The Six-Word Mantra: A Strategy for Guaranteed Victory; The Great Battle Ends, Qingyun M

Chapter 102 The Sixteen-Character Mantra: A Strategy for Guaranteed Victory; The Great Battle Ends, Qingyun Mountain Retreats.

Di Lei was annoyed that he had underestimated the city's defenses. He thought that the number of defenders in Yuncheng would not exceed five hundred, but the number of defenders far exceeded his expectations. What he least expected was that the local militia and villagers were willing to volunteer to fight alongside the city's defenders. This was something he had never encountered before!

He was torn between continuing the fight or retreating. A direct assault on the city gate was clearly not a wise choice. The city gate must have been reinforced with special methods, otherwise it wouldn't have been unable to be breached twice. Moreover, if Song Jiang were to launch another fire attack, he wouldn't be able to withstand it!

Di Lei thought for a long time but still didn't know whether he should continue the stalemate. In fact, what he was more worried about was that he was so far away from Qingyun Mountain. If Jizhou Prefecture and Yizhou Prefecture joined forces to attack him from both sides, he was afraid that he would be surrounded and trapped!

After thinking for a long time, Di Lei still couldn't come up with a solution. He sighed and said, "Everyone has worked hard today attacking the city. Letting them rest is the best course of action!"

"Everyone, get some rest for the night! We'll discuss things again tomorrow!" Di Lei waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave. He was truly exhausted!

At midnight, the bright moon arrived as promised, hanging high in the sky. The night was quiet, finally bringing a brief moment of peace to the tense atmosphere of the past few days.

The camp at Qingyun Mountain was filled with the sound of snoring; everyone was enjoying a rare moment of peace and quiet in their sleep!

After all, today's battle was too frustrating, and coupled with the high tension caused by the continuous defeats, the people of Qingyun Mountain had not rested well!

Di Lei specifically told his underlings to get a good night's sleep, as he understood the hardships his men faced! This was one of the reasons why Di Lei was so popular!

Of course, Di Lei also knew that Yuncheng County would not send anyone to attack. After all, they themselves had suffered heavy casualties, while he still had more than two thousand uninjured people!

If Dancheng dares to send anyone, they will never return.

However, the patrolling henchmen and the guards stationed at Yingkou were still there, and Di Lei dared not be careless! He was afraid that they might really find out everything!

However, Dire didn't know how diligent the patrolmen and guards could be, since everyone was exhausted both physically and mentally!

Dire was very agitated, sitting quietly in the head coach's seat, showing no signs of fatigue!

It was quiet all around, so quiet that you could hear yourself breathing!

Dire sighed, shook his head, blew out the candles on the table, and decided to rest there for the night!

Suddenly, the sound of gongs and drums came from outside, followed by shouts: "Follow me and kill all the bandits!"

Di Lei was taken aback. He never expected that someone would actually raid the camp. He immediately got up, without even putting on armor, and rushed out of the tent with two octagonal iron hammers in his hand!

Many of the underlings were suddenly awakened from their sleep. Without even bothering to get dressed properly, they rushed out. Some were only wearing a single layer of clothing, and some weren't even wearing shoes!

Seeing this scene, Di Lei shouted, "Don't panic! Follow me to meet the enemy!"

Just then, a patrolling henchman hurried over. Di Lei frowned and asked, "What's going on?" The shouts of battle had gradually subsided.

The henchman hurriedly replied, "Someone suddenly raided the camp so fast we didn't even have time to react!"

Dire asked in a deep voice, "What exactly happened?"

The henchman quickly recounted what had happened!

It turned out that the four henchmen guarding the camp did not have time to send out a message before they were killed. After the night raiders entered, they burned two more tents and wiped out a patrol team. The 36-man patrol team was quickly wiped out!

However, this caused a commotion. But these people came and went quickly. They killed many of the brothers who came to help in an instant and then left in a flash. The whole process took only a moment.

Dire asked, somewhat angrily, "How many people are on the other side?"

The henchman cautiously replied, "Around a few dozen!"

Enraged, Dillett kicked one of the henchmen to the ground!

The henchman crawled a few steps to his feet and said, "Those people are terrifying! Dozens of our brothers died before they could even exchange a single blow with them!"

Dire was puzzled as to where these people came from; that was what baffled him the most.

Of course, he was certain that these people were not from Dancheng. Could they have been trained by some faction specifically to deal with him, and to weaken him now that he had suffered a major defeat?

At that moment, two henchmen carried the corpse of another henchman to the ground!

Dire asked in confusion, "What is this?"

One of the gang leaders said, "Look, brother!" as he pointed to the neck of one of the henchmen.

Upon closer inspection, Di Lei noticed a penetrating wound on either side of the henchman's neck, which was likely the cause of his death.

The strangest thing was the wound on his neck, a small triangular wound, not from a gun or a sword, and it was unknown what weapon caused it.

Dire was certain he had never seen such a weapon before, and neither had anyone else!

Another minor leader said, "This henchman died instantly from a neck pierced. The person who struck him was quite skilled, but there are dozens of people with that kind of skill on the other side. For us..."

The young leader didn't finish his sentence, but Dire understood what he meant.

The morale of Qingyun Mountain has now plummeted to rock bottom. Di Lei knows that no matter how he tries to boost morale, it will be difficult to achieve any effect. Moreover, there is an opponent watching him from the shadows at all times, which is a very unpleasant feeling!

Thinking of this, Di Lei raised his hand and said, "Everyone be on high alert tonight. Tomorrow, we will return to Qingyun Mountain!"

An hour later, the people of Qingyun Mountain relaxed a little. At this moment, shouts came from outside the camp again, followed by someone yelling, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Many people grabbed their weapons and rushed outside. Di Lei also grabbed his weapon and rushed over, only to find the area outside the camp completely empty, with not a single person in sight!

Dillett asked, "What happened?"

A low-ranking soldier guarding the camp said, "Just now, dozens of men attacked our camp, and I immediately raised the alarm."

"They didn't attack me, they just looked at me and then left quickly, but I didn't dare to chase after them!" The henchman's voice trailed off. Dire didn't blame him, but told him to stay vigilant, increased the number of patrols, and then dismissed everyone.

After two attacks, the enemy did not harass them again, and the rest of the night was peaceful. However, Di Lei did not dare to let his guard down, fearing that if the enemy attacked again, his side would really be unable to cope!

Having not slept a wink all night, Di Lei opened his bloodshot eyes early the next morning, intending to order a retreat, when suddenly shouts rang out again: "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"They dare to come during the day?" Di Lei was somewhat annoyed. This was simply too disrespectful of him!

This time, it turned out to be soldiers from Yuncheng, led by the cavalry captain Zhu Tong. They fired a volley of fire arrows and then ran away!

Seeing so many tents burning, Dire almost fainted from anger!

It was a chaotic scene, and it took a lot of effort to put out the fire. Everyone hadn't rested all night, and then this happened so early in the morning. Everyone was exhausted, and some people even fell asleep right on the ground!

It was a chaotic scene, and it took a lot of effort to put out the fire. Everyone hadn't rested all night, and then this happened so early in the morning. Everyone was exhausted, and some people even fell asleep right on the ground!

Dilley sighed, about to speak, when another voice called out, "Everyone, dinner's ready!"

Di Lei calculated the time and realized it was time to eat. Everyone was exhausted after a long night, and the morning had been filled with all sorts of things, making everyone feel very annoyed!

Di Lei wasn't in the mood for food, so he told his henchmen to eat more, and after they finished eating, he packed up and returned to Qingyun Mountain!

He had a bad feeling, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He just had a vague sense that something was wrong, something really wrong!

Inside the tent, Dire was also a little sleepy, so he lay down on the mat and fell into a deep sleep!

While he was sound asleep, he seemed to hear a lot of noise outside. Annoyed by the noise, Di Lei opened his eyes and shouted, "What's going on? Why is it so noisy?"

A henchman entered, his face grim, and reported to Di Lei, "Boss, many of our brothers have stomach problems and keep running to the outhouse! But there are very few outhouses, and many brothers are still looking for a place to relieve themselves!"

Di Lei was in a real bind. Why did things have to go wrong like this? What was going on with everyone having to relieve themselves again?

"No, wait!" Di Lei realized that someone must have tampered with the food. Just then, a voice came from outside: "Boss, enemy attack!"

"Boss, enemy attack! Enemy attack!" A henchman rushed in and said to Di Lei in a panic, not caring about anything else!

Dire was furious; this was a premeditated scheme!

From the initial night raid and midnight harassment to Zhu Tong's rocket attack in the morning, everything was a foreshadowing of this drugging incident!

And then, when your side is collectively in dire straits, they attack you—that's a complete annihilation of your side! Each step is linked to the next; it's truly ruthless!

Even a fool could tell that the men who attacked him last night were Song Jiang's men! This Song Jiang, he managed to keep this mysterious team from showing themselves during such a difficult siege; he really knows how to keep his composure!

To be honest, Di Lei began to admire Song Jiang. In the past, he thought that Song Jiang was relying on the defense of Dancheng and various insidious schemes to scheme against him after his defeat!

But now, just looking at Song Jiang's patience, he felt ashamed of himself!

However, Dire was not one to sit idly by and wait for death. He picked up his hammer and charged out of the camp!

Outside the main camp, Qingyun Mountain was being slaughtered on one side! Days of defeats, a night of torment, and now diarrhea! His hands and feet were weak, and he had no strength left!

Seeing the ferocious Liangshan army, Qingyun Mountain felt no will to resist! Especially their weapons, long, thin, strange iron objects that resembled neither sticks nor knives, but with sharp, pointed tips!

It can be pulled out instantly once it's inserted into the body! Unlike other knives, which can be held in place by muscles after being inserted into the body, making it impossible to pull out and thus losing the weapon and being ambushed and killed by another person!

Although the henchmen of Qingyun Mountain were experienced in many battles, they had never seen this kind of fighting style before. The opponent's strange footwork, swift movements, and concise and direct attacks could take away a fresh life on their side every time!

They were scared, truly scared. The other side was like a vengeful ghost from hell, and if they didn't run, they didn't know when it would be their turn!

Di Lei came out and saw his men being slaughtered like ants. He was so enraged that he picked up his hammer and struck one of them!

With a loud "bang," an axe blocked the raging hammer.

Di Lei looked up and saw a giant man, nine feet tall, holding a huge axe and blocking his way!

Di Lei felt a slight pain in his hand. Where did this big man come from? He had never seen him before!

Dire was unwilling to back down easily. Driven by his competitive spirit, he swung his hammer at the man, but the man blocked Dire's attack.

Although the situation was not optimistic, Di Lei still praised, "Impressive skills! May I ask your name, hero?"

The man sheathed his axe and laughed, "My name is Bian Xiang!"

Di Lei silently chanted, "Bian Xiang, Bian Xiang!" Then he said to the fleeing henchmen beside him, "Run to the rear camp. You all escape from the rear camp, scatter, and flee towards Qingyun Mountain. The more who can get away, the better!"

Seeing many people with unsteady limbs and some covered in yellowish stuff, Di Lei felt helpless, but there was nothing he could do!

Looking at Bian Xiang in front of him, Di Lei knew that this was the strongest enemy he had ever encountered in his life!

Di Lei spun his double hammers and then attacked Bian Xiang, who flicked his axe to meet the attack!

The two men were like tigers roaring in the mountains and dragons soaring in the sky. Their double hammers were like two fierce dragons, smashing, sweeping, knocking, or lifting. Their single axe was like a charging bull, blocking, swinging, picking, slicing, or chopping.

The two fought for forty rounds without a clear winner. After forty rounds, Di Lei was starting to have trouble holding on.

Di Lei was slightly inferior to Bian Xiang, and after another fierce battle yesterday, his injuries hadn't healed. Bian Xiang secretly applauded his ability to hold on for so long! Finally, Di Lei's hammer missed its mark, and Bian Xiang swung his axe in a backhand strike, the axe missing his head by just an inch!

Dire sighed, dropped his hammers, and closed his eyes to await his death!

Contrary to expectations, Di Lei opened his eyes, but Bian Xiang did not swing his axe!

Dire was puzzled when a commotion came from behind!

Di Lei looked back and saw that the henchmen who had started running towards the rear camp had returned. Not only was the mysterious team attacking them, but this time Li Kui was also fighting fiercely in the crowd!

Di Lei immediately understood what was going on. Li Kui was Song Jiang's man, so it seemed that Shi Wan was one too. The poison must have been administered by Shi Fang; only he had the skill to do it so stealthily!

Ling Kun also saw Li Kui and angrily cursed, "Li Kui, you heartless dog, you traitor! You deserve to die a horrible death!"

Li Kui laughed loudly, "Grandpa was originally Brother Gongming's man, you silly bird, you found out too late!"

Ling Kun was in excruciating pain in his abdomen, and was completely powerless to refute Li Kui. At this moment, Di Lei said, "Drop your weapons and surrender immediately."

The henchmen were already powerless to resist. Upon hearing Dillie's words, they instantly dropped their weapons, knelt on the ground, and begged to surrender!

Bian Xiang waved his hand, and the Liangshan army put away their weapons and stopped attacking the bandits. Li Kui ignored him, as if he hadn't heard him. He laughed loudly and swung his axe at a small henchman's head!

Di Lei was shocked, never expecting that Li Kui would still want to kill people after he had surrendered.