Upon hearing Liu Sihai's assurance, Zhang Daqiang couldn't help but burst into laughter. Liu Ergou and Liu Tiezhu were the Zhang family's sworn enemies. Zhang Mingtao had put out a word: anyone who captured either of them would be rewarded with twenty thousand yuan. He never expected to be so lucky as to run into Liu Ergou right at his own post.
"Brother Daqiang, let's send people in now and drag Liu Ergou out," one of Zhang Daqiang's lackeys said impatiently.
"Not so fast," Zhang Daqiang waved his hand. "Liu Ergou isn't some pushover. It's not safe for just the dozen of us to catch him." "You go back now and bring me another fifty men. Today, I'm going to make sure Liu Ergou can't escape even if he grows wings."
Inside the bamboo grove, a large clearing had already been cleared out. Besides the barracks where the members lived, there were watchtowers and hidden sentry posts scattered around. Yang Hua finished introducing everything to Liu Tiezhu, then gathered everyone together.
Liu Tiezhu swept his gaze across the crowd and then pointed out three burly men. He couldn't just take Yang Hua's word for whether these people had real skill. So, he decided to test whether these members actually had any ability.
Liu Tiezhu walked to the center of the training ground and said to the three men, "You three go all out and attack me." "If you take me down within fifteen minutes, each of you gets a thousand yuan."
"Captain, are there any rules or restrictions?" asked Zhou Qingmin, the leading man.
Liu Tiezhu replied, "No rules or restrictions. Don't treat me as one of your own either." "Fight me like it's a life-or-death struggle on the battlefield."
Hearing this, Zhou Qingmin turned his gaze to Yang Hua and Ergouzi. Both nodded and said, "Go ahead, do as the captain says."
"Then, Captain, watch yourself." Zhou Qingmin exchanged glances with the other two and launched an attack.
*Thud...* A dull sound rang out as Zhou Qingmin struck first, sweeping his right leg toward Liu Tiezhu's neck. He held nothing back, wanting to see if the captain Yang Hua always talked about was really that impressive.
The other two, Zhou Qishan and Chen Qingnan, reacted just as quickly. Zhou Qishan's fist packed a fierce punch. His target was Liu Tiezhu's midsection, specifically the lower abdomen. He also put his full strength into this punch, coordinating with Zhou Qingmin's attack.
Meanwhile, Chen Qingnan executed a sweeping leg strike, aiming directly at Liu Tiezhu's lower body. The three of them launched a perfectly coordinated assault, putting Liu Tiezhu on the defensive.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, watching to see how Liu Tiezhu would counter the simultaneous attack. Though these three weren't the strongest, their skills were nothing to scoff at.
"Nice move!" Liu Tiezhu shouted, stepping forward instead of retreating. As Zhou Qingmin's leg swept in, he leaped high into the air, using Zhou Qingmin's leg as leverage to vault over him. The entire motion was swift, completed in under ten seconds.
The onlookers hadn't even clearly seen Liu Tiezhu's movements before he was already behind Zhou Qishan and Chen Qingnan. Startled, Zhou Qishan and Chen Qingnan immediately pulled back their fists and switched to elbow strikes. Yang Hua had taught them more than once that leaving your back exposed to an opponent during an attack was extremely dangerous. So, their reactions were quick.
"Not bad, but you're still too slow." Liu Tiezhu chuckled lightly and slammed his fists out hard.
*Thump, thump...* Two muffled sounds echoed as Liu Tiezhu's fists struck their backs first. Zhou Qishan and Chen Qingnan's faces changed, and they both rolled away.
At that moment, Zhou Qingmin charged in again, his fist aimed at Liu Tiezhu's face.
"Good punch, but lacking in power and speed." Liu Tiezhu offered a critique as his own fist shot out fiercely. The two fists collided with a heavy impact.
Everyone's eyes froze on that spot. Seconds later, Zhou Qingnan's face turned pale, and he stumbled back a few steps. In contrast, Liu Tiezhu stood motionless, his expression unchanged.
"Captain, we lose." Zhou Qingmin gave a bitter smile and conceded. In that exchange, if Liu Tiezhu had been serious, they'd probably be dead.
The watching crowd was all stunned. In less than five minutes, Liu Tiezhu had easily taken down three men. And judging by his demeanor, he seemed to have held back. At that moment, they were utterly in awe of their captain.
Liu Tiezhu said, "You're not bad either. With more training on speed and reaction time, you can be as strong as me." "Alright, everyone, continue training. Next..."
Before he could finish, gunfire erupted from outside the bamboo grove.
"Everyone, prepare for battle." Yang Hua's face changed, and he immediately gave orders. Soon, hundreds of men lined up with rifles shouldered. Under Yang Hua's lead, everyone crouched low and fanned out to encircle both sides of the bamboo grove.
After more than ten minutes, they reached about twenty meters from Li Dashan's sentry post. Ahead were over fifty burly men, led by Zhang Daqiang. Li Dashan had been captured, and Ma Guozhe was nowhere to be seen.
The sight enraged Yang Hua. Liu Tiezhu stayed silent beside him. He wanted to see how Yang Hua would command the battle and also gauge the group's combat coordination.
Yang Hua and Ergouzi, seeing Liu Tiezhu hadn't issued any orders, immediately understood his intent.
"Zhang Guorui, Li Haishan, Ma Rong..." Yang Hua called out a dozen names in succession. These were the best marksmen in the group.
Once the dozen men gathered, Yang Hua pointed to several spots in the bamboo grove. "You have five minutes to get to these designated positions." "When I fire my gun, you immediately aim and shoot at these people." "Also, leave that little leader alive. I want to see if he's got some nerve."
The dozen men dispersed quickly after receiving their orders. Yang Hua then called out four more names.
"Each of you take ten men, center on Dashan's position, and surround the east, west, south, and north escape routes." "I'm warning you now: if anyone disgraces me today, I'll skin them alive." Yang Hua's face was dark, his tone icy.
The four men nodded, patting their chests to guarantee that not even a mosquito would slip past them.
After deploying everyone, Yang Hua gave the order, and the remaining members immediately followed his lead. Soon, they were all within attack range.
Yang Hua raised his rifle, aiming at Zhang Daqiang's right hand, which held a gun to Li Dashan's head. He took a deep breath and pulled the trigger decisively.
*Bang...* The gunshot echoed through the bamboo grove, the bullet precisely piercing Zhang Daqiang's right arm, sending a long spray of blood. Zhang Daqiang's face twisted in agony, his screams chilling to the bone.
*Bang...* Another bullet tore through Zhang Daqiang's left arm. The snipers hidden around opened fire, their precise shots instantly terrifying the Zhang family soldiers Zhang Daqiang had brought.
"Ambush! We're under ambush!" "Get me up, run!" Zhang Daqiang was scared out of his wits, shouting into the crowd.
A few of his stunned lackeys snapped back to reality and hurriedly tried to drag Zhang Daqiang away.
*Bang, bang, bang...* Gunfire erupted from all sides, bullets flying everywhere.
Yang Hua roared, "Fire! Hit them hard!" "Leave the leader alive, but no one else gets out alive."
Hearing the order, everyone fought like they'd been injected with adrenaline. They aimed their rifles, turning Zhang Daqiang's men into living targets.