By the time they realized what was happening, the horses were already upon them. From beneath the horse’s belly, ‘whoosh, whoosh’—a few more arrows shot out, and five Turkic soldiers tumbled from their mounts, clutching their throats, dying with their eyes wide open!

This trick of hiding beneath the horse’s belly—they knew it too, but they never expected these bandits to be even more skilled at it than themselves!

The Turkic soldiers were not weaker than Adam Carter and his men, but they lost. They lost because they underestimated the enemy and were unprepared.

And here, to lose is to die!

Adam Carter spun around, slipped out from under the horse’s belly, and mounted again. With his longbow pointed, he gazed at the woman. Though there was a hint of amazement in his eyes, he spoke in a deep, unwavering voice: “From now on, you are my woman!”

Section Two: Full and Not Hungry

After Adam Carter swept away the enemies with unstoppable force, Brian Cooper finally arrived with a dozen men, panting. Seeing Adam Carter’s imposing presence, as if he owned the place, he spat a thick wad of phlegm and cursed, “Are you even human?”

Splitting into two groups was also part of the strategy. Adam Carter led ten men in the charge—not the whole force—just to lure the enemy into carelessness. Otherwise, with superior numbers, they might have alerted the Turkic soldiers too soon, leading to a desperate fight, which wouldn’t have been ideal.

Adam Carter might not be human; in everyone’s eyes, he was a god. But the woman was clearly a woman among women.

She wore a coarse linen skirt, but it couldn’t hide her chiseled shoulders and slender waist.

Her bright eyes, though tinged with panic, were as deep as water. Her long, elegant neck was fair and smooth. When she was troubled, her brows furrowed like spring mountains, reminiscent of Xi Shi clutching her heart. Her frightened look was like a startled jade rabbit, so pitiful it aroused compassion.

When Adam Carter declared that she was his woman, his twenty subordinates had already spread out like a tide.

The young master’s word was law, an unchangeable fact. What they needed to do now was find their own spoils—after all, he was the young master.

“This horse is nice. It’s mine.”

“I want this one. Look, big belly and broad waist, just like Frank Reed. Riding it must feel great.” Brian Cooper chuckled mischievously.

Frank Reed was still running down the mountain, eager to claim credit, and didn’t hear Brian Cooper’s words. Otherwise, he’d probably have turned back halfway and smashed Brian Cooper with the catapult.

Though they were bandits, the stronghold didn’t have many horses. Since some were needed to pull the catapult, Frank Reed and three others were on the mountain, and two or three people shared a horse to get here. Now, with a sudden gain of over a dozen horses, everyone was thrilled.

Watching his men’s excitement, Adam Carter shook his head and whistled. The frightened horses, upon hearing Adam Carter’s whistle, all gathered toward him.

Brian Cooper blinked and couldn’t help but walk over. “Young master, how come your whistle is so effective? You call, and the horses come. Can you teach me this trick?”

“Summon them with your heart, whistle with your heart,” Adam Carter said earnestly. “When you call these horses, treat it like calling your friends, your lover, or your family. Naturally, they’ll come to you.”

Brian Cooper blinked his small eyes, a bit troubled. “Young master, is there a simpler way?”

“Of course there is.”

“What is it?” Brian Cooper perked up.

“Be full and not hungry.”

“That’s certainly simple and clear—easy to learn.” Brian Cooper laughed. “Young master, you’re truly wise and heroic, a genius. I’m not even close.”

Everyone burst out laughing. Adam Carter whistled twice more, and not only the horses, but even Frank Reed came running down from the mountainside. Without a word, he grabbed a horse—big belly, broad waist—and seeing everyone laughing at him, he boasted, “How about that? I’ve got an eye for good horses, right?”

Everyone laughed again. Frank Reed was completely confused, not knowing why. Adam Carter, however, had already mounted his horse, leaving the others to handle the aftermath. Brian Cooper was in charge of cleaning up the bodies, dragging them to a valley to dump them. Frank Reed and two others were responsible for bringing the catapult. Everyone worked in an orderly fashion.

In fact, they weren’t inherently cruel. It was rare for them to be so ruthless as they were today.

Usually, when encountering merchants, Frank Reed would demonstrate with the catapult, two groups would encircle and block, and Adam Carter would not go for the kill. Most of the time, they’d just take a portion of the goods.

Forced to the border by the emperor, they robbed out of necessity. But they deeply hated the cruelty of the Turkic soldiers. Everyone followed Adam Carter’s lead, and this time, killing over a dozen in one go was a rare satisfaction.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just leave these people dead here?” Brian Cooper grumbled as he cleaned up the bodies.

Adam Carter smiled, “It doesn’t matter if they die here, but it would only cut off our livelihood. We need to make it seem peaceful here, so the fat sheep keep coming to our door.”

“Young master is wise.” This time, Frank Reed snatched the chance to flatter, making Brian Cooper roll his eyes.

Everyone was impressed, flattery filling the air, as they drove the horses and their flattery westward, hurrying back to the stronghold.

The stronghold was quite a distance from the ambush site. After galloping for about half an hour, the distant mountains were already close at hand.

The mountains stood tall and majestic, the ranges stretching endlessly, peaks upon peaks, winding like a serpent toward the horizon.