momentum made Du Zhizhu dare not meet it head-on; he could only keep retreating to dodge the strike.

Meanwhile, Xiexiezi would not stand by watching; he gripped his horse-cutting saber with both hands and launched a sneak attack from the side.

Not yet steady on his feet, Du Zhizhu instantly judged he could not dodge, raised his soft sword in an attempt to block the horse-cutting saber.

"Clang!"

At the moment of impact, sparks flew; the recoil transmitted up the hilt almost made Du Zhizhu's soft sword slip from his hand.

Feeling the throbbing pain in his tiger's mouth, Du Zhizhu finally realized how foolish his earlier idea had been.

The notion that he could hold out against these two until Toad Stronghold's aid arrived was utterly impossible!

Without even a chance to catch his breath, Jiang Jinshi's long spear followed close behind, its crescent blade aiming straight for Du Zhizhu's forehead.

Du Zhizhu stumbled backward, barely avoiding the blow; at this moment he already felt like retreating, so taking advantage of his backward fall he hurled his soft sword at Xiexiezi.

Xiexiezi, who had intended to seize the opportunity to take Du Zhizhu's life, had no choice but to hastily retract his horse-cutting saber to block the soft sword.

Taking advantage of this opening, the poison spider rolled on the ground once, sprang up quickly and ran toward the stronghold.

At this moment the poison spider was like a squandered dog, fleeing in panic.

This scene was also witnessed by the mountain bandits of Spider Stronghold; Luo Feng seized the chance and shouted, "Your big boss has already been defeated, you have fled, drop your weapons and surrender."

"Spare my life, I surrender!"

"Brave man, I also surrender!"

As the great sabers fell to the ground one by one, the remaining people of Spider Stronghold completely gave up resistance.

We were never numerically superior, the big boss even retreated, so the mountain bandits of Spider Stronghold had no thought of resisting!

Of course Xiexiezi and Jiang Jinshi had no intention of letting the poison spider go, after all, cutting the grass without removing the root lets the spring wind make it grow again!

The two kept close on either side of the poison spider, increasing the pressure on the unarmed spider manyfold.

"T‑two… two of you, I surrender! Don't kill me."

Finally the panicked poison spider ran to a corner, seeing no way out, it immediately turned and knelt before the two, begging for mercy.

Jiang Jinshi paused, but before he could speak, Xiexiezi's horse‑cleaving saber beside him was already swung.

"Pfft!"

The poison spider's head rolled onto the ground, and the spurted blood splattered onto the two.

As a result, Jiang Jinshi swallowed the words he hadn't spoken; he was still too merciful, unlike Xiexiezi's decisiveness.

The two exchanged a glance, and Jiang Jinshi smiled, "I didn't expect our cooperation to be so perfect."

Xiexiezi, his face covered in blood, gave Jiang Jinshi a gentle smile.

"Not many can keep up with my attack; you count as one!"

After the brief exchange, the two said nothing more and headed back the way they came; there was still Toad Stronghold ahead.

When Toad Stronghold arrived it was already too late; the people of Yangguangzhai had not cleared the battlefield, and had only just bound the remnants of Spider Stronghold.

Lan Hama, seeing the situation, immediately ordered, "All retreat!"

"Now you still want to leave? Fatty, go dream elsewhere!" Along with Xiexiezi's voice came his horse‑cleaving saber.

This was Jiang Jinshi's first time seeing the big boss of Toad Stronghold, but it did not stop him from striking.

Interestingly, among the Five Poison Strongholds only Lan Hama lacks any martial skill, and he does not even have the nerve of the other four big bosses.

Yet he is the County Magistrate's younger brother and the most leisurely big boss among the Five Poison Strongholds.

Lan Hama's left and right guardians shielded him from behind, each taking Jiang Jinshi's and Xiexiezi's attacks.

"Big boss Jiang, let us see who can kill faster!"

Xiexiezi raised his horse‑cleaving saber, a feral grin on his blood‑splattered face, making his whole demeanor especially ferocious.

"Exactly my intention!"

Jiang Jinshi echoed, his hand moving no slower at all.

Lan Hama kept running into the crowd, shouting, "Everyone, attack! Cut them down!"

Only when he reached the rear of the formation did Lan Hama feel a hint of safety, slowly turning his head to observe the battle.

The opponent fighting Jiang Jinshi had a bronze complexion, and his powerful silhouette wielded the long spear with fierce vigor.

During their brief clash earlier, both realized the other was no simple foe, yet the opponent still dared

to slip, his body surged forward like an arrow released, the long spear in his hand snapping out like a poisonous snake from a hole

Jiang Jinshi, fully aware of the spear's thrusting advantage, did not choose to meet it head‑on.

His heavy halberd turned deftly in Jiang Jinshi's hand, the crescent‑shaped head striking outward precisely

"Clang!" a harsh metallic sound

To come without returning is impolite!

At the moment he deflected the thrust, Jiang Jinshi instantly launched a counterattack.

He used the momentum to spin, the halberd tracing an arc; the heavy shaft swung like an iron whip, sweeping horizontally toward the spearman's waist and abdomen.

The opponent's reaction was equally swift; with a flick of the wrist the spear retracted like a living thing, the shaft pressing down rapidly, precisely blocking at his side.

Luo Feng, leading the bandits in fierce fighting, was both killing the Toad Village bandits and observing the battle; when he saw the spear, his eyes lit up, as if he had finally found the weapon he desired.

Leading the mountain bandits in fierce combat, Luo Feng was slashing Toad Stronghold bandits while watching the battle; when he saw the long spear, his eyes lit up, as if he had finally found his coveted weapon.

One should know that Jiang Jinshi's strength is not small now; although he has not fully merged with the soul of Xiang Yu, even a two‑ or three‑point increase already makes him exceedingly fierce.

The halberd shaft hammered the middle of the spear shaft, the massive force numbing the opponent's arm and causing his body to sway.

Jiang Jinshi's hallmark is to strike when the enemy is vulnerable; he inhaled sharply and launched a fierce assault at the opponent.

The tip of the halberd head, like an eagle's beak, was not a thrust but a hook and peck! Jiang Jinshi twisted his wrist, the head curving oddly

Even if the opponent realized Jiang Jinshi's true intent, it was hard to react in time; in this battle that alone could decide the outcome.

As the opponent's spear hit the ground, the battle was already decided; the halberd's blade swept across the opponent's neck, and Jiang Jinshi gave him a quick death.

As the opponent's spear hit the ground, the situation was settled; the halberd tip swept across his neck, Jiang Jinshi gave him a satisfying

Looking at Xiexiezi's side, he had some advantage now, but in a short time he certainly could not take

"Jiang big boss, you don't need to worry about me, go and cut that lazy toad first." Xiexiezi threw himself fully into the fight, and only when there was no movement beside him did he notice Jiang Jinshi had already won.

"Good!" Jiang Jinshi knew the opponent wasn't showing off, but truly

At this moment the Lan Hama hiding behind the crowd was terrified; the two most capable henchmen his brother had sent him were now dead, and the other had no time for him.

The key was that he heard their conversation clearly, and hurried toward his own rear, planning to slip away at night back to Licheng, to tell his brother he would never return to Lianhuan Shan.

Jiang Jinshi watched Lan Hama's plump body running backward, standing out brilliantly in the crowd; originally with so many people they hadn't known where he was, now they immediately found their target.

The bandits dared not block Jiang Jinshi; his own guardian had just died at the opponent's hands, and that guardian's usual strength was well known to all.

"Fat Toad, stop running!" Jiang Jinshi lifted his halberd, drawing ever closer, unable to resist taunting.

Lan Hama dared not utter a word, only feeling a ghost behind him

【121】 "Hey!"

From the grass by the road, a person suddenly sprang out, startling the lazy toad, making it jump; its foot slipped and it fell right there.

Wang Hou flipped his wrist, and a dagger was pressed against the lazy toad's neck; he turned his head to look at the approaching Jiang Jinshi.

Big boss! Want to kill?